_To the House of Representatives_:
In pursuance of the resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 15th instant, requesting to be informed "what geographical and
geological surveys under different Departments and branches of the
Government are operating in the same and contiguous areas of territory
west of the Mississippi River, and whether it be not practicable to
consolidate them under one Department or to define the geographical
limits to be embraced by each," I have the honor to transmit herewith
the views of the officers of the War and Interior Departments on the
subjects named in the said resolution, and invite attention thereto.
Where surveys are made with the view of sectionizing the public lands,
preparatory to opening them for settlement or entry, there is no
question but such surveys and all work connected therewith should be
under the direct control of the Interior Department or the Commissioner
of the General Land Office, subject to the supervision of the Secretary
of the Interior. But where the object is to complete the map of the
country; to determine the geographical, astronomical, geodetic,
topographic, hydrographic, meteorological, geological, and mineralogical
features of the country--in other words, to collect full information of
the unexplored or but partially known portions of the country--it seems
to me a matter of no importance as to which Department of the Government
should have control of the work. The conditions which should control
this subject are, in my judgment, first, which Department is prepared
to do the work best; second, which can do it the most expeditiously
and economically.
As the country to be explored is occupied in great part by uncivilized
Indians, all parties engaged in the work at hand must be supplied with
escorts from the Army, thus placing a large portion of the expense upon
the War Department; and as the Engineer Corps of the Army is composed of
scientific gentlemen, educated and practiced for just the kind of work
to be done, and as they are under pay whether employed in this work or
not, it would seem that the second condition named would be more fully
complied with by employing them to do the work. There is but little
doubt that they will accomplish it as promptly and as well, and much
more economically.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _May 19, 1874_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
I transmit herewith, in answer to the resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 9th instant, a report[79] from the Secretary of
State, with accompanying papers.
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 79: Relating to the involuntary deportation to the United
States of foreign convicts, paupers, idiots, insane persons, etc., and
transmitting correspondence relative thereto.]
WASHINGTON, _May 25, 1874_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
In response to the resolution of the Senate of the 15th instant, I have
the honor to transmit herewith "all papers and correspondence relating
to the troubles in the State of Arkansas not heretofore communicated to
either House of Congress."
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _May 25, 1874_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I have the honor to transmit, in response to the resolution of the
Senate of the 18th instant, requesting "the answers in full received
by the Civil Service Commission in reply to their circular addressed
to the various heads of Departments and bureaus requesting a report as
to the operation and effect of the civil-service rules in the several
Departments and offices," a copy of a letter received from the chairman
of the Civil Service Commission, to whom the resolution was referred.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _May 26, 1874_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, and
accompanying it copies of all papers on file or on record in the
Department of State respecting the claim on Brazil concerning the
_Caroline_.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _May 26, 1874_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I transmit to the Senate and House of Representatives a
communication from the Secretary of State and a copy of the report of
the commissioners to inquire into depredations on the frontiers of Texas,
by which it is accompanied.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _June 15, 1874_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to
ratification, a declaration respecting trade-marks between the United
States and the Emperor of Russia, concluded and signed at St. Petersburg
on the 16/28 day of March last.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _June 18, 1874_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
The plenipotentiaries of Her Britannic Majesty at Washington have
submitted to the Secretary of State, for my consideration, a draft of a
treaty for the reciprocal regulation of the commerce and trade between
the United States and Canada, with provisions for the enlargement of the
Canadian canals and for their use by United States vessels on terms of
equality with British vessels. I transmit herewith a report from the
Secretary of State, with a copy of the draft thus proposed.
I am of the opinion that a proper treaty for such purposes would result
beneficially for the United States. It would not only open or enlarge
markets for our products, but it would increase the facilities of
transportation from the grain-growing States of the West to the
seaboard.
The proposed draft has many features to commend it to our favorable
consideration; but whether it makes all the concessions which could
justly be required of Great Britain, or whether it calls for more
concessions from the United States than we should yield, I am not
prepared to say.
Among its provisions are articles proposing to dispense with the
arbitration respecting the fisheries, which was provided for by the
treaty of Washington, in the event of the conclusion and ratification of
a treaty and the passage of all the necessary legislation to enforce it.
These provisions, as well as other considerations, make it desirable
that this subject should receive attention before the close of the
present session. I therefore express an earnest wish that the Senate may
be able to consider and determine before the adjournment of Congress
whether it will give its constitutional concurrence to the conclusion of
a treaty with Great Britain for the purposes already named, either in
such form as is proposed by the British plenipotentiaries or in such
other more acceptable form as the Senate may prefer.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _June 18, 1874_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State and its
accompanying papers.[80]
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 80: Report of the United States delegates to the eighth session
of the International Statistical Congress, held at St. Petersburg,
Russia, in August, 1872, and appendix.]
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, June 20, 1874_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I respectfully invite the attention of Congress to one feature of the
bill entitled "An act for the government of the District of Columbia,
and for other purposes." Provision is therein made for the payment of
the debts of the District in bonds to be issued by the sinking-fund
commissioners, running fifty years and bearing interest at the rate of
3.65 per cent per annum, with the payment of the principal and interest
guaranteed by the United States.
The government by which these debts were created is abolished, and no
other provision seems to be made for their payment. Judging from the
transactions in other bonds, there are good grounds, in my opinion, for
the apprehension that bonds bearing this rate of interest when issued
will be worth much less than their equivalent in the current money of
the United States. This appears to me to be unjust to those to whom
these bonds are to be paid, and, to the extent of the difference between
their face and real value, looks like repudiating the debts of the
District. My opinion is that to require creditors of the District of
Columbia to receive these bonds at par when it is apparent that to be
converted into money they must be sold at a large discount will not only
prove greatly injurious to the credit of the District, but will reflect
unfavorably upon the credit and good faith of the United States.
I would recommend, therefore, that provision be made at the present
session of Congress to increase the interest upon these bonds, so that
when sold they will bring an equivalent in money, and that the Secretary
of the Treasury be authorized to negotiate the sale of these bonds at
not less than par and pay the proceeds thereof to those who may be
ascertained to have valid claims against the District of Columbia.
U.S. GRANT.
VETO MESSAGES.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, April 10, 1874_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
I have the honor to herewith return to you without my approval House
bill No. 1224, entitled "An act for the relief of William H. Denniston,
late an acting second lieutenant, Seventieth New York Volunteers,"
for the reasons set forth in the accompanying letter of the Secretary
of War.
U.S. GRANT.
WAR DEPARTMENT, _Washington, D.C., April 8, 1874_.
The PRESIDENT.
SIR: I have the honor to return House bill No. 1224, "for the relief of
William H. Denniston, late an acting second lieutenant, Seventieth New
York Volunteers," with the remark that the name of William H. Denniston,
as an officer or private, is not borne on any rolls of the Seventieth
New York Volunteers on file in the Department. Of this fact the
Committee on Military Affairs of the House of Representatives was
informed by letter from the Adjutant-General's Office dated December
19, 1873.
No vacancy existed in Company D (the company claimed) of this regiment
for a second lieutenant during the period claimed, Second Lieutenant
J.B. Zeigler having filled that position to May 6, 1862, and Second
Lieutenant James Stevenson from that date to June 25, 1862. On
regimental return for July, 1862, Edward Shields is reported promoted
second lieutenant June 15, 1862.
There is no evidence in the Department that he actually served as a
second lieutenant for the time covered by the bill herewith, and it is
therefore respectfully recommended that the bill be returned to the
House of Representatives without approval.
When the records of the War Department, prepared under laws and
regulations having in view the establishment and preservation of data
necessary to the protection of the public interests as well as that of
the claimants, fail to show service, it is a subject of importance to
legalize a claim wherein the military department of the Government
has not seen the order under which the alleged service may have been
claimed. A precedent of the kind is beyond doubt an injury to the public
interest, and will tend to other special acts of relief under which
thousands of muster rolls certified at the date, under the Articles of
War, as exhibiting the true state of the command will be invalidated,
and large appropriations of money will be required to settle claims the
justness of which can not always be determined at a date so remote from
their origin.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
WM. W. BELKNAP,
_Secretary of War_.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 22, 1874_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
Herewith I return Senate bill No. 617, entitled "An act to fix the
amount of United States notes and the circulation of national banks,
and for other purposes," without my approval.
In doing so I must express my regret at not being able to give my assent
to a measure which has received the sanction of a majority of the
legislators chosen by the people to make laws for their guidance, and
I have studiously sought to find sufficient arguments to justify such
assent, but unsuccessfully.
Practically it is a question whether the measure under discussion would
give an additional dollar to the irredeemable paper currency of the
country or not, and whether by requiring three-fourths of the reserve to
be retained by the banks and prohibiting interest to be received on the
balance it might not prove a contraction.
But the fact can not be concealed that theoretically the bill increases
the paper circulation $100,000,000, less only the amount of reserves
restrained from circulation by the provision of the second section. The
measure has been supported on the theory that it would give increased
circulation. It is a fair inference, therefore, that if in practice the
measure should fail to create the abundance of circulation expected of
it the friends of the measure, particularly those out of Congress, would
clamor for such inflation as would give the expected relief.
The theory, in my belief, is a departure from true principles of
finance, national interest, national obligations to creditors,
Congressional promises, party pledges (on the part of both political
parties), and of personal views and promises made by me in every annual
message sent to Congress and in each inaugural address.
In my annual message to Congress in December, 1869, the following
passages appear:
Among the evils growing out of the rebellion, and not yet referred to,
is that of an irredeemable currency. It is an evil which I hope will
receive your most earnest attention. It is a duty, and one of the
highest duties, of Government to secure to the citizen a medium of
exchange of fixed, unvarying value. This implies a return to a specie
basis, and no substitute for it can be devised. It should be commenced
now and reached at the earliest practicable moment consistent with a
fair regard to the interests of the debtor class. Immediate resumption,
if practicable, would not be desirable. It would compel the debtor
class to pay, beyond their contracts, the premium on gold at the date
of their purchase, and would bring bankruptcy and ruin to thousands.
Fluctuation, however, in the paper value of the measure of all values
(gold) is detrimental to the interests of trade. It makes the man of
business an involuntary gambler, for in all sales where future payment
is to be made both parties speculate as to what will be the value of
the currency to be paid and received. I earnestly recommend to you,
then, such legislation as will insure a gradual return to specie
payments and put an immediate stop to fluctuations in the value of
currency.
I still adhere to the views then expressed.
As early as December 4, 1865, the House of Representatives passed a
resolution, by a vote of 144 yeas to 6 nays, concurring "in the views
of the Secretary of the Treasury in relation to the necessity of a
contraction of the currency, with a view to as early a resumption of
specie payments as the business interests of the country will permit,"
and pledging "cooperative action to this end as speedily as possible."
The first act passed by the Forty-first Congress, [approved] on the 18th
day of March, 1869, was as follows:
AN ACT to strengthen the public credit.
_Be it enacted, etc._, That in order to remove any doubt as to the
purpose of the Government to discharge all just obligations to the
public creditors, and to settle conflicting questions and
interpretations of the law by virtue of which such obligations have
been contracted, it is hereby provided and declared that the faith of
the United States is solemnly pledged to the payment in coin or its
equivalent of all the obligations of the United States not bearing
interest, known as United States notes, and all the interest-bearing
obligations of the United States, except in cases where the law
authorizing the issue of any such obligation has expressly provided that
the same may be paid in lawful money or in other currency than gold and
silver; but none of the said interest-bearing obligations not already
due shall be redeemed or paid before maturity unless at such time United
States notes shall be convertible into coin at the option of the holder,
or unless at such time bonds of the United States bearing a lower rate
of interest than the bonds to be redeemed can be sold at par in coin.
And the United States also solemnly pledges its faith to make provision
at the earliest practicable period for the redemption of the United
States notes in coin.
This act still remains as a continuing pledge of the faith of the United
States "to make provision at the earliest practicable period for the
redemption of the United States notes in coin."
A declaration contained in the act of June 30, 1864, created an
obligation that the total amount of United States notes issued or
to be issued should never exceed $400,000,000. The amount in actual
circulation was actually reduced to $356,000,000, at which point
Congress passed the act of February 4, 1868, suspending the further
reduction of the currency. The forty-four millions have ever been
regarded as a reserve, to be used only in case of emergency, such as
has occurred on several occasions, and must occur when from any cause
revenues suddenly fall below expenditures; and such a reserve is
necessary, because the fractional currency, amounting to fifty millions,
is redeemable in legal tender on call.
It may be said that such a return of fractional currency for redemption
is impossible; but let steps be taken for a return to a specie basis and
it will be found that silver will take the place of fractional currency
as rapidly as it can be supplied, when the premium on gold reaches a
sufficiently low point. With the amount of United States notes to be
issued permanently fixed within proper limits and the Treasury so
strengthened as to be able to redeem them in coin on demand it will then
be safe to inaugurate a system of free banking with such provisions as
to make compulsory redemption of the circulating notes of the banks in
coin, or in United States notes, themselves redeemable and made
equivalent to coin.
As a measure preparatory to free banking, and for placing the Government
in a condition to redeem its notes in coin "at the earliest practicable
period," the revenues of the country should be increased so as to pay
current expenses, provide for the sinking fund required by law, and also
a surplus to be retained in the Treasury in gold.
I am not a believer in any artificial method of making paper money equal
to coin when the coin is not owned or held ready to redeem the promises
to pay, for paper money is nothing more than promises to pay, and is
valuable exactly in proportion to the amount of coin that it can be
converted into. While coin is not used as a circulating medium, or the
currency of the country is not convertible into it at par, it becomes an
article of commerce as much as any other product. The surplus will seek
a foreign market as will any other surplus. The balance of trade has
nothing to do with the question. Duties on imports being required in
coin creates a limited demand for gold. About enough to satisfy that
demand remains in the country. To increase this supply I see no way open
but by the Government hoarding through the means above given, and
possibly by requiring the national banks to aid.
It is claimed by the advocates of the measure herewith returned that
there is an unequal distribution of the banking capital of the country.
I was disposed to give great weight to this view of the question at
first, but on reflection it will be remembered that there still remains
$4,000,000 of authorized bank-note circulation assigned to States having
less than their quota not yet taken. In addition to this the States
having less than their quota of bank circulation have the option of
twenty-five millions more to be taken from those States having more than
their proportion. When this is all taken up, or when specie payments are
fully restored or are in rapid process of restoration, will be the time
to consider the question of "more currency."
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 12, 1874_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
I return herewith without my signature House bill No. 1331, entitled
"An act for the relief of Joab Spencer and James R. Mead for supplies
furnished the Kansas tribe of Indians." I withheld my approval of said
bill for reasons which satisfy me the claim should not be allowed for
the entire amount stated in the bill, and which are set forth in the
letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 7th instant, a copy of
which, with the accompanying papers, is herewith transmitted.
U.S. GRANT.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
_Washington, D.C., May 7, 1874_.
The PRESIDENT.
SIR: I have the honor to return herewith engrossed bill H.R. 1331,
entitled "An act for the relief of Joab Spencer and James R. Mead for
supplies furnished the Kansas tribe of Indians," and to state that
said bill was the subject of a report made to the Department by the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs on the 11th ultimo, with which he
submitted letters from Enoch Hoag, superintendent of Indian affairs,
and Mahlon Stubbs, Indian agent, representing that the justness and
correctness of the claim of Spencer & Mead had not been established, and
suggesting that further proceedings in the premises be deferred until a
thorough investigation of the facts and circumstances of the case could
be had.
The suggestion of the Indian agent received the concurrence of the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs and the approval of this Department, and
on the 17th ultimo the attention of Congress was invited to the subject
in a letter addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives by
the Secretary of the Interior. At the latter date the bill appears to
have been pending in the Senate, of which fact this Department at that
time was not informed.
On the 5th instant the engrossed bill (H.R. No. 1331) was received by
reference from the Executive Office, and forwarded to the Commissioner
of Indian Affairs for a further report on the subject, and on the 6th
instant that officer returned said bill to this Department with a letter
presenting his views in relation to the matter and suggesting that the
rights of the Indians and of Messrs. Spencer & Mead would be fully
protected by a modification of the bill authorizing the Secretary of the
Interior to pay such amount of their claim as might be found to be due.
The suggestion meets the approval of this Department.
Copies of the papers connected with this claim are herewith
submitted.[81] I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient
servant,
B.R. COWEN,
_Acting Secretary_.
[Footnote 81: Omitted.]
PROCLAMATIONS.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas certain turbulent and disorderly persons, pretending that
Elisha Baxter, the present executive of Arkansas, was not elected, have
combined together with force and arms to resist his authority as such
executive and other authorities of said State; and
Whereas said Elisha Baxter has been declared duly elected by the general
assembly of said State, as provided in the constitution thereof, and has
for a long period been exercising the functions of said office, into
which he was inducted according to the constitution and laws of said
State, and ought by its citizens to be considered as the lawful
executive thereof; and
Whereas it is provided in the Constitution of the United States that the
United States shall protect every State in the Union, on application of
the legislature, or of the executive when the legislature can not be
convened, against domestic violence; and
Whereas said Elisha Baxter, under section 4 of Article IV of the
Constitution of the United States and the laws passed in pursuance
thereof, has heretofore made application to me to protect said State
and the citizens thereof against domestic violence; and
Whereas the general assembly of said State was convened in extra
session at the capital thereof on the 11th instant, pursuant to a call
made by said Elisha Baxter, and both houses thereof have passed a joint
resolution also applying to me to protect the State 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 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 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 all turbulent and disorderly
persons to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes
within ten days from this date, and hereafter to submit themselves
to the lawful authority of said executive and the other constituted
authorities of said State; and I invoke the aid and cooperation of
all good citizens thereof to uphold law and preserve public peace.
In witness 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 15th day of May, A.D. 1874, and of
the Independence of the United States the ninety-eighth.
[SEAL.]
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 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 it is provided by Article XXXII of the treaty aforesaid
that--
The provisions and stipulations of Articles XVIII to XXV of this
treaty, inclusive, shall extend to the colony of Newfoundland so far
as they are applicable. But if the Imperial Parliament, the legislature
of Newfoundland, or the Congress of the United States shall not embrace
the colony of Newfoundland in their laws enacted for carrying the
foregoing articles into effect, then this article shall be of no
effect; but the omission to make provision by law to give it effect, by
either of the legislative bodies aforesaid, shall not in any way impair
any other articles of this treaty.
And whereas by the second 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 colony of Newfoundland shall give its consent to the
application of the stipulations and provisions of the said articles
eighteenth to twenty-fifth of said treaty, inclusive, to that colony,
and the legislature thereof and the Imperial Parliament shall pass the
necessary laws for that purpose, the above-enumerated articles, being
the produce of the fisheries of the colony of Newfoundland, shall be
admitted into the United States free of duty from and after the date
of a proclamation by the President of the United States declaring that
he has satisfactory evidence that the said colony of Newfoundland has
consented, in a due and proper manner, to have the provisions of the
said articles eighteenth to twenty-fifth, inclusive, of the said treaty
extended to it, and to allow the United States the full benefits of
all the stipulations therein contained, and shall be so admitted free
of duty so long as the said articles eighteenth to twenty-fifth,
inclusive, and article thirtieth of said treaty shall remain in force
according to the terms and conditions of article thirty-third of said
treaty.
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 of a conference held by them at
the Department of State in Washington on the 28th day of May, 1874, in
the following language:
PROTOCOL OF A CONFERENCE HELD AT WASHINGTON ON THE 28TH DAY OF MAY,
1874.
Whereas it is provided by Article XXXII of the treaty between the
United States of America and Her Majesty the Queen of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland signed at Washington on the
8th of May, 1871, as follows:
"ARTICLE XXXII.
"It is further agreed that the provisions and stipulations of Articles
XVIII to XXV of this treaty, inclusive, shall extend to the colony
of Newfoundland so far as they are applicable. But if the Imperial
Parliament, the legislature of Newfoundland, or the Congress of the
United States shall not embrace the colony of Newfoundland in their
laws enacted for carrying the foregoing articles into effect, then this
article shall be of no effect; but the omission to make provision by
law to give it effect, by either of the legislative bodies aforesaid,
shall not in any way impair any other articles of this treaty;" 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, 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 of May, 1871, relating to fisheries," by which act it is provided:
"SEC. 2. That whenever the colony of Newfoundland shall give its
consent to the application of the stipulations and provisions of the
said articles eighteenth to twenty-fifth of said treaty, inclusive, to
that colony, and the legislature thereof and the Imperial Parliament
shall pass the necessary laws for that purpose, the above-enumerated
articles, being the produce of the fisheries of the colony of
Newfoundland, shall be admitted into the United States free of duty
from and after the date of a proclamation by the President of the
United States declaring that he has satisfactory evidence that the said
colony of Newfoundland has consented, in a due and proper manner, to
have the provisions of the said articles eighteenth to twenty-fifth,
inclusive, of the said treaty extended to it, and to allow the United
States the full benefits of all the stipulations therein contained,
and shall be so admitted free of duty so long as the said articles
eighteenth to twenty-fifth, inclusive, and article thirtieth of said
treaty shall remain in force according to the terms and conditions of
article thirty-third of said treaty;" and
Whereas an act was passed by the governor, legislative council, and
assembly of Newfoundland, in legislative session convened, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her Majesty's reign, and assented to by Her
Majesty on the 12th day of May, 1874, intituled "An act to carry into
effect the provisions of the treaty of Washington as far as they relate
to this colony:"
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 Articles XXX and XXXII
of the treaty aforesaid into operation have been passed by the Congress
of the United States on the one part, and by the Imperial Parliament of
Great Britain, by the parliament of Canada, and by the legislature of
Prince Edwards Island and the legislature of Newfoundland on the other,
hereby declare that Articles XVIII to XXV, inclusive, and Article XXX
of the treaty between the United States of America and Her Britannic
Majesty shall take effect in accordance with Article XXXIII of said
treaty between the citizens of the United States of America and Her
Majesty's subjects in the colony of Newfoundland on the 1st day of
June next.
In witness whereof the undersigned have signed this protocol and have
hereunto affixed their seals.
Done in duplicate at Washington, this 28th day of May, 1874.
[SEAL.] HAMILTON FISH.
[SEAL.] 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 and the legislature of Newfoundland 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.
Done at the city of Washington, this 29th day of May, A.D. 1874, and of
the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-eighth.
[SEAL.]
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas it has been satisfactorily represented to me that turbulent
and disorderly persons have combined together with force and arms to
overthrow the State government of Louisiana and to resist the laws and
constituted authorities of said State; 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 five 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.
Done at the city of Washington, this 15th day of September, A.D. 1874,
and of the Independence of the United States the ninety-ninth.
[SEAL.]
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
We are reminded by the changing seasons that it is time to pause in our
daily avocations and offer thanks to Almighty God for the mercies and
abundance of the year which is drawing to a close.
The blessings of free government continue to be vouchsafed to us; the
earth has responded to the labor of the husbandman; the land has been
free from pestilence; internal order is being maintained, and peace
with other powers has prevailed.
It is fitting that at stated periods we should cease from our
accustomed pursuits and from the turmoil of our daily lives and unite
in thankfulness for the blessings of the past and in the cultivation of
kindly feelings toward each other.
Now, therefore, recognizing these considerations, I, Ulysses S. Grant,
President of the United States, do recommend to all citizens to
assemble in their respective places of worship on Thursday, the 26th
day of November next, and express their thanks for the mercy and favor
of Almighty God, and, laying aside all political contentions and all
secular occupations, to observe such day as a day of rest,
thanksgiving, and praise.
In witness 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 27th day of October, A.D. 1874,
and of the Independence of the United States the ninety-ninth.
[SEAL.]
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas, pursuant to the second section of the act of Congress approved
the 23d of March last, entitled "An act to authorize the President to
accept for citizens of the United States the jurisdiction of certain
tribunals in the Ottoman dominions and Egypt, established or to be
established under the authority of the Sublime Porte and of the
Government of Egypt," the President is authorized, for the benefit of
American citizens residing in the Turkish dominions, to accept the
recent law of the Ottoman Porte ceding the right of foreigners
possessing immovable property in said dominions; and
Whereas, pursuant to the authority thus in me vested, I have authorized
George H. Boker, accredited as minister resident of the United States
to the Ottoman Porte, to sign on behalf of this Government the protocol
accepting the law aforesaid of the said Ottoman Porte, which protocol
and law are, word for word, as follows:
[Translation.]
The United States of America and His Majesty the Sultan being desirous
to establish by a special act the agreement entered upon between them
regarding the admission of American citizens to the right of holding
real estate granted to foreigners by the law promulgated on the 7th of
Sepher, 1284 (January 18, 1867), have authorized:
The President of the United States of America, George H. Boker,
minister resident of the United States of America near the Sublime
Porte, and
His Imperial Majesty the Sultan, His Excellency A. Aarifi Pasha, his
minister of foreign affairs, to sign the protocol which follows:
PROTOCOL.
The law granting foreigners the right of holding real estate does not
interfere with the immunities specified by the treaties, and which will
continue to protect the person and the movable property of foreigners
who may become owners of real estate.
As the exercise of this right of possessing real property may induce
foreigners to establish themselves in larger numbers in the Ottoman
Empire, the Imperial Government thinks it proper to anticipate and to
prevent the difficulties to which the application of this law may give
rise in certain localities. Such is the object of the arrangements
which follow:
The domicile of any person residing upon the Ottoman soil being
inviolable, and as no one can enter it without the consent of the
owner, except by virtue of orders emanating from competent authority
and with the assistance of the magistrate or functionary invested with
the necessary powers, the residence of foreigners is inviolable on the
same principle, in conformity with the treaties, and the agents of the
public force can not enter it without the assistance of the consul or
of the delegate of the consul of the power on which the foreigner
depends.
By residence we understand the house of inhabitation and its
dependencies; that is to say, the outhouses, courts, gardens, and
neighboring inclosures, to the exclusion of all other parts of the
property.
In the localities distant by less than nine hours' journey from the
consular residence, the agents of the public force can not enter the
residence of a foreigner without the assistance of a consul, as was
before said.
On his part the consul is bound to give his immediate assistance to the
local authority so as not to let six hours elapse between the moment
which he may be informed and the moment of his departure or the
departure of his delegate, so that the action of the authorities may
never be suspended more than twenty-four hours.
In the localities distant by nine hours or more than nine hours of
travel from the residence of the consular agent, the agents of the
public force may, on the request of the local authority, and with the
assistance of three members of the council of the elders of the commune,
enter into the residence of a foreigner without being assisted by the
consular agent, but only in case of urgency and for the search and the
proof of the crime of murder, of attempt at murder, of incendiarism, of
armed robbery either with infraction or by night in an inhabited house,
of armed rebellion, and of the fabrication of counterfeit money; and
this entry may be made whether the crime was committed by a foreigner or
by an Ottoman subject, and whether it took place in the residence of a
foreigner or not in his residence, or in any other place.
These regulations are not applicable but to the parts of the real estate
which constitute the residence, as it has been heretofore defined.
Beyond the residence the action of the police shall be exercised freely
and without reserve; but in case a person charged with crime or offense
should be arrested, and the accused shall be a foreigner, the immunities
attached to his person shall be observed in respect to him.
The functionary or the officer charged with the accomplishment of a
domiciliary visit in the exceptional circumstances determined before,
and the members of the council of elders who shall assist him, will be
obliged to make out a _procès verbal_ of the domiciliary visit and to
communicate it immediately to the superior authority under whose
jurisdiction they are, and the latter shall transmit it to the nearest
consular agent without delay.
A special regulation will be promulgated by the Sublime Porte to
determine the mode of action of the local police in the several cases
provided heretofore.
In localities more distant than nine hours' travel from the residence
of the consular agent, in which the law of the judicial organization
of the _velayet_ may be in force, foreigners shall be tried without the
assistance of the consular delegate by the council of elders fulfilling
the function of justices of the peace, and by the tribunal of the
canton, as well for actions not exceeding 1,000 piasters as for offenses
entailing a fine of 500 piasters only at the maximum.
Foreigners shall have in any case the right of appeal to the tribunal of
the arrondissement against the judgments issued as above stated, and the
appeal shall be followed and judged with the assistance of the consul in
conformity with the treaties.
The appeal shall always suspend the execution of a sentence.
In all cases the forcible execution of the judgments, issued on the
conditions determined heretofore, shall not take place without the
cooperation of the consul or of his delegate.
The Imperial Government will enact a law which shall determine the rules
of procedure to be observed by the parties in the application of the
preceding regulations.
Foreigners, in whatever locality they may be, may freely submit
themselves to the jurisdiction of the council of elders or of the
tribunal of the canton without the assistance of the consul in cases
which do not exceed the competency of these councils or tribunals,
reserving always the right of appeal before the tribunal of the
arrondissement, where the case may be brought and tried with the
assistance of the consul or his delegate.
The consent of a foreigner to be tried as above stated, without the
assistance of his consul, shall always be given in writing and in
advance of all procedure.
It is well understood that all these restrictions do not concern cases
which have for their object questions of real estate, which shall be
tried and determined under the conditions established by the law.
The right of defense and the publicity of the hearings shall be assured
in all cases to foreigners who may appear before the Ottoman tribunals,
as well as to Ottoman subjects.
The preceding dispositions shall remain in force until the revision of
the ancient treaties, a revision which the Sublime Porte reserves to
itself the right to bring about hereafter by an understanding between it
and the friendly powers.
In witness whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the
protocol and have affixed thereto their seals.
Done at Constantinople the 11th of August, 1874.
[SEAL.] (Signed) A. AARIFI.
[SEAL.] (Signed) GEO. H. BOKER.
[Translation.]
LAW CONCEDING TO FOREIGNERS THE RIGHT OF HOLDING REAL ESTATE IN THE
OTTOMAN EMPIRE.
Imperial Rescript.--Let it be done in conformity with the contents.
7 Sepher, 1284 (January 18, 1867).
With the object of developing the prosperity of the country, to put an
end to the difficulties, to the abuses, and to the uncertainties which
have arisen on the subject of the right of foreigners to hold property
in the Ottoman Empire, and to complete, in accordance with a precise
regulation, the safeguards which are due to financial interests and to
administrative action, the following legislative enactments have been
promulgated by the order of His Imperial Majesty the Sultan:
ARTICLE I. Foreigners are admitted by the same privilege as Ottoman
subjects, and without any other restriction, to enjoy the right of
holding real estate, whether in the city or the country, throughout the
Empire, with the exception of the Province of the Hédjaz, by submitting
themselves to the laws and the regulations which govern Ottoman subjects
as is hereafter stated.
This arrangement does not concern subjects of Ottoman birth who have
changed their nationality, who shall be governed in this matter by a
special law.
ART. II. Foreigners, proprietors of real estate in town or in country,
are in consequence placed upon terms of equality with Ottoman subjects
in all things that concern their landed property.
The legal effect of this equality is--
First. To oblige them to conform to all the laws and regulations of the
police or of the municipality which govern at present or may govern
hereafter the enjoyment, the transmission, the alienation, and the
hypothecation of landed property.
Second. To pay all charges and taxes, under whatever form or
denomination they may be, that are levied, or may be levied hereafter,
upon city or country property.
Third. To render them directly amenable to the Ottoman civil tribunals
in all questions relating to landed property and in all real actions,
whether as plaintiffs or as defendants, even when either party is a
foreigner. In short, they are in all things to hold real estate by the
same title, on the same condition, and under the same forms as Ottoman
owners, and without being able to avail themselves of their personal
nationality, except under the reserve of the immunities attached to
their persons and their movable goods, according to the treaties.
ART. III. In case of the bankruptcy of a foreigner possessing real
estate, the assignees of the bankrupt may apply to the authorities and
to the Ottoman civil tribunals requiring the sale of the real estate
possessed by the bankrupt, and which by its nature and according to law
is responsible for the debts of the owner.
The same course shall be followed when a foreigner shall have obtained
against another foreigner owning real estate a judgment of condemnation
before a foreign tribunal.
For the execution of this judgment against the real estate of his debtor
he shall apply to the competent Ottoman authorities in order to obtain
the sale of that real estate which is responsible for the debts of the
owner; and this judgment shall be executed by the Ottoman authorities
and tribunals only after they have decided that the real estate of which
the sale is required really belongs to the category of that property
which may be sold for the payment of debt.
ART. IV. Foreigners have the privilege to dispose, by donation or by
testament, of that real estate of which such disposition is permitted
by law.
As to that real estate of which they may not have disposed or of which
the law does not permit them to dispose by gift or testament, its
succession shall be governed in accordance with Ottoman law.
ART. V. All foreigners shall enjoy the privileges of the present law as
soon as the powers on which they depend shall agree to the arrangements
proposed by the Sublime Porte for the exercise of the right to hold real
estate.
Now, therefore, be it known that I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the
United States of America, have caused the said protocol and law to be
made public for the information and guidance of citizens of the United
States.
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 29th day of October, A.D. 1874, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-ninth.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
EXECUTIVE ORDER.
WASHINGTON, _January 23, 1874_.
Whereas it has been brought to the notice of the President of the United
States that in the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and
Products of the Soil and Mine to be held in the city of Philadelphia
in the year 1876 for the purpose of celebrating the one hundredth
anniversary of the independence of the United States it is desirable
that from the Executive Departments of the Government of the United
States in which there may be articles suitable for the purpose intended
there should appear such articles and materials as will, when presented
in a collective exhibition, illustrate the functions and administrative
faculties of the Government in time of peace and its resources as a war
power, and thereby serve to demonstrate the nature of our institutions
and their adaptations to the wants of the people:
Now, for the purpose of securing a complete and harmonious arrangement
of the articles and materials designed to be exhibited from the
Executive Departments of the Government, it is ordered that a board
to be composed of one person to be named by the head of each of the
Executive Departments which may have articles and materials to be
exhibited, and also of one person to be named in behalf of the
Smithsonian Institution and one to be named in behalf of the Department
of Agriculture, be charged with the preparation, arrangement, and
safe-keeping of such articles and materials as the heads of the several
Departments and the Commissioner of Agriculture and the Director of the
Smithsonian Institution may respectively decide shall be embraced in the
collection; that one of the persons thus named, to be designated by the
President, shall be chairman of such board, and that the board appoint
from their own number such other officers as they may think necessary;
and that the said board when organized be authorized, under the
direction of the President, to confer with the executive officers of the
Centennial Exhibition in relation to such matters connected with the
subject as may pertain to the respective Departments having articles
and materials on exhibition; and that the names of the persons thus
selected by the heads of the several Departments, the Commissioner of
Agriculture, and the Director of the Smithsonian Institution shall be
submitted to the President for designation.
By order of the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
GENERAL ORDERS, No. 22.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
_Washington, March 9, 1874_.
I. The following order has been received from the President of the
United States:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, March 9, 1874_.
It is with deep regret that the President announces to the people of
the United States the death of Millard Fillmore, one of his honored
predecessors, who died at Buffalo, N.Y., last evening.
The long-continued and useful public service and eminent purity of
character of the deceased ex-President will be remembered beyond the
days of mourning in which a nation will be thrown by the event which
is thus announced.
As a mark of respect to his memory, it is ordered that the Executive
Mansion and the several Departments at Washington be draped in mourning
until the close of the day on which the funeral shall take place, and
that all business be suspended on the day of the funeral.
It is further ordered that the War and Navy Departments cause suitable
military and naval honors to be paid on the occasion to the memory of
the eminent citizen whose life is now closed.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
II. In compliance with the President's instructions, the troops will be
paraded at 10 o'clock a.m. on the day after the receipt of this order at
each military post, when the order will be read to them, and the labors
of that day will thereafter cease.
The national flag will be displayed at half-staff.
At dawn of day thirteen guns will be fired, and afterwards at intervals
of thirty minutes between the rising and setting sun a single gun, and
at the close of the day a national salute of thirty-seven guns.
The officers of the Army will wear crape on the left arm and on their
swords and the colors of the several regiments will be put in mourning
for the period of thirty days.
By order of the Secretary of War:
E.D. TOWNSEND,
_Adjutant-General_.
SPECIAL ORDER.
NAVY DEPARTMENT, _Washington, March 9, 1874_.
The President of the United States announces the death of ex-President
Millard Fillmore in the following order:
[For order see preceding page.]
In pursuance of the foregoing order, it is hereby directed that the
ensign at each naval station and of each vessel of the United States
Navy in commission be hoisted at half-mast from sunrise to sunset, and
that a gun be fired at intervals of every half hour from sunrise to
sunset at each naval station and on board of flagships and of vessels
acting singly, on Thursday, the 12th instant, the day of the funeral,
where this order may be received in time, otherwise on the day after
its receipt.
The officers of the Navy and Marine Corps will wear the usual badge of
mourning attached to the sword hilt and on the left arm for the period
of thirty days.
GEO. M. ROBESON,
_Secretary of the Navy_.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, D.C., May 27, 1874_.
SIR:[82] 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 to participate 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 82: Addressed to the heads of the Executive Departments, etc.]
WASHINGTON, _May 29, 1874_.
The Civil Service Commission, at its sessions at Washington, having
recommended certain rules[83] to be prescribed by the President for the
government of the Light-House Service of the United States, these rules
as herewith published are approved, and their provisions will be
enforced by the proper officers.
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 83: Omitted.]
AUGUST 31, 1874.
It appearing to me from their trial at Washington and at the city of New
York that the further extension of the civil-service rules will promote
the efficiency of the public service, it is ordered that such rules be,
and they are hereby, extended to the several Federal offices at the city
and in the customs district of Boston, and that the proper measures be
taken for carrying this order into effect.
U.S. GRANT.
SIXTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 7, 1874_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
Since the convening of Congress one year ago the nation has undergone a
prostration in business and industries such as has not been witnessed
with us for many years. Speculation as to the causes for this
prostration might be indulged in without profit, because as many
theories would be advanced as there would be independent writers--those
who expressed their own views without borrowing--upon the subject.
Without indulging in theories as to the cause of this prostration,
therefore, I will call your attention only to the fact, and to some
plain questions as to which it would seem there should be no
disagreement.
During this prostration two essential elements of prosperity have been
most abundant--labor and capital. Both have been largely unemployed.
Where security has been undoubted, capital has been attainable at
very moderate rates. Where labor has been wanted, it has been found
in abundance, at cheap rates compared with what--of necessaries and
comforts of life--could be purchased with the wages demanded. Two great
elements of prosperity, therefore, have not been denied us. A third
might be added: Our soil and climate are unequaled, within the limits
of any contiguous territory under one nationality, for its variety of
products to feed and clothe a people and in the amount of surplus to
spare to feed less favored peoples. Therefore, with these facts in view,
it seems to me that wise statesmanship, at this session of Congress,
would dictate legislation ignoring the past; directing in proper
channels these great elements of prosperity to any people. Debt, debt
abroad, is the only element that can, with always a sound currency,
enter into our affairs to cause any continued depression in the
industries and prosperity of our people.
A great conflict for national existence made necessary, for
temporary purposes, the raising of large sums of money from whatever
source attainable. It made it necessary, in the wisdom of Congress--and
I do not doubt their wisdom in the premises, regarding the necessity
of the times--to devise a system of national currency which it proved
to be impossible to keep on a par with the recognized currency of
the civilized world. This begot a spirit of speculation involving an
extravagance and luxury not required for the happiness or prosperity
of a people, and involving, both directly and indirectly, foreign
indebtedness. The currency, being of fluctuating value, and therefore
unsafe to hold for legitimate transactions requiring money, became a
subject of speculation within itself. These two causes, however, have
involved us in a foreign indebtedness, contracted in good faith by
borrower and lender, which should be paid in coin, and according to the
bond agreed upon when the debt was contracted--gold or its equivalent.
The good faith of the Government can not be violated toward creditors
without national disgrace. But our commerce should be encouraged;
American shipbuilding and carrying capacity increased; foreign markets
sought for products of the soil and manufactories, to the end that
we may be able to pay these debts. Where a new market can be created
for the sale of our products, either of the soil, the mine, or the
manufactory, a new means is discovered of utilizing our idle capital and
labor to the advantage of the whole people. But, in my judgment, the
first step toward accomplishing this object is to secure a currency of
fixed, stable value; a currency good wherever civilization reigns; one
which, if it becomes superabundant with one people, will find a market
with some other; a currency which has as its basis the labor necessary
to produce it, which will give to it its value. Gold and silver are
now the recognized medium of exchange the civilized world over, and to
this we should return with the least practicable delay. In view of the
pledges of the American Congress when our present legal-tender system
was adopted, and debt contracted, there should be no delay--certainly
no unnecessary delay--in fixing by legislation a method by which we
will return to specie. To the accomplishment of this end I invite your
special attention. I believe firmly that there can be no prosperous
and permanent revival of business and industries until a policy is
adopted--with legislation to carry it out--looking to a return to a
specie basis. It is easy to conceive that the debtor and speculative
classes may think it of value to them to make so-called money abundant
until they can throw a portion of their burdens upon others. But even
these, I believe, would be disappointed in the result if a course should
be pursued which will keep in doubt the value of the legal-tender medium
of exchange. A revival of productive industry is needed by all classes;
by none more than the holders of property, of whatever sort, with debts
to liquidate from realization upon its sale. But admitting that these
two classes of citizens are to be benefited by expansion, would it be
honest to give it? Would not the general loss be too great to justify
such relief? Would it not be just as honest and prudent to authorize
each debtor to issue his own legal-tenders to the extent of his
liabilities? Than to do this, would it not be safer, for fear of
overissues by unscrupulous creditors, to say that all debt obligations
are obliterated in the United States, and now we commence anew, each
possessing all he has at the time free from incumbrance? These
propositions are too absurd to be entertained for a moment by thinking
or honest people. Yet every delay in preparation for final resumption
partakes of this dishonesty, and is only less in degree as the hope is
held out that a convenient season will at last arrive for the good work
of redeeming our pledges to commence. It will never come, in my opinion,
except by positive action by Congress, or by national disasters which
will destroy, for a time at least, the credit of the individual and the
State at large. A sound currency might be reached by total bankruptcy
and discredit of the integrity of the nation and of individuals.
I believe it is in the power of Congress at this session to devise such
legislation as will renew confidence, revive all the industries, start
us on a career of prosperity to last for many years and to save the
credit of the nation and of the people. Steps toward the return to a
specie basis are the great requisites to this devoutly to be sought
for end. There are others which I may touch upon hereafter.
A nation dealing in a currency below that of specie in value labors
under two great disadvantages: First, having no use for the world's
acknowledged medium of exchange, gold and silver, these are driven out
of the country because there is no need for their use; second, the
medium of exchange in use being of a fluctuating value--for, after all,
it is only worth just what it will purchase of gold and silver, metals
having an intrinsic value just in proportion to the honest labor it
takes to produce them--a larger margin must be allowed for profit by the
manufacturer and producer. It is months from the date of production to
the date of realization. Interest upon capital must be charged, and
risk of fluctuation in the value of that which is to be received in
payment added. Hence high prices, acting as a protection to the foreign
producer, who receives nothing in exchange for the products of his skill
and labor except a currency good, at a stable value, the world over.
It seems to me that nothing is clearer than that the greater part of
the burden of existing prostration, for the want of a sound financial
system, falls upon the working man, who must after all produce the
wealth, and the salaried man, who superintends and conducts business.
The burden falls upon them in two ways--by the deprivation of employment
and by the decreased purchasing power of their salaries. It is the duty
of Congress to devise the method of correcting the evils which are
acknowledged to exist, and not mine. But I will venture to suggest two
or three things which seem to me as absolutely necessary to a return to
specie payments, the first great requisite in a return to prosperity.
The legal-tender clause to the law authorizing the issue of currency
by the National Government should be repealed, to take effect as to
all contracts entered into after a day fixed in the repealing act--not
to apply, however, to payments of salaries by Government, or for other
expenditures now provided by law to be paid in currency, in the interval
pending between repeal and final resumption. Provision should be made
by which the Secretary of the Treasury can obtain gold as it may become
necessary from time to time from the date when specie redemption
commences. To this might and should be added a revenue sufficiently in
excess of expenses to insure an accumulation of gold in the Treasury
to sustain permanent redemption.
I commend this subject to your careful consideration, believing that a
favorable solution is attainable, and if reached by this Congress that
the present and future generations will ever gratefully remember it as
their deliverer from a thraldom of evil and disgrace.
With resumption, free banking may be authorized with safety, giving the
same full protection to bill holders which they have under existing
laws. Indeed, I would regard free banking as essential. It would give
proper elasticity to the currency. As more currency should be required
for the transaction of legitimate business, new banks would be started,
and in turn banks would wind up their business when it was found that
there was a superabundance of currency. The experience and judgment of
the people can best decide just how much currency is required for the
transaction of the business of the country. It is unsafe to leave the
settlement of this question to Congress, the Secretary of the Treasury,
or the Executive. Congress should make the regulation under which banks
may exist, but should not make banking a monopoly by limiting the amount
of redeemable paper currency that shall be authorized. Such importance
do I attach to this subject, and so earnestly do I commend it to your
attention, that I give it prominence by introducing it at the beginning
of this message.
During the past year nothing has occurred to disturb the general
friendly and cordial relations of the United States with other powers.
The correspondence submitted herewith between this Government and its
diplomatic representatives, as also with the representatives of other
countries, shows a satisfactory condition of all questions between the
United States and the most of those countries, and with few exceptions,
to which reference is hereafter made, the absence of any points of
difference to be adjusted.
The notice directed by the resolution of Congress of June 17, 1874,
to be given to terminate the convention of July 17, 1858, between
the United States and Belgium has been given, and the treaty will
accordingly terminate on the 1st day of July, 1875. This convention
secured to certain Belgian vessels entering the ports of the United
States exceptional privileges which are not accorded to our own vessels.
Other features of the convention have proved satisfactory, and have
tended to the cultivation of mutually beneficial commercial intercourse
and friendly relations between the two countries. I hope that
negotiations which have been invited will result in the celebration
of another treaty which may tend to the interests of both countries.
Our relations with China continue to be friendly. During the past year
the fear of hostilities between China and Japan, growing out of the
landing of an armed force upon the island of Formosa by the latter,
has occasioned uneasiness. It is earnestly hoped, however, that the
difficulties arising from this cause will be adjusted, and that the
advance of civilization in these Empires may not be retarded by a state
of war. In consequence of the part taken by certain citizens of the
United States in this expedition, our representatives in those countries
have been instructed to impress upon the Governments of China and Japan
the firm intention of this country to maintain strict neutrality in the
event of hostilities, and to carefully prevent any infraction of law on
the part of our citizens.
In connection with this subject I call the attention of Congress to
a generally conceded fact--that the great proportion of the Chinese
immigrants who come to our shores do not come voluntarily, to make their
homes with us and their labor productive of general prosperity, but come
under contracts with headmen, who own them almost absolutely. In a worse
form does this apply to Chinese women. Hardly a perceptible percentage
of them perform any honorable labor, but they are brought for shameful
purposes, to the disgrace of the communities where settled and to the
great demoralization of the youth of those localities. If this evil
practice can be legislated against, it will be my pleasure as well
as duty to enforce any regulation to secure so desirable an end.
It is hoped that negotiations between the Government of Japan and the
treaty powers, looking to the further opening of the Empire and to the
removal of various restrictions upon trade and travel, may soon produce
the results desired, which can not fail to inure to the benefit of all
the parties. Having on previous occasions submitted to the consideration
of Congress the propriety of the release of the Japanese Government from
the further payment of the indemnity under the convention of October 22,
1864, and as no action had been taken thereon, it became my duty to
regard the obligations of the convention as in force; and as the other
powers interested had received their portion of the indemnity in full,
the minister of the United States in Japan has, in behalf of this
Government, received the remainder of the amount due to the United
States under the convention of Simonosaki. I submit the propriety of
applying the income of a part, if not of the whole, of this fund to the
education in the Japanese language of a number of young men to be under
obligations to serve the Government for a specified time as interpreters
at the legation and the consulates in Japan. A limited number of
Japanese youths might at the same time be educated in our own
vernacular, and mutual benefits would result to both Governments.
The importance of having our own citizens, competent and familiar with
the language of Japan, to act as interpreters and in other capacities
connected with the legation and the consulates in that country can not
readily be overestimated.
The amount awarded to the Government of Great Britain by the mixed
commission organized under the provisions of the treaty of Washington in
settlement of the claims of British subjects arising from acts committed
between April 13, 1861, and April 9, 1865, became payable, under the
terms of the treaty, within the past year, and was paid upon the 21st
day of September, 1874. In this connection I renew my recommendation,
made at the opening of the last session of Congress, that a special
court be created to hear and determine all claims of aliens against
the United States arising from acts committed against their persons or
property during the insurrection. It appears equitable that opportunity
should be offered to citizens of other states to present their claims,
as well as to those British subjects whose claims were not admissible
under the late commission, to the early decision of some competent
tribunal. To this end I recommend the necessary legislation to organize
a court to dispose of all claims of aliens of the nature referred to in
an equitable and satisfactory manner, and to relieve Congress and the
Departments from the consideration of these questions.
The legislation necessary to extend to the colony of Newfoundland
certain articles of the treaty of Washington of the 8th day of May,
1871, having been had, a protocol to that effect was signed in behalf of
the United States and of Great Britain on the 28th day of May last, and
was duly proclaimed on the following day. A copy of the proclamation[84]
is submitted herewith.
A copy of the report of the commissioner appointed under the act of
March 19, 1872, for surveying and marking the boundary between the
United States and the British possessions from the Lake of the Woods to
the summit of the Rocky Mountains is herewith transmitted. I am happy
to announce that the field work of the commission has been completed,
and the entire line from the northwest corner of the Lake of the Woods
to the summit of the Rocky Mountains has been run and marked upon
the surface of the earth. It is believed that the amount remaining
unexpended of the appropriation made at the last session of Congress
will be sufficient to complete the office work. I recommend that the
authority of Congress be given to the use of the unexpended balance of
the appropriation in the completion of the work of the commission in
making its report and preparing the necessary maps.
The court known as the Court of Commissioners of Alabama Claims, created
by an act of Congress of the last session, has organized and commenced
its work, and it is to be hoped that the claims admissible under the
provisions of the act may be speedily ascertained and paid.
It has been deemed advisable to exercise the discretion conferred upon
the Executive at the last session by accepting the conditions required
by the Government of Turkey for the privilege of allowing citizens of
the United States to hold real estate in the former country, and by
assenting to a certain change in the jurisdiction of courts in the
latter. A copy of the proclamation[85] upon these subjects is herewith
communicated.
There has been no material change in our relations with the independent
States of this hemisphere which were formerly under the dominion of
Spain. Marauding on the frontiers between Mexico and Texas still
frequently takes place, despite the vigilance of the civil and military
authorities in that quarter. The difficulty of checking such trespasses
along the course of a river of such length as the Rio Grande, and so
often fordable, is obvious. It is hoped that the efforts of this
Government will be seconded by those of Mexico to the effectual
suppression of these acts of wrong.
From a report upon the condition of the business before the American and
Mexican Joint Claims Commission, made by the agent on the part of the
United States, and dated October 28, 1874, it appears that of the 1,017
claims filed on the part of citizens of the United States, 483 had been
finally decided and 75 were in the hands of the umpire, leaving 462 to
be disposed of; and of the 998 claims filed against the United States,
726 had been finally decided, 1 was before the umpire, and 271 remained
to be disposed of. Since the date of such report other claims have been
disposed of, reducing somewhat the number still pending; and others have
been passed upon by the arbitrators. It has become apparent, in view of
these figures and of the fact that the work devolving on the umpire is
particularly laborious, that the commission will be unable to dispose of
the entire number of claims pending prior to the 1st day of February,
1875--the date fixed for its expiration. Negotiations are pending
looking to the securing of the results of the decisions which have been
reached and to a further extension of the commission for a limited time,
which it is confidently hoped will suffice to bring all the business now
before it to a final close.
The strife in the Argentine Republic is to be deplored, both on account
of the parties thereto and from the probable effects on the interests of
those engaged in the trade to that quarter, of whom the United States
are among the principal. As yet, so far as I am aware, there has been no
violation of our neutrality rights, which, as well as our duties in that
respect, it shall be my endeavor to maintain and observe.
It is with regret I announce that no further payment has been received
from the Government of Venezuela on account of awards in favor of
citizens of the United States. Hopes have been entertained that if that
Republic could escape both foreign and civil war for a few years its
great natural resources would enable it to honor its obligations. Though
it is now understood to be at peace with other countries, a serious
insurrection is reported to be in progress in an important region of
that Republic. This may be taken advantage of as another reason to delay
the payment of the dues of our citizens.
The deplorable strife in Cuba continues without any marked change
in the relative advantages of the contending forces. The insurrection
continues, but Spain has gained no superiority. Six years of strife give
to the insurrection a significance which can not be denied. Its duration
and the tenacity of its adherence, together with the absence of
manifested power of suppression on the part of Spain, can not be
controverted, and may make some positive steps on the part of other
powers a matter of self-necessity. I had confidently hoped at this
time to be able to announce the arrangement of some of the important
questions between this Government and that of Spain, but the
negotiations have been protracted. The unhappy intestine dissensions of
Spain command our profound sympathy, and must be accepted as perhaps
a cause of some delay. An early settlement, in part at least, of the
questions between the Governments is hoped. In the meantime, awaiting
the results of immediately pending negotiations, I defer a further and
fuller communication on the subject of the relations of this country
and Spain.
I have again to call the attention of Congress to the unsatisfactory
condition of the existing laws with reference to expatriation and the
election of nationality. Formerly, amid conflicting opinions and
decisions, it was difficult to exactly determine how far the doctrine of
perpetual allegiance was applicable to citizens of the United States.
Congress by the act of the 27th of July, 1868, asserted the abstract
right of expatriation as a fundamental principle of this Government.
Notwithstanding such assertion and the necessity of frequent application
of the principle, no legislation has been had defining what acts or
formalities shall work expatriation or when a citizen shall be deemed
to have renounced or to have lost his citizenship. The importance of
such definition is obvious. The representatives of the United States in
foreign countries are continually called upon to lend their aid and the
protection of the United States to persons concerning the good faith or
the reality of whose citizenship there is at least great question.
In some cases the provisions of the treaties furnish some guide; in
others it seems left to the person claiming the benefits of citizenship,
while living in a foreign country, contributing in no manner to the
performance of the duties of a citizen of the United States, and without
intention at any time to return and undertake those duties, to use the
claims to citizenship of the United States simply as a shield from the
performance of the obligations of a citizen elsewhere.
The status of children born of American parents residing in a foreign
country, of American women who have married aliens, of American citizens
residing abroad where such question is not regulated by treaty, are all
sources of frequent difficulty and discussion. Legislation on these
and similar questions, and particularly defining when and under what
circumstances expatriation can be accomplished or is to be presumed, is
especially needed. In this connection I earnestly call the attention of
Congress to the difficulties arising from fraudulent naturalization.
The United States wisely, freely, and liberally offers its citizenship
to all who may come in good faith to reside within its limits on their
complying with certain prescribed reasonable and simple formalities and
conditions. Among the highest duties of the Government is that to afford
firm, sufficient, and equal protection to all its citizens, whether
native born or naturalized. Care should be taken that a right carrying
with it such support from the Government should not be fraudulently
obtained, and should be bestowed only upon full proof of a compliance
with the law; and yet frequent instances are brought to the attention
of the Government of illegal and fraudulent naturalization and of the
unauthorized use of certificates thus improperly obtained. In some cases
the fraudulent character of the naturalization has appeared upon the
face of the certificate itself; in others examination discloses that the
holder had not complied with the law, and in others certificates have
been obtained where the persons holding them not only were not entitled
to be naturalized, but had not even been within the United States at the
time of the pretended naturalization. Instances of each of these classes
of fraud are discovered at our legations, where the certificates of
naturalization are presented either for the purpose of obtaining
passports or in demanding the protection of the legation. When the fraud
is apparent on the face of such certificates, they are taken up by the
representatives of the Government and forwarded to the Department of
State. But even then the record of the court in which the fraudulent
naturalization occurred remains, and duplicate certificates are readily
obtainable. Upon the presentation of these for the issue of passports or
in demanding protection of the Government, the fraud sometimes escapes
notice, and such certificates are not infrequently used in transactions
of business to the deception and injury of innocent parties. Without
placing any additional obstacles in the way of the obtainment of
citizenship by the worthy and well-intentioned foreigner who comes in
good faith to cast his lot with ours, I earnestly recommend further
legislation to punish fraudulent naturalization and to secure the ready
cancellation of the record of every naturalization made in fraud.
Since my last annual message the exchange has been made of the
ratification of treaties of extradition with Belgium, Ecuador, Peru, and
Salvador; also of a treaty of commerce and navigation with Peru, and one
of commerce and consular privileges with Salvador; all of which have
been duly proclaimed, as has also a declaration with Russia with
reference to trade-marks.
The report of the Secretary of the Treasury, which by law is made
directly to Congress, and forms no part of this message, will show the
receipts and expenditures of the Government for the last fiscal year,
the amount received from each source of revenue, and the amount paid
out for each of the Departments of Government, It will be observed from
this report that the amount of receipts over expenditures has been but
$2,344,882.30 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874, and that for the
current fiscal year the estimated receipts over expenditures will not
much exceed $9,000,000. In view of the large national debt existing and
the obligation to add 1 per cent per annum to the sinking fund, a sum
amounting now to over $34,000,000 per annum, I submit whether revenues
should not be increased or expenditures diminished to reach this amount
of surplus. Not to provide for the sinking fund is a partial failure
to comply with the contracts and obligations of the Government. At the
last session of Congress a very considerable reduction was made in rates
of taxation and in the number of articles submitted to taxation; the
question may well be asked, whether or not, in some instances, unwisely.
In connection with this subject, too, I venture the opinion that the
means of collecting the revenue, especially from imports, have been so
embarrassed by legislation as to make it questionable whether or not
large amounts are not lost by failure to collect, to the direct loss of
the Treasury and to the prejudice of the interests of honest importers
and taxpayers.
The Secretary of the Treasury in his report favors legislation looking
to an early return to specie payments, thus supporting views previously
expressed in this message. He also recommends economy in appropriations;
calls attention to the loss of revenue from repealing the tax on tea and
coffee, without benefit to the consumer; recommends an increase of 10
cents a gallon on whisky, and, further, that no modification be made in
the banking and currency bill passed at the last session of Congress,
unless modification should become necessary by reason of the adoption
of measures for returning to specie payments. In these recommendations
I cordially join.
I would suggest to Congress the propriety of readjusting the tariff so
as to increase the revenue, and at the same time decrease the number of
articles upon which duties are levied. Those articles which enter into
our manufactures and are not produced at home, it seems to me, should
be entered free. Those articles of manufacture which we produce a
constituent part of, but do not produce the whole, that part which we
do not produce should enter free also. I will instance fine wool, dyes,
etc. These articles must be imported to form a part of the manufacture
of the higher grades of woolen goods. Chemicals used as dyes, compounded
in medicines, and used in various ways in manufactures come under this
class. The introduction free of duty of such wools as we do not produce
would stimulate the manufacture of goods requiring the use of those we
do produce, and therefore would be a benefit to home production. There
are many articles entering into "home manufactures" which we do not
produce ourselves the tariff upon which increases the cost of producing
the manufactured article. All corrections in this regard are in the
direction of bringing labor and capital in harmony with each other
and of supplying one of the elements of prosperity so much needed.
The report of the Secretary of War herewith attached, and forming a part
of this message, gives all the information concerning the operations,
wants, and necessities of the Army, and contains many suggestions and
recommendations which I commend to your special attention.
There is no class of Government employees who are harder worked than the
Army--officers and men; none who perform their tasks more cheerfully and
efficiently and under circumstances of greater privations and hardships.
Legislation is desirable to render more efficient this branch of the
public service. All the recommendations of the Secretary of War I regard
as judicious, and I especially commend to your attention the following:
The consolidation of Government arsenals; the restoration of mileage to
officers traveling under orders; the exemption of money received from
the sale of subsistence stores from being covered into the Treasury; the
use of appropriations for the purchase of subsistence stores without
waiting for the beginning of the fiscal year for which the appropriation
is made; for additional appropriations for the collection of torpedo
material; for increased appropriations for the manufacture of arms; for
relieving the various States from indebtedness for arms charged to them
during the rebellion; for dropping officers from the rolls of the Army
without trial for the offense of drawing pay more than once for the same
period; for the discouragement of the plan to pay soldiers by check,
and for the establishment of a professorship of rhetoric and English
literature at West Point. The reasons for these recommendations are
obvious, and are set forth sufficiently in the reports attached. I also
recommend that the status of the staff corps of the Army be fixed,
where this has not already been done, so that promotions may be made
and vacancies filled as they occur in each grade when reduced below
the number to be fixed by law. The necessity for such legislation is
specially felt now in the Pay Department. The number of officers in that
department is below the number adequate to the performance of the duties
required of them by law.
The efficiency of the Navy has been largely increased during the last
year. Under the impulse of the foreign complications which threatened
us at the commencement of the last session of Congress, most of our
efficient wooden ships were put in condition for immediate service, and
the repairs of our ironclad fleet were pushed with the utmost vigor.
The result is that most of these are now in an effective state and need
only to be manned and put in commission to go at once into service.
Some of the new sloops authorized by Congress are already in commission,
and most of the remainder are launched and wait only the completion of
their machinery to enable them to take their places as part of our
effective force.
Two iron torpedo ships have been completed during the last year, and
four of our large double-turreted ironclads are now undergoing repairs.
When these are finished, everything that is useful of our Navy, as now
authorized, will be in condition for service, and with the advance in
the science of torpedo warfare the American Navy, comparatively small as
it is, will be found at any time powerful for the purposes of a peaceful
nation.
Much has been accomplished during the year in aid of science and to
increase the sum of general knowledge and further the interests of
commerce and civilization. Extensive and much-needed soundings have been
made for hydrographic purposes and to fix the proper routes of ocean
telegraphs. Further surveys of the great Isthmus have been undertaken
and completed, and two vessels of the Navy are now employed, in
conjunction with those of England, France, Germany, and Russia, in
observations connected with the transit of Venus, so useful and
interesting to the scientific world.
The estimates for this branch of the public service do not differ
materially from those of last year, those for the general support of
the service being somewhat less and those for permanent improvements
at the various stations rather larger than the corresponding estimate
made a year ago. The regular maintenance and a steady increase in the
efficiency of this most important arm in proportion to the growth of
our maritime intercourse and interests is recommended to the attention
of Congress.
The use of the Navy in time of peace might be further utilized by a
direct authorization of the employment of naval vessels in explorations
and surveys of the supposed navigable waters of other nationalities
on this continent, especially the tributaries of the two great rivers
of South America, the Orinoco and the Amazon. Nothing prevents,
under existing laws, such exploration, except that expenditures
must be made in such expeditions beyond those usually provided for
in the appropriations. The field designated is unquestionably one
of interest and one capable of large development of commercial
interests--advantageous to the peoples reached and to those who
may establish relations with them.
Education of the people entitled to exercise the right of franchise
I regard essential to general prosperity everywhere, and especially so
in republics, where birth, education, or previous condition does not
enter into account in giving suffrage. Next to the public school, the
post-office is the great agent of education over our vast territory. The
rapidity with which new sections are being settled, thus increasing the
carrying of mails in a more rapid ratio than the increase of receipts,
is not alarming. The report of the Postmaster-General herewith attached
shows that there was an increase of revenue in his Department in 1873
over the previous year of $1,674,411, and an increase of cost of
carrying the mails and paying employees of $3,041,468.91. The report of
the Postmaster-General gives interesting statistics of his Department,
and compares them with the corresponding statistics of a year ago,
showing a growth in every branch of the Department.
A postal convention has been concluded with New South Wales, an exchange
of postal cards established with Switzerland, and the negotiations
pending for several years past with France have been terminated in a
convention with that country, which went into effect last August.
An international postal congress was convened in Berne, Switzerland, in
September last, at which the United States was represented by an officer
of the Post-Office Department of much experience and of qualification
for the position. A convention for the establishment of an international
postal union was agreed upon and signed by the delegates of the
countries represented, subject to the approval of the proper authorities
of those countries.
I respectfully direct your attention to the report of the
Postmaster-General and to his suggestions in regard to an equitable
adjustment of the question of compensation to railroads for carrying the
mails.
Your attention will be drawn to the unsettled condition of affairs in
some of the Southern States.
On the 14th of September last the governor of Louisiana called upon me,
as provided by the Constitution and laws of the United States, to aid in
suppressing domestic violence in that State. This call was made in view
of a proclamation issued on that day by D.B. Penn, claiming that he
was elected lieutenant-governor in 1872, and calling upon the militia
of the State to arm, assemble, and drive from power the usurpers, as
he designated the officers of the State government. On the next day I
issued my proclamation[1] commanding the insurgents to disperse within
five days from the date thereof, and subsequently learned that on that
day they had taken forcible possession of the statehouse. Steps were
taken by me to support the existing and recognized State government, but
before the expiration of the five days the insurrectionary movement was
practically abandoned, and the officers of the State government, with
some minor exceptions, resumed their powers and duties. Considering
that the present State administration of Louisiana has been the only
government in that State for nearly two years; that it has been tacitly
acknowledged and acquiesced in as such by Congress, and more than once
expressly recognized by me, I regarded it as my clear duty, when legally
called upon for that purpose, to prevent its overthrow by an armed mob
under pretense of fraud and irregularity in the election of 1872. I have
heretofore called the attention of Congress to this subject, stating
that on account of the frauds and forgeries committed at said election,
and because it appears that the returns thereof were never legally
canvassed, it was impossible to tell thereby who were chosen; but from
the best sources of information at my command I have always believed
that the present State officers received a majority of the legal votes
actually cast at that election. I repeat what I said in my special
message of February 23, 1873, that in the event of no action by Congress
I must continue to recognize the government heretofore recognized by me.
I regret to say that with preparations for the late election decided
indications appeared in some localities in the Southern States of a
determination, by acts of violence and intimidation, to deprive citizens
of the freedom of the ballot because of their political opinions. Bands
of men, masked and armed, made their appearance; White Leagues and other
societies were formed; large quantities of arms and ammunition were
imported and distributed to these organizations; military drills, with
menacing demonstrations, were held, and with all these murders enough
were committed to spread terror among those whose political action
was to be suppressed, if possible, by these intolerant and criminal
proceedings. In some places colored laborers were compelled to vote
according to the wishes of their employers, under threats of discharge
if they acted otherwise; and there are too many instances in which, when
these threats were disregarded, they were remorselessly executed by
those who made them. I understand that the fifteenth amendment to the
Constitution was made to prevent this and a like state of things, and
the act of May 31, 1870, with amendments, was passed to enforce its
provisions, the object of both being to guarantee to all citizens the
right to vote and to protect them in the free enjoyment of that right.
Enjoined by the Constitution "to take care that the laws be faithfully
executed," and convinced by undoubted evidence that violations of said
act had been committed and that a widespread and flagrant disregard of
it was contemplated, the proper officers were instructed to prosecute
the offenders, and troops were stationed at convenient points to aid
these officers, if necessary, in the performance of their official
duties. Complaints are made of this interference by Federal authority;
but if said amendment and act do not provide for such interference under
the circumstances as above stated, then they are without meaning, force,
or effect, and the whole scheme of colored enfranchisement is worse than
mockery and little better than a crime. Possibly Congress may find it
due to truth and justice to ascertain, by means of a committee, whether
the alleged wrongs to colored citizens for political purposes are real
or the reports thereof were manufactured for the occasion.
The whole number of troops in the States of Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia,
Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas,
Mississippi, Maryland, and Virginia at the time of the election was
4,082. This embraces the garrisons of all the forts from the Delaware
to the Gulf of Mexico.
Another trouble has arisen in Arkansas. Article 13 of the constitution
of that State (which was adopted in 1868, and upon the approval of
which by Congress the State was restored to representation as one of
the States of the Union) provides in effect that before any amendments
proposed to this constitution shall become a part thereof they shall be
passed by two successive assemblies and then submitted to and ratified
by a majority of the electors of the State voting thereon. On the 11th
of May, 1874, the governor convened an extra session of the general
assembly of the State, which on the 18th of the same month passed an act
providing for a convention to frame a new constitution. Pursuant to this
act, and at an election held on the 30th of June, 1874, the convention
was approved, and delegates were chosen thereto, who assembled on the
14th of last July and framed a new constitution, the schedule of which
provided for the election of an entire new set of State officers in a
manner contrary to the then existing election laws of the State. On
the 13th of October, 1874, this constitution, as therein provided, was
submitted to the people for their approval or rejection, and according
to the election returns was approved by a large majority of those
qualified to vote thereon; and at the same election persons were chosen
to fill all the State, county, and township offices. The governor
elected in 1872 for the term of four years turned over his office
to the governor chosen under the new constitution, whereupon the
lieutenant-governor, also elected in 1872 for a term of four years,
claiming to act as governor, and alleging that said proceedings by which
the new constitution was made and a new set of officers elected were
unconstitutional, illegal, and void, called upon me, as provided in
section 4, Article IV, of the Constitution, to protect the State against
domestic violence. As Congress is now investigating the political
affairs of Arkansas, I have declined to interfere.
The whole subject of Executive interference with the affairs of
a State is repugnant to public opinion, to the feelings of those who,
from their official capacity, must be used in such interposition, and to
him or those who must direct. Unless most clearly on the side of law,
such interference becomes a crime; with the law to support it, it is
condemned without a hearing. I desire, therefore, that all necessity
for Executive direction in local affairs may become unnecessary and
obsolete. I invite the attention, not of Congress, but of the people of
the United States, to the causes and effects of these unhappy questions.
Is there not a disposition on one side to magnify wrongs and outrages,
and on the other side to belittle them or justify them? If public
opinion could be directed to a correct survey of what is and to rebuking
wrong and aiding the proper authorities in punishing it, a better state
of feeling would be inculcated, and the sooner we would have that peace
which would leave the States free indeed to regulate their own domestic
affairs. I believe on the part of our citizens of the Southern
States--the better part of them--there is a disposition to be law
abiding, and to do no violence either to individuals or to the laws
existing. But do they do right in ignoring the existence of violence
and bloodshed in resistance to constituted authority? I sympathize
with their prostrate condition, and would do all in my power to
relieve them, acknowledging that in some instances they have had most
trying governments to live under, and very oppressive ones in the
way of taxation for nominal improvements, not giving benefits equal
to the hardships imposed. But can they proclaim themselves entirely
irresponsible for this condition? They can not. Violence has been
rampant in some localities, and has either been justified or denied by
those who could have prevented it. The theory is even raised that there
is to be no further interference on the part of the General Government
to protect citizens within a State where the State authorities fail to
give protection. This is a great mistake. While I remain Executive all
the laws of Congress and the provisions of the Constitution, including
the recent amendments added thereto, will be enforced with rigor, but
with regret that they should have added one jot or tittle to Executive
duties or powers. Let there be fairness in the discussion of Southern
questions, the advocates of both or all political parties giving honest,
truthful reports of occurrences, condemning the wrong and upholding the
right, and soon all will be well. Under existing conditions the negro
votes the Republican ticket because he knows his friends are of that
party. Many a good citizen votes the opposite, not because he agrees
with the great principles of state which separate parties, but because,
generally, he is opposed to negro rule. This is a most delusive cry.
Treat the negro as a citizen and a voter, as he is and must remain, and
soon parties will be divided, not on the color line, but on principle.
Then we shall have no complaint of sectional interference.
The report of the Attorney-General contains valuable recommendations
relating to the administration of justice in the courts of the United
States, to which I invite your attention.
I respectfully suggest to Congress the propriety of increasing the
number of judicial districts in the United States to eleven (the present
number being nine) and the creation of two additional judgeships. The
territory to be traversed by the circuit judges is so great and the
business of the courts so steadily increasing that it is growing more
and more impossible for them to keep up with the business requiring
their attention. Whether this would involve the necessity of adding two
more justices of the Supreme Court to the present number I submit to the
judgment of Congress.
The attention of Congress is invited to the report of the Secretary
of the Interior and to the legislation asked for by him. The domestic
interests of the people are more intimately connected with this
Department than with either of the other Departments of Government.
Its duties have been added to from time to time until they have become
so onerous that without the most perfect system and order it will be
impossible for any Secretary of the Interior to keep trace of all
official transactions having his sanction and done in his name, and
for which he is held personally responsible.
The policy adopted for the management of Indian affairs, known as the
peace policy, has been adhered to with most beneficial results. It is
confidently hoped that a few years more will relieve our frontiers from
danger of Indian depredations.
I commend the recommendation of the Secretary for the extension
of the homestead laws to the Indians and for some sort of Territorial
government for the Indian Territory. A great majority of the Indians
occupying this Territory are believed yet to be incapable of maintaining
their rights against the more civilized and enlightened white man. Any
Territorial form of government given them, therefore, should protect
them in their homes and property for a period of at least twenty years,
and before its final adoption should be ratified by a majority of those
affected.
The report of the Secretary of the Interior herewith attached gives much
interesting statistical information, which I abstain from giving an
abstract of, but refer you to the report itself.
The act of Congress providing the oath which pensioners must
subscribe to before drawing their pensions cuts off from this bounty
a few survivors of the War of 1812 residing in the Southern States.
I recommend the restoration of this bounty to all such. The number of
persons whose names would thus be restored to the list of pensioners is
not large. They are all old persons, who could have taken no part in the
rebellion, and the services for which they were awarded pensions were in
defense of the whole country.
The report of the Commissioner of Agriculture herewith contains
suggestions of much interest to the general public, and refers to the
approaching Centennial and the part his Department is ready to take
in it. I feel that the nation at large is interested in having this
exposition a success, and commend to Congress such action as will secure
a greater general interest in it. Already many foreign nations have
signified their intention to be represented at it, and it may be
expected that every civilized nation will be represented.
The rules adopted to improve the civil service of the Government have
been adhered to as closely as has been practicable with the opposition
with which they meet. The effect, I believe, has been beneficial on
the whole, and has tended to the elevation of the service. But it is
impracticable to maintain them without direct and positive support of
Congress. Generally the support which this reform receives is from
those who give it their support only to find fault when the rules are
apparently departed from. Removals from office without preferring
charges against parties removed are frequently cited as departures from
the rules adopted, and the retention of those against whom charges are
made by irresponsible persons and without good grounds is also often
condemned as a violation of them. Under these circumstances, therefore,
I announce that if Congress adjourns without positive legislation on
the subject of "civil-service reform" I will regard such action as a
disapproval of the system, and will abandon it, except so far as to
require examinations for certain appointees, to determine their
fitness. Competitive examinations will be abandoned.
The gentlemen who have given their services, without compensation, as
members of the board to devise rules and regulations for the government
of the civil service of the country have shown much zeal and earnestness
in their work, and to them, as well as to myself, it will be a source
of mortification if it is to be thrown away. But I repeat that it is
impossible to carry this system to a successful issue without general
approval and assistance and positive law to support it.
I have stated that three elements of prosperity to the nation--capital,
labor, skilled and unskilled, and products of the soil--still remain
with us. To direct the employment of these is a problem deserving the
most serious attention of Congress. If employment can be given to all
the labor offering itself, prosperity necessarily follows. I have
expressed the opinion, and repeat it, that the first requisite to the
accomplishment of this end is the substitution of a sound currency
in place of one of a fluctuating value. This secured, there are many
interests that might be fostered to the great profit of both labor and
capital. How to induce capital to employ labor is the question. The
subject of cheap transportation has occupied the attention of Congress.
Much new light on this question will without doubt be given by the
committee appointed by the last Congress to investigate and report upon
this subject.
A revival of shipbuilding, and particularly of iron steamship building,
is of vast importance to our national prosperity. The United States
is now paying over $100,000,000 per annum for freights and passage on
foreign ships--to be carried abroad and expended in the employment
and support of other peoples--beyond a fair percentage of what should
go to foreign vessels, estimating on the tonnage and travel of each
respectively. It is to be regretted that this disparity in the carrying
trade exists, and to correct it I would be willing to see a great
departure from the usual course of Government in supporting what might
usually be termed private enterprise. I would not suggest as a remedy
direct subsidy to American steamship lines, but I would suggest the
direct offer of ample compensation for carrying the mails between
Atlantic Seaboard cities and the Continent on American-owned and
American-built steamers, and would extend this liberality to vessels
carrying the mails to South American States and to Central America and
Mexico, and would pursue the same policy from our Pacific seaports to
foreign seaports on the Pacific. It might be demanded that vessels built
for this service should come up to a standard fixed by legislation in
tonnage, speed, and all other qualities, looking to the possibility of
Government requiring them at some time for war purposes. The right also
of taking possession of them in such emergency should be guarded.
I offer these suggestions, believing them worthy of consideration, in
all seriousness, affecting all sections and all interests alike. If
anything better can be done to direct the country into a course of
general prosperity, no one will be more ready than I to second the plan.
Forwarded herewith will be found the report of the commissioners
appointed under an act of Congress approved June 20, 1874, to wind up
the affairs of the District government. It will be seen from the report
that the net debt of the District of Columbia, less securities on hand
and available, is:
Bonded debt issued prior to July 1, 1874 $8,883,940.43
3.65 bonds, act of Congress June 20, 1874 2,088,168.73
Certificates of the board of audit 4,770,558.45
_____________
15,742,667.61
Less special-improvement assessments
(chargeable to private property) in
excess of any demand against such
assessments $1,614,054.37
Less Chesapeake and Ohio Canal bonds 75,000.00
And Washington and Alexandria Railroad
bonds 59,000.00
_____________
In the hands of the commissioners
of the sinking fund 1,748,054.37
_____________
Leaving actual debt, less said assets 13,994,613.24
In addition to this there are claims preferred against the government of
the District amounting, in the estimated aggregate reported by the board
of audit, to $3,147,787.48, of which the greater part will probably be
rejected. This sum can with no more propriety be included in the debt
account of the District government than can the thousands of claims
against the General Government be included as a portion of the national
debt. But the aggregate sum thus stated includes something more than the
funded debt chargeable exclusively to the District of Columbia. The act
of Congress of June 20, 1874, contemplates an apportionment between the
United States Government and the District of Columbia in respect of the
payment of the principal and interest of the 3.65 bonds. Therefore in
computing with precision the bonded debt of the District the aggregate
sums above stated as respects 3.65 bonds now issued, the outstanding
certificates of the board of audit, and the unadjusted claims pending
before that board should be reduced to the extent of the amount to be
apportioned to the United States Government in the manner indicated in
the act of Congress of June 20, 1874.
I especially invite your attention to the recommendations of the
commissioners of the sinking fund relative to the ambiguity of the act
of June 20, 1874, the interest on the District bonds, and the
consolidation of the indebtedness of the District.
I feel much indebted to the gentlemen who consented to leave their
private affairs and come from a distance to attend to the business of
this District, and for the able and satisfactory manner in which it has
been conducted. I am sure their services will be equally appreciated by
the entire country.
It will be seen from the accompanying full report of the board of health
that the sanitary condition of the District is very satisfactory.
In my opinion the District of Columbia should be regarded as the grounds
of the national capital, in which the entire people are interested. I do
not allude to this to urge generous appropriations to the District, but
to draw the attention of Congress, in framing a law for the government
of the District, to the magnificent scale on which the city was planned
by the founders of the Government; the manner in which, for ornamental
purposes, the reservations, streets, and avenues were laid out, and the
proportion of the property actually possessed by the General Government.
I think the proportion of the expenses of the government and
improvements to be borne by the General Government, the cities of
Washington and Georgetown, and the county should be carefully and
equitably defined.
In accordance with section 3, act approved June 23, 1874, I appointed a
board to make a survey of the mouth of the Mississippi River with a view
to determine the best method of obtaining and maintaining a depth of
water sufficient for the purposes of commerce, etc.; and in accordance
with an act entitled "An act to provide for the appointment of a
commission of engineers to investigate and report a permanent plan for
the reclamation of the alluvial basin of the Mississippi River subject
to inundation," I appointed a commission of engineers. Neither board has
yet completed its labors. When their reports are received, they will be
forwarded to Congress without delay.
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 84: See pp. 273-276.]
[Footnote 85: See pp. 277-281.]
[Footnote 86: See pp. 276-277.]
SPECIAL MESSAGES.
WASHINGTON, _December 8, 1874_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 3d of February, 1873,
I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, together with
the papers[87] which accompanied it.
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 87: Dispatches in regard to the records and public documents
of the Mexican Government relative to the lands embraced within the
Territories of Arizona and New Mexico.]
WASHINGTON, _December 8, 1874_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification,
a convention between the United States of America and the Ottoman
Empire, relative to the extradition of criminals fugitives from justice,
signed by their respective plenipotentiaries at Constantinople on the
11th of August last.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _December 8, 1874_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification,
a convention concluded between the United States of America and the
Mexican Republic on the 20th of November last, for further extending the
time for the duration of the joint commission respecting claims,
originally fixed by the convention between the United States and Mexico
signed on the 4th of July, 1868, and extended by those of the 19th of
April, 1871, and 27th of November, 1872, between the same parties.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _December 8, 1874_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification,
a convention between the United States of America and the Ottoman
Empire, relative to the naturalization of citizens and subjects of the
two countries, signed by their respective plenipotentiaries at
Constantinople on the 11th of August last. A copy of the correspondence
which accompanied the convention on the subject is herewith transmitted.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _December 8, 1874_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I transmit herewith a report, dated the 8th instant, with accompanying
papers,[88] from the Secretary of State, in compliance with the
requirements of section 208 of the Revised Statutes of the United
States.
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 88: Report of fees collected, etc., by consular officers of
the United States for 1873, list of consular officers, and tariff of
consular fees prescribed by the President September 1, 1874.]
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 22, 1874_.
The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
I have the honor to transmit herewith, for the information of Congress,
a memorial[89] forwarded to me by a convention of colored citizens
assembled in the city of Montgomery, Ala., on the 2d of this month.
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 89: Asking all the rights of citizenship.]
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 5, 1875_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 21st December last,
requesting the return of its resolution of the 17th of the same month,
advising and consenting to the appointment of J.C.S. Colby to be consul
of the United States at Chin-Kiang, I have the honor to state that
Mr. Colby's commission was signed on the 17th day of December, and
upon inquiry at the Department of State it was found that it had been
forwarded to him by mail before the receipt of the resolution of recall.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 12, 1875_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
In accordance with the requirements of the joint resolution approved
March 25, 1874, authorizing an inquiry into and report upon the causes
of epidemic cholera, I have the honor to transmit herewith reports upon
the subject from the Secretaries of the Treasury and War Departments.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 13, 1875_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I have the honor to make the following answer to a Senate resolution of
the 8th instant, asking for information as to any interference by any
military officer or any part of the Army of the United States with the
organization or proceedings of the general assembly of the State of
Louisiana, or either branch thereof; and also inquiring in regard to the
existence of armed organizations in that State hostile to the government
thereof and intent on overturning such government by force.
To say that lawlessness, turbulence, and bloodshed have characterized
the political affairs of that State since its reorganization under the
reconstruction acts is only to repeat what has become well known as a
part of its unhappy history; but it may be proper here to refer to the
election of 1868, by which the Republican vote of the State, through
fraud and violence, was reduced to a few thousands, and the bloody riots
of 1866 and 1868, to show that the disorders there are not due to any
recent causes or to any late action of the Federal authorities.
Preparatory to the election of 1872 a shameful and undisguised
conspiracy was formed to carry that election against the Republicans,
without regard to law or right, and to that end the most glaring frauds
and forgeries were committed in the returns, after many colored citizens
had been denied registration and others deterred by fear from casting
their ballots.
When the time came for a final canvass of the votes, in view of the
foregoing facts William P. Kellogg, the Republican candidate for
governor, brought suit upon the equity side of the United States circuit
court for Louisiana, and against Warmoth and others, who had obtained
possession of the returns of the election, representing that several
thousand voters of the State had been deprived of the elective franchise
on account of their color, and praying that steps might be taken to
have said votes counted and for general relief. To enable the court to
inquire as to the truth of these allegations, a temporary restraining
order was issued against the defendants, which was at once wholly
disregarded and treated with contempt by those to whom it was directed.
These proceedings have been widely denounced as an unwarrantable
interference by the Federal judiciary with the election of State
officers; but it is to be remembered that by the fifteenth amendment to
the Constitution of the United States the political equality of colored
citizens is secured, and under the second section of that amendment,
providing that Congress shall have power to enforce its provisions by
appropriate legislation, an act was passed on the 31st of May, 1870,
and amended in 1871, the object of which was to prevent the denial
or abridgment of suffrage to citizens on account of race, color, or
previous condition of servitude; and it has been held by all the Federal
judges before whom the question has arisen, including Justice Strong, of
the Supreme Court, that the protection afforded by this amendment and
these acts extends to State as well as other elections. That it is the
duty of the Federal courts to enforce the provisions of the Constitution
of the United States and the laws passed in pursuance thereof is too
clear for controversy.