No contract or purchase on behalf of the United States shall be made
unless the same is authorized by law or is under an appropriation
adequate to its fulfillment, except in the War and Navy Departments,
for clothing, subsistence, forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation,
which, however, shall not exceed the necessities of the current year.
Section 3678, as follows:
All sums appropriated for the various branches of expenditure in the
public service shall be applied solely to the objects for which they
are respectively made, and for no others.
Section 3690, that--
All balances of appropriations contained in the annual appropriation
bills, and made specifically for the service of any fiscal year, and
remaining unexpended at the expiration of such fiscal year, shall only
be applied to the payment of expenses properly incurred during that year
or to the fulfillment of contracts properly made within that year; and
balances not needed for such purposes shall be carried to the surplus
fund. This section, however, shall not apply to appropriations known as
permanent or indefinite appropriations.
The effect of the laws quoted, taken in connection with the
constitutional provision referred to, is, as above stated, to prohibit
any outlay of public money toward defraying even the current and
necessary expenses of Government after the expiration of the year for
which appropriated, excepting when those expenses are provided for by
some permanent appropriation, and excepting in the War and Navy
Departments, under section 3732.
The number of permanent appropriations are very limited, and cover but
few of the necessary expenditures of the Government. They are nearly
all, if not quite all, embraced in sections 3687, 3688, and 3689 of
the Revised Statutes. That contained in section 3687 is applicable to
_expenses of collecting the revenue from customs_, that in section 3688
to the payment of interest on the _public debt_, and that in section
3689 to various objects too numerous to detail here.
It will be observed that while section 3679, quoted above, provides
that _no_ Department shall in any one fiscal year involve the Government
in any contract for the future payment of money in excess of the
appropriation for that year, section 3732, also quoted above, confers,
by clear implication, upon the heads of the War and Navy Departments
full authority, even in the absence of any appropriation, to purchase
or contract for clothing, subsistence, forage, fuel, quarters, or
transportation not exceeding the necessities of the current year. The
latter provision is special and exceptional in its character, and is to
be regarded as excluded from the operation of the former more general
one. But if any of the appropriation bills above enumerated should fail
to be matured before the expiration of the current fiscal year, the
Government would be greatly embarrassed for want of the necessary
funds to carry on the service. Precluded from expending money not
appropriated, the Departments would have to suspend the service so
far as the appropriations for it should have failed to be made.
A careful examination of this subject will demonstrate the embarrassed
condition all branches of the Government will be in, and especially the
executive, if there should be a failure to pass the necessary
appropriation bills before the 1st of July, or otherwise provide.
I commend this subject most earnestly to your consideration, and urge
that some measure be speedily adopted to avert the evils which would
result from nonaction by Congress. I will venture the suggestion, by
way of remedy, that a joint resolution, properly guarded, might be
passed through the two Houses of Congress, extending the provisions
of all appropriations for the present fiscal year to the next in
all cases where there is a failure on the 1st of July to supply such
appropriation; each appropriation so extended to hold good until
Congress shall have passed a corresponding appropriation applicable to
the new fiscal year, when all moneys expended under laws enacted for
this fiscal year shall be deducted from the corresponding appropriation
for the next.
To make my ideas on this subject more clear, I have caused to be drawn
up a joint resolution embodying them more fully.
U.S. GRANT.
JOINT RESOLUTION to provide for defraying temporarily the ordinary and
necessary expenses of the public service.
Whereas the ordinary and necessary expenses of the public service in its
various branches, comprising among others the expenses which especially
pertain to the legislative, executive, and judicial departments of the
Government, to the consular and diplomatic service, to the postal
service, to the support of the Army, and to the maintenance of the Navy,
are generally met by annual appropriations which expire at the end of
the current fiscal year; and
Whereas no public funds will be available to defray these expenses as
the same shall accrue after that period unless appropriations shall have
been previously made therefor by law; and
Whereas, to avoid the great embarrassment to the public service that
might otherwise ensue, it is expedient to make provision for defraying
temporarily such of these expenses as would be unprovided for in case
some one of the usual annual appropriation bills designed to provide
therefor should fail to be matured by the end of the fiscal year now
current: Therefore,
_Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled_, That in case any of the
following appropriation bills for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1877,
shall not have passed by the commencement of such year, so that the
funds to be appropriated thereby may then be available for
expenditure--that is to say, the bill providing for the legislative,
executive, and judicial expenses; the bill providing for the consular
and diplomatic expenses; the bill providing for the service of the
Post-Office Department; the bill providing for the support of the Army,
and the bill providing for the naval service--the appropriation act for
the current fiscal year corresponding in its general description and
object to such appropriation bill shall extend to the fiscal year next
ensuing until such appropriation bill is enacted and takes effect, to
the end that the provisions of such appropriation act which apply to the
ordinary and necessary expenses of the public service for the current
fiscal year shall in like manner be applicable to similar expenses which
may accrue during the period intervening between the end of the current
fiscal year and the time when such appropriation bill for the next
ensuing fiscal year shall be enacted and take effect.
WASHINGTON, _June 20, 1876_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
By the tenth article of the treaty between the United States and
Great Britain signed in Washington on the 9th day of August, 1842, it
was agreed that the two Governments should, upon mutual requisitions
respectively made, deliver up to justice all persons who, being
charged with certain crimes therein enumerated, committed within the
jurisdiction of either, should seek an asylum or be found within the
territories of the other.
The only condition or limitation contained in the treaty to the
reciprocal obligation thus to deliver up the fugitive was that it should
be done only upon such evidence of criminality as, according to the laws
of the place where the fugitive or person so charged should be found,
would justify his apprehension and commitment for trial if the crime or
offense had there been committed.
In the month of February last a requisition was duly made, in
pursuance of the provisions of the treaty, by this Government upon that
of Great Britain for the surrender of one Ezra D. Winslow, charged with
extensive forgeries and the utterance of forged paper, committed within
the jurisdiction of the United States, who had sought an asylum
and was found within the territories of Her Britannic Majesty and was
apprehended in London. The evidence of the criminality of the fugitive
was duly furnished and heard, and, being found sufficient to justify his
apprehension and commitment for trial if the crimes had been committed
in Great Britain, he was held and committed for extradition.
Her Majesty's Government, however, did not deliver up the fugitive
in accordance with the terms of the treaty, notwithstanding every
requirement thereof had been met on the part of the United States, but,
instead of surrendering the fugitive, demanded certain assurances or
stipulations not mentioned in the treaty, but foreign to its provisions,
as a condition of the performance by Great Britain of her obligations
under the treaty.
In a recent communication to the House of Representatives, and in answer
to a call from that body for information on this case, I submitted the
correspondence which has passed between the two Governments with
reference thereto. It will be found in Executive Document No. 173 of the
House of Representatives of the present session, and I respectfully
refer thereto for more detailed information bearing on the question.
It appears from the correspondence that the British Government bases its
refusal to surrender the fugitive and its demand for stipulations or
assurances from this Government on the requirements of a purely domestic
enactment of the British Parliament, passed in the year 1870.
This act was brought to the notice of this Government shortly after
its enactment, and Her Majesty's Government was advised that the
United States understood it as giving continued effect to the existing
engagements under the treaty of 1842 for the extradition of criminals;
and with this knowledge on its part, and without dissent from the
declared views of the United States as to the unchanged nature of the
reciprocal rights and obligations of the two powers under the treaty,
Great Britain has continued to make requisitions and to grant surrenders
in numerous instances, without suggestion that it was contemplated to
depart from the practice under the treaty which has obtained for more
than thirty years, until now, for the first time, in this case of
Winslow, it is assumed that under this act of Parliament Her Majesty may
require a stipulation or agreement not provided for in the treaty as a
condition to the observance by her Government of its treaty obligations
toward this country.
This I have felt it my duty emphatically to repel.
In addition to the case of Winslow, requisition was also made by this
Government on that of Great Britain for the surrender of Charles J.
Brent, also charged with forgery, committed in the United States, and
found in Great Britain. The evidence of criminality was duly heard and
the fugitive committed for extradition.
A similar stipulation to that demanded in Winslow's case was also asked
in Brent's, and was likewise refused.
It is with extreme regret that I am now called upon to announce to
you that Her Majesty's Government has finally released both of these
fugitives, Winslow and Brent, and set them at liberty, thus omitting to
comply with the provisions and requirements of the treaty under which
the extradition of fugitive criminals is made between the two
Governments.
The position thus taken by the British Government, if adhered to, can
not but be regarded as the abrogation and annulment of the article of
the treaty on extradition.
Under these circumstances it will not, in my judgment, comport with the
dignity or self-respect of this Government to make demands upon that
Government for the surrender of fugitive criminals, nor to entertain any
requisition of that character from that Government under the treaty.
It will be a cause of deep regret if a treaty which has been thus far
beneficial in its practical operation, which has worked so well and
so efficiently, and which, notwithstanding the exciting and at times
violent political disturbances of which both countries have been the
scene during its existence, has given rise to no complaints on the part
of either Government against either its spirit or its provisions, should
be abruptly terminated.
It has tended to the protection of society and to the general interests
of both countries. Its violation or annulment would be a retrograde step
in international intercourse.
I have been anxious and have made the effort to enlarge its scope and
to make a new treaty which would be a still more efficient agent for
the punishment and prevention of crime. At the same time, I have felt
it my duty to decline to entertain a proposition made by Great Britain,
pending its refusal to execute the existing treaty, to amend it by
practically conceding by treaty the identical conditions which that
Government demands under its act of Parliament. In addition to the
impossibility of the United States entering upon negotiations under
the menace of an intended violation or a refusal to execute the terms
of an existing treaty I deemed it inadvisable to treat of only the one
amendment proposed by Great Britain while the United States desires an
enlargement of the list of crimes for which extradition may be asked,
and other improvements which experience has shown might be embodied in
a new treaty.
It is for the wisdom of Congress to determine whether the article
of the treaty relating to extradition is to be any longer regarded as
obligatory on the Government of the United States or as forming part
of the supreme law of the land. Should the attitude of the British
Government remain unchanged, I shall not, without an expression of the
wish of Congress that I should do so, take any action either in making
or granting requisitions for the surrender of fugitive criminals under
the treaty of 1842.
Respectfully submitted.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _July 8, 1876_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I have the honor to transmit herewith a report[109] from General W.T.
Sherman [J.D. Cameron, Secretary of War], together with the most
recent reports received from Brigadier-General A.H. Terry, as a response
to the resolution of the Senate of the 7th instant, a copy of which is
attached to this message.
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 109: Relating to hostile demonstrations of the Sioux Indians
and the disaster to the forces under General Custer.]
WASHINGTON, _July 13, 1876_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
I transmit herewith, in answer to a resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 1st ultimo, a report[110] from the Secretary of
State upon the subject.
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 110: Stating that no correspondence has taken place with Great
Britain relative to the sequestration of the lands and property in New
Zealand claimed by William Webster, an American citizen.]
WASHINGTON, _July 19, 1876_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to the
resolution of the House of Representatives of the 1st of April last, on
the subject of commercial intercourse with Mexico and Central America.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _July 31, 1876_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
The act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the
Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1877, is so defective
in what it omits to provide for that I can not announce its approval
without at the same time pointing out what seems to me to be its
defects. It makes but inadequate provision for the service at best,
and in some instances fails to make any provision whatever.
Notably among the first class is the reduction in the ordinary annual
appropriations for the Revenue-Cutter Service, to the prejudice of the
customs revenue.
The same may be said of the Signal Service, as also the failure to
provide for the increased expense devolved upon the mints and assay
offices by recent legislation, and thus tending to defeat the objects of
that legislation.
Of this class also are public buildings, for the protection,
preservation, and completion of which there is no adequate
appropriation, while the sum of $100,000 only is appropriated for the
repairs of the different navy yards and stations and the preservation of
the same, the ordinary and customary appropriations for which are not
less than $1,000,000.
A similar reduction is made in the expenses for armories and arsenals.
The provision for the ordinary judicial expenses is much less than the
estimated amount for that important service, the actual expenditures of
the last fiscal year, and the certain demands of the current year.
The provision for the expenses of the surveys of public lands is less
than one-half of the usual appropriation for that service and what are
understood to be its actual demands.
Reduction in the expenditures for light-houses, beacons, and fog
stations is also made in similar proportion.
Of the class for which no appropriation is made, among the most
noticeable, perhaps, is that portion of the general expenses of the
District of Columbia on behalf of the United States, as appropriated in
former years, and the judgments of the Court of Claims. The failure to
make a reasonable contribution to the expenses of the nation's capital
is an apparent dereliction on the part of the United States and rank
injustice to the people here who bear the burdens, while to refuse or
neglect to provide for the payment of solemn judgments of its own courts
is apparently to repudiate. Of a different character, but as prejudicial
to the Treasury, is the omission to make provision to enable the
Secretary of the Treasury to have the rebel archives and records of
captured and abandoned property examined and information furnished
therefrom for the use of the Government.
Finally, without further specification of detail, it may be said that
the act which in its title purports to make provision for a diverse and
greatly extended civil service unhappily appropriates an amount not more
than 65 per cent of its ordinary demands.
The legislative department establishes and defines the service, and
devolves upon the Executive Departments the obligation of submitting
annually the needful estimates of expenses of such service. Congress
properly exacts implicit obedience to the requirements of the law
in the administration of the public service and rigid accountability
in the expenditures therefor. It is submitted that a corresponding
responsibility and obligation rest upon it to make the adequate
appropriations to render possible such administration and tolerable such
exaction. Anything short of an ample provision for a specified service
is necessarily fraught with disaster to the public interests and is a
positive injustice to those charged with its execution.
To appropriate and to execute are corresponding obligations and duties,
and the adequacy of the former is the necessary measure of the
efficiency of the execution.
In this eighth month of the present session of Congress--nearly one
month of the fiscal year to which this appropriation applies having
passed--I do not feel warranted in vetoing an absolutely necessary
appropriation bill; but in signing it I deem it a duty to show where
the responsibility belongs for whatever embarrassments may arise in
the execution of the trust confided to me.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _July 31, 1876_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In response to the resolution of the Senate of July 20, 1876, calling
upon the President to communicate to the Senate, if in his opinion not
incompatible with the public interest, any information in regard to the
slaughter of American citizens at Hamburg, S.C., I have the honor to
submit the following inclosures, to wit:
No. 1. Letter of the 22d of July, 1876, from Governor D.H. Chamberlain,
of South Carolina, to me.
No. 2. My reply thereto.
No. 3. Report of Hon. William Stone, attorney-general of South Carolina.
No. 4. Report of General H.W. Purvis, adjutant and inspector general of
South Carolina.
No. 5. Copy of evidence taken before a coroner's jury investigating
facts relating to the Hamburg massacre.
No. 6. Printed copy of statement by M.C. Butler, of South Carolina.
No. 7. Printed letter from the same to the editors of the Journal of
Commerce.
No. 8. Copy of letter from Governor Chamberlain to the Hon. T.J.
Robertson.
No. 9. An address to the American people by the colored citizens of
Charleston, S.C.
No. 10. An address by a committee appointed at a convention of leading
representatives of Columbia, S.C.
No. 11. Copy of letter of July 15, 1876, from the district attorney of
Mississippi to the Attorney-General of the United States.
No. 12. Letter from same to same.
No. 13. Copy of report of a grand jury lately in session in Oxford,
Miss.
These inclosures embrace all the information in my possession touching
the late disgraceful and brutal slaughter of unoffending men at the town
of Hamburg, S.C. My letter to Governor Chamberlain contains all the
comments I wish to make on the subject. As allusion is made in that
letter to the condition of other States, and particularly to Louisiana
and Mississippi, I have added to the inclosures letters and testimony in
regard to the lawless condition of a portion of the people of the latter
State.
In regard to Louisiana affairs, murders and massacres of innocent men
for opinion's sake or on account of color have been of too recent date
and of too frequent occurrence to require recapitulation or testimony
here. All are familiar with their horrible details, the only wonder
being that so many justify them or apologize for them.
But recently a committee of the Senate of the United States visited the
State of Mississippi to take testimony on the subject of frauds and
violence in elections. Their report has not yet been made public, but I
await its forthcoming with a feeling of confidence that it will fully
sustain all that I have stated relating to fraud and violence in the
State of Mississippi.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _August 11, 1876_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I transmit herewith a telegram of the 5th of August instant from
Lieutenant-General Sheridan to General Sherman, a letter of the 11th of
the present month from General Sherman to the Secretary of War, and a
letter from the latter of the same date to me, all setting forth the
possible needs of the Army in consequence of existing hostilities.
I would strongly urge upon Congress the necessity for making some
provision for a contingency which may arise during the vacation--for
more troops in the Indian country than it is now possible to send.
It would seem to me to be much more economical and better to authorize
an increase of the present cavalry force by 2,500 privates, but if this
is not deemed advisable, then that the President be authorized to call
out not exceeding five regiments, 1,000 strong each, of volunteers, to
serve for a period not exceeding six months.
Should this latter authority be given, I would not order out any
volunteers unless in my opinion, based upon reports from the scene of
war, I deemed it absolutely necessary, and then only the smallest number
considered sufficient to meet the emergency.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _August 14, 1876_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
In affixing my signature to the river and harbor bill, No. 3822,
I deem it my duty to announce to the House of Representatives my
objections to some features of the bill, and the reason I sign it.
If it was obligatory upon the Executive to expend all the money
appropriated by Congress, I should return the river and harbor bill
with my objections, notwithstanding the great inconvenience to the
public interests resulting therefrom and the loss of expenditures from
previous Congresses upon incompleted works. Without enumerating, many
appropriations are made for works of purely private or local interest,
in no sense national. I can not give my sanction to these, and will take
care that during my term of office no public money shall be expended
upon them.
There is very great necessity for economy of expenditures at this
time, growing out of the loss of revenue likely to arise from a
deficiency of appropriations to insure a thorough collection of the
same. The reduction of revenue districts, diminution of special agents,
and total abolition of supervisors may result in great falling off of
the revenue. It may be a question to consider whether any expenditure
can be authorized under the river and harbor appropriation further than
to protect works already done and paid for. Under no circumstances will
I allow expenditures upon works not clearly national.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _August 14, 1876_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
In announcing, as I do, that I have attached my signature of official
approval to the "Act making appropriations for the consular and
diplomatic service of the Government for the year ending June 30, 1877,
and for other purposes," it is my duty to call attention to a provision
in the act directing that notice be sent to certain of the diplomatic
and consular officers of the Government "to close their offices."
In the literal sense of this direction it would be an invasion of the
constitutional prerogatives and duty of the Executive.
By the Constitution the President "shall have power, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds
of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and, by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint, ambassadors, other
public ministers, and consuls," etc.
It is within the power of Congress to grant or withhold appropriation
of money for the payment of salaries and expenses of the foreign
representatives of the Government.
In the early days of the Government a sum in gross was appropriated,
leaving it to the Executive to determine the grade of the officers and
the countries to which they should be sent.
Latterly, for very many years, specific sums have been appropriated
for designated missions or employments, and as a rule the omission by
Congress to make an appropriation for any specific port has heretofore
been accepted as an indication of a wish on the part of Congress which
the executive branch of the Government respected and complied with.
In calling attention to the passage which I have indicated I assume that
the intention of the provision is only to exercise the constitutional
prerogative of Congress over the expenditures of the Government and to
fix a time at which the compensation of certain diplomatic and consular
officers shall cease, and not to invade the constitutional rights of the
Executive, which I should be compelled to resist; and my present object
is not to discuss or dispute the wisdom of failing to appropriate for
several offices, but to guard against the construction that might
possibly be placed on the language used, as implying a right in the
legislative branch to direct the closing or discontinuing of any of the
diplomatic or consular offices of the Government.
U.S. GRANT.
[For message of August 15, 1876, withdrawing objections to Senate bill
No. 779, see p. 388.]
WASHINGTON, _August 15, 1876_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit to the Senate, in answer to its resolution of the 24th
ultimo, a report from the Secretary of State, with its accompanying
statement.[111]
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 111: Aggregate number of civil officers in or connected with
the Department of State from 1859 to 1875, inclusive.]
VETO MESSAGES.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 3, 1876_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
I have the honor to return herewith without my approval House bill No.
1561, entitled "An act transferring the custody of certain Indian trust
funds from the Secretary of the Interior to the Treasurer of the United
States," for the reasons set forth in the accompanying communication
from the Secretary of the Interior.
U.S. GRANT.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, _Washington, February 7, 1876_.
The PRESIDENT.
SIR: I acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 29th ultimo,
transmitting House bill No. 1561 and requesting this Department to
report whether any objections to its becoming a law are known to exist.
In reply I have the honor to state that I am fearful that the act is not
sufficiently definite in terms to accomplish the end desired, namely,
the mere transfer of the custody of said trust funds, enabling this
Department to receive the interest from the custodian and apply it as
heretofore without the intervention of Congress. The nature of the
guardianship and control over the Indians exercised by me as Secretary
and trustee is such as to require this Department to keep an account of
the funds to their credit or held in trust for them, and to receive the
interest on their trust funds promptly when due. I am fearful that this
bill may not allow me to do so, and to guard against any danger of
embarrassment in the transaction of this business I inclose a draft of
a bill[112] which, if substituted for the one already passed, will, it is
believed, obviate the difficulties which may arise if the present bill
should become a law.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Z. CHANDLER, _Secretary_.
[Footnote 112: Omitted.]
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 27, 1876_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
I have the honor to return herewith without my approval the bill (H.R.
No. 83) entitled "An act for the relief of James A. Hile, of Lewis
County, Mo.," for the reasons set forth in the accompanying
communication of the Secretary of War.
U.S. GRANT.
WAR DEPARTMENT, _Washington City, March 25, 1876_.
The PRESIDENT.
SIR: I have the honor to return act H.R. 83, with the following report
from the Adjutant-General:
"It appears from the records of this office that James A. Hile, private
Company F, Twenty-first Missouri Volunteers, enlisted July 15, 1861;
deserted June 14, 1862; returned August 2, 1862; was restored to duty
by special order No. 38, headquarters District of Columbus, Department
of Tennessee, dated Columbus, Ky., February 26, 1863. He reenlisted
February 28, 1864, as a veteran volunteer; was tried by general
court-martial for absence without leave from November 25, 1864, to
December 13, 1864, and sentenced to forfeit all pay and allowances for
time absent by general order No. 48, headquarters Second Division,
Sixteenth Army Corps, dated May 22, 1865.
"On the muster-out roll of company dated April 19, 1866, he is reported,
'Deserted March 1, 1866, at Bladen Springs, Ala.'
"This man, in his application to this office for discharge, stated under
oath (affidavit dated July 27, 1870) that he left his command without
leave and returned to his home February 28, 1866, having previously
applied for a furlough, which was refused.
"This man, according to his own statement under oath, did desert as
reported, and if this bill becomes a law it will be an injustice to
every soldier who served honorably with his command until his services
were no longer required by the Government, in addition to falsifying
the record, as the bill directs the record shall be made to show he
is _no deserter_.
"This is only one of many similar cases."
The remarks of the Adjutant-General adverse to the passage of the bill
are concurred in.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
ALPHONSO TAFT, _Secretary of War_.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 31, 1876_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
For the reasons set forth in the accompanying communication from the
Secretary of the Treasury, I have the honor to return herewith without
my approval Senate bill No. 489, entitled "An act for the relief of
G.B. Tyler and E.H. Luckett, assignees of William T. Cheatham."
U.S. GRANT.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT, _March 30, 1876_.
The PRESIDENT:
Referring to the letter of the 25th instant, written by your direction,
transmitting Senate bill No. 489, "for the relief of G.B. Tyler and B.H.
Luckett, assignees of William T. Cheatham," and requesting my opinion as
to the propriety of its approval by you, I have to say that there are no
data on file in the Department, so far as I can learn, which indicate
that the amount it is proposed by this bill to refund to the assignees
of Mr. Cheatham was wrongfully collected or that the amount should be
refunded.
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, in his report to me in reference
to the matter, says:
"The reimbursement to the United States by said Cheatham of the salary
paid to this storekeeper by the collector of internal revenue for the
months of December, 1869, and January, 1870, was in accordance with the
provisions of joint resolution of March 29, 1869 (16 U.S. Statutes at
Large, p. 52), and there appears to be no reason for the refunding by
the United States to the assignees of said Cheatham the salary of this
storekeeper that would not apply with equal force to similar payments by
all other distillers who were operating their distilleries or had
spirits in their warehouses at that time."
The facts above stated are considered by this office valid and serious
objections to the approval of this bill, and they would have been
communicated to the Congressional committee before the passage of the
bill had they called the attention of this office to the subject.
The bill is herewith returned.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
B.H. BRISTOW, _Secretary_.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 18, 1876_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
Herewith I return Senate bill No. 172, entitled "An act fixing the
salary of the President of the United States," without my approval.
I am constrained to this course from a sense of duty to my successors in
office, to myself, and to what is due to the dignity of the position of
Chief Magistrate of a nation of more than 40,000,000 people.
When the salary of the President of the United States, pursuant to the
Constitution, was fixed at $25,000 per annum, we were a nation of but
3,000,000 people, poor from a long and exhaustive war, without commerce
or manufactures, with but few wants and those cheaply supplied. The
salary must then have been deemed small for the responsibilities and
dignity of the position, but justifiably so from the impoverished
condition of the Treasury and the simplicity it was desired to cultivate
in the Republic.
The salary of Congressmen under the Constitution was first fixed at
$6 per day for the time actually in session--an average of about one
hundred and twenty days to each session--or $720 per year, or less than
one-thirtieth of the salary of the President.
Congress have legislated upon their own salaries from time to time
since, until finally it reached $5,000 per annum, or one-fifth that of
the President, before the salary of the latter was increased.
No one having a knowledge of the cost of living at the national capital
will contend that the present salary of Congressmen is too high, unless
it is the intention to make the office one entirely of honor, when the
salary should be abolished--a proposition repugnant to our republican
ideas and institutions.
I do not believe the citizens of this Republic desire their public
servants to serve them without a fair compensation for their services.
Twenty-five thousand dollars does not defray the expenses of the
Executive for one year, or has not in my experience. It is not now
one-fifth in value of what it was at the time of the adoption of the
Constitution in supplying demands and wants.
Having no personal interest in this matter, I have felt myself free to
return this bill to the House in which it originated with my objections,
believing that in doing so I meet the wishes and judgment of the great
majority of those who indirectly pay all the salaries and other expenses
of Government.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 26, 1876_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
I return herewith without my approval House bill No. 1922, entitled
"An act providing for the recording of deeds, mortgages, and other
conveyances affecting real estate in the District of Columbia."
The objection to affixing my signature to this bill may be found in
the communication addressed to me by the Attorney-General, and which
accompanies this message.
U.S. GRANT.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, _Washington, May 23, 1876_.
The PRESIDENT.
SIR: In reply to your note of the 19th instant, in which you request
me to report whether there are objections to your approval of "An act
providing for the recording of deeds, mortgages, and other conveyances
affecting real estate in the District of Columbia," being House bill No.
1922, I have the honor to state that the bill seems to me objectionable
because of indefiniteness and uncertainty as to the time which it
purports to fix when deeds of trust, mortgages, etc., shall take effect
and be valid as to creditors and subsequent purchasers for valuable
consideration without notice. Although there is no constitutional
objection to the act, yet for the reason above stated I hesitate to
advise its approval.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
EDWARDS PIERREPONT, _Attorney-General_.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _June 9, 1876_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I return herewith without my approval Senate bill No. 165, entitled
"An act for the relief of Michael W. Brock, of Meigs County, Tenn.,
late a private in Company D, Tenth Tennessee Volunteers."
The objection to affixing my signature to this bill may be found in the
indorsement (which accompanies this message) by the Adjutant-General of
the Army.
U.S. GRANT.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
_Washington, June 8, 1876_.
Respectfully returned to the Secretary of War.
The records of this office show that Michael W. Brock, Company D, Tenth
Tennessee Volunteers, deserted November 24, 1864, due United States for
horse and horse equipments, carbine, saber, and pistol, all complete.
He presented satisfactory evidence of his having left the service by
proper authority, and the charge of desertion has been removed and the
soldier furnished an honorable discharge.
No evidence has been presented to this office to establish that he was
erroneously charged with Government property.
If satisfactory evidence is furnished showing conclusively that this
soldier was erroneously charged with Government property, taken at time
of his reported desertion, the charge will be removed, and in that case
the inclosed act for his relief will be unnecessary.
ED TOWNSEND, _Adjutant-General_.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _June 30, 1876_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I return herewith without my approval Senate bill No. 692, entitled
"An act to amend chapter 166 of the laws of the second session of the
Forty-third Congress."
The objections to affixing my signature to this bill may be found in the
report, which accompanies this message, of the Chief of Engineers of the
Army to the Secretary of War.
U.S. GRANT.
WAR DEPARTMENT, _Washington City, June 28, 1876_.
The PRESIDENT:
SIR: I have the honor to return herewith Senate bill No. 692, "to amend
chapter 166 of the laws of the second session of the Forty-third
Congress," and beg to invite your attention to the report of the Chief
of Engineers dated the 27th instant, copy inclosed, and for the reasons
stated in said report it is believed the bill should not become a law.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J.D. CAMERON, _Secretary of War_.
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, _June 27, 1876_.
Respectfully returned to the honorable the Secretary of War.
"An act to aid in the improvement of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, in
the State of Wisconsin," approved March 3, 1875, contains the following
clause:
"In case any lands or other property is now or shall be flowed or
injured by means of any part of the works of said improvement heretofore
or hereafter constructed, for which compensation is now or shall become
legally owing, and in the opinion of the officer in charge it is not
prudent that the dam or dams be lowered, the amount of such compensation
may be ascertained in like manner," etc.
The dams referred to in the above clause are at the outlets of Lake
Winnebago, known as the Neenah or Menasha channels of the Lower Fox
River.
The officer of the Department of Justice appointed under the provisions
of the act referred to to represent the interests of the United States
in legal proceedings "for flowage damages hereinbefore described,"
acting apparently under the assumption that because the dams in question
had not been lowered it was the opinion of the officer in charge that
they should not be lowered, has had such surveys, investigations, etc.,
made as were deemed necessary by him to protect the interests of the
United States, and under this action it is understood that, at the
instance of claimants, judges of the circuit court have appointed
commissioners to decide on the amount of compensation due, and the
judges have fixed the rate of compensation the commissioners are to
receive. These commissioners are not appointed at the instance of the
United States.
In this way the awards for damages have already been made to the amount
of $70,000, and ultimately a much larger sum will be claimed to be due
from the United States.
The officer of engineers in charge of the improvement of the Fox and
Wisconsin rivers reports that the dams which have occasioned the flowage
were not constructed by the canal companies, and are not at all
necessary for the purposes of navigation, and so far as that is
concerned could not only be lowered, but entirely dispensed with.
They were built by private parties solely for their own use and profit
and for water-power purposes, and have raised the water level and
caused the flowage, for which they should be held liable.
In view of the preceding facts, and for the additional reason that the
subject of the liability of the United States is now being investigated
by the Department of Justice, it is respectfully suggested that the
inclosed act to amend chapter 166 of the laws of the second session of
the Forty-third Congress (S. 692) should not become a law.
A.A. HUMPHREYS,
_Brigadier-General and Chief of Engineers_.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _July 11, 1876_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
For the reasons set forth in the accompanying report of the Secretary of
War, I have the honor to return herewith without my approval House bill
No. 1337, entitled "An act for the relief of Nelson Tiffany."
U.S. GRANT.
WAR DEPARTMENT, _June 7, 1876_.
The PRESIDENT.
SIR: I have the honor to return House bill No. 1337, "for the relief of
Nelson Tiffany."
The Adjutant-General, to whom the bill was referred, reports as follows:
"Nelson Tiffany, private, Company A, Twenty-fifth Massachusetts
Volunteers, deserted October 10, 1864, and remained absent until April
25, 1865, when he surrendered under the President's proclamation,
thereby acknowledging his desertion.
"If this bill becomes a law, it will not only falsify the records of
this Department, but will be an injustice to every man who served
honorably during the War of the Rebellion."
* * * * *
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J.D. CAMERON, _Secretary of War_.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _July 13, 1876_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
For the reasons stated in the accompanying report by the Commissioner of
Pensions to the Secretary of the Interior, I have the honor to return
without my approval House bill No. 11, entitled "An act granting a
pension to Eliza Jane Blumer."
U.S. GRANT.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, _Washington July 8, 1876_.
The PRESIDENT.
SIR: I have the honor to return herewith a bill (H.R. 11) entitled
"An act granting a pension to Eliza Jane Blumer," and to invite your
attention to the inclosed copy of a communication addressed to me on the
7th instant by the Commissioner of Pensions, relating to said bill.
In the opinion of this Department the misdescription of the soldier in
the bill is of such a character as would render it difficult, if not
impossible, to carry the provisions of the bill into effect should it
become a law.
I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant,
CHAS. T. GORHAM, _Acting Secretary_.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, _Washington, D.C., July 7, 1876_.
The HONORABLE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.
SIR: I have the honor to return herewith engrossed House bill No. 11,
giving to Eliza Jane Blumer a pension as a widow of Henry A. Blumer,
private of Company A, Forty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, with the
suggestion that if the bill is intended to pension Eliza Blumer, whose
application, No. 46382, on file in this office, has been rejected,
it should designate the soldier as of Company B of said regiment, it
failing to appear from the records of the War Department that he served
in any other company than that last named.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J.A. BENTLEY, _Commissioner_.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _July 20, 1876_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
I have the honor to return herewith without my approval House bill No.
2684, entitled "An act to amend sections 3946, 3951, and 3954 of the
Revised Statutes."
It is the judgment of the Postmaster-General, whose report accompanies
this message, that if this bill should become a law in its present form
it would fail to give effect to its provisions. The remedial suggestions
in his report are respectfully recommended to your attention,
U.S. GRANT.
POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT, _Washington, D.C., July 19, 1876_.
The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,
_Washington, D.C._
SIR: I have the honor to return herewith House bill No. 2684, "to amend
sections 3946, 3951, and 3954 of the Revised Statutes," with the
following objections thereto:
The sections of the Revised Statutes which this bill proposes to amend
were substantially repealed by the twelfth section of the act entitled
"An act making appropriations for the service of the Post-Office
Department for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1875, and for other
purposes," approved June 23, 1874. The sections of the Revised Statutes
numbered as indicated in the bill were enacted as sections 246 and 251
of the "act to revise, consolidate, and amend the statutes relating to
the Post-Office Department," approved June 8, 1872. These sections were
subsequently embodied in the revision of the statutes.
If the accompanying bill should become a law in its present form, it
would, in my judgment, fail to give effect to its provisions. The bill
is a very important one for the service of the Post-Office Department.
Efforts have been made for four or five years past to induce Congress to
pass just such a law. To break up the vicious system of straw bidding,
this bill would be very valuable, and I regret exceedingly that a
mistake should have been made in the title and enacting clause which
will render its provisions inoperative.
I therefore suggest that the attention of the House in which it
originated shall be called to the defects in the bill explained above;
and to enable that body to understand very fully what, in my judgment,
would be required to perfect it, I would suggest that the title should
read "A bill to amend subsections 246 and 251 of section 12 of an
act entitled 'An act making appropriations for the service of the
Post-Office Department for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1875, and for
other purposes,' approved June 23, 1874, and also to amend section 3954
of the Revised Statutes," and that the enacting clause of the bill
should be changed in conformity therewith.
I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant,
JAS. N. TYNER, _Postmaster-General_.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _August 14, 1876_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
For the reason stated in the accompanying communication, submitted to me
by the Secretary of War, I have the honor to return herewith without my
approval House bill No. 36, entitled "An act to restore the name of
Captain Edward S. Meyer to the active list of the Army."
U.S. GRANT.
WAR DEPARTMENT, _Washington, D.C., August 4, 1876_.
The PRESIDENT.
SIR: I have the honor to return House bill No. 36, "to restore the name
of Captain Edward S. Meyer to the active list of the Army," and beg to
invite your attention to the inclosed report of the Adjutant-General of
this date, stating objections to the approval of the bill.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J.D. CAMERON, _Secretary of War_.
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, _August 4, 1876_.
Respectfully returned to the Secretary of War.
Edward S. Meyer served as a private in the Fourth Ohio Volunteers (three
months) from May 4, 1861, to August 18, 1861. He again enlisted as
private, Nineteenth Ohio Volunteers, September 10, 1861; was promoted
first lieutenant November 1, 1861, and resigned September 27, 1862. He
was commissioned captain, One hundred and seventh Ohio Volunteers,
November 11, 1862; was wounded at Chancellorsville, Va., May 2, 1863,
and discharged for physical disability January 1, 1865. He was again
mustered into service February 8, 1865, as major, Fifth United States
Veteran Volunteers (Hancock's Corps), and mustered out March 20, 1866.
Was brevetted lieutenant-colonel, colonel, and brigadier-general of
volunteers March 13, 1865.
He was appointed captain, Thirty-fifth United States Infantry, July 28,
1866; became unassigned August 12, 1869; assigned to Nineteenth Infantry
August 5, 1870, and transferred to Ninth Cavalry January 1, 1871.
Retired August 24, 1872.
July 8, 1869, Captain Meyer applied for retirement on account of wounds
received at Chancellorsville May 2, 1863, by which he was incapacitated
for active service. No action was then had on the request, pending
action by Congress reducing the Army.
October 6, 1869, he asked to be placed on waiting orders, being unfit
for duty, and no possibility of improvement without going North. He was
accordingly relieved from duty and ordered home to await orders.
December 18, 1869, he called on the Secretary of War and asked to be
assigned to duty.
January 4, 1870, he again applied to be assigned to duty with some
regiment on the frontier, stating that his wound had healed, etc.,
and asking to withdraw his previous request for retirement. This was
accompanied by a similar request from his father, Mr. S. Meyer, of Ohio.
July 29, 1870, he applied the third time to withdraw application for
retirement and to be assigned to duty. On January 1, 1871, in accordance
with his repeated requests to be assigned to duty, he was assigned to
the Ninth Cavalry, serving in Texas. He joined the regiment, and on
March 4, 1872, he renewed his former request to be ordered before a
retiring board, stating that he found his injuries would not allow him
to remain on duty on the frontier; that his disability was constantly
increasing, etc. The medical director of the department approved the
request, and added that Captain Meyer's wounds certainly unfitted him
for service on the frontier.
April 13, 1872, Senator Sherman joined in requesting retirement of
Captain Meyer. He was ordered before the retiring board and on August
20, 1872, was examined.
The board found Captain Meyer "incapacitated for active service, and
that said incapacity results from a gunshot wound received in his lower
jaw at the battle of Chancellorsville, Va., May 2, 1863," when captain
in One hundred and seventh Ohio Volunteers. He was retired in accordance
with the finding.
March 21 and December 6, 1873, Captain Meyer asked restoration to active
service and reappointment as a captain of cavalry, which application was
disapproved by the General of the Army.
Pending the action on the bill before Congress no reports were called
for as to the official facts of record in the War Department, and no
evidence has been filed in this office showing that he has sufficiently
recovered.
The absence of such evidence and the fact that after one assignment to
active duty he has failed to be sufficiently recovered are submitted as
objections why the bill should not be approved.
E.D. TOWNSEND, _Adjutant-General_.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _August 15, 1876_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
I herewith return House bill No. 4085 without my approval. The repeal of
the clause in the original bill for paving Pennsylvania avenue fixing
the time for the completion of the work by December 1, 1876, is
objectionable in this, that it fixes no date when the work is to be
completed.
Experience shows that where contractors have unlimited time to complete
any given work they consult their own convenience, and not the public
good. Should Congress deem it proper to amend the present bill in such
manner as to fix the date for the completion of the work to be done by
any date between December 1 and the close of my official term, it will
receive my approval.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _August 15, 1876_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
For the reasons stated in the accompanying communication, submitted to
me by the Acting Secretary of the Interior, I have the honor to return
herewith without my approval Senate bill No. 779, entitled "An act to
provide for the sale of a portion of the reservation of the confederated
Otoe and Missouria and the Sacs and Foxes of the Missouri tribes of
Indians, in the States of Kansas and Nebraska."
U.S. GRANT.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, _Washington, D.C., August 14, 1876_.
The PRESIDENT.
SIR: I have the honor to return herewith the bill (S. No. 779) entitled
"An act to provide for the sale of a portion of the reservation of the
confederated Otoe and Missouria and the Sacs and Foxes of the Missouri
tribes of Indians, in the States of Kansas and Nebraska," and to invite
your attention to the inclosed copy of a letter this day addressed to me
by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, stating that the bill, in his
opinion, should not become a law.
I fully concur in the opinion expressed by the Commissioner, and for the
reasons stated in his letter do not feel at liberty to recommend your
approval of the bill. I have the honor to be, with great respect, your
obedient servant,
CHAS. T. GORHAM, _Acting Secretary_.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS,
_Washington, D.C., August 14, 1876_.
The HONORABLE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.
SIR: I have the honor to return herewith, in accordance with your verbal
request, a bill entitled "An act to provide for the sale of a portion of
the reservation of the confederated Otoe and Missouria and the Sacs and
Foxes of the Missouri tribes of Indians, in the States of Kansas and
Nebraska," with my views thereon, the same having passed both Houses of
Congress and now awaits the approval of the President.
Your attention is respectfully invited to the act of June 10, 1872 (17
U.S. Statutes at Large, p. 391), which provides for the sale of these
reservations, or a portion of them. The whole of both these reservations
has been surveyed, a portion in accordance with this act of Congress and
the remainder with a view to the allotment of lands to the Indians.
The second section of the bill provides for the appraisement of the
whole reservation, while the third section authorizes the sale of a
portion not exceeding 120,000 acres, a portion of which is in Kansas.
The bill authorizes the sale of that portion lying in Kansas through the
land office located at Beatrice, Nebr. No provision is made for the
relief of such Indians, if any there be, who may have settled upon the
portion authorized to be sold, and who may have made improvements
thereon. Moreover, in fulfillment of treaty obligations, the assent of
the Indians to the operations of the whole bill, and not simply to the
first section, should be required, as in the case of the Menominees (16
U.S. Statutes at Large, p. 410). In my opinion, this bill should not
receive the approval of the President.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J.Q. SMITH, _Commissioner_.
[The Senate proceeded, as the Constitution prescribes, to reconsider
the said bill returned by the President of the United States with his
objections, and pending the question, Shall the bill pass, the
objections of the President of the United States to the contrary
notwithstanding? the following message was received:]
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _August 15, 1876_,
_To the Senate of the United States_:
Upon further investigation I am convinced that my message of this date,
withholding my signature from Senate bill No. 779, entitled "An act to
provide for the sale of a portion of the reservation of the confederated
Otoe and Missouria and the Sacs and Foxes of the Missouri tribes of
Indians, in the States of Kansas and Nebraska," was premature, and I
request, therefore, that the bill may be returned, in order that I may
affix my signature to it.
U.S. GRANT.
[A motion to refer the last message to the Committee on Privileges
and Elections was, after debate, determined in the negative; and the
question recurring, Shall the bill pass, the objections of the President of
the United States to the contrary notwithstanding? it was determined in
the affirmative--yeas 36, nays 0.]
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _August 15, 1876_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
For the reasons presented in the accompanying communications, submitted
by the Secretary of War, I have the honor to return herewith without my
approval Senate bill No. 561, entitled "An act for the relief of Major
Junius T. Turner."
U.S. GRANT.
WAR DEPARTMENT, _Washington City, August 14, 1876_.
The PRESIDENT.
SIR: I have the honor to return Senate bill 561, "for the relief of
Major Junius T. Turner," with copy of the report of the Adjutant-General
of this date, stating objections to the approval of the bill.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J.D. CAMERON, _Secretary of War_.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
_August 14, 1876_.
Respectfully returned to the Secretary of War.
The following objections exist to this bill becoming a law:
The bill as passed both Houses awards "such sum as shall equal the
travel pay of a captain of volunteers from Washington, D.C., to San
Francisco, Cal.," whereas at the date of the discharge of Junius T.
Turner he was a private of Company B, California Battalion, Second
Massachusetts Cavalry, and not a commissioned officer.
Aside from this, under the established regulations and rulings of the
Treasury and War Departments, "a soldier, on receiving and accepting
a commission as a company officer, is not entitled to traveling
allowances." A departure from this rule, heretofore adhered to, would
open up a very wide field for similar claims.
Private Junius T. Turner, Second Massachusetts Cavalry, was discharged
by way of favor March 28, 1864, to accept promotion as second
lieutenant, Third Maryland Cavalry, and was mustered as of that grade in
said regiment March 29, 1864.
He was honorably discharged September 7, 1865, as captain, Third
Maryland Cavalry, as set forth in the inclosed official copy of a
letter[113] from this office, dated June 7, 1876, to Hon. C.D. MacDougall,
M.C., of Committee on Military Affairs, House of Representatives.
E.D. TOWNSEND, _Adjutant-General_.
[Footnote 113: Omitted.]
[The Senate proceeded, as the Constitution prescribes, to reconsider
the said bill returned by the President of the United States with
his objections, and pending the question, Shall the bill pass, the
objections of the President of the United States to the contrary
notwithstanding? it was ordered that the message be referred to the
Committee on Military Affairs. At the next (second) session of the
Forty-fourth Congress the following message was received:]
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 12, 1877_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
On the eve of the adjournment of the last session of Congress I returned
to the Senate bill No. 561, entitled "An act for the relief of Major
Junius T. Turner," with my objections to its becoming a law. I now
desire to withdraw those objections, as I am satisfied they were made
under a misapprehension of the facts.
U.S. GRANT.
[This message was also referred to the Committee on Military Affairs,
which committee, on February 13, 1877, reported to the Senate a
recommendation that the bill do pass, the objections of the President of
the United States to the contrary notwithstanding. No action was taken.]
PROCLAMATIONS.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas by the first section of an act 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," approved March 23, 1874, it was enacted as
follows:
That whenever the President of the United States shall receive
satisfactory information that the Ottoman Government or that of Egypt
has organized other tribunals on a basis likely to secure to citizens of
the United States in their domains the same impartial justice which they
now enjoy there under the judicial functions exercised by the minister,
consuls, and other functionaries of the United States pursuant to the
act of Congress approved the 22d of June, 1860, entitled "An act to
carry into effect provisions of the treaties between the United States,
China, Persia, and other countries giving certain judicial powers to
ministers and consuls or other functionaries of the United States in
those countries, and for other purposes," he is hereby authorized to
suspend the operations of said acts as to the dominions in which such
tribunals may be organized so far as the jurisdiction of said tribunals
may embrace matters now cognizable by the minister, consuls, or other
functionaries of the United States in said dominions, and to notify the
Government of the Sublime Porte, or that of Egypt, or either of them,
that the United States during such suspension will, as aforesaid, accept
for their citizens the jurisdiction of the tribunals aforesaid over
citizens of the United States which has heretofore been exercised by the
minister, consuls, or other functionaries of the United States.
And whereas satisfactory information has been received by me that the
Government of Egypt has organized other tribunals on a basis likely
to secure to citizens of the United States in the dominions subject
to such Government the impartial justice which they now enjoy there
under the judicial functions exercised by the minister, consul, or other
functionaries of the United States pursuant to the said act of Congress
approved June 22, 1860:
Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the power and authority conferred upon me by the
said act approved March 23, 1874, do hereby suspend during the pleasure
of the President the operation of the said act approved June 22, 1860,
as to the said dominions subject to the Government of Egypt in which
such tribunals have been organized, so far as the jurisdiction of said
tribunals may embrace matters now cognizable by the minister, consuls,
or other functionaries of the United States in said dominions, except
as to cases actually commenced before the date hereof.
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 27th day of March, A.D. 1876, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundredth.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas a joint resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States was duly approved on the 13th day of March last, which
resolution is as follows:
_Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled_, That it be, and is
hereby, recommended by the Senate and House of Representatives to
the people of the several States that they assemble in their several
counties or towns on the approaching centennial anniversary of our
national independence, and that they cause to have delivered on such
day an historical sketch of said county or town from its formation,
and that a copy of said sketch may be filed, in print or manuscript,
in the clerk's office of said county, and an additional copy, in print
or manuscript, be filed in the office of the Librarian of Congress,
to the intent that a complete record may thus be obtained of the
progress of our institutions during the first centennial of their
existence.
And whereas it is deemed proper that such recommendation be brought to
the notice and knowledge of the people of the United States:
Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States, do
hereby declare and make known the same, in the hope that the object of
such resolution may meet the approval of the people of the United States
and that proper steps may be taken to carry the same into effect.
[SEAL.]
Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, the 25th day of May,
A.D. 1876, and of the Independence of the United States the one
hundredth.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
The centennial anniversary of the day on which the people of the United
States declared their right to a separate and equal station among the
powers of the earth seems to demand an exceptional observance.
The founders of the Government, at its birth and in its feebleness,
invoked the blessings and the protection of a Divine Providence, and
the thirteen colonies and three millions of people have expanded into
a nation of strength and numbers commanding the position which then was
asserted and for which fervent prayers were then offered.
It seems fitting that on the occurrence of the hundredth anniversary of
our existence as a nation a grateful acknowledgment should be made to
Almighty God for the protection and the bounties which He has vouchsafed
to our beloved country.
I therefore invite the good people of the United States, on the
approaching 4th day of July, in addition to the usual observances with
which they are accustomed to greet the return of the day, further,
in such manner and at such time as in their respective localities and
religious associations may be most convenient, to mark its recurrence
by some public religious and devout thanksgiving to Almighty God for
the blessings which have been bestowed upon us as a nation during the
century of our existence, and humbly to invoke a continuance of His
favor and of His protection.
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 26th day of June, A.D. 1876, and of
the Independence of the United States of America the one hundredth.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas the Congress of the United States did, by an act approved on the
3d day of March, 1875, authorize the inhabitants of the Territory of
Colorado to form for themselves out of said Territory a State government
with the name of the State of Colorado, and for the admission of such
State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States upon
certain conditions in said act specified; and
Whereas it was provided by said act of Congress that the convention
elected by the people of said Territory to frame a State constitution
should, when assembled for that purpose and after organization, declare
on behalf of the people that they adopt the Constitution of the United
States, and should also provide by an ordinance, irrevocable without
the consent of the United States and the people of said State, that
perfect toleration of religious sentiment shall be secured and that no
inhabitant of said State shall ever be molested in person or property
on account of his or her mode of religious worship, and that the people
inhabiting said Territory do agree and declare that they forever
disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying
within said Territory and that the same shall be and remain at the
sole and entire disposition of the United States, and that the lands
belonging to citizens of the United States residing without the said
State shall never be taxed higher than the lands belonging to residents
thereof, and that no taxes shall be imposed by the State on lands or
property therein belonging to or which may hereafter be purchased by
the United States; and
Whereas it was further provided by said act that the constitution
thus formed for the people of the Territory of Colorado should, by an
ordinance of the convention forming the same, be submitted to the people
of said Territory for ratification or rejection at an election to be
held in the month of July, 1876, at which election the lawful voters
of said new State should vote directly for or against the proposed
constitution, and the returns of said election should be made to the
acting governor of the Territory, who, with the chief justice and United
States attorney of said Territory, or any two of them, should canvass
the same, and, if a majority of legal votes should be cast for said
constitution in said proposed State the said acting governor should
certify the same to the President of the United States, together with
a copy of said constitution and ordinances, whereupon it should be the
duty of the President of the United States to issue his proclamation
declaring the State admitted into the Union on an equal footing with
the original States, without any further action whatever on the part
of Congress; and
Whereas it has been certified to me by the acting governor of said
Territory of Colorado that within the time prescribed by said act of
Congress a constitution for said proposed State has been adopted and the
same ratified by a majority of the legal voters of said proposed new
State, in accordance with the conditions prescribed by said act of
Congress; and
Whereas a duly authenticated copy of said constitution and of the
declaration and ordinance required by said act has been received by me:
Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of
America, do, in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress
aforesaid, declare and proclaim the fact that the fundamental conditions
imposed by Congress on the State of Colorado to entitle that State to
admission to the Union have been ratified and accepted, and that the
admission of the said State into the Union is now complete.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and have caused the
seal of the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 1st day of August, A.D. 1876, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and
first.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas by Article V of a convention concluded at Washington upon the
30th day of January, 1875, between the United States of America and His
Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands it was provided as follows,
viz:
The present convention shall take effect as soon as it shall have been
approved and proclaimed by His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands
and shall have been ratified and duly proclaimed on the part of the
Government of the United States, but not until a law to carry it into
operation shall have been passed by the Congress of the United States
of America. Such assent having been given and the ratifications of
the convention having been exchanged as provided in Article VI, the
convention shall remain in force for seven years from the date at which
it may come into operation, and, further, until the expiration of twelve
months after either of the high contracting parties shall give notice
to the other of its wish to terminate the same, each of the high
contracting parties being at liberty to give such notice to the other
at the end of the said term of seven years or at any time thereafter.
And whereas such convention has been approved and proclaimed by His
Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands and has been ratified and duly
proclaimed on the part of the United States, and a law to carry the same
into operation has been passed by the Congress of the United States, and
the ratifications of the convention have been exchanged as provided in
Article VI thereof; and
Whereas the Acting Secretary of State of the United States and His
Majesty's envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary at Washington
have recorded in a protocol a conference held by them at Washington on
the 9th day of September, 1876, in the following language:
Whereas it is provided by Article V of the convention between the United
States of America and His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands
concerning commercial reciprocity, signed at Washington on the 30th day
of January, 1875, as follows:
"Art. V. The present convention shall take effect as soon as it shall
have been approved and proclaimed by His Majesty the King of the
Hawaiian Islands and shall have been ratified and duly proclaimed on
the part of the Government of the United States, but not until the law
to carry it into operation shall have been passed by the Congress of
the United States of America. Such assent having been given and the
ratifications of the convention having been exchanged as provided in
Article VI, the convention shall remain in force for seven years from
the date at which it may come into operation, and, further, until the
expiration of twelve months after either of the high contracting parties
shall give notice to the other of its wish to terminate the same, each
of the high contracting parties being at liberty to give such notice to
the other at the end of the said term of seven years or at any time
thereafter;" and
Whereas the said convention has been approved and proclaimed by His
Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands, and has been ratified and duly
proclaimed on the part of the Government of the United States; and
Whereas an act was passed by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, entitled "An act to
carry into effect a convention between the United States of America and
His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands signed on the 30th day of
January, 1875," which was approved on the 15th day of August, in the
year 1876; and
Whereas an act was passed by the Legislative Assembly of the Hawaiian
Islands entitled "An act to carry into effect a convention between His
Majesty the King and the United States of America signed at Washington
on the 30th day of January; 1875," which was duly approved on the 18th
day of July, in the year 1876; and
Whereas the ratifications of the said convention have been exchanged as
provided in Article VI:
The undersigned, William Hunter, Acting Secretary of State of the
United States of America, and the Hon. Elisha H. Allen, chief justice
of the supreme court, chancellor of the Kingdom, member of the privy
council of state, and His Majesty's envoy extraordinary and minister
plenipotentiary to the United States of America, duly authorized for
this purpose by their respective Governments, have met together at
Washington, and, having found the said convention has been approved and
proclaimed by His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands and has been
ratified and duly proclaimed on the part of the Government of the United
States, and that the laws required to carry the said treaty into
operation have been passed by the Congress of the United States of
America on the one part and by the Legislative Assembly of the Hawaiian
Islands on the other, hereby declare that the convention aforesaid,
concluded between the United States of America and His Majesty the King
of the Hawaiian Islands on the 30th day of January, 1875, will take
effect on the date hereof.
Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States
of America, in pursuance of the premises, do declare that the said
convention has been approved and proclaimed by His Majesty the King
of the Hawaiian Islands and been ratified and duly proclaimed on the
part of the Government of the United States, and that the necessary
legislation has been passed to carry the same into effect, and that the
ratifications of the convention have been exchanged as provided in
Article VI.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done in the city of Washington, this 9th day of September, A.D. 1876,
and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred
and first.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
W. HUNTER,
_Acting Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas it has been satisfactorily shown to me that insurrection and
domestic violence exist in several counties of the State of South
Carolina, and that certain combinations of men against law exist in
many counties of said State known as "rifle clubs," who ride up and
down by day and night in arms, murdering some peaceable citizens and
intimidating others, which combinations, though forbidden by the laws of
the State, can not be controlled or suppressed by the ordinary course of
justice; 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 by laws in pursuance of the above 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 due application to me in the premises 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 all persons engaged in said
unlawful and insurrectionary proceedings to disperse and retire
peaceably to their respective abodes within three days from this date,
and hereafter abandon said combinations and 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 the laws and preserve the public peace.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 17th day of October, A.D. 1876, and
of the Independence of the United States one hundred and one.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
JOHN L. CADWALADER,
_Acting Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
From year to year we have been accustomed to pause in our daily pursuits
and set apart a time to offer our thanks to Almighty God for the special
blessings He has vouchsafed to us, with our prayers for a continuance
thereof.
We have at this time equal reason to be thankful for His continued
protection and for the many material blessings which His bounty has
bestowed.
In addition to these favors accorded to us as individuals, we have
especial occasion to express our hearty thanks to Almighty God that by
His providence and guidance our Government, established a century ago,
has been enabled to fulfill the purpose of its founders in offering an
asylum to the people of every race, securing civil and religious liberty
to all within its borders, and meting out to every individual alike
justice and equality before the law.
It is, moreover, especially our duty to offer our humble prayers to the
Father of All Mercies for a continuance of His divine favor to us as a
nation and as individuals.
By reason of all these considerations, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of
the United States, do recommend to the people of the United States to
devote the 30th day of November next to the expression of their thanks
and prayers to Almighty God, and, laying aside their daily avocations
and all secular occupations, to assemble in their respective places of
worship and observe such day as a day of thanksgiving and rest.
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 26th day of October, A.D. 1876, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and
first.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 20, 1876_.
SIR:[114] The President directs me to say that the several Departments of
the Government will be closed on Tuesday, the 30th instant, 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,
C.C. SNIFFEN, _Secretary_.
[Footnote 114: Addressed to the heads of the Executive Departments, etc.]
WAR DEPARTMENT, _Washington City, August 10, 1876_.
By direction of the President, General W.T. Sherman and
Brigadier-General M.C. Meigs, Quartermaster-General United States Army,
are appointed members of the commission to examine "the whole subject of
reform and reorganization of the Army of the United States," as provided
by section 4, act approved July 24, 1876, "making appropriations for the
support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1877, and for
other purposes."
J.D. CAMERON, _Secretary of War_.
WASHINGTON, _August 21, 1876_.
It is with extreme pain that the President announces to the
people of the United States the death of the Speaker of the House
of Representatives, the Hon. Michael C. Kerr, of Indiana.
A man of great intellectual endowments, large culture, great probity and
earnestness in his devotion to the public interests, has passed from the
position, power, and usefulness to which he had been recently called.
The body over which he had been selected to preside not being in
session to render its tribute of affection and respect to the memory of
the deceased, the President invites the people of the United States to a
solemn recognition of the public and private worth and the services of a
pure and eminent character.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
JOHN L. CADWALADER,
_Acting Secretary of State_.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _November 23, 1876_.
A joint resolution adopted by Congress August 5, 1876, declares that--
Whereas it is ascertained that the hostile Indians of the Northwest are
largely equipped with arms which require special metallic cartridges,
and that such special ammunition is in large part supplied to such
hostile Indians, directly or indirectly, through traders and others in
the Indian country: Therefore,
_Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled_, That the President of the
United States is hereby authorized and requested to take such measures
as in his judgment may be necessary to prevent such special metallic
ammunition being conveyed to such hostile Indians, and is further
authorized to declare the same contraband of war in such district of
country as he may designate during the continuance of hostilities.
To carry into effect the above-cited resolution, the sale of fixed
ammunition or metallic cartridges by any trader or other person in
any district of the Indian country occupied by hostile Indians, or
over which they roam, is hereby prohibited; and all such ammunition or
cartridges introduced into said country by traders or other persons,
and that are liable in any way or manner, directly or indirectly, to
be received by such hostile Indians, shall be deemed contraband of war,
seized by any military officer and confiscated; and the district of
country to which this prohibition shall apply during the continuance
of hostilities is hereby designated as that which embraces all Indian
country, or country occupied by Indians or subject to their visits,
lying within the Territories of Montana, Dakota, and Wyoming and the
States of Nebraska and Colorado.
U.S. GRANT.
EIGHTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 5, 1876_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
In submitting my eighth and last annual message to Congress it seems
proper that I should refer to and in some degree recapitulate the events
and official acts of the past eight years.
It was my fortune, or misfortune, to be called to the office of Chief
Executive without any previous political training. From the age of 17
I had never even witnessed the excitement attending a Presidential
campaign but twice antecedent to my own candidacy, and at but one of
them was I eligible as a voter.
Under such circumstances it is but reasonable to suppose that
errors of judgment must have occurred. Even had they not, differences
of opinion between the Executive, bound by an oath to the strict
performance of his duties, and writers and debaters must have arisen.
It is not necessarily evidence of blunder on the part of the Executive
because there are these differences of views. Mistakes have been made,
as all can see and I admit, but it seems to me oftener in the selections
made of the assistants appointed to aid in carrying out the various
duties of administering the Government--in nearly every case selected
without a personal acquaintance with the appointee, but upon
recommendations of the representatives chosen directly by the people.
It is impossible, where so many trusts are to be allotted, that the
right parties should be chosen in every instance. History shows that no
Administration from the time of Washington to the present has been free
from these mistakes. But I leave comparisons to history, claiming only
that I have acted in every instance from a conscientious desire to do
what was right, constitutional, within the law, and for the very best
interests of the whole people. Failures have been errors of judgment,
not of intent.
My civil career commenced, too, at a most critical and difficult time.
Less than four years before, the country had emerged from a conflict
such as no other nation had ever survived. Nearly one-half of the States
had revolted against the Government, and of those remaining faithful
to the Union a large percentage of the population sympathized with the
rebellion and made an "enemy in the rear" almost as dangerous as the
more honorable enemy in the front. The latter committed errors of
judgment, but they maintained them openly and courageously; the former
received the protection of the Government they would see destroyed, and
reaped all the pecuniary advantage to be gained out of the then existing
state of affairs, many of them by obtaining contracts and by swindling
the Government in the delivery of their goods.
Immediately on the cessation of hostilities the then noble President,
who had carried the country so far through its perils, fell a martyr
to his patriotism at the hands of an assassin.