practicable under its present powers over the collection, keeping, and
disbursement of the public money, is to diminish the circulation of
small bank notes and to substitute specie, and especially gold, for such
notes, with the view of rendering the currency of the country, through
which its fiscal operations are performed, more safe, sound, and
uniform. In pursuance of that policy, a circular was issued last April
which prohibited after the 30th September, 1835, the receipt on account
of the Government of any bank notes of a less denomination than $5, and
which intimated that other steps to promote the desirable objects before
named would in due time be taken.
Consequently, in further pursuance of the same policy, you are hereby
required after the 1st of May next not to pay the demands of any public
officer or creditor in any bank notes of a less denomination than $5,
and, except when it may be otherwise prescribed by law, after the 4th of
July next not to receive or pay on account of the Government any bank
notes of a less denomination than $10.
All the deposit banks are requested to supply themselves with such a
quantity of American gold coin as to be able to pay, and when a public
officer or creditor prefers it, and his demand does not exceed $500, to
pay at least one-fifth of such demand in that coin. It is also requested
that the deposit banks will not after the 4th of July next issue any
notes of a less denomination than $5, and that after the 3d of March,
1837, they will not, unless the subject be otherwise regulated by
Congress, issue any notes of a less denomination than $10. It is
believed that the amount of gold which by that time shall be coined at
the Mint will be sufficient to admit of the convenient substitution of
it for small notes in a much greater extent than at present; and it is
deemed reasonable that while the deposit banks have the use, without
interest, of unusually large sums of the public money they should make
some further temporary sacrifices to obtain and circulate gold and in
other respects to enlarge the specie basis of our circulating medium.
From these considerations and from the liberal spirit evinced by most
of the public depositories in a late correspondence with them on this
subject, it is confidently expected that in this state of things they
will cheerfully comply with the above requests and with all others which
have been made by the Department with a view of improving the currency;
nor will it, I trust, be considered unjust or impolitic, while the
deposit banks shall continue to enjoy great privileges from the
Treasury, to regard a neglect or refusal by any of them to comply with
those requests as sufficient cause for discontinuing the employment of
such banks as fiscal agents.
At a proper time it will be decided under what circumstances and at what
periods these restrictions on the agents and officers of the Treasury
shall be extended to notes of any denomination under $20.
This communication is made with the sanction of the President of the
United States, and it is hoped that till otherwise prescribed by
Congress or by this Department these requirements and requests will be
faithfully complied with by all the fiscal agents of this Department and
all the collecting and disbursing officers of the Government.
LEVI WOODBURY,
_Secretary of the Treasury_.
[From Senate Doc. No. 15, Twenty-fourth Congress, second session.]
CIRCULAR FROM THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY TO RECEIVERS OF PUBLIC MONEY
AND TO THE DEPOSIT BANKS.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT, _July 11, 1836._
In consequence of complaints which have been made of frauds,
speculations, and monopolies in the purchase of the public lands, and
the aid which is said to be given to effect these objects by excessive
bank credits and dangerous, if not partial, facilities through bank
drafts and bank deposits, and the general evil influence likely to
result to the public interests, and especially the safety of the great
amount of money in the Treasury, and the sound condition of the currency
of the country from the further exchange of the national domain in this
manner, and chiefly for bank credits and paper money, the President of
the United States has given directions, and you are hereby instructed,
after the 15th day of August next, to receive in payment of the public
lands nothing except what is directed by the existing laws, viz, gold
and silver, and in the proper cases Virginia land scrip: _Provided_,
That till the 15th of December next the same indulgences heretofore
extended as to the kind of money received may be continued for any
quantity of land not exceeding 320 acres to each purchaser who is an
actual settler or _bona fide_ resident in the State where the sales
are made.
In order to insure the faithful execution of these instructions, all
receivers are strictly prohibited from accepting for land sold any
draft, certificate, or other evidence of money or deposit, though
for specie, unless signed by the Treasurer of the United States in
conformity to the act of April 24, 1820; and each of those officers is
required to annex to his monthly returns to this Department the amount
of gold and of silver, respectively, as well as the bills, received
under the foregoing exception; and each deposit bank is required to
annex to every certificate given upon a deposit of money the proportions
of it actually paid in gold, in silver, and in bank notes. All former
instructions on these subjects, except as now modified, will be
considered as remaining in full force.
The principal objects of the President in adopting this measure being
to repress alleged frauds and to withhold any countenance or facilities
in the power of the Government from the monopoly of the public lands in
the hands of speculators and capitalists, to the injury of the actual
settlers in the new States and of emigrants in search of new homes, as
well as to discourage the ruinous extension of bank issues and bank
credits by which those results are generally supposed to be promoted,
your utmost vigilance is required and relied on to carry this order
into complete execution.
LEVI WOODBURY,
_Secretary of the Treasury_.
[From American State Papers, Military Affairs, Vol. VII, p. 554.]
HERMITAGE, _September 7, 1836._
General J.E. WOOL,
_East Tennessee_.
SIR: Your letter of the 30th ultimo has just been handed to me by Mr.
Rogers, the express. Being in a state of preparation for setting out for
Washington and surrounded by much company, I have but a moment to reply
to it.
In relation to your observations respecting the apportionment of the
10,000 volunteers, I need not say more here than that the requisition on
the governor of the State was a sufficient guide for the organization
of the part allotted to Tennessee. This requisition was for 2,500 men,
to be raised in two brigades, one in the East and the other in West
Tennessee, and there could be no authority to muster more into the
service. The remainder of the 10,000 had been required from other
States and Territories.
I have turned to the letter of the Adjutant-General to which you have
called my attention. You will find, I think, that it relates to the
volunteers called for agreeably to the requisition on the governor of
Tennessee for 2,500. I can not suppose that it was expected of you to
receive a greater number than this into the service.
As you have the treaty before you and the instructions of the Acting
Secretary of War, I do not see that I can add anything more on this
subject at present. The treaty is to be religiously fulfilled. You may
assure all concerned that no modification or alteration in it will be
made by me. Of this Mr. John Ross is fully advised. His friend, Mr.
Standefer, who waited upon me at Washington and made the inquiry whether
I would agree to a supplemental article admitting the Rosses and their
delegation in as chiefs, was informed that I would not. You will
therefore make known to the Cherokee people that no alteration in the
treaty will be made, but that all its terms and conditions will be
faithfully and fully executed. Should you find any evil-disposed white
man in the nation exciting the Indians not to comply with the treaty,
you will forthwith order him or them out of the nation, and if they
refuse to go, the facts being thoroughly established, you will take the
steps necessary to put them out. Such characters must be considered in
the light of intruders, prohibited by the treaty from living within the
limits of the nation.
You will caution John Ross from calling any council of the Cherokee
people with the view of opposing or altering the treaty. He knows that
there will be no further negotiation on the subject; that the Cherokees
are to emigrate in two years from the ratification of the treaty, and
will be obliged to go within that period; that the collisions between
them and the whites have been too long continued for the gratification
of himself at the expense of the poor in the nation.
I have had a letter from Governor Carroll. He will leave Pontotoc at as
early a moment as he can, and expects to meet Governor Lumpkin early in
October next.
With these hasty remarks, I remain, your obedient servant,
ANDREW JACKSON.
[From Congressional Globe, Vol. VII, Appendix, p. 245.]
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, _Washington, December 7, 1837._
SIR:[179] In the course of the contest which has commenced in a portion
of the territory of Great Britain between portions of the population and
the Government some of our citizens may, from their connection with the
settlers and from their love of enterprise and desire of change, be
induced to forget their duty to their own Government and its obligations
to foreign powers. It is the fixed determination of the President
faithfully to discharge, so far as his power extends, all the
obligations of this Government, and that obligation especially which
requires that we shall abstain under every temptation from intermeddling
with the domestic disputes of other nations. You are therefore earnestly
enjoined to be attentive to all movements of a hostile character
contemplated or attempted within your district, and to prosecute without
discrimination all violators of those laws of the United States which
have been enacted to preserve peace with foreign powers and to fulfill
all the obligations of our treaties with them.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
JOHN FORSYTH.
[Footnote 179: Sent to the United States attorney at Rockingham, Vt.,
and to the district attorneys for the northern district of New York and
the Michigan district.]
[From Congressional Globe, Vol. VII, Appendix, p. 245.]
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, _Washington, December 7, 1837._
His Excellency WILLAM L. MARCY,
_Governor of the State of New York._
SIR: A contest having commenced in a territory of Great Britain
adjoining the United States between portions of the population and
government, during which attempts may be made to violate the laws of the
United States passed to preserve the relations of amity with foreign
powers and to fulfill the obligations of our treaties with them, by the
directions of the President I have the honor to request the attention
of your excellency to any movements of that character that may be
contemplated in the State of New York and your prompt interference to
arrest the parties concerned if any preparations are made of a hostile
nature against any foreign power in amity with the United States.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
JOHN FORSYTH.
[Sent also to the governors of Vermont and Michigan.]
[From House Ex. Doc. No. 163, Fiftieth Congress, first session, p. 6.]
EXECUTIVE ORDERS TOUCHING DISPOSAL OF FLAGS CAPTURED IN WAR WITH MEXICO.
DECEMBER 26, 1848.
Pursuant to the second section of act approved April 18, 1814, directing
that all flags, standards, and colors taken by the Army and Navy of the
United States from their enemies be preserved and displayed under the
direction of the President of the United States in such public place as
he shall deem proper, the Secretary of War is directed to take measures
to cause the flags, standards, and colors taken by the Army of the
United States from their enemies in the recent war with Mexico to be
deposited for the purpose specified in the act in the Military Academy
at West Point.
JAMES K. POLK.
[From official records, War Department.]
WASHINGTON, _September 11, 1861._
Major-General JOHN C. FRÉMONT.
SIR: Yours of the 8th, in answer to mine of the 2d instant, is just
received. Assuming that you, upon the ground, could better judge of the
necessities of your position than I could at this distance, on seeing
your proclamation of August 30 I perceived no general objection to it.
The particular clause, however, in relation to the confiscation of
property and the liberation of slaves appeared to me to be objectionable
in its nonconformity to the act of Congress passed the 6th of last
August upon the same subjects, and hence I wrote you expressing my wish
that that clause should be modified accordingly. Your answer, just
received, expresses the preference on your part that I should make an
open order for the modification, which I very cheerfully do. It is
therefore ordered that the said clause of said proclamation be so
modified, held, and construed as to conform to and not to transcend the
provisions on the same subject contained in the act of Congress entitled
"An act to confiscate property used for insurrectionary purposes,"
approved August 6, 1861, and that said act be published at length with
this order.
Your obedient servant,
A. LINCOLN.
[From McPherson's History of the Rebellion, p. 248.]
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, _Washington, December 4, 1861._
Major-General GEORGE B. McCLELLAN,
_Washington._
GENERAL: I am directed by the President to call your attention to the
following subject:
Persons claimed to be held to service or labor under the laws of the
State of Virginia and actually employed in hostile service against the
Government of the United States frequently escape from the lines of the
enemy's forces and are received within the lines of the Army of the
Potomac.
This Department understands that such persons afterwards coming into the
city of Washington are liable to be arrested by the city police upon the
presumption, arising from color, that they are fugitives from service or
labor.
By the fourth section of the act of Congress approved August 6, 1861,
entitled "An act to confiscate property used for insurrectionary
purposes," such hostile employment is made a full and sufficient answer
to any further claim to service or labor. Persons thus employed and
escaping are received into the military protection of the United
States, and their arrest as fugitives from service or labor should be
immediately followed by the military arrest of the parties making the
seizure.
Copies of this communication will be sent to the mayor of the city of
Washington and to the marshal of the District of Columbia, that any
collision between the civil and military authorities may be avoided.
I am, General, your very obedient servant,
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
[From McPherson's History of the Rebellion, p. 252.]
WAR DEPARTMENT, _Washington City, July 3, 1862._
Major-General B.F. BUTLER,
_Commanding, etc., New Orleans, La._
GENERAL: I wrote you last under date of the 29th ultimo, and have now to
say that your dispatch of the 18th ultimo, with the accompanying report
of General Phelps concerning certain fugitive negroes that have come to
his pickets, has been considered by the President.
He is of opinion that under the law of Congress they can not be sent
back to their master; that in common humanity they must not be permitted
to suffer for want of food, shelter, or other necessaries of life; that
to this end they should be provided for by the Quartermaster's and
Commissary's departments, and that those who are capable of labor should
be set to work and paid reasonable wages.
In directing this to be done the President does not mean at present to
settle any general rule in respect to slaves or slavery, but simply to
provide for the particular case under the circumstances in which it is
now presented.
I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
EDWIN M. STANTON,
_Secretary of War._
[From official records, War Department.]
WASHINGTON, _May 1, 1863._
Major-General WOOL,
_Commanding at New York_:
By virtue of the act of Congress authorizing the President to take
possession of railroad and telegraph lines, etc., passed February 4,
1862, the President directs that you take immediate military possession
of the telegraph lines lately established between Philadelphia and
Boston, called the Independent Telegraph Company, and _forbid_ the
transmission of any intelligence relating to the movements of the Army
of the Potomac or any military forces of the United States. In case this
order is violated arrest and imprison the perpetrators in Fort Delaware,
reporting to the Department. If the management of the line will
stipulate to transmit no military intelligence without the sanction of
the War Department, they need not be interfered with so long as the
engagement is fulfilled. This order will be executed so as not to
interfere with the ordinary business of the telegraph company.
By order of the President:
E.M. STANTON,
_Secretary of War._
[From McPherson's History of the Rebellion, p. 436.]
Hon. ANDREW JOHNSON,
_Military Governor of Tennessee_:
You are hereby authorized to exercise such powers as may be necessary
and proper to enable the loyal people of Tennessee to present such a
republican form of State government as will entitle the State to the
guaranty of the United States therefor and to be protected under such
State government by the United States against invasion and domestic
violence, all according to the fourth section of the fourth article of
the Constitution of the United States.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
SEPTEMBER 19, 1863.
[From official records, War Department.]
GENERAL ORDERS, No. 329.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
_Washington, October 3, 1863._
Whereas the exigencies of the war require that colored troops should be
recruited in the States of Maryland, Missouri, and Tennessee, it is--
_Ordered by the President_, That the chief of the bureau for
organizing colored troops shall establish recruiting stations at
convenient places within said States and give public notice thereof,
and be governed by the following regulations:
First. None but able-bodied persons shall be enlisted.
Second. The State and county in which the enlistments are made shall be
credited with the recruits enlisted.
Third. All persons enlisted into the military service shall forever
thereafter be free.
Fourth. Free persons, and slaves with the written consent of their
owners, and slaves belonging to those who have been engaged in or given
aid and comfort to the rebellion may be now enlisted, the owners who
have not been engaged in or given aid to the rebellion being entitled to
receive compensation as hereafter provided.
Fifth. If within thirty days from the date of opening enlistments,
notice thereof and of the recruiting stations being published, a
sufficient number of the description of persons aforesaid to meet the
exigencies of the service shall not be enlisted, then enlistments may be
made of slaves without requiring consent of their owners; but they may
receive compensation as herein provided for owners offering their slaves
for enlistment.
Sixth. Any citizen of said States who shall offer his or her slave for
enlistment into the military service shall if such slave be accepted
receive from the recruiting officer a certificate thereof and become
entitled to compensation for the service or labor of said slave, not
exceeding the sum of $300, upon filing a valid deed of manumission and
of release and making satisfactory proof of title; and the recruiting
officer shall furnish to any claimant a descriptive list of any person
enlisted and claimed under oath to be his or her slave, and allow anyone
claiming under oath that his or her slave has been enlisted without his
or her consent the privilege of inspecting the enlisted men for the
purpose of identification.
Seventh. A board of three persons shall be appointed by the President,
to whom the rolls and recruiting lists shall be furnished for public
information, and on demand exhibited to any person claiming that his or
her slave has been enlisted against his or her will.
Eighth. If any person shall within ten days after the filing of said
rolls make a claim for the service of any person so enlisted, the board
shall proceed to examine the proofs of title, and if valid shall award
just compensation, not exceeding $300, for each slave enlisted belonging
to the claimant, and upon the claimant's filing a valid deed of
manumission and release of service the board shall give the claimant a
certificate of the sum awarded, which on presentation shall be paid by
the chief of the bureau.
Ninth. All enlistments of colored troops in the State of Maryland
otherwise than in accordance with these regulations are forbidden.
Tenth. No person who is or has been engaged in rebellion against the
Government of the United States, or who in any way has given or shall
give aid or comfort to the enemies of the Government, shall be permitted
to present any claim or receive any compensation for the labor or
service of any slave, and all claimants shall file with their claim an
oath of allegiance to the United States.
By order of the President:
E.D. TOWNSEND,
_Assistant Adjutant-General._
[From McPherson's History of Reconstruction, p. 122.]
WASHINGTON, _March 3, 1865--12 p.m._
Lieutenant-General GRANT:
The President directs me to say to you that he wishes you to have no
conference with General Lee unless it be for the capitulation of General
Lee's army or on some minor and purely military matter. He instructs me
to say that you are not to decide, discuss, or confer upon any political
question. Such questions the President holds in his own hands and will
submit them to no military conferences or conventions. Meantime you are
to press to the utmost your military advantages.
EDWIN M. STANTON,
_Secretary of War_.
[From McPherson's History of Reconstruction, p. 13.]
EXECUTIVE OFFICE, _August 16, 1865_.
O.O. HOWARD,
_Major-General, Commissioner Freedmen's Affairs_:
Respectfully returned to the Commissioner of Bureau Refugees,
Freedmen, etc. The records of this office show that B.B. Leake was
specially pardoned by the President on the 27th ultimo, and was
thereby restored to all his rights of property except as to slaves.
Notwithstanding this, it is understood that the possession of his
property is withheld from him. I have therefore to direct that General
Fisk, assistant commissioner at Nashville, Tenn., be instructed by the
Chief Commissioner of Bureau of Freedmen, etc., to relinquish possession
of the property of Mr. Leake held by him as assistant commissioner,
etc., and that the same be immediately restored to the said Leake.
The same action will be had in all similar cases.
ANDREW JOHNSON,
_President United States_.
[From McPherson's History of Reconstruction, p. 12.]
CIRCULAR No. 15.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
BUREAU REFUGEES, FREEDMEN, AND ABANDONED LANDS,
_Washington, D.C., September 12, 1865_.
I. Circular No. 13, of July 28, 1865, from this Bureau, and all portions
of circulars from this Bureau conflicting with the provisions of this
circular are hereby rescinded.
II. This Bureau has charge of such "tracts of land within the
insurrectionary States as shall have been abandoned or to which the
United States shall have acquired title by confiscation or sale or
otherwise," and no such lands now in its possession shall be surrendered
to any claimant except as hereinafter provided.
III. Abandoned lands are defined in section 2 of the act of Congress
approved July 2, 1864, as lands "the lawful owner whereof shall be
voluntarily absent therefrom and engaged, either in arms or otherwise,
in aiding or encouraging the rebellion."