WASHINGTON, _December 2, 1850_.
_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
Being suddenly called in the midst of the last session of Congress by
a painful dispensation of Divine Providence to the responsible station
which I now hold, I contented myself with such communications to the
legislature as the exigency of the moment seemed to require. The
country was shrouded in mourning for the loss of its venerable Chief
Magistrate and all hearts were penetrated with grief. Neither the time
nor the occasion appeared to require or to justify on my part any
general expression of political opinions or any announcement of the
principles which would govern me in the discharge of the duties to the
performance of which I had been so unexpectedly called. I trust,
therefore, that it may not be deemed inappropriate if I avail myself
of this opportunity of the reassembling of Congress to make known my
sentiments in a general manner in regard to the policy which ought to
be pursued by the Government both in its intercourse with foreign
nations and its management and administration of internal affairs.
Nations, like individuals in a state of nature, are equal and
independent, possessing certain rights and owing certain duties to
each other, arising from their necessary and unavoidable relations;
which rights and duties there is no common human authority to protect
and enforce. Still, they are rights and duties, binding in morals, in
conscience, and in honor, although there is no tribunal to which an
injured party can appeal but the disinterested judgment of mankind,
and ultimately the arbitrament of the sword.
Among the acknowledged rights of nations is that which each possesses
of establishing that form of government which it may deem most
conducive to the happiness and prosperity of its own citizens, of
changing that form as circumstances may require, and of managing its
internal affairs according to its own will. The people of the United
States claim this right for themselves, and they readily concede it to
others. Hence it becomes an imperative duty not to interfere in the
government or internal policy of other nations; and although we may
sympathize with the unfortunate or the oppressed everywhere in their
struggles for freedom, our principles forbid us from taking any part
in such foreign contests. We make no wars to promote or to prevent
successions to thrones, to maintain any theory of a balance of power,
or to suppress the actual government which any country chooses to
establish for itself. We instigate no revolutions, nor suffer any
hostile military expeditions to be fitted out in the United States
to invade the territory or provinces of a friendly nation. The great
law of morality ought to have a national as well as a personal and
individual application. We should act toward other nations as we wish
them to act toward us, and justice and conscience should form the rule
of conduct between governments, instead of mere power, self-interest,
or the desire of aggrandizement. To maintain a strict neutrality in
foreign wars, to cultivate friendly relations, to reciprocate every
noble and generous act, and to perform punctually and scrupulously
every treaty obligation--these are the duties which we owe to other
states, and by the performance of which we best entitle ourselves to
like treatment from them; or, if that, in any case, be refused, we can
enforce our own rights with justice and a clear conscience.
In our domestic policy the Constitution will be my guide, and in
questions of doubt I shall look for its interpretation to the judicial
decisions of that tribunal which was established to expound it and to
the usage of the Government, sanctioned by the acquiescence of the
country. I regard all its provisions as equally binding. In all its
parts it is the will of the people expressed in the most solemn form,
and the constituted authorities are but agents to carry that will into
effect. Every power which it has granted is to be exercised for the
public good; but no pretense of utility, no honest conviction, even,
of what might be expedient, can justify the assumption of any power
not granted. The powers conferred upon the Government and their
distribution to the several departments are as clearly expressed in
that sacred instrument as the imperfection of human language will
allow, and I deem it my first duty not to question its wisdom, add to
its provisions, evade its requirements, or nullify its commands.
Upon you, fellow-citizens, as the representatives of the States and
the people, is wisely devolved the legislative power. I shall comply
with my duty in laying before you from time to time any information
calculated to enable you to discharge your high and responsible trust
for the benefit of our common constituents.
My opinions will be frankly expressed upon the leading subjects of
legislation; and if--which I do not anticipate--any act should pass
the two Houses of Congress which should appear to me unconstitutional,
or an encroachment on the just powers of other departments, or with
provisions hastily adopted and likely to produce consequences
injurious and unforeseen, I should not shrink from the duty of
returning it to you, with my reasons, for your further consideration.
Beyond the due performance of these constitutional obligations, both
my respect for the Legislature and my sense of propriety will restrain
me from any attempt to control or influence your proceedings. With you
is the power, the honor, and the responsibility of the legislation of
the country.
The Government of the United States is a limited Government. It is
confined to the exercise of powers expressly granted and such others
as may be necessary for carrying those powers into effect; and it is
at all times an especial duty to guard against any infringement on the
just rights of the States. Over the objects and subjects intrusted to
Congress its legislative authority is supreme. But here that authority
ceases, and every citizen who truly loves the Constitution and desires
the continuance of its existence and its blessings will resolutely and
firmly resist any interference in those domestic affairs which the
Constitution has clearly and unequivocally left to the exclusive
authority of the States. And every such citizen will also deprecate
useless irritation among the several members of the Union and all
reproach and crimination tending to alienate one portion of the
country from another. The beauty of our system of government consists,
and its safety and durability must consist, in avoiding mutual
collisions and encroachments and in the regular separate action of
all, while each is revolving in its own distinct orbit.
The Constitution has made it the duty of the President to take care
that the laws be faithfully executed. In a government like ours, in
which all laws are passed by a majority of the representatives of the
people, and these representatives are chosen for such short periods
that any injurious or obnoxious law can very soon be repealed, it
would appear unlikely that any great numbers should be found ready
to resist the execution of the laws. But it must be borne in mind
that the country is extensive; that there may be local interests or
prejudices rendering a law odious in one part which is not so in
another, and that the thoughtless and inconsiderate, misled by their
passions or their imaginations, may be induced madly to resist such
laws as they disapprove. Such persons should recollect that without
law there can be no real practical liberty; that when law is trampled
under foot tyranny rules, whether it appears in the form of a military
despotism or of popular violence. The law is the only sure protection
of the weak and the only efficient restraint upon the strong. When
impartially and faithfully administered, none is beneath its
protection and none above its control. You, gentlemen, and the country
may be assured that to the utmost of my ability and to the extent of
the power vested in me I shall at all times and in all places take
care that the laws be faithfully executed. In the discharge of this
duty, solemnly imposed upon me by the Constitution and by my oath of
office, I shall shrink from no responsibility, and shall endeavor to
meet events as they may arise with firmness, as well as with prudence
and discretion.
The appointing power is one of the most delicate with which the
Executive is invested. I regard it as a sacred trust, to be exercised
with the sole view of advancing the prosperity and happiness of the
people. It shall be my effort to elevate the standard of official
employment by selecting for places of importance individuals fitted
for the posts to which they are assigned by their known integrity,
talents, and virtues. In so extensive a country, with so great a
population, and where few persons appointed to office can be known to
the appointing power, mistakes will sometimes unavoidably happen and
unfortunate appointments be made notwithstanding the greatest care.
In such cases the power of removal may be properly exercised; and
neglect of duty or malfeasance in office will be no more tolerated
in individuals appointed by myself than in those appointed by others.
I am happy in being able to say that no unfavorable change in our
foreign relations has taken place since the message at the opening of
the last session of Congress. We are at peace with all nations and we
enjoy in an eminent degree the blessings of that peace in a prosperous
and growing commerce and in all the forms of amicable national
intercourse. The unexampled growth of the country, the present amount
of its population, and its ample means of self-protection assure for
it the respect of all nations, while it is trusted that its character
for justice and a regard to the rights of other States will cause that
respect to be readily and cheerfully paid.
A convention was negotiated between the United States and Great
Britain in April last for facilitating and protecting the construction
of a ship canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and for other
purposes. The instrument has since been ratified by the contracting
parties, the exchange of ratifications has been effected, and
proclamation thereof has been duly made.
In addition to the stipulations contained in this convention, two
other objects remain to be accomplished between the contracting
powers:
First. The designation and establishment of a free port at each end of
the canal.
Second. An agreement fixing the distance from the shore within which
belligerent maritime operations shall not be carried on.
On these points there is little doubt that the two Governments will
come to an understanding.
The company of citizens of the United States who have acquired from
the State of Nicaragua the privilege of constructing a ship canal
between the two oceans through the territory of that State have made
progress in their preliminary arrangements. The treaty between the
United States and Great Britain of the 19th of April last, above
referred to, being now in operation, it is to be hoped that the
guaranties which it offers will be sufficient to secure the completion
of the work with all practicable expedition. It is obvious that this
result would be indefinitely postponed if any other than peaceful
measures for the purpose of harmonizing conflicting claims to
territory in that quarter should be adopted. It will consequently be
my endeavor to cause any further negotiations on the part of this
Government which may be requisite for this purpose to be so conducted
as to bring them to a speedy and successful close.
Some unavoidable delay has occurred, arising from distance and the
difficulty of intercourse between this Government and that of
Nicaragua, but as intelligence has just been received of the
appointment of an envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of
that Government to reside at Washington, whose arrival may soon be
expected, it is hoped that no further impediments will be experienced
in the prompt transaction of business between the two Governments.
Citizens of the United States have undertaken the connection of the
two oceans by means of a railroad across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec,
under grants of the Mexican Government to a citizen of that Republic.
It is understood that a thorough survey of the course of the
communication is in preparation, and there is every reason to expect
that it will be prosecuted with characteristic energy, especially when
that Government shall have consented to such stipulations with the
Government of the United States as may be necessary to impart a
feeling of security to those who may embark their property in the
enterprise. Negotiations are pending for the accomplishment of that
object, and a hope is confidently entertained that when the Government
of Mexico shall become duly sensible of the advantages which that
country can not fail to derive from the work, and learn that the
Government of the United States desires that the right of sovereignty
of Mexico in the Isthmus shall remain unimpaired, the stipulations
referred to will be agreed to with alacrity.
By the last advices from Mexico it would appear, however, that that
Government entertains strong objections to some of the stipulations
which the parties concerned in the project of the railroad deem
necessary for their protection and security. Further consideration, it
is to be hoped, or some modification of terms, may yet reconcile the
differences existing between the two Governments in this respect.
Fresh instructions have recently been given to the minister of the
United States in Mexico, who is prosecuting the subject with
promptitude and ability.
Although the negotiations with Portugal for the payment of claims of
citizens of the United States against that Government have not yet
resulted in a formal treaty, yet a proposition, made by the Government
of Portugal for the final adjustment and payment of those claims, has
recently been accepted on the part of the United States. It gives me
pleasure to say that Mr. Clay, to whom the negotiation on the part of
the United States had been intrusted, discharged the duties of his
appointment with ability and discretion, acting always within the
instructions of his Government.
It is expected that a regular convention will be immediately
negotiated for carrying the agreement between the two Governments into
effect.
The commissioner appointed under the act of Congress for carrying into
effect the convention with Brazil of the 27th of January, 1849, has
entered upon the performance of the duties imposed upon him by that
act. It is hoped that those duties may be completed within the time
which it prescribes. The documents, however, which the Imperial
Government, by the third article of the convention, stipulates to
furnish to the Government of the United States have not yet been
received. As it is presumed that those documents will be essential for
the correct disposition of the claims, it may become necessary for
Congress to extend the period limited for the duration of the
commission. The sum stipulated by the fourth article of the convention
to be paid to this Government has been received.
The collection in the ports of the United States of discriminating
duties upon the vessels of Chili and their cargoes has been suspended,
pursuant to the provisions of the act of Congress of the 24th of
May, 1828. It is to be hoped that this measure will impart a fresh
impulse to the commerce between the two countries, which of late, and
especially since our acquisition of California, has, to the mutual
advantage of the parties, been much augmented.
Peruvian guano has become so desirable an article to the agricultural
interest of the United States that it is the duty of the Government to
employ all the means properly in its power for the purpose of causing
that article to be imported into the country at a reasonable price.
Nothing will be omitted on my part toward accomplishing this desirable
end. I am persuaded that in removing any restraints on this traffic
the Peruvian Government will promote its own best interests, while it
will afford a proof of a friendly disposition toward this country,
which will be duly appreciated.
The treaty between the United States and His Majesty the King of the
Hawaiian Islands, which has recently been made public, will, it is
believed, have a beneficial effect upon the relations between the two
countries.
The relations between those parts of the island of St. Domingo which
were formerly colonies of Spain and France, respectively, are still in
an unsettled condition. The proximity of that island to the United
States and the delicate questions involved in the existing controversy
there render it desirable that it should be permanently and speedily
adjusted. The interests of humanity and of general commerce also
demand this; and as intimations of the same sentiment have been
received from other governments, it is hoped that some plan may soon
be devised to effect the object in a manner likely to give general
satisfaction. The Government of the United States will not fail, by
the exercise of all proper friendly offices, to do all in its power
to put an end to the destructive war which has raged between the
different parts of the island and to secure to them both the benefits
of peace and commerce.
I refer you to the report of the Secretary of the Treasury for a
detailed statement of the finances.
The total receipts into the Treasury for the year ending 30th of June
last were $47,421,748.90.
The total expenditures during the same period were $43,002,168.90.
The public debt has been reduced since the last annual report from the
Treasury Department $495,276.79.
By the nineteenth section of the act of 28th January, 1847, the
proceeds of the sales of the public lands were pledged for the
interest and principal of the public debt. The great amount of those
lands subsequently granted by Congress for military bounties will, it
is believed, very nearly supply the public demand for several years
to come, and but little reliance can, therefore, be placed on that
hitherto fruitful source of revenue. Aside from the permanent annual
expenditures, which have necessarily largely increased, a portion of
the public debt, amounting to $8,075,986.59, must be provided for
within the next two fiscal years. It is most desirable that these
accruing demands should be met without resorting to new loans.
All experience has demonstrated the wisdom and policy of raising a
large portion of revenue for the support of Government from duties on
goods imported. The power to lay these duties is unquestionable, and
its chief object, of course, is to replenish the Treasury. But if in
doing this an incidental advantage may be gained by encouraging the
industry of our own citizens, it is our duty to avail ourselves of
that advantage.
A duty laid upon an article which can not be produced in this country,
such as tea or coffee, adds to the cost of the article, and is chiefly
or wholly paid by the consumer. But a duty laid upon an article which
may be produced here stimulates the skill and industry of our own
country to produce the same article, which is brought into the market
in competition with the foreign article, and the importer is thus
compelled to reduce his price to that at which the domestic article
can be sold, thereby throwing a part of the duty upon the producer of
the foreign article. The continuance of this process creates the skill
and invites the capital which finally enable us to produce the article
much cheaper than it could have been procured from abroad, thereby
benefiting both the producer and the consumer at home. The consequence
of this is that the artisan and the agriculturist are brought
together, each affords a ready market for the produce of the other,
the whole country becomes prosperous, and the ability to produce every
necessary of life renders us independent in war as well as in peace.
A high tariff can never be permanent. It will cause dissatisfaction,
and will be changed. It excludes competition, and thereby invites the
investment of capital in manufactures to such excess that when changed
it brings distress, bankruptcy, and ruin upon all who have been misled
by its faithless protection. What the manufacturer wants is uniformity
and permanency, that he may feel a confidence that he is not to be
ruined by sudden changes. But to make a tariff uniform and permanent
it is not only necessary that the laws should not be altered, but that
the duty should not fluctuate. To effect this all duties should be
specific wherever the nature of the article is such as to admit of it.
_Ad valorem_ duties fluctuate with the price and offer strong
temptations to fraud and perjury. Specific duties, on the contrary,
are equal and uniform in all ports and at all times, and offer a
strong inducement to the importer to bring the best article, as he
pays no more duty upon that than upon one of inferior quality. I
therefore strongly recommend a modification of the present tariff,
which has prostrated some of our most important and necessary
manufactures, and that specific duties be imposed sufficient to raise
the requisite revenue, making such discriminations in favor of the
industrial pursuits of our own country as to encourage home production
without excluding foreign competition. It is also important that an
unfortunate provision in the present tariff, which imposes a much
higher duty upon the raw material that enters into our manufactures
than upon the manufactured article, should be remedied.
The papers accompanying the report of the Secretary of the Treasury
will disclose frauds attempted upon the revenue, in variety and amount
so great as to justify the conclusion that it is impossible under
any system of _ad valorem_ duties levied upon the foreign cost or
value of the article to secure an honest observance and an effectual
administration of the laws. The fraudulent devices to evade the law
which have been detected by the vigilance of the appraisers leave no
room to doubt that similar impositions not discovered, to a large
amount, have been successfully practiced since the enactment of the
law now in force. This state of things has already had a prejudicial
influence upon those engaged in foreign commerce. It has a tendency to
drive the honest trader from the business of importing and to throw
that important branch of employment into the hands of unscrupulous and
dishonest men, who are alike regardless of law and the obligations of
an oath. By these means the plain intentions of Congress, as expressed
in the law, are daily defeated. Every motive of policy and duty,
therefore, impels me to ask the earnest attention of Congress to this
subject. If Congress should deem it unwise to attempt any important
changes in the system of levying duties at this session, it will
become indispensable to the protection of the revenue that such
remedies as in the judgment of Congress may mitigate the evils
complained of should be at once applied.
As before stated, specific duties would, in my opinion, afford the
most perfect remedy for this evil; but if you should not concur in
this view, then, as a partial remedy, I beg leave respectfully to
recommend that instead of taking the invoice of the article abroad
as a means of determining its value here, the correctness of which
invoice it is in many cases impossible to verify, the law be so
changed as to require a home valuation or appraisal, to be regulated
in such manner as to give, as far as practicable, uniformity in the
several ports.
There being no mint in California, I am informed that the laborers
in the mines are compelled to dispose of their gold dust at a large
discount. This appears to me to be a heavy and unjust tax upon the
labor of those employed in extracting this precious metal, and I doubt
not you will be disposed at the earliest period possible to relieve
them from it by the establishment of a mint. In the meantime, as an
assayer's office is established there, I would respectfully submit for
your consideration the propriety of authorizing gold bullion which has
been assayed and stamped to be received in payment of Government dues.
I can not conceive that the Treasury would suffer any loss by such
a provision, which will at once raise bullion to its par value, and
thereby save (if I am rightly informed) many millions of dollars to
the laborers which are now paid in brokerage to convert this precious
metal into available funds. This discount upon their hard earnings is
a heavy tax, and every effort should be made by the Government to
relieve them from so great a burden.
More than three-fourths of our population are engaged in the
cultivation of the soil. The commercial, manufacturing, and navigating
interests are all to a great extent dependent on the agricultural.
It is therefore the most important interest of the nation, and has
a just claim to the fostering care and protection of the Government
so far as they can be extended consistently with the provisions of
the Constitution. As this can not be done by the ordinary modes of
legislation, I respectfully recommend the establishment of an
agricultural bureau, to be charged with the duty of giving to this
leading branch of American industry the encouragement which it so well
deserves. In view of the immense mineral resources of our country,
provision should also be made for the employment of a competent
mineralogist and chemist, who should be required, under the direction
of the head of the bureau, to collect specimens of the various
minerals of our country and to ascertain by careful analysis their
respective elements and properties and their adaptation to useful
purposes. He should also be required to examine and report upon the
qualities of different soils and the manures best calculated to
improve their productiveness. By publishing the results of such
experiments, with suitable explanations, and by the collection and
distribution of rare seeds and plants, with instructions as to the
best system of cultivation, much may be done to promote this great
national interest.
In compliance with the act of Congress passed on the 23d of May,
1850, providing, among other things, for taking the Seventh Census,
a superintendent was appointed and all other measures adopted which
were deemed necessary to insure the prompt and faithful performance
of that duty. The appropriation already made will, it is believed,
be sufficient to defray the whole expense of the work, but further
legislation may be necessary in regard to the compensation of some
of the marshals of the Territories. It will also be proper to make
provision by law at an early day for the publication of such abstracts
of the returns as the public interests may require.
The unprecedented growth of our territories on the Pacific in wealth
and population and the consequent increase of their social and
commercial relations with the Atlantic States seem to render it the
duty of the Government to use all its constitutional power to improve
the means of intercourse with them. The importance of opening "a line
of communication, the best and most expeditious of which the nature of
the country will admit," between the Valley of the Mississippi and the
Pacific was brought to your notice by my predecessor in his annual
message; and as the reasons which he presented in favor of the measure
still exist in full force, I beg leave to call your attention to them
and to repeat the recommendations then made by him.
The uncertainty which exists in regard to the validity of land titles
in California is a subject which demands your early consideration.
Large bodies of land in that State are claimed under grants said to
have been made by authority of the Spanish and Mexican Governments.
Many of these have not been perfected, others have been revoked, and
some are believed to be fraudulent. But until they shall have been
judicially investigated they will continue to retard the settlement
and improvement of the country. I therefore respectfully recommend
that provision be made by law for the appointment of commissioners to
examine all such claims with a view to their final adjustment.
I also beg leave to call your attention to the propriety of extending
at an early day our system of land laws, with such modifications as
may be necessary, over the State of California and the Territories of
Utah and New Mexico. The mineral lands of California will, of course,
form an exception to any general system which may be adopted. Various
methods of disposing of them have been suggested. I was at first
inclined to favor the system of leasing, as it seemed to promise the
largest revenue to the Government and to afford the best security
against monopolies; but further reflection and our experience in
leasing the lead mines and selling lands upon credit have brought
my mind to the conclusion that there would be great difficulty in
collecting the rents, and that the relation of debtor and creditor
between the citizens and the Government would be attended with many
mischievous consequences. I therefore recommend that instead of
retaining the mineral lands under the permanent control of the
Government they be divided into small parcels and sold, under such
restrictions as to quantity and time as will insure the best price and
guard most effectually against combinations of capitalists to obtain
monopolies.
The annexation of Texas and the acquisition of California and New
Mexico have given increased importance to our Indian relations. The
various tribes brought under our jurisdiction by these enlargements of
our boundaries are estimated to embrace a population of 124,000.
Texas and New Mexico are surrounded by powerful tribes of Indians,
who are a source of constant terror and annoyance to the inhabitants.
Separating into small predatory bands, and always mounted, they
overrun the country, devastating farms, destroying crops, driving off
whole herds of cattle, and occasionally murdering the inhabitants or
carrying them into captivity. The great roads leading into the country
are infested with them, whereby traveling is rendered extremely
dangerous and immigration is almost entirely arrested. The Mexican
frontier, which by the eleventh article of the treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo we are bound to protect against the Indians within our border,
is exposed to these incursions equally with our own. The military
force stationed in that country, although forming a large proportion
of the Army, is represented as entirely inadequate to our own
protection and the fulfillment of our treaty stipulations with Mexico.
The principal deficiency is in cavalry, and I recommend that Congress
should, at as early a period as practicable, provide for the raising
of one or more regiments of mounted men.
For further suggestions on this subject and others connected with our
domestic interests and the defense of our frontier, I refer you to the
reports of the Secretary of the Interior and of the Secretary of War.
I commend also to your favorable consideration the suggestion
contained in the last-mentioned report and in the letter of the
General in Chief relative to the establishment of an asylum for the
relief of disabled and destitute soldiers. This subject appeals so
strongly to your sympathies that it would be superfluous in me to say
anything more than barely to express my cordial approbation of the
proposed object.
The Navy continues to give protection to our commerce and other
national interests in the different quarters of the globe, and, with
the exception of a single steamer on the Northern lakes, the vessels
in commission are distributed in six different squadrons.
The report of the head of that Department will exhibit the services of
these squadrons and of the several vessels employed in each during the
past year. It is a source of gratification that, while they have been
constantly prepared for any hostile emergency, they have everywhere
met with the respect and courtesy due as well to the dignity as to the
peaceful dispositions and just purposes of the nation.
The two brigantines accepted by the Government from a generous citizen
of New York and placed under the command of an officer of the Navy to
proceed to the Arctic Seas in quest of the British commander Sir John
Franklin and his companions, in compliance with the act of Congress
approved in May last, had when last heard from penetrated into a high
northern latitude; but the success of this noble and humane enterprise
is yet uncertain.
I invite your attention to the view of our present naval establishment
and resources presented in the report of the Secretary of the Navy,
and the suggestions therein made for its improvement, together with
the naval policy recommended for the security of our Pacific Coast and
the protection and extension of our commerce with eastern Asia. Our
facilities for a larger participation in the trade of the East, by
means of our recent settlements on the shores of the Pacific, are too
obvious to be overlooked or disregarded.
The questions in relation to rank in the Army and Navy and relative
rank between officers of the two branches of the service, presented to
the Executive by certain resolutions of the House of Representatives
at the last session of Congress, have been submitted to a board of
officers in each branch of the service, and their report may be
expected at an early day.
I also earnestly recommend the enactment of a law authorizing officers
of the Army and Navy to be retired from the service when incompetent
for its vigorous and active duties, taking care to make suitable
provision for those who have faithfully served their country and
awarding distinctions by retaining in appropriate commands those who
have been particularly conspicuous for gallantry and good conduct.
While the obligation of the country to maintain and honor those who,
to the exclusion of other pursuits, have devoted themselves to its
arduous service is acknowledged, this obligation should not be
permitted to interfere with the efficiency of the service itself.
I am gratified in being able to state that the estimates of
expenditure for the Navy in the ensuing year are less by more than
$1,000,000 than those of the present, excepting the appropriation
which may become necessary for the construction of a dock on the coast
of the Pacific, propositions for which are now being considered and on
which a special report may be expected early in your present session.
There is an evident justness in the suggestion of the same report that
appropriations for the naval service proper should be separated from
those for fixed and permanent objects, such as building docks and
navy-yards and the fixtures attached, and from the extraordinary
objects under the care of the Department which, however important,
are not essentially naval.
A revision of the code for the government of the Navy seems to require
the immediate consideration of Congress. Its system of crimes and
punishments had undergone no change for half a century until the last
session, though its defects have been often and ably pointed out;
and the abolition of a particular species of corporal punishment,
which then took place, without providing any substitute, has left the
service in a state of defectiveness which calls for prompt correction.
I therefore recommend that the whole subject be revised without delay
and such a system established for the enforcement of discipline as
shall be at once humane and effectual.
The accompanying report of the Postmaster-General presents a
satisfactory view of the operations and condition of that Department.
At the close of the last fiscal year the length of the inland mail
routes in the United States (not embracing the service in Oregon and
California) was 178,672 miles, the annual transportation thereon
46,541,423 miles, and the annual cost of such transportation $2,724,426.
The increase of the annual transportation over that of the preceding
year was 3,997,354 miles and the increase in cost was $342,440.
The number of post-offices in the United States on the 1st day of July
last was 18,417, being an increase of I,670 during the preceding year.
The gross revenues of the Department for the fiscal year ending June 30,
1850, amounted to $5,552,971.48, including the annual appropriation of
$200,000 for the franked matter of the Departments and excluding the
foreign postages collected for and payable to the British Government.
The expenditures for the same period were $5,212,953.43, leaving a
balance of revenue over expenditures of $340,018.05.
I am happy to find that the fiscal condition of the Department is such
as to justify the Postmaster-General in recommending the reduction of
our inland letter postage to 3 cents the single letter when prepaid and
5 cents when not prepaid. He also recommends that the prepaid rate shall
be reduced to 2 cents whenever the revenues of the Department, after the
reduction, shall exceed its expenditures by more than 5 per cent for two
consecutive years; that the postage upon California and other letters
sent by our ocean steamers shall be much reduced, and that the rates of
postage on newspapers, pamphlets, periodicals, and other printed matter
shall be modified and some reduction thereon made.
It can not be doubted that the proposed reductions will for the present
diminish the revenues of the Department. It is believed that the
deficiency, after the surplus already accumulated shall be exhausted,
may be almost wholly met either by abolishing the existing privileges of
sending free matter through the mails or by paying out of the Treasury
to the Post-Office Department a sum equivalent to the postage of which
it is deprived by such privileges. The last is supposed to be the
preferable mode, and will, if not entirely, so nearly supply that
deficiency as to make any further appropriation that may be found
necessary so inconsiderable as to form no obstacle to the proposed
reductions.
I entertain no doubt of the authority of Congress to make appropriations
for leading objects in that class of public works comprising what are
usually called works of internal improvement. This authority I suppose
to be derived chiefly from the power of regulating commerce with foreign
nations and among the States and the power of laying and collecting
imposts. Where commerce is to be carried on and imposts collected there
must be ports and harbors as well as wharves and custom-houses. If ships
laden with valuable cargoes approach the shore or sail along the coast,
light-houses are necessary at suitable points for the protection of
life and property. Other facilities and securities for commerce and
navigation are hardly less important; and those clauses of the
Constitution, therefore, to which I have referred have received from the
origin of the Government a liberal and beneficial construction. Not only
have light-houses, buoys, and beacons been established and floating
lights maintained, but harbors have been cleared and improved, piers
constructed, and even breakwaters for the safety of shipping and sea
walls to protect harbors from being filled up and rendered useless by
the action of the ocean, have been erected at very great expense. And
this construction of the Constitution appears the more reasonable from
the consideration that if these works, of such evident importance
and utility, are not to be accomplished by Congress they can not be
accomplished at all. By the adoption of the Constitution the several
States voluntarily parted with the power of collecting duties of imposts
in their own ports, and it is not to be expected that they should raise
money by internal taxation, direct or indirect, for the benefit of that
commerce the revenues derived from which do not, either in whole or in
part, go into their own treasuries. Nor do I perceive any difference
between the power of Congress to make appropriations for objects of this
kind on the ocean and the power to make appropriations for similar
objects on lakes and rivers, wherever they are large enough to bear on
their waters an extensive traffic. The magnificent Mississippi and its
tributaries and the vast lakes of the North and Northwest appear to me
to fall within the exercise of the power as justly and as clearly as the
ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. It is a mistake to regard expenditures
judiciously made for these objects as expenditures for local purposes.
The position or sight of the work is necessarily local, but its utility
is general. A ship canal around the Falls of St. Mary of less than a
mile in length, though local in its construction, would yet be national
in its purpose and its benefits, as it would remove the only obstruction
to a navigation of more than 1,000 miles, affecting several States, as
well as our commercial relations with Canada. So, too, the breakwater at
the mouth of the Delaware is erected, not for the exclusive benefit of
the States bordering on the bay and river of that name, but for that
of the whole coastwise navigation of the United States and, to a
considerable extent, also of foreign commerce. If a ship be lost on the
bar at the entrance of a Southern port for want of sufficient depth of
water, it is very likely to be a Northern ship; and if a steamboat be
sunk in any part of the Mississippi on account of its channel not having
been properly cleared of obstructions, it may be a boat belonging to
either of eight or ten States. I may add, as somewhat remarkable, that
among all the thirty-one States there is none that is not to a greater
or less extent bounded on the ocean, or the Gulf of Mexico, or one of
the Great Lakes, or some navigable river.
In fulfilling our constitutional duties, fellow-citizens, on this
subject, as in carrying into effect all other powers conferred by the
Constitution, we should consider ourselves as deliberating and acting
for one and the same country, and bear constantly in mind that our
regard and our duty are due not to a particular part only, but to the
whole.
I therefore recommend that appropriations be made for completing such
works as have been already begun and for commencing such others as may
seem to the wisdom of Congress to be of public and general importance.
The difficulties and delays incident to the settlement of private claims
by Congress amount in many cases to a denial of justice. There is reason
to apprehend that many unfortunate creditors of the Government have
thereby been unavoidably ruined. Congress has so much business of a
public character that it is impossible it should give much attention to
mere private claims, and their accumulation is now so great that many
claimants must despair of ever being able to obtain a hearing. It may
well be doubted whether Congress, from the nature of its organization,
is properly constituted to decide upon such cases. It is impossible that
each member should examine the merits of every claim on which he is
compelled to vote, and it is preposterous to ask a judge to decide a
case which he has never heard. Such decisions may, and frequently must,
do injustice either to the claimant or the Government, and I perceive
no better remedy for this growing evil than the establishment of some
tribunal to adjudicate upon such claims. I beg leave, therefore,
most respectfully to recommend that provision be made by law for the
appointment of a commission to settle all private claims against the
United States; and as an _ex parte_ hearing must in all contested
cases be very unsatisfactory, I also recommend the appointment of a
solicitor, whose duty it shall be to represent the Government before
such commission and protect it against all illegal, fraudulent, or
unjust claims which may be presented for their adjudication.
This District, which has neither voice nor vote in your deliberations,
looks to you for protection and aid, and I commend all its wants to your
favorable consideration, with a full confidence that you will meet them
not only with justice, but with liberality. It should be borne in mind
that in this city, laid out by Washington and consecrated by his name,
is located the Capitol of our nation, the emblem of our Union and the
symbol of our greatness. Here also are situated all the public buildings
necessary for the use of the Government, and all these are exempt from
taxation. It should be the pride of Americans to render this place
attractive to the people of the whole Republic and convenient and safe
for the transaction of the public business and the preservation of
the public records. The Government should therefore bear a liberal
proportion of the burdens of all necessary and useful improvements. And
as nothing could contribute more to the health, comfort, and safety of
the city and the security of the public buildings and records than an
abundant supply of pure water, I respectfully recommend that you make
such provisions for obtaining the same as in your wisdom you may deem
proper.
The act, passed at your last session, making certain propositions to
Texas for settling the disputed boundary between that State and the
Territory of New Mexico was, immediately on its passage, transmitted by
express to the governor of Texas, to be laid by him before the general
assembly for its agreement thereto. Its receipt was duly acknowledged,
but no official information has yet been received of the action of the
general assembly thereon. It may, however, be very soon expected, as,
by the terms of the propositions submitted they were to have been acted
upon on or before the first day of the present month.
It was hardly to have been expected that the series of measures passed
at your last session with the view of healing the sectional differences
which had sprung from the slavery and territorial questions should at
once have realized their beneficent purpose. All mutual concession in
the nature of a compromise must necessarily be unwelcome to men of
extreme opinions. And though without such concessions our Constitution
could not have been formed, and can not be permanently sustained, yet we
have seen them made the subject of bitter controversy in both sections
of the Republic, It required many months of discussion and deliberation
to secure the concurrence of a majority of Congress in their favor. It
would be strange if they had been received with immediate approbation by
people and States prejudiced and heated by the exciting controversies of
their representatives. I believe those measures to have been required
by the circumstances and condition of the country. I believe they
were necessary to allay asperities and animosities that were rapidly
alienating one section of the country from another and destroying
those fraternal sentiments which are the strongest supports of the
Constitution. They were adopted in the spirit of conciliation and for
the purpose of conciliation. I believe that a great majority of our
fellow-citizens sympathize in that spirit and that purpose, and in
the main approve and are prepared in all respects to sustain these
enactments. I can not doubt that the American people, bound together by
kindred blood and common traditions, still cherish a paramount regard
for the Union of their fathers, and that they are ready to rebuke any
attempt to violate its integrity, to disturb the compromises on which
it is based, or to resist the laws which have been enacted under its
authority.
The series of measures to which I have alluded are regarded by me as
a settlement in principle and substance--a final settlement of the
dangerous and exciting subjects which they embraced. Most of these
subjects, indeed, are beyond your reach, as the legislation which
disposed of them was in its character final and irrevocable. It may
be presumed from the opposition which they all encountered that none
of those measures was free from imperfections, but in their mutual
dependence and connection they formed a system of compromise the most
conciliatory and best for the entire country that could be obtained
from conflicting sectional interests and opinions.
For this reason I recommend your adherence to the adjustment established
by those measures until time and experience shall demonstrate the
necessity of further legislation to guard against evasion or abuse.
By that adjustment we have been rescued from the wide and boundless
agitation that surrounded us, and have a firm, distinct, and legal
ground to rest upon. And the occasion, I trust, will justify me in
exhorting my countrymen to rally upon and maintain that ground as the
best, if not the only, means of restoring peace and quiet to the country
and maintaining inviolate the integrity of the Union.
And now, fellow-citizens, I can not bring this communication to a close
without invoking you to join me in humble and devout thanks to the Great
Ruler of Nations for the multiplied blessings which He has graciously
bestowed upon us. His hand, so often visible in our preservation, has
stayed the pestilence, saved us from foreign wars and domestic
disturbances, and scattered plenty throughout the land.
Our liberties, religious and civil, have been maintained, the fountains
of knowledge have all been kept open, and means of happiness widely
spread and generally enjoyed greater than have fallen to the lot of any
other nation. And while deeply penetrated with gratitude for the past,
let us hope that His all-wise providence will so guide our counsels as
that they shall result in giving satisfaction to our constituents,
securing the peace of the country, and adding new strength to the united
Government under which we live.