extremely interesting. The communications which remain to be exhibited
to us will no doubt assist in giving us a fuller view of the subject and
in guiding our deliberations to such results as may comport with the
rights and true interests of our country.
We learn with deep regret that the measures, dictated by love of peace,
for obtaining an amicable termination of the afflicting war on our
frontiers have been frustrated, and that a resort to offensive measures
should have again become necessary. As the latter, however, must be
rendered more satisfactory in proportion to the solicitude for peace
manifested by the former, it is to be hoped they will be pursued under
the better auspices on that account, and be finally crowned with more
happy success.
In relation to the particular tribes of Indians against whom offensive
measures have been prohibited, as well as on all the other important
subjects which you have presented to our view, we shall bestow the
attention which they claim. We can not, however, refrain at this time
from particularly expressing our concurrence in your anxiety for the
regular discharge of the public debts as fast as circumstances and
events will permit and in the policy of removing any impediments
that may be found in the way of a faithful representation of public
proceedings throughout the United States, being persuaded with you
that on no subject more than the former can delay be more injurious or
an economy of time more valuable, and that with respect to the latter
no resource is so firm for the Government of the United States as the
affections of the people, guided by an enlightened policy.
Throughout our deliberations we shall endeavor to cherish every
sentiment which may contribute to render them conducive to the dignity
as well as to the welfare of the United States; and we join with you in
imploring that Being on whose will the fate of nations depends to crown
with success our mutual endeavors.
DECEMBER 6, 1793.
REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT.
GENTLEMEN: I shall not affect to conceal the cordial satisfaction which
I derive from the address of the House of Representatives. Whatsoever
those services may be which you have sanctioned by your favor, it is
a sufficient reward that they have been accepted as they were meant.
For the fulfillment of your anticipations of the future I can give
no other assurance than that the motives which you approve shall
continue unchanged.
It is truly gratifying to me to learn that the proclamation has been
considered as a seasonable guard against the interruption of the public
peace. Nor can I doubt that the subjects which I have recommended to
your attention as depending on legislative provisions will receive a
discussion suited to their importance. With every reason, then, it may
be expected that your deliberations, under the divine blessing, will
be matured to the honor and happiness of the United States.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
DECEMBER 7, 1793.
SPECIAL MESSAGES.
UNITED STATES, _December 5, 1793_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
As the present situation of the several nations of Europe, and
especially of those with which the United States have important
relations, can not but render the state of things between them and us
matter of interesting inquiry to the Legislature, and may indeed give
rise to deliberations to which they alone are competent, I have thought
it my duty to communicate to them certain correspondences which have
taken place.
The representative and executive bodies of France have manifested
generally a friendly attachment to this country; have given advantages
to our commerce and navigation, and have made overtures for placing
these advantages on permanent ground. A decree, however, of the National
Assembly subjecting vessels laden with provisions to be carried into
their ports and making enemy goods lawful prize in the vessel of a
friend, contrary to our treaty, though revoked at one time as to the
United States, has been since extended to their vessels also, as has
been recently stated to us. Representations on this subject will be
immediately given in charge to our minister there, and the result
shall be communicated to the Legislature.
It is with extreme concern I have to inform you that the proceedings
of the person whom they have unfortunately appointed their minister
plenipotentiary here have breathed nothing of the friendly spirit of
the nation which sent him. Their tendency, on the contrary, has been to
involve us in war abroad and discord and anarchy at home. So far as his
acts or those of his agents have threatened our immediate commitment in
the war, or flagrant insult to the authority of the laws, their effect
has been counteracted by the ordinary cognizance of the laws and by an
exertion of the powers confided to me. Where their danger was not
imminent they have been borne with from sentiments of regard to his
nation, from a sense of their friendship toward us, from a conviction
that they would not suffer us to remain long exposed to the action of a
person who has so little respected our mutual dispositions, and, I will
add, from a reliance on the firmness of my fellow-citizens in their
principles of peace and order. In the meantime I have respected and
pursued the stipulations of our treaties according to what I judged
their true sense, and have withheld no act of friendship which their
affairs have called for from us, and which justice to others left us
free to perform. I have gone farther. Rather than employ force for the
restitution of certain vessels which I deemed the United States bound to
restore, I thought it more advisable to satisfy the parties by avowing
it to be my opinion that if restitution were not made it would be
incumbent on the United States to make compensation. The papers now
communicated will more particularly apprise you of these transactions.
The vexations and spoliation understood to have been committed on
our vessels and commerce by the cruisers and officers of some of the
belligerent powers appear to require attention. The proofs of these,
however, not having been brought forward, the descriptions of citizens
supposed to have suffered were notified that, on furnishing them to the
Executive, due measures would be taken to obtain redress of the past and
more effectual provisions against the future. Should such documents be
furnished, proper representations will be made thereon, with a just
reliance on a redress proportioned to the exigency of the case.
The British Government having undertaken, by orders to the commanders
of their armed vessels, to restrain generally our commerce in corn and
other provisions to their own ports and those of their friends, the
instructions now communicated were immediately forwarded to our minister
at that Court. In the meantime some discussions on the subject took
place between him and them. These are also laid before you, and I may
expect to learn the result of his special instructions in time to make
it known to the Legislature during their present session.
Very early after the arrival of a British minister here mutual
explanations on the inexecution of the treaty of peace were entered into
with that minister. These are now laid before you for your information.
On the subjects of mutual interest between this country and Spain
negotiations and conferences are now depending. The public good
requiring that the present state of these should be made known to the
Legislature _in confidence only_, they shall be the subject of a
separate and subsequent communication.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _December 16, 1793_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
The situation of affairs in Europe in the course of the year 1790
having rendered it possible that a moment might arrive favorable for
the arrangement of our unsettled matters with Spain, it was thought
proper to prepare our representative at that Court to avail us of it.
A confidential person was therefore dispatched to be the bearer of
instructions to him, and to supply, by verbal communications, any
additional information of which he might find himself in need. The
Government of France was at the same time applied to for its aid and
influence in this negotiation. Events, however, took a turn which did
not present the occasion hoped for.
About the close of the ensuing year I was informed through the
representatives of Spain here that their Government would be willing
to renew at Madrid the former conferences on these subjects. Though the
transfer of scene was not what would have been desired, yet I did not
think it important enough to reject the proposition, and therefore,
with the advice and consent of the Senate, I appointed commissioners
plenipotentiary for negotiating and concluding a treaty with that
country on the several subjects of boundary, navigation, and commerce,
and gave them the instructions now communicated. Before these
negotiations, however, could be got into train the new troubles which
had arisen in Europe had produced new combinations among the powers
there, the effects of which are but too visible in the proceedings
now laid before you.
In the meantime some other points of discussion had arisen with that
country, to wit, the restitution of property escaping into the
territories of each other, the mutual exchange of fugitives from
justice, and, above all the mutual interferences with the Indians lying
between us. I had the best reason to believe that the hostilities
threatened and exercised by the Southern Indians on our border were
excited by the agents of that Government. Representations were thereon
directed to be made by our commissioners to the Spanish Government, and
a proposal to cultivate with good faith the peace of each other with
those people. In the meantime corresponding suspicions were entertained,
or pretended to be entertained, on their part of like hostile
excitements by our agents to disturb their peace with the same nations.
These were brought forward by the representatives of Spain here in a
style which could not fail to produce attention. A claim of patronage
and protection of those Indians was asserted; a mediation between them
and us by that sovereign assumed; their boundaries with us made a
subject of his interference, and at length, at the very moment when
these savages were committing daily inroads upon our frontier, we were
informed by them that "the continuation of the peace, good harmony, and
perfect friendship of the two nations was very problematical for the
future, unless the United States should take more convenient measures
and of greater energy than those adopted for a long time past."
If their previous correspondence had worn the appearance of a desire to
urge on a disagreement, this last declaration left no room to evade it,
since it could not be conceived we would submit to the scalping knife
and tomahawk of the savage without any resistance. I thought it time,
therefore, to know if these were the views of their sovereign, and
dispatched a special messenger with instructions to our commissioners,
which are among the papers now communicated. Their last letter gives us
reason to expect very shortly to know the result. I must add that the
Spanish representatives here, perceiving that their last communication
had made considerable impression, endeavored to abate this by some
subsequent professions, which, being also among the communications
to the Legislature, they will be able to form their own conclusions.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _December 16, 1793_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before you a report of the Secretary of State on the measures
which have been taken on behalf of the United States for the purpose of
obtaining a recognition of our treaty with Morocco and for the ransom of
our citizens and establishment of peace with Algiers.
While it is proper our citizens should know that subjects which so
much concern their interest and their feelings have duly engaged the
attention of their Legislature and Executive, it would still be improper
that some particulars of this communication should be made known.
The confidential conversation stated in one of the last letters sent
herewith is one of these. Both justice and policy require that the
source of that information should remain secret. So a knowledge of
the sums meant to have been given for peace and ransom might have a
disadvantageous influence on future proceedings for the same objects.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _December 23, 1793_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
Since the communications which were made to you on the affairs of the
United States with Spain and on the truce between Portugal and Algiers
some other papers have been received, which, making a part of the same
subjects, are now communicated for your information.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _December 30, 1793_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before you, for your consideration, a letter from the Secretary
of State, informing me of certain impediments which have arisen to the
coinage of the precious metals at the Mint, as also a letter from the
same officer relative to certain advances of money which have been made
on public account. Should you think proper to sanction what has been
done, or be of opinion that anything more shall be done in the same way,
you will judge whether there are not circumstances which would render
secrecy expedient.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _January 7, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
Experience has shewn that it would be useful to have an officer
particularly charged, under the direction of the Department of War,
with the duties of receiving, safe-keeping, and distributing the public
supplies in all cases in which the laws and the course of service do not
devolve them upon other officers, and also with that of superintending
in all cases the issues in detail of supplies, with power for that
purpose to bring to account all persons intrusted to make such issues
in relation thereto.
An establishment of this nature, by securing a regular and punctual
accountability for the issues of public supplies, would be a great guard
against abuse, would tend to insure their due application and to give
public satisfaction on that point.
I therefore recommend to the consideration of Congress the expediency of
an establishment of this nature, under such regulations as shall appear
to them advisable,
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _January 20, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
Having already laid before you a letter of the 16th of August, 1793,
from the Secretary of State to our minister at Paris, stating the
conduct and urging the recall of the minister plenipotentiary of the
Republic of France, I now communicate to you that his conduct has been
unequivocally disapproved, and that the strongest assurances have been
given that his recall should be expedited without delay.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _January 21, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
It is with satisfaction I announce to you that the alterations which
have been made by law in the original plan for raising a duty on spirits
distilled within the United States, and on stills, cooperating with
better information, have had a considerable influence in obviating the
difficulties which have embarrassed that branch of the public revenue.
But the obstacles which have been experienced, though lessened, are not
yet entirely surmounted, and it would seem that some further legislative
provisions may usefully be superadded, which leads me to recall the
attention of Congress to the subject. Among the matters which may demand
regulation is the effect, in point of organization, produced by the
separation of Kentucky from the State of Virginia, and the situation
with regard to the law of the territories northwest and southwest of
the Ohio.
The laws respecting light-house establishments require, as a condition
of their permanent maintenance at the expense of the United States, a
complete cession of soil and jurisdiction. The cessions of different
States having been qualified with a reservation of the right of serving
legal process within the ceded jurisdiction are understood to be
inconclusive as annexing a qualification not consonant with the terms of
the law. I present this circumstance to the view of Congress, that they
may judge whether any alteration ought to be made.
As it appears to be conformable with the intention of the "ordinance for
the government of the territory of the United States northwest of the
river Ohio," although it is not expressly directed that the laws of that
territory should be laid before Congress, I now transmit to you a copy
of such as have been passed from July to December, 1792, inclusive.
being the last which have been received by the Secretary of State.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _January 30, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
Communications have been made to Congress during the present session
with the intention of affording a full view of the posture of affairs
on the Southwestern frontiers. By the information which has lately been
laid before Congress it appeared that the difficulties with the Creeks
had been amicably and happily terminated; but it will be perceived with
regret by the papers herewith transmitted that the tranquillity has,
unfortunately, been of short duration, owing to the murder of several
friendly Indians by some lawless white men.
The condition of things in that quarter requires the serious and
immediate consideration of Congress, and the adoption of such wise and
vigorous laws as will be competent to the preservation of the national
character and of the peace made under the authority of the United States
with the several Indian tribes. Experience demonstrates that the
existing legal provisions are entirely inadequate to those great
objects.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _February 7, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I transmit to you an act and three ordinances passed by the government
of the territory of the United States south of the river Ohio on the
13th and 21st of March and the 7th of May, 1793, and also certain
letters from the minister plenipotentiary of the French Republic to
the Secretary of State, inclosing dispatches from the general and
extraordinary commission of Guadaloupe.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _February 19, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before you the copy of a letter which I have received from the
Chief Justice and associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United
States, and, at their desire, the representation mentioned in the said
letter, pointing out certain defects in the judiciary system.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _February 24, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
The extracts which I now lay before you, from a letter of our minister
at London, are supplementary to some of my past communications, and will
appear to be of a confidential nature.
I also transmit to you copies of a letter from the Secretary of State
to the minister plenipotentiary of His Britannic Majesty, and of the
answer thereto, upon the subject of the treaty between the United States
and Great Britain, together with the copy of a letter from Messrs.
Carmichael and Short, relative to our affairs with Spain, which letter
is connected with a former confidential message,
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _February 26, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate_:
I have caused the correspondence which is the subject of your
resolution of the 24th day of January last to be laid before me. After
an examination of it I directed copies and translations to be made,
except in those particulars which, in my judgment, for public
considerations, ought not to be communicated.
These copies and translations are now transmitted to the Senate; but
the nature of them manifests the propriety of their being received as
confidential.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _March 3, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I transmit to you an extract from a letter of Mr. Short, relative to
our affairs with Spain, and copies of two letters from our minister at
Lisbon, with their inclosures, containing intelligence from Algiers. The
whole of these communications are made in confidence, except the passage
in Mr. Short's letter which respects the Spanish convoy.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _March 5, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
The Secretary of State having reported to me upon the several complaints
which have been lodged in his office against the vexations and
spoliations on our commerce since the commencement of the European war,
I transmit to you a copy of his statement, together with the documents
upon which it is founded.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _March 18, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
The minister plenipotentiary of the French Republic having requested an
advance of money, I transmit to Congress certain documents relative to
that subject.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _March 28, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_;
In the execution of the resolution of Congress bearing date the 26th of
March, 1794, and imposing an embargo, I have requested the governors of
the several States to call forth the force of their militia, if it
should be necessary, for the detention of vessels. This power is
conceived to be incidental to an embargo.
It also deserves the attention of Congress how far the clearances from
one district to another, under the law as it now stands, may give rise
to evasions of the embargo. As one security the collectors have been
instructed to refuse to receive the surrender of coasting licenses for
the purpose of taking out registers, and to require bond from registered
vessels bound from one district to another, for the delivery of the
cargo within the United States.
It is not understood that the resolution applies to fishing vessels,
although their occupations lie generally in parts beyond the United
States. But without further restrictions there is an opportunity of
their privileges being used as means of eluding the embargo.
All armed vessels possessing public commissions from any foreign power
(letters of marque excepted) are considered as not liable to the embargo.
These circumstances are transmitted to Congress for their consideration.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _April 4, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before you three letters from our minister in London, advices
concerning the Algerine mission from our minister at Lisbon and others,
and a letter from the minister plenipotentiary of the French Republic
to the Secretary of State, with his answer.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _April 15, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before you a letter from the minister plenipotentiary of His
Britannic Majesty to the Secretary of State; a letter from the secretary
of the territory south of the river Ohio, inclosing an ordinance and
proclamation of the governor thereof; the translation of so much of
a petition of the inhabitants of Post Vincennes, addressed to the
President, as relates to Congress, and certain dispatches lately
received from our commissioners at Madrid. These dispatches from
Madrid being a part of the business which has been hitherto deemed
confidential, they are forwarded under that view.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _April 16, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate_:
The communications which I have made to you during your present session
from the dispatches of our minister in London contain a serious aspect
of our affairs with Great Britain. But as peace ought to be pursued with
unremitted zeal before the last resource, which has so often been the
scourge of nations, and can not fail to check the advanced prosperity of
the United States, is contemplated, I have thought proper to nominate,
and do hereby nominate, John Jay as envoy extraordinary of the United
States to His Britannic Majesty.
My confidence in our minister plenipotentiary in London continues
undiminished. But a mission like this, while it corresponds with the
solemnity of the occasion, will announce to the world a solicitude for
a friendly adjustment of our complaints and a reluctance to hostility.
Going immediately from the United States, such an envoy will carry with
him a full knowledge of the existing temper and sensibility of our
country, and will thus be taught to vindicate our rights with firmness
and to cultivate peace with sincerity.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _May 12, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
As the letter which I forwarded to Congress on the 15th day of April
last, from the minister plenipotentiary of His Britannic Majesty to the
Secretary of State, in answer to a memorial of our minister in London,
related to a very interesting subject, I thought it proper not to delay
its communication. But since that time the memorial itself has been
received in a letter from our minister, and a reply has been made to
that answer by the Secretary of State. Copies of them are therefore now
transmitted.
I also send the copy of a letter from the governor of Rhode Island,
inclosing an act of the legislature of that State empowering the United
States to hold lands within the same for the purpose of erecting
fortifications, and certain papers concerning patents for the donation
lands to the ancient settlers of Vincennes upon the Wabash.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _May 20, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
In the communications which I have made to Congress during the present
session relative to foreign nations I have omitted no opportunity of
testifying my anxiety to preserve the United States in peace. It is
peculiarly, therefore, my duty at this time to lay before you the
present state of certain hostile threats against the territories of
Spain in our neighborhood.
The documents which accompany this message develop the measures which I
have taken to suppress them, and the intelligence which has been lately
received.
It will be seen from thence that the subject has not been neglected;
that every power vested in the Executive on such occasions has been
exerted, and that there was reason to believe that the enterprise
projected against the Spanish dominions was relinquished.
But it appears to have been revived upon principles which set public
order at defiance and place the peace of the United States in the
discretion of unauthorized individuals. The means already deposited in
the different departments of Government are shewn by experience not to
be adequate to these high exigencies, although such of them as are
lodged in the hands of the Executive shall continue to be used with
promptness, energy, and decision proportioned to the case. But I am
impelled by the position of our public affairs to recommend that
provision be made for a stronger and more vigorous opposition than can
be given to such hostile movements under the laws as they now stand.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _May 21, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before you in confidence sundry papers, by which you will
perceive the state of affairs between us and the Six Nations, and
the probable cause to which it is owing, and also certain information
whereby it would appear that some encroachment was about to be made on
our territory by an officer and party of British troops. Proceeding
upon a supposition of the authenticity of this information, although
of a private nature, I have caused the representation to be made to
the British minister a copy of which accompanies this message.
It can not be necessary to comment upon the very serious nature of such
an encroachment, nor to urge that this new state of things suggests
the propriety of placing the United States in a posture of effectual
preparation for an event which, notwithstanding the endeavors making to
avert it, may by circumstances beyond our control be forced upon us.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _May 26, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
The commissioners of His Catholic Majesty having communicated to the
Secretary of State the form of a certificate without which the vessels
of the United States can not be admitted into the ports of Spain,
I think it proper to lay it before Congress.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _May 27, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate_:
The Executive Provisory Council of the French Republic having requested
me to recall Gouverneur Morris, our minister plenipotentiary in France,
I have thought proper, in pursuance of that request, to recall him.
I therefore nominate James Monroe, of Virginia, as minister
plenipotentiary of the United States to the said Republic.
I also nominate William Short, now minister resident for the United
States with Their High Mightinesses the States-General of the United
Netherlands, to be minister resident for the United States to His
Catholic Majesty, in the room of William Carmichael, who is recalled.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _June 2, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I send you certain communications, recently received from Georgia, which
materially change the prospect of affairs in that quarter, and seem to
render a war with the Creek Nations more probable than it has been at
any antecedent period. While the attention of Congress will be directed
to the consideration of measures suited to the exigency, it can not
escape their observation that this intelligence brings a fresh proof
of the insufficiency of the existing provisions of the laws toward
the effectual cultivation and preservation of peace with our Indian
neighbors.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
PROCLAMATIONS.
[From a broadside in the archives of the Department of State.]
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas it appears that a state of war exists between Austria, Prussia,
Sardinia, Great Britain, and the United Netherlands of the one part and
France on the other, and the duty and interest of the United States
require that they should with sincerity and good faith adopt and pursue
a conduct friendly and impartial toward the belligerent powers:
I have therefore thought fit by these presents to declare the
disposition of the United States to observe the conduct aforesaid toward
those powers respectively, and to exhort and warn the citizens of the
United States carefully to avoid all acts and proceedings whatsoever
which may in any manner tend to contravene such disposition.
And I do hereby also make known that whosoever of the citizens of the
United States shall render himself liable to punishment or forfeiture
under the law of nations by committing, aiding, or abetting hostilities
against any of the said powers, or by carrying to any of them those
articles which are deemed contraband by the modern usage of nations,
will not receive the protection of the United States against such
punishment or forfeiture; and further, that I have given instructions to
those officers to whom it belongs to cause prosecutions to be instituted
against all persons who shall, within the cognizance of the courts of
the United States, violate the law of nations with respect to the powers
at war, or any of them.
In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States of
America to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my
hand.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Philadelphia, the 22d day of April, 1793, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the seventeenth.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
By the President:
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas I have received information that certain persons, in violation
of the laws, have presumed, under color of a foreign authority, to
enlist citizens of the United States and others within the State of
Kentucky, and have there assembled an armed force for the purpose of
invading and plundering the territories of a nation at peace with the
said United States; and
Whereas such unwarrantable measures, being contrary to the laws of
nations and to the duties incumbent on every citizen of the United
States, tend to disturb the tranquillity of the same, and to involve
them in the calamities of war; and
Whereas it is the duty of the Executive to take care that such criminal
proceedings should be suppressed, the offenders brought to justice,
and all good citizens cautioned against measures likely to prove so
pernicious to their country and themselves, should they be seduced into
similar infractions of the laws:
I have therefore thought proper to issue this proclamation, hereby
solemnly warning every person, not authorized by the laws, against
enlisting any citizen or citizens of the United States, or levying
troops, or assembling any persons within the United States for the
purposes aforesaid, or proceeding in any manner to the execution
thereof, as they will answer for the same at their peril; and I do also
admonish and require all citizens to refrain from enlisting, enrolling,
or assembling themselves for such unlawful purposes and from being in
anywise concerned, aiding, or abetting therein, as they tender their own
welfare, inasmuch as all lawful means will be strictly put in execution
for securing obedience to the laws and for punishing such dangerous and
daring violations thereof.
And I do moreover charge and require all courts, magistrates, and other
officers whom it may concern, according to their respective duties, to
exert the powers in them severally vested to prevent and suppress all
such unlawful assemblages and proceedings, and to bring to condign
punishment those who may have been guilty thereof, as they regard the
due authority of Government and the peace and welfare of the United
States.
In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States of
America to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my
hand.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Philadelphia, the 24th day of March, 1794, and of
the Independence of the United States of America the eighteenth.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
By the President:
EDM. RANDOLPH.
[From Annals of Congress, Fourth Congress, second session, 2796.]
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas combinations to defeat the execution of the laws laying duties
upon spirits distilled within the United States and upon stills have
from the time of the commencement of those laws existed in some of the
western parts of Pennsylvania; and
Whereas the said combinations, proceeding in a manner subversive
equally of the just authority of government and of the rights of
individuals, have hitherto effected their dangerous and criminal
purpose by the influence of certain irregular meetings whose proceedings
have tended to encourage and uphold the spirit of opposition by
misrepresentations of the laws calculated to render them odious; by
endeavors to deter those who might be so disposed from accepting offices
under them through fear of public resentment and of injury to person and
property, and to compel those who had accepted such offices by actual
violence to surrender or forbear the execution of them; by circulating
vindictive menaces against all those who should otherwise, directly or
indirectly, aid in the execution of the said laws, or who, yielding
to the dictates of conscience and to a sense of obligation, should
themselves comply therewith; by actually injuring and destroying
the property of persons who were understood to have so complied; by
inflicting cruel and humiliating punishments upon private citizens for
no other cause than that of appearing to be the friends of the laws; by
intercepting the public officers on the highways, abusing, assaulting,
and otherwise ill treating them; by going to their houses in the night,
gaining admittance by force, taking away their papers, and committing
other outrages, employing for these unwarrantable purposes the agency of
armed banditti disguised in such manner as for the most part to escape
discovery; and
Whereas the endeavors of the Legislature to obviate objections to the
said laws by lowering the duties and by other alterations conducive
to the convenience of those whom they immediately affect (though they
have given satisfaction in other quarters), and the endeavors of
the executive officers to conciliate a compliance with the laws by
explanations, by forbearance, and even by particular accommodations
founded on the suggestion of local considerations, have been
disappointed of their effect by the machinations of persons whose
industry to excite resistance has increased with every appearance of
a disposition among the people to relax in their opposition and to
acquiesce in the laws, insomuch that many persons in the said western
parts of Pennsylvania have at length been hardy enough to perpetrate
acts which I am advised amount to treason, being overt acts of levying
war against the United States, the said persons having on the 16th and
17th July last past proceeded in arms (on the second day amounting to
several hundreds) to the house of John Neville, inspector of the revenue
for the fourth survey of the district of Pennsylvania; having repeatedly
attacked the said house with the persons therein, wounding some of them;
having seized David Lenox, marshal of the district of Pennsylvania, who
previous thereto had been fired upon while in the execution of his duty
by a party of armed men, detaining him for some time prisoner, till for
the preservation of his life and the obtaining of his liberty he found
it necessary to enter into stipulations to forbear the execution of
certain official duties touching processes issuing out of a court of the
United States; and having finally obliged the said inspector of the said
revenue and the said marshal from considerations of personal safety to
fly from that part of the country, in order, by a circuitous route, to
proceed to the seat of Government, avowing as the motives of these
outrageous proceedings an intention to prevent by force of arms the
execution of the said laws, to oblige the said inspector of the revenue
to renounce his said office, to withstand by open violence the lawful
authority of the Government of the United States, and to compel thereby
an alteration in the measures of the Legislature and a repeal of the
laws aforesaid; and
Whereas by a law of the United States entitled "An act to provide for
calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress
insurrections, and repel invasions," it is enacted "that whenever the
laws of the United States shall be opposed or the execution thereof
obstructed in any State by combinations too powerful to be suppressed
by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings or by the powers vested
in the marshals by that act, the same being notified by an associate
justice or the district judge, it shall be lawful for the President of
the United States to call forth the militia of such State to suppress
such combinations and to cause the laws to be duly executed. And if the
militia of a State where such combinations may happen shall refuse or be
insufficient to suppress the same, it shall be lawful for the President,
if the Legislature of the United States shall not be in session, to
call forth and employ such numbers of the militia of any other State or
States most convenient thereto as may be necessary; and the use of the
militia so to be called forth may be continued, if necessary, until the
expiration of thirty days after the commencement of the ensuing session:
_Provided always_, That whenever it may be necessary in the judgment
of the President to use the military force hereby directed to be
called forth, the President shall forthwith, and previous thereto, by
proclamation, command such insurgents to disperse and retire peaceably
to their respective abodes within a limited time;" and
Whereas James Wilson, an associate justice, on the 4th instant, by
writing under his hand, did from evidence which had been laid before
him notify to me that "in the counties of Washington and Allegany, in
Pennsylvania, laws of the United States are opposed and the execution
thereof obstructed by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the
ordinary course of judicial proceedings or by the powers vested in the
marshal of that district;" and
Whereas it is in my judgment necessary under the circumstances of the
case to take measures for calling forth the militia in order to suppress
the combinations aforesaid, and to cause the laws to be duly executed;
and I have accordingly determined so to do, feeling the deepest regret
for the occasion, but withal the most solemn conviction that the
essential interests of the Union demand it, that the very existence of
Government and the fundamental principles of social order are materially
involved in the issue, and that the patriotism and firmness of all good
citizens are seriously called upon, as occasions may require, to aid in
the effectual suppression of so fatal a spirit:
Wherefore, and in pursuance of the proviso above recited, I, George
Washington, President of the United States, do hereby command all
persons being insurgents as aforesaid, and all others whom it may
concern, on or before the 1st day of September next to disperse and
retire peaceably to their respective abodes. And I do moreover warn
all persons whomsoever against aiding, abetting, or comforting the
perpetrators of the aforesaid treasonable acts, and do require all
officers and other citizens, according to their respective duties and
the laws of the land, to exert their utmost endeavors to prevent and
suppress such dangerous proceedings.
In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States of
America to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my
hand.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Philadelphia, the 7th day of August, 1794, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the nineteenth.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
By the President:
EDM. RANDOLPH.
[From Annals of Congress, Third Congress, 1413.]
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas from a hope that the combinations against the Constitution
and laws of the United States in certain of the western counties of
Pennsylvania would yield to time and reflection I thought it sufficient
in the first instance rather to take measures for calling forth the
militia than immediately to embody them, but the moment is now come when
the overtures of forgiveness, with no other condition than a submission
to law, have been only partially accepted; when every form of
conciliation not inconsistent with the being of Government has been
adopted without effect; when the well-disposed in those counties are
unable by their influence and example to reclaim the wicked from their
fury, and are compelled to associate in their own defense; when the
proffered lenity has been perversely misinterpreted into an apprehension
that the citizens will march with reluctance; when the opportunity of
examining the serious consequences of a treasonable opposition has been
employed in propagating principles of anarchy, endeavoring through
emissaries to alienate the friends of order from its support, and
inviting its enemies to perpetrate similar acts of insurrection; when
it is manifest that violence would continue to be exercised upon every
attempt to enforce the laws; when, therefore, Government is set at
defiance, the contest being whether a small portion of the United States
shall dictate to the whole Union, and, at the expense of those who
desire peace, indulge a desperate ambition:
Now, therefore, I, George Washington, President of the United States,
in obedience to that high and irresistible duty consigned to me by
the Constitution "to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,"
deploring that the American name should be sullied by the outrages of
citizens on their own Government, commiserating such as remain obstinate
from delusion, but resolved, in perfect reliance on that gracious
Providence which so signally displays its goodness towards this country,
to reduce the refractory to a due subordination to the law, do hereby
declare and make known that, with a satisfaction which can be equaled
only by the merits of the militia summoned into service from the States
of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, I have received
intelligence of their patriotic alacrity in obeying the call of the
present, though painful, yet commanding necessity; that a force which,
according to every reasonable expectation, is adequate to the exigency
is already in motion to the scene of disaffection; that those who have
confided or shall confide in the protection of Government shall meet
full succor under the standard and from the arms of the United States;
that those who, having offended against the laws, have since entitled
themselves to indemnity will be treated with the most liberal good faith
if they shall not have forfeited their claim by any subsequent conduct,
and that instructions are given accordingly.
And I do moreover exhort all individuals, officers, and bodies of men to
contemplate with abhorrence the measures leading directly or indirectly
to those crimes which produce this resort to military coercion; to check
in their respective spheres the efforts of misguided or designing men
to substitute their misrepresentation in the place of truth and their
discontents in the place of stable government, and to call to mind
that, as the people of the United States have been permitted, under the
Divine favor, in perfect freedom, after solemn deliberation, and in an
enlightened age, to elect their own government, so will their gratitude
for this inestimable blessing be best distinguished by firm exertions
to maintain the Constitution and the laws.
And, lastly, I again warn all persons whomsoever and wheresoever not to
abet, aid, or comfort the insurgents aforesaid, as they will answer the
contrary at their peril; and I do also require all officers and other
citizens, according to their several duties, as far as may be in their
power, to bring under the cognizance of the laws all offenders in the
premises. In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United
States of America to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same
with my hand.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Philadelphia, the 25th day of September, 1794, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the nineteenth.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
By the President:
EDM. RANDOLPH.
SIXTH ANNUAL ADDRESS.
UNITED STATES, _November 19, 1794_.
_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_;
When we call to mind the gracious indulgence of Heaven by which the
American people became a nation; when we survey the general prosperity
of our country, and look forward to the riches, power, and happiness to
which it seems destined, with the deepest regret do I announce to you
that during your recess some of the citizens of the United States have
been found capable of an insurrection. It is due, however, to the
character of our Government and to its stability, which can not be
shaken by the enemies of order, freely to unfold the course of this
event.
During the session of the year 1790 it was expedient to exercise the
legislative power granted by the Constitution of the United States
"to lay and collect excises." In a majority of the States scarcely an
objection was heard to this mode of taxation. In some, indeed, alarms
were at first conceived, until they were banished by reason and
patriotism. In the four western counties of Pennsylvania a prejudice,
fostered and imbittered by the artifice of men who labored for an
ascendency over the will of others by the guidance of their passions,
produced symptoms of riot and violence. It is well known that Congress
did not hesitate to examine the complaints which were presented, and
to relieve them as far as justice dictated or general convenience
would permit. But the impression which this moderation made on the
discontented did not correspond with what it deserved. The arts
of delusion were no longer confined to the efforts of designing
individuals. The very forbearance to press prosecutions was
misinterpreted into a fear of urging the execution of the laws, and
associations of men began to denounce threats against the officers
employed. From a belief that by a more formal concert their operation
might be defeated, certain self-created societies assumed the tone of
condemnation. Hence, while the greater part of Pennsylvania itself
were conforming themselves to the acts of excise, a few counties were
resolved to frustrate them. It was now perceived that every expectation
from the tenderness which had been hitherto pursued was unavailing,
and that further delay could only create an opinion of impotency or
irresolution in the Government. Legal process was therefore delivered
to the marshal against the rioters and delinquent distillers.
No sooner was he understood to be engaged in this duty than the
vengeance of armed men was aimed at _his_ person and the person and
property of the inspector of the revenue. They fired upon the marshal,
arrested him, and detained him for some time as a prisoner. He was
obliged, by the jeopardy of his life, to renounce the service of other
process on the west side of the Allegheny Mountain, and a deputation was
afterwards sent to him to demand a surrender of that which he _had_
served. A numerous body repeatedly attacked the house of the inspector,
seized his papers of office, and finally destroyed by fire his buildings
and whatsoever they contained. Both of these officers, from a just
regard to their safety, fled to the seat of Government, it being avowed
that the motives to such outrages were to compel the resignation of the
inspector, to withstand by force of arms the authority of the United
States, and thereby to extort a repeal of the laws of excise and an
alteration in the conduct of Government.
Upon the testimony of these facts an associate justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States notified to me that "in the counties of
Washington and Allegheny, in Pennsylvania, laws of the United States
were opposed, and the execution thereof obstructed, by combinations too
powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings
or by the powers vested in the marshal of that district." On this call,
momentous in the extreme, I sought and weighed what might best subdue
the crisis. On the one hand the judiciary was pronounced to be stripped
of its capacity to enforce the laws; crimes which reached the very
existence of social order were perpetrated without control; the friends
of Government were insulted, abused, and overawed into silence or an
apparent acquiescence; and to yield to the treasonable fury of so small
a portion of the United States would be to violate the fundamental
principle of our Constitution, which enjoins that the will of the
majority shall prevail. On the other, to array citizen against citizen,
to publish the dishonor of such excesses, to encounter the expense and
other embarrassments of so distant an expedition, were steps too
delicate, too closely interwoven with many affecting considerations, to
be lightly adopted. I postponed, therefore, the summoning the militia
immediately into the field, but I required them to be held in readiness,
that if my anxious endeavors to reclaim the deluded and to convince the
malignant of their danger should be fruitless, military force might be
prepared to act before the season should be too far advanced.
My proclamation of the 7th of August last was accordingly issued, and
accompanied by the appointment of commissioners, who were charged to
repair to the scene of insurrection. They were authorized to confer with
any bodies of men or individuals. They were instructed to be candid
and explicit in stating the sensations which had been excited in the
Executive, and his earnest wish to avoid a resort to coercion; to
represent, however, that, without submission, coercion _must_ be the
resort; but to invite them, at the same time, to return to the demeanor
of faithful citizens, by such accommodations as lay within the sphere of
Executive power. Pardon, too, was tendered to them by the Government of
the United States and that of Pennsylvania, upon no other condition
than a satisfactory assurance of obedience to the laws.
Although the report of the commissioners marks their firmness and
abilities, and must unite all virtuous men, by shewing that the means
of conciliation have been exhausted, all of those who had committed or
abetted the tumults did not subscribe the mild form which was proposed
as the atonement, and the indications of a peaceable temper were neither
sufficiently general nor conclusive to recommend or warrant the further
suspension of the march of the militia.
Thus the painful alternative could not be discarded. I ordered the
militia to march, after once more admonishing the insurgents in my
proclamation of the 25th of September last.
It was a task too difficult to ascertain with precision the lowest
degree of force competent to the quelling of the insurrection. From
a respect, indeed, to economy and the ease of my fellow-citizens
belonging to the militia, it would have gratified me to accomplish
such an estimate. My very reluctance to ascribe too much importance
to the opposition, had its extent been accurately seen, would have
been a decided inducement to the smallest efficient numbers, In this
uncertainty, therefore, I put into motion 15,000 men, as being an army
which, according to all human calculation, would be prompt and adequate
in every view, and might, perhaps, by rendering resistance desperate,
prevent the effusion of blood. Quotas had been assigned to the States
of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, the governor of
Pennsylvania having declared on this occasion an opinion which justified
a requisition to the other States.
As commander in chief of the militia when called into the actual service
of the United States, I have visited the places of general rendezvous
to obtain more exact information and to direct a plan for ulterior
movements. Had there been room for a persuasion that the laws were
secure from obstruction; that the civil magistrate was able to bring to
justice such of the most culpable as have not embraced the proffered
terms of amnesty, and may be deemed fit objects of example; that the
friends to peace and good government were not in need of that aid and
countenance which they ought always to receive, and, I trust, ever will
receive, against the vicious and turbulent, I should have caught with
avidity the opportunity of restoring the militia to their families and
homes. But succeeding intelligence has tended to manifest the necessity
of what has been done, it being now confessed by those who were not
inclined to exaggerate the ill conduct of the insurgents that their
malevolence was not pointed merely to a particular law, but that a
spirit inimical to all order has actuated many of the offenders. If the
state of things had afforded reason for the continuance of my presence
with the army, it would not have been withholden. But every appearance
assuring such an issue as will redound to the reputation and strength
of the United States, I have judged it most proper to resume my duties
at the seat of Government, leaving the chief command with the governor
of Virginia.
Still, however, as it is probable that in a commotion like the present,
whatsoever may be the pretense, the purposes of mischief and revenge may
not be laid aside, the stationing of a small force for a certain period
in the four western counties of Pennsylvania will be indispensable,
whether we contemplate the situation of those who are connected with the
execution of the laws or of others who may have exposed themselves by an
honorable attachment to them. Thirty days from the commencement of this
session being the legal limitation of the employment of the militia,
Congress can not be too early occupied with this subject.
Among the discussions which may arise from this aspect of our affairs,
and from the documents which will be submitted to Congress, it will not
escape their observation that not only the inspector of the revenue,
but other officers of the United States in Pennsylvania have, from
their fidelity in the discharge of their functions, sustained material
injuries to their property. The obligation and policy of indemnifying
them are strong and obvious. It may also merit attention whether policy
will not enlarge this provision to the retribution of other citizens
who, though not under the ties of office, may have suffered damage by
their generous exertions for upholding the Constitution and the laws.
The amount, even if all the injured were included, would not be great,
and on future emergencies the Government would be amply repaid by the
influence of an example that he who incurs a loss in its defense shall
find a recompense in its liberality.
While there is cause to lament that occurrences of this nature should
have disgraced the name or interrupted the tranquillity of any part of
our community, or should have diverted to a new application any portion
of the public resources, there are not wanting real and substantial
consolations for the misfortune. It has demonstrated that our prosperity
rests on solid foundations, by furnishing an additional proof that my
fellow-citizens understand the true principles of government and
liberty; that they feel their inseparable union; that notwithstanding
all the devices which have been used to sway them from their interest
and duty, they are now as ready to maintain the authority of the laws
against licentious invasions as they were to defend their rights
against usurpation. It has been a spectacle displaying to the highest
advantage the value of republican government to behold the most and
the least wealthy of our citizens standing in the same ranks as
private soldiers, preeminently distinguished by being the army of the
Constitution--undeterred by a march of 300 miles over rugged mountains,
by the approach of an inclement season, or by any other discouragement.
Nor ought I to omit to acknowledge the efficacious and patriotic
cooperation which I have experienced from the chief magistrates
of the States to which my requisitions have been addressed.
To every description of citizens, indeed, let praise be given. But
let them persevere in their affectionate vigilance over that precious
depository of American happiness, the Constitution of the United States.
Let them cherish it, too, for the sake of those who, from every clime,
are daily seeking a dwelling in our land. And when in the calm moments
of reflection they shall have retraced the origin and progress of the
insurrection, let them determine whether it has not been fomented by
combinations of men who, careless of consequences and disregarding the
unerring truth that those who rouse can not always appease a civil
convulsion, have disseminated, from an ignorance or perversion of facts,
suspicions, jealousies, and accusations of the whole Government.
Having thus fulfilled the engagement which I took when I entered into
office, "to the best of my ability to preserve, protect, and defend the
Constitution of the United States," on you, gentlemen, and the people
by whom you are deputed, I rely for support.
In the arrangements to which the possibility of a similar contingency
will naturally draw your attention it ought not to be forgotten that the
militia laws have exhibited such striking defects as could not have been
supplied but by the zeal of our citizens, Besides the extraordinary
expense and waste, which are not the least of the defects, every appeal
to those laws is attended with a doubt on its success.
The devising and establishing of a well-regulated militia would be
a genuine source of legislative honor and a perfect title to public
gratitude. I therefore entertain a hope that the present session will
not pass without carrying to its full energy the power of organizing,
arming, and disciplining the militia, and thus providing, in the
language of the Constitution, for calling them forth to execute the
laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions.
As auxiliary to the state of our defense, to which Congress can never
too frequently recur, they will not omit to inquire whether the
fortifications which have been already licensed by law be commensurate
with our exigencies.
The intelligence from the army under the command of General Wayne is a
happy presage to our military operations against the hostile Indians
north of the Ohio. From the advices which have been forwarded, the
advance which he has made must have damped the ardor of the savages and
weakened their obstinacy in waging war against the United States, And
yet, even at this late hour, when our power to punish them can not be
questioned, we shall not be unwilling to cement a lasting peace upon
terms of candor, equity, and good neighborhood.
Toward none of the Indian tribes have overtures of friendship been
spared. The Creeks in particular are covered from encroachment by the
interposition of the General Government and that of Georgia. From a
desire also to remove the discontents of the Six Nations, a settlement
meditated at Presque Isle, on Lake Erie, has been suspended, and an
agent is now endeavoring to rectify any misconception into which they
may have fallen. But I can not refrain from again pressing upon your
deliberations the plan which I recommended at the last session for the
improvement of harmony with all the Indians within our limits by the
fixing and conducting of trading houses upon the principles then
expressed.
_Gentlemen of the House of Representatives_:
The time which has elapsed since the commencement of our fiscal measures
has developed our pecuniary resources so as to open the way for a
definite plan for the redemption of the public debt. It is believed that
the result is such as to encourage Congress to consummate this work
without delay. Nothing can more promote the permanent welfare of the
nation and nothing would be more grateful to our constituents. Indeed,
whatsoever is unfinished of our system of public credit can not be
benefited by procrastination; and as far as may be practicable we ought
to place that credit on grounds which can not be disturbed, and to
prevent that progressive accumulation of debt which must ultimately
endanger all governments.
An estimate of the necessary appropriations, including the expenditures
into which we have been driven by the insurrection, will be submitted to
Congress.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_.
The Mint of the United States has entered upon the coinage of the
precious metals, and considerable sums of defective coins and bullion
have been lodged with the Director by individuals. There is a pleasing
prospect that the institution will at no remote day realize the
expectation which was originally formed of its utility.
In subsequent communications certain circumstances of our
intercourse with foreign nations will be transmitted to Congress.
However, it may not be unseasonable to announce that my policy in our
foreign transactions has been to cultivate peace with all the world;
to observe treaties with pure and absolute faith; to check every
deviation from the line of impartiality; to explain what may have been
misapprehended and correct what may have been injurious to any nation,
and having thus acquired the right, to lose no time in acquiring the
ability to insist upon justice being done to ourselves.
Let us unite, therefore, in imploring the Supreme Ruler of Nations
to spread his holy protection over these United States; to turn the
machinations of the wicked to the confirming of our Constitution; to
enable us at all times to root out internal sedition and put invasion to
flight; to perpetuate to our country that prosperity which His goodness
has already conferred, and to verify the anticipations of this
Government being a safeguard to human rights.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
ADDRESS OF THE SENATE TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES.
SIR: We receive with pleasure your speech to the two Houses of Congress.
In it we perceive renewed proofs of that vigilant and paternal concern
for the prosperity, honor, and happiness of our country which has
uniformly distinguished your past Administration.
Our anxiety arising from the licentious and open resistance to the
laws in the western counties of Pennsylvania has been increased by the
proceedings of certain self-created societies relative to the laws and
administration of the Government; proceedings, in our apprehension,
founded in political error, calculated, if not intended, to disorganize
our Government, and which, by inspiring delusive hopes of support, have
been influential in misleading our fellow-citizens in the scene of
insurrection.
In a situation so delicate and important the lenient and persuasive
measures which you adopted merit and receive our affectionate
approbation. These failing to procure their proper effect, and coercion
having become inevitable, we have derived the highest satisfaction from
the enlightened patriotism and animating zeal with which the citizens of
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia have rallied around the
standard of Government in opposition to anarchy and insurrection.
Our warm and cordial acknowledgments are due to you, sir, for the wisdom
and decision with which you arrayed the militia to execute the public
will, and to them for the disinterestedness and alacrity with which they
obeyed your summons.
The example is precious to the theory of our Government, and confers the
brightest honor upon the patriots who have given it.
We shall readily concur in such further provisions for the security
of internal peace and a due obedience to the laws as the occasion
manifestly requires.
The effectual organization of the militia and a prudent attention to the
fortifications of our ports and harbors are subjects of great national
importance, and, together with the other measures you have been pleased
to recommend, will receive our deliberate consideration.
The success of the troops under the command of General Wayne can not
fail to produce essential advantages. The pleasure with which we
acknowledge the merits of that gallant general and army is enhanced by
the hope that their victories will lay the foundation of a just and
durable peace with the Indian tribes.
At a period so momentous in the affairs of nations the temperate, just,
and firm policy that you have pursued in respect to foreign powers has
been eminently calculated to promote the great and essential interest of
our country, and has created the fairest title to the public gratitude
and thanks.
JOHN ADAMS,
_Vice-President of the United States and President of the Senate_.
NOVEMBER 21, 1794.
REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT.
GENTLEMEN: Among the occasions which have been afforded for expressing
my sense of the zealous and steadfast cooperation of the Senate in the
maintenance of Government, none has yet occurred more forcibly demanding
my unqualified acknowledgments than the present.
Next to the consciousness of upright intentions, it is the highest
pleasure to be approved by the enlightened representatives of a free
nation. With the satisfaction, therefore, which arises from an
unalterable attachment to public order do I learn that the Senate
discountenance those proceedings which would arrogate the direction of
our affairs without any degree of authority derived from the people.
It has been more than once the lot of our Government to be thrown into
new and delicate situations, and of these the insurrection has not been
the least important. Having been compelled at length to lay aside my
repugnance to resort to arms, I derive much happiness from being
confirmed by your judgment in the necessity of decisive measures, and
from the support of my fellow-citizens of the militia, who were the
patriotic instruments of that necessity.
With such demonstrations of affection for our Constitution; with an
adequate organization of the militia; with the establishment of
necessary fortifications; with a continuance of those judicious and
spirited exertions which have brought victory to our Western army; with
a due attention to public credit, and an unsullied honor toward all
nations, we may meet, under every assurance of success, our enemies
from within and from without.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
NOVEMBER 22, 1794.
ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES.
SIR: The House of Representatives, calling to mind the blessings enjoyed
by the people of the United States, and especially the happiness of
living under constitutions and laws which rest on their authority alone,
could not learn with other emotions than those you have expressed that
any part of our fellow-citizens should have shewn themselves capable
of an insurrection. And we learn with the greatest concern that any
misrepresentations whatever of the Government and its proceedings,
either by individuals or combinations of men, should have been made
and so far credited as to foment the flagrant outrage which has been
committed on the laws. We feel with you the deepest regret at so painful
an occurrence in the annals of our country. As men regardful of the
tender interests of humanity, we look with grief at scenes which might
have stained our land with civil blood; as lovers of public order, we
lament that it has suffered so flagrant a violation; as zealous friends
of republican government, we deplore every occasion which in the hands
of its enemies may be turned into a calumny against it.
This aspect of the crisis, however, is happily not the only one which
it presents. There is another, which yields all the consolations which
you have drawn from it. It has demonstrated to the candid world, as
well as to the American people themselves, that the great body of them
everywhere are equally attached to the luminous and vital principle of
our Constitution, which enjoins that the will of the majority shall
prevail; that they understand the indissoluble union between true
liberty and regular government; that they feel their duties no less than
they are watchful over their rights; that they will be as ready at all
times to crush licentiousness as they have been to defeat usurpation.
In a word, that they are capable of carrying into execution that noble
plan of self-government which they have chosen as the guaranty of their
own happiness and the asylum for that of all, from every clime, who may
wish to unite their destiny with ours.
These are the just inferences flowing from the promptitude with which
the summons to the standard of the laws has been obeyed, and from the
sentiments which have been witnessed in every description of citizens in
every quarter of the Union. The spectacle, therefore, when viewed in its
true light, may well be affirmed to display in equal luster the virtues
of the American character and the value of republican government.
All must particularly acknowledge and applaud the patriotism of that
portion of citizens who have freely sacrificed everything less dear
than the love of their country to the meritorious task of defending
its happiness.
In the part which you have yourself borne through this delicate and
distressing period we trace the additional proofs it has afforded of
your solicitude for the public good. Your laudable and successful
endeavors to render lenity in executing the laws conducive to their
real energy, and to convert tumult into order without the effusion of
blood, form a particular title to the confidence and praise of your
constituents. In all that may be found necessary on our part to complete
this benevolent purpose, and to secure the ministers and friends of
the laws against the remains of danger, our due cooperation will
be afforded.
The other subjects which you have recommended or communicated, and of
which several are peculiarly interesting, will all receive the attention
which they demand. We are deeply impressed with the importance of an
effectual organization of the militia. We rejoice at the intelligence
of the advance and success of the army under the command of General
Wayne, whether we regard it as a proof of the perseverance, prowess,
and superiority of our troops, or as a happy presage to our military
operations against the hostile Indians, and as a probable prelude to the
establishment of a lasting peace upon terms of candor, equity, and good
neighborhood. We receive it with the greater pleasure as it increases
the probability of sooner restoring a part of the public resources to
the desirable object of reducing the public debt.
We shall on this, as on all occasions, be disposed to adopt any measures
which may advance the safety and prosperity of our country. In nothing
can we more cordially unite with you than in imploring the Supreme Ruler
of Nations to multiply his blessings on these United States; to guard
our free and happy Constitution against every machination and danger,
and to make it the best source of public happiness, by verifying its
character of being the best safeguard of human rights,
NOVEMBER 28, 1794.
REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT.
GENTLEMEN: I anticipated with confidence the concurrence of the House of
Representatives in the regret produced by the insurrection. Every effort
ought to be used to discountenance what has contributed to foment it,
and thus discourage a repetition of like attempts; for notwithstanding
the consolations which may be drawn from the issue of this event, it
is far better that the artful approaches to such a situation of things
should be checked by the vigilant and duly admonished patriotism of our
fellow-citizens than that the evil should increase until it becomes
necessary to crush it by the strength of their arm.
I am happy that the part which I have myself borne on this occasion
receives the approbation of your House. For the discharge of a
constitutional duty it is a sufficient reward to me to be assured
that you will unite in consummating what remains to be done.
I feel also great satisfaction in learning that the other subjects
which I have communicated or recommended will meet with due attention;
that you are deeply impressed with the importance of an effectual
organization of the militia, and that the advance and success of the
army under the command of General Wayne is regarded by you, no less
than myself, as a proof of the perseverance, prowess, and superiority
of our troops.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
NOVEMBER 29, 1794.
SPECIAL MESSAGES.
UNITED STATES, _November 21, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before Congress copies of a letter from the governor of the State
of New York and of the exemplification of an act of the legislature
thereof ratifying the amendment of the Constitution of the United States
proposed by the Senate and House of Representatives at their last
session, respecting the judicial power.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _November 21, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate_:
In the negotiation between the United States and His Catholic Majesty
I have received satisfactory proofs of attention and ability exerted
in behalf of the United States to bring it to a happy and speedy issue.
But it is probable that by complying with an intimation made to the
Secretary of State by the commissioners of His Catholic Majesty much
further delay in concluding it may be prevented. Notwithstanding,
therefore, I retain full confidence in our minister resident at Madrid,
who is charged with powers as commissioner plenipotentiary, I nominate
Thomas Pinckney to be envoy extraordinary of the United States to His
Catholic Majesty, for the purpose of negotiating of and concerning the
navigation of the river Mississippi, and such other matters relative
to the confines of their territories, and the intercourse to be had
thereon, as the mutual interests and general harmony of neighboring and
friendly nations require should be precisely adjusted and regulated,
and of and concerning the general commerce between the United States
and the kingdoms and dominions of his said Catholic Majesty.
It is believed that by his temporary absence from London in the
discharge of these new functions no injury will arise to the United
States.
I also nominate:
John Miller Russell, of Massachusetts, to be consul of the United States
of America for the port of St. Petersburg, in Russia, and for such other
places as shall be nearer to the said port than to the residence of
any other consul or vice-consul of the United States within the same
allegiance;
Joseph Pitcairn, of New York, to be vice-consul of the United States
of America at Paris, vice Alexander Duvernet, superseded; and
Nathaniel Brush, of Vermont, to be supervisor for the United States
in the district of Vermont, vice Noah Smith, who has resigned.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _November 25, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before you a statement of the troops in the service of the United
States, which has been submitted to me by the Secretary of War. It will
rest with Congress to consider and determine whether further inducements
shall be held out for entering into the military service of the United
States in order to complete the establishment authorized by law.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _December 17, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before Congress copies of the journal of the proceedings of the
executive department of the government of the United States south of
the river Ohio to the 1st of September, 1794.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _December 30, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before you a report, made to me by the Secretary of War,
respecting the frontiers of the United States. The disorders and
the great expenses which incessantly arise upon the frontiers are
of a nature and magnitude to excite the most serious considerations.
I feel a confidence that Congress will devise such constitutional and
efficient measures as shall be equal to the great objects of preserving
our treaties with the Indian tribes and of affording an adequate
protection to our frontiers.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _January 2, 1795_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate_:
A spirit of discontent, from several causes, arose in the early part of
the present year among the Six Nations of Indians, and particularly on
the ground of a projected settlement by Pennsylvania, at Presque Isle,
upon Lake Erie. The papers upon this point have already been laid before
Congress. It was deemed proper on my part to endeavor to tranquillize
the Indians by pacific measures. Accordingly a time and place was
appointed at which a free conference should be had upon all the causes
of discontent, and an agent was appointed with the instructions of
which No. 1, herewith transmitted, is a copy.
A numerous assembly of Indians was held in Canandaigua, in the State of
New York the proceedings whereof accompany this message, marked No. 2.
The two treaties, the one with the Six Nations and the other with the
Oneida, Tuscorora, and Stockbridge Indians dwelling in the country of
the Oneidas, which have resulted from the mission of the agent, are
herewith laid before the Senate for their consideration and advice.
The original engagement of the United States to the Oneidas is also sent
herewith.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _January 8, 1795_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before Congress copies of acts passed by the legislatures of the
States of Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York, ratifying the amendment
proposed by the Senate and House of Representatives at their last
session to the Constitution of the United States respecting the
judicial power thereof.
The minister of the French Republic having communicated to the Secretary
of State certain proceedings of the committee of public safety
respecting weights and measures, I lay these also before Congress.
The letter from the governor of the Western territory, copies of which
are now transmitted, refers to a defect in the judicial system of that
territory deserving the attention of Congress.
The necessary absence of the judge of the district of Pennsylvania upon
business connected with the late insurrection is stated by him in a
letter of which I forward copies to have produced certain interruptions
in the judicial proceedings of that district which can not be removed
without the interposition of Congress.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _February 4, 1795_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before Congress, for their consideration, a letter from the
Secretary of State upon the subject of a loan which is extremely
interesting and urgent.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _February 17, 1795_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I transmit to Congress copies of a letter from the governor of the State
of New Hampshire and of an act of the legislature thereof "ratifying the
article proposed in amendment to the Constitution of the United States
respecting the judicial power."
I also lay before Congress copies of a letter from the governor of
the State of North Carolina and of an act of the legislature thereof
ceding to the United States certain lands upon the conditions therein
mentioned.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _February 17, 1795_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I have received copies of two acts of the legislature of Georgia,
one passed on the 28th day of December and the other on the 7th day
of January last, for appropriating and selling the Indian lands within
the territorial limits claimed by that State. These copies, though not
officially certified, have been transmitted to me in such a manner as to
leave no room to doubt their authenticity. These acts embrace an object
of such magnitude, and in their consequences may so deeply affect the
peace and welfare of the United States, that I have thought it necessary
now to lay them before Congress.
In _confidence_, I also forward copies of several documents and papers
received from the governor of the Southwestern territory. By these it
seems that hostilities with the Cherokees have ceased, and that there is
a pleasing prospect of a permanent peace with that nation; but from all
the communications of the governor it appears that the Creeks, in small
parties, continue their depredations, and it is uncertain to what they
may finally lead.
The several papers now communicated deserve the immediate attention of
Congress, who will consider how far the subjects of them may require
their cooperation.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _February 25, 1795_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I communicate to Congress copies of a letter from the governor of the
State of Georgia and of an act of the legislature thereof "to ratify the
resolution of Congress explanatory of the judicial power of the United
States."
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _February 28, 1795_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
In my first communication to Congress during their present session
I gave them reason to expect that "certain circumstances of our
intercourse with foreign nations" would be transmitted to them. There
was at that time every assurance for believing that some of the most
important of our foreign affairs would have been concluded and others
considerably matured before they should rise. But notwithstanding I have
waited until this moment, it has so happened that, either from causes
unknown to me or from events which could not be controlled, I am yet
unable to execute my original intention. That I may, however, fulfill
the expectation given as far as the actual situation of things will in
my judgment permit, I now, _in confidence_', lay before Congress the
following general statement:
Our minister near the French Republic has urged compensation for
the injuries which our commerce has sustained from captures by French
cruisers, from the nonfulfillment of the contracts of the agents of that
Republic with our citizens, and from the embargo at Bordeaux. He has
also pressed an allowance for the money voted by Congress for relieving
the inhabitants of St. Domingo. It affords me the highest pleasure to
inform Congress that perfect harmony reigns between the two Republics,
and that those claims are in a train of being discussed with candor
and of being amicably adjusted.
So much of our relation to Great Britain may depend upon the result
of our late negotiations in London that until that result shall arrive
I can not undertake to make any communication upon this subject.
After the negotiation with Spain had been long depending unusual and
unexpected embarrassments were raised to interrupt its progress. But
the commissioner of His Catholic Majesty near the United States having
declared to the Secretary of State that if a particular accommodation
should be made in the _conducting_ of the business no further delay
would ensue, I thought proper, under all circumstances, to send to
His Catholic Majesty an envoy extraordinary specially charged to bring
to a conclusion the discussions which have been formerly announced
to Congress.
The friendship of Her Most Faithful Majesty has been often manifested in
checking the passage of the Algerine corsairs into the Atlantic Ocean.
She has also furnished occasional convoys to the vessels of the United
States, even when bound to other ports than her own. We may therefore
promise ourselves that, as in the ordinary course of things few causes
can exist for dissatisfaction between the United States and Portugal,
so the temper with which accidental difficulties will be met on each
side will speedily remove them.
Between the Executive of the United States and the Government of the
United Netherlands but little intercourse has taken place during the
last year. It may be acceptable to Congress to learn that our credit in
Holland is represented as standing upon the most respectable footing.
Upon the death of the late Emperor of Morocco an agent was dispatched
to renew with his successor the treaty which the United States had made
with _him_. The agent, unfortunately, died after he had reached Europe
in the prosecution of his mission. But until lately it was impossible
to determine with any degree of probability who of the competitors for
that Empire would be ultimately fixed in the supreme power. Although
the measures which have been since adopted for the renewal of the treaty
have been obstructed by the disturbed situation of Amsterdam, there are
good grounds for presuming as yet upon the pacific disposition of the
Emperor, in fact, toward the United States, and that the past
miscarriage will be shortly remedied.
Congress are already acquainted with the failure of the loan attempted
in Holland for the relief of our unhappy fellow-citizens in Algiers.
This subject, than which none deserves a more affectionate zeal, has
constantly commanded my best exertions. I am happy, therefore, in being
able to say that from the last authentic accounts the Dey was disposed
to treat for a peace and ransom, and that both would in all probability
have been accomplished had we not been disappointed in the means.
Nothing which depends upon the Executive shall be left undone for
carrying into immediate effect the supplementary act of Congress.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _March 2, 1795_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
It appears from the information which I have lately received that it may
be probably necessary to the more successful conduct of our affairs on
the coast of Barbary that one consul should reside in Morocco, another
in Algiers, and a third in Tunis or Tripoli. As no appointment for these
offices will be accepted without some emolument annexed, I submit to the
consideration of Congress whether it may not be advisable to authorize
a stipend to be allowed to two consuls for that coast in addition to the
one already existing.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _March 2, 1795_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I transmit to you copies of a letter from the governor of the State
of Delaware and of an act inclosed "declaring the assent of that State
to an amendment therein mentioned to the Constitution of the United
States."
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _June 8, 1795_.[2]
[Footnote 2: For proclamation convening Senate in extraordinary session
see p. 587.]
_Gentlemen of the Senate_:
In pursuance of my nomination of John Jay as envoy extraordinary to His
Britannic Majesty on the 16th day of April, 1794, and of the advice and
consent of the Senate thereto on the 19th, a negotiation was opened in
London. On the 7th of March, 1795, the treaty resulting therefrom was
delivered to the Secretary of State. I now transmit to the Senate that
treaty and other documents connected with it. They will, therefore, in
their wisdom decide whether they will advise and consent that the said
treaty be made between the United States and His Britannic Majesty.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _June 25, 1795_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate_:
It has been represented by our minister plenipotentiary near the French
Republic that such of our commercial relations with France as may
require the support of the United States in _detail_ can not be well
executed without a consul-general. Of this I am satisfied when I
consider the extent of the mercantile claims now depending before the
French Government, the necessity of bringing into the hands of one agent
the various applications to the several committees of administration
residing at Paris, the attention which must be paid to the conduct of
consuls, and vice-consuls, and the nature of the services which are the
peculiar objects of a minister's care, and leave no leisure for his
intervention in business to which consular functions are competent.
I therefore nominate Fulwar Skipwith to be consul-general of the
United States in France.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _June 25, 1795_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate_:
Just at the close of the last session of Congress I received from one
of the Senators and one of the Representatives of the State of Georgia
an application for a treaty to be held with the tribes or nations of
Indians claiming the right of soil to certain lands lying beyond the
present temporary boundary line of that State, and which were described
in an act of the legislature of Georgia passed on the 28th of December
last, which has already been laid before the Senate. This application
and the subsequent correspondence with the governor of Georgia are
herewith transmitted. The subject being very important, I thought proper
to postpone a decision upon that application. The views I have since
taken of the matter, with the information received of a more pacific
disposition on the part of the Creeks, have induced me now to accede to
the request, but with this explicit declaration, that neither my assent
nor the treaty which may be made shall be considered as affecting any
question which may arise upon the supplementary act passed by the
legislature of the State of Georgia on the 7th of January last, upon
which inquiries have been instituted in pursuance of a resolution
of the Senate and House of Representatives, and that any cession or
relinquishment of the Indian claims shall be made in the general terms
of the treaty of New York, which are contemplated as the form proper to
be generally used on such occasions, and on the condition that one-half
of the expense of the supplies of provisions for the Indians assembled
at the treaty be borne by the State of Georgia.
Having concluded to hold the treaty requested by that State, I was
willing to embrace the opportunity it would present of inquiring
into the causes of the dissatisfaction of the Creeks which has
been manifested since the treaty of New York by their numerous
and distressing depredations on our Southwestern frontiers. Their
depredations on the Cumberland have been so frequent and so peculiarly
destructive as to lead me to think they must originate in some claim to
the lands upon that river. But whatever may have been the cause, it is
important to trace it to its source; for, independent of the destruction
of lives and property, it occasions a very serious annual expense to the
United States. The commissioners for holding the proposed treaty will,
therefore, be instructed to inquire into the causes of the hostilities
to which I have referred, and to enter into such reasonable stipulations
as will remove them and give permanent peace to those parts of the
United States.
I now nominate Benjamin Hawkins, of North Carolina: George Clymer, of
Pennsylvania, and Andrew Pickens, of South Carolina, to be commissioners
to hold a treaty with the Creek Nation of Indians, for the purposes
hereinbefore expressed.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
PROCLAMATIONS.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
When we review the calamities which afflict so many other nations,
the present condition of the United States affords much matter of
consolation and satisfaction. Our exemption hitherto from foreign war,
an increasing prospect of the continuance of that exemption, the great
degree of internal tranquillity we have enjoyed, the recent confirmation
of that tranquillity by the suppression of an insurrection which so
wantonly threatened it, the happy course of our public affairs in
general, the unexampled prosperity of all classes of our citizens,
are circumstances which peculiarly mark our situation with indications
of the Divine beneficence toward us. In such a state of things it is
in an especial manner our duty as a people, with devout reverence and
affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligations
to Almighty God and to implore Him to continue and confirm the blessings
we experience.
Deeply penetrated with this sentiment, I, George Washington, President
of the United States, do recommend to all religious societies and
denominations, and to all persons whomsoever, within the United States
to set apart and observe Thursday, the 19th day of February next, as a
day of public thanksgiving and prayer, and on that day to meet together
and render their sincere and hearty thanks to the Great Ruler of Nations
for the manifold and signal mercies which distinguish our lot as a
nation, particularly for the possession of constitutions of government
which unite and by their union establish liberty with order; for the
preservation of our peace, foreign and domestic; for the seasonable
control which has been given to a spirit of disorder in the suppression
of the late insurrection, and generally, for the prosperous course
of our affairs, public and private; and at the same time humbly and
fervently to beseech the kind Author of these blessings graciously to
prolong them to us; to imprint on our hearts a deep and solemn sense of
our obligations to Him for them; to teach us rightly to estimate their
immense value; to preserve us from the arrogance of prosperity, and
from hazarding the advantages we enjoy by delusive pursuits; to dispose
us to merit the continuance of His favors by not abusing them; by our
gratitude for them, and by a correspondent conduct as citizens and men;
to render this country more and more a safe and propitious asylum for
the unfortunate of other countries; to extend among us true and useful
knowledge; to diffuse and establish habits of sobriety, order, morality,
and piety, and finally, to impart all the blessings we possess, or ask
for ourselves, to the whole family of mankind.
In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States of
America to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with
my hand.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Philadelphia, the 1st day of January, 1795, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the nineteenth.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
By the President:
EDM. RANDOLPH.
[From Sparks's Washington, Vol. XII, p. 134.]
PROCLAMATION.
Whereas the commissioners appointed by the President of the United
States to confer with the citizens in the western counties of
Pennsylvania during the late insurrection which prevailed therein, by
their act and agreement bearing date the 2d day of September last, in
pursuance of the powers in them vested, did promise and engage that,
if assurances of submission to the laws of the United States should
be bona fide given by the citizens resident in the fourth survey of
Pennsylvania, in the manner and within the time in the said act and
agreement specified, a general pardon should be granted on the 10th day
of July then next ensuing of all treasons and other indictable offenses
against the United States committed within the said survey before the
22d day of August last, excluding therefrom, nevertheless, every person
who should refuse or neglect to subscribe such assurance and engagement
in manner aforesaid, or who should after such subscription violate the
same, or willfully obstruct or attempt to obstruct the execution of the
acts for raising a revenue on distilled spirits and stills, or be aiding
or abetting therein; and
Whereas I have since thought proper to extend the said pardon to
all persons guilty of the said treasons, misprisions of treasons, or
otherwise concerned in the late insurrection within the survey aforesaid
who have not since been indicted or convicted thereof, or of any other
offense against the United States:
Therefore be it known that I, George Washington, President of the said
United States, have granted, and by these presents do grant, a full,
free, and entire pardon to all persons (excepting as is hereinafter
excepted) of all treasons, misprisions of treason, and other indictable
offenses against the United States committed within the fourth survey of
Pennsylvania before the said 22d day of August last past, excepting and
excluding therefrom, nevertheless, every person who refused or neglected
to give and subscribe the said assurances in the manner aforesaid
(or having subscribed hath violated the same) and now standeth indicted
or convicted of any treason, misprision of treason, or other offense
against the said United States, hereby remitting and releasing unto all
persons, except as before excepted, all penalties incurred, or supposed
to be incurred, for or on account of the premises.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed, this 10th day of July, A.D. 1795, and
the twentieth year of the Independence of the said United States.
[SEAL.]
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
SEVENTH ANNUAL ADDRESS.
UNITED STATES, _December 8, 1795_.
_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I trust I do not deceive myself when I indulge the persuasion that
I have never met you at any period when more than at the present the
situation of our public affairs has afforded just cause for mutual
congratulation, and for inviting you to join with me in profound
gratitude to the Author of all Good for the numerous and extraordinary
blessings we enjoy.
The termination of the long, expensive, and distressing war in which we
have been engaged with certain Indians northwest of the Ohio is placed
in the option of the United States by a treaty which the commander of
our army has concluded provisionally with the hostile tribes in that
region.
In the adjustment of the terms the satisfaction of the Indians was
deemed an object worthy no less of the policy than of the liberality of
the United States as the necessary basis of durable tranquillity. The
object, it is believed, has been fully attained. The articles agreed
upon will immediately be laid before the Senate for their consideration.
The Creek and Cherokee Indians, who alone of the Southern tribes had
annoyed our frontiers, have lately confirmed their preexisting treaties
with us, and were giving evidence of a sincere disposition to carry them
into effect by the surrender of the prisoners and property they had
taken. But we have to lament that the fair prospect in this quarter has
been once more clouded by wanton murders, which some citizens of Georgia
are represented to have recently perpetrated on hunting parties of the
Creeks, which have again subjected that frontier to disquietude and
danger, which will be productive of further expense, and may occasion
more effusion of blood. Measures are pursuing to prevent or mitigate
the usual consequences of such outrages, and with the hope of their
succeeding at least to avert general hostility.
A letter from the Emperor of Morocco announces to me his recognition of
our treaty made with his father, the late Emperor, and consequently the
continuance of peace with that power. With peculiar satisfaction I add
that information has been received from an agent deputed on our part to
Algiers importing that the terms of the treaty with the Dey and Regency
of that country had been adjusted in such a manner as to authorize the
expectation of a speedy peace and the restoration of our unfortunate
fellow-citizens from a grievous captivity.
The latest advices from our envoy at the Court of Madrid give, moreover,
the pleasing information that he had received assurances of a speedy and
satisfactory conclusion of his negotiation. While the event depending
upon unadjusted particulars can not be regarded as ascertained, it
is agreeable to cherish the expectation of an issue which, securing
amicably very essential interests of the United States, will at the same
time lay the foundation of lasting harmony with a power whose friendship
we have uniformly and sincerely desired to cultivate.
Though not before officially disclosed to the House of Representatives,
you, gentlemen, are all apprised that a treaty of amity, commerce, and
navigation has been negotiated with Great Britain, and that the Senate
have advised and consented to its ratification upon a condition which
excepts part of one article. Agreeably thereto, and to the best judgment
I was able to form of the public interest after full and mature
deliberation, I have added my sanction. The result on the part of His
Britannic Majesty is unknown. When received, the subject will without
delay be placed before Congress.
This interesting summary of our affairs with regard to the foreign
powers between whom and the United States controversies have subsisted,
and with regard also to those of our Indian neighbors with whom we have
been in a state of enmity or misunderstanding, opens a wide field for
consoling and gratifying reflections. If by prudence and moderation
on every side the extinguishment of all the causes of external discord
which have heretofore menaced our tranquillity, on terms compatible
with our national rights and honor, shall be the happy result, how firm
and how precious a foundation will have been laid for accelerating,
maturing, and establishing the prosperity of our country.
Contemplating the internal situation as well as the external
relations of the United States, we discover equal cause for contentment
and satisfaction. While many of the nations of Europe, with their
American dependencies, have been involved in a contest unusually bloody,
exhausting, and calamitous, in which the evils of foreign war have been
aggravated by domestic convulsion and insurrection; in which many of
the arts most useful to society have been exposed to discouragement and
decay; in which scarcity of subsistence has imbittered other sufferings;
while even the anticipations of a return of the blessings of peace and
repose are alloyed by the sense of heavy and accumulating burthens,
which press upon all the departments of industry and threaten to clog
the future springs of government, our favored country, happy in a
striking contrast, has enjoyed general tranquillity--a tranquillity
the more satisfactory because maintained at the expense of no duty.
Faithful to ourselves, we have violated no obligation to others. Our
agriculture, commerce, and manufactures prosper beyond former example,
the molestations of our trade (to prevent a continuance of which,
however, very pointed remonstrances have been made) being overbalanced
by the aggregate benefits which it derives from a neutral position. Our
population advances with a celerity which, exceeding the most sanguine
calculations, proportionally augments our strength and resources,
and guarantees our future security. Every part of the Union displays
indications of rapid and various improvement; and with burthens so
light as scarcely to be perceived, with resources fully adequate to our
present exigencies, with governments founded on the genuine principles
of rational liberty, and with mild and wholesome laws, is it too much
to say that our country exhibits a spectacle of national happiness
never surpassed, if ever before equaled?