MR. PRESIDENT,--You have just listened to the reading of the treaty
by which Russia cedes to the United States all her possessions on the
North American continent and the adjacent islands in consideration of
$7,200,000 to be paid by the United States. On the one side is the
cession of a vast country, with its jurisdiction and resources of all
kinds; on the other side is the purchase-money. Such is the transaction
on its face.