Congress in December last in regard to the disposition of the surplus
which will probably remain after satisfying the claims of American
citizens against China, pursuant to the awards of the commissioners under
the act of the 3d of March, 1859. If, however, it should not be deemed
advisable to carry that recommendation into effect, I would suggest that
authority be given for investing the principal, or the proceeds of the
surplus referred to, in good securities, with a view to the satisfaction
of such other just claims of our citizens against China as are not
unlikely to arise hereafter in the course of our extensive trade with that
empire.
By the act of the 5th of August last Congress authorized the President to
instruct the commanders of suitable vessels to defend themselves against
and to capture pirates. His authority has been exercised in a single
instance only. For the more effectual protection of our extensive and
valuable commerce in the Eastern seas especially, it seems to me that it
would also be advisable to authorize the commanders of sailing vessels to
recapture any prizes which pirates may make of United States vessels and
their cargoes, and the consular courts now established by law in Eastern
countries to adjudicate the cases in the event that this should not be
objected to by the local authorities.
If any good reason exists why we should persevere longer in withholding
our recognition of the independence and sovereignty of Haiti and Liberia,
I am unable to discern it. Unwilling, however, to inaugurate a novel
policy in regard to them without the approbation of Congress, I submit for
your consideration the expediency of an appropriation for maintaining
a charge d'affaires near each of those new States. It does not admit of
doubt that important commercial advantages might be secured by favorable
treaties with them.
The operations of the treasury during the period which has elapsed since
your adjournment have been conducted with signal success. The patriotism
of the people has placed at the disposal of the government the large means
demanded by the public exigencies. Much of the national loan has been
taken by citizens of the industrial classes, whose confidence in their
country's faith and zeal for their country's deliverance from present
peril have induced them to contribute to the support of the government
the whole of their limited acquisitions. This fact imposes peculiar
obligations to economy in disbursement and energy in action.
The revenue from all sources, including loans, for the financial year
ending on the 30th of June, 1861, was $86,835,900.27, and the expenditures
for the same period, including payments on account of the public debt,
were $84,578,834.47, leaving a balance in the treasury on the 1st of July
of $2,257,065.80. For the first quarter of the financial year ending on
the 30th of September, 1861, the receipts from all sources, including
the balance of the 1st of July, were $102,532,509.27, and the expenses
$98,239733.09, leaving a balance on the 1st of October, 1861, of
$4,292,776.18.
Estimates for the remaining three quarters of the year and for the
financial year 1863, together with his views of ways and means for meeting
the demands contemplated by them, will be submitted to Congress by the
Secretary of the Treasury. It is gratifying to know that the expenditures
made necessary by the rebellion are not beyond the resources of the
loyal people, and to believe that the same patriotism which has thus far
sustained the government will continue to sustain it till peace and union
shall again bless the land.
I respectfully refer to the report of the Secretary of War for information
respecting the numerical strength of the army and for recommendations
having in view an increase of its efficiency and the well-being of the
various branches of the service intrusted to his care. It is gratifying to
know that the patriotism of the people has proved equal to the occasion,
and that the number of troops tendered greatly exceeds the force which
Congress authorized me to call into the field.
I refer with pleasure to those portions of his report which make allusion
to the creditable degree of discipline already attained by our troops and
to the excellent sanitary condition of the entire army.
The recommendation of the Secretary for an organization of the militia
upon a uniform basis is a subject of vital importance to the future safety
of the country, and is commended to the serious attention of Congress.
The large addition to the regular army, in connection with the defection
that has so considerably diminished the number of its officers, gives
peculiar importance to his recommendation for increasing the corps of
cadets to the greatest capacity of the Military Academy.
By mere omission, I presume, Congress has failed to provide chaplains for
hospitals occupied by volunteers. This subject was brought to my notice,
and I was induced to draw up the form of a letter, one copy of which,
properly addressed, has been delivered to each of the persons, and at the
dates respectively named and stated in a schedule, containing also the
form of the letter, marked A, and herewith transmitted.
These gentlemen, I understand, entered upon the duties designated at the
times respectively stated in the schedule, and have labored faithfully
therein ever since. I therefore recommend that they be compensated at
the same rate as chaplains in the army. I further suggest that general
provision be made for chaplains to serve at hospitals, as well as with
regiments.
The report of the Secretary of the Navy presents in detail the operations
of that branch of the service, the activity and energy which have
characterized its administration, and the results of measures to increase
its efficiency and power such have been the additions, by construction and
purchase, that it may almost be said a navy has been created and brought
into service since our difficulties commenced.
Besides blockading our extensive coast, squadrons larger than ever before
assembled under our flag have been put afloat and performed deeds which
have increased our naval renown.
I would invite special attention to the recommendation of the Secretary
for a more perfect organization of the navy by introducing additional
grades in the service.
The present organization is defective and unsatisfactory, and the
suggestions submitted by the department will, it is believed, if adopted,
obviate the difficulties alluded to, promote harmony, and increase the
efficiency of the navy.
There are three vacancies on the bench of the Supreme Court--two by
the decease of Justices Daniel and McLean and one by the resignation of
Justice Campbell. I have so far forborne making nominations to fill these
vacancies for reasons which I will now state. Two of the outgoing judges
resided within the States now overrun by revolt, so that if successors
were appointed in the same localities they could not now serve upon their
circuits; and many of the most competent men there probably would not take
the personal hazard of accepting to serve, even here, upon the Supreme
bench. I have been unwilling to throw all the appointments north-ward,
thus disabling myself from doing justice to the South on the return of
peace; although I may remark that to transfer to the North one which has
heretofore been in the South would not, with reference to territory and
population, be unjust.
During the long and brilliant judicial career of Judge McLean his circuit
grew into an empire-altogether too large for any one judge to give the
courts therein more than a nominal attendance--rising in population from
1,470,018 in 1830 to 6,151,405 in 1860.
Besides this, the country generally has outgrown our present judicial
system. If uniformity was at all intended, the system requires that all
the States shall be accommodated with circuit courts, attended by Supreme
judges, while, in fact, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Florida,
Texas, California, and Oregon have never had any such courts. Nor can this
well be remedied without a change in the system, because the adding of
judges to the Supreme Court, enough for the accommodation of all parts
of the country with circuit courts, would create a court altogether too
numerous for a judicial body of any sort. And the evil, if it be one, will
increase as new States come into the Union. Circuit courts are useful or
they are not useful. If useful, no State should be denied them; if
not useful, no State should have them. Let them be provided for all or
abolished as to all.
Three modifications occur to me, either of which, I think, would be
an improvement upon our present system. Let the Supreme Court be of
convenient number in every event; then, first, let the whole country be
divided into circuits of convenient size, the Supreme judges to serve in a
number of them corresponding to their own number, and independent circuit
judges be provided for all the rest; or, secondly, let the Supreme judges
be relieved from circuit duties and circuit judges provided for all the
circuits; or, thirdly, dispense with circuit courts altogether, leaving
the judicial functions wholly to the district courts and an independent
Supreme Court.
I respectfully recommend to the consideration of Congress the present
condition of the statute laws, with the hope that Congress will be able
to find an easy remedy for many of the inconveniences and evils which
constantly embarrass those engaged in the practical administration of
them. Since the Organization of the government, Congress has enacted some
5000 acts and joint resolutions, which fill more than 6000 closely printed
pages and are scattered through many volumes. Many of these acts have been
drawn in haste and without sufficient caution, so that their provisions
are often obscure in themselves or in conflict with each other, or
at least so doubtful as to render it very difficult for even the
best-informed persons to ascertain precisely what the statute law really
is.
It seems to me very important that the statute laws should be made as
plain and intelligible as possible, and be reduced to as small a compass
as may consist with the fullness and precision of the will of the
Legislature and the perspicuity of its language. This well done would, I
think, greatly facilitate the labors of those whose duty it is to assist
in the administration of the laws, and would be a lasting benefit to the
people, by placing before them in a more accessible and intelligible form
the laws which so deeply concern their interests and their duties.
I am informed by some whose opinions I respect that all the acts of
Congress now in force and of a permanent and general nature might be
revised and rewritten so as to be embraced in one volume (or at most two
volumes) of ordinary and convenient size; and I respectfully recommend to
Congress to consider of the subject, and if my suggestion be approved
to devise such plan as to their wisdom shall seem most proper for the
attainment of the end proposed.
One of the unavoidable consequences of the present insurrection is
the entire suppression in many places of all the ordinary means of
administering civil justice by the officers and in the forms of existing
law. This is the case, in whole or in part, in all the insurgent States;
and as our armies advance upon and take possession of parts of those
States the practical evil becomes more apparent. There are no courts
or officers to whom the citizens of other States may apply for the
enforcement of their lawful claims against citizens of the insurgent
States, and there is a vast amount of debt constituting such claims.
Some have estimated it as high as $200,000,000, due in large part from
insurgents in open rebellion to loyal citizens who are even now making
great sacrifices in the discharge of their patriotic duty to support the
government.
Under these circumstances I have been urgently solicited to establish, by
military power, courts to administer summary justice in such cases. I
have thus far declined to do it, not because I had any doubt that the end
proposed--the collection of the debts--was just and right in itself, but
because I have been unwilling to go beyond the pressure of necessity in
the unusual exercise of power. But the powers of Congress, I suppose, are
equal to the anomalous occasion, and therefore I refer the whole matter to
Congress, with the hope that a plan maybe devised for the administration
of justice in all such parts of the insurgent States and Territories as
may be under the control of this government, whether by a voluntary return
to allegiance and order or by the power of our arms; this, however, not
to be a permanent institution, but a temporary substitute, and to cease as
soon as the ordinary courts can be reestablished in peace.
It is important that some more convenient means should be provided, if
possible, for the adjustment of claims against the government, especially
in view of their increased number by reason of the war. It is as much the
duty of government to render prompt justice against itself in favor of
citizens as it is to administer the same between private individuals. The
investigation and adjudication of claims in their nature belong to
the judicial department. Besides, it is apparent that the attention of
Congress will be more than usually engaged for some time to come with
great national questions. It was intended by the organization of the
Court of Claims mainly to remove this branch of business from the halls of
Congress; but, while the court has proved to be an effective and valuable
means of investigation, it in great degree fails to effect the object of
its creation for want of power to make its judgments final.
Fully aware of the delicacy, not to say the danger of the subject,
I commend to your careful consideration whether this power of making
judgments final may not properly be given to the court, reserving the
right of appeal on questions of law to the Supreme Court, with such other
provisions as experience may have shown to be necessary.
I ask attention to the report of the Postmaster general, the following
being a summary statement of the condition of the department:
The revenue from all sources during the fiscal year ending June 30,
1861, including the annual permanent appropriation of $700,000 for the
transportation of "free mail matter," was $9,049,296.40, being about 2 per
cent. less than the revenue for 1860.
The expenditures were $13,606,759.11, showing a decrease of more than
8 per cent. as compared with those of the previous year and leaving
an excess of expenditure over the revenue for the last fiscal year of
$4,557,462.71.
The gross revenue for the year ending June 30, 1863, is estimated at
an increase of 4 per cent. on that of 1861, making $8,683,000, to which
should be added the earnings of the department in carrying free matter,
viz., $700,000, making $9,383,000.
The total expenditures for 1863 are estimated at $12,528,000, leaving an
estimated deficiency of $3,145,000 to be supplied from the treasury in
addition to the permanent appropriation.
The present insurrection shows, I think, that the extension of this
District across the Potomac River at the time of establishing the capital
here was eminently wise, and consequently that the relinquishment of
that portion of it which lies within the State of Virginia was unwise and
dangerous. I submit for your consideration the expediency of regaining
that part of the District and the restoration of the original boundaries
thereof through negotiations with the State of Virginia.
The report of the Secretary of the Interior, with the accompanying
documents, exhibits the condition of the several branches of the public
business pertaining to that department. The depressing influences of the
insurrection have been specially felt in the operations of the Patent and
General Land Offices. The cash receipts from the sales of public lands
during the past year have exceeded the expenses of our land system only
about $200,000. The sales have been entirely suspended in the Southern
States, while the interruptions to the business of the country and the
diversion of large numbers of men from labor to military service have
obstructed settlements in the new States and Territories of the Northwest.
The receipts of the Patent Office have declined in nine months about
$100,000.00 rendering a large reduction of the force employed necessary to
make it self-sustaining.
The demands upon the Pension Office will be largely increased by
the insurrection. Numerous applications for pensions, based upon the
casualties of the existing war, have already been made. There is reason to
believe that many who are now upon the pension rolls and in receipt of the
bounty of the government are in the ranks of the insurgent army or
giving them aid and comfort. The Secretary of the Interior has directed
a suspension of the payment of the pensions of such persons upon proof
of their disloyalty. I recommend that Congress authorize that officer to
cause the names of such persons to be stricken from the pension rolls.
The relations of the government with the Indian tribes have been greatly
disturbed by the insurrection, especially in the southern superintendency
and in that of New Mexico. The Indian country south of Kansas is in the
possession of insurgents from Texas and Arkansas. The agents of the United
States appointed since the 4th of March for this superintendency have been
unable to reach their posts, while the most of those who were in office
before that time have espoused the insurrectionary cause, and assume
to exercise the powers of agents by virtue of commissions from the
insurrectionists. It has been stated in the public press that a portion of
those Indians have been organized as a military force and are attached
to the army of the insurgents. Although the government has no official
information upon this subject, letters have been written to the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs by several prominent chiefs giving
assurance of their loyalty to the United States and expressing a wish for
the presence of Federal troops to protect them. It is believed that upon
the repossession of the country by the Federal forces the Indians will
readily cease all hostile demonstrations and resume their former relations
to the government.
Agriculture, confessedly the largest interest of the nation, has not
a department nor a bureau, but a clerkship only, assigned to it in
the government. While it is fortunate that this great interest is so
independent in its nature as not to have demanded and extorted more from
the government, I respectfully ask Congress to consider whether something
more cannot be given voluntarily with general advantage.
Annual reports exhibiting the condition of our agriculture, commerce, and
manufactures would present a fund of information of great practical value
to the country. While I make no suggestion as to details, I venture the
opinion that an agricultural and statistical bureau might profitably be
organized.
The execution of the laws for the suppression of the African slave trade
has been confided to the Department of the Interior. It is a subject of
gratulation that the efforts which have been made for the suppression of
this inhuman traffic have been recently attended with unusual success.
Five vessels being fitted out for the slave trade have been seized and
condemned. Two mates of vessels engaged in the trade and one person in
equipping a vessel as a slaver have been convicted and subjected to the
penalty of fine and imprisonment, and one captain, taken with a cargo of
Africans on board his vessel, has been convicted of the highest grade of
offense under our laws, the punishment of which is death.
The Territories of Colorado, Dakota, and Nevada, created by the last
Congress, have been organized, and civil administration has been
inaugurated therein under auspices especially gratifying when it is
considered that the leaven of treason was found existing in some of these
new countries when the Federal officers arrived there.
The abundant natural resources of these Territories, with the security and
protection afforded by organized government, will doubtless invite to them
a large immigration when peace shall restore the business of the country
to its accustomed channels. I submit the resolutions of the Legislature
of Colorado, which evidence the patriotic spirit of the people of the
Territory. So far the authority of the United States has been upheld in
all the Territories, as it is hoped it will be in the future. I commend
their interests and defense to the enlightened and generous care of
Congress.
I recommend to the favorable consideration of Congress the interests of
the District of Columbia. The insurrection has been the cause of
much suffering and sacrifice to its inhabitants, and as they have no
representative in Congress that body should not overlook their just claims
upon the government.
At your late session a joint resolution was adopted authorizing the
President to take measures for facilitating a proper representation of
the industrial interests of the United States at the exhibition of the
industry of all nations to be holden at London in the year 1862. I regret
to say I have been unable to give personal attention to this subject--a
subject at once so interesting in itself and so extensively and intimately
connected with the material prosperity of the world. Through the
Secretaries of State and of the Interior a plan or system has been devised
and partly matured, and which will be laid before you.
Under and by virtue of the act of Congress entitled "An act to confiscate
property used for insurrectionary purposes," approved August 6, 1861, the
legal claims of certain persons to the labor and service of certain other
persons have become forfeited, and numbers of the latter thus liberated
are already dependent on the United States, and must be provided for in
some way. Besides this, it is not impossible that some of the States
will pass similar enactments for their own benefit respectively, and by
operation of which persons of the same class will be thrown upon them for
disposal. In such case I recommend that Congress provide for accepting
such persons from such States, according to some mode of valuation, in
lieu, pro tanto, of direct taxes, or upon some other plan to be agreed on
with such States respectively; that such persons, on such acceptance by
the General Government, be at once deemed free, and that in any event
steps be taken for colonizing both classes (or the one first mentioned if
the other shall not be brought into existence) at some place or places in
a climate congenial to them. It might be well to consider, too, whether
the free colored people already in the United States could not, so far as
individuals may desire, be included in such colonization.
To carry out the plan of colonization may involve the acquiring of
territory, and also the appropriation of money beyond that to be expended
in the territorial acquisition. Having practised the acquisition of
territory for nearly sixty years, the question of constitutional power to
do so is no longer an open one with us. The power was questioned at first
by Mr. Jefferson, who, however, in the purchase of Louisiana, yielded
his scruples on the plea of great expediency. If it be said that the only
legitimate object of acquiring territory is to furnish homes for white
men, this measure effects that object, for emigration of colored men
leaves additional room for white men remaining or coming here. Mr.
Jefferson, however, placed the importance of procuring Louisiana more on
political and commercial grounds than on providing room for population.
On this whole proposition, including the appropriation of money with
the acquisition of territory, does not the expediency amount to absolute
necessity--that without which the government itself cannot be perpetuated?