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Title: A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents
       Section 1 (of 3) of Volume 2: James Monroe

Author: James D. Richardson

Release Date: February 3, 2004 [EBook #10919]

Language: English

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A COMPILATION OF THE MESSAGES AND PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS

BY JAMES D. RICHARDSON


VOLUME II


1897




Prefatory Note


The first volume of this compilation was given to Congress and the
public about May 1, 1896. I believe I am warranted in saying here that
it met with much favor by all who examined it. The press of the country
was unsparing in its praise. Congress, by a resolution passed on the 22d
day of May, ordered the printing of 15,000 additional copies, of the
entire publication.

I have inserted in this volume a steel engraving of the Treasury
building; the succeeding volumes will contain engravings of other
important public buildings.

The resolution authorizing this work required the publication of
the annual, special, and veto messages, inaugural addresses, and
proclamations of the Presidents. I have found in addition to these
documents others which emanated from the Chief Magistrats, called
Executive orders; they are in the nature of proclamations, and have like
force and effect. I have therefore included in this, and will include
in the succeeding volumes, all such Executive orders as may appear to
have national importance or to possess more than ordinary interest.

If this volume meets the same degree of favor as the first, I shall be
greatly gratified.

JAMES D. RICHARDSON.

JULY 4, 1896.




James Monroe

March 4, 1817, to March 4, 1825




James Monroe


James Monroe was born April 28, 1758, in Westmoreland County, Va. He was
the son of Spence Monroe and Elizabeth Jones, both natives of Virginia.
When in his eighteenth year he enlisted as a private soldier in the
Army to fight for independence; was in several battles, and was wounded
in the engagement at Trenton; was promoted to the rank of captain of
infantry. During 1777 and 1778 he acted as aid to Lord Stirling, and
distinguished himself. He studied law under the direction of Thomas
Jefferson, then governor of Virginia, who in 1780 appointed him to visit
the army in South Carolina on an important mission. In 1782 he was
elected to the Virginia assembly by the county of King George, and was
by that body chosen a member of the executive council. The next year
he was chosen a delegate to the Continental Congress, and remained a
member until 1786; while a member he married a Miss Kortright, of New
York City. Retiring from Congress, he began the practice of law at
Fredericksburg, Va., but was at once elected to the legislature. In 1788
was a delegate to the State convention assembled to consider the Federal
Constitution. Was a Senator from Virginia from 1790 to 1794. In May,
1794, was appointed by Washington minister to France. He was recalled
in 1796 and was again elected to the legislature. In 1799 was elected
governor of Virginia. In 1802 was appointed by President Jefferson envoy
extraordinary to France, and in 1803 was sent to London as the successor
of Rufus King. In 1805 performed a diplomatic mission to Spain in
relation to the boundary of Louisiana, returning to London the following
year; returned to the United States in 1808. In 1811 was again elected
governor of his State, but in the same year resigned that office to
become Secretary of State under President Madison. After the capture
of Washington, in 1814, he was appointed to the War Department, which
position he held until 1815, without relinquishing the office of
Secretary of State. He remained at the head of the Department of State
until the close of Mr. Madison's term. Was elected President in 1816,
and reelected in 1820, retiring March 4, 1825, to his residence in
Loudoun County, Va. In 1829 was elected a member of the convention
called to revise the constitution of the State, and was unanimously
chosen to preside over its deliberations. He was forced by ill health
to retire from office, and removed to New York to reside with his
son-in-law, Mr. Samuel L. Gouverneur. He died July 4, 1831, and was
buried in New York City, but in 1858 his remains were removed to
Richmond, Va.



LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT ELECT.

The President of the Senate communicated the following letter from the
President elect of the United States:

CITY OF WASHINGTON, _March 1, 1817_.

Hon. JOHN GAILLARD.

_President of the Senate of the United States_.

SIR: I beg leave through you to inform the honorable Senate of the
United States that I propose to take the oath which the Constitution
prescribes to the President of the United States before he enters on
the execution of his office on Tuesday, the 4th instant, at 12 o'clock,
in the Chamber of the House of Representatives.

I have the honor to be, with the greatest respect, sir, your most
obedient and most humble servant,

JAMES MONROE.




FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS.


I should be destitute of feeling if I was not deeply affected by the
strong proof which my fellow-citizens have given me of their confidence
in calling me to the high office whose functions I am about to assume.
As the expression of their good opinion of my conduct in the public
service, I derive from it a gratification which those who are conscious
of having done all that they could to merit it can alone feel. My
sensibility is increased by a just estimate of the importance of the
trust and of the nature and extent of its duties, with the proper
discharge of which the highest interests of a great and free people
are intimately connected. Conscious of my own deficiency, I can not
enter on these duties without great anxiety for the result. From a just
responsibility I will never shrink, calculating with confidence that in
my best efforts to promote the public welfare my motives will always
be duly appreciated and my conduct be viewed with that candor and
indulgence which I have experienced in other stations.

In commencing the duties of the chief executive office it has been the
practice of the distinguished men who have gone before me to explain the
principles which would govern them in their respective Administrations.
In following their venerated example my attention is naturally drawn to
the great causes which have contributed in a principal degree to produce
the present happy condition of the United States. They will best explain
the nature of our duties and shed much light on the policy which ought
to be pursued in future.

From the commencement of our Revolution to the present day almost forty
years have elapsed, and from the establishment of this Constitution
twenty-eight. Through this whole term the Government has been what may
emphatically be called self-government. And what has been the effect? To
whatever object we turn our attention, whether it relates to our foreign
or domestic concerns, we find abundant cause to felicitate ourselves
in the excellence of our institutions. During a period fraught with
difficulties and marked by very extraordinary events the United States
have nourished beyond example. Their citizens individually have been
happy and the nation prosperous.

Under this Constitution our commerce has been wisely regulated with
foreign nations and between the States; new States have been admitted
into our Union; our territory has been enlarged by fair and honorable
treaty, and with great advantage to the original States; the States,
respectively protected by the National Government under a mild, parental
system against foreign dangers, and enjoying within their separate
spheres, by a wise partition of power, a just proportion of the
sovereignty, have improved their police, extended their settlements, and
attained a strength and maturity which are the best proofs of wholesome
laws well administered. And if we look to the condition of individuals
what a proud spectacle does it exhibit! On whom has oppression fallen in
any quarter of our Union? Who has been deprived of any right of person
or property? Who restrained from offering his vows in the mode which he
prefers to the Divine Author of his being? It is well known that all
these blessings have been enjoyed in their fullest extent; and I add
with peculiar satisfaction that there has been no example of a capital
punishment being inflicted on anyone for the crime of high treason.

Some who might admit the competency of our Government to these
beneficent duties might doubt it in trials which put to the test its
strength and efficiency as a member of the great community of nations.
Here too experience has afforded us the most satisfactory proof in its
favor. Just as this Constitution was put into action several of the
principal States of Europe had become much agitated and some of them
seriously convulsed. Destructive wars ensued, which have of late only
been terminated. In the course of these conflicts the United States
received great injury from several of the parties. It was their interest
to stand aloof from the contest, to demand justice from the party
committing the injury, and to cultivate by a fair and honorable conduct
the friendship of all. War became at length inevitable, and the result
has shown that our Government is equal to that, the greatest of trials,
under the most unfavorable circumstances. Of the virtue of the people
and of the heroic exploits of the Army, the Navy, and the militia I need
not speak.

Such, then, is the happy Government under which we live--a Government
adequate to every purpose for which the social compact is formed, a
Government elective in all its branches, under which every citizen may
by his merit obtain the highest trust recognized by the Constitution;
which contains within it no cause of discord, none to put at variance
one portion of the community with another; a Government which protects
every citizen in the full enjoyment of his rights, and is able to
protect the nation against injustice from foreign powers.

Other considerations of the highest importance admonish us to cherish
our Union and to cling to the Government which supports it. Fortunate as
we are in our political institutions, we have not been less so in other
circumstances on which our prosperity and happiness essentially depend.
Situated within the temperate zone, and extending through many degrees
of latitude along the Atlantic, the United States enjoy all the
varieties of climate, and every production incident to that portion
of the globe. Penetrating internally to the Great Lakes and beyond
the sources of the great rivers which communicate through our whole
interior, no country was ever happier with respect to its domain.
Blessed, too, with a fertile soil, our produce has always been very
abundant, leaving, even in years the least favorable, a surplus for
the wants of our fellow-men in other countries. Such is our peculiar
felicity that there is not a part of our Union that is not particularly
interested in preserving it. The great agricultural interest of the
nation prospers under its protection. Local interests are not less
fostered by it. Our fellow-citizens of the North engaged in navigation
find great encouragement in being made the favored carriers of the vast
productions of the other portions of the United States, while the
inhabitants of these are amply recompensed, in their turn, by the
nursery for seamen and naval force thus formed and reared up for
the support of our common rights. Our manufactures find a generous
encouragement by the policy which patronizes domestic industry, and the
surplus of our produce a steady and profitable market by local wants in
less-favored parts at home.

Such, then, being the highly favored condition of our country, it is the
interest of every citizen to maintain it. What are the dangers which
menace us? If any exist they ought to be ascertained and guarded
against.

In explaining my sentiments on this subject it may be asked, What raised
us to the present happy state? How did we accomplish the Revolution? How
remedy the defects of the first instrument of our Union, by infusing
into the National Government sufficient power for national purposes,
without impairing the just rights of the States or affecting those of
individuals? How sustain and pass with glory through the late war?
The Government has been in the hands of the people. To the people,
therefore, and to the faithful and able depositaries of their trust is
the credit due. Had the people of the United States been educated in
different principles, had they been less intelligent, less independent,
or less virtuous, can it be believed that we should have maintained the
same steady and consistent career or been blessed with the same success?
While, then, the constituent body retains its present sound and
healthful state everything will be safe. They will choose competent
and faithful representatives for every department. It is only when
the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into
a populace, that they are incapable of exercising the sovereignty.
Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and an usurper soon found. The
people themselves become the willing instruments of their own debasement
and ruin. Let us, then, look to the great cause, and endeavor to
preserve it in full force. Let us by all wise and constitutional
measures promote intelligence among the people as the best means of
preserving our liberties.

Dangers from abroad are not less deserving of attention. Experiencing
the fortune of other nations, the United States may be again involved
in war, and it may in that event be the object of the adverse party to
overset our Government, to break our Union, and demolish us as a nation.
Our distance from Europe and the just, moderate, and pacific policy of
our Government may form some security against these dangers, but they
ought to be anticipated and guarded against. Many of our citizens are
engaged in commerce and navigation, and all of them are in a certain
degree dependent on their prosperous state. Many are engaged in the
fisheries. These interests are exposed to invasion in the wars between
other powers, and we should disregard the faithful admonition of
experience if we did not expect it. We must support our rights or lose
our character, and with it, perhaps, our liberties. A people who fail
to do it can scarcely be said to hold a place among independent nations.
National honor is national property of the highest value. The sentiment
in the mind of every citizen is national strength. It ought therefore
to be cherished.

To secure us against these dangers our coast and inland frontiers should
be fortified, our Army and Navy, regulated upon just principles as to
the force of each, be kept in perfect order, and our militia be placed
on the best practicable footing. To put our extensive coast in such a
state of defense as to secure our cities and interior from invasion will
be attended with expense, but the work when finished will be permanent,
and it is fair to presume that a single campaign of invasion by a naval
force superior to our own, aided by a few thousand land troops, would
expose us to greater expense, without taking into the estimate the loss
of property and distress of our citizens, than would be sufficient for
this great work. Our land and naval forces should be moderate, but
adequate to the necessary purposes--the former to garrison and preserve
our fortifications and to meet the first invasions of a foreign foe,
and, while constituting the elements of a greater force, to preserve the
science as well as all the necessary implements of war in a state to be
brought into activity in the event of war; the latter, retained within
the limits proper in a state of peace, might aid in maintaining the
neutrality of the United States with dignity in the wars of other powers
and in saving the property of their citizens from spoliation. In time
of war, with the enlargement of which the great naval resources of the
country render it susceptible, and which should be duly fostered in
time of peace, it would contribute essentially, both as an auxiliary
of defense and as a powerful engine of annoyance, to diminish the
calamities of war and to bring the war to a speedy and honorable
termination.

But it ought always to be held prominently in view that the safety of
these States and of everything dear to a free people must depend in an
eminent degree on the militia. Invasions may be made too formidable to
be resisted by any land and naval force which it would comport either
with the principles of our Government or the circumstances of the United
States to maintain. In such cases recourse must be had to the great body
of the people, and in a manner to produce the best effect. It is of the
highest importance, therefore, that they be so organized and trained as
to be prepared for any emergency. The arrangement should be such as to
put at the command of the Government the ardent patriotism and youthful
vigor of the country. If formed on equal and just principles, it can not
be oppressive. It is the crisis which makes the pressure, and not the
laws which provide a remedy for it. This arrangement should be formed,
too, in time of peace, to be the better prepared for war. With such an
organization of such a people the United States have nothing to dread
from foreign invasion. At its approach an overwhelming force of gallant
men might always be put in motion.

Other interests of high importance will claim attention, among which
the improvement of our country by roads and canals, proceeding always
with a constitutional sanction, holds a distinguished place. By thus
facilitating the intercourse between the States we shall add much to
the convenience and comfort of our fellow-citizens, much to the ornament
of the country, and, what is of greater importance, we shall shorten
distances, and, by making each part more accessible to and dependent
on the other, we shall bind the Union more closely together. Nature
has done so much for us by intersecting the country with so many great
rivers, bays, and lakes, approaching from distant points so near to each
other, that the inducement to complete the work seems to be peculiarly
strong. A more interesting spectacle was perhaps never seen than is
exhibited within the limits of the United States--a territory so vast
and advantageously situated, containing objects so grand, so useful,
so happily connected in all their parts!

Our manufactures will likewise require the systematic and fostering care
of the Government. Possessing as we do all the raw materials, the fruit
of our own soil and industry, we ought not to depend in the degree we
have done on supplies from other countries. While we are thus dependent
the sudden event of war, unsought and unexpected, can not fail to plunge
us into the most serious difficulties, it is important, too, that the
capital which nourishes our manufactures should be domestic, as its
influence in that case instead of exhausting, as it may do in foreign
hands, would be felt advantageously on agriculture and every other
branch of industry. Equally important is it to provide at home a market
for our raw materials, as by extending the competition it will enhance
the price and protect the cultivator against the casualties incident to
foreign markets.

With the Indian tribes it is our duty to cultivate friendly relations
and to act with kindness and liberality in all our transactions. Equally
proper is it to persevere in our efforts to extend to them the
advantages of civilization.

The great amount of our revenue and the flourishing state of the
Treasury are a full proof of the competency of the national resources
for any emergency, as they are of the willingness of our fellow citizens
to bear the burdens which the public necessities require. The vast
amount of vacant lands, the value of which daily augments, forms an
additional resource of great extent and duration. These resources,
besides accomplishing every other necessary purpose, put it completely
in the power of the United States to discharge the national debt at an
early period. Peace is the best time for improvement and preparation of
every kind; it is in peace that our commerce flourishes most, that taxes
are most easily paid, and that the revenue is most productive.

The Executive is charged officially in the Departments under it with
the disbursement of the public money, and is responsible for the
faithful application of it to the purposes for which it is raised. The
Legislature is the watchful guardian over the public purse. It is its
duty to see that the disbursement has been honestly made. To meet the
requisite responsibility every facility should be afforded to the
Executive to enable it to bring the public agents intrusted with the
public money strictly and promptly to account. Nothing should be
presumed against them; but if, with the requisite facilities, the public
money is suffered to lie long and uselessly in their hands, they
will not be the only defaulters, nor will the demoralizing effect be
confined to them. It will evince a relaxation and want of tone in the
Administration which will be felt by the whole community. I shall do all
I can to secure economy and fidelity in this important branch of the
Administration, and I doubt not that the Legislature will perform its
duty with equal zeal. A thorough examination should be regularly made,
and I will promote it.

It is particularly gratifying to me to enter on the discharge of these
duties at a time when the United States are blessed with peace. It is a
state most consistent with their prosperity and happiness. It will be my
sincere desire to preserve it, so far as depends on the Executive, on
just principles with all nations, claiming nothing unreasonable of any
and rendering to each what is its due.

Equally gratifying is it to witness the increased harmony of opinion
which pervades our Union. Discord does not belong to our system.
Union is recommended as well by the free and benign principles of our
Government, extending its blessings to every individual, as by the other
eminent advantages attending it. The American people have encountered
together great dangers and sustained severe trials with success. They
constitute one great family with a common interest. Experience has
enlightened us on some questions of essential importance to the country.
The progress has been slow, dictated by a just reflection and a faithful
regard to every interest connected with it. To promote this harmony in
accord with the principles of our republican Government and in a manner
to give them the most complete effect, and to advance in all other
respects the best interests of our Union, will be the object of my
constant and zealous exertions.

Never did a government commence under auspices so favorable, nor ever
was success so complete. If we look to the history of other nations,
ancient or modern, we find no example of a growth so rapid, so gigantic,
of a people so prosperous and happy. In contemplating what we have still
to perform, the heart of every citizen must expand with joy when he
reflects how near our Government has approached to perfection; that in
respect to it we have no essential improvement to make; that the great
object is to preserve it in the essential principles and features which
characterize it, and that that is to be done by preserving the virtue
and enlightening the minds of the people; and as a security against
foreign dangers to adopt such arrangements as are indispensable to the
support of our independence, our rights and liberties. If we persevere
in the career in which we have advanced so far and in the path already
traced, we can not fail, under the favor of a gracious Providence, to
attain the high destiny which seems to await us.

In the Administrations of the illustrious men who have preceded me
in this high station, with some of whom I have been connected by the
closest ties from early life, examples are presented which will always
be found highly instructive and useful to their successors. From these
I shall endeavor to derive all the advantages which they may afford.
Of my immediate predecessor, under whom so important a portion of this
great and successful experiment has been made, I shall be pardoned for
expressing my earnest wishes that he may long enjoy in his retirement
the affections of a grateful country, the best reward of exalted talents
and the most faithful and meritorious services. Relying on the aid to
be derived from the other departments of the Government, I enter on the
trust to which I have been called by the suffrages of my fellow citizens
with my fervent prayers to the Almighty that He will be graciously
pleased to continue to us that protection which He has already so
conspicuously displayed in our favor.

MARCH 4, 1817.




PROCLAMATION.


[From Niles's Weekly Register, vol. 12, p. 176.]

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.


Whereas by an act entitled "An act providing for the sale of the tract
of land at the lower rapids of Sandusky River," passed on the 27th day
of April, 1816, it was enacted that all the lands in the said tract,
except the reservations made in the said act, should be offered for
sale to the highest bidder at Wooster, in the State of Ohio, under the
direction of the register of the land office and the receiver of public
moneys at Wooster, and on such day or days as shall, by a public
proclamation of the President of the United States, be designated for
that purpose; and

Whereas by an act entitled "An act providing for the sale of the tract
of land at the British fort at the Miami of the Lake, at the foot of the
rapids, and for other purposes," passed the 27th day of April, 1816, it
was enacted that all the land contained in the said tract, except the
reservations and exceptions made in the said act, should be offered for
sale to the highest bidder at Wooster, in the State of Ohio, under the
direction of the register of the land office and the receiver of public
moneys at Wooster, and on such day or days as shall, by a public
proclamation of the President of the United States, be designated for
that purpose:

Wherefore I, James Monroe, President of the United States, in conformity
with the provisions of the acts before recited, do hereby declare and
make known that the lands authorized to be sold by the first mentioned
act shall be offered for sale to the highest bidder at Wooster, in the
State of Ohio, on the first Monday in July next, and continue open for
seven days and no longer, and that the lands authorized to be sold by
the last-mentioned act shall be offered for sale to the highest bidder
at the same place on the third Tuesday in July next, and continue open
for seven days and no longer.

Given under my hand this 15th day of April, 1817.

JAMES MONROE.

By the President:
  J. MEIGS,
    _Commissioner of the General Land Office_




FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE.


_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:

At no period of our political existence had we so much cause to
felicitate ourselves at the prosperous and happy condition of our
country. The abundant fruits of the earth have filled it with plenty. An
extensive and profitable commerce has greatly augmented our revenue. The
public credit has attained an extraordinary elevation. Our preparations
for defense in case of future wars, from which, by the experience
of all nations, we ought not to expect to be exempted, are advancing
under a well-digested system with all the dispatch which so important
a work will admit. Our free Government, founded on the interest and
affections of the people, has gained and is daily gaining strength.
Local jealousies are rapidly yielding to more generous, enlarged, and
enlightened views of national policy. For advantages so numerous and
highly important it is our duty to unite in grateful acknowledgments
to that Omnipotent Being from whom they are derived, and in unceasing
prayer that He will endow us with virtue and strength to maintain and
hand them down in their utmost purity to our latest posterity.

I have the satisfaction to inform you that an arrangement which had
been commenced by my predecessor with the British Government for the
reduction of the naval force by Great Britain and the United States on
the Lakes has been concluded, by which it is provided that neither party
shall keep in service on Lake Champlain more than one vessel, on Lake
Ontario more than one, and on Lake Erie and the upper lakes more than
two, to be armed each with one cannon only, and that all the other armed
vessels of both parties, of which an exact list is interchanged, shall
be dismantled. It is also agreed that the force retained shall be
restricted in its duty to the internal purposes of each party, and
that the arrangement shall remain in force until six months shall have
expired after notice given by one of the parties to the other of its
desire that it should terminate. By this arrangement useless expense
on both sides and, what is of still greater importance, the danger of
collision between armed vessels in those inland waters, which was great,
is prevented.

I have the satisfaction also to state that the commissioners under the
fourth article of the treaty of Ghent, to whom it was referred to decide
to which party the several islands in the bay of Passamaquoddy belonged
under the treaty of 1783, have agreed in a report, by which all the
islands in the possession of each party before the late war have been
decreed to it. The commissioners acting under the other articles of the
treaty of Ghent for the settlement of boundaries have also been engaged
in the discharge, of their respective duties, but have not yet completed
them. The difference which arose between the two Governments under that
treaty respecting the right of the United States to take and cure fish
on the coast of the British provinces north of our limits, which had
been secured by the treaty of 1783, is still in negotiation. The
proposition made by this Government to extend to the colonies of Great
Britain the principle of the convention of London, by which the commerce
between the ports of the United States and British ports in Europe had
been placed on a footing of equality, has been declined by the British
Government. This subject having been thus amicably discussed between
the two Governments, and it appearing that the British Government
is unwilling to depart from its present regulations, it remains for
Congress to decide whether they will make any other regulations in
consequence thereof for the protection and improvement of our
navigation.

The negotiation with Spain for spoliations on our commerce and the
settlement of boundaries remains essentially in the state it held by the
communications that were made to Congress by my predecessor. It has been
evidently the policy of the Spanish Government to keep the negotiation
suspended, and in this the United States have acquiesced, from an
amicable disposition toward Spain and in the expectation that her
Government would, from a sense of justice, finally accede to such an
arrangement as would be equal between the parties. A disposition has
been lately shown by the Spanish Government to move in the negotiation,
which has been met by this Government, and should the conciliatory
and friendly policy which has invariably guided our councils be
reciprocated, a just and satisfactory arrangement maybe expected. It
is proper, however, to remark that no proposition has yet been made
from which such a result can be presumed.

It was anticipated at an early stage that the contest between Spain and
the colonies would become highly interesting to the United States. It
was natural that our citizens should sympathize in events which affected
their neighbors. It seemed probable also that the prosecution of the
conflict along our coast and in contiguous countries would occasionally
interrupt our commerce and otherwise affect the persons and property of
our citizens. These anticipations have been realized. Such injuries have
been received from persons acting under authority of both the parties,
and for which redress has in most instances been withheld. Through every
stage of the conflict the United States have maintained an impartial
neutrality, giving aid to neither of the parties in men, money, ships,
or munitions of war. They have regarded the contest not in the light
of an ordinary insurrection or rebellion, but as a civil war between
parties nearly equal, having as to neutral powers equal rights. Our
ports have been open to both, and every article the fruit of our soil
or of the industry of our citizens which either was permitted to take
has been equally free to the other. Should the colonies establish their
independence, it is proper now to state that this Government neither
seeks nor would accept from them any advantage in commerce or otherwise
which will not be equally open to all other nations. The colonies will
in that event become independent states, free from any obligation to or
connection with us which it may not then be their interest to form on
the basis of a fair reciprocity.

In the summer of the present year an expedition was set on foot against
East Florida by persons claiming to act under the authority of some of
the colonies, who took possession of Amelia Island, at the mouth of
the St. Marys River, near the boundary of the State of Georgia. As
this Province lies eastward of the Mississippi, and is bounded by the
United States and the ocean on every side, and has been a subject of
negotiation with the Government of Spain as an indemnity for losses by
spoliation or in exchange for territory of equal value westward of the
Mississippi, a fact well known to the world, it excited surprise that
any countenance should be given to this measure by any of the colonies.
As it would be difficult to reconcile it with the friendly relations
existing between the United States and the colonies, a doubt was
entertained whether it had been authorized by them, or any of them.
This doubt has gained strength by the circumstances which have unfolded
themselves in the prosecution of the enterprise, which have marked it as
a mere private, unauthorized adventure. Projected and commenced with an
incompetent force, reliance seems to have been placed on what might be
drawn, in defiance of our laws, from within our limits; and of late, as
their resources have failed, it has assumed a more marked character of
unfriendliness to us, the island being made a channel for the illicit
introduction of slaves from Africa into the United States, an asylum for
fugitive slaves from the neighboring States, and a port for smuggling of
every kind.

A similar establishment was made at an earlier period by persons of the
same description in the Gulf of Mexico at a place called Galvezton,
within the limits of the United States, as we contend, under the cession
of Louisiana. This enterprise has been marked in a more signal manner by
all the objectionable circumstances which characterized the other, and
more particularly by the equipment of privateers which have annoyed our
commerce, and by smuggling. These establishments, if ever sanctioned
by any authority whatever, which is not believed, have abused their
trust and forfeited all claim to consideration. A just regard for the
rights and interests of the United States required that they should be
suppressed, and orders have been accordingly issued to that effect. The
imperious considerations which produced this measure will be explained
to the parties whom it may in any degree concern.

To obtain correct information on every subject in which the United
States are interested; to inspire just sentiments in all persons in
authority, on either side, of our friendly disposition so far as it may
comport with an impartial neutrality, and to secure proper respect to
our commerce in every port and from every flag, it has been thought
proper to send a ship of war with three distinguished citizens along the
southern coast with instruction to touch at such ports as they may find
most expedient for these purposes. With the existing authorities, with
those in the possession of and exercising the sovereignty, must the
communication be held; from them alone can redress for past injuries
committed by persons acting under them be obtained; by them alone can
the commission of the like in future be prevented.

Our relations with the other powers of Europe have experienced no
essential change since the last session. In our intercourse with each
due attention continues to be paid to the protection of our commerce,
and to every other object in which the United States are interested.
A strong hope is entertained that, by adhering to the maxims of a just,
a candid, and friendly policy, we may long preserve amicable relations
with all the powers of Europe on conditions advantageous and honorable
to our country.

With the Barbary States and the Indian tribes our pacific relations have
been preserved.

In calling your attention to the internal concerns of our country the
view which they exhibit is peculiarly gratifying. The payments which
have been made into the Treasury show the very productive state of the
public revenue. After satisfying the appropriations made by law for
the support of the civil Government and of the military and naval
establishments, embracing suitable provision for fortifications and for
the gradual increase of the Navy, paying the interest of the public
debt, and extinguishing more than eighteen millions of the principal,
within the present year, it is estimated that a balance of more than
$6,000,000 will remain in the Treasury on the 1st day of January
applicable to the current service of the ensuing year.

The payments into the Treasury during the year 1818 on account of
imposts and tonnage, resulting principally from duties which have
accrued in the present year, may be fairly estimated at $20,000,000;
the internal revenues at $2,500,000; the public lands at $1,500,000;
bank dividends and incidental receipts at $500,000; making in the
whole $24,500,000.

The annual permanent expenditure for the support of the civil Government
and of the Army and Navy, as now established by law, amounts to
$11,800,000, and for the sinking fund to $10,000,000, making in the
whole $21,800,000, leaving an annual excess of revenue beyond the
expenditure of $2,700,000, exclusive of the balance estimated to be
in the Treasury on the 1st day of January, 1818.

In the present state of the Treasury the whole of the Louisiana debt
maybe redeemed in the year 1819, after which, if the public debt
continues as it now is, above par, there will be annually about five
millions of the sinking fund unexpended until the year 1825, when the
loan of 1812 and the stock created by funding Treasury notes will be
redeemable.

It is also estimated that the Mississippi stock will be discharged
during the year 1819 from the proceeds of the public lands assigned to
that object, after which the receipts from those lands will annually
add to the public revenue the sum of one million and a half, making the
permanent annual revenue amount to $26,000,000, and leaving an annual
excess of revenue after the year 1819 beyond the permanent authorized
expenditure of more than $4,000,000.

By the last returns to the Department of War the militia force of the
several States may be estimated at 800,000 men--infantry, artillery, and
cavalry. Great part of this force is armed, and measures are taken to
arm the whole. An improvement in the organization and discipline of
the militia is one of the great objects which claims the unremitted
attention of Congress.

The regular force amounts nearly to the number required by law, and is
stationed along the Atlantic and inland frontiers.

Of the naval force it has been necessary to maintain strong squadrons in
the Mediterranean and in the Gulf of Mexico.

From several of the Indian tribes inhabiting the country bordering on
Lake Erie purchases have been made of lands on conditions very favorable
to the United States, and, as it is presumed, not less so to the tribes
themselves.

By these purchases the Indian title, with moderate reservations, has
been extinguished to the whole of the land within the limits of the
State of Ohio, and to a part of that in the Michigan Territory and of
the State of Indiana. From the Cherokee tribe a tract has been purchased
in the State of Georgia and an arrangement made by which, in exchange
for lands beyond the Mississippi, a great part, if not the whole, of the
land belonging to that tribe eastward of that river in the States of
North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee, and in the Alabama Territory
will soon be acquired. By these acquisitions, and others that may
reasonably be expected soon to follow, we shall be enabled to extend our
settlements from the inhabited parts of the State of Ohio along Lake
Erie into the Michigan Territory, and to connect our settlements by
degrees through the State of Indiana and the Illinois Territory to
that of Missouri. A similar and equally advantageous effect will soon
be produced to the south, through the whole extent of the States and
territory which border on the waters emptying into the Mississippi and
the Mobile. In this progress, which the rights of nature demand and
nothing can prevent, marking a growth rapid and gigantic, it is our duty
to make new efforts for the preservation, improvement, and civilization
of the native inhabitants. The hunter state can exist only in the vast
uncultivated desert. It yields to the more dense and compact form and
greater force of civilized population; and of right it ought to yield,
for the earth was given to mankind to support the greatest number of
which it is capable, and no tribe or people have a right to withhold
from the wants of others more than is necessary for their own support
and comfort. It is gratifying to know that the reservations of land made
by the treaties with the tribes on Lake Erie were made with a view to
individual ownership among them and to the cultivation of the soil by
all, and that an annual stipend has been pledged to supply their other
wants. It will merit the consideration of Congress whether other
provision not stipulated by treaty ought to be made for these tribes and
for the advancement of the liberal and humane policy of the United
States toward all the tribes within our limits, and more particularly
for their improvement in the arts of civilized life.

Among the advantages incident to these purchases, and to those which
have preceded, the security which may thereby be afforded to our inland
frontiers is peculiarly important. With a strong barrier, consisting
of our own people, thus planted on the Lakes, the Mississippi, and
the Mobile, with the protection to be derived from the regular force,
Indian hostilities, if they do not altogether cease, will henceforth
lose their terror. Fortifications in those quarters to any extent will
not be necessary, and the expense attending them may be saved. A people
accustomed to the use of firearms only, as the Indian tribes are,
will shun even moderate works which are defended by cannon. Great
fortifications will therefore be requisite only in future along the
coast and at some points in the interior connected with it. On these
will the safety of our towns and the commerce of our great rivers, from
the Bay of Fundy to the Mississippi, depend. On these, therefore, should
the utmost attention, skill, and labor be bestowed.

A considerable and rapid augmentation in the value of all the public
lands, proceeding from these and other obvious causes, may henceforward
be expected. The difficulties attending early emigrations will be
dissipated even in the most remote parts. Several new States have been
admitted into our Union to the west and south, and Territorial
governments, happily organized, established over every other portion in
which there is vacant land for sale. In terminating Indian hostilities,
as must soon be done, in a formidable shape at least, the emigration,
which has heretofore been great, will probably increase, and the demand
for land and the augmentation in its value be in like proportion. The
great increase of our population throughout the Union will alone produce
an important effect, and in no quarter will it be so sensibly felt as in
those in contemplation. The public lands are a public stock, which ought
to be disposed of to the best advantage for the nation. The nation
should therefore derive the profit proceeding from the continual rise
in their value. Every encouragement should be given to the emigrants
consistent with a fair competition between them, but that competition
should operate in the first sale to the advantage of the nation rather
than of individuals. Great capitalists will derive all the benefit
incident to their superior wealth under any mode of sale which may be
adopted. But if, looking forward to the rise in the value of the public
lands, they should have the opportunity of amassing at a low price vast
bodies in their hands, the profit will accrue to them and not to the
public. They would also have the power in that degree to control the
emigration and settlement in such a manner as their opinion of their
respective interests might dictate. I submit this subject to the
consideration of Congress, that such further provision may be made in
the sale of the public lands, with a view to the public interest, should
any be deemed expedient, as in their judgment may be best adapted to the
object.

When we consider the vast extent of territory within the United States,
the great amount and value of its productions, the connection of its
parts, and other circumstances on which their prosperity and happiness
depend, we can not fail to entertain a high sense of the advantage to be
derived from the facility which may be afforded in the intercourse
between them by means of good roads and canals. Never did a country of
such vast extent offer equal inducements to improvements of this kind,
nor ever were consequences of such magnitude involved in them. As this
subject was acted on by Congress at the last session, and there may
be a disposition to revive it at the present, I have brought it into
view for the purpose of communicating my sentiments on a very important
circumstance connected with it with that freedom and candor which a
regard for the public interest and a proper respect for Congress
require. A difference of opinion has existed from the first formation
of our Constitution to the present time among our most enlightened and
virtuous citizens respecting the right of Congress to establish such a
system of improvement. Taking into view the trust with which I am now
honored, it would be improper after what has passed that this discussion
should be revived with an uncertainty of my opinion respecting the
right. Disregarding early impressions, I have bestowed on the subject
all the deliberation which its great importance and a just sense of my
duty required, and the result is a settled conviction in my mind that
Congress do not possess the right. It is not contained in any of the
specified powers granted to Congress, nor can I consider it incidental
to or a necessary means, viewed on the most liberal scale, for carrying
into effect any of the powers which are specifically granted. In
communicating this result I can not resist the obligation which I feel
to suggest to Congress the propriety of recommending to the States
the adoption of an amendment to the Constitution which shall give to
Congress the right in question. In cases of doubtful construction,
especially of such vital interest, it comports with the nature and
origin of our institutions, and will contribute much to preserve them,
to apply to our constituents for an explicit grant of the power. We may
confidently rely that if it appears to their satisfaction that the power
is necessary, it will always be granted.

In this case I am happy to observe that experience has afforded the most
ample proof of its utility, and that the benign spirit of conciliation
and harmony which now manifests itself throughout our Union promises
to such a recommendation the most prompt and favorable result. I think
proper to suggest also, in case this measure is adopted, that it be
recommended to the States to include in the amendment sought a right
in Congress to institute likewise seminaries of learning, for the
all-important purpose of diffusing knowledge among our fellow-citizens
throughout the United States.

Our manufactories will require the continued attention of Congress. The
capital employed in them is considerable, and the knowledge acquired in
the machinery and fabric of all the most useful manufactures is of great
value. Their preservation, which depends on due encouragement is
connected with the high interests of the nation.

Although the progress of the public buildings has been as favorable as
circumstances have permitted, it is to be regretted that the Capitol is
not yet in a state to receive you. There is good cause to presume that
the two wings, the only parts as yet commenced, will be prepared for
that purpose at the next session. The time seems now to have arrived
when this subject may be deemed worthy the attention of Congress on
a scale adequate to national purposes. The completion of the middle
building will be necessary to the convenient accommodation of Congress,
of the committees, and various offices belonging to it. It is evident
that the other public buildings are altogether insufficient for the
accommodation of the several Executive Departments, some of whom are
much crowded and even subjected to the necessity of obtaining it in
private buildings at some distance from the head of the Department,
and with inconvenience to the management of the public business. Most
nations have taken an interest and a pride in the improvement and
ornament of their metropolis, and none were more conspicuous in that
respect than the ancient republics. The policy which dictated the
establishment of a permanent residence for the National Government and
the spirit in which it was commenced and has been prosecuted show that
such improvement was thought worthy the attention of this nation. Its
central position, between the northern and southern extremes of our
Union, and its approach to the west at the head of a great navigable
river which interlocks with the Western waters, prove the wisdom of the
councils which established it.

Nothing appears to be more reasonable and proper than that convenient
accommodation should be provided on a well-digested plan for the
heads of the several Departments and for the Attorney-General, and
it is believed that the public ground in the city applied to these
objects will be found amply sufficient. I submit this subject to the
consideration of Congress, that such further provision may be made in
it as to them may seem proper.

In contemplating the happy situation of the United States, our attention
is drawn with peculiar interest to the surviving officers and soldiers
of our Revolutionary army, who so eminently contributed by their
services to lay its foundation. Most of those very meritorious citizens
have paid the debt of nature and gone to repose. It is believed that
among the survivors there are some not provided for by existing laws,
who are reduced to indigence and even to real distress. These men have a
claim on the gratitude of their country, and it will do honor to their
country to provide for them. The lapse of a few years more and the
opportunity will be forever lost; indeed, so long already has been the
interval that the number to be benefited by any provision which may be
made will not be great.

It appearing in a satisfactory manner that the revenue arising from
imposts and tonnage and from the sale of the public lands will be fully
adequate to the support of the civil Government, of the present military
and naval establishments, including the annual augmentation of the
latter to the extent provided for, to the payment of the interest of the
public debt, and to the extinguishment of it at the times authorized,
without the aid of the internal taxes, I consider it my duty to
recommend to Congress their repeal. To impose taxes when the public
exigencies require them is an obligation of the most sacred character,
especially with a free people. The faithful fulfillment of it is among
the highest proofs of their virtue and capacity for self-government.
To dispense with taxes when it may be done with perfect safety is
equally the duty of their representatives. In this instance we have
the satisfaction to know that they were imposed when the demand was
imperious, and have been sustained with exemplary fidelity. I have to
add that however gratifying it may be to me regarding the prosperous and
happy condition of our country to recommend the repeal of these taxes at
this time, I shall nevertheless be attentive to events, and, should any
future emergency occur, be not less prompt to suggest such measures and
burdens as may then be requisite and proper.

JAMES MONROE.

DECEMBER 2, 1817.




SPECIAL MESSAGES.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I submit to the Senate, for their consideration and advice, the
following treaties entered into with several of the Indian tribes,
to wit:

A treaty of peace and friendship made and concluded by William Clark,
Ninian Edwards, and Auguste Choteau, commissioners on the part of the
United States of America, and the chiefs and warriors of the Menomene
tribe or nation of Indians, on the 30th of March, 1817, at St. Louis.

A treaty of peace and friendship made and concluded on the 4th June,
1817, at St. Louis, by William Clark, Ninian Edwards, and Auguste
Choteau, commissioners on the part of the United States of America,
and the chiefs and warriors of the Ottoes tribe of Indians.

A treaty of peace and friendship made and concluded on the 5th June,
1817, at St. Louis, by William Clark, Ninian Edwards, and Auguste
Choteau, commissioners on the part of the United States of America,
and the chiefs and warriors of the Poncarar tribe of Indians.

A treaty concluded at the Cherokee Agency on the 8th of July, 1817,
between Major-General Andrew Jackson, Joseph McMinn, governor of the
State of Tennessee, and General David Meriwether, commissioners of the
United States of America, of the one part, and the chiefs, headmen, and
warriors of the Cherokee Nation east of the Mississippi River and the
chiefs, headmen, and warriors of the Cherokees on the Arkansas River,
and their deputies, John D. Chisholm and James Rogers.

A treaty concluded on the 29th day of September, 1817, at the foot of
the Rapids of the Miami of Lake Erie, between Lewis Cass and Duncan
McArthur, commissioners of the United States, and the sachems, chiefs,
and warriors of the Wyandot, Seneca, Delaware, Shawnese, Potawatamies,
Ottawas, and Chippewa tribes of Indians.

The Wyandots and other tribes parties to the treaty lately concluded
with them have, by a deputation to this city, requested permission to
retain possession of such lands as they actually cultivate and reside
on, for the ensuing year. They have also expressed a desire that the
reservations made in their favor should be enlarged, representing that
they had entered into the treaty in full confidence that that would be
done, preferring a reliance on the justice of the United States for such
extension rather than that the treaty should fail.

The Wyandots claim an extension of their reservation to 16 miles square,
and the other tribes in a proportional degree. Sufficient information is
not now in the possession of the Executive to enable it to decide how
far it may be proper to comply with the wishes of these tribes in the
extent desired. The necessary information may be obtained in the course
of the next year, and if they are permitted to remain in the possession
of the lands they cultivate during that time such further extension of
their reservations may be made by law at the next session as justice and
a liberal policy toward these people may require. It is submitted to the
consideration of the Senate whether it may not be proper to annex to
their advice and consent for the ratification of the treaty a
declaration providing for the above objects.

JAMES MONROE.

DECEMBER 11, 1817.



WASHINGTON, _December 15, 1817_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 8th of this month, I transmit, for the information of the House, a
report from the Secretary of State, with the documents referred to in it,
containing all the information in the possession of the Executive which
it is proper to disclose, relative to certain persons who lately took
possession of Amelia Island and Galvezton.

JAMES MONROE.



DECEMBER 18, 1817.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 11th of this
month, I transmit, for the information of the Senate, a report from the
Secretary of the Treasury, relating to the progress made in surveying
the several tracts of military bounty lands appropriated by Congress for
the late army of the United States, and the time at which such survey
will probably be completed.

JAMES MONROE.



DECEMBER 22, 1817.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
11th of this month, requesting to be informed of the present strength
of the Army of the United States, its distribution among the several
military posts which it is designed to protect, and its competency to
preserve and defend the fortifications amongst which it is distributed,
and to aid in constructing such other military works, if any, as it may
be deemed proper to erect for the more effectual security of the United
States and of the Territories thereof, I now transmit a report from the
Secretary of War which contains the information desired.

JAMES MONROE.



DECEMBER 29, 1817.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 16th of this month,
requesting information touching the execution of so much of the first
article of the treaty of Ghent as relates to the restitution of slaves,
which has not heretofore been communicated, I now transmit a report of
the Secretary of State on that subject.

JAMES MONROE.



DECEMBER 29, 1817.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
12th of this month, requesting to be informed whether any, and which, of
the Representatives in a list thereto annexed have held offices since
the 4th of March last, designating the offices, the times of appointment
and acceptance, and whether they were at that time so held or when they
had been resigned, I now transmit a report from the Secretary of State
which contains the information desired.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 12, 1818_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

The claim of the representatives of the late Caron de Beaumarchais
having been recommended to the favorable consideration of the
Legislature by my predecessor in his message to Congress of the 31st of
January last, and concurring in the sentiments therein expressed, I now
transmit copies of a new representation relative to it received by the
Secretary of State from the minister of France, and of a correspondence
on the subject between the minister of the United States at Paris and
the Duke of Richelieu, inclosed with that representation.

JAMES MONROE.



_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I have the satisfaction to inform Congress that the establishment at
Amelia Island has been suppressed, and without the effusion of blood.
The papers which explain this transaction I now lay before Congress.

By the suppression of this establishment and of that at Galveztown,
which will soon follow; if it has not already ceased to exist, there is
good cause to believe that the consummation of a project fraught with
much injury to the United States has been prevented.

When we consider the persons engaged in it, being adventurers from
different countries, with very few, if any, of the native inhabitants
of the Spanish colonies; the territory on which the establishments were
made--one on a portion of that claimed by the United States westward
of the Mississippi, the other on a part of East Florida, a Province
in negotiation between the United States and Spain; the claim of their
leader as announced by his proclamation on taking possession of Amelia
Island, comprising the whole of both the Floridas, without excepting
that part of West Florida which is incorporated into the State of
Louisiana; their conduct while in the possession of the island making it
instrumental to every species of contraband, and, in regard to slaves,
of the most odious and dangerous character, it may fairly be concluded
that if the enterprise had succeeded on the scale on which it was formed
much annoyance and injury would have resulted from it to the United
States.

Other circumstances were thought to be no less deserving of attention.
The institution of a government by foreign adventurers in the island,
distinct from the colonial governments of Buenos Ayres, Venezuela, or
Mexico, pretending to sovereignty and exercising its highest offices,
particularly in granting commissions to privateers, were acts which
could not fail to draw after them the most serious consequences. It was
the duty of the Executive either to extend to this establishment all the
advantages of that neutrality which the United States had proclaimed,
and have observed in favor of the colonies of Spain who, by the strength
of their own population and resources, had declared their independence
and were affording strong proof of their ability to maintain it, or of
making the discrimination which circumstances required.

Had the first course been pursued, we should not only have sanctioned
all the unlawful claims and practices of this pretended Government
in regard to the United States, but have countenanced a system of
privateering in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere the ill effects of
which might, and probably would, have been deeply and very extensively
felt.

The path of duty was plain from the commencement, but it was painful to
enter upon it while the obligation could be resisted. The law of 1811,
lately published, and which it is therefore proper now to mention, was
considered applicable to the case from the moment that the proclamation
of the chief of the enterprise was seen, and its obligation was daily
increased by other considerations of high importance already mentioned,
which were deemed sufficiently strong in themselves to dictate the
course which has been pursued.

Early intimation having been received of the dangerous purposes of these
adventurers, timely precautions were taken by the establishment of a
force near the St. Marys to prevent their effect, or it is probable that
it would have been more sensibly felt.

To such establishments, made so near to our settlements in the
expectation of deriving aid from them, it is particularly gratifying
to find that very little encouragement was given. The example so
conspicuously displayed by our fellow-citizens that their sympathies
can not be perverted to improper purposes, but that a love of country,
the influence of moral principles, and a respect for the laws are
predominant with them, is a sure pledge that all the very flattering
anticipations which have been formed of the success of our institutions
will be realized. This example has proved that if our relations with
foreign powers are to be changed it must be done by the constituted
authorities, who alone, acting on a high responsibility, are competent
to the purpose, and until such change is thus made that our
fellow-citizens will respect the existing relations by a faithful
adherence to the laws which secure them.

Believing that this enterprise, though undertaken by persons some
of whom may have held commissions from some of the colonies, was
unauthorized by and unknown to the colonial governments, full confidence
is entertained that it will be disclaimed by them, and that effectual
measures will be taken to prevent the abuse of their authority in all
cases to the injury of the United States.

For these injuries, especially those proceeding from Amelia Island,
Spain would be responsible if it was not manifest that, though committed
in the latter instance through her territory, she was utterly unable to
prevent them. Her territory, however, ought not to be made instrumental,
through her inability to defend it, to purposes so injurious to the
United States. To a country over which she fails to maintain her
authority, and which she permits to be converted to the annoyance of her
neighbors, her jurisdiction for the time necessarily ceases to exist.
The territory of Spain will nevertheless be respected so far as it may
be done consistently with the essential interests and safety of the
United States. In expelling these adventurers from these posts it was
not intended to make any conquest from Spain or to injure in any degree
the cause of the colonies. Care will be taken that no part of the
territory contemplated by the law of 1811 shall be occupied by a
foreign government of any kind, or that injuries of the nature of
those complained of shall be repeated; but this, it is expected, will
be provided for with every other interest in a spirit of amity in the
negotiation now depending with the Government of Spain.

JAMES MONROE.

JANUARY 13, 1818.



WASHINGTON, _January 23, 1818_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
9th of December last, requesting information of what roads have been
made or are in progress under the authority of the Executive of the
United States, the States and Territories through which they pass or are
intended to pass, the periods when they were ordered to be made, and
how far they have been executed, I now communicate a report from the
Secretary of the Treasury, and likewise a report from the Secretary
of War, containing the information which is desired.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 28, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 22d of this month,
requesting to be informed "in what manner the troops in the service of
the United States now operating against the Seminole tribe of Indians
have been subsisted, whether by contract or otherwise, and whether they
have been furnished regularly with rations," I now transmit a report
from the Secretary of War containing the information required.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 29, 1818_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 23d of December last, requesting information relative to the
imprisonment and detention in confinement of Richard W. Meade, a
citizen of the United States, I now transmit to the House a report
from the Secretary of State containing the information required.

JAMES MONROE.



_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 8th of last month,
requesting me to cause to be laid before it the proceedings which may
have been had under an act entitled "An act for the gradual increase of
the Navy of the United States," specifying the number of ships put on
the stocks and of what class; the quantity of materials procured for
shipbuilding, and also the sums of money which may have been paid out
of the fund created by said act, and for what objects; and likewise
the contracts which may have been entered into in execution of the act
aforesaid on which moneys may not yet have been advanced, I now transmit
a report of the Secretary of the Navy, accompanied by a report from the
Board of Commissioners of the Navy, with documents which contain the
information desired.

JAMES MONROE.

FEBRUARY 2, 1818.



WASHINGTON, _February 6, 1818_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives a report of the Secretary
of State, in compliance with the resolution of said House requesting
information respecting the ratification of the thirteenth article of
the amendments to the Constitution of the United States.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 10, 1818_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

As the house appropriated for the President of the United States will be
finished this year, it is thought to merit the attention of the Congress
in what manner it should be furnished and what measures ought to be
adopted for the safe-keeping of the furniture in future. All the public
furniture provided before 1814 having been destroyed with the public
buildings in that year, and little afterwards procured, owing to the
inadequacy of the appropriation, it has become necessary to provide
almost every article requisite for such an establishment, whence the
sum to be expended will be much greater than at any former period. The
furniture in its kind and extent is thought to be an object not less
deserving attention than the building for which it is intended. Both
being national objects, each seems to have an equal claim to legislative
sanction. The disbursement of the public money, too, ought, it is
presumed, to be in like manner provided for by law. The person who may
happen to be placed by the suffrage of his fellow-citizens in the high
trust, having no personal interest in these concerns, should be exempted
from undue responsibility respecting them.

For a building so extensive, intended for a purpose exclusively
national, in which in the furniture provided for it a mingled regard
is due to the simplicity and purity of our institutions and to the
character of the people who are represented in it, the sum already
appropriated has proved altogether inadequate, The present is therefore
a proper time for Congress to take the subject into consideration, with
a view to all the objects claiming attention, and to regulate it by law.
On a knowledge of the furniture procured and the sum expended for it
a just estimate may be formed regarding the extent of the building of
what will still be wanting to furnish the house. Many of the articles,
being of a durable nature, may be handed down through a long series of
service, and being of great value, such as plate, ought not to be left
altogether and at all times to the care of servants alone. It seems to
be advisable that a public agent Should be charged with it during the
occasional absences of the President, and have authority to transfer
it from one President to another, and likewise to make reports of
occasional deficiencies, as the basis on which further provision should
be made.

It may also merit consideration whether it may not be proper to commit
the care of the public buildings, particularly the President's house and
the Capitol, with the grounds belonging to them, including likewise the
furniture of the latter, in a more special manner to a public agent.
Hitherto the charge of this valuable property seems to have been
connected with the structure of the buildings and committed to those
employed in it. This guard will necessarily cease when the buildings
are finished, at which time the interest in them will be proportionably
augmented. It is presumed that this trust is, in a certain degree at
least, incidental to the other duties of the superintendent of the
public buildings, but it may merit consideration whether it will not be
proper to charge him with it more explicitly, and to give him authority
to employ one or more persons under him for these purposes.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 12, 1818_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I lay before the House of Representatives copies of two communications
received at the Department of State from the minister of Great Britain,
and submit to their consideration the propriety of making such
legislative provisions as may be necessary for a compliance with the
representations contained in them.

By the express terms of that compact it was, when ratified by the two
Governments, to be in force for the term of four years _from the day of
its signature_. The revocation of all the discriminating duties became,
therefore, the obligation of both Governments _from that day_, and it
is conceived that every individual who has been required to pay, and
who has paid, any of the extra duties revoked by the convention has a
just and lawful claim upon the respective Governments for its return.
From various accidents it has happened that both here and in Great
Britain the cessation of the extra duties has been fixed to commence
at different times. It is desirable that Congress should pass an act
providing for the return of _all_ the extra duties _incompatible with
the terms of the convention_ which have been levied upon British vessels
or merchandise after the 3d of July, 1815. The British Parliament have
already set the example of fixing that day for the cessation of the
extra duties of export by their act of 30th of June last, and the
minister of the United States in London is instructed to require the
extension of the same principle to _all_ the extra duties levied on
vessels and merchandise of the United States in the ports of Great
Britain since that day. It is not doubted that the British Government
will comply with this requisition, and that the act suggested may be
passed by Congress with full confidence that the reciprocal measure
will receive the sanction of the British Parliament.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 23, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate requesting me to cause to
be laid before them a statement of all the arms and accouterments which
have been manufactured at the different armories of the United States,
with the cost of each stand, and the number delivered to each State,
respectively, under the act for arming the whole body of militia, I now
transmit a report from the Secretary of War, with the documents marked
A, B, and C, which, together with a report to him from the Ordnance
Department, contains the information required.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 23, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 19th of January,
1818, requesting information of measures which have been taken in
pursuance of so much of the act to authorize the appointment of a
surveyor for lands in the northern part of the Mississippi Territory,
passed the 3d of March, 1817, as relates to the reservation of certain
sections for the purpose of laying out and establishing towns thereon,
I now transmit a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, which, with
the letters and charts referred to in it, contains all the information
which is desired.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 25, 1818_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

The commissioners of the two Governments, under the fourth article
of the treaty of Ghent, having come to a decision upon the questions
submitted to them, I lay before Congress copies of that decision,
together with copies of the declaration signed and reported by the
commissioners of this Government.

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 27, 1818.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I communicate herewith to the House of Representatives a copy of a
letter from the governor of the State of South Carolina to the Secretary
of State, together with extracts from the journals of proceedings in
both branches of the legislature of that Commonwealth, relative to a
proposed amendment of the Constitution, which letter and extracts are
connected with the subject of my communication to the House of the 6th
instant.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 28, 1818_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I lay before the House a report from the Secretary of State, together
with the papers relating to the claims of merchants of the United States
upon the Government of Naples, in conformity with the resolution of the
House of the 30th January last.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 11, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate requesting information
respecting the requisitions that were made on the contractors between
the 1st of June and the 24th of December, 1817, for deposits of
provisions in advance at the several posts on the frontiers of Georgia
and the adjoining territory, their conduct in compliance therewith, the
amount of money advanced to B. G. Orr, and the extent of his failure,
with a copy of the articles of contract entered into with him, I now lay
before the Senate a report from the Secretary of War, which, with the
documents accompanying it, will afford the information desired.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 14, 1818_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 16th of December
and of the House of Representatives of the 24th of February last,
I lay before Congress a report of the Secretary of State, and the
papers referred to in it, respecting the negotiation with the Government
of Spain. To explain fully the nature of the differences between the
United States and Spain and the conduct of the parties it has been found
necessary to go back to an early epoch. The recent correspondence,
with the documents accompanying it, will give a full view of the whole
subject, and place the conduct of the United States in every stage and
under every circumstance, for justice, moderation, and a firm adherence
to their rights, on the high and honorable ground which it has
invariably sustained.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 16, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the United States of
the 31st of December last, requesting the President to cause to be laid
before them a statement of the proceedings which may have been had under
the act of Congress passed on the 3d March, 1817, entitled "An act to
set apart and dispose of certain public lands for the encouragement and
cultivation of the vine and olive," I now transmit a report from the
Secretary of the Treasury, containing all the information possessed by
the Executive relating to the proceedings under the said act.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 16, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the United States of
the 3d of February last, requesting the President to cause to be laid
before them "a statement of the progress made under the act to provide
for surveying the coast of the United States, passed February 10, 1807,
and any subsequent acts on the same subject, and the expenses incurred
thereby," I transmit a report from the Secretary of the Treasury
containing the information required.

JAMES MONROE.



MARCH 19, 1818.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

In the course of the last summer a negotiation was commenced with
the Government of the Netherlands with a view to the revival and
modification of the commercial treaty existing between the two
countries, adapted to their present circumstances.

The report from the Secretary of State which I now lay before Congress
will show the obstacles which arose in the progress of the conferences
between the respective plenipotentiaries, and which resulted in the
agreement between them then to refer the subject to the consideration
of their respective Governments. As the difficulties appear to be of a
nature which may, perhaps, for the present be more easily removed by
reciprocal legislative regulations, formed in the spirit of amity and
conciliation, than by conventional stipulations, Congress may think it
advisable to leave the subsisting treaty in its present state, and to
meet the liberal exemption from discriminating tonnage duties which has
been conceded in the Netherlands to the vessels of the United States
by a similar exemption to the vessels of the Netherlands which have
arrived, or may hereafter arrive, in our ports, commencing from the time
when the exemption was granted to the vessels of the United States. I
would further recommend to the consideration of Congress the expediency
of extending the benefit of the same regulation, to commence from the
passage of the law, to the vessels of Russia, Hamburg, and Bremen, and
of making it prospectively general in favor of every nation in whose
ports the vessels of the United States are admitted on the same footing
as their own.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 23, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I lay before the Senate a report from the Secretary of the Navy, with
the estimate of the expense which will be incurred by the establishment
of two dockyards for repairing vessels of the largest size.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 25, 1818_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I now lay before Congress all the information in the possession of
the Executive respecting the war with the Seminoles, and the measures
which it has been thought proper to adopt for the safety of our
fellow-citizens on the frontier exposed to their ravages. The inclosed
documents show that the hostilities of this tribe were unprovoked, the
offspring of a spirit long cherished and often manifested toward the
United States, and that in the present instance it was extending itself
to other tribes and daily assuming a more serious aspect. As soon as the
nature and object of this combination were perceived the major-general
commanding the Southern division of the troops of the United States was
ordered to the theater of action, charged with the management of the war
and vested with the powers necessary to give it effect. The season of
the year being unfavorable to active operations, and the recesses of
the country affording shelter to these savages in case of retreat, may
prevent a prompt termination of the war; but it may be fairly presumed
that it will not be long before this tribe and its associates receive
the punishment which they have provoked and justly merited.

As almost the whole of this tribe inhabits the country within the limits
of Florida, Spain was bound by the treaty of 1795 to restrain them from
committing hostilities against the United States. We have seen with
regret that her Government has altogether failed to fulfill this
obligation, nor are we aware that it made any effort to that effect.
When we consider her utter inability to check, even in the slightest
degree, the movements of this tribe by her very small and incompetent
force in Florida, we are not disposed to ascribe the failure to any
other cause. The inability, however, of Spain to maintain her authority
over the territory and Indians within her limits, and in consequence to
fulfill the treaty, ought not to expose the United States to other and
greater injuries. When the authority of Spain ceases to exist there, the
United States have a right to pursue their enemy on a principle of
self-defense. In this instance the right is more complete and obvious
because we shall perform only what Spain was bound to have performed
herself. To the high obligations and privileges of this great and sacred
right of self-defense will the movement of our troops be strictly
confined. Orders have been given to the general in command not to enter
Florida unless it be in pursuit of the enemy, and in that case to
respect the Spanish authority wherever it is maintained; and he will be
instructed to withdraw his forces from the Province as soon as he shall
have reduced that tribe to order, and secure our fellow-citizens in that
quarter by satisfactory arrangements against its unprovoked and savage
hostilities in future.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 25, 1818_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In conformity with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
5th of December last, I now transmit a report of the Secretary of State,
with a copy of the documents which it is thought proper to communicate
relating to the independence and political condition of the Provinces of
Spanish America,

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 26, 1818_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives, in compliance with their
resolution of March 20, such information not heretofore communicated
as is in the possession of the Executive relating to the occupation of
Amelia Island. If any doubt had before existed of the improper conduct
of the persons who authorized and of those who were engaged in the
invasion and previous occupancy of that island, of the unfriendly spirit
toward the United States with which it was commenced and prosecuted, and
of its injurious effect on their highest interests, particularly by its
tendency to compromit them with foreign powers in all the unwarrantable
acts of the adventurers, it is presumed that these documents would
remove it. It appears by the letter of Mr. Pazos, agent of Commodore
Aury, that the project of seizing the Floridas was formed and executed
at a time when it was understood that Spain had resolved to cede them
to the United States, and to prevent such cession from taking effect.
The whole proceeding in every stage and circumstance was unlawful. The
commission to General M'Gregor was granted at Philadelphia in direct
violation of a positive law, and all the measures pursued under it by
him in collecting his force and directing its movements were equally
unlawful. With the conduct of these persons I have always been unwilling
to connect any of the colonial governments, because I never could
believe that they had given their sanction either to the project in its
origin or to the measures which were pursued in the execution of it.
These documents confirm the opinion which I have invariably entertained
and expressed in their favor.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 28, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate relative to the pensioners
of the United States, the sum annually paid to each, and the States or
Territories in which said pensioners are respectively paid, I now
transmit a report from the Secretary of War, which, with documents
marked A and B, contains all the information required.

JAMES MONROE.



APRIL 6, 1818.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

An arrangement having been made and concluded between this Government
and that of Great Britain with respect to the naval armament of
the two Governments, respectively, on the Lakes, I lay before the
Senate a copy of the correspondence upon that subject, including the
stipulations mutually agreed upon by the two parties. I submit it to the
consideration of the Senate whether this is such an arrangement as the
Executive is competent to enter into by the powers vested in it by the
Constitution, or is such an one as requires the advice and consent of
the Senate, and, in the latter case, for their advice and consent should
it be approved.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _April 9, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the Senate requesting me to cause
to be laid before them a list of the names of the several agents of
Indian affairs and of agents of Indian trading houses, with the pay and
emolument of the agents, respectively, I now transmit a report from the
Secretary of War, which contains the information required.

JAMES MONROE.



APRIL 10, 1818.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate respecting the supplies
of the Northwestern army, within certain periods therein specified, by
contractors, commissaries, and agents, and the expense thereby incurred,
I now transmit to them a report from the Secretary of War, which, with
the documents accompanying it, will afford the information required.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _April 15, 1818_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 10th instant, relative to the capture and imprisonment of certain
persons, citizens of the United States, therein specifically mentioned,
I now transmit a report from the Secretary of State, which, with the
documents accompanying it, embraces the objects contemplated by the
said resolution.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _April 20, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate a copy of the rules, regulations, and
instructions for the naval service of the United States, prepared by the
Board of Navy Commissioners in obedience to an act of Congress passed
7th of February, 1815, entitled "An act to alter and amend the several
acts for establishing a Navy Department by adding thereto a Board of
Commissioners."

JAMES MONROE.




PROCLAMATIONS.


BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas by an act of the lieutenant-governor, council, and assembly of
His Britannic Majesty's Province of Nova Scotia, passed in the year
1816, it was, among other things, enacted that from and after the 1st
day of May of that year "no plaster of paris, otherwise called gypsum,
which should be laden or put on board any ship or vessel at any port
or place within the limits of the said Province to be transported from
thence to any other port or place within or without the said limits
should, directly or indirectly, be unladen or landed or put on shore at
any port or place in the United States of America eastward of Boston,
in the State of Massachusetts, nor unladen or put on board any American
ship, vessel, boat, or shallop of any description at any port or place
eastward of Boston aforesaid, under the penalty of the forfeiture of
every such ship or vessel from which any such plaster of paris, or
gypsum, should be unladen contrary to the provision of the said act,
together with her boats, tackle, apparel, and furniture, to be seized
and prosecuted in the manner thereinafter mentioned;" and

Whereas by an act of the Congress of the United States passed on the
3d day of March, 1817, it was enacted that from and after the 4th day
of July then next no plaster of paris the production of any country or
its dependencies from which the vessels of the United States were not
permitted to bring the same article should be imported into the United
States in any foreign vessel, and that all plaster of paris imported or
attempted to be imported into the United States contrary to the true
intent and meaning of the said act of Congress, and the vessel in which
the same might be imported or attempted to be imported, together with
the cargo, tackle, apparel, and furniture, should be forfeited to the
United States and liable to be seized, prosecuted, and condemned in the
manner therein prescribed; and

Whereas by the said act of Congress it was further enacted that the
same should continue and be in force five years from January 31, 1817;
provided, nevertheless, that if any foreign nation or its dependencies
which at the time of the passage of the said act of Congress had in
force regulations on the subject of the trade in plaster of paris
prohibiting the exportation thereof to certain ports of the United
States should discontinue such regulations, the President of the United
States was thereby authorized to declare that fact by his proclamation,
and the restrictions imposed by the said act of Congress should from the
date of such proclamation cease and be discontinued in relation to the
nation or its dependencies discontinuing such regulations; and

Whereas an act of the lieutenant-governor, council, and assembly
of His Britannic Majesty's Province of Nova Scotia, repealing the
above-mentioned act of the said Province, passed in the year 1816, has
been officially communicated by his said Majesty's envoy extraordinary
and minister plenipotentiary to this Government; and

Whereas by the said repealing act of the said Province of Nova Scotia,
one of the dependencies of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the regulations at the time of the passage of the said act of
Congress in force in the said Province on the subject of the trade in
plaster of paris, prohibiting the exportation thereof to certain ports
of the United States, have been and are discontinued:

Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States of
America, do by this my proclamation declare that fact, and that the
restrictions imposed by the said act of Congress do from the date hereof
cease and are discontinued in relation to His Britannic Majesty's said
Province of Nova Scotia.

Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 23d day of
April, A. D. 1818, and in the forty-second year of the Independence of
the United States.

JAMES MONROE.

By the President:
  John Quincy Adams
    _Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.


Whereas an arrangement was entered into at the city of Washington in
the month of April, A.D. 1817, between Richard Rush, esq., at that time
acting as Secretary for the Department of State of the United States,
for and in behalf of the Government of the United States, and the Right
Honorable Charles Bagot, His Britannic Majesty's envoy extraordinary and
minister plenipotentiary, for and in behalf of His Britannic Majesty,
which arrangement is in the words following, to wit:

  The naval force to be maintained upon the American lakes by His
  Majesty and the Government of the United States shall henceforth
  be confined to the following vessels on each side; that is--

  On Lake Ontario, to one vessel not exceeding 100 tons burden and
  armed with one 18-pound cannon.

  On the upper lakes, to two vessels not exceeding like burden each
  and armed with like force.

  On the waters of Lake Champlain, to one vessel not exceeding like
  burden and armed with like force.

  All other armed vessels on these lakes shall be forthwith dismantled,
  and no other vessels of war shall be there built or armed.

  If either party should hereafter be-desirous of annulling this
  stipulation, and should give notice to that effect to the other
  party, it shall cease to be binding after the expiration of six
  months from the date of such notice.

  The naval force so to be limited shall be restricted to such services
  as will in no respect interfere with the proper duties of the armed
  vessels of the other party.


And whereas the Senate of the United States have approved of the said
arrangement and recommended that it should be carried into effect, the
same having also received the sanction of His Royal Highness the Prince
Regent, acting in the name and on the behalf of His Britannic Majesty:

Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States, do
by this my proclamation make known and declare that the arrangement
aforesaid and every stipulation thereof has been duly entered into,
concluded, and confirmed, and is of full force and effect.

Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 28th day of
April, A.D. 1818, and of the Independence of the United States the
forty-second.

JAMES MONROE.

By the President:
  John Quincy Adams,
    _Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.


Whereas it appears by a proclamation of the lieutenant-governor of His
Britannic Majesty's Province of New Brunswick bearing date the 10th day
of April last, and officially communicated by his envoy extraordinary
and minister plenipotentiary residing in the United States to this
Government, that the regulations on the subject of the trade in plaster
of paris, prohibiting the exportation thereof to certain ports of the
United States, which were in force in the said Province at the time of
the enactment of the act of the Congress of the United States entitled
"An act to regulate the trade in plaster of paris," passed on the 3d day
of March, 1817, have been and are discontinued:

Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States, do
hereby declare that fact, and that the restrictions imposed by the said
act of Congress shall from the date hereof cease and be discontinued in
relation to the said Province of New Brunswick.

Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 4th day of July,
A.D. 1818, and in the forty-third year of the Independence of the United
States.

JAMES MONROE.

By the President:
  John Quincy Adams,
    _Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.


Whereas by an act of the Congress of the United States of the 3d of
March, 1815, so much of the several acts imposing duties on the ships
and vessels and on goods, wares, and merchandise imported into the
United States as imposed a discriminating duty of tonnage between
foreign vessels and vessels of the United States and between goods
imported into the United States in foreign vessels and vessels of the
United States were repealed so far as the same respected the produce or
manufacture of the nation to which such foreign ship or vessel might
belong, such repeal to take effect in favor of any foreign nation
whenever the President of the United States should be satisfied that the
discriminating or countervailing duties of such foreign nation so far as
they operate to the disadvantage of the United States have been
abolished; and

Whereas satisfactory proof has been received by me from the
burgo-masters and senators of the free and Hanseatic city of Bremen
that from and after the 12th day of May, 1815, all discriminating or
countervailing duties of the said city so far as they operated to the
disadvantage of the United States have been and are abolished:

Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States of
America, do hereby declare and proclaim that so much of the several
acts imposing duties on the tonnage of ships and vessels and on goods,
wares, and merchandise imported into the United States as imposed a
discriminating duty of tonnage between vessels of the free and Hanseatic
city of Bremen and vessels of the United States and between goods
imported into the United States in vessels of Bremen and vessels of the
United States are repealed so far as the same respect the produce or
manufacture of the said free Hanseatic city of Bremen.

Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 24th day of July,
A.D. 1818, and the forty-third year of the Independence of the United
States.

JAMES MONROE.

By the President:
  JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
    _Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.


Whereas by an act of the Congress of the United States of the 3d of
March, 1815, so much of the several acts imposing duties on the ships
and vessels and on goods, wares, and merchandise imported into the
United States as imposed a discriminating duty of tonnage between
foreign vessels and vessels of the United States and between goods
imported into the United States in foreign vessels and vessels of the
United States were repealed so far as the same respected the produce
or manufacture of the nation to which such foreign ship or vessel might
belong, such repeal to take effect in favor of any foreign nation
whenever the President of the United States should be satisfied that
the discriminating or countervailing duties of such foreign nation so
far as they operate to the disadvantage of the United States have been
abolished; and

Whereas satisfactory proof has been received by me from the
burgo-masters and senators of the free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg
that from and after the 13th day of November, 1815, all discriminating
and countervailing duties of the said city so far as they operated to
the disadvantage of the United States have been and are abolished:

Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States of
America, do hereby declare and proclaim that so much of the several
acts imposing duties on the tonnage of ships and vessels and on goods,
wares, and merchandise imported into the United States as imposed a
discriminating duty of tonnage between vessels of the free and Hanseatic
city of Hamburg and vessels of the United States and between goods
imported into the United States in vessels of Hamburg and vessels of the
United States are repealed so far as the same respect the produce or
manufacture of the said free Hanseatic city of Hamburg.

Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 1st day of August,
A.D. 1818, and the forty-third year of the Independence of the United
States.

JAMES MONROE.

By the President:
  John Quincy Adams,
    _Secretary of State_.




SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE.


NOVEMBER 16, 1818.

_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:

The auspicious circumstances under which you will commence the duties of
the present session will lighten the burdens inseparable from the high
trust committed to you. The fruits of the earth have been unusually
abundant, commerce has flourished, the revenue has exceeded the most
favorable anticipation, and peace and amity are preserved with foreign
nations on conditions just and honorable to our country. For these
inestimable blessings we can not but be grateful to that Providence
which watches over the destiny of nations.

As the term limited for the operation of the commercial convention with
Great Britain will expire early in the month of July next, and it was
deemed important that there should be no interval during which that
portion of our commerce which was provided for by that convention should
not be regulated, either by arrangement between the two Governments or
by the authority of Congress, the minister of the United States at
London was instructed early in the last summer to invite the attention
of the British Government to the subject, with a view to that object.
He was instructed to propose also that the negotiation which it
was wished to open might extend to the general commerce of the two
countries, and to every other interest and unsettled difference between
them, particularly those relating to impressment, the fisheries, and
boundaries, in the hope that an arrangement might be made on principles
of reciprocal advantage which might comprehend and provide in a
satisfactory manner for all these high concerns. I have the satisfaction
to state that the proposal was received by the British Government in
the spirit which prompted it, and that a negotiation has been opened at
London embracing all these objects. On full consideration of the great
extent and magnitude of the trust it was thought proper to commit it to
not less than two of our distinguished citizens, and in consequence the
envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States
at Paris has been associated with our envoy extraordinary and minister
plenipotentiary at London, to both of whom corresponding instructions
have been given, and they are now engaged in the discharge of its
duties. It is proper to add that to prevent any inconvenience resulting
from the delay incident to a negotiation on so many important subjects
it was agreed before entering on it that the existing convention should
be continued for a term not less than eight years.

Our relations with Spain remain nearly in the state in which they were
at the close of the last session. The convention of 1802, providing for
the adjustment of a certain portion of the claims of our citizens for
injuries sustained by spoliation, and so long suspended by the Spanish
Government, has at length been ratified by it, but no arrangement has
yet been made for the payment of another portion of like claims, not
less extensive or well founded, or for other classes of claims, or for
the settlement of boundaries. These subjects have again been brought
under consideration in both countries, but no agreement has been entered
into respecting them. In the meantime events have occurred which clearly
prove the ill effect of the policy which that Government has so long
pursued on the friendly relations of the two countries, which it is
presumed is at least of as much importance to Spain as to the United
States to maintain. A state of things has existed in the Floridas the
tendency of which has been obvious to all who have paid the slightest
attention to the progress of affairs in that quarter. Throughout
the whole of those Provinces to which the Spanish title extends the
Government of Spain has scarcely been felt. Its authority has been
confined almost exclusively to the walls of Pensacola and St. Augustine,
within which only small garrisons have been maintained. Adventurers from
every country, fugitives from justice, and absconding slaves have found
an asylum there. Several tribes of Indians, strong in the number of
their warriors, remarkable for their ferocity, and whose settlements
extend to our limits, inhabit those Provinces. These different hordes of
people, connected together, disregarding on the one side the authority
of Spain, and protected on the other by an imaginary line which
separates Florida from the United States, have violated our laws
prohibiting the introduction of slaves, have practiced various frauds
on our revenue, and committed every kind of outrage on our peaceable
citizens which their proximity to us enabled them to perpetrate. The
invasion of Amelia Island last year by a small band of adventurers, not
exceeding 150 in number, who wrested it from the inconsiderable Spanish
force stationed there, and held it several months, during which a single
feeble effort only was made to recover it, which failed, clearly proves
how completely extinct the Spanish authority had become, as the conduct
of those adventurers while in possession of the island as distinctly
shows the pernicious purposes for which their combination had been
formed.

This country had, in fact, become the theater of every species of
lawless adventure. With little population of its own, the Spanish
authority almost extinct, and the colonial governments in a state of
revolution, having no pretension to it, and sufficiently employed in
their own concerns, it was in a great measure derelict, and the object
of cupidity to every adventurer. A system of buccaneering was rapidly
organizing over it which menaced in its consequences the lawful commerce
of every nation, and particularly of the United States, while it
presented a temptation to every people, on whose seduction its success
principally depended. In regard to the United States, the pernicious
effect of this unlawful combination was not confined to the ocean;
the Indian tribes have constituted the effective force in Florida.
With these tribes these adventurers had formed at an early period a
connection with a view to avail themselves of that force to promote
their own projects of accumulation and aggrandizement. It is to the
interference of some of these adventurers, in misrepresenting the claims
and titles of the Indians to land and in practicing on their savage
propensities, that the Seminole war is principally to be traced. Men who
thus connect themselves with savage communities and stimulate them to
war, which is always attended on their part with acts of barbarity the
most shocking, deserve to be viewed in a worse light than the savages.
They would certainly have no claim to an immunity from the punishment
which, according to the rules of warfare practiced by the savages, might
justly be inflicted on the savages themselves.

If the embarrassments of Spain prevented her from making an indemnity
to our citizens for so long a time from her treasury for their losses
by spoliation and otherwise, it was always in her power to have provided
it by the cession of this territory. Of this her Government has been
repeatedly apprised, and the cession was the more to have been
anticipated as Spain must have known that in ceding it she would in
effect cede what had become of little value to her, and would likewise
relieve herself from the important obligation secured by the treaty of
1795 and all other compromitments respecting it. If the United States,
from consideration of these embarrassments, declined pressing their
claims in a spirit of hostility, the motive ought at least to have been
duly appreciated by the Government of Spain. It is well known to her
Government that other powers have made to the United States an indemnity
for like losses sustained by their citizens at the same epoch.

There is nevertheless a limit beyond which this spirit of amity and
forbearance can in no instance be justified. If it was proper to rely on
amicable negotiation for an indemnity for losses, it would not have been
so to have permitted the inability of Spain to fulfill her engagements
and to sustain her authority in the Floridas to be perverted by foreign
adventurers and savages to purposes so destructive to the lives of our
fellow-citizens and the highest interests of the United States. The
right of self-defense never ceases. It is among the most sacred, and
alike necessary to nations and to individuals, and whether the attack be
made by Spain herself or by those who abuse her power, its obligation is
not the less strong. The invaders of Amelia Island had assumed a popular
and respected title under which they might approach and wound us. As
their object was distinctly seen, and the duty imposed on the Executive
by an existing law was profoundly felt, that mask was not permitted to
protect them. It was thought incumbent on the United States to suppress
the establishment, and it was accordingly done. The combination in
Florida for the unlawful purposes stated, the acts perpetrated by that
combination, and, above all, the incitement of the Indians to massacre
our fellow-citizens of every age and of both sexes, merited a like
treatment and received it. In pursuing these savages to an imaginary
line in the woods it would have been the height of folly to have
suffered that line to protect them. Had that been done the war could
never cease. Even if the territory had been exclusively that of Spain
and her power complete over it, we had a right by the law of nations
to follow the enemy on it and to subdue him there. But the territory
belonged, in a certain sense at least, to the savage enemy who inhabited
it; the power of Spain had ceased to exist over it, and protection
was sought under her title by those who had committed on our citizens
hostilities which she was bound by treaty to have prevented, but had not
the power to prevent. To have stopped at that line would have given new
encouragement to these savages and new vigor to the whole combination
existing there in the prosecution of all its pernicious purposes.

In suppressing the establishment at Amelia Island no unfriendliness was
manifested toward Spain, because the post was taken from a force which
had wrested it from her. The measure, it is true, was not adopted in
concert with the Spanish Government or those in authority under it,
because in transactions connected with the war in which Spain and the
colonies are engaged it was thought proper in doing justice to the
United States to maintain a strict impartiality toward both the
belligerent parties without consulting or acting in concert with either.
It gives me pleasure to state that the Governments of Buenos Ayres and
Venezuela, whose names were assumed, have explicitly disclaimed all
participation in those measures, and even the knowledge of them until
communicated by this Government, and have also expressed their
satisfaction that a course of proceedings had been suppressed which if
justly imputable to them would dishonor their cause.

In authorizing Major-General Jackson to enter Florida in pursuit of the
Seminoles care was taken not to encroach on the rights of Spain. I
regret to have to add that in executing this order facts were disclosed
respecting the conduct of the officers of Spain in authority there in
encouraging the war, furnishing munitions of war and other supplies to
carry it on, and in other acts not less marked which evinced their
participation in the hostile purposes of that combination and justified
the confidence with which it inspired the savages that by those officers
they would be protected. A conduct so incompatible with the friendly
relations existing between the two countries, particularly with the
positive obligation of the fifth article of the treaty of 1795, by which
Spain was bound to restrain, even by force, those savages from acts of
hostility against the United States, could not fail to excite surprise.
The commanding general was convinced that he should fail in his object,
that he should in effect accomplish nothing, if he did not deprive
those savages of the resource on which they had calculated and of the
protection on which they had relied in making the war. As all the
documents relating to this occurrence will be laid before Congress,
it is not necessary to enter into further detail respecting it.

Although the reasons which induced Major-General Jackson to take these
posts were duly appreciated, there was nevertheless no hesitation in
deciding on the course which it became the Government to pursue. As
there was reason to believe that the commanders of these posts had
violated their instructions, there was no disposition to impute to
their Government a conduct so unprovoked and hostile. An order was
in consequence issued to the general in command there to deliver the
posts--Pensacola unconditionally to any person duly authorized to
receive it, and St. Marks, which is in the heart of the Indian country,
on the arrival of a competent force to defend it against those savages
and their associates.

In entering Florida to suppress this combination no idea was entertained
of hostility to Spain, and however justifiable the commanding general
was, in consequence of the misconduct of the Spanish officers, in
entering St. Marks and Pensacola to terminate it by proving to the
savages and their associates that they should not be protected even
there, yet the amicable relations existing between the United States
and Spain could not be altered by that act alone. By ordering the
restitution of the posts those relations were preserved. To a change
of them the power of the Executive is deemed incompetent; it is vested
in Congress only.

By this measure, so promptly taken, due respect was shown to the
Government of Spain. The misconduct of her officers has not been imputed
to her. She was enabled to review with candor her relations with the
United States and her own situation, particularly in respect to the
territory in question, with the dangers inseparable from it, and
regarding the losses we have sustained for which indemnity has been so
long withheld, and the injuries we have suffered through that territory,
and her means of redress, she was likewise enabled to take with honor
the course best calculated to do justice to the United States and to
promote her own welfare.

Copies of the instructions to the commanding general, of his
correspondence with the Secretary of War, explaining his motives
and justifying his conduct, with a copy of the proceedings of the
courts-martial in the trial of Arbuthnot and Ambristie, and of the
correspondence between the Secretary of State and the minister
plenipotentiary of Spain near this Government, and of the minister
plenipotentiary of the United States at Madrid with the Government
of Spain, will be laid before Congress.

The civil war which has so long prevailed between Spain and the
Provinces in South America still continues, without any prospect of
its speedy termination. The information respecting the condition of
those countries which has been collected by the commissioners recently
returned from thence will be laid before Congress in copies of their
reports, with such other information as has been received from other
agents of the United States.

It appears from these communications that the Government at Buenos Ayres
declared itself independent in July, 1816, having previously exercised
the power of an independent government, though in the name of the King
of Spain, from the year 1810; that the Banda Oriental, Entre Rios, and
Paraguay, with the city of Santa Fee, all of which are also independent,
are unconnected with the present Government of Buenos Ayres; that Chili
has declared itself independent and is closely connected with Buenos
Ayres; that Venezuela has also declared itself independent, and now
maintains the conflict with various success; and that the remaining
parts of South America, except Monte Video and such other portions of
the eastern bank of the La Plata as are held by Portugal, are still in
the possession of Spain or in a certain degree under her influence.

By a circular note addressed by the ministers of Spain to the allied
powers, with whom they are respectively accredited, it appears that the
allies have undertaken to mediate between Spain and the South American
Provinces, and that the manner and extent of their interposition would
be settled by a congress which was to have met at Aix-la-Chapelle
in September last. From the general policy and course of proceeding
observed by the allied powers in regard to this contest it is inferred
that they will confine their interposition to the expression of their
sentiments, abstaining from the application of force. I state this
impression that force will not be applied with the greater satisfaction
because it is a course more consistent with justice and likewise
authorizes a hope that the calamities of the war will be confined
to the parties only, and will be of shorter duration.

From the view taken of this subject, founded on all the information that
we have been able to obtain, there is good cause to be satisfied with
the course heretofore pursued by the United States in regard to this
contest, and to conclude that it is proper to adhere to it, especially
in the present state of affairs.

I have great satisfaction in stating that our relations with France,
Russia, and other powers continue on the most friendly basis.

In our domestic concerns we have ample cause of satisfaction. The
receipts into the Treasury during the three first quarters of the year
have exceeded $17,000,000.

After satisfying all the demands which have been made under existing
appropriations, including the final extinction of the old 6 per cent
stock and the redemption of a moiety of the Louisiana debt, it is
estimated that there will remain in the Treasury on the 1st day of
January next more than $2,000,000.

It is ascertained that the gross revenue which has accrued from the
customs during the same period amounts to $21,000,000, and that the
revenue of the whole year may be estimated at not less than $26,000,000.
The sale of the public lands during the year has also greatly exceeded,
both in quantity and price, that of any former year, and there is just
reason to expect a progressive improvement in that source of revenue.

It is gratifying to know that although the annual expenditure has been
increased by the act of the last session of Congress providing for
Revolutionary pensions to an amount about equal to the proceeds of the
internal duties which were then repealed, the revenue for the ensuing
year will be proportionally augmented, and that whilst the public
expenditure will probably remain stationary, each successive year will
add to the national resources by the ordinary increase of our population
and by the gradual development of our latent sources of national
prosperity.

The strict execution of the revenue laws, resulting principally from
the salutary provisions of the act of the 20th of April last amending
the several collection laws, has, it is presumed, secured to domestic
manufactures all the relief that can be derived from the duties which
have been imposed upon foreign merchandise for their protection. Under
the influence of this relief several branches of this important national
interest have assumed greater activity, and although it is hoped that
others will gradually revive and ultimately triumph over every obstacle,
yet the expediency of granting further protection is submitted to your
consideration.

The measures of defense authorized by existing laws have been pursued
with the zeal and activity due to so important an object, and with all
the dispatch practicable in so extensive and great an undertaking. The
survey of our maritime and inland frontiers has been continued, and at
the points where it was decided to erect fortifications the work has
been commenced, and in some instances considerable progress has been
made. In compliance with resolutions of the last session, the Board of
Commissioners were directed to examine in a particular manner the parts
of the coast therein designated and to report their opinion of the
most suitable sites for two naval depots. This work is in a train of
execution. The opinion of the Board on this subject, with a plan of all
the works necessary to a general system of defense so far as it has been
formed, will be laid before Congress in a report from the proper
department as soon as it can be prepared.

In conformity with the appropriations of the last session, treaties have
been formed with the Quapaw tribe of Indians, inhabiting the country on
the Arkansaw, and with the Great and Little Osages north of the White
River; with the tribes in the State of Indiana; with the several tribes
within the State of Ohio and the Michigan Territory, and with the
Chickasaws, by which very extensive cessions of territory have been made
to the United States. Negotiations are now depending with the tribes in
the Illinois Territory and with the Choctaws, by which it is expected
that other extensive cessions will be made. I take great interest
in stating that the cessions already made, which are considered so
important to the United States, have been obtained on conditions very
satisfactory to the Indians.

With a view to the security of our inland frontiers, it has been thought
expedient to establish strong posts at the mouth of Yellow Stone River
and at the Mandan village on the Missouri, and at the mouth of St.
Peters on the Mississippi, at no great distance from our northern
boundaries. It can hardly be presumed while such posts are maintained
in the rear of the Indian tribes that they will venture to attack our
peaceable inhabitants. A strong hope is entertained that this measure
will likewise be productive of much good to the tribes themselves,
especially in promoting the great object of their civilization.
Experience has clearly demonstrated that independent savage communities
can not long exist within the limits of a civilized population.
The progress of the latter has almost invariably terminated in the
extinction of the former, especially of the tribes belonging to our
portion of this hemisphere, among whom loftiness of sentiment and
gallantry in action have been conspicuous. To civilize them, and even
to prevent their extinction, it seems to be indispensable that their
independence as communities should cease, and that the control of the
United States over them should be complete and undisputed. The hunter
state will then be more easily abandoned, and recourse will be had to
the acquisition and culture of land and to other pursuits tending to
dissolve the ties which connect them together as a savage community and
to give a new character to every individual. I present this subject to
the consideration of Congress on the presumption that it may be found
expedient and practicable to adopt some benevolent provisions, having
these objects in view, relative to the tribes within our settlements.

It has been necessary during the present year to maintain a strong naval
force in the Mediterranean and in the Gulf of Mexico, and to send some
public ships along the southern coast and to the Pacific Ocean. By
these means amicable relations with the Barbary Powers have been
preserved, our commerce has been protected, and our rights respected.
The augmentation of our Navy is advancing with a steady progress toward
the limit contemplated by law.

I communicate with great satisfaction the accession of another State
(Illinois) to our Union, because I perceive from the proof afforded by
the additions already made the regular progress and sure consummation of
a policy of which history affords no example, and of which the good
effect can not be too highly estimated. By extending our Government on
the principles of our Constitution over the vast territory within our
limits, on the Lakes and the Mississippi and its numerous streams, new
life and vigor are infused into every part of our system. By increasing
the number of the States the confidence of the State governments in
their own security is increased and their jealousy of the National
Government proportionally diminished. The impracticability of one
consolidated government for this great and growing nation will be more
apparent and will be universally admitted. Incapable of exercising local
authority except for general purposes, the General Government will
no longer be dreaded. In those cases of a local nature and for all
the great purposes for which it was instituted its authority will be
cherished. Each government will acquire new force and a greater freedom
of action within its proper sphere. Other inestimable advantages will
follow. Our produce will be augmented to an incalculable amount in
articles of the greatest value for domestic use and foreign commerce.
Our navigation will in like degree be increased, and as the shipping of
the Atlantic States will be employed in the transportation of the vast
produce of the Western country, even those parts of the United States
which are most remote from each other will be further bound together by
the strongest ties which mutual interest can create.

The situation of this District, it is thought, requires the attention of
Congress. By the Constitution the power of legislation is exclusively
vested in the Congress of the United States. In the exercise of this
power, in which the people have no participation, Congress legislate in
all cases directly on the local concerns of the District. As this is a
departure, for a special purpose, from the general principles of our
system, it may merit consideration whether an arrangement better adapted
to the principles of our Government and to the particular interests
of the people may not be devised which will neither infringe the
Constitution nor affect the object which the provision in question
was intended to secure. The growing population, already considerable,
and the increasing business of the District, which it is believed
already interferes with the deliberations of Congress on great national
concerns, furnish additional motives for recommending this subject to
your consideration.

When we view the great blessings with which our country has been
favored, those which we now enjoy, and the means which we possess of
handing them down unimpaired to our latest posterity, our attention is
irresistibly drawn to the source from whence they flow. Let us, then,
unite in offering our most grateful acknowledgments for these blessings
to the Divine Author of All Good.

JAMES MONROE.




SPECIAL MESSAGES.


NOVEMBER 30, 1818.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I lay before the Senate, for their advice and consent, the several
treaties which have recently been made with the Chickasaws, the Quapaws,
the Wyandot, Seneca, Delaware, Shawnese, Potawatamies, Ottawas, and
Chippewas, the Peoria, Kaskaskias, Mitchigamia, Cahokia, and Tamarois,
the Great and Little Osages, the Weas, Potawatamies, Delaware and Miami,
the Wyandot, and the four Pawnees tribes of Indians.

By reference to the journal of the commissioners it appears that George
and Levi Colbert have bargained and sold to the United States the
reservations made to them by the treaty of September, 1816, and that
a deed of trust of the same has been made by them to James Jackson,
of Nashville. I would therefore suggest, in case the Chickasaw treaty
be approved by the Senate, the propriety of providing by law for
the payment of the sum stipulated to be given to them for their
reservations.

JAMES MONROE.



DECEMBER 2, 1818.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate copies of such of the documents referred to in
the message of the 17th of last month as have been prepared since that
period. They contain a copy of the reports of Mr. Rodney and Mr. Graham,
two of the commissioners to South America, who returned first from the
mission, and of the papers connected with those reports. They also
present a full view of the operations of our troops employed in the
Seminole war in Florida.

It would have been gratifying to me to have communicated with the
message all the documents referred to in it, but as two of our
commissioners from South America made their reports a few days only
before the meeting of Congress and the third on the day of its meeting,
it was impossible to transmit at that time more than one copy of the
two reports first made.

The residue of the documents will be communicated as soon as they are
prepared.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _December 2, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of 25th of last month,
requesting to be furnished with such information as may be possessed by
the Executive touching the execution of so much of the first article of
the late treaty of peace and amity between His Britannic Majesty and the
United States as relates to the restitution of slaves, and which has not
heretofore been communicated, I lay before the Senate a report made by
the Secretary of State on the 1st instant in relation to that subject.

JAMES MONROE.



DECEMBER 2, 1818.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives copies of such documents
referred to in the message of the 17th ultimo as have been prepared
since that period. They present a full view of the operations of our
troops employed in the Seminole war who entered Florida.

The residue of the documents, which are very voluminous, will be
transmitted as soon as they can be prepared.

JAMES MONROE.



DECEMBER 12, 1818.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
10th instant, I transmit a report of the Secretary of War, with copies
of the correspondence between the governor of Georgia and Major-General
Andrew Jackson on the subject of the arrest of Captain Obed Wright.

JAMES MONROE.



DECEMBER 29, 1818.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I lay before the Senate, for their consideration, a convention, signed
at London on the 20th of October last, between the United States and
Great Britain, together with the documents showing the course and
progress of the negotiation. I have to request that these documents,
which are original, may be returned when the Senate shall have acted on
the convention.

JAMES MONROE.



DECEMBER 31, 1818.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives
of the 24th instant, requesting me to lay before it "copies of the
correspondence, if any, between the Department of War and the governor
of Georgia, in answer to the letter of the latter to the former dated
on the 1st of June of the present year, communicated to the House on
the 12th instant; and also the correspondence, if any, between the
Department of War and General Andrew Jackson, in answer to the letter of
the latter of the date 7th May, 1818, also communicated to the House on
the 12th instant," I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, with a
copy of an extract of a letter from Major Van De Venter, chief clerk in
the Department of War, in reply to General Jackson's letter of the 7th
of May, 1818.

JAMES MONROE.



DECEMBER 31, 1818.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
7th instant, requesting me to lay before it "the proceedings which have
been had under the act entitled 'An act for the gradual increase of the
Navy of the United States,' specifying the number of ships which have
been put on the stocks, and of what class, and the quantity and kind of
materials which have been procured in compliance with the provisions of
said act; and also the sums of money which have been paid out of the
fund created by the said act, and for what objects; and likewise the
contracts which have been entered into in execution of said act on which
moneys may not yet have been advanced," I transmit a report from the
Acting Secretary of the Navy, together with a communication from the
Board of Navy Commissioners, which, with the documents accompanying it,
comprehends all the information required by the House of
Representatives.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 4, 1819_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to Congress a proclamation, dated the 22d of last
month, of the convention made and concluded at Madrid between the
plenipotentiaries of the United States and His Catholic Majesty on the
11th of August, 1802, the ratifications of which were not exchanged
until the 21st ultimo, together with the translation of a letter from
the minister of Spain to the Secretary of State.

JAMES MONROE.



JANUARY 4, 1819.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate, in pursuance of their resolution of the
30th of last month, requesting to be furnished with the instructions,
including that of the 28th of July, 1818, to the plenipotentiaries of
the United States who negotiated the convention with His Britannic
Majesty signed on the 20th day of October in the same year, copies
of all these instructions, including that particularly referred to.

JAMES MONROE.



JANUARY 11, 1819.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 5th instant,
requesting me "to cause to be laid before it a statement of the
effective force composing the military establishment of the United
States; also a statement of the different posts and garrisons at and
within which troops are stationed, and the actual number of officers,
noncommissioned officers, and privates at each post and garrison,
respectively; also to designate in such statement the number of
artillerists and the number and caliber of ordnance at each of the said
posts and garrisons," I transmit a report from the Secretary of War,
which, with the documents accompanying it, contains all the information
required.

JAMES MONROE.



JANUARY 29, 1819.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives, in compliance with their
resolution of the 4th of this month, a report from the Secretary of
State concerning the applications which have been made by any of
the independent Governments of South America to have a minister or
consul-general accredited by the Government of the United States, with
the answers of this Government to the applications addressed to it.

JAMES MONROE.



JANUARY 30, 1819.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 18th instant, requesting me to cause any information not already
communicated to be laid before the House whether Amelia Island, St.
Marks, and Pensacola yet remain in the possession of the United States,
and, if so, by what laws the inhabitants are governed; whether articles
imported therein from foreign countries are subject to any, and what,
duties, and by what laws, and whether the said duties are collected and
how; whether vessels arriving in the United States from Pensacola and
Amelia Island, and in Pensacola and Amelia Island from the United
States, respectively, are considered and treated as vessels arriving
from foreign countries, I transmit a report from the Secretary of the
Treasury, and likewise one from the Secretary of War, which will afford
all the information requested by the House of Representatives.

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 2, 1819.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I nominate John Overton, Newton Cannon, and Robert Weakly, of Tennessee,
as commissioners to negotiate with the Chickasaw tribe of Indians for
the cession of a tract of land 4 miles square, including a salt spring,
reserved to the said tribe by the fourth article of a treaty concluded
with the said Indians on the 19th day of October, 1818.

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 2, 1819.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 13th of last month,
requesting me "to cause to be laid before it a statement showing the
measures that have been taken to collect the balances stated to be due
from the several supervisors and collectors of the old direct tax of two
millions; also a similar statement of the balances due from the officers
of the old internal revenue, and to designate in such statement the
persons who have been interested in the collection of the said debts and
the sums by them respectively collected, and the time when the same were
collected," I transmit a report of the Secretary of the Treasury, which,
with the documents accompanying it, contains all the information
required.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 3, 1819_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I communicate to Congress copies of applications received from the
minister of Great Britain in behalf of certain British subjects who have
suffered in their property by proceedings to which the United States by
their military and judicial officers have been parties. These injuries
have been sustained under circumstances which appear to recommend
strongly to the attention of Congress the claim to indemnity for the
losses occasioned by them, which the legislative authority is alone
competent to provide.

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 5, 1819.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 25th of last month,
requesting me "to cause to be laid before it a copy of the rules and
regulations adopted for the government of the Military Academy at West
Point; also how many cadets have been admitted into the Academy, the
time of the residence of each cadet at that institution, and how many
of them have been appointed officers in the Army and Navy of the United
States," I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, which, with the
accompanying documents, will afford all the information required by the
said resolution.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 6, 1819_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to Congress a copy of a letter from Governor Bibb to
Major-General Jackson, connected with the late military operations
in Florida. This letter has been mislaid, or it would have been
communicated with the other documents at the commencement of the
session.

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 6, 1819.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to Congress, for their consideration, applications which have
been received from the minister resident of Prussia and from the senates
of the free and Hanseatic cities of Hamburg and Bremen, the object of
which is that the advantages secured by the act of Congress of 20th of
April last to the vessels and merchandise of the Netherlands should
be extended to those of Prussia, Hamburg, and Bremen. It will appear
from these documents that the vessels of the United States and the
merchandise laden in them are in the ports of those Governments,
respectively, entitled to the same advantages in respect to imposts and
duties as those of the native subjects of the countries themselves.

The principle of reciprocity appears to entitle them to the return of
the same favor on the part of the United States, and I recommend it to
Congress that provision to that effect may be made.

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 22, 1819.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate a treaty of amity, settlement, and limits
between the United States of America and His Catholic Majesty,
concluded and signed this day, for the decision of the Senate as to
its ratification. Copies of the correspondence between the Secretary
of State and the minister from Spain connected with this subject since
the renewal of the negotiation are likewise inclosed.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 26, 1819_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

The treaty of amity, settlement, and limits between the United States
and His Catholic Majesty having been on the part of the United States
ratified, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, copies of
it are now transmitted to Congress. As the ratification on the part
of Spain may be expected to take place during the recess of Congress,
I recommend to their consideration the adoption of such legislative
measures contingent upon the event of the exchange of the ratifications
as may be necessary or expedient for carrying the treaty into effect
in the interval between the sessions, and until Congress at their next
session may see fit to make further provision on the subject.

JAMES MONROE.



MARCH 2, 1819.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

A convention having been concluded between John C. Calhoun, Secretary of
War, especially authorized therefor by me, and the chiefs and headmen of
the Cherokee Nation of Indians, likewise duly authorized and empowered
by said nation, I now lay the original instrument before the Senate for
the exercise of its constitutional power respecting the ratification
thereof.

JAMES MONROE.




THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE.


WASHINGTON, _December 7, 1819_.

_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:

The public buildings being advanced to a stage to afford accommodation
for Congress, I offer you my sincere congratulations on the
recommencement of your duties in the Capitol.

In bringing to view the incidents most deserving attention which have
occurred since your last session, I regret to have to state that several
of our principal cities have suffered by sickness, that an unusual
drought has prevailed in the Middle and Western States, and that a
derangement has been felt in some of our moneyed institutions which has
proportionably affected their credit. I am happy, however, to have it in
my power to assure you that the health of our cities is now completely
restored; that the produce of the year, though less abundant than usual,
will not only be amply sufficient for home consumption, but afford a
large surplus for the supply of the wants of other nations, and that the
derangement in the circulating paper medium, by being left to those
remedies which its obvious causes suggested and the good sense and
virtue of our fellow-citizens supplied, has diminished.

Having informed Congress, on the 27th of February last, that a treaty of
amity, settlement, and limits had been concluded in this city between
the United States and Spain, and ratified by the competent authorities
of the former, full confidence was entertained that it would have been
ratified by His Catholic Majesty with equal promptitude and a like
earnest desire to terminate on the conditions of that treaty the
differences which had so long existed between the two countries. Every
view which the subject admitted of was thought to have justified this
conclusion. Great losses had been sustained by citizens of the United
States from Spanish cruisers more than twenty years before, which had
not been redressed. These losses had been acknowledged and provided for
by a treaty as far back as the year 1802, which, although concluded at
Madrid, was not then ratified by the Government of Spain, nor since,
until the last year, when it was suspended by the late treaty, a more
satisfactory provision to both parties, as was presumed, having been
made for them. Other differences had arisen in this long interval,
affecting their highest interests, which were likewise provided for by
this last treaty. The treaty itself was formed on great consideration
and a thorough knowledge of all circumstances, the subject-matter of
every article having been for years under discussion and repeated
references having been made by the minister of Spain to his Government
on the points respecting which the greatest difference of opinion
prevailed. It was formed by a minister duly authorized for the purpose,
who had represented his Government in the United States and been
employed in this long-protracted negotiation several years, and who, it
is not denied, kept strictly within the letter of his instructions. The
faith of Spain was therefore pledged, under circumstances of peculiar
force and solemnity, for its ratification. On the part of the United
States this treaty was evidently acceded to in a spirit of conciliation
and concession. The indemnity for injuries and losses so long before
sustained, and now again acknowledged and provided for, was to be
paid by them without becoming a charge on the treasury of Spain. For
territory ceded by Spain other territory of great value, to which our
claim was believed to be well founded, was ceded by the United States,
and in a quarter more interesting to her. This cession was nevertheless
received as the means of indemnifying our citizens in a considerable
sum, the presumed amount of their losses. Other considerations of great
weight urged the cession of this territory by Spain. It was surrounded
by the Territories of the United States on every side except on that of
the ocean. Spain had lost her authority over it, and, falling into the
hands of adventurers connected with the savages, it was made the means
of unceasing annoyance and injury to our Union in many of its most
essential interests. By this cession, then, Spain ceded a territory
in reality of no value to her and obtained concessions of the highest
importance by the settlement of long-standing differences with the
United States affecting their respective claims and limits, and likewise
relieved herself from the obligation of a treaty relating to it which
she had failed to fulfill, and also from the responsibility incident to
the most flagrant and pernicious abuses of her rights where she could
not support her authority.

It being known that the treaty was formed under these circumstances, not
a doubt was entertained that His Catholic Majesty would have ratified
it without delay. I regret to have to state that this reasonable
expectation has been disappointed; that the treaty was not ratified
within the time stipulated and has not since been ratified. As it is
important that the nature and character of this unexpected occurrence
should be distinctly understood, I think it my duty to communicate to
you all the facts and circumstances in my possession relating to it.

Anxious to prevent all future disagreement with Spain by giving the
most prompt effect to the treaty which had been thus concluded, and
particularly by the establishment of a government in Florida which
should preserve order there, the minister of the United States who
had been recently appointed to His Catholic Majesty, and to whom the
ratification by his Government had been committed to be exchanged for
that of Spain, was instructed to transmit the latter to the Department
of State as soon as obtained, by a public ship subjected to his order
for the purpose. Unexpected delay occurring in the ratification by
Spain, he requested to be informed of the cause. It was stated in
reply that the great importance of the subject, and a desire to obtain
explanations on certain points which were not specified, had produced
the delay, and that an envoy would be dispatched to the United States to
obtain such explanations of this Government. The minister of the United
States offered to give full explanation on any point on which it might
be desired, which proposal was declined. Having communicated this
result to the Department of State in August last, he was instructed,
notwithstanding the disappointment and surprise which it produced, to
inform the Government of Spain that if the treaty should be ratified and
transmitted here at any time before the meeting of Congress it would
be received and have the same effect as if it had been ratified in due
time. This order was executed, the authorized communication was made
to the Government of Spain, and by its answer, which has just been
received, we are officially made acquainted for the first time with
the causes which have prevented the ratification of the treaty by His
Catholic Majesty. It is alleged by the minister of Spain that this
Government had attempted to alter one of the principal articles of the
treaty by a declaration which the minister of the United States had
been ordered to present when he should deliver the ratification by his
Government in exchange for that of Spain, and of which he gave notice,
explanatory of the sense in which that article was understood. It is
further alleged that this Government had recently tolerated or protected
an expedition from the United States against the Province of Texas,
These two imputed acts are stated as the reasons which have induced His
Catholic Majesty to withhold his ratification from the treaty, to obtain
explanations respecting which it is repeated that an envoy would be
forthwith dispatched to the United States. How far these allegations
will justify the conduct of the Government of Spain will appear on
a view of the following facts and the evidence which supports them:

It will be seen by the documents transmitted herewith that the
declaration mentioned relates to a clause in the eighth article
concerning certain grants of land recently made by His Catholic Majesty
in Florida, which it was understood had conveyed all the lands which
till then had been ungranted; it was the intention of the parties to
annul these latter grants, and that clause was drawn for that express
purpose and for none other. The date of these grants was unknown, but it
was understood to be posterior to that inserted in the article; indeed,
it must be obvious to all that if that provision in the treaty had not
the effect of annulling these grants, it would be altogether nugatory.
Immediately after the treaty was concluded and ratified by this
Government an intimation was received that these grants were of anterior
date to that fixed on by the treaty and that they would not, of course,
be affected by it. The mere possibility of such a case, so inconsistent
with the intention of the parties and the meaning of the article,
induced this Government to demand an explanation on the subject, which
was immediately granted, and which corresponds with this statement. With
respect to the other act alleged, that this Government had tolerated or
protected an expedition against Texas, it is utterly without foundation.
Every discountenance has invariably been given to any such attempt from
within the limits of the United States, as is fully evinced by the acts
of the Government and the proceedings of the courts. There being cause,
however, to apprehend, in the course of the last summer, that some
adventurers entertained views of the kind suggested, the attention of
the constituted authorities in that quarter was immediately drawn to
them, and it is known that the project, whatever it might be, has
utterly failed.

These facts will, it is presumed, satisfy every impartial mind that the
Government of Spain had no justifiable cause for declining to ratify
the treaty. A treaty concluded in conformity with instructions is
obligatory, in good faith, in all its stipulations, according to the
true intent and meaning of the parties. Each party is bound to ratify
it. If either could set it aside without the consent of the other, there
would be no longer any rules applicable to such transactions between
nations. By this proceeding the Government of Spain has rendered to the
United States a new and very serious injury. It has been stated that a
minister would be sent to ask certain explanations of this Government;
but if such were desired, why were they not asked within the time
limited for the ratification? Is it contemplated to open a new
negotiation respecting any of the articles or conditions of the treaty?
If that were done, to what consequences might it not lead? At what time
and in what manner would a new negotiation terminate? By this proceeding
Spain has formed a relation between the two countries which will justify
any measures on the part of the United States which a strong sense of
injury and a proper regard for the rights and interests of the nation
may dictate.

In the course to be pursued these objects should be constantly held in
view and have their due weight. Our national honor must be maintained,
and a new and a distinguished proof be afforded of that regard for
justice and moderation which has invariably governed the councils of
this free people. It must be obvious to all that if the United States
had been desirous of making conquests, or had been even willing to
aggrandize themselves in that way, they could have had no inducement
to form this treaty. They would have much cause for gratulation at the
course which has been pursued by Spain. An ample field for ambition
is open before them, but such a career is not consistent with the
principles of their Government nor the interests of the nation.

From a full view of all circumstances, it is submitted to the
consideration of Congress whether it will not be proper for the United
States to carry the conditions of the treaty into effect in the same
manner as if it had been ratified by Spain, claiming on their part all
its advantages and yielding to Spain those secured to her. By pursuing
this course we shall rest on the sacred ground of right, sanctioned in
the most solemn manner by Spain herself by a treaty which she was bound
to ratify, for refusing to do which she must incur the censure of other
nations, even those most friendly to her, while by confining ourselves
within that limit we can not fail to obtain their well-merited
approbation. We must have peace on a frontier where we have been so long
disturbed; our citizens must be indemnified for losses so long since
sustained, and for which indemnity has been so unjustly withheld from
them. Accomplishing these great objects, we obtain all that is
desirable.

But His Catholic Majesty has twice declared his determination to send a
minister to the United States to ask explanations on certain points and
to give them respecting his delay to ratify the treaty. Shall we act by
taking the ceded territory and proceeding to execute the other
conditions of the treaty before this minister arrives and is heard? This
is a case which forms a strong appeal to the candor, the magnanimity,
and the honor of this people. Much is due to courtesy between nations.
By a short delay we shall lose nothing, for, resting on the ground of
immutable truth and justice, we can not be diverted from our purpose.
It ought to be presumed that the explanations which may be given to the
minister of Spain will be satisfactory, and produce the desired result.
In any event, the delay for the purpose mentioned, being a further
manifestation of the sincere desire to terminate in the most friendly
manner all differences with Spain, can not fail to be duly appreciated
by His Catholic Majesty as well as by other powers. It is submitted,
therefore, whether it will not be proper to make the law proposed for
carrying the conditions of the treaty into effect, should it be adopted,
contingent; to suspend its operation, upon the responsibility of the
Executive, in such manner as to afford an opportunity for such friendly
explanations as may be desired during the present session of Congress.

I communicate to Congress a copy of the treaty and of the instructions
to the minister of the United States at Madrid respecting it; of his
correspondence with the minister of Spain, and of such other documents
as may be necessary to give a full view of the subject.

In the course which the Spanish Government have on this occasion thought
proper to pursue it is satisfactory to know that they have not been
countenanced by any other European power. On the contrary, the opinion
and wishes both of France and Great Britain have not been withheld
either from the United States or from Spain, and have been unequivocal
in favor of the ratification. There is also reason to believe that the
sentiments of the Imperial Government of Russia have been the same, and
that they have also been made known to the cabinet of Madrid.

In the civil war existing between Spain and the Spanish Provinces in
this hemisphere the greatest care has been taken to enforce the laws
intended to preserve an impartial neutrality. Our ports have continued
to be equally open to both parties and on the same conditions, and our
citizens have been equally restrained from interfering in favor of
either to the prejudice of the other. The progress of the war, however,
has operated manifestly in favor of the colonies. Buenos Ayres still
maintains unshaken the independence which it declared in 1816, and has
enjoyed since 1810. Like success has also lately attended Chili and the
Provinces north of the La Plata bordering on it, and likewise Venezuela.

This contest has from its commencement been very interesting to other
powers, and to none more so than to the United States. A virtuous people
may and will confine themselves within the limit of a strict neutrality;
but it is not in their power to behold a conflict so vitally important
to their neighbors without the sensibility and sympathy which naturally
belong to such a case. It has been the steady purpose of this Government
to prevent that feeling leading to excess, and it is very gratifying
to have it in my power to state that so strong has been the sense
throughout the whole community of what was due to the character and
obligations of the nation that very few examples of a contrary kind
have occurred.

The distance of the colonies from the parent country and the great
extent of their population and resources gave them advantages which it
was anticipated at a very early period would be difficult for Spain to
surmount. The steadiness, consistency, and success with which they have
pursued their object, as evinced more particularly by the undisturbed
sovereignty which Buenos Ayres has so long enjoyed, evidently give them
a strong claim to the favorable consideration of other nations. These
sentiments on the part of the United States have not been withheld
from other powers, with whom it is desirable to act in concert. Should
it become manifest to the world that the efforts of Spain to subdue
these Provinces will be fruitless, it may be presumed that the Spanish
Government itself will give up the contest. In producing such a
determination it can not be doubted that the opinion of friendly powers
who have taken no part in the controversy will have their merited
influence.

It is of the highest importance to our national character and
indispensable to the morality of our citizens that all violations of
our neutrality should be prevented. No door should be left open for the
evasion of our laws, no opportunity afforded to any who may be disposed
to take advantage of it to compromit the interest or the honor of the
nation. It is submitted, therefore, to the consideration of Congress
whether it may not be advisable to revise the laws with a view to this
desirable result.

It is submitted also whether it may not be proper to designate by law
the several ports or places along the coast at which only foreign ships
of war and privateers may be admitted. The difficulty of sustaining the
regulations of our commerce and of other important interests from abuse
without such designation furnishes a strong motive for this measure.

At the time of the negotiation for the renewal of the commercial
convention between the United States and Great Britain a hope had been
entertained that an article might have been agreed upon mutually
satisfactory to both countries, regulating upon principles of justice
and reciprocity the commercial intercourse between the United States and
the British possessions as well in the West Indies as upon the continent
of North America. The plenipotentiaries of the two Governments not
having been able to come to an agreement on this important interest,
those of the United States reserved for the consideration of this
Government the proposals which had been presented to them as the
ultimate offer on the part of the British Government, and which they
were not authorized to accept. On their transmission here they were
examined with due deliberation, the result of which was a new effort to
meet the views of the British Government. The minister of the United
States was instructed to make a further proposal, which has not been
accepted. It was, however, declined in an amicable manner. I recommend
to the consideration of Congress whether further prohibitory provisions
in the laws relating to this intercourse may not be expedient. It is
seen with interest that although it has not been practicable as yet
to agree in any arrangement of this important branch of their commerce,
such is the disposition of the parties that each will view any
regulations which the other may make respecting it in the most friendly
light.

By the fifth article of the convention concluded on the 20th of October,
1818, it was stipulated that the differences which have arisen between
the two Governments with regard to the true intent and meaning of the
fifth article of the treaty of Ghent, in relation to the carrying away
by British officers of slaves from the United States after the exchange
of the ratifications of the treaty of peace, should be referred to
the decision of some friendly sovereign or state to be named for that
purpose. The minister of the United States has been instructed to name
to the British Government a foreign sovereign, the common friend to
both parties, for the decision of this question. The answer of that
Government to the proposal when received will indicate the further
measures to be pursued on the part of the United States.

Although the pecuniary embarrassments which affected various parts of
the Union during the latter part of the preceding year have during the
present been considerably augmented, and still continue to exist, the
receipts into the Treasury to the 30th of September last have amounted
to $19,000,000. After defraying the current expenses of the Government,
including the interest and reimbursement of the public debt payable to
that period, amounting to $18,200,000, there remained in the Treasury on
that day more than $2,500,000, which, with the sums receivable during
the remainder of the year, will exceed the current demands upon the
Treasury for the same period.

The causes which have tended to diminish the public receipts could not
fail to have a corresponding effect upon the revenue which has accrued
upon imposts and tonnage during the three first quarters of the present
year. It is, however, ascertained that the duties which have been secured
during that period exceed $18,000,000, and those of the whole year will
probably amount to $23,000,000.

For the probable receipts of the next year I refer you to the statements
which will be transmitted from the Treasury, which will enable you to
judge whether further provision be necessary.

The great reduction in the price of the principal articles of domestic
growth which has occurred during the present year, and the consequent
fall in the price of labor, apparently so favorable to the success of
domestic manufactures, have not shielded them against other causes
adverse to their prosperity. The pecuniary embarrassments which have so
deeply affected the commercial interests of the nation have been no less
adverse to our manufacturing establishments in several sections of the
Union.

The great reduction of the currency which the banks have been
constrained to make in order to continue specie payments, and the
vitiated character of it where such reductions have not been attempted,
instead of placing within the reach of these establishments the
pecuniary aid necessary to avail themselves of the advantages resulting
from the reduction in the prices of the raw materials and of labor, have
compelled the banks to withdraw from them a portion of the capital
heretofore advanced to them. That aid which has been refused by the
banks has not been obtained from other sources, owing to the loss of
individual confidence from the frequent failures which have recently
occurred in some of our principal commercial cities.

An additional cause for the depression of these establishments may
probably be found in the pecuniary embarrassments which have recently
affected those countries with which our commerce has been principally
prosecuted. Their manufactures, for the want of a ready or profitable
market at home, have been shipped by the manufacturers to the United
States, and in many instances sold at a price below their current value
at the place of manufacture. Although this practice may from its nature
be considered temporary or contingent, it is not on that account less
injurious in its effects. Uniformity in the demand and price of an
article is highly desirable to the domestic manufacturer.

It is deemed of great importance to give encouragement to our domestic
manufacturers. In what manner the evils which have been adverted to may
be remedied, and how far it may be practicable in other respects to
afford to them further encouragement, paying due regard to the other
great interests of the nation, is submitted to the wisdom of Congress.

The survey of the coast for the establishment of fortifications is
now nearly completed, and considerable progress has been made in the
collection of materials for the construction of fortifications in the
Gulf of Mexico and in the Chesapeake Bay. The works on the eastern bank
of the Potomac below Alexandria and on the Pea Patch, in the Delaware,
are much advanced, and it is expected that the fortifications at the
Narrows, in the harbor of New York, will be completed the present year.
To derive all the advantages contemplated from these fortifications it
was necessary that they should be judiciously posted, and constructed
with a view to permanence, The progress hitherto has therefore been
slow; but as the difficulties in parts heretofore the least explored
and known are surmounted, it will in future be more rapid. As soon as
the survey of the coast is completed, which it is expected will be done
early in the next spring, the engineers employed in it will proceed to
examine for like purposes the northern and northwestern frontiers.

The troops intended to occupy a station at the mouth of the St. Peters,
on the Mississippi, have established themselves there, and those who
were ordered to the mouth of the Yellow Stone, on the Missouri, have
ascended that river to the Council Bluff, where they will remain
until the next spring, when they will proceed to the place of their
destination. I have the satisfaction to state that this measure has
been executed in amity with the Indian tribes, and that it promises to
produce, in regard to them, all the advantages which were contemplated
by it.

Much progress has likewise been made in the construction of ships of war
and in the collection of timber and other materials for shipbuilding. It
is not doubted that our Navy will soon be augmented to the number and
placed in all respects on the footing provided for by law.

The Board, consisting of engineers and naval officers, have not yet
made their final report of sites for two naval depots, as instructed
according to the resolutions of March 18 and April 20, 1818, but they
have examined the coast therein designated, and their report is expected
in the next month.

For the protection of our commerce in the Mediterranean, along the
southern Atlantic coast, in the Pacific and Indian oceans, it has been
found necessary to maintain a strong naval force, which it seems proper
for the present to continue. There is much reason to believe that if any
portion of the squadron heretofore stationed in the Mediterranean should
be withdrawn our intercourse with the powers bordering on that sea would
be much interrupted, if not altogether destroyed. Such, too, has been
the growth of a spirit of piracy in the other quarters mentioned, by
adventurers from every country, in abuse of the friendly flags which
they have assumed, that not to protect our commerce there would be to
abandon it as a prey to their rapacity. Due attention has likewise been
paid to the suppression of the slave trade, in compliance with a law of
the last session. Orders have been given to the commanders of all our
public ships to seize all vessels navigated under our flag engaged in
that trade, and to bring them in to be proceeded against in the manner
prescribed by that law. It is hoped that these vigorous measures,
supported by like acts by other nations, will soon terminate a commerce
so disgraceful to the civilized world.

In the execution of the duty imposed by these acts, and of a high trust
connected with it, it is with deep regret I have to state the loss which
has been sustained by the death of Commodore Perry. His gallantry in a
brilliant exploit in the late war added to the renown of his country.
His death is deplored as a national misfortune.

JAMES MONROE.




SPECIAL MESSAGES.


WASHINGTON, _December 7, 1819_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith to the Senate a collection of the commercial
regulations of the different foreign countries with which the United
States have commercial intercourse, which has been compiled in
compliance with the resolution of the Senate of 3d March, 1817.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _December 14, 1819_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In conformity with the resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 24th of February last, I now transmit a report of the Secretary of
State, with extracts and copies of several letters, touching the causes
of the imprisonment of William White, an American citizen, at Buenos
Ayres.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _December 17, 1819_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

Some doubt being entertained respecting the true intent and meaning
of the act of the last session entitled "An act in addition to the
acts prohibiting the slave trade," as to the duties of the agents to
be appointed on the coast of Africa, I think it proper to state the
interpretation which has been given of the act and the measures adopted
to carry it into effect, that Congress may, should it be deemed
advisable, amend the same before further proceeding is had under it.

The obligation to instruct the commanders of all our armed vessels to
seize and bring into port all ships or vessels of the United States,
wheresoever found, having on board any negro, mulatto, or person of
color in violation of former acts for the suppression of the slave
trade, being imperative, was executed without delay. No seizures have
yet been made, but as they were contemplated by the law, and might be
presumed, it seemed proper to make the necessary regulations applicable
to such seizures for carrying the several provisions of the act into
effect.

It is enjoined on the Executive to cause all negroes, mulattoes, or
persons of color who may be taken under the act to be removed to Africa.
It is the obvious import of the law that none of the persons thus taken
should remain within the United States, and no place other than the
coast of Africa being designated, their removal or delivery, whether
carried from the United States or landed immediately from the vessels
in which they were taken, was supposed to be confined to that coast. No
settlement or station being specified, the whole coast was thought to be
left open for the selection of a proper place at which the persons thus
taken should be delivered. The Executive is authorized to appoint one
or more agents residing there to receive such persons, and $100,000 are
appropriated for the general purposes of the law.

On due consideration of the several sections of the act, and of its
humane policy, it was supposed to be the intention of Congress that
all the persons above described who might be taken under it and landed
in Africa should be aided in their return to their former homes, or in
their establishment at or near the place where landed. Some shelter and
food would be necessary for them there as soon as landed, let their
subsequent disposition be what it might. Should they be landed without
such provision having been previously made, they might perish.

It was supposed, by the authority given to the Executive to appoint
agents residing on that coast, that they should provide such shelter
and food, and perform the other beneficent and charitable offices
contemplated by the act. The coast of Africa having been little
explored, and no persons residing there who possessed the requisite
qualifications to entitle them to the trust being known to the
Executive, to none such could it be committed. It was believed that
citizens only who would go hence well instructed in the views of their
Government and zealous to give them effect would be competent to these
duties, and that it was not the intention of the law to preclude their
appointment. It was obvious that the longer these persons should be
detained in the United States in the hands of the marshals the greater
would be the expense, and that for the same term would the main purpose
of the law be suspended. It seemed, therefore, to be incumbent on me
to make the necessary arrangements for carrying this act into effect
in Africa in time to meet the delivery of any persons who might be
taken by the public vessels and landed there under it.

On this view of the policy and sanctions of the law it has been decided
to send a public ship to the coast of Africa with two such agents,
who will take with them tools and other implements necessary for the
purposes above mentioned. To each of these agents a small salary has
been allowed--$1,500 to the principal and $1,200 to the other.

All our public agents on the coast of Africa receive salaries for their
services, and it was understood that none of our citizens possessing the
requisite qualifications would accept these trusts, by which they would
be confined to parts the least frequented and civilized, without
a reasonable compensation, Such allowance therefore seemed to be
indispensable to the execution of the act. It is intended also to
subject a portion of the sum appropriated to the order of the principal
agent for the special objects above stated, amounting in the whole,
including the salaries of the agents for one year, to rather less than
one third of the appropriation. Special instructions will be given to
these agents, defining in precise terms their duties in regard to the
persons thus delivered to them, the disbursement of the money by the
principal agent, and his accountability for the same. They will also
have power to select the most suitable place on the coast of Africa at
which all persons who may be taken under this act shall be delivered to
them, with an express injunction to exercise no power founded on the
principle of colonization or other power than that of performing the
benevolent offices above recited by the permission and sanction of the
existing government under which they may establish themselves. Orders
will be given to the commander of the public ship in which they will
sail to cruise along the coast to give the more complete effect to the
principal object of the act.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _December 17, 1819_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of Congress of the 27th March, 1818,
the journal, acts, and proceedings of the convention which formed the
present Constitution of the United States have been published. The
resolution directs that 1,000 copies should be printed, of which one
copy should be furnished to each member of the Fifteenth Congress, and
the residue to be subject to the future disposition of Congress. The
number of copies sufficient to supply the members of the late Congress
having been reserved for that purpose, the remainder are now deposited
at the Department of State subject to the order of Congress. The
documents mentioned in the resolution of the 27th March, 1818, are
in the process of publication.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _December 24, 1819_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

On the 23d of February. 1803, a message from the President of the United
States was transmitted to both Houses of Congress, together with the
report of the then Secretary of State, Mr. Madison, upon the case of
the Danish brigantine _Henrick_ and her cargo, belonging to citizens
of Hamburg, recommending the claim to the favorable consideration of
Congress. In February, 1805, it was again presented by a message from
the President to the consideration of Congress, but has not since been
definitively acted upon.

The minister resident from Denmark and the consul-general from Hamburg
having recently renewed applications in behalf of the respective
owners of the vessel and cargo, I transmit herewith copies of their
communications for the further consideration of the Legislature, upon
whose files all the documents relating to the claim are still existing.

JAMES MONROE.



DECEMBER 31, 1819.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate, for its advice and consent as to the
ratification, three treaties which have been concluded in the course of
the present year with the Kickapoos, the Chippaways, and the Kickapoos
of the Vermillion by commissioners who were duly authorized for the
purpose.

With the Chippaways there is a supplementary article stipulating certain
advantages in their favor on condition that the same shall be ratified
by the Executive, with the advice and consent of the Senate, which I
likewise submit to your consideration.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 8, 1820_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
14th December, 1819, requesting me to cause to be laid before it any
information I may possess respecting certain executions which have been
inflicted in the Army of the United States since the year 1815 contrary
to the laws and regulations provided for the government of the same,
I transmit a report from the Secretary of War containing a detailed
account in relation to the object of the said resolution.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 8, 1820_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 20th of January,
1819, requesting me "to cause a report to be laid before them at their
next session of such facts as may be within the means of the Government
to obtain shewing how far it may be expedient or not to provide by
law for clothing the Army with articles manufactured in the United
States," I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, which, with
the accompanying documents, comprehends all the information required
by the Senate in their resolution aforesaid.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 19, 1820_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives
requesting me "to lay before it at as early a day as may be convenient
an account of the expenditure of the several sums appropriated for
building fortifications from the year 1816 to the year 1819, inclusive,
indicating the places at which works of defense have been begun, the
magnitude of the works contemplated at each place, their present
condition, the amount already expended, and the estimated amount
requisite for the completion of each, also the mode by which the
fortifications are built, by contract or otherwise," I now transmit
to the House a report from the Secretary of War, to whom the said
resolution was referred, which, with the documents accompanying it,
contains all the information required.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 8, 1820_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In conformity with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
24th January, 1820, requesting me "to inform the House what loans, if
any, have been made since the peace, to private citizens, of powder,
lead, and other munitions belonging to the Government by officers of any
department of the Army or Navy, specifying the times, terms, objects,
and extent of such loans, the names of the persons by whom and to
whom made, the different times of repayment, and also the amount of
the ultimate loss, if any, likely to be incurred by the Government in
consequence thereof," I now transmit a report from the Secretary of War,
which, with the accompanying documents, contains all the information
that can be furnished on the subject.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 1, 1820_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
4th of February last, requesting to be informed what progress has been
made in surveying certain parts of the coast of North Carolina and in
ascertaining the latitude and longitude of the extreme points of Cape
Hatteras, Cape Look Out, and Cape Fear, according to a resolution of the
19th of January, 1819, I have to state that it is intended to carry the
resolution of the 19th of March into effect in the present year. The
cooperation of the Board of Engineers with Naval Commissioners being
necessary in executing that duty, and the Board having been engaged
last year in surveying the eastern coast of our Union, it would have
interfered with previous arrangements and been attended with increased
expense had they been withdrawn from it. The Board will, however, be
employed during the present summer in the regular execution of its
duties in the survey of the coast of North Carolina, when instructions
will be given it to afford the necessary aid to carry the resolution of
the 19th of January of the last year into effect.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 4, 1820_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate, in pursuance of their resolution of the 4th of
January last, a report from the Secretary of State, with a list of fines
incurred under the act of Congress entitled "An act in addition to the
act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States,"
which appear from the records of the Department of State to have been
remitted by the Executive authority of the United States.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 8, 1820_.

The PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF THE SENATE:

I transmit to the Senate copies of sundry papers having relation to the
treaty of 22d February, 1819, between the United States and Spain, which
have been received at the Department of State, and have not before been
communicated to the Senate.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 8, 1820_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of the Treasury,
which, with the accompanying documents, will shew that the act of the
20th May, 1812, respecting the northern and western boundaries of the
State of Ohio, has been executed.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 17, 1820_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

It being stipulated by the fourth article of the articles of agreement
and cession entered into on the 24th of April, 1802, with the State of
Georgia that the United States should at their own expense extinguish
for the use of that State, as soon as it might be done on reasonable
terms, the Indian title to all the lands within its limits, and the
legislature of Georgia being desirous to make a further acquisition of
said lands at this time, presuming that it may be done on reasonable
terms; and it being also represented that property of considerable value
which had been taken by the Creek and Cherokee Indians from citizens of
Georgia, the restoration of which had been provided for by different
treaties, but which has never been made, it is proposed to hold a treaty
with those nations, and more particularly with the Creeks, in the course
of this summer. For the attainment of these objects I submit the subject
to the consideration of Congress, that a sum adequate to the expenses
attending such treaty may be appropriated should Congress deem it
expedient.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 20, 1820_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 16th of February,
1820, requesting me to cause to be laid before it "abstracts of the
bonds or other securities given under the laws of the United States by
the collectors of the customs, receivers of public moneys for lands, and
registers of public lands, paymasters in the Army, and pursers in the
Navy, who are now in office, or who have heretofore been in office, and
whose accounts remain unsettled, together with a statement of such other
facts as may tend to shew the expediency or inexpediency of so far
altering the laws respecting such officers that they may hereafter
be appointed for limited periods, subject to removal as heretofore,"
I transmit to the Senate a report from the Secretary of the Treasury,
which, with the documents accompanying it, will afford all the
information required.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 27, 1820_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to Congress an extract of a letter from the minister
plenipotentiary of the United States at St. Petersburg, of the 1st of
November last, on the subject of our relations with Spain, indicating
the sentiments of the Emperor of Russia respecting the nonratification
by His Catholic Majesty of the treaty lately concluded between the
United States and Spain, and the strong interest which His Imperial
Majesty takes in promoting the ratification of that treaty. Of this
friendly disposition the most satisfactory assurance has been since
given directly to this Government by the minister of Russia residing
here.

I transmit also to Congress an extract of a letter from the minister
plenipotentiary of the United States at Madrid of a later date than
those heretofore communicated, by which it appears that, at the instance
of the charge d'affaires of the Emperor of Russia, a new pledge had been
given by the Spanish Government that the minister who had been lately
appointed to the United States should set out on his mission without
delay, with full power to settle all differences in a manner
satisfactory to the parties.

I have further to state that the Governments of France and Great Britain
continue to manifest the sentiments heretofore communicated respecting
the nonratification of the treaty by Spain, and to interpose their good
offices to promote its ratification.

It is proper to add that the Governments of France and Russia have
expressed an earnest desire that the United States would take no steps
for the present on the principle of reprisal which might possibly tend
to disturb the peace between the United States and Spain. There is good
cause to presume from the delicate manner in which this sentiment has
been conveyed that it is founded in a belief as well as a desire that
our just objects may be accomplished without the hazard of such an
extremity.

On full consideration of all these circumstances, I have thought it my
duty to submit to Congress whether it will not be advisable to postpone
a decision on the questions now depending with Spain until the next
session. The distress of that nation at this juncture affords a motive
for this forbearance which can not fail to be duly appreciated. Under
such circumstances the attention of the Spanish Government may be
diverted from its foreign concerns, and the arrival of a minister here
be longer delayed. I am the more induced to suggest this course of
proceeding from a knowledge that, while we shall thereby make a just
return to the powers whose good offices have been acknowledged, and
increase by a new and signal proof of moderation our claims on Spain,
our attitude in regard to her will not be less favorable at the next
session than it is at the present.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _May 9, 1820_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I communicate to Congress a correspondence which has taken place
between the Secretary of State and the envoy extraordinary and
minister plenipotentiary of His Catholic Majesty since the message
of the 27th March last, respecting the treaty which was concluded
between the United States and Spain on the 22d February, 1819.

After the failure of His Catholic Majesty for so long a time to ratify
the treaty, it was expected that this minister would have brought with
him the ratification, or that he would have been authorized to give
an order for the delivery of the territory ceded by it to the United
States. It appears, however, that the treaty is still unratified and
that the minister has no authority to surrender the territory. The
object of his mission has been to make complaints and to demand
explanations respecting an imputed system of hostility on the part of
citizens of the United States against the subjects and dominions of
Spain, and an unfriendly policy in their Government, and to obtain new
stipulations against these alleged injuries as the condition on which
the treaty should be ratified.

Unexpected as such complaints and such a demand were under existing
circumstances, it was thought proper, without compromising the
Government as to the course to be pursued, to meet them promptly and to
give the explanations that were desired on every subject with the utmost
candor. The result has proved what was sufficiently well known before,
that the charge of a systematic hostility being adopted and pursued by
citizens of the United States against the dominions and subjects of
Spain is utterly destitute of foundation, and that their Government in
all its branches has maintained with the utmost rigor that neutrality in
the civil war between Spain and the colonies which they were the first
to declare. No force has been collected nor incursions made from within
the United States against the dominions of Spain, nor have any naval
equipments been permitted in favor of either party against the other.
Their citizens have been warned of the obligations incident to the
neutral condition of their country; their public officers have been
instructed to see that the laws were faithfully executed, and severe
examples have been made of some who violated them.

In regard to the stipulation proposed as the condition of the
ratification of the treaty, that the United States shall abandon the
right to recognize the revolutionary colonies in South America, or to
form other relations with them when in their judgment it may be just and
expedient so to do, it is manifestly so repugnant to the honor and even
to the independence of the United States that it has been impossible
to discuss it. In making this proposal it is perceived that His
Catholic Majesty has entirely misconceived the principles on which
this Government has acted in being a party to a negotiation so long
protracted for claims so well founded and reasonable, as he likewise has
the sacrifices which the United States have made, comparatively, with
Spain in the treaty to which it is proposed to annex so extraordinary
and improper a condition.

Had the minister of Spain offered an unqualified pledge that the treaty
should be ratified by his Sovereign on being made acquainted with the
explanations which had been given by this Government, there would have
been a strong motive for accepting and submitting it to the Senate for
their advice and consent, rather than to resort to other measures for
redress, however justifiable and proper; but he gives no such pledge;
oil the contrary, he declares explicitly that the refusal of this
Government to relinquish the right of judging and acting for itself
hereafter, according to circumstances, in regard to the Spanish
colonies, a right common to all nations, has rendered it impossible for
him under his instructions to make such engagement. He thinks that his
Sovereign will be induced by his communications to ratify the treaty,
but still he leaves him free either to adopt that measure or to decline
it. He admits that the other objections are essentially removed and will
not in themselves prevent the ratification, provided the difficulty on
the third point is surmounted. The result, therefore, is that the treaty
is declared to have no obligation whatever; that its ratification is
made to depend not on the considerations which led to its adoption and
the conditions which it contains, but on a new article unconnected with
it, respecting which a new negotiation must be opened, of indefinite
duration and doubtful issue.

Under this view of the subject the course to be pursued would appear to
be direct and obvious if the affairs of Spain had remained in the state
in which they were when this minister sailed. But it is known that an
important change has since taken place in the Government of that country
which can not fail to be sensibly felt in its intercourse with other
nations. The minister of Spain has essentially declared his inability to
act in consequence of that change. With him, however, under his present
powers nothing could be done. The attitude of the United States must now
be assumed on full consideration of what is due to their rights, their
interest and honor, without regard to the powers or incidents of the
late mission. We may at pleasure occupy the territory which was intended
and provided by the late treaty as an indemnity for losses so long
since sustained by our citizens; but still, nothing could be settled
definitively without a treaty between the two nations. Is this the time
to make the pressure? If the United States were governed by views of
ambition and aggrandizement, many strong reasons might be given in its
favor; but they have no objects of that kind to accomplish, none which
are not founded in justice and which can be injured by forbearance.
Great hope is entertained that this change will promote the happiness of
the Spanish nation. The good order, moderation, and humanity which have
characterized the movement are the best guaranties of its success.

The United States would not be justified in their own estimation should
they take any step to disturb its harmony. When the Spanish Government
is completely organized on the principles of this change, as it is
expected it soon will be, there is just ground to presume that our
differences with Spain will be speedily and satisfactorily settled.

With these remarks I submit it to the wisdom of Congress whether it will
not still be advisable to postpone any decision on this subject until
the next session.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _May 11, 1820_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith to the Senate a report from the Secretary of State,
together with the returns of causes depending in the courts of the
United States, collected conformably to a resolution of the Senate of
the 18th of January, 1819.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _May 12, 1820_.

The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:

I transmit to the House of Representatives a report from the Secretary
of State, with the document prepared in pursuance of a resolution of the
House of the 14th ultimo, on the subject of claims of citizens of the
United States for Spanish spoliations upon their property and commerce.

JAMES MONROE.




PROCLAMATION.


BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.


Whereas by an act of the Congress of the United States of the 3d of
March, 1815, so much of the several acts imposing duties on the ships
and vessels and on goods, wares, and merchandise imported into the
United States as imposed a discriminating duty of tonnage between
foreign vessels and vessels of the United States and between goods
imported into the United States in foreign vessels and vessels of the
United States were repealed so far as the same respected the produce
or manufacture of the nation to which such foreign ship or vessel
might belong, such repeal to take effect in favor of any foreign
nation whenever the President of the United States should be satisfied
that the discriminating or countervailing duties of such foreign nation
so far as they operate to the disadvantage of the United States have
been abolished; and

Whereas satisfactory proof has been received by me from the
burgo-masters and senate of the free and Hanseatic city of Lubeck that
from and after the 30th day of October, 1819, all discriminating or
countervailing duties of the said city so far as they operated to
the disadvantage of the United States have been and are abolished:

Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States of
America, do hereby declare and proclaim that so much of the several
acts imposing duties on the tonnage of ships and vessels and on goods,
wares, and merchandise imported into the United States as imposed a
discriminating duty of tonnage between vessels of the free and Hanseatic
city of Lubeck and vessels of the United States and between goods
imported into the United States in vessels of Lubeck and vessels of
the United States are repealed so far as the same respect the produce
or manufacture of the said free Hanseatic city of Lubeck.

[SEAL.]

Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 4th day of May,
A.D. 1820, and forty-fourth year of the Independence of the United
states.

JAMES MONROE.

By the President:
  JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
    _Secretary of State_.




FOURTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.


WASHINGTON, _November 14, 1820_.

_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:

In communicating to you a just view of public affairs at the
commencement of your present labors, I do it with great satisfaction,
because, taking all circumstances into consideration which claim
attention, I see much cause to rejoice in the felicity of our situation.
In making this remark I do not wish to be understood to imply that
an unvaried prosperity is to be seen in every interest of this great
community. In the progress of a nation inhabiting a territory of such
vast extent and great variety of climate, every portion of which is
engaged in foreign commerce and liable to be affected in some degree
by the changes which occur in the condition and regulations of foreign
countries, it would be strange if the produce of our soil and the
industry and enterprise of our fellow-citizens received at all times
and in every quarter an uniform and equal encouragement. This would be
more than we would have a right to expect under circumstances the most
favorable. Pressures on certain interests, it is admitted, have been
felt; but allowing to these their greatest extent, they detract but
little from the force of the remarks already made. In forming a just
estimate of our present situation it is proper to look at the whole in
the outline as well as in the detail. A free, virtuous, and enlightened
people know well the great principles and causes on which their
happiness depends, and even those who suffer most occasionally in their
transitory concerns find great relief under their sufferings from the
blessings which they otherwise enjoy and in the consoling and animating
hope which they administer. From whence do these pressures come? Not
from a government which is founded by, administered for, and supported
by the people. We trace them to the peculiar character of the epoch
in which we live, and to the extraordinary occurrences which have
signalized it. The convulsions with which several of the powers of
Europe have been shaken and the long and destructive wars in which
all were engaged, with their sudden transition to a state of peace,
presenting in the first instance unusual encouragement to our commerce
and withdrawing it in the second even within its wonted limit, could not
fail to be sensibly felt here. The station, too, which we had to support
through this long conflict, compelled as we were finally to become
a party to it with a principal power, and to make great exertions,
suffer heavy losses, and to contract considerable debts, disturbing
the ordinary course of affairs by augmenting to a vast amount the
circulating medium, and thereby elevating at one time the price of
every article above a just standard and depressing it at another below
it, had likewise its due effect.

It is manifest that the pressures of which we complain have proceeded
in a great measure from these causes. When, then, we take into view
the prosperous and happy condition of our country in all the great
circumstances which constitute the felicity of a nation--every
individual in the full enjoyment of all his rights, the Union blessed
with plenty and rapidly rising to greatness under a National Government
which operates with complete effect in every part without being felt
in any except by the ample protection which it affords, and under
State governments which perform their equal share, according to
a wise distribution of power between them, in promoting the public
happiness--it is impossible to behold so gratifying, so glorious a
spectacle without being penetrated with the most profound and grateful
acknowledgments to the Supreme Author of All Good for such manifold and
inestimable blessings. Deeply impressed with these sentiments, I can not
regard the pressures to which I have adverted otherwise than in the
light of mild and instructive admonitions, warning us of dangers to
be shunned in future, teaching us lessons of economy corresponding
with the simplicity and purity of our institutions and best adapted
to their support, evincing the connection and dependence which the
various parts of our happy Union have on each other, thereby augmenting
daily our social incorporation and adding by its strong ties new strength
and vigor to the political; opening a wider range, and with new
encouragement, to the industry and enterprise of our fellow-citizens at
home and abroad, and more especially by the multiplied proofs which it
has accumulated of the great perfection of our most excellent system of
government, the powerful instrument in the hands of our All-merciful
Creator in securing to us these blessings.

Happy as our situation is, it does not exempt us from solicitude and
care for the future. On the contrary, as the blessings which we enjoy
are great, proportionably great should be our vigilance, zeal, and
activity to preserve them. Foreign wars may again expose us to new
wrongs, which would impose on us new duties for which we ought to be
prepared. The state of Europe is unsettled, and how long peace may
be preserved is altogether uncertain; in addition to which we have
interests of our own to adjust which will require particular attention.
A correct view of our relations with each power will enable you to form
a just idea of existing difficulties, and of the measures of precaution
best adapted to them.

Respecting our relations with Spain nothing explicit can now be
communicated. On the adjournment of Congress in May last the minister
plenipotentiary of the United States at Madrid was instructed to inform
the Government of Spain that if His Catholic Majesty should then ratify
the treaty this Government would accept the ratification so far as
to submit to the decision of the Senate the question whether such
ratification should be received in exchange for that of the United
States heretofore given. By letters from the minister of the United
States to the Secretary of State it appears that a communication in
conformity with his instructions had been made to the Government of
Spain, and that the Cortes had the subject under consideration. The
result of the deliberations of that body, which is daily expected,
will be made known to Congress as soon as it is received. The friendly
sentiment which was expressed on the part of the United States in the
message of the 9th of May last is still entertained for Spain. Among
the causes of regret, however, which are inseparable from the delay
attending this transaction it is proper to state that satisfactory
information has been received that measures have been recently adopted
by designing persons to convert certain parts of the Province of East
Florida into depots for the reception of foreign goods, from whence
to smuggle them into the United States. By opening a port within the
limits of Florida, immediately on our boundary where there was no
settlement, the object could not be misunderstood. An early accommodation
of differences will, it is hoped, prevent all such fraudulent and
pernicious practices, and place the relations of the two countries
on a very amicable and permanent basis.

The commercial relations between the United States and the British
colonies in the West Indies and on this continent have undergone no
change, the British Government still preferring to leave that commerce
under the restriction heretofore imposed on it on each side. It is
satisfactory to recollect that the restraints resorted to by the United
States were defensive only, intended to prevent a monopoly under British
regulations in favor of Great Britain, as it likewise is to know that
the experiment is advancing in a spirit of amity between the parties.

The question depending between the United States and Great Britain
respecting the construction of the first article of the treaty of Ghent
has been referred by both Governments to the decision of the Emperor of
Russia, who has accepted the umpirage.

An attempt has been made with the Government of France to regulate by
treaty the commerce between the two countries on the principle of
reciprocity and equality. By the last communication from the minister
plenipotentiary of the United States at Paris, to whom full power had
been given, we learn that the negotiation had been commenced there; but
serious difficulties having occurred, the French Government had resolved
to transfer it to the United States, for which purpose the minister
plenipotentiary of France had been ordered to repair to this city, and
whose arrival might soon be expected. It is hoped that this important
interest may be arranged on just conditions and in a manner equally
satisfactory to both parties. It is submitted to Congress to decide,
until such arrangement is made, how far it may be proper, on the
principle of the act of the last session which augmented the tonnage
duty on French vessels, to adopt other measures for carrying more
completely into effect the policy of that act.

The act referred to, which imposed new tonnage on French vessels, having
been in force from and after the 1st day of July, it has happened that
several vessels of that nation which had been dispatched from France
before its existence was known have entered the ports of the United
States, and been subject to its operation, without that previous notice
which the general spirit of our laws gives to individuals in similar
cases. The object of that law having been merely to countervail the
inequalities which existed to the disadvantage of the United States
in their commercial intercourse with France, it is submitted also to
the consideration of Congress whether, in the spirit of amity and
conciliation which it is no less the inclination than the policy of the
United States to preserve in their intercourse with other powers, it may
not be proper to extend relief to the individuals interested in those
cases by exempting from the operation of the law all those vessels which
have entered our ports without having had the means of previously
knowing the existence of the additional duty.

The contest between Spain and the colonies, according to the most
authentic information, is maintained by the latter with improved
success. The unfortunate divisions which were known to exist some time
since at Buenos Ayres it is understood still prevail. In no part of
South America has Spain made any impression on the colonies, while in
many parts, and particularly in Venezuela and New Grenada, the colonies
have gained strength and acquired reputation, both for the management
of the war in which they have been successful and for the order of the
internal administration. The late change in the Government of Spain,
by the reestablishment of the constitution of 1812, is an event which
promises to be favorable to the revolution. Under the authority of the
Cortes the Congress of Angostura was invited to open a negotiation
for the settlement of differences between the parties, to which it
was replied that they would willingly open the negotiation provided
the acknowledgment of their independence was made its basis, but not
otherwise. Of further proceedings between them we are uninformed. No
facts are known to this Government to warrant the belief that any of
the powers of Europe will take part in the contest, whence it may be
inferred, considering all circumstances which must have weight in
producing the result, that an adjustment will finally take place on
the basis proposed by the colonies. To promote that result by friendly
counsels with other powers, including Spain herself, has been the
uniform policy of this Government.

In looking to the internal concerns of our country you will, I am
persuaded, derive much satisfaction from a view of the several objects
to which, in the discharge of your official duties, your attention will
be drawn. Among these none holds a more important place than the public
revenue, from the direct operation of the power by which it is raised on
the people, and by its influence in giving effect to every other power
of the Government. The revenue depends on the resources of the country,
and the facility by which the amount required is raised is a strong
proof of the extent of the resources and of the efficiency of the
Government. A few prominent facts will place this great interest in a
just light before you. On the 30th of September, 1815, the funded and
floating debt of the United States was estimated at $119,635,558. If to
this sum be added the amount of 5 per cent stock subscribed to the Bank
of the United States, the amount of Mississippi stock and of the stock
which was issued subsequently to that date, the balances ascertained to
be due to certain States for military services and to individuals for
supplies furnished and services rendered during the late war, the public
debt may be estimated as amounting at that date, and as afterwards
liquidated, to $158,713,049. On the 30th of September, 1820, it amounted
to $91,993,883, having been reduced in that interval by payments
$66,879,165. During this term the expenses of the Government of the
United States were likewise defrayed in every branch of the civil,
military, and naval establishments; the public edifices in this city
have been rebuilt with considerable additions; extensive fortifications
have been commenced, and are in a train of execution; permanent arsenals
and magazines have been erected in various parts of the Union; our Navy
has been considerably augmented, and the ordnance, munitions of war, and
stores of the Army and Navy, which were much exhausted during the war,
have been replenished.

By the discharge of so large a proportion of the public debt and the
execution of such extensive and important operations in so short a
time a just estimate may be formed of the great extent of our national
resources. The demonstration is the more complete and gratifying when it
is recollected that the direct tax and excise were repealed soon after
the termination of the late war, and that the revenue applied to these
purposes has been derived almost wholly from other sources.

The receipts into the Treasury from every source to the 30th of
September last have amounted to $16,794,107.66, whilst the public
expenditures to the same period amounted to $16,871,534.72, leaving in
the Treasury on that day a sum estimated at $1,950,000. For the probable
receipts of the following year I refer you to the statement which will
be transmitted from the Treasury.

The sum of $3,000,000 authorized to be raised by loan by an act of the
last session of Congress has been obtained upon terms advantageous to
the Government, indicating not only an increased confidence in the faith
of the nation, but the existence of a large amount of capital seeking
that mode of investment at a rate of interest not exceeding 5 per cent
per annum.

It is proper to add that there is now due to the Treasury for the sale
of public lands $22,996,545. In bringing this subject to view I consider
it my duty to submit to Congress whether it may not be advisable to
extend to the purchasers of these lands, in consideration of the
unfavorable change which has occurred since the sales, a reasonable
indulgence. It is known that the purchases were made when the price
of every article had risen to its greatest height, and that the
installments are becoming due at a period of great depression. It
is presumed that some plan may be devised by the wisdom of Congress,
compatible with the public interest, which would afford great relief
to these purchasers.

Considerable progress has been made during the present season in
examining the coast and its various bays and other inlets, in the
collection of materials, and in the construction of fortifications for
the defense of the Union at several of the positions at which it has
been decided to erect such works. At Mobile Point and Dauphin Island,
and at the Rigolets, leading to Lake Pontchartrain, materials to
a considerable amount have been collected, and all the necessary
preparations made for the commencement of the works. At Old Point
Comfort, at the mouth of James River, and at the Rip-Rap, on the
opposite shore in the Chesapeake Bay, materials to a vast amount have
been collected; and at the Old Point some progress has been made in the
construction of the fortification, which is on a very extensive scale.
The work at Fort Washington, on this river, will be completed early in
the next spring, and that on the Pea Patch, in the Delaware, in the
course of the next season. Fort Diamond, at the Narrows, in the harbor
of New York, will be finished this year. The works at Boston, New York,
Baltimore, Norfolk, Charleston, and Niagara have been in part repaired,
and the coast of North Carolina, extending south to Cape Fear, has been
examined, as have likewise other parts of the coast eastward of Boston.
Great exertions have been made to push forward these works with the
utmost dispatch possible; but when their extent is considered, with the
important purposes for which they are intended--the defense of the whole
coast, and, in consequence, of the whole interior--and that they are to
last for ages, it will be manifest that a well-digested plan, founded on
military principles, connecting the whole together, combining security
with economy, could not be prepared without repeated examinations
of the most exposed and difficult parts, and that it would also take
considerable time to collect the materials at the several points where
they would be required. From all the light that has been shed on this
subject I am satisfied that every favorable anticipation which has
been formed of this great undertaking will be verified, and that when
completed it will afford very great if not complete protection to our
Atlantic frontier in the event of another war--a protection sufficient
to counterbalance in a single campaign with an enemy powerful at sea the
expense of all these works, without taking into the estimate the saving
of the lives of so many of our citizens, the protection of our towns
and other property, or the tendency of such works to prevent war.

Our military positions have been maintained at Belle Point, on the
Arkansas, at Council Bluffs, on the Missouri, at St. Peters, on the
Mississippi, and at Green Bay, on the upper Lakes. Commodious barracks
have already been erected at most of these posts, with such works as
were necessary for their defense. Progress has also been made in opening
communications between them and in raising supplies at each for the
support of the troops by their own labor, particularly those most
remote.

With the Indians peace has been preserved and a progress made in
carrying into effect the act of Congress making an appropriation for
their civilization, with the prospect of favorable results. As connected
equally with both these objects, our trade with those tribes is thought
to merit the attention of Congress. In their original state game
is their sustenance and war their occupation, and if they find no
employment from civilized powers they destroy each other. Left to
themselves their extirpation is inevitable. By a judicious regulation of
our trade with them we supply their wants, administer to their comforts,
and gradually, as the game retires, draw them to us. By maintaining
posts far in the interior we acquire a more thorough and direct control
over them, without which it is confidently believed that a complete
change in their manners can never be accomplished. By such posts, aided
by a proper regulation of our trade with them and a judicious civil
administration over them, to be provided for by law, we shall, it is
presumed, be enabled not only to protect our own settlements from their
savage incursions and preserve peace among the several tribes, but
accomplish also the great purpose of their civilization.

Considerable progress has also been made in the construction of ships of
war, some of which have been launched in the course of the present year.

Our peace with the powers on the coast of Barbary has been preserved,
but we owe it altogether to the presence of our squadron in the
Mediterranean. It has been found equally necessary to employ some of
our vessels for the protection of our commerce in the Indian Sea, the
Pacific, and along the Atlantic coast. The interests which we have
depending in those quarters, which have been much improved of late, are
of great extent and of high importance to the nation as well as to the
parties concerned, and would undoubtedly suffer if such protection was
not extended to them. In execution of the law of the last session for
the suppression of the slave trade some of our public ships have also
been employed on the coast of Africa, where several captures have
already been made of vessels engaged in that disgraceful traffic.

JAMES MONROE.




SPECIAL MESSAGES.


DECEMBER 12, 1820.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 6th of December,
requesting that the agent employed under the act entitled "An act
authorizing the purchase of fire engines and building houses for the
safekeeping of the same" should report in the manner stated in the said
resolution his conduct in execution of the said act, I now transmit
to the Senate a report from the agent, which communicates all the
information which has been desired.

JAMES MONROE.



DECEMBER 14, 1820.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I submit to the consideration of the Senate, for their advice and
consent as to the ratification, the following treaties, concluded with
the several Indian tribes therein mentioned since the last session
of Congress, with their documents, viz: With the Weas, Kickapoos,
Chippeways, Ottawas, Choctaws, and Mahas; and also a treaty with the
Kickapoos amended as proposed by a resolution of the Senate at their
last session.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _December 14, 1820_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 21st November last, requesting the President to lay before the
House information relating to the progress and expenditures of the
commissioners under the fifth, sixth, and seventh articles of the treaty
of Ghent, I now transmit a report from the Secretary of State, with
documents containing all the information in the possession of that
Department requested by the resolution.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 1, 1821_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
22d of November last, requesting the President to inform that House what
naval force has been stationed for the protection of the commerce of
our citizens in the West India Islands and parts adjacent during the
present year, and whether any depredations by pirates or others upon the
property of citizens of the United States engaged in such commerce have
been reported to our Government, I now submit for the information of
the House a report from the Secretary of the Navy, with accompanying
documents, which contains all the information in the possession of the
Government required by that resolution.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 4, 1821_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I communicate to the House of Representatives a report from the
Secretary of State, which, with the papers accompanying it, contains
all the information in the possession of the Executive requested by a
resolution of the House of the 4th December last, on the subject of the
African slave trade.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 4, 1821_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
15th of December last, requesting the President of the United States
to cause to be laid before that House a statement of expenditures and
receipts in the Indian Department; also the nature and extent of the
contracts entered into, and with whom, from the 2d of March, 1811, to
the present period, I now transmit a letter from the Secretary of War,
with a report of the superintendent of Indian trade, which contains the
information desired.

JAMES MONROE.


WASHINGTON, _January 12, 1821_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives a report from the Secretary
of State, with the inclosed documents, relating to the negotiation for
the suppression of the slave trade, which should have accompanied a
message on that subject communicated to the House some time since, but
which were accidentally omitted.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 18, 1821_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 4th instant,
"requesting the President of the United States to communicate to the
Senate any information he may have as to the power or authority which
belonged to Don John Bonaventure Morales and to the Baron Carondelet
to grant and dispose of the lands of Spain in Louisiana previously to
the year 1803," I transmit a report from the Secretary of the Treasury,
submitting a letter of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, with
the document to which it refers.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 18, 1821_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives
requesting the President to inform the House, if in his opinion proper,
whether any, and, if any, what, negotiations since the 1st of January,
1816, have been had with the Six Nations of Indians, or any portion
of them, who the commissioners or agents were, the objects of the
negotiation, the expenses of the same, the compensation of each
commissioner, secretary, or agent, and to whom the moneys were paid,
I now transmit a report from the Secretary of War communicating the
information desired.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 31, 1821_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of the Treasury
submitting copies of the instructions given to the commissioners
appointed under the act of the 15th of May, 1820, authorizing the
location of a road from Wheeling, in the State of Virginia, to a point
on the left bank of the Mississippi River between St. Louis and the
mouth of the Illinois River, and copies of the report made by the said
commissioners to the Treasury Department of the progress they have made
in the execution of the duties prescribed by the said act, together
with maps of the country through which the location is to be made.

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 5, 1821.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I herewith transmit, in confidence, to the Senate reports from the
Secretary of State and of the Treasury, with the papers containing the
correspondence and the information in possession of the Government the
communication of which was requested by the resolution of the Senate of
the 23d of last month. It is desired that the original letters may, when
the Senate shall have no further use for them, be returned.

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 8, 1821.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 1st instant,
requesting the President of the United States "to cause to be laid
before the Senate any information he may have in relation to the claims
of citizens of Georgia against the Creek Nation of Indians, and why
these claims, if any exist, have not been heretofore adjusted and
settled under the provisions of the treaties of 1790 and 1796," I
now transmit a report from the Secretary of War, with accompanying
documents, which contains all the information on this subject in the
possession of the Executive.

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 13, 1821.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

The ratification by the Spanish Government of the treaty of amity,
settlement, and limits between the United States and Spain, signed on
the 22d of February, 1819, and on the 24th of that month ratified on the
part of the United States, has been received by the envoy extraordinary
and minister plenipotentiary of that power at this place, who has given
notice that he is ready to exchange the ratifications.

By the sixteenth article of that treaty it was stipulated that the
ratifications should be exchanged within six months from the day of its
signature, which time having elapsed before the ratification of Spain
was given, a copy and translation thereof are now transmitted to the
Senate for their advice and consent to receive it in exchange for the
ratification of the United. States heretofore executed.

The treaty was submitted to the consideration of the Cortes of that
Kingdom before its ratification, which was finally given with their
assent and sanction. The correspondence between the Spanish minister of
foreign affairs and the minister of the United States at Madrid on that
occasion is also herewith communicated to the Senate, together with a
memorandum by the Secretary of State of his conference with the Spanish
envoy here yesterday, when that minister gave notice of his readiness
to exchange the ratifications.

The return of the original papers now transmitted, to avoid the delay
necessary to the making of copies, is requested.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 22, 1821_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 16th instant,
requesting "the President of the United States to cause to be laid
before the Senate the original order for building the barracks at
Sacketts Harbor, together with all communications between the War
Department and Major-General Brown relative thereto, and the amount
of public moneys expended thereon," I now transmit a report from
the Secretary of War, with the papers inclosed, which contains the
information desired.

JAMES MONROE.


WASHINGTON, _February 22, 1821_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

The treaty of amity, settlement, and limits between the United States
and Spain, signed on the 22d of February, 1819, having been ratified by
the contracting parties, and the ratifications having been exchanged,
it is herewith communicated to Congress, that such legislative measures
may be taken as they shall judge proper for carrying the same into
execution.

JAMES MONROE.


WASHINGTON, _February 24, 1821_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to Congress a letter from the Secretary of War, inclosing
an annual return of the militia of the United States, prepared by the
Adjutant and Inspector General conformably to the militia laws on that
subject.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 28, 1821_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I herewith transmit to Congress certain extracts and a copy of letters
received by the Secretary of State from the marshal of the United States
for the eastern district of Virginia, in relation to the execution of
the act of the 14th of March, 1820, to provide for taking the Fourth
Census, together with the answers returned to that marshal by the
Secretary of State. As the time within which the assistants of the
marshals can legally make their returns expired on the first Monday of
the present month, it would appear by the information from the marshal
at Richmond that the completion of the Fourth Census as it respects the
eastern district of Virginia will have been defeated not only as it
regards the period contemplated by law, but during the whole of the
current year, unless Congress, to whom the case is submitted, should by
an act of the present session allow further time for making the returns
in question.

As connected with this subject, it is also submitted for the
consideration of Congress how far the marshals ought to be liable to
the payment of postage on the conveyance of the papers concerning the
census and manufactures by the mail. In one instance it has been already
ascertained that this item of contingent expense will amount to nearly a
moiety of the compensation of the marshal for the whole of his services.
If the marshals are to be relieved from this charge, provision will be
necessary by law either for the admission of it in their accounts or the
refunding of it by the respective postmasters.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 2, 1821_.

_To the Congress of the United States_:

I communicate to the two Houses of Congress copies of a treaty this
day ratified on the part of the United States, concluded and signed at
the Indian Springs on the 8th of January last, with the Creek Nation of
Indians, in order to such legislative measures as may be necessary for
giving effect to it.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 3, 1821_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

The treaty concluded between the United States and the Kickapoo tribe
of Indians on the 30th of July, 1820, having been ratified by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate, I now lay a copy of the said
treaty before the House of Representatives in order to such legislative
provisions being made as may be necessary to carry into effect the
stipulations therein contained on the part of the United States.

JAMES MONROE.




SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS.


Fellow-Citizens: I shall not attempt to describe the grateful emotions
which the new and very distinguished proof of the confidence of my
fellow-citizens, evinced by my reelection to this high trust, has
excited in my bosom. The approbation which it announces of my conduct
in the preceding term affords me a consolation which I shall profoundly
feel through life. The general accord with which it has been expressed
adds to the great and never-ceasing obligations which it imposes. To
merit the continuance of this good opinion, and to carry it with me into
my retirement as the solace of advancing years, will be the object of my
most zealous and unceasing efforts.

Having no pretensions to the high and commanding claims of my
predecessors, whose names are so much more conspicuously identified
with our Revolution, and who contributed so preeminently to promote its
success, I consider myself rather as the instrument than the cause of
the union which has prevailed in the late election. In surmounting,
in favor of my humble pretensions, the difficulties which so often
produce division in like occurrences, it is obvious that other powerful
causes, indicating the great strength and stability of our Union, have
essentially contributed to draw you together. That these powerful causes
exist, and that they are permanent, is my fixed opinion; that they may
produce a like accord in all questions touching, however remotely, the
liberty, prosperity, and happiness of our country will always be the
object of my most fervent prayers to the Supreme Author of All Good.

In a government which is founded by the people, who possess exclusively
the sovereignty, it seems proper that the person who may be placed by
their suffrages in this high trust should declare on commencing its
duties the principles on which he intends to conduct the Administration.
If the person thus elected has served the preceding term, an opportunity
is afforded him to review its principal occurrences and to give such
further explanation respecting them as in his judgment may be useful
to his constituents. The events of one year have influence on those
of another, and, in like manner, of a preceding on the succeeding
Administration. The movements of a great nation are connected in all
their parts. If errors have been committed they ought to be corrected;
if the policy is sound it ought to be supported. It is by a thorough
knowledge of the whole subject that our fellow-citizens are enabled
to judge correctly of the past and to give a proper direction to the
future.

Just before the commencement of the last term the United States had
concluded a war with a very powerful nation on conditions equal and
honorable to both parties. The events of that war are too recent and
too deeply impressed on the memory of all to require a development from
me. Our commerce had been in a great measure driven from the sea; our
Atlantic and inland frontiers were invaded in almost every part; the
waste of life along our coast and on some parts of our inland frontiers,
to the defense of which our gallant and patriotic citizens were called,
was immense, in addition to which not less than $120,000,000 were added
at its end to the public debt.

As soon as the war had terminated, the nation, admonished by its
events, resolved to place itself in a situation which should be better
calculated to prevent the recurrence of a like evil, and, in case it
should recur, to mitigate its calamities. With this view, after reducing
our land force to the basis of a peace establishment, which has been
further modified since, provision was made for the construction of
fortifications at proper points through the whole extent of our coast
and such an augmentation of our naval force as should be well adapted
to both purposes. The laws making this provision were passed in 1815
and 1816, and it has been since the constant effort of the Executive
to carry them into effect.

The advantage of these fortifications and of an augmented naval
force in the extent contemplated, in a point of economy, has been
fully illustrated by a report of the Board of Engineers and Naval
Commissioners lately communicated to Congress, by which it appears that
in an invasion by 20,000 men, with a correspondent naval force, in a
campaign of six months only, the whole expense of the construction of
the works would be defrayed by the difference in the sum necessary to
maintain the force which would be adequate to our defense with the aid
of those works and that which would be incurred without them. The reason
of this difference is obvious. If fortifications are judiciously placed
on our great inlets, as distant from our cities as circumstances will
permit, they will form the only points of attack, and the enemy will
be detained there by a small regular force a sufficient time to enable
our militia to collect and repair to that on which the attack is made.
A force adequate to the enemy, collected at that single point, with
suitable preparation for such others as might be menaced, is all that
would be requisite. But if there were no fortifications, then the enemy
might go where he pleased, and, changing his position and sailing from
place to place, our force must be called out and spread in vast numbers
along the whole coast and on both sides of every bay and river as
high up in each as it might be navigable for ships of war. By these
fortifications, supported by our Navy, to which they would afford like
support, we should present to other powers an armed front from St. Croix
to the Sabine, which would protect in the event of war our whole coast
and interior from invasion; and even in the wars of other powers, in
which we were neutral, they would be found eminently useful, as, by
keeping their public ships at a distance from our cities, peace and
order in them would be preserved and the Government be protected from
insult.

It need scarcely be remarked that these measures have not been resorted
to in a spirit of hostility to other powers. Such a disposition does
not exist toward any power. Peace and good will have been, and will
hereafter be, cultivated with all, and by the most faithful regard to
justice. They have been dictated by a love of peace, of economy, and
an earnest desire to save the lives of our fellow-citizens from that
destruction and our country from that devastation which are inseparable
from war when it finds us unprepared for it. It is believed, and
experience, has shown, that such a preparation is the best expedient
that can be resorted to to prevent war. I add with much pleasure that
considerable progress has already been made in these measures of
defense, and that they will be completed in a few years, considering the
great extent and importance of the object, if the plan be zealously and
steadily persevered in.

The conduct of the Government in what relates to foreign powers
is always an object of the highest importance to the nation. Its
agriculture, commerce, manufactures, fisheries, revenue, in short, its
peace, may all be affected by it. Attention is therefore due to this
subject.

At the period adverted to the powers of Europe, after having been
engaged in long and destructive wars with each other, had concluded a
peace, which happily still exists. Our peace with the power with whom we
had been engaged had also been concluded. The war between Spain and the
colonies in South America, which had commenced many years before, was
then the only conflict that remained unsettled. This being a contest
between different parts of the same community, in which other powers
had not interfered, was not affected by their accommodations.

This contest was considered at an early stage by my predecessor a civil
war in which the parties were entitled to equal rights in our ports.
This decision, the first made by any power, being formed on great
consideration of the comparative strength and resources of the parties,
the length of time, and successful opposition made by the colonies, and
of all other circumstances on which it ought to depend, was in strict
accord with the law of nations. Congress has invariably acted on this
principle, having made no change in our relations with either party. Our
attitude has therefore been that of neutrality between them, which has
been maintained by the Government with the strictest impartiality. No
aid has been afforded to either, nor has any privilege been enjoyed by
the one which has not been equally open to the other party, and every
exertion has been made in its power to enforce the execution of the
laws prohibiting illegal equipments with equal rigor against both.

By this equality between the parties their public vessels have been
received in our ports on the same footing; they have enjoyed an equal
right to purchase and export arms, munitions of war, and every other
supply, the exportation of all articles whatever being permitted under
laws which were passed long before the commencement of the contest; our
citizens have traded equally with both, and their commerce with each
has been alike protected by the Government.

Respecting the attitude which it may be proper for the United States to
maintain hereafter between the parties, I have no hesitation in stating
it as my opinion that the neutrality heretofore observed should still
be adhered to. From the change in the Government of Spain and the
negotiation now depending, invited by the Cortes and accepted by the
colonies, it may be presumed that their differences will be settled on
the terms proposed by the colonies. Should the war be continued, the
United States, regarding its occurrences, will always have it in their
power to adopt such measures respecting it as their honor and interest
may require.

Shortly after the general peace a band of adventurers took advantage
of this conflict and of the facility which it afforded to establish a
system of buccaneering in the neighboring seas, to the great annoyance
of the commerce of the United States, and, as was represented, of that
of other powers. Of this spirit and of its injurious bearing on the
United States strong proofs were afforded by the establishment at Amelia
Island, and the purposes to which it was made instrumental by this band
in 1817, and by the occurrences which took place in other parts of
Florida in 1818, the details of which in both instances are too well
known to require to be now recited. I am satisfied had a less decisive
course been adopted that the worst consequences would have resulted from
it. We have seen that these checks, decisive as they were, were not
sufficient to crush that piratical spirit. Many culprits brought within
our limits have been condemned to suffer death, the punishment due to
that atrocious crime. The decisions of upright and enlightened tribunals
fall equally on all whose crimes subject them, by a fair interpretation
of the law, to its censure. It belongs to the Executive not to suffer
the executions under these decisions to transcend the great purpose
for which punishment is necessary. The full benefit of example being
secured, policy as well as humanity equally forbids that they should be
carried further. I have acted on this principle, pardoning those who
appear to have been led astray by ignorance of the criminality of the
acts they had committed, and suffering the law to take effect on those
only in whose favor no extenuating circumstances could be urged.

Great confidence is entertained that the late treaty with Spain, which
has been ratified by both the parties, and the ratifications whereof
have been exchanged, has placed the relations of the two countries on a
basis of permanent friendship. The provision made by it for such of our
citizens as have claims on Spain of the character described will, it
is presumed, be very satisfactory to them, and the boundary which is
established between the territories of the parties westward of the
Mississippi, heretofore in dispute, has, it is thought, been settled
on conditions just and advantageous to both. But to the acquisition of
Florida too much importance can not be attached. It secures to the
United States a territory important in itself, and whose importance is
much increased by its bearing on many of the highest interests of the
Union. It opens to several of the neighboring States a free passage to
the ocean, through the Province ceded, by several rivers, having their
sources high up within their limits. It secures us against all future
annoyance from powerful Indian tribes. It gives us several excellent
harbors in the Gulf of Mexico for ships of war of the largest size.
It covers by its position in the Gulf the Mississippi and other great
waters within our extended limits, and thereby enables the United States
to afford complete protection to the vast and very valuable productions
of our whole Western country, which find a market through those streams.

By a treaty with the British Government, bearing date on the 20th of
October, 1818, the convention regulating the commerce between the United
States and Great Britain, concluded on the 3d of July, 1815, which was
about expiring, was revived and continued for the term of ten years from
the time of its expiration. By that treaty, also, the differences which
had arisen under the treaty of Ghent respecting the right claimed by the
United States for their citizens to take and cure fish on the coast of
His Britannic Majesty's dominions in America, with other differences on
important interests, were adjusted to the satisfaction of both parties.
No agreement has yet been entered into respecting the commerce between
the United States and the British dominions in the West Indies and
on this continent. The restraints imposed on that commerce by Great
Britain, and reciprocated by the United States on a principle of
defense, continue still in force.

The negotiation with France for the regulation of the commercial
relations between the two countries, which in the course of the last
summer had been commenced at Paris, has since been transferred to this
city, and will be pursued on the part of the United States in the spirit
of conciliation, and with an earnest desire that it may terminate in an
arrangement satisfactory to both parties.

Our relations with the Barbary Powers are preserved in the same state
and by the same means that were employed when I came into this office.
As early as 1801 it was found necessary to send a squadron into the
Mediterranean for the protection of our commerce, and no period has
intervened, a short term excepted, when it was thought advisable to
withdraw it. The great interests which the United States have in the
Pacific, in commerce and in the fisheries, have also made it necessary
to maintain a naval force there. In disposing of this force in both
instances the most effectual measures in our power have been taken,
without interfering with its other duties, for the suppression of the
slave trade and of piracy in the neighboring seas.

The situation of the United States in regard to their resources, the
extent of their revenue, and the facility with which it is raised
affords a most gratifying spectacle. The payment of nearly $67,000,000
of the public debt, with the great progress made in measures of defense
and in other improvements of various kinds since the late war, are
conclusive proofs of this extraordinary prosperity, especially when it
is recollected that these expenditures have been defrayed without a
burthen on the people, the direct tax and excise having been repealed
soon after the conclusion of the late war, and the revenue applied to
these great objects having been raised in a manner not to be felt. Our
great resources therefore remain untouched for any purpose which may
affect the vital interests of the nation. For all such purposes they
are inexhaustible. They are more especially to be found in the virtue,
patriotism, and intelligence of our fellow-citizens, and in the devotion
with which they would yield up by any just measure of taxation all their
property in support of the rights and honor of their country.

Under the present depression of prices, affecting all the productions
of the country and every branch of industry, proceeding from causes
explained on a former occasion, the revenue has considerably diminished,
the effect of which has been to compel Congress either to abandon these
great measures of defense or to resort to loans or internal taxes to
supply the deficiency. On the presumption that this depression and the
deficiency in the revenue arising from it would be temporary, loans
were authorized for the demands of the last and present year. Anxious
to relieve my fellow-citizens in 1817 from every burthen which could
be dispensed with, and the state of the Treasury permitting it, I
recommended the repeal of the internal taxes, knowing that such relief
was then peculiarly necessary in consequence of the great exertions made
in the late war. I made that recommendation under a pledge that should
the public exigencies require a recurrence to them at any time while I
remained in this trust, I would with equal promptitude perform the duty
which would then be alike incumbent on me. By the experiment now making
it will be seen by the next session of Congress whether the revenue
shall have been so augmented as to be adequate to all these necessary
purposes. Should the deficiency still continue, and especially should it
be probable that it would be permanent, the course to be pursued appears
to me to be obvious. I am satisfied that under certain circumstances
loans may be resorted to with great advantage. I am equally well
satisfied, as a general rule, that the demands of the current year,
especially in time of peace, should be provided for by the revenue
of that year.

I have never dreaded, nor have I ever shunned, in any situation in
which I have been placed making appeals to the virtue and patriotism
of my fellow-citizens, well knowing that they could never be made in
vain, especially in times of great emergency or for purposes of high
national importance. Independently of the exigency of the case, many
considerations of great weight urge a policy having in view a provision
of revenue to meet to a certain extent the demands of the nation,
without relying altogether on the precarious resource of foreign
commerce. I am satisfied that internal duties and excises, with
corresponding imposts on foreign articles of the same kind, would,
without imposing any serious burdens on the people, enhance the price
of produce, promote our manufactures, and augment the revenue, at the
same time that they made it more secure and permanent.

The care of the Indian tribes within our limits has long been an
essential part of our system, but, unfortunately, it has not been
executed in a manner to accomplish all the objects intended by it.
We have treated them as independent nations, without their having any
substantial pretensions to that rank. The distinction has flattered
their pride, retarded their improvement, and in many instances paved
the way to their destruction. The progress of our settlements westward,
supported as they are by a dense population, has constantly driven them
back, with almost the total sacrifice of the lands which they have been
compelled to abandon. They have claims on the magnanimity and, I may
add, on the justice of this nation which we must all feel. We should
become their real benefactors; we should perform the office of their
Great Father, the endearing title which they emphatically give to the
Chief Magistrate of our Union. Their sovereignty over vast territories
should cease, in lieu of which the right of soil should be secured to
each individual and his posterity in competent portions; and for the
territory thus ceded by each tribe some reasonable equivalent should
be granted, to be vested in permanent funds for the support of civil
government over them and for the education of their children, for their
instruction in the arts of husbandry, and to provide sustenance for
them until they could provide it for themselves. My earnest hope is that
Congress will digest some plan, founded on these principles, with such
improvements as their wisdom may suggest, and carry it into effect as
soon as it may be practicable.

Europe is again unsettled and the prospect of war increasing. Should the
flame light up in any quarter, how far it may extend it is impossible to
foresee. It is our peculiar felicity to be altogether unconnected with
the causes which produce this menacing aspect elsewhere. With every
power we are in perfect amity, and it is our interest to remain so
if it be practicable on just conditions. I see no reasonable cause to
apprehend variance with any power, unless it proceed from a violation
of our maritime rights. In these contests, should they occur, and to
whatever extent they may be carried, we shall be neutral; but as a
neutral power we have rights which it is our duty to maintain. For
like injuries it will be incumbent on us to seek redress in a spirit
of amity, in full confidence that, injuring none, none would knowingly
injure us. For more imminent dangers we should be prepared, and
it should always be recollected that such preparation adapted to
the circumstances and sanctioned by the judgment and wishes of our
constituents can not fail to have a good effect in averting dangers of
every kind. We should recollect also that the season of peace is best
adapted to these preparations.

If we turn our attention, fellow-citizens, more immediately to the
internal concerns of our country, and more especially to those on which
its future welfare depends, we have every reason to anticipate the
happiest results. It is now rather more than forty-four years since we
declared our independence, and thirty-seven since it was acknowledged.
The talents and virtues which were displayed in that great struggle were
a sure presage of all that has since followed. A people who were able to
surmount in their infant state such great perils would be more competent
as they rose into manhood to repel any which they might meet in their
progress. Their physical strength would be more adequate to foreign
danger, and the practice of self-government, aided by the light of
experience, could not fail to produce an effect equally salutary on
all those questions connected with the internal organization. These
favorable anticipations have been realized.

In our whole system, national and State, we have shunned all the defects
which unceasingly preyed on the vitals and destroyed the ancient
Republics. In them there were distinct orders, a nobility and a people,
or the people governed in one assembly. Thus, in the one instance
there was a perpetual conflict between the orders in society for the
ascendency, in which the victory of either terminated in the overthrow
of the government and the ruin of the state; in the other, in which
the people governed in a body, and whose dominions seldom exceeded the
dimensions of a county in one of our States, a tumultuous and disorderly
movement permitted only a transitory existence. In this great nation
there is but one order, that of the people, whose power, by a peculiarly
happy improvement of the representative principle, is transferred from
them, without impairing in the slightest degree their sovereignty, to
bodies of their own creation, and to persons elected by themselves, in
the full extent necessary for all the purposes of free, enlightened,
and efficient government. The whole system is elective, the complete
sovereignty being in the people, and every officer in every department
deriving his authority from and being responsible to them for his
conduct.

Our career has corresponded with this great outline. Perfection in our
organization could not have been expected in the outset either in the
National or State Governments or in tracing the line between their
respective powers. But no serious conflict has arisen, nor any contest
but such as are managed by argument and by a fair appeal to the good
sense of the people, and many of the defects which experience had
clearly demonstrated in both Governments have been remedied. By steadily
pursuing this course in this spirit there is every reason to believe
that our system will soon attain the highest degree of perfection of
which human institutions are capable, and that the movement in all its
branches will exhibit such a degree of order and harmony as to command
the admiration and respect of the civilized world.

Our physical attainments have not been less eminent. Twenty-five years
ago the river Mississippi was shut up and our Western brethren had no
outlet for their commerce. What has been the progress since that time?
The river has not only become the property of the United States from its
source to the ocean, with all its tributary streams (with the exception
of the upper part of the Red River only), but Louisiana, with a fair and
liberal boundary on the western side and the Floridas on the eastern,
have been ceded to us. The United States now enjoy the complete and
uninterrupted sovereignty over the whole territory from St. Croix to the
Sabine. New States, settled from among ourselves in this and in other
parts, have been admitted into our Union in equal participation in
the national sovereignty with the original States. Our population has
augmented in an astonishing degree and extended in every direction.
We now, fellow-citizens, comprise within our limits the dimensions
and faculties of a great power under a Government possessing all the
energies of any government ever known to the Old World, with an utter
incapacity to oppress the people.

Entering with these views the office which I have just solemnly sworn to
execute with fidelity and to the utmost of my ability, I derive great
satisfaction from a knowledge that I shall be assisted in the several
Departments by the very enlightened and upright citizens from whom I
have received so much aid in the preceding term. With full confidence
in the continuance of that candor and generous indulgence from my
fellow-citizens at large which I have heretofore experienced, and with
a firm reliance on the protection of Almighty God, I shall forthwith
commence the duties of the high trust to which you have called me.

MARCH 5, 1821.




PROCLAMATIONS.


BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.


Whereas information has been received that an atrocious murder,
aggravated by the additional crime of robbery, was, on the 6th or 7th
day of this present month, committed in the county of Alexandria and
District of Columbia on William Seaver, late of this city; and

Whereas the apprehension and punishment of the murderer or murderers and
his or their accessary or accessaries will be an example due to justice
and humanity and every way salutary in its operation:

I have therefore thought fit to issue this my proclamation, hereby
exhorting the citizens of the United States, and particularly those of
this District, and requiring all officers, according to their respective
stations, to use their utmost endeavors to apprehend and bring the
principal or principals, accessary or accessaries, to the said murder
to justice.

And I do moreover offer a reward of $300 for each principal, if there be
more than one, and $150 for each accessary before the fact, if there be
more than one, who shall be apprehended after the day of the date hereof
and brought to justice, to be paid upon his conviction of the crime or
crimes aforesaid.

In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be
affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand.

[SEAL.]

Done at the city of Washington, this 10th day of July, A.D. 1821, and of
the Independence of the United States the forty-sixth.

JAMES MONROE.

By the President:
  JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
    _Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

A PROCLAMATION.


Whereas the Congress of the United States, by a joint resolution of the
2d day of March last, entitled "Resolution providing for the admission
of the State of Missouri into the Union on a certain condition," did
determine and declare "that Missouri should be admitted into this
Union on an equal footing with the original States in all respects
whatever upon the fundamental condition that the fourth clause of the
twenty-sixth section of the third article of the constitution submitted
on the part of said State to Congress shall never be construed to
authorize the passage of any law, and that no law shall be passed in
conformity thereto, by which any citizen of either of the States of this
Union shall be excluded from the enjoyment of any of the privileges and
immunities to which such citizen is entitled under the Constitution of
the United States: _Provided_, That the legislature of said State, by
a solemn public act, shall declare the assent of the said State to the
said fundamental condition, and shall transmit to the President of
the United States on or before the first Monday in November next an
authentic copy of said act, upon the receipt whereof the President,
by proclamation, shall announce the fact, whereupon, and without any
further proceeding on the part of Congress, the admission of the said
State into this Union shall be considered as complete;" and

Whereas by a solemn public act of the assembly of said State of
Missouri, passed on the 26th of June, in the present year, entitled "A
solemn public act declaring the assent of this State to the fundamental
condition contained in a resolution passed by the Congress of the United
States providing for the admission of the State of Missouri into the
Union on a certain condition," an authentic copy whereof has been
communicated to me, it is solemnly and publicly enacted and declared
that that State has assented, and does assent, that the fourth clause
of the twenty-sixth section of the third article of the constitution of
said State "shall never be construed to authorize the passage of any
law, and that no law shall be passed in conformity thereto, by which
any citizen of either of the United States shall be excluded from the
enjoyment of any of the privileges and immunities to which such citizens
are entitled under the Constitution of the United States:"

Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States, in
pursuance of the resolution of Congress aforesaid, have issued this my
proclamation, announcing the fact that the said State of Missouri has
assented to the fundamental condition required by the resolution of
Congress aforesaid, whereupon the admission of the said State of
Missouri into this Union is declared to be complete.

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 Washington, the 10th day of August, A.D. 1821, and
of the Independence of the said United States of America the
forty-sixth.

JAMES MONROE.

By the President:
  JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
    _Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.


Whereas by an act of the Congress of the United States of the 3d of
March, 1815, so much of the several acts imposing duties on the ships
and vessels and on goods, wares, and merchandise imported into the
United States as imposed a discriminating duty of tonnage between
foreign vessels and vessels of the United States and between goods
imported into the United States in foreign vessels and vessels of the
United States were repealed so far as the same respected the produce or
manufacture of the nation to which such foreign ship or vessel might
belong, such repeal to take effect in favor of any foreign nation
whenever the President of the United States should be satisfied that
the discriminating or countervailing duties of such foreign nation so
far as they operate to the disadvantage of the United States have been
abolished; and

Whereas satisfactory proof has been received by me, through the charge
d'affaires of the United States in Sweden, under date of the 30th day of
January, 1821, that thenceforward all discriminating or countervailing
duties in the Kingdom of Norway so far as they operated to the
disadvantage of the United States had been and were abolished:

Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States of
America, do hereby declare and proclaim that so much of the several
acts imposing duties on the tonnage of ships and vessels and on goods,
wares, and merchandise imported into the United States as imposed a
discriminating duty of tonnage between vessels of the Kingdom of Norway
and vessels of the United States and between goods imported into the
United States in vessels of the said Kingdom of Norway and vessels of
the United States are repealed so far as the same respect the produce
or manufacture of the said Kingdom of Norway.

Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 20th day of August,
A.D. 1821, and the forty-sixth year of the Independence of the United
States.

JAMES MONROE.

By the President:
  JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
    _Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.


Whereas by an act of the Congress of the United States of the 3d of
March, 1815, so much of the several acts imposing duties on the ships
and vessels and on goods, wares, and merchandise imported into the
United States as imposed a discriminating duty of tonnage between
foreign vessels and vessels of the United States and between goods
imported into the United States in foreign vessels and vessels of the
United States were repealed so far as the same respected the produce or
manufacture of the nation to which such foreign ship or vessel might
belong, such repeal to take effect in favor of any foreign nation
whenever the President of the United States should be satisfied that
the discriminating or countervailing duties of such foreign nation so
far as they operate to the disadvantage of the United States have been
abolished; and

Whereas satisfactory proof has been received by me, under date of
the 11th of May last, that thenceforward all discriminating or
countervailing duties of the Dukedom of Oldenburg so far as they might
operate to the disadvantage of the United States should be and were
abolished upon His Highness the Duke of Oldenburg's being duly certified
of a reciprocal act on the part of the United States:

Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States of
America, do hereby declare and proclaim that so much of the several
acts imposing duties on the tonnage of ships and vessels and on goods,
wares, and merchandise imported into the United States as imposed
a discriminating duty of tonnage between vessels of the Dukedom of
Oldenburg and vessels of the United States and between goods imported
into the United States in vessels of the said Dukedom of Oldenburg and
vessels of the United States are repealed so far as the same respect
the produce or manufacture of the said Dukedom of Oldenburg.

Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 22d day of
November, A.D. 1821, and the forty-sixth year of the Independence
of the United States.

JAMES MONROE.

By the President:
  JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
    _Secretary of State_.




FIFTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.

WASHINGTON, _December 3, 1821_.

_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:

The progress of our affairs since the last session has been such as
may justly be claimed and expected under a Government deriving all
its powers from an enlightened people, and under laws formed by their
representatives, on great consideration, for the sole purpose of
promoting the welfare and happiness of their constituents. In the
execution of those laws and of the powers vested by the Constitution in
the Executive, unremitted attention has been paid to the great objects
to which they extend. In the concerns which are exclusively internal
there is good cause to be satisfied with the result. The laws have had
their due operation and effect. In those relating to foreign powers,
I am happy to state that peace and amity are preserved with all by
a strict observance on both sides of the rights of each. In matters
touching our commercial intercourse, where a difference of opinion has
existed as to the conditions on which it should be placed, each party
has pursued its own policy without giving just cause of offense to the
other. In this annual communication, especially when it is addressed
to a new Congress, the whole scope of our political concerns naturally
comes into view, that errors, if such have been committed, may be
corrected; that defects which have become manifest may be remedied; and,
on the other hand, that measures which were adopted on due deliberation,
and which experience has shewn are just in themselves and essential to
the public welfare, should be persevered in and supported. In performing
this necessary and very important duty I shall endeavor to place before
you on its merits every subject that is thought to be entitled to your
particular attention in as distinct and clear a light as I may be able.

By an act of the 3d of March, 1815, so much of the several acts as
imposed higher duties on the tonnage of foreign vessels and on the
manufactures and productions of foreign nations when imported into the
United States in foreign vessels than when imported in vessels of the
United States were repealed so far as respected the manufactures and
productions of the nation to which such vessels belonged, on the
condition that the repeal should take effect only in favor of any
foreign nation when the Executive should be satisfied that such
discriminating duties to the disadvantage of the United States had
likewise been repealed by such nation. By this act a proposition was
made to all nations to place our commerce with each on a basis which it
was presumed would be acceptable to all. Every nation was allowed to
bring its manufactures and productions into our ports and to take the
manufactures and productions of the United States back to their ports in
their own vessels on the same conditions that they might be transported
in vessels of the United States, and in return it was required that a
like accommodation should be granted to the vessels of the United States
in the ports of other powers. The articles to be admitted or prohibited
on either side formed no part of the proposed arrangement. Each party
would retain the right to admit or prohibit such articles from the other
as it thought proper, and on its own conditions.

When the nature of the commerce between the United States and every
other country was taken into view, it was thought that this proposition
would be considered fair, and even liberal, by every power. The exports
of the United States consist generally of articles of the first
necessity and of rude materials in demand for foreign manufactories, of
great bulk, requiring for their transportation many vessels, the return
for which in the manufactures and productions of any foreign country,
even when disposed of there to advantage, may be brought in a single
vessel. This observation is the more especially applicable to those
countries from which manufactures alone are imported, but it applies in
a great extent to the European dominions of every European power and in
a certain extent to all the colonies of those powers. By placing, then,
the navigation precisely on the same ground in the transportation of
exports and imports between the United States and other countries it was
presumed that all was offered which could be desired. It seemed to be
the only proposition which could be devised which would retain even the
semblance of equality in our favor.

Many considerations of great weight gave us a right to expect that this
commerce should be extended to the colonies as well as to the European
dominions of other powers. With the latter, especially with countries
exclusively manufacturing, the advantage was manifestly on their side.
An indemnity for that loss was expected from a trade with the colonies,
and with the greater reason as it was known that the supplies which the
colonies derived from us were of the highest importance to them, their
labor being bestowed with so much greater profit in the culture of other
articles; and because, likewise, the articles of which those supplies
consisted, forming so large a proportion of the exports of the United
States, were never admitted into any of the ports of Europe except in
cases of great emergency to avert a serious calamity. When no article
is admitted which is not required to supply the wants of the party
admitting it, and admitted then not in favor of any particular country
to the disadvantage of others, but on conditions equally applicable to
all, it seems just that the articles thus admitted and invited should be
carried thither in the vessels of the country affording such supply and
that the reciprocity should be found in a corresponding accommodation
on the other side. By allowing each party to participate in the
transportation of such supplies on the payment of equal tonnage a strong
proof was afforded of an accommodating spirit. To abandon to it the
transportation of the whole would be a sacrifice which ought not to
be expected. The demand in the present instance would be the more
unreasonable in consideration of the great inequality existing in
the trade with the parent country.

Such was the basis of our system as established by the act of 1815 and
such its true character. In the year in which this act was passed a
treaty was concluded with Great Britain, in strict conformity with
its principles, in regard to her European dominions. To her colonies,
however, in the West Indies and on this continent it was not extended,
the British Government claiming the exclusive supply of those colonies,
and from our own ports, and of the productions of the colonies in return
in her own vessels. To this claim the United States could not assent,
and in consequence each party suspended the intercourse in the vessels
of the other by a prohibition which still exists.

The same conditions were offered to France, but not accepted. Her
Government has demanded other conditions more favorable to her
navigation, and which should also give extraordinary encouragement to
her manufactures and productions in ports of the United States. To these
it was thought improper to accede, and in consequence the restrictive
regulations which had been adopted on her part, being countervailed
on the part of the United States, the direct commerce between the two
countries in the vessels of each party has been in a great measure
suspended. It is much to be regretted that, although a negotiation has
been long pending, such is the diversity of views entertained on the
various points which have been brought into discussion that there does
not appear to be any reasonable prospect of its early conclusion.

It is my duty to state, as a cause of very great regret, that very
serious differences have occurred in this negotiation respecting the
construction of the eighth article of the treaty of 1803, by which
Louisiana was ceded to the United States, and likewise respecting the
seizure of the _Apollo_, in 1820, for a violation of our revenue laws.
The claim of the Government of France has excited not less surprise than
concern, because there does not appear to be a just foundation for it in
either instance. By the eighth article of the treaty referred to it is
stipulated that after the expiration of twelve years, during which time
it was provided by the seventh or preceding article that the vessels
of France and Spain should be admitted into the ports of the ceded
territory without paying higher duties on merchandise or tonnage on the
vessels than such as were paid by citizens of the United States, the
ships of France should forever afterwards be placed on the footing of
the most favored nation. By the obvious construction of this article it
is presumed that it was intended that no favor should be granted to any
power in those ports to which France should not be forthwith entitled,
nor should any accommodation be allowed to another power on conditions
to which she would not also be entitled on the same conditions. Under
this construction no favor or accommodation could be granted to any
power to the prejudice of France. By allowing the equivalent allowed by
those powers she would always stand in those ports on the footing of the
most favored nation. But if this article should be so construed as that
France should enjoy, of right, and without paying the equivalent, all
the advantages of such conditions as might be allowed to other powers in
return for important concessions made by them, then the whole character
of the stipulation would be changed. She would not be placed on the
footing of the most favored nation, but on a footing held by no other
nation. She would enjoy all advantages allowed to them in consideration
of like advantages allowed to us, free from every and any condition
whatever.

As little cause has the Government of France to complain of the seizure
of the _Apollo_ and the removal of other vessels from the waters of
the St. Marys. It will not be denied that every nation has a right to
regulate its commercial system as it thinks fit and to enforce the
collection of its revenue, provided it be done without an invasion of
the rights of other powers. The violation of its revenue laws is an
offense which all nations punish, the punishment of which gives no just
cause of complaint to the power to which the offenders belong, provided
it be extended to all equally. In this case every circumstance which
occurred indicated a fixed purpose to violate our revenue laws. Had the
party intended to have pursued a fair trade he would have entered our
ports and paid the duties; or had he intended to carry on a legitimate
circuitous commerce with the United States he would have entered the
port of some other power, landed his goods at the custom-house according
to law, and re-shipped and sent them in the vessel of such power, or
of some other power which might lawfully bring them, free from such
duties, to a port of the United States. But the conduct of the party
in this case was altogether different. He entered the river St. Marys,
the boundary line between the United States and Florida, and took his
position on the Spanish side, on which in the whole extent of the river
there was no town, no port or custom-house, and scarcely any settlement.
His purpose, therefore, was not to sell his goods to the inhabitants of
Florida, but to citizens of the United States, in exchange for their
productions, which could not be done without a direct and palpable
breach of our laws. It is known that a regular systematic plan had been
formed by certain persons for the violation of our revenue system, which
made it the more necessary to check the proceeding in its commencement.

That the unsettled bank of a river so remote from the Spanish garrisons
and population could give no protection to any party in such a practice
is believed to be in strict accord with the law of nations. It would
not have comported with a friendly policy in Spain herself to have
established a custom-house there, since it could have subserved no other
purpose than to elude our revenue law. But the Government of Spain did
not adopt that measure. On the contrary, it is understood that the
Captain-General of Cuba, to whom an application to that effect was made
by these adventurers, had not acceded to it. The condition of those
Provinces for many years before they were ceded to the United States
need not now be dwelt on. Inhabited by different tribes of Indians and
an inroad for every kind of adventurer, the jurisdiction of Spain may
be said to have been almost exclusively confined to her garrisons. It
certainly could not extend to places where she had no authority. The
rules, therefore, applicable to settled countries governed by laws could
not be deemed so to the deserts of Florida and to the occurrences there.
It merits attention also that the territory had then been ceded to
the United States by a treaty the ratification of which had not been
refused, and which has since been performed. Under any circumstances,
therefore, Spain became less responsible for such acts committed there,
and the United States more at liberty to exercise authority to prevent
so great a mischief. The conduct of this Government has in every
instance been conciliatory and friendly to France. The construction of
our revenue law in its application to the cases which have formed the
ground of such serious complaint on her part and the order to the
collector of St. Marys, in accord with it, were given two years before
these cases occurred, and in reference to a breach which was attempted
by the subjects of another power. The application, therefore, to the
cases in question was inevitable. As soon as the treaty by which these
Provinces were ceded to the United States was ratified, and all danger
of further breach of our revenue laws ceased, an order was given for the
release of the vessel which had been seized and for the dismission of
the libel which had been instituted against her.

The principles of this system of reciprocity, founded on the law of the
3d of March, 1815, have been since carried into effect with the Kingdoms
of the Netherlands, Sweden, Prussia, and with Hamburg, Bremen, Lubeck,
and Oldenburg, with a provision made by subsequent laws in regard to
the Netherlands, Prussia, Hamburg, and Bremen that such produce and
manufactures as could only be, or most usually were, first shipped from
the ports of those countries, the same being imported in vessels wholly
belonging to their subjects, should be considered and admitted as their
own manufactures and productions.

The Government of Norway has by an ordinance opened the ports of that
part of the dominions of the King of Sweden to the vessels of the United
States upon the payment of no other or higher duties than are paid by
Norwegian vessels, from whatever place arriving and with whatever
articles laden. They have requested the reciprocal allowance for the
vessels of Norway in the ports of the United States. As this privilege
is not within the scope of the act of the 3d of March, 1815, and can
only be granted by Congress, and as it may involve the commercial
relations of the United States with other nations, the subject is
submitted to the wisdom of Congress.

I have presented thus fully to your view our commercial relations with
other powers, that, seeing them in detail with each power, and knowing
the basis on which they rest, Congress may in its wisdom decide whether
any change ought to be made, and, if any, in what respect. If this basis
is unjust or unreasonable, surely it ought to be abandoned; but if it
be just and reasonable, and any change in it will make concessions
subversive of equality and tending in its consequences to sap the
foundations of our prosperity, then the reasons are equally strong for
adhering to the ground already taken, and supporting it by such further
regulations as may appear to be proper, should any additional support
be found necessary.

The question concerning the construction of the first article of the
treaty of Ghent has been, by a joint act of the representatives of
the United States and of Great Britain at the Court of St. Petersburg,
submitted to the decision of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of
Russia. The result of that submission has not yet been received. The
commissioners under the fifth article of that treaty not having been
able to agree upon their decision, their reports to the two Governments,
according to the provisions of the treaty, may be expected at an early
day.

With Spain the treaty of February 22, 1819, has been partly carried into
execution. Possession of East and West Florida has been given to the
United States, but the officers charged with that service by an order
from His Catholic Majesty, delivered by his minister to the Secretary
of State, and transmitted by a special agent to the Captain-General
of Cuba, to whom it was directed and in whom the government of those
Provinces was vested, have not only omitted, in contravention of the
order of their Sovereign, the performance of the express stipulation
to deliver over the archives and documents relating to the property
and sovereignty of those Provinces, all of which it was expected would
have been delivered either before or when the troops were withdrawn,
but defeated since every effort of the United States to obtain them,
especially those of the greatest importance. This omission has given
rise to several incidents of a painful nature, the character of which
will be fully disclosed by the documents which will be hereafter
communicated.

In every other circumstance the law of the 3d of March last, for
carrying into effect that treaty, has been duly attended to. For the
execution of that part which preserved in force, for the government of
the inhabitants for the term specified, all the civil, military, and
judicial powers exercised by the existing government of those Provinces
an adequate number of officers, as was presumed, were appointed, and
ordered to their respective stations. Both Provinces were formed into
one Territory, and a governor appointed for it; but in consideration
of the pre-existing division and of the distance and difficulty of
communication between Pensacola, the residence of the governor of West
Florida, and St. Augustine, that of the governor of East Florida,
at which places the inconsiderable population of each Province was
principally collected, two secretaries were appointed, the one to reside
at Pensacola and the other at St. Augustine. Due attention was likewise
paid to the execution of the laws of the United States relating to the
revenue and the slave trade, which were extended to these Provinces.
The whole Territory was divided into three collection districts, that
part lying between the river St. Marys and Cape Florida forming one,
that from the Cape to the Apalachicola another, and that from the
Apalachicola to the Perdido the third. To these districts the usual
number of revenue officers were appointed; and to secure the due
operation of these laws one judge and a district attorney were appointed
to reside at Pensacola, and likewise one judge and a district attorney
to reside at St. Augustine, with a specified boundary between them;
and one marshal for the whole, with authority to appoint a deputy. In
carrying this law into effect, and especially that part relating to the
powers of the existing government of those Provinces, it was thought
important, in consideration of the short term for which it was to
operate and the radical change which would be made at the approaching
session of Congress, to avoid expense, to make no appointment which
should not be absolutely necessary to give effect to those powers, to
withdraw none of our citizens from their pursuits, whereby to subject
the Government to claims which could not be gratified and the parties
to losses which it would be painful to witness.

It has been seen with much concern that in the performance of these
duties a collision arose between the governor of the Territory and the
judge appointed for the western district. It was presumed that the
law under which this transitory government was organized, and the
commissions which were granted to the officers who were appointed to
execute each branch of the system, and to which the commissions were
adapted, would have been understood in the same sense by them in which
they were understood by the Executive. Much allowance is due to officers
employed in each branch of this system, and the more so as there is good
cause to believe that each acted under the conviction that he possessed
the power which he undertook to exercise. Of the officer holding the
principal station, I think it proper to observe that he accepted it
with reluctance, in compliance with the invitation given him, and from
a high sense of duty to his country, being willing to contribute to the
consummation of an event which would insure complete protection to an
important part of our Union, which had suffered much from incursion and
invasion, and to the defense of which his very gallant and patriotic
services had been so signally and usefully devoted.

From the intrinsic difficulty of executing laws deriving their origin
from different sources, and so essentially different in many important
circumstances, the advantage, and indeed the necessity, of establishing
as soon as may be practicable a well-organized government over that
Territory on the principles of our system is apparent. This subject is
therefore recommended to the early consideration of Congress.

In compliance with an injunction of the law of the 3d of March last,
three commissioners have also been appointed and a board organized for
carrying into effect the eleventh article of the treaty above recited,
making provision for the payment of such of our citizens as have
well-founded claims on Spain of the character specified by that treaty.
This board has entered on its duties and made some progress therein.
The commissioner and surveyor of His Catholic Majesty, provided for by
the fourth article of the treaty, have not yet arrived in the United
States, but are soon expected. As soon as they do arrive corresponding
appointments will be made and every facility be afforded for the due
execution of this service.

The Government of His Most Faithful Majesty since the termination of the
last session of Congress has been removed from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon,
where a revolution similar to that which had occurred in the neighboring
Kingdom of Spain had in like manner been sanctioned by the accepted
and pledged faith of the reigning monarch. The diplomatic intercourse
between the United States and the Portuguese dominions, interrupted
by this important event, has not yet been resumed, but the change
of internal administration having already materially affected the
commercial intercourse of the United States with the Portuguese
dominions, the renewal of the public missions between the two countries
appears to be desirable at an early day.

It is understood that the colonies in South America have had great
success during the present year in the struggle for' their independence.
The new Government of Colombia has extended its territories and
considerably augmented its strength, and at Buenos Ayres, where civil
dissensions had for some time before prevailed, greater harmony and
better order appear to have been established. Equal success has attended
their efforts in the Provinces on the Pacific. It has long been manifest
that it would be impossible for Spain to reduce these colonies by force,
and equally so that no conditions short of their independence would be
satisfactory to them. It may therefore be presumed, and it is earnestly
hoped, that the Government of Spain, guided by enlightened and liberal
councils, will find it to comport with its interests and due to its
magnanimity to terminate this exhausting controversy on that basis. To
promote this result by friendly counsel with the Government of Spain
will be the object of the Government of the United States.

In conducting the fiscal operations of the year it has been found
necessary to carry into full effect the act of the last session of
Congress authorizing a loan of $5,000,000. This sum has been raised at
an average premium of $5.59 per centum upon stock bearing an interest
at the rate of 5 per cent per annum, redeemable at the option of the
Government after the 1st day of January, 1835.

There has been issued under the provisions of this act $4,735,296.30 of
5 per cent stock, and there has been or will be redeemed during the year
$3,197,030.71 of Louisiana 6 per cent deferred stock and Mississippi
stock. There has therefore been an actual increase of the public debt
contracted during the year of $1,538,266.69.

The receipts into the Treasury from the 1st of January to the 30th of
September last have amounted to $16,219,197.70, which, with the balance
of $1,198,461.21 in the Treasury on the former day, make the aggregate
sum of $17,417,658.91. The payments from the Treasury during the same
period have amounted to $15,655,288.47, leaving in the Treasury on the
last-mentioned day the sum of $1,762,370.44. It is estimated that the
receipts of the fourth quarter of the year will exceed the demands which
will be made on the Treasury during the same period, and that the amount
in the Treasury on the 30th of September last will be increased on the
1st day of January next.

At the close of the last session it was anticipated that the progressive
diminution of the public revenue in 1819 and 1820, which had been the
result of the languid state of our foreign commerce in those years,
had in the latter year reached its extreme point of depression. It
has, however, been ascertained that that point was reached only at the
termination of the first quarter of the present year. From that time
until the 30th of September last the duties secured have exceeded those
of the corresponding quarters of the last year $1,172,000, whilst the
amount of debentures issued during the three first quarters of this year
is $952,000 less than that of the same quarters of the last year.

There are just grounds to believe that the improvement which has
occurred in the revenue during the last-mentioned period will not only
be maintained, but that it will progressively increase through the next
and several succeeding years, so as to realize the results which were
presented upon that subject by the official reports of the Treasury at
the commencement of the last session of Congress.

Under the influence of the most unfavorable circumstances the revenue
for the next and subsequent years to the year 1825 will exceed the
demands at present authorized by law.

It may fairly be presumed that under the protection given to domestic
manufactures by the existing laws we shall become at no distant period a
manufacturing country on an extensive scale. Possessing as we do the raw
materials in such vast amount, with a capacity to augment them to an
indefinite extent; raising within the country aliment of every kind to
an amount far exceeding the demand for home consumption, even in the
most unfavorable years, and to be obtained always at a very moderate
price; skilled also, as our people are, in the mechanic arts and in
every improvement calculated to lessen the demand for and the price of
labor, it is manifest that their success in every branch of domestic
industry may and will be carried, under the encouragement given by the
present duties, to an extent to meet any demand which under a fair
competition may be made upon it.

A considerable increase of domestic manufactures, by diminishing the
importation of foreign, will probably tend to lessen the amount of the
public revenue. As, however, a large proportion of the revenue which is
derived from duties is raised from other articles than manufactures, the
demand for which will increase with our population, it is believed that
a fund will still be raised from that source adequate to the greater
part of the public expenditures, especially as those expenditures,
should we continue to be blessed with peace, will be diminished by the
completion of the fortifications, dockyards, and other public works, by
the augmentation of the Navy to the point to which it is proposed to
carry it, and by the payment of the public debt, including pensions for
military services.

It can not be doubted that the more complete our internal resources and
the less dependent we are on foreign powers for every national as well
as domestic purpose the greater and more stable will be the public
felicity. By the increase of domestic manufactures will the demand for
the rude materials at home be increased, and thus will the dependence of
the several parts of our Union on each other and the strength of the
Union itself be proportionably augmented. In this process, which is very
desirable, and inevitable under the existing duties, the resources which
obviously present themselves to supply a deficiency in the revenue,
should it occur, are the interests which may derive the principal
benefit from the change. If domestic manufactures are raised by duties
on foreign, the deficiency in the fund necessary for public purposes
should be supplied by duties on the former. At the last session it
seemed doubtful whether the revenue derived from the present sources
would be adequate to all the great purposes of our Union, including
the construction of our fortifications, the augmentation of the Navy,
and the protection of our commerce against the dangers to which it is
exposed. Had the deficiency been such as to subject us to the necessity
either to abandon those measures of defense or to resort to other means
for adequate funds, the course presented to the adoption of a virtuous
and enlightened people appeared to be a plain one. It must be gratifying
to all to know that this necessity does not exist. Nothing, however, in
contemplation of such important objects, which can be easily provided
for, should be left to hazard. It is thought that the revenue may
receive an augmentation from the existing sources, and in a manner to
aid our manufactures, without hastening prematurely the result which
has been suggested. It is believed that a moderate additional duty on
certain articles would have that effect, without being liable to any
serious objection.

The examination of the whole coast, for the construction of permanent
fortifications, from St. Croix to the Sabine, with the exception of part
of the territory lately acquired, will be completed in the present year,
as will be the survey of the Mississippi, under the resolution of the
House of Representatives, from the mouth of the Ohio to the ocean, and
likewise of the Ohio from Louisville to the Mississippi. A progress
corresponding with the sums appropriated has also been made in the
construction of these fortifications at the points designated. As they
will form a system of defense for the whole maritime frontier, and in
consequence for the interior, and are to last for ages, the greatest
care has been taken to fix the position of each work and to form it on
such a scale as will be adequate to the purpose intended by it. All the
inlets and assailable parts of our Union have been minutely examined,
and positions taken with a view to the best effect, observing in every
instance a just regard for economy. Doubts, however, being entertained
as to the propriety of the position and extent of the work at Dauphine
Island, further progress in it was suspended soon after the last session
of Congress, and an order given to the Board of Engineers and Naval
Commissioners to make a further and more minute examination of it in
both respects, and to report the result without delay.

Due progress has been made in the construction of vessels of war
according to the law providing for the gradual augmentation of the Navy,
and to the extent of existing appropriations. The vessels authorized by
the act of 1820 have all been completed and are now in actual service.
None of the larger ships have been or will be launched for the present,
the object being to protect all which may not be required for immediate
service from decay by suitable buildings erected over them. A squadron
has been maintained, as heretofore, in the Mediterranean, by means
whereof peace has been preserved with the Barbary Powers. This squadron
has been reduced the present year to as small a force as is compatible
with the fulfillment of the object intended by it. From past experience
and the best information respecting the views of those powers it is
distinctly understood that should our squadron be withdrawn they would
soon recommence their hostilities and depredations upon our commerce.
Their fortifications have lately been rebuilt and their maritime force
increased. It has also been found necessary to maintain a naval force on
the Pacific for the protection of the very important interests of our
citizens engaged in commerce and the fisheries in that sea. Vessels have
likewise been employed in cruising along the Atlantic coast, in the Gulf
of Mexico, on the coast of Africa, and in the neighboring seas. In
the latter many piracies have been committed on our commerce, and so
extensive was becoming the range of those unprincipled adventurers that
there was cause to apprehend, without a timely and decisive effort
to suppress them, the worst consequences would ensue. Fortunately, a
considerable check has been given to that spirit by our cruisers, who
have succeeded in capturing and destroying several of their vessels.
Nevertheless, it is considered an object of high importance to continue
these cruises until the practice is entirely suppressed. Like success
has attended our efforts to suppress the slave trade. Under the flag
of the United States and the sanction of their papers the trade may
be considered as entirely suppressed, and if any of our citizens are
engaged in it under the flags and papers of other powers, it is only
from a respect to the rights of those powers that these offenders are
not seized and brought home to receive the punishment which the laws
inflict. If every other power should adopt the same policy and pursue
the same vigorous means for carrying it into effect, the trade could
no longer exist.

Deeply impressed with the blessings which we enjoy, and of which we have
such manifold proofs, my mind is irresistibly drawn to that Almighty
Being, the great source from whence they proceed and to whom our most
grateful acknowledgments are due.

JAMES MONROE.




SPECIAL MESSAGES.


WASHINGTON, _December 16, 1821_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to Congress a letter from the Secretary of the Treasury,
inclosing the report of the commissioners appointed in conformity with
the provisions of "An act to authorize the building of light-houses
therein mentioned, and for other purposes," approved the 3d of March,
1821.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _December 16, 1821_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

By a resolution of Congress approved on the 27th of March, 1818, it was
directed that the journal, acts, and proceedings of the Convention
which formed the present Constitution of the United States should be
published, under the direction of the President of the United States,
together with the secret journals of the acts and proceedings, and the
foreign correspondence (with a certain exception), of the Congress of
the United States from the first meeting thereof down to the date of the
ratification of the definitive treaty of peace between Great Britain
and the United States, in the year 1783, and that 1,000 copies thereof
should be printed, of which one copy should be furnished to each member
of that (the Fifteenth) Congress, and the residue should remain subject
to the future disposition of Congress.

And by a resolution of Congress approved on the 21st April, 1820, it
was provided that the secret journal, together with all the papers
and documents connected with that journal, and all other papers and
documents heretofore considered confidential, of the old Congress, from
the date of the ratification of the definitive treaty of the year 1783
to the formation of the present Government, which were remaining in
the office of the Secretary of State, should be published under the
direction of the President of the United States, and that I,000 copies
thereof should be printed and deposited in the Library subject to the
disposition of Congress.

In pursuance of these two resolutions, 1,000 copies of the journals
and acts of the Convention which formed the Constitution have been
heretofore printed and placed at the disposal of Congress, and 1,000
copies of the secret journals of the Congress of the Confederation,
complete, have been printed, 250 copies of which have been reserved to
comply with the direction of furnishing one copy to each member of the
Fifteenth Congress; the remaining 750 copies have been deposited in the
Library and are now at the disposal of Congress.

By the general appropriation act of 9th April, 1818, the sum of $10,000
was appropriated for defraying the expenses of printing done pursuant to
the resolution of the 27th of March of that year. No appropriation has
yet been made to defray the expenses incident to the execution of the
resolution of 21st April, 1820. The whole expense hitherto incurred
in carrying both resolutions into effect has exceeded by $542.56 the
appropriation of April, 1818. This balance remains due to the printers,
and is included in the estimates of appropriation for the year 1822.
That part of the resolution of the 27th March, 1818, which directs
the publication of the foreign correspondence of the Congress of the
Confederation remains yet to be executed, and a further appropriation
will be necessary for carrying it into effect.

JAMES MONROE.



DECEMBER 30, 1821.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate a treaty of peace and amity concluded between
the United States and the Dey and Regency of Algiers on the 23d of
December, 1816.

This treaty is in all respects the same in its provisions with that
which had been concluded on the 30th of June, 1815, and was ratified, by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, on the 26th of December
of that year, with the exception of one additional and explanatory
article.

The circumstances which have occasioned the delay in laying the
present treaty before the Senate for their advice and consent to its
ratification are, that having been received in the spring of the year
1817, during the recess of the Senate, in the interval between the time
when the Department of State was vacated by its late Secretary and the
entrance of his successor upon the duties of the office, and when a
change also occurred of the chief clerk of the Department, it was not
recollected by the officers of the Department that it remained without
the constitutional sanction of the Senate until shortly before the
commencement of the present session. The documents explanatory of the
additional articles are likewise herewith transmitted.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON _January 7, 1822_.

_To the Congress of the United States_:

I transmit a report of the Secretary of the Navy, together with a survey
of the coast of North Carolina, made in pursuance of a resolution of
Congress of the 19th January, 1819.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 8, 1822_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

In pursuance of a joint resolution of the two Houses of Congress of the
3d of March, 1821, authorizing the President to cause such number of
astronomical observations to be made by methods which might, in his
judgment, be best adapted to insure a correct determination of the
longitude of the Capitol, in the city of Washington, from Greenwich or
some other known meridian in Europe, and that he cause the data, with
accurate calculations on statements founded thereon, to be laid before
them at their present session, I herewith transmit to Congress the
report made by William Lambert, who was selected by me on the 10th
of April last to perform the service required by that resolution.

As no compensation is authorized by law for the execution of the duties
assigned to Mr. Lambert, it is submitted to the discretion of Congress
to make the necessary provision for an adequate allowance to him and to
the assistant whom he employed to aid him in his observations.

JAMES MONROE.



JANUARY 17, 1822.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I nominate the persons whose names are stated in the inclosed letter
from the Secretary of War for the appointments therein respectively
proposed for them.

The changes in the Army growing out of the act of the 2d of March, 1821,
"to reduce and fix the military peace establishment of the United
States," are exhibited in the Official Register for the year 1822,
herewith submitted for the information of the Senate.

Under the late organization of the artillery arm, with the exception of
the colonel of the regiment of light artillery, there were no grades
higher than lieutenant-colonel recognized. Three of the four colonels of
artillery provided for by the act of Congress of the 2d of March, 1821,
were considered, therefore, as original vacancies, to be filled, as the
good of the service might dictate, from the Army corps.

The Pay Department being considered as a part of the military
establishment, and, within the meaning of the above-recited act,
constituting one of the corps of the Army, the then Pay master-General
was appointed colonel of one of the regiments. A contrary construction,
which would have limited the corps specified in the twelfth section of
the act to the line of the Army, would equally have excluded all the
other branches of the staff, as well that of the Pay Department,
which was expressly comprehended among those to be reduced. Such a
construction did not seem to be authorized by the act, since by its
general terms it was inferred to have been intended to give a power
of sufficient extent to make the reduction by which so many were to
be disbanded operate with as little inconvenience as possible to the
parties. Acting on these views and on the recommendation of the board of
general officers, who were called in on account of their knowledge and
experience to aid the Executive in so delicate a service, I thought
it proper to appoint Colonel Towson to one of the new regiments of
artillery, it being a corps in which he had eminently distinguished
himself and acquired great knowledge and experience in the late war.

In reconciling conflicting claims provision for four officers of
distinction could only be made in grades inferior to those which they
formerly held. Their names are submitted, with the nomination for the
brevet rank of the grades from which they were severally reduced.

It is proper also to observe that as it was found difficult in executing
the act to retain each officer in the corps to which he belonged, the
power of transferring officers from one corps to another was reserved
in the general orders, published in the Register, till the 1st day of
January last, in order that upon vacancies occurring those who had been
put out of their proper corps might as far as possible be restored to
it. Under this reservation, and in conformity to the power vested in
the Executive by the first section of the seventy-fifth article of
the general regulations of the Army, approved by Congress at the last
session, on the resignation of Lieutenant-Colonel Mitchell, of the corps
of artillery, Lieutenant-Colonel Lindsay, who had belonged to this corps
before the late reduction, was transferred back to it in the same grade.
As an additional motive to the transfer, it had the effect of preventing
Lieutenant-Colonel Taylor and Major Woolley being reduced to lower
grades than those which they held before the reduction, and Captain Cobb
from being disbanded under the act. These circumstances were considered
as constituting an extraordinary case within the meaning of the section
already referred to of the Regulations of the Army. It is, however,
submitted to the Senate whether this is a case requiring their
confirmation; and in case that such should be their opinion, it is
submitted to them for their constitutional confirmation.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 20, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives
"requesting the President of the United States to cause to be laid
before this House an account of the expenditures made under the act to
provide for the civilization of the Indian tribes, specifying the times
when, the persons to whom, and the particular purpose for which such
expenditures have been made," I herewith transmit a report from the
Secretary of War.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 28, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with the resolution of the 2d instant, I transmit a report
of the Secretary of State, with all the documents relating to the
misunderstanding between Andrew Jackson, while acting as governor of
the Floridas, and Eligius Fromentin, judge of a court therein; and also
of the correspondence between the Secretary of State and the minister
plenipotentiary of His Catholic Majesty on certain proceedings in that
Territory in execution of the powers vested in the governor by the
Executive under the law of the last session for carrying into effect the
late treaty between the United States and Spain. Being always desirous
to communicate to Congress, or to either House, all the information in
the possession of the Executive respecting any important interest of our
Union which may be communicated without real injury to our constituents,
and which can rarely happen except in negotiations pending with foreign
powers, and deeming it more consistent with the principles of our
Government in cases submitted to my discretion, as in the present
instance, to hazard error by the freedom of the communication rather
than by withholding any portion of information belonging to the subject,
I have thought proper to communicate every document comprised within
this call.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 30, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In pursuance of a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
16th instant, requesting information with regard to outrages and abuses
committed upon the persons of the officers and crews of American vessels
at The Havannah and other Spanish ports in America, and whether the
Spanish authorities have taken any measures to punish, restrain, or
countenance such outrages, I herewith transmit to that House a report
from the Secretary of State, containing the information called for.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 30, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In pursuance of a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
8th instant, I transmit to the House of Representatives a report of the
Secretary of State, containing all the information procured by him in
relation to commissions of bankruptcy in certain districts of the United
States under the act of 4th of April, 1800, "to establish an uniform
system of bankruptcy in the United States."

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 7, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives
requesting the President to "cause that House to be informed whether the
commissioners appointed to lay out the continuation of the Cumberland
road from Wheeling, in the State of Virginia, through the States of
Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois to the Mississippi River, have completed
the same, and, if not completed, the reason why their duties have been
suspended," I transmit a report from the Secretary of the Treasury,
which furnishes the information desired.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 10, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives
"requesting the President of the United States to cause to be laid
before this House any information which he may have of the condition
of the several Indian tribes within the United States and the measures
hitherto devised and pursued for their civilization," I now transmit
a report from the Secretary of War.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 23, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives
"requesting the President of the United States to cause to be reported
to this House whether the Indian title has been extinguished by the
United States to any lands the right of soil in which has been or is
claimed by any particular State, and, if so, the conditions upon which
the same has been extinguished," I herewith transmit a report from the
Secretary of War, furnishing all the information in the possession of
that Department embraced by the resolution,

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 23, 1822_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 14th instant,
requesting the President of the United States "to make known to the
Senate the annual disposition which has been made of the sum of $15,000
appropriated by an act of Congress of the year 1802 to promote
civilization among friendly Indian tribes, showing to what tribes that
evidence of the national bounty has been extended, the names of the
agents who have been intrusted with the application of the money, the
several amounts by them received, and the manner in which they have
severally applied it to accomplish the objects of the act," I herewith
transmit a report from the Secretary of War, furnishing all the
information upon this subject in the possession of that Department.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 25, 1822_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

Under the appropriation made by the act of Congress of the 11th of
April, 1820, for holding treaties with the Creek and Cherokee nations of
Indians for the extinguishment of the Indian title to lands within the
State of Georgia, pursuant to the fourth condition of the first article
of the articles of agreement and cession concluded between the United
States and the State of Georgia on the 24th day of April, 1802, a treaty
was held with the Creek Nation, the expense of which upon the settlement
of the accounts of the commissioners who were appointed to conduct the
negotiation was ascertained to amount to the sum of $24,695, leaving an
unexpended balance of the sum appropriated of $5,305, a sum too small
to negotiate a treaty with the Cherokees, as was contemplated by the
act making the appropriation. The legislature of Georgia being still
desirous that a treaty should be held for further extinguishment of the
Indian title to lands within that State, and to obtain an indemnity to
the citizens of that State for property of considerable value, which has
been taken from them by the Cherokee Indians, I submit the subject to
the consideration of Congress, that a further sum, which, in addition
to the balance of the former appropriation, will be adequate to the
expenses attending a treaty with them, may be appropriated should
Congress deem it expedient.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 4, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
22d ultimo, requesting the President of the United States "to cause to
be laid before this House a statement showing the amount of woolens
purchased for the use of the Army during the years 1820 and 1821,
comprising a description of the articles, of whom the purchases were
made, at what prices, and what proportion thereof was of American
manufacture," I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of War.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 8, 1822_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

In transmitting to the House of Representatives the documents called for
by the resolution of that House of the 30th January, I consider it my
duty to invite the attention of Congress to a very important subject,
and to communicate the sentiments of the Executive on it, that, should
Congress entertain similar sentiments, there may be such cooperation
between the two departments of the Government as their respective rights
and duties may require.

The revolutionary movement in the Spanish Provinces in this hemisphere
attracted the attention and excited the sympathy of our fellow-citizens
from its commencement. This feeling was natural and honorable to
them, from causes which need not be communicated to you. It has been
gratifying to all to see the general acquiescence which has been
manifested in the policy which the constituted authorities have deemed
it proper to pursue in regard to this contest. As soon as the movement
assumed such a steady and consistent form as to make the success of the
Provinces probable, the rights to which they were entitled by the law
of nations as equal parties to a civil war were extended to them. Each
party was permitted to enter our ports with its public and private
ships, and to take from them every article which was the subject of
commerce with other nations. Our citizens, also, have carried on
commerce with both parties, and the Government has protected it with
each in articles not contraband of war. Through the whole of this
contest the United States have remained neutral, and have fulfilled with
the utmost impartiality all the obligations incident to that character.

This contest has now reached such a stage and been attended with such
decisive success on the part of the Provinces that it merits the most
profound consideration whether their right to the rank of independent
nations, with all the advantages incident to it in their intercourse
with the United States, is not complete. Buenos Ayres assumed that rank
by a formal declaration in 1816, and has enjoyed it since 1810 free from
invasion by the parent country. The Provinces composing the Republic
of Colombia, after having separately declared their independence, were
united by a fundamental law of the 17th of December, 1819. A strong
Spanish force occupied at that time certain parts of the territory
within their limits and waged a destructive war. That force has since
been repeatedly defeated, and the whole of it either made prisoners
or destroyed or expelled from the country, with the exception of an
inconsiderable portion only, which is blockaded in two fortresses.
The Provinces on the Pacific have likewise been very successful. Chili
declared independence in 1818, and has since enjoyed it undisturbed; and
of late, by the assistance of Chili and Buenos Ayres, the revolution
has extended to Peru. Of the movement in Mexico our information is less
authentic, but it is, nevertheless, distinctly understood that the new
Government has declared its independence, and that there is now no
opposition to it there nor a force to make any. For the last three years
the Government of Spain has not sent a single corps of troops to any
part of that country, nor is there any reason to believe it will send
any in future. Thus it is manifest that all those Provinces are not only
in the full enjoyment of their independence, but, considering the state
of the war and other circumstances, that there is not the most remote
prospect of their being deprived of it.

When the result of such a contest is manifestly settled, the new
governments have a claim to recognition by other powers which ought not
to be resisted. Civil wars too often excite feelings which the parties
can not control. The opinion entertained by other powers as to the
result may assuage those feelings and promote an accommodation between
them useful and honorable to both. The delay which has been observed in
making a decision on this important subject will, it is presumed, have
afforded an unequivocal proof to Spain, as it must have done to other
powers, of the high respect entertained by the United States for her
rights and of their determination not to interfere with them. The
Provinces belonging to this hemisphere are our neighbors, and have
successively, as each portion of the country acquired its independence,
pressed their recognition by an appeal to facts not to be contested, and
which they thought gave them a just title to it. To motives of interest
this Government has invariably disclaimed all pretension, being resolved
to take no part in the controversy or other measure in regard to it
which should not merit the sanction of the civilized world. To other
claims a just sensibility has been always felt and frankly acknowledged,
but they in themselves could never become an adequate cause of action.
It was incumbent on this Government to look to every important fact and
circumstance on which a sound opinion could be formed, which has been
done. When we regard, then, the great length of time which this war has
been prosecuted, the complete success which has attended it in favor
of the Provinces, the present condition of the parties, and the utter
inability of Spain to produce any change in it, we are compelled to
conclude that its fate is settled, and that the Provinces which have
declared their independence and are in the enjoyment of it ought to
be recognized.

Of the views of the Spanish Government on this subject no particular
information has been recently received. It may be presumed that the
successful progress of the revolution through such a long series of
years, gaining strength and extending annually in every direction, and
embracing by the late important events, with little exception, all the
dominions of Spain south of the United States on this continent, placing
thereby the complete sovereignty over the whole in the hands of the
people, will reconcile the parent country to an accommodation with them
on the basis of their unqualified independence. Nor has any authentic
information been recently received of the disposition of other powers
respecting it. A sincere desire has been cherished to act in concert
with them in the proposed recognition, of which several were some time
past duly apprised; but it was understood that they were not prepared
for it. The immense space between those powers, even those which border
on the Atlantic, and these Provinces makes the movement an affair
of less interest and excitement to them than to us. It is probable,
therefore, that they have been less attentive to its progress than we
have been. It may be presumed, however, that the late events will dispel
all doubt of the result.

In proposing this measure it is not contemplated to change thereby in
the slightest manner our friendly relations with either of the parties,
but to observe in all respects, as heretofore, should the war be
continued, the most perfect neutrality between them. Of this friendly
disposition an assurance will be given to the Government of Spain,
to whom it is presumed it will be, as it ought to be, satisfactory.
The measure is proposed under a thorough conviction that it is in
strict accord with the law of nations, that it is just and right as
to the parties, and that the United States owe it to their station
and character in the world, as well as to their essential interests,
to adopt it. Should Congress concur in the view herein presented, they
will doubtless see the propriety of making the necessary appropriations
for carrying it into effect.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 9, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, together with the annual
return of the militia of the United States, and an exhibit of the arms,
accouterments, and ammunition of the several States and Territories of
the United States, prepared in conformity with the militia laws on that
subject.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 12, 1822_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I lay before the Senate the copy of a supplementary report, made by
William Lambert, in relation to the longitude of the Capitol from
Greenwich, in pursuance of a joint resolution of the two Houses of
Congress of the 3d of March, 1821, and I subjoin an extract from the
letter of Mr. Lambert submitting that report.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 26, 1822_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

Congress having suspended the appropriation, at the last session,
for the fortification at Dauphine Island, in consequence of a doubt
which was entertained of the propriety of that position, the further
prosecution of the work was suspended, and an order given, as intimated
in the message of the 3d of December, to the Board of Engineers and
Naval Commissioners to examine that part of the coast, and particularly
that position, as also the position at Mobile Point, with which it is
connected, and to report their opinion thereon, which has been done,
and which report is herewith communicated.

By this report it appears to be still the opinion of the Board that the
construction of works at both these positions is of great importance to
the defense of New Orleans and of all that portion of our Union which is
connected with and dependent on the Mississippi and on the other waters
which empty into the Gulf of Mexico between that river and Cape Florida.
That the subject may be fully before Congress, I transmit also a copy
of the former report of the Board, being that on which the work was
undertaken and has been in part executed. Approving as I do the opinion
of the Board, I consider it my duty to state the reasons on which I
adopted the first report, especially as they were in part suggested by
the occurrences of the late war.

The policy which induced Congress to decide on and provide for the
defense of the coast immediately after the war was founded on the marked
events of that interesting epoch. The vast body of men which it was
found necessary to call into the field through the whole extent of our
maritime frontier, and the number who perished by exposure, with the
immense expenditure of money and waste of property which followed, were
to be traced in an eminent degree to the defenseless condition of the
coast. It was to mitigate these evils in future wars, and even for the
higher purpose of preventing war itself, that the decision was formed to
make the coast, so far as it might be practicable, impregnable, and that
the measures necessary to that great object have been pursued with so
much zeal since.

It is known that no part of our Union is more exposed to invasion by the
numerous avenues leading to it, or more defenseless by the thinness of
the neighboring population, or offers a greater temptation to invasion,
either as a permanent acquisition or as a prize to the cupidity of
grasping invaders from the immense amount of produce deposited there,
than the city of New Orleans. It is known also that the seizure of no
part of our Union could affect so deeply and vitally the immediate
interests of so many States and of so many of our fellow-citizens,
comprising all that extensive territory and numerous population which
are connected with and dependent on the Mississippi, as the seizure of
that city. Strong works, well posted, were therefore deemed absolutely
necessary for its protection.

It is not, however, by the Mississippi only, or the waters which
communicate directly with or approach nearest to New Orleans, that the
town is assailable. It will be recollected that in the late war the
public solicitude was excited not so much by the danger which menaced it
in those directions as by the apprehension that, while a feint might be
made there, the main force, landing either in the bay of Mobile or other
waters between that bay and the Rigolets, would be thrown above the town
in the rear of the army which had been collected there for its defense.
Full confidence was entertained that that gallant army, led by the
gallant and able chief who commanded it, would repel any attack to which
it might be exposed in front. But had such a force been thrown above the
town, and a position taken on the banks of the river, the disadvantage
to which our troops would have been subjected, attacked in front and
rear as they might have been, may easily be conceived. As their supplies
would have been cut off, they could not long have remained in the city,
and, withdrawing from it, it must have fallen immediately into the hands
of the force below. In ascending the river to attack the force above,
the attack must have been made to great disadvantage, since it must have
been on such ground and at such time as the enemy preferred. These
considerations shew that defenses other than such as are immediately
connected with the city are of great importance to its safety.

An attempt to seize New Orleans and the lower part of the Mississippi
will be made only by a great power or a combination of several powers,
with a strong naval and land force, the latter of which must be brought
in transports which may sail in shallow water. If the defenses around
New Orleans are well posted and of sufficient strength to repel any
attack which may be made on them, the city can be assailed only by a
land force, which must pass in the direction above suggested, between
the Rigolets and the bay of Mobile. It becomes, therefore, an object of
high importance to present such an obstacle to such an attempt as would
defeat it should it be made. Fortifications are useful for the defense
of posts, to prevent the approach to cities and the passage of rivers;
but as works their effect can not be felt beyond the reach of their
cannon. They are formidable in other respects by the body of men
within them, which may be removed and applied to other purposes.

Between the Rigolets and the bay of Mobile there is a chain of islands,
at the extremity of which is Dauphine Island, which forms, with Mobile
Point, from which it is distant about 3-1/4 miles, the entrance into the
bay of Mobile, which leads through that part of the State of Alabama to
the towns of Mobile and Blakeley. The distance between Dauphine Island
and the Rigolets is 90 miles. The principal islands between them are
Massacre, Horn, Ship, and Cat islands, near to which there is anchorage
for large ships of war. The first object is to prevent the landing of
any force for the purposes above stated between the Rigolets and the bay
of Mobile; the second, to defeat that force in case it should be landed.
When the distance from one point to the other is considered, it is
believed that it would be impossible to establish works so near to each
other as to prevent the landing of such a force. Its defeat, therefore,
should be effectually provided for. If the arrangement should be such as
to make that result evident, it ought to be fairly concluded that the
attempt would not be made, and thus we should accomplish in the best
mode possible and with the least expense the complete security of this
important part of our Union, the great object of our system of defense
for the whole.

There are some other views of this subject which it is thought will
merit particular attention in deciding the point in question. Not being
able to establish a chain of posts, at least for the present, along the
whole coast from the Rigolets to Dauphine Island, or on all the islands
between them, at which point shall we begin? Should an attack on the
city be anticipated, it can not be doubted that an adequate force would
immediately be ordered there for its defense. If the enemy should
despair of making an impression on the works near the town, it may be
presumed that they would promptly decide to make the attempt in the
manner and in the line above suggested between the Rigolets and the
bay of Mobile. It will be obvious that the nearer the fortification is
erected to the Rigolets with a view to this object, should it be on Cat
or Ship Island, for example, the wider would the passage be left open
between that work and the bay of Mobile for such an enterprise. The main
army, being drawn to New Orleans, would be ready to meet such an attempt
near the Rigolets or at any other point not distant from the city. It
is probable, therefore, that the enemy, profiting of a fair wind, would
make his attempt at the greatest distance compatible with his object
from that point, and at the bay of Mobile should there not be works
there of sufficient strength to prevent it. Should, however, strong
works be erected there, such as were sufficient not only for their own
defense against any attack which might be made on them, but to hold a
force connected with that which might be drawn from the neighboring
country, capable of cooperating with the force at the city, and which
would doubtless be ordered to those works in the event of war, it
would be dangerous for the invading force to land anywhere between the
Rigolets and the bay of Mobile and to pass toward the Mississippi above
the city, lest such a body might be thrown in its rear as to cut off its
retreat. These considerations show the great advantage of establishing
at the mouth of the bay of Mobile very strong works, such as would be
adequate to all the purposes suggested.

If fortifications were necessary only to protect our country and cities
against the entry of large ships of war into our bays and rivers, they
would be of little use for the defense of New Orleans, since that city
can not be approached so near, either by the Mississippi or in any other
direction, by such vessels for them to make an attack on it. In the
Gulf, within our limits west of Florida, which had been acquired since
these works were decided on and commenced, there is no bay or river into
which large ships of war can enter. As a defense, therefore, against an
attack from such vessels extensive works would be altogether unnecessary
either at Mobile Point or at Dauphine Island, since sloops of war only
can navigate the deepest channel. But it is not for that purpose
alone that these works are intended. It is to provide also against a
formidable invasion, both by land and sea, the object of which may be to
shake the foundation of our system. Should such small works be erected,
and such an invasion take place, they would be sure to fall at once into
the hands of the invaders and to be turned against us.

Whether the acquisition of Florida may be considered as affording an
inducement to make any change in the position or strength of these works
is a circumstance which also merits attention. From the view which
I have taken of the subject I am of opinion that it should not. The
defense of New Orleans and of the river Mississippi against a powerful
invasion being one of the great objects of such extensive works, that
object would be essentially abandoned if they should be established
eastward of the bay of Mobile, since the force to be collected in
them would be placed at too great a distance to allow the cooperation
necessary for those purposes between it and that at the city; in
addition to which, it may be observed that by carrying them to Pensacola
or farther to the east that bay would fall immediately, in case of such
invasion, into the hands of the enemy, whereby such cooperation would be
rendered utterly impossible, and the State of Alabama would also be left
wholly unprotected.

With a view to such formidable invasion, of which we should never lose
sight, and of the great objects to which it would be directed, I think
that very strong works at some point within the Gulf of Mexico will
be found indispensable. I think also that those works ought to be
established at the bay of Mobile--one at Mobile Point and the other on
Dauphine Island--whereby the enemy would be excluded and the complete
command of that bay, with all the advantages attending it, be secured
to ourselves. In the case of such invasion, it will, it is presumed,
be deemed necessary to collect at some point other than at New Orleans
a strong force, capable of moving in any direction and affording aid
to any part which may be attacked; and, in my judgment, no position
presents so many advantages as a point of rendezvous for such force as
the mouth of that bay. The fortification at the Rigolets will defend the
entrance by one passage into Lake Pontchartrain, and also into Pearl
River, which empties into the Gulf at that point. Between the Rigolets
and Mobile Bay there are but two inlets which deserve the name, those of
St. Louis and Pascagola, the entrance into which is too shallow even
for the smallest vessels; and from the Rigolets to Mobile Bay the whole
coast is equally shallow, affording the depth of a few feet of water
only. Cat Island, which is nearest the Rigolets, is about 7-1/2 miles
distant from the coast and 30 from the Rigolets. Ship Island is distant
about 10 miles from Cat Island and 12 from the coast. Between these
islands and the coast the water is very shallow.

As to the precise depth of water in approaching those islands from the
Gulf, the report of the topographical engineers not having yet been
received, it is impossible to speak with precision; but admitting it
to be such as for frigates and even ships of the line to enter, the
anchorage at both is unsafe, being much exposed to northwest winds.
Along the coast, therefore, there is no motive for such strong works on
our part--no town to guard, no inlet into the country to defend--and if
placed on the islands and the entrance to them is such as to admit large
ships of war, distant as they are from the coast, it would be more easy
for the enemy to assail them with effect.

The position, however, at Mobile Bay is essentially different. That bay
takes its name from the Mobile River, which is formed by the junction of
the Alabama and Tombigbee, which extend each about 300 miles into the
interior, approaching at their head waters near the Tennessee River.
If the enemy possessed its mouth, and fortified Mobile Point and
Dauphine Island, being superior at sea it would be very difficult for
us to dispossess him of either, even of Mobile Point; and holding that
position, Pensacola would soon fall, as without incurring great expense
in the construction of works there it would present but a feeble
resistance to a strong force in its rear. If we had a work at Mobile
Point only, the enemy might take Dauphine Island, which would afford
him great aid in attacking the point, and enable him, even should we
succeed in repelling the attack, to render us great mischief there and
throughout the whole Gulf. In every view which can be taken of the
subject it appears indispensable for us to command the entrance into
Mobile Bay, and that decision being taken, I think the considerations
which favor the occupation of Dauphine Island by a strong work are
conclusive. It is proper to observe that after the repulse before New
Orleans in the late war the British forces took possession of Dauphine
Island and held it till the peace. Under neither of the reports of the
Board of Engineers and Naval Commissioners could any but sloops of war
enter the bay or the anchorage between Dauphine and Pelican islands.
Both reports give to that anchorage 18 feet at low water and 20-1/2 at
high. The only difference between them consists in this, that in the
first a bar leading to the anchorage, reducing the depth of water to
12 feet at low tide, was omitted. In neither case could frigates enter,
though sloops of war of larger size might. The whole scope, however, of
this reasoning turns on a different principle--on the works necessary to
defend that bay and, by means thereof, New Orleans, the Mississippi, and
all the surrounding country against a powerful invasion both by land and
sea, and not on the precise depth of water in any of the approaches to
the bay or to the island.

The reasoning which is applicable to the works near New Orleans and at
the bay of Mobile is equally so in certain respects to those which are
to be erected for the defense of all the bays and rivers along the other
parts of the coast. All those works are also erected on a greater scale
than would be necessary for the sole purpose of preventing the passage
of our inlets by large ships of war. They are in most instances formed
for defense against a more powerful invasion, both by land and sea.
There are, however, some differences between the works which are deemed
necessary in the Gulf and those in other parts of our Union, founded on
the peculiar situation of that part of the coast. The vast extent of
the Mississippi, the great outlet and channel of commerce for so many
States, all of which may be affected by the seizure of that city, or
of any part of the river to a great extent above it, is one of those
striking peculiarities which require particular provision. The thinness
of the population near the city, making it necessary that the force
requisite for its defense should be called from distant parts and
States, is another. The danger which the army assembled at New Orleans
would be exposed to of being cut off in case the enemy should throw a
force on the river above it, from the difficulty of ascending the river
to attack it and of making a retreat in any other direction, is a third.
For an attack on the city of New Orleans, Mobile Bay, or any part of the
intermediate coast ships of war would be necessary only as a convoy to
protect the transports against a naval force on their passage, and on
their approach to the shore for the landing of the men, and on their
return home in case they should be repulsed.

On the important subject of our defenses generally I think proper to
observe that the system was adopted immediately after the late war by
Congress, on great consideration and a thorough knowledge of the effects
of that war--by the enormous expense attending it, by the waste of life,
of property, and by the general distress of the country. The amount of
debt incurred in that war and due at its conclusion, without taking into
the estimate other losses, having been heretofore communicated, need
not now be repeated. The interest of the debt thus incurred is four
times more than the sum necessary, by annual appropriations, for the
completion of our whole system of defense, land and naval, to the extent
provided for and within the time specified. When that system shall be
completed the expense of construction will cease, and our expenditures
be proportionally diminished. Should another war occur before it is
completed, the experience of the last marks in characters too strong
to be mistaken its inevitable consequences; and should such war occur
and find us unprepared for it, what will be our justification to the
enlightened body whom we represent for not having completed these
defenses? That this system should not have been adopted before the late
war can not be a cause of surprise to anyone, because all might wish
to avoid every expense the necessity of which might be in any degree
doubtful. But with the experience of that war before us it is thought
there is no cause for hesitation. Will the completion of these works and
the augmentation of our Navy to the point contemplated by law require
the imposition of onerous burthens on our fellow-citizens such as they
can not or will not bear? Have such, or any, burthens been imposed to
advance the system to its present state? It is known that no burthens
whatever have been imposed; on the contrary, that all the direct or
internal taxes have been long repealed, and none paid but those which
are indirect and voluntary, such as are imposed on articles imported
from foreign countries, most of which are luxuries, and on the vessels
employed in the transportation--taxes which some of our most enlightened
citizens think ought to be imposed on many of the articles for the
encouragement of our manufactures, even if the revenue derived from them
could be dispensed with. It is known also that in all other respects
our condition as a nation is in the highest degree prosperous and
flourishing, nearly half the debt incurred in the late war having
already been discharged, and considerable progress having also been made
in the completion of this system of defense and in the construction of
other works of great extent and utility, by the revenue derived from
these sources and from the sale of the public lands. I may add also
that a very generous provision has been made from the same sources for
the surviving officers and soldiers of our Revolutionary army. These
important facts show that this system has been so far executed, and may
be completed without any real inconvenience to the public. Were it,
however, otherwise, I have full confidence that any burthens which
might be found necessary for the completion of this system in both
its branches within the term contemplated, or much sooner should any
emergency require it, would be called for rather than complained of
by our fellow-citizens.

From these views, applicable to the very important subject of our
defenses generally as well as to the work at Dauphine Island, I think
it my duty to recommend to Congress an appropriation for the latter.
I considered the withholding it at the last session as the expression
only of a doubt by Congress of the propriety of the position, and not
as a definitive opinion. Supposing that that question would be decided
at the present session, I caused the position and such parts of the
coast as are particularly connected with it to be reexamined, that all
the light on which the decision as to the appropriation could depend
might be fully before you. In the first survey, the report of which
was that on which the works intended for the defense of New Orleans,
the Mississippi, the bay of Mobile, and all the country dependent on
those waters were sanctioned by the Executive, the commissioners were
industriously engaged about six months. I should have communicated that
very able and interesting document then but from a doubt how far the
interest of our country would justify its publication, a circumstance
which I now mention that the attention of Congress may be drawn to it.

JAMES MONROE.



MARCH 26, 1822.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

Having executed the act entitled "An act to reduce and fix the military
peace establishment of the United States" on great consideration and
according to my best judgment, and inferring from the rejection of
the nomination of Colonel Towson and Colonel Gadsden, officers of very
distinguished merit, that the view which I took of that law has not been
well understood, I hereby withdraw all the nominations on which the
Senate has not decided until I can make a more full communication and
explanation of that view and of the principles on which I have acted
in the discharge of that very delicate and important duty.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 27, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
1st instant, requesting "the President to communicate such information
as he may possess relative to any private claim against the piece of
land in the Delaware River known by the name of the Peapatch, and to
state if any, and what, process has been instituted in behalf of such
claim," I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of War,
furnishing the information required.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 28, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit the original reports on the subject of the fortifications on
Dauphin Island and Mobile Point, being those on which the works were
undertaken and have been in part executed. The doubt expressed as to the
propriety of publication is applicable to this document, which would
have accompanied the message of the 26th had it been prepared in time.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 29, 1822_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to Congress the translation of two letters from the minister
of France to the Secretary of State, relating to the claim of the heirs
of Caron de Beaumarchais upon this Government, with the documents
therewith inclosed, recommending them to the favorable consideration
of Congress.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _April 5, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I communicate herewith to the House a report from the Secretary of War,
containing the information requested by their resolution of the 5th
ultimo.

It may be proper further to add that the secretaries of both the
Territories have occasionally required and received the aid of the
military force of the United States stationed within them, respectively,
to carry into effect the acts of their authority.

The government of East and West Florida was under the Spanish dominion
almost exclusively military. The governors of both were military
officers and united in their persons the chief authority, both civil
and military.

The principle upon which the act of Congress of the last session
providing for the temporary government of the newly ceded Provinces was
carried into execution has been communicated to Congress in my message
at the opening of the session. It was to leave the authorities of the
country as they were found existing at the time of the cession, to be
exercised until the meeting of Congress, when it was known that the
introduction of a system more congenial to our own institutions would be
one of the earliest and most important subjects of their deliberations.
From this, among other obvious considerations, military officers were
appointed to take possession of both Provinces. But as the military
command of General Jackson was to cease on the 1st of June, General
Gaines, the officer next in command, then here, who was first designated
to take possession of East Florida, received from me a verbal direction
to give such effect to any requisition from the governor for military
aid to enforce his authority as the circumstances might require. It was
not foreseen that the command in both the Provinces would before further
legislation by Congress on that subject devolve upon the secretaries of
the Territories, but had it been foreseen the same direction would have
been given as applicable to them.

No authority has been given to either of the secretaries to issue
commands to that portion of the Army which is in Florida, and whenever
the aid of _the military_ has been required by them it has been by
written requisitions to the officers commanding the troops, who have
yielded compliance thereto doubtless under the directions received
from General Gaines as understood by him to be authorized.

Shortly before the meeting of Congress a letter was received at the War
Department from Colonel Brooke, the officer commanding at Pensacola,
requesting instructions how far he was to consider these requisitions
as authoritative, but the assurance that a new organization of the
government was immediately to be authorized by Congress was a motive
for superseding any specific decision upon the inquiry.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _April 6, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives
requesting the President of the United States to cause to be furnished
to that House certain information relating to the amount of the public
money paid to the Attorney-General over and above his salary fixed by
law since the 1st of January, 1817, specifying the time when paid and
the fund out of which such payments have been made, I transmit a paper,
marked A, containing the information desired. I transmit also a paper,
marked B, containing a statement of sums paid to Attorney General of the
United States prior to the 1st of January, 1817, and in the paper marked
C a like statement of sums advanced to district attorneys for services
not required of them by law. These latter documents being necessary to
a full view of the subject, it is thought proper to comprise them in
this communication.

By the act of 24th September, 1789, instituting the office of Attorney
General, it was made his duty to prosecute and conduct all suits in the
Supreme Court in which the United States should be concerned, and to
give his advice and opinion upon questions of law when required by the
President of the United States, or when requested by the head of any
of the Departments, touching any matters that might concern their
Departments. It will be seen, therefore, by the statement communicated
that no money whatever has been paid to the Attorney General for his
services in that character, nor for any duty belonging to his office,
beyond his salary as fixed by law.

It will also be shewn by the documents communicated that the
construction given of the laws imposing duties on the Attorney General
and district attorneys have been invariably the same since the
institution of the Government. On the same authority it was thought
that the compensation allowed to the present Attorney General for
certain services, considering their importance and the time employed
in rendering them, did not exceed, regarding precedents, what might
fairly be claimed.

JAMES MONROE.



APRIL, 13, 1822.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

Having cause to infer that the reasons which led to the construction
which I gave to the act of the last session entitled "An act to reduce
and fix the peace establishment of the United States" have not been well
understood, I consider it my duty to explain more fully the view which
I took of that act and of the principles on which I executed the very
difficult and important duty enjoined on me by it.

To do justice to the subject it is thought proper to show the actual
state of the Army before the passage of the late act, the force in
service, the several corps of which it was composed, and the grades
and number of officers commanding it. By seeing distinctly the body
in all its parts on which the law operated, viewing also with a just
discrimination the spirit, policy, and positive injunctions of that law
with reference to precedents established in a former analogous case,
we shall be enabled to ascertain with great precision whether these
injunctions have or have not been strictly complied with.

By the act of the 3d of March, 1815, entitled "An act fixing the
military peace establishment of the United States," the whole force
in service was reduced to 10,000 men--infantry, artillery, and
riflemen--exclusive of the Corps of Engineers, which was retained in its
then state. The regiment of light artillery was retained as it had been
organized by the act of 3d March, 1814. The infantry was formed into
9 regiments, 1 of which consisted of riflemen. The regiments of light
artillery, infantry, riflemen, and Corps of Engineers were commanded
each by a colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and the usual battalion and
company officers; and the battalions of the corps of artillery, of which
there were 8--4 for the Northern and 4 for the Southern division--were
commanded by lieutenant-colonels or majors, there being 4 of each grade.
There were, therefore, in the Army at the time the late law was passed
12 colonels belonging to those branches of the military establishment.
Two major-generals and 4 brigadiers were likewise retained in service by
this act; but the staff in several of its branches not being provided
for, and being indispensable and the omission inadvertent, proceeding
from the circumstances under which the act was passed, being at the
close of the session, at which time intelligence of the peace was
received, it was provisionally retained by the President, and provided
for afterwards by the act of the 24th April, 1816. By this act the
Ordnance Department was preserved as it had been organized by the act
of February 8, 1815, with 1 colonel, 1 lieutenant-colonel, 2 majors,
10 captains, and 10 first, second, and third lieutenants. One Adjutant
and Inspector General of the Army and 2 adjutants-general--1 for the
Northern and 1 for the Southern division--were retained. This act
provides also for a Paymaster-General, with a suitable number of
regimental and battalion paymasters, as a part of the general staff,
constituting the military peace establishment; and the Pay Department
and every other branch of the staff were subjected to the Rules and
Articles of War.

By the act of March 2, 1821, it was ordained that the military peace
establishment should consist of 4 regiments of artillery and 7 of
infantry, with such officers of engineers, ordnance, and staff as were
therein specified. It is provided that each regiment of artillery should
consist of 1 colonel, 1 lieutenant-colonel, 1 major, and 9 companies,
with the usual company officers, 1 of which to be equipped as light
artillery, and that there should be attached to each regiment of
artillery 1 supernumerary captain to perform ordnance duty, thereby
merging the regiment of artillery and Ordnance Department into these
4 regiments. It was provided also that each regiment of infantry should
consist of 1 colonel, 1 lieutenant colonel, 1 major, and 10 companies,
with the usual company officers. The Corps of Engineers, bombardiers
excepted, with the topographical engineers and their assistants, were
to be retained under the existing organization. The former establishment
as to the number of major generals and brigadiers was curtailed one-half,
and the office of Inspector and Adjutant General to the Army and of
adjutant-general to each division annulled, and that of Adjutant General
to the Army instituted. The Quartermaster, Paymaster, and Commissary
Departments were also specially provided for, as was every other branch
of the staff, all of which received a new modification, and were
subjected to the Rules and Articles of War.

The immediate and direct operation of this act on the military peace
establishment of 1815 was that of reduction, from which no officer
belonging to it was exempt, unless it might be the topographical
engineers; for in retaining the Corps of Engineers, as was manifest
as well by the clear import of the section relating to it as by the
provisions of every other clause of the act, reference was had to the
organization, and not to the officers of the Corps. The establishment
of 1815 was reduced from 10,000 to about 6,000 men. The 8 battalions of
artillery, constituting what was called the corps of artillery, and the
regiment of light artillery as established by the act of 1815, were to
be incorporated together and formed into 4 new regiments. The regiments
of infantry were to be reduced from 9 to 7, the rifle regiment being
broken. Three of the general officers were to be reduced, with very
many of the officers belonging to the several corps of the Army, and
particularly of the infantry. All the provisions of the act declare of
what number of officers and men the several corps provided for by it
should thenceforward consist, and not that any corps as then existing
or any officer of any corps, unless the topographical engineers were
excepted, should be retained. Had it been intended to reduce the
officers by corps, or to exempt the officers of any corps from the
operation of the law, or in the organization of the several new corps
to confine the selection of the officers to be placed in them to the
several corps of the like kind then existing, and not extend it to the
whole military establishment, including the staff, or to confine the
reduction to a proportional number of each corps and of each grade
in each corps, the object in either instance might have been easily
accomplished by a declaration to that effect. No such declaration was
made, nor can such intention be inferred. We see, on the contrary, that
every corps of the Army and staff was to be reorganized, and most of
them reduced in officers and men, and that in arranging the officers
from the old to the new corps full power was granted to the President
to take them from any and every corps of the former establishment and
place them in the latter. In this latter grant of power it is proper
to observe that the most comprehensive terms that could be adopted were
used, the authority being to cause the arrangement to be made from the
officers of the several _corps_ then in the service of the United
States, comprising, of course, every corps of the staff, as well as of
artillery and infantry, and not from the _corps of troops_, as in the
former act, and without any limitation as to grades.

It merits particular attention that although the object of this
latter act was reduction and such its effect on an extensive scale,
5 new offices were created by it--4 of the grade of colonel for the
4 regiments of artillery and that of Adjutant-General for the Army. Three
of the first mentioned were altogether new, the corps having been newly
created, and although 1 officer of that grade as applicable to the corps
of light artillery had existed, yet as that regiment was reduced and
all its parts reorganized in another form and with other duties, being
incorporated into the 4 new regiments, the commander was manifestly
displaced and incapable of taking the command of either of the new
regiments or any station in them until he should be authorized to do so
by a new appointment. The same remarks are applicable to the office of
Adjutant-General to the Army. It is an office of new creation, differing
from that of Adjutant and Inspector General, and likewise from that
of adjutant-general to a division, which were severally annulled. It
differs from the first in title, rank, and pay, and from the two latter
because they had been created by law each for a division, whereas the
new office, being instituted without such special designation, could
have relation only to the whole Army. It was manifest, therefore, that
neither of those officers had any right to this new station nor to
any other station unless he should be specially appointed to it, the
principle of reduction being applicable to every officer in every corps.
It is proper also to observe that the duties of Adjutant-General under
the existing arrangement correspond in almost every circumstance with
those of the late Adjutant and Inspector General, and not with those
of an adjutant-general of a division.

To give effect to this law the President was authorized by the twelfth
section to cause the officers, noncommissioned officers, artificers,
musicians, and privates of the several corps then in the service of the
United States to be arranged in such manner as to form and complete
out of the same the force thereby provided for, and to cause the
supernumerary officers, noncommissioned officers, artificers, musicians,
and privates to be discharged from the service.

In executing this very delicate and important trust I acted with the
utmost precaution. Sensible of what I owed to my country, I felt
strongly the obligation of observing the utmost impartiality in
selecting those officers who were to be retained. In executing this law
I had no personal object to accomplish or feeling to gratify--no one
to retain, no one to remove. Having on great consideration fixed the
principles on which the reduction should be made, I availed myself
of the example of my predecessor by appointing through the proper
department a board of general officers to make the selection, and
whose report I adopted.

In transferring the officers from the old to the new corps the utmost
care was taken to place them in the latter in the grades and corps to
which they had respectively belonged in the former, so far as it might
be practicable. This, though not enjoined by the law, appearing to be
just and proper, was never departed from except in peculiar cases and
under imperious circumstances.

In filling the original vacancies in the artillery and in the newly
created office of Adjutant-General I considered myself at liberty to
place in them any officer belonging to any part of the whole military
establishment, whether of the staff or line. In filling original
vacancies--that is, offices newly created--it is my opinion, as a
general principle, that Congress have no right under the Constitution
to impose any restraint by law on the power granted to the President
so as to prevent his making a free selection of proper persons for these
offices from the whole body of his fellow-citizens. Without, however,
entering here into that question, I have no hesitation in declaring it
as my opinion that the law fully authorized a selection from any branch
of the whole military establishment of 1815. Justified, therefore, as
I thought myself in taking that range by the very highest sanction, the
sole object to which I had to direct my attention was the merit of the
officers to be selected for these stations. Three generals of great
merit were either to be dismissed or otherwise provided for. The
very gallant and patriotic defender of New Orleans had intimated his
intention to retire, but at my suggestion expressed his willingness
to accept the office of commissioner to receive the cession of the
Floridas and of governor for a short time of that Territory. As to one,
therefore, there was no difficulty. For the other two provision could
only be made in the mode which was adopted. General Macomb, who had
signalized himself in the defense of Plattsburg, was placed at the head
of the Corps of Engineers, to which he had originally belonged, and in
which he had acquired great experience, Colonel Armistead, then at the
head of that corps, having voluntarily accepted one of the new regiments
of artillery, for which he possessed very suitable qualifications.
General Atkinson, likewise an officer of great merit, was appointed to
the newly created office of Adjutant-General. Brevet General Porter, an
officer of great experience in the artillery, and merit, was appointed
to the command of another of those regiments. Colonel Fenwick, then the
oldest lieutenant-colonel of artillery, and who had suffered much in the
late war by severe wounds, was appointed to a third, and Colonel Towson,
who had served with great distinction in the same corps and been twice
brevetted for his gallantry in the late war, was appointed to the last
remaining one. General Atkinson having declined the office of Adjutant
General, Colonel Gadsden, an officer of distinguished merit and believed
to possess qualifications suitably adapted to it, was appointed in
his stead. In making the arrangement the merits of Colonel Butler and
Colonel Jones were not overlooked. The former was assigned to the place
which he would have held in the line if he had retained his original
lineal commission, and the latter to his commission in the line, which
he had continued to hold with his staff appointment.

That the reduction of the Army and the arrangement of the officers
from the old to the new establishment and the appointments referred to
were in every instance strictly conformable to law will, I think, be
apparent. To the arrangement generally no objection has been heard; it
has been made, however, to the appointments to the original vacancies,
and particularly to those of Colonel Towson and Colonel Gadsden. To
those appointments, therefore, further attention is due. If they were
improper it must be either that they were illegal or that the officers
did not merit the offices conferred on them. The acknowledged merit of
the officers and the peculiar fitness for the offices to which they were
respectively appointed must preclude all objection on that head. Having
already suggested my impression that in filling offices newly created,
to which on no principle whatever anyone could have a claim of right,
Congress could not under the Constitution restrain the free selection of
the President from the whole body of his fellow-citizens, I shall only
further remark that if that impression is well founded all objection
to these appointments must cease. If the law imposed such restraint,
it would in that case be void. But, according to my judgment, the law
imposed none. An objection to the legality of those appointments must be
founded either on the principle that those officers were not comprised
within the corps then in the service of the United States--that is, did
not belong to the peace establishment--or that the power granted by
the word "arrange" imposed on the President the necessity of placing
in these new offices persons of the same grade only from the old. It is
believed that neither objection is well founded. Colonel Towson belonged
to one of the corps then in the service of the United States, or, in
other words, of the military peace establishment. By the act of 1815-16
the Pay Department, of which the Paymaster General was the chief, was
made one of the branches of the staff, and he and all those under him
were subjected to the Rules and Articles of War. The appointment,
therefore, of him, and especially to a new office, was strictly
conformable to law.

The only difference between the fifth section of the act of 1815 for
reducing the Army and the twelfth section of the act of 1821 for still
further reducing it, by which the power to carry those laws into effect
was granted to the President in each instance, consists in this, that by
the former he was to cause the arrangement to be made of the officers,
noncommissioned officers, musicians, and privates of the several _corps
of troops_ then in the service of the United States, whereas in the
latter the term _troops_ was omitted. It can not be doubted that that
omission had an object, and that it was thereby intended to guard
against misconstruction in so very material and important a circumstance
by authorizing the application of the act unequivocally to every corps
of the staff as well as of the line. With that word a much wider range
was given to the act of 1815 on the reduction which then took place than
under the last act. The omission of it from the last act, together with
all the sanctions which were given by Congress to the construction of
the law in the reduction made under the former, could not fail to dispel
all doubt as to the extent of the power granted by the last law and of
the principles which ought to guide, and on which it was thereby made
the duty of the President to execute it. With respect to the other
objection--that is, that officers of the same grade only ought to have
been transferred to these new offices--it is equally unfounded. It is
admitted that officers may be taken from the old corps and reduced and
arranged in the new in inferior grades, as was done under the former
reduction. This admission puts an end to the objection in this case;
for if an officer may be reduced and arranged from one corps to another
by an entire change of grade, requiring a new commission and a new
nomination to the Senate, I see no reason why an officer may not be
advanced in like manner. In both instances the grade in the old corps
is alike disregarded. The transfer from it to the new turns on the merit
of the party, and it is believed that the claim in this instance is felt
by all with peculiar sensibility. The claim of Colonel Towson is the
stronger because the arrangement of him to the office to which he is now
nominated is not to one from which any officer has been removed, and to
which any other officer may in any view of the case be supposed to have
had a claim. As Colonel Gadsden held the office of Inspector-General,
and as such was acknowledged by all to belong to the staff of the Army,
it is not perceived on what ground his appointment can be objected to.

If such a construction is to be given to the act of 1821 as to confine
the transfer of officers from the old to the new establishment to the
_corps of troops_--that is, to the line of the Army--the whole staff of
the Army in every branch would not only be excluded from any appointment
in the new establishment, but altogether disbanded from the service.
It would follow also that all the offices of the staff under the
new arrangement must be filled by officers belonging to the new
establishment after its organization and their arrangement in it.
Other consequences not less serious would follow. If the right of the
President to fill these original vacancies by the selection of officers
from any branch of the whole military establishment was denied, he would
be compelled to place in them officers of the same grade whose corps had
been reduced, and they with them. The effect, therefore, of the law as
to those appointments would be to legislate into office men who had been
already legislated out of office, taking from the President all agency
in their appointment. Such a construction would not only be subversive
of the obvious principles of the Constitution, but utterly inconsistent
with the spirit of the law itself, since it would provide offices for
a particular grade, and fix every member of that grade in those offices,
at a time when every other grade was reduced, and among them generals
and other officers of the highest merit. It would also defeat every
object of selection, since colonels of infantry would be placed at the
head of regiments of artillery, a service in which they might have had
no experience, and for which they might in consequence be unqualified.

Having omitted in the message to Congress at the commencement of the
session to state the principles on which this law had been executed, and
having imperfectly explained them in the message to the Senate of the
17th of January last, I deem it particularly incumbent on me, as well
from a motive of respect to the Senate as to place my conduct in the
duty imposed on me by that act in a clear point of view, to make this
communication at this time. The examples under the law of 1815, whereby
officers were reduced and arranged from the old corps to the new in
inferior grades, fully justify all that has been done under the law
of 1821. If the power to arrange under the former law authorized the
removal of one officer from a particular station and the location of
another in it, reducing the latter from a higher to an inferior grade,
with the advice and consent of the Senate, it surely justifies under
the latter law the arrangement of these officers, with a like sanction,
to offices of new creation, from which no one had been removed and to
which no one had a just claim. It is on the authority of these examples,
supported by the construction which I gave to the law, that I have acted
in the discharge of this high trust. I am aware that many officers of
great merit, having the strongest claims on their country, have been
reduced and others dismissed, but under the law that result was
inevitable. It is believed that none have been retained who had not,
likewise, the strongest claims to the appointments which have been
conferred on them. To discriminate between men of acknowledged merit,
especially in a way to affect so sensibly and materially their feelings
and interests, for many of whom I have personal consideration and
regard, has been a most painful duty; yet I am conscious that I have
discharged it with the utmost impartiality. Had I opened the door to
change in any case, even where error might have been committed, against
whom could I afterwards have closed it, and into what consequences might
not such a proceeding have led? The same remarks are applicable to the
subject in its relation to the Senate, to whose calm and enlightened
judgment, with these explanations, I again submit the nominations which
have been rejected.

JAMES MONROE.



APRIL 15, 1822.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 12th instant,
requesting the President of the United States "to cause to be laid
before the Senate the original proceedings of the board of general
officers charged with the reduction of the Army under the act of the 2d
of March, 1821, together with all communications to and from said board
on the subject of reducing the Army, including the case submitted to the
Attorney-General, and his opinion thereon," I now transmit a report from
the Secretary of War, furnishing the information requested.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _April 15, 1822_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate requesting the President
of the United States to lay before that House any report or information
which may be in his possession as to the most eligible situation on
the Western waters for the erection of a national arsenal, I herewith
transmit a report from the Secretary of War, containing all the
information on that subject in the possession of the Executive.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _April 15, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
16th of February last, requesting the President of the United States
"to communicate to that House whether any foreign government has made
any claim to any part of the territory of the United States upon the
coast of the Pacific Ocean north of the forty-second degree of latitude,
and to what extent; whether any regulations have been made by foreign
powers affecting the trade on that coast, and how it affects the interest
of this Republic, and whether any communications have been made to this
Government by foreign powers touching the contemplated occupation of
Columbia River," I now transmit a report from the Secretary of State,
containing the information embraced by that resolution.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _April 18, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I communicate to the House of Representatives copies of sundry papers
having relation to the transactions in East and West Florida, which have
been received at the Department of State since my message to the two
Houses of Congress of the 28th of January last, together with copies
of two letters from the Secretary of State upon the same subject.

JAMES MONROE.

[The same message was sent to the Senate.]



WASHINGTON, _April 23, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
29th January last, requesting the President of the United States to
cause to be communicated to that House certain information relative to
the claim made by Jonathan Carver to certain lands within the United
States near the Falls of St. Anthony. I now transmit a report of the
Secretary of the Treasury, which, with the accompanying documents,
contains all the information on this subject in the possession of
the Executive.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _April 26, 1822_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate, agreeably to their resolution of yesterday, a
report from the Secretary of State, with copies of the papers requested
by that resolution, in relation to the recognition of the South American
Provinces.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _April 29, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives a report from the Secretary
of State, in pursuance of their resolution of the 20th instant,[A]
"requesting to be furnished with a copy of the judicial proceedings
in the United States court for the district of Louisiana in the case
of the French slave ship _La Pensee_."

JAMES MONROE.

[Footnote: A: An error; so in the original message. The date of the
resolution is the 18th of April.]



WASHINGTON, _April 30, 1822_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate, requesting the President
of the United States to cause to be laid before the Senate certain
information respecting the practical operation of the system of
subsisting the Army under the provisions of the act passed the 14th
of April, 1818, etc., I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary
of War, furnishing the information required.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _May 1, 1822_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

In the message to both Houses of Congress at the commencement of their
present session it was mentioned that the Government of Norway had
issued an ordinance for admitting the vessels of the United States and
their cargoes into the ports of that Kingdom upon the payment of no
other or higher duties than are paid by Norwegian vessels, of whatever
articles the said cargoes may consist and from whatever ports the
vessels laden with them may come.

In communicating this ordinance to the Government of the United States
that of Norway has requested the benefit of a similar and reciprocal
provision for the vessels of Norway and their cargoes which may enter
the ports of the United States.

This provision being within the competency only of the legislative
authority of Congress, I communicate to them herewith copies of the
communications received from the Norwegian Government in relation to
the subject, and recommend the same to their consideration.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _May 1, 1822_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit herewith to Congress copies of letters received at the
Department of State from the minister of Great Britain on the subject
of the duties discriminating between imported rolled and hammered iron.
I recommend them particularly to the consideration of Congress, believing
that although there may be ground for controversy with regard to the
application of the engagements of the treaty to the case, yet a liberal
construction of those engagements would be compatible at once with a
conciliatory and a judicious policy.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _May 4, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
19th of April, requesting the President "to cause to be communicated to
the House, if not injurious to the public interest, any letter which
may have been received from Jonathan Russell, one of the ministers
who concluded the treaty of Ghent, in conformity with the indications
contained in his letter of the 25th of December, 1814," I have to state
that having referred the resolution to the Secretary of State, and
it appearing, by a report from him, that no such document had been
deposited among the archives of the Department, I examined and found
among my private papers a letter of that description marked "private"
by himself. I transmit a copy of the report of the Secretary of State,
by which it appears that Mr. Russell, on being apprised that the document
referred to by the resolution had not been deposited in the Department
of State, delivered there "a paper purporting to be the duplicate of a
letter written by him from Paris on the 11th of February, 1815, to the
then Secretary of State, to be communicated to the House as the letter
called for by the resolution."

On the perusal of the document called for I find that it communicates
a difference of opinion between Mr. Russell and a majority of his
colleagues in certain transactions which occurred in the negotiations at
Ghent, touching interests which have been since satisfactorily adjusted
by treaty between the United States and Great Britain. The view which
Mr. Russell presents of his own conduct and that of his colleagues in
those transactions will, it is presumed, call from the two surviving
members of that mission who differed from him a reply containing
their view of those transactions and of the conduct of the parties
in them, and who, should his letter be communicated to the House of
Representatives, will also claim that their reply should be communicated
in like manner by the Executive--a claim which, on the principle of
equal justice, could not be resisted. The Secretary of State, one of the
ministers referred to, has already expressed a desire that Mr. Russell's
letter should be communicated, and that I would transmit at the same
time a communication from him respecting it.

On full consideration of the subject I have thought it would be improper
for the Executive to communicate the letter called for unless the House,
on a knowledge of these circumstances, should desire it, in which case
the document called for shall be communicated, accompanied by a report
from the Secretary of State, as above suggested. I have directed a copy
to be delivered to Mr. Russell, to be disposed of as he may think
proper, and have caused the original to be deposited in the Department
of State, with instruction to deliver a copy to any person who may be
interested.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _May 6, 1822_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit to Congress translations of two letters from Don Joaquin
d'Anduaga to the Secretary of State, which have been received at the
Department of State since my last message communicating copies of big
correspondence with this Government.

JAMES MONROE.



_Don Joaquin de Anduaga to the Secretary of State_.

[Translation.]

PHILADELPHIA, _April 24, 1822_.

SIR: As soon as the news was received in Madrid of the recent
occurrences in New Spain after the arrival at Vera Cruz of the
Captain-General and supreme political chief appointed for those
Provinces, Don Juan O. Donoju, and some papers were seen relative to
those same transactions, it was feared that for forming the treaty
concluded in Cordova on the 24th of August last between the said General
and the traitor, Colonel Dr. Augustine Iturbide, it had been falsely
supposed that the former had power from His Catholic Majesty for that
act, and in a little time the correctness of those suspicions was found,
as, among other things, the said O. Donoju, when on the 26th of the same
August he sent this treaty to the governor of Vera Cruz, notifying
him of its prompt and punctual observance, he told him that at his
sailing from the Peninsula preparation for the independence of Mexico
was already thought of, and that its bases were approved of by the
Government and by a commission of the Cortes. His Majesty, on sight
of this and of the fatal impression which so great an imposture had
produced in some ultramarine Provinces, and what must without difficulty
be the consequence among the rest, thought proper to order that, by
means of a circular to all the chiefs and corporations beyond seas,
this atrocious falsehood should be disbelieved; and now he has deigned
to command me to make it known to the Government of the United States
that it is false as far as General O. Donoju published beyond his
instructions, by pointing out to it that he never could have been
furnished with other instructions than those conformable to
constitutional principles.

In compliance with this order of His Majesty, I can do no less than
observe to you, sir, how unfounded one of the reasons is in your note
of the 6th instant for the recognition by this Government of those of
the insurgent Provinces of Spanish-America--that it was founded on the
treaty made by O. Donoju with Iturbide--since not having had that power
nor instruction to conclude it it is clearly null and of no value.

I repeat to you, sir, the sentiments of my distinguished consideration,
and pray God that you live many years.

JOAQUIN DE ANDUAGA.



_Don Joaquin de Anduaga to the Secretary of State_.

[Translation.]

PHILADELPHIA, _April 26, 1822_.



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
_Secretary of State_.

SIR: I have received your note of the 15th instant, in which you are
pleased to communicate to me the reasons which induce the President
not only to refuse to His Catholic Majesty the satisfaction which he
demanded in his royal name for the insults offered by General Jackson
to the Spanish commissaries and officers, but to approve fully of the
said chief's conduct.

Before answering the contents of the said note I thought it my duty to
request instructions from my Government, and therefore without delay I
have laid it before them. Until they arrive, therefore, I have confined
myself to two observations:

First. If in my note of the 18th of November last I said that as General
Jackson had not specified the actions which had induced him to declare
the Spanish officers expelled from the Floridas criminal, nor given
proof of them, I thought myself authorized to declare the accusation
false, I did not this through inadvertency, but upon the evident
principle that every person accused has a right to declare an accusation
destitute of proof false, and, much more, an accusation not pretended
to be proved. This assertion of mine does not presume that I am not
persuaded of the merit of the said General and of the claim which he has
upon the gratitude of his country; but although it is believed the duty
of his country to eulogize and reward his eminent services, yet it will
be lawful for the representative of a power outraged by him to complain
of his conduct. I can not persuade myself that to aggravate my said
expression you could have thought that I had been wanting in due
respect, it not being possible for that opinion to have entered your
mind, when by his orders Mr. Forsyth had sent to the Spanish minister
on the 1st of September last a note, in which, complaining of the
Captain-General of the island of Cuba, he accuses him of dishonorable
pecuniary motives in not having delivered the archives, without giving
any proof of so injurious an assertion; and I must remark that the rank
of General Mabry in Spain is at least as elevated as that of General
Jackson in the United States, and that the services performed by him to
his country have rendered him as worthy as he of its consideration and
respect.

Second. Although you are pleased to tell me that part of the papers
taken from Colonel Coppinger are ready to be delivered, which the
American commissioners, _after having examined them_, have adjudged to
be returned to Spain, I do not think myself authorized to admit their
return in this manner, but in the mode which I demanded in my note of
the 22d of November last.

As I have seen by the public papers that the President has communicated
to Congress the note which you were pleased to address to me, dated
the 15th instant, and that it has been ordered to be printed, I take
the liberty of requesting that you will have the goodness to use your
influence that this my answer may be treated in the same manner, that
Congress and the public may be informed that if I have not answered the
first part of it as respects the general business, it is only to wait
for the instructions of my Government, but that I have answered what
was personal.

I renew to you, sir, the sentiments of my distinguished consideration.

JOAQUIN DE ANDUAGA.



WASHINGTON, _May 6, 1822_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 26th of April,
requesting the President of the United States "to communicate to the
Senate the report of the Attorney-General relative to any persons
(citizens of the United States) who have been charged with or suspected
of introducing any slaves into the United States contrary to existing
laws," I transmit herewith two reports from the Attorney-General.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _May 7, 1822_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 25th of April,
requesting certain information concerning lead mines on lands of the
United States, I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of War.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _May 7, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
23d of April, requesting the President of the United States to cause to
be communicated to that House certain information respecting the lead
mines of the State of Missouri, I herewith transmit a report of the
Secretary of War.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _May 7, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 7th of May, requesting the President to communicate to that House
a letter of Jonathan Russell, esq., referred to in his message of the
4th instant, together with such communications as he may have received
relative thereto from any of the other ministers of the United States
who negotiated the treaty of Ghent, I herewith transmit a report from
the Secretary of State, with the documents called for by that
resolution.

JAMES MONROE.




VETO MESSAGE.


WASHINGTON, _May 4, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

Having duly considered the bill entitled "An act for the preservation
and repair of the Cumberland road," it is with deep regret, approving
as I do the policy, that I am compelled to object to its passage and to
return the bill to the House of Representatives, in which it originated,
under a conviction that Congress do not possess the power under the
Constitution to pass such a law.

A power to establish turnpikes with gates and tolls, and to enforce the
collection of tolls by penalties, implies a power to adopt and execute a
complete system of internal improvement. A right to impose duties to be
paid by all persons passing a certain road, and on horses and carriages,
as is done by this bill, involves the right to take the land from the
proprietor on a valuation and to pass laws for the protection of the
road from injuries, and if it exist as to one road it exists as to any
other, and to as many roads as Congress may think proper to establish.
A right to legislate for one of these purposes is a right to legislate
for the others. It is a complete right of jurisdiction and sovereignty
for all the purposes of internal improvement, and not merely the
right of applying money under the power vested in Congress to make
appropriations, under which power, with the consent of the States
through which this road passes, the work was originally commenced, and
has been so far executed. I am of opinion that Congress do not possess
this power; that the States individually can not grant it, for although
they may assent to the appropriation of money within their limits for
such purposes, they can grant no power of jurisdiction or sovereignty by
special compacts with the United States. This power can be granted only
by an amendment to the Constitution and in the mode prescribed by it.

If the power exist, it must be either because it has been specifically
granted to the United States or that it is incidental to some power
which has been specifically granted. If we examine the specific grants
of power we do not find it among them, nor is it incidental to any power
which has been specifically granted.

It has never been contended that the power was specifically granted.
It is claimed only as being incidental to some one or more of the powers
which are specifically granted. The following are the powers from which
it is said to be derived:

First, from the right to establish post-offices and post-roads; second,
from the right to declare war; third, to regulate commerce; fourth,
to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare;
fifth, from the power to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying
into execution all the powers vested by the Constitution in the
Government of the United States or in any department or officer thereof;
sixth and lastly, from the power to dispose of and make all needful
rules and regulations respecting the territory and other property of
the United States.

According to my judgment it can not be derived from either of those
powers, nor from all of them united, and in consequence it does not
exist.

Having stated my objections to the bill, I should now cheerfully
communicate at large the reasons on which they are founded if I had
time to reduce them to such form as to include them in this paper. The
advanced stage of the session renders that impossible. Having at the
commencement of my service in this high trust considered it a duty to
express the opinion that the United States do not possess the power in
question, and to suggest for the consideration of Congress the propriety
of recommending to the States an amendment to the Constitution to vest
the power in the United States, my attention has been often drawn to the
subject since, in consequence whereof I have occasionally committed my
sentiments to paper respecting it. The form which this exposition has
assumed is not such as I should have given it had it been intended for
Congress, nor is it concluded. Nevertheless, as it contains my views
on this subject, being one which I deem of very high importance, and
which in many of its bearings has now become peculiarly urgent, I will
communicate it to Congress, if in my power, in the course of the day,
or certainly on Monday next.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _May 4, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit the paper alluded to in the message of this day, on the
subject of internal improvements.

JAMES MONROE.



VIEWS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES ON THE SUBJECT OF INTERNAL
IMPROVEMENTS.

It may be presumed that the proposition relating to internal
improvements by roads and canals, which has been several times before
Congress, will be taken into consideration again either for the purpose
of recommending to the States the adoption of an amendment to the
Constitution to vest the necessary power in the General Government or
to carry the system into effect on the principle that the power has
already been granted. It seems to be the prevailing opinion that great
advantage would be derived from the exercise of such a power by Congress.
Respecting the right there is much diversity of sentiment. It is of the
highest importance that this question should be settled. If the right
exist, it ought forthwith to be exercised. If it does not exist, surely
those who are friends to the power ought to unite in recommending an
amendment to the Constitution to obtain it. I propose to examine this
question.

The inquiry confined to its proper objects and within the most limited
scale is extensive. Our Government is unlike other governments both in
its origin and form. In analyzing it the differences in certain respects
between it and those of other nations, ancient and modern, necessarily
come into view. I propose to notice these differences so far as they are
connected with the object of inquiry, and the consequences likely to
result from them, varying in equal degree from those which have attended
other governments. The digression, if it may be so called, will in every
instance be short and the transition to the main object immediate and
direct.

To do justice to the subject it will be necessary to mount to the source
of power in these States and to pursue this power in its gradations and
distribution among the several departments in which it is now vested.
The great division is between the State governments and the General
Government. If there was a perfect accord in every instance as to
the precise extent of the powers granted to the General Government,
we should then know with equal certainty what were the powers which
remained to the State governments, since it would follow that those
which were not granted to the one would remain to the other. But it is
on this point, and particularly respecting the construction of these
powers and their incidents, that a difference of opinion exists, and
hence it is necessary to trace distinctly the origin of each government,
the purposes intended by it, and the means adopted to accomplish them.
By having the interior of both governments fully before us we shall have
all the means which can be afforded to enable us to form a correct
opinion of the endowments of each.

Before the Revolution the present States, then colonies, were separate
communities, unconnected with each other except in their common relation
to the Crown. Their governments were instituted by grants from the
Crown, which operated, according to the conditions of each grant, in
the nature of a compact between the settlers in each colony and the
Crown. All power not retained in the Crown was vested exclusively in
the colonies, each having a government consisting of an executive, a
judiciary, and a legislative assembly, one branch of which was in every
instance elected by the people. No office was hereditary, nor did any
title under the Crown give rank or office in any of the colonies. In
resisting the encroachments of the parent country and abrogating the
power of the Crown the authority which had been held by it vested
exclusively in the people of the colonies, By them was a Congress
appointed, composed of delegates from each colony, who managed the war,
declared independence, treated with foreign powers, and acted in all
things according to the sense of their constituents. The Declaration of
Independence confirmed in form what had before existed in substance.
It announced to the world new States, possessing and exercising complete
sovereignty, which they were resolved to maintain. They were soon after
recognized by France and other powers, and finally by Great Britain
herself in 1783.

Soon after the power of the Crown was annulled the people of each
colony established a constitution or frame of government for themselves,
in which these separate branches--legislative, executive, and
judiciary--were instituted, each independent of the others. To these
branches, each having its appropriate portion, the whole power of the
people not delegated to Congress was communicated, to be exercised for
their advantage on the representative principle by persons of their
appointment, or otherwise deriving their authority immediately from
them, and holding their offices for stated terms. All the powers
necessary for useful purposes held by any of the strongest governments
of the Old World not vested in Congress were imparted to these State
governments without other checks than such as are necessary to prevent
abuse, in the form of fundamental declarations or bills of right. The
great difference between our governments and those of the Old World
consists in this, that the former, being representative, the persons who
exercise their powers do it not for themselves or in their own right,
but for the people, and therefore while they are in the highest degree
efficient they can never become oppressive. It is this transfer of
the power of the people to representative and responsible bodies in
every branch which constitutes the great improvement in the science
of government and forms the boast of our system. It combines all the
advantages of every known government without any of their disadvantages.
It retains the sovereignty in the people, while it avoids the tumult
and disorder incident to the exercise of that power by the people
themselves. It possesses all the energy and efficiency of the most
despotic governments, while it avoids all the oppressions and abuses
inseparable from those governments.

In every stage of the conflict from its commencement until March,
1781, the powers of Congress were undefined, but of vast extent.
The assemblies or conventions of the several colonies being formed by
representatives from every county in each colony and the Congress by
delegates from each colonial assembly, the powers of the latter for
general purposes resembled those of the former for local. They rested
on the same basis, the people, and were complete for all the purposes
contemplated. Never was a movement so spontaneous, so patriotic, so
efficient. The nation exerted its whole faculties in support of its
rights, and of its independence after the contest took that direction,
and it succeeded. It was, however, foreseen at a very early stage
that although the patriotism of the country might be relied on in
the struggle for its independence, a well-digested compact would be
necessary to preserve it after obtained. A plan of confederation was
in consequence proposed and taken into consideration by Congress even
at the moment when the other great act which severed them from Great
Britain and declared their independence was proclaimed to the world.
This compact was ratified on the 21st March, 1781, by the last State,
and thereupon carried into immediate effect.

The following powers were vested in the United States by the Articles
of Confederation. As this, the first bond of union, was in operation
nearly eight years, during which time a practical construction was given
to many of its powers, all of which were adopted in the Constitution
with important additions, it is thought that a correct view of those
powers and of the manner in which they are executed may shed light on
the subject under consideration. It may fairly be presumed that where
certain powers were transferred from one instrument to the other and
in the same terms, or terms descriptive only of the same powers, that
it was intended that they should be construed in the same sense in
the latter that they were in the former.

Article I declares that the style of the Confederacy shall be "The
United States of America."

Article II. Each State retains its sovereignty, freedom, and
independence, and every power and right which is not expressly delegated
to the United States.

Article III. The States severally enter into a firm league of friendship
with each other for their common defense, the security of their
liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves
to assist each other against all force offered to or attacks made upon
them on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, etc.

Article IV. The free inhabitants of each State, paupers, vagabonds, and
fugitives from justice excepted, shall be entitled to all the privileges
and immunities of free citizens in the several States, etc. Fugitives
from justice into any of the States shall be delivered up on the demand
of the executive of the State from which they fled. Full faith and
credit shall be given in each State to the records and acts of every
other State.

Article V. Delegates shall be annually appointed by the legislature of
each State to meet in Congress on the first Monday in November, with a
power to recall, etc. No State shall appoint less than two nor more than
seven, nor shall any delegate hold his office for more than three in six
years. Each State shall maintain its own delegates. Each State shall
have one vote. Freedom of speech shall not be impeached, and the members
shall be protected from arrests, except for treason, etc.

Article VI. No State shall send or receive an embassy or enter into a
treaty with a foreign power. Nor shall any person holding any office of
profit or trust under the United States or any State accept any present,
emolument, office, or title from a foreign power. Nor shall the United
States or any State grant any title of nobility. No two States shall
enter into any treaty without the consent of Congress. No State shall
lay any imposts or duties which may interfere with any treaties entered
into by the United States. No State shall engage in war unless it be
invaded or menaced with invasion by some Indian tribe, nor grant letters
of marque or reprisal unless it be against pirates, nor keep up vessels
of war nor any body of troops in time of peace without the consent of
Congress; but every State shall keep up a well regulated militia, etc.

Article VII. When land forces are raised by any State for the common
defense, all officers of and under the rank of colonel shall be
appointed by the legislature of each State.

Article VIII. All charges of war and all other expenses which shall be
incurred for the common defense or general welfare shall be defrayed
out of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by the several
States in proportion to the value of all the land in each State
granted to individuals. The taxes for paying each proportion shall
be levied by the several States.

Article IX. Congress shall have the sole and exclusive right and power
of determining on peace and war, except in the cases mentioned in
the sixth article; of sending and receiving ambassadors; entering
into alliances, except, etc.; of establishing rules for deciding what
captures on land and water shall be legal; of granting letters of marque
and reprisal in time of peace; appointing courts for the trial of
piracies and felonies on the high seas; for deciding controversies
between the States and between individuals claiming lands under two or
more States whose jurisdiction has been adjusted; of regulating the
alloy and value of coin struck by their authority and of foreign coin;
fixing the standard of weights and measures; regulating the trade with
the Indians; establishing and regulating post offices from one State to
another and throughout all the States, and exacting such postage as may
be requisite to defray the expenses of the office; of appointing all
officers of the land forces except the regimental; appointing all the
officers of the naval forces; to ascertain the necessary sums of money
to be raised for the service of the United States and appropriate the
same; to borrow money and emit bills of credit; to build and equip a
Navy; to agree on the number of land forces and to make requisitions
on each State for its quota; that the assent of nine States shall be
requisite to these great acts.

Article X regulates the powers of the committee of the States to sit in
the recess of Congress.

Article XI provides for the admission of Canada into the Confederation.

Article XII pledges the faith of the United States for the payment of
all bills of credit issued and money borrowed on their account.

Article XIII. Every State shall abide by the determination of the United
States on all questions submitted to them by the Confederation, the
Articles of the Confederation to be perpetual and not to be altered
without the consent of every State.

This bond of union was soon found to be utterly incompetent to the
purposes intended by it. It was defective in its powers; it was
defective also in the means of executing the powers actually granted by
it. Being a league of sovereign and independent States, its acts, like
those of all other leagues, required the interposition of the States
composing it to give them effect within their respective jurisdictions.
The acts of Congress without the aid of State laws to enforce them were
altogether nugatory. The refusal or omission of one State to pass such
laws was urged as a reason to justify like conduct in others, and thus
the Government was soon at a stand.

The experience of a few years demonstrated that the Confederation could
not be relied on for the security of the blessings which had been
derived from the Revolution. The interests of the nation required
a more efficient Government, which the good sense and virtue of the
people provided by the adoption of the present Constitution.

The Constitution of the United States was formed by a convention of
delegates from the several States, who met in Philadelphia, duly
authorized for the purpose, and it was ratified by a convention in each
State which was especially called to consider and decide on the same.
In this progress the State governments were never suspended in their
functions. On the contrary, they took the lead in it. Conscious of their
incompetency to secure to the Union the blessings of the Revolution,
they promoted the diminution of their own powers and the enlargement of
those of the General Government in the way in which they might be most
adequate and efficient. It is believed that no other example can be
found of a Government exerting its influence to lessen its own powers,
of a policy so enlightened, of a patriotism so pure and disinterested.
The credit, however, is more especially due to the people of each State,
in obedience to whose will and under whose control the State governments
acted.

The Constitution of the United States, being ratified by the people of
the several States, became of necessity to the extent of its powers the
paramount authority of the Union. On sound principles it can be viewed
in no other light. The people, the highest authority known to our
system, from whom all our institutions spring and on whom they depend,
formed it. Had the people of the several States thought proper to
incorporate themselves into one community, under one government, they
might have done it. They had the power, and there was nothing then nor
is there anything now, should they be so disposed, to prevent it. They
wisely stopped, however, at a certain point, extending the incorporation
to that point, making the National Government thus far a consolidated
Government, and preserving the State governments without that limit
perfectly sovereign and independent of the National Government. Had the
people of the several States incorporated themselves into one community,
they must have remained such, their Constitution becoming then, like the
constitution of the several States, incapable of change until altered
by the will of the majority. In the institution of a State government
by the citizens of a State a compact is formed to which all and every
citizen are equal parties. They are also the sole parties and may amend
it at pleasure. In the institution of the Government of the United
States by the citizens of every State a compact was formed between the
whole American people which has the same force and partakes of all the
qualities to the extent of its powers as a compact between the citizens
of a State in the formation of their own constitution. It can not be
altered except by those who formed it or in the mode prescribed by the
parties to the compact itself.

This Constitution was adopted for the purpose of remedying all
defects of the Confederation, and in this it has succeeded beyond
any calculation that could have been formed of any human institution.
By binding the States together the Constitution performs the great
office of the Confederation; but it is in that sense only that it has
any of the properties of that compact, and in that it is more effectual
to the purpose, as it holds them together by a much stronger bond; and
in all other respects in which the Confederation failed the Constitution
has been blessed with complete success. The Confederation was a compact
between separate and independent States, the execution of whose
articles in the powers which operated internally depended on the State
governments. But the great office of the Constitution, by incorporating
the people of the several States to the extent of its powers into one
community and enabling it to act directly on the people, was to annul
the powers of the State governments to that extent, except in cases
where they were concurrent, and to preclude their agency in giving
effect to those of the General Government. The Government of the United
States relies on its own means for the execution of its powers, as the
State governments do for the execution of theirs, both governments
having a common origin or sovereign, the people--the State governments
the people of each State, the National Government the people of every
State--and being amenable to the power which created it. It is by
executing its functions as a Government thus originating and thus acting
that the Constitution of the United States holds the States together and
performs the office of a league. It is owing to the nature of its powers
and the high source from whence they are derived--the people--that it
performs that office better than the Confederation or any league which
ever existed, being a compact which the State governments did not form,
to which they are not parties, and which executes its own powers
independently of them.

There were two separate and independent governments established over
our Union, one for local purposes over each State by the people of
the State, the other for national purposes over all the States by
the people of the United States. The whole power of the people, on the
representative principle, is divided between them. The State governments
are independent of each other, and to the extent of their powers are
complete sovereignties. The National Government begins where the State
governments terminate, except in some instances where there is a
concurrent jurisdiction between them. This Government is also, according
to the extent of its powers, a complete sovereignty. I speak here, as
repeatedly mentioned before, altogether of representative sovereignties,
for the real sovereignty is in the people alone.

The history of the world affords no such example of two separate and
independent governments established over the same people, nor can it
exist except in governments founded on the sovereignty of the people.
In monarchies and other governments not representative there can be no
such division of power. The government is inherent in the possessor;
it is his, and can not be taken from him without a revolution. In such
governments alliances and leagues alone are practicable. But with us
individuals count for nothing in the offices which they hold; that
is, they have no right to them. They hold them as representatives, by
appointment from the people, in whom the sovereignty is exclusively
vested. It is impossible to speak too highly of this system taken
in its twofold character and in all its great principles of two
governments, completely distinct from and independent of each other,
each constitutional, founded by and acting directly on the people, each
competent to all its purposes, administering all the blessings for which
it was instituted, without even the most remote danger of exercising
any of its powers in a way to oppress the people. A system capable
of expansion over a vast territory not only without weakening either
government, but enjoying the peculiar advantage of adding thereby new
strength and vigor to the faculties of both; possessing also this
additional advantage, that while the several States enjoy all the rights
reserved to them of separate and independent governments, and each is
secured by the nature of the Federal Government, which acts directly on
the people, against the failure of the others to bear their equal share
of the public burdens, and thereby enjoys in a more perfect degree all
the advantages of a league, it holds them together by a bond altogether
different and much stronger than the late Confederation or any league
that was ever known before--a bond beyond their control, and which can
not even be amended except in the mode prescribed by it. So great an
effort in favor of human happiness was never made before; but it became
those who made it. Established in the new hemisphere, descended from the
same ancestors, speaking the same language, having the same religion and
universal toleration, born equal and educated in the same principles of
free government, made independent by a common struggle and menaced by
the same dangers, ties existed between them which never applied before
to separate communities. They had every motive to bind them together
which could operate on the interests and affections of a generous,
enlightened, and virtuous people, and it affords inexpressible
consolation to find that these motives had their merited influence.

In thus tracing our institutions to their origin and pursuing them
in their progress and modifications down to the adoption of this
Constitution two important facts have been disclosed, on which it may
not be improper in this stage to make a few observations. The first is
that in wresting the power, or what is called the sovereignty, from
the Crown it passed directly to the people. The second, that it passed
directly to the people of each colony and not to the people of all the
colonies in the aggregate; to thirteen distinct communities and not
to one. To these two facts, each contributing its equal proportion,
I am inclined to think that we are in an eminent degree indebted for
the success of our Revolution. By passing to the people it vested in
a community every individual of which had equal rights and a common
interest. There was no family dethroned among us, no banished pretender
in a foreign country looking back to his connections and adherents here
in the hope of a recall; no order of nobility whose hereditary rights in
the Government had been violated; no hierarchy which had been degraded
and oppressed. There was but one order, that of the people, by whom
everything was gained by the change. I mention it also as a circumstance
of peculiar felicity that the great body of the people had been born
and educated under these equal and original institutions. Their habits,
their principles, and their prejudices were therefore all on the side
of the Revolution and of free republican government.

Had distinct orders existed, our fortune might and probably would have
been different. It would scarcely have been possible to have united so
completely the whole force of the country against a common enemy. A
contest would probably have arisen in the outset between the orders for
the control. Had the aristocracy prevailed, the people would have been
heartless. Had the people prevailed, the nobility would probably have
left the country, or, remaining behind, internal divisions would have
taken place in every State and a civil war broken out more destructive
even than the foreign, which might have defeated the whole movement.
Ancient and modern history is replete with examples proceeding from
conflicts between distinct orders, of revolutions attempted which proved
abortive, of republics which have terminated in despotism. It is owing
to the simplicity of the elements of which our system is composed that
the attraction of all the parts has been to a common center, that every
change has tended to cement the union, and, in short, that we have been
blessed with such glorious and happy success.

And that the power wrested from the British Crown passed to the people
of each colony the whole history of our political movement from the
emigration of our ancestors to the present day clearly demonstrates.
What produced the Revolution? The violation of our rights. What rights?
Our chartered rights. To whom were the charters granted, to the people
of each colony or to the people of all the colonies as a single
community? We know that no such community as the aggregate existed,
and of course that no such rights could be violated. It may be added
that the nature of the powers which were given to the delegates by
each colony and the manner in which they were executed show that the
sovereignty was in the people of each and not in the aggregate. They
respectively presented credentials such as are usual between ministers
of separate powers, which were examined and approved before they entered
on the discharge of the important duties committed to them. They voted
also by colonies and not individually, all the members from one colony
being entitled to one vote only. This fact alone, the first of our
political association and at the period of our greatest peril, fixes
beyond all controversy the source from whence the power which has
directed and secured success to all our measures has proceeded.

Had the sovereignty passed to the aggregate, consequences might have
ensued, admitting the success of our Revolution, which might even yet
seriously affect our system. By passing to the people of each colony
the opposition to Great Britain, the prosecution of the war, the
Declaration of Independence, the adoption of the Confederation and
of this Constitution are all imputable to them. Had it passed to the
aggregate, every measure would be traced to that source; even the State
governments might be said to have emanated from it, and amendments of
their constitutions on that principle be proposed by the same authority.
In short it is not easy to perceive all the consequences into which such
a doctrine might lead. It is obvious that the people in mass would have
had much less agency in all the great measures of the Revolution and in
those which followed than they actually had, and proportionably less
credit for their patriotism and services than they are now entitled to
and enjoy. By passing to the people of each colony the whole body in
each were kept in constant and active deliberation on subjects of the
highest national importance and in the supervision of the conduct of all
the public servants in the discharge of their respective duties. Thus
the most effectual guards were provided against abuses and dangers of
every kind which human ingenuity could devise, and the whole people
rendered more competent to the self-government which by an heroic
exertion they had acquired.

I will now proceed to examine the powers of the General Government,
which, like the governments of the several States, is divided into three
branches--a legislative, executive, and judiciary--each having its
appropriate share. Of these the legislative, from the nature of its
powers, all laws proceeding from it, and the manner of its appointment,
its members being elected immediately by the people, is by far the most
important. The whole system of the National Government may be said to
rest essentially on the powers granted to this branch. They mark the
limit within which, with few exceptions, all the branches must move
in the discharge of their respective functions. It will be proper,
therefore, to take a full and correct view of the powers granted to it.

By the eighth section of the first article of the Constitution it is
declared that Congress shall have power--

First. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay
the debts, and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the
United States;

Second. To borrow money;

Third. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several
States, and with the Indian tribes;

Fourth. To establish an uniform rule of naturalization and uniform laws
respecting bankruptcies;

Fifth. To coin money, regulate the value thereof and of foreign coin,
and fix the standard of weights and measures;

Sixth. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities
and current coin of the United States;

Seventh. To establish post offices and post-roads;

Eighth. To promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing
for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their
respective writings and discoveries;

Ninth. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court, to define
and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and
offenses against the laws of nations;

Tenth. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make
rules concerning captures on land and water;

Eleventh. To raise and support armies;

Twelfth. To provide and maintain a navy;

Thirteenth. To make rules for the government of the land and naval
forces;

Fourteenth. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws
of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions;

Fifteenth. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the
militia, and for governing such part of them as may be in the service
of the United States, reserving to the States the appointment of the
officers and the authority of training the militia according to the
discipline prescribed by Congress;

Sixteenth. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatever over
such district (not exceeding 10 miles square) as may, by the cession of
particular States and the acceptance of by Congress, become the seat of
Government of the United States; and to exercise like authority over all
places purchased, by the consent of the legislature of the State in
which the same may be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals,
dockyards, and other needful buildings;

Seventeenth. And to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper
for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers
vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States or
in any department or officer thereof.

To the other branches of the Government the powers properly belonging to
each are granted. The President, in whom the executive power is vested,
is made commander in chief of the Army and Navy, and militia when called
into the service of the United States. He is authorized, with the advice
and consent of the Senate, two-thirds of the members present concurring,
to form treaties, to nominate and, with the advice and consent of the
Senate, to appoint ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls,
judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers whose appointments
are not otherwise provided for by law. He has power to grant reprieves
and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases
of impeachment. It is made his duty to give to Congress from time to
time information of the state of the Union, to recommend to their
consideration such measures as he may judge necessary and expedient, to
convene both Houses on extraordinary occasions, to receive ambassadors,
and to take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

The judicial power is vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior
courts as Congress may establish; and it is made to extend to all cases
in law and equity arising under the Constitution, the laws of the
United States, and treaties made under their authority. Cases affecting
ambassadors and other public characters, cases of admiralty and maritime
jurisdiction, causes in which the United States are a party, between two
or more States, between citizens of different States, between citizens
of the same State claiming grants of land under different States,
between a State or the citizens thereof and foreign States, are
specially assigned to these tribunals.

Other powers have been granted in other parts of the Constitution which,
although they relate to specific objects, unconnected with the ordinary
administration, yet, as they form important features in the Government
and may shed useful light on the construction which ought to be given
to the powers above enumerated, it is proper to bring into view.

By Article I, section 9, clause 1, it is provided that the migration
or importation of such persons as any of the States now existing shall
think proper to admit shall not be prohibited by Congress prior to the
year 1808, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation not
exceeding $10 for each person.

By Article III, section 3, clause 1, new States may be admitted by
Congress into the Union, but that no new State shall be formed within
the jurisdiction of another State, nor any State be formed by the
junction of two or more States or parts of States without the consent of
the legislature of the States concerned as well as of the United States.
And by the next clause of the same article and section power is vested
in Congress to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations
respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United.
States, with a proviso that nothing in the Constitution shall be so
construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States or of any
particular State.

By Article IV, section 4, the United States guarantee to every State a
republican form of government and engage to protect each of them against
invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive
when the legislature can not be convened, against domestic violence.

Of the other parts of the Constitution relating to power, some form
restraints on the exercise of the powers granted to Congress and others
on the exercise of the powers remaining to the States. The object in
both instances is to draw more completely the line between the two
governments and also to prevent abuses by either. Other parts operate
like conventional stipulations between the States, abolishing between
them all distinctions applicable to foreign powers and securing to the
inhabitants of each State all the rights and immunities of citizens in
the several States.

By the fifth article it is provided that Congress, whenever two-thirds
of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments, or, on
the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several States,
shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which in either case
shall be valid as a part of the Constitution when ratified by the
legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, or by conventions
in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode may be proposed
by Congress: _Provided_, That no State, without its consent, shall be
deprived of its equal vote in the Senate, and that no amendment which
may be made prior to the year 1808 shall affect the first and fourth
clauses in the ninth section of the first article.

By the second section of the sixth article it is declared that the
Constitution, and laws of the United States which shall be made in
pursuance thereof, and all treaties made under the authority of the
United States, shall be the supreme law of the land, and that the judges
in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or
laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. This right in the
National Government to execute its powers was indispensable to its
existence. If the State governments had not been restrained from
encroaching on the powers vested in the National Government, the
Constitution, like the Confederation, would soon have been set at
naught; and it was not within the limit of the human mind to devise
any plan for the accomplishment of the object other than by making a
national constitution which should be to the extent of its powers the
supreme law of the land. This right in the National Government would
have existed under the Constitution to the full extent provided for by
this declaration had it not been made. To prevent the possibility of
a doubt, however, on so important a subject it was proper to make the
declaration.

Having presented above a full view of all the powers granted to the
United States, it will be proper to look to those remaining to the
States. It is by fixing the great powers which are admitted to belong
to each government that we may hope to come to a right conclusion
respecting those in controversy between them. In regard to the National
Government, this task was easy because its powers were to be found in
specific grants in the Constitution; but it is more difficult to give a
detail of the powers of the State governments, as their constitutions,
containing all powers granted by the people not specifically taken
from them by grants to the United States, can not well be enumerated.
Fortunately, a precise detail of all the powers remaining to the State
governments is not necessary in the present instance. A knowledge of
their great powers only will answer every purpose contemplated, and
respecting these there can be no diversity in opinion. They are
sufficiently recognized and established by the Constitution of the
United States itself. In designating the important powers of the
State governments it is proper to observe, first, that the territory
contemplated by the Constitution belongs to each State in its separate
character and not to the United States in their aggregate character.
Bach State holds territory according to its original charter, except in
cases where cessions have been made to the United States by individual
States. The United States had none when the Constitution was adopted
which had not been thus ceded to them and which they held on the
conditions on which such cession had been made. Within the individual
States it is believed that they held not a single acre; but if they did
it was as citizens held it, merely as private property. The territory
acquired by cession lying without the individual States rests on a
different principle, and is provided for by a separate and distinct part
of the Constitution. It is the territory within the individual States to
which the Constitution in its great principles applies, and it applies
to such territory as the territory of a State and not as that of the
United States. The next circumstance to be attended to is that the
people composing this Union are the people of the several States, and
not of the United States in the full sense of a consolidated government.
The militia are the militia of the several States; lands are held under
the laws of the States; descents, contracts, and all the concerns of
private property, the administration of justice, and the whole criminal
code, except in the cases of breaches of the laws of the United States
made under and in conformity with the powers vested in Congress and of
the laws of nations, are regulated by State laws. This enumeration shows
the great extent of the powers of the State governments. The territory
and the people form the basis on which all governments are founded.
The militia constitutes their effective force. The regulation and
protection of property and of personal liberty are also among the
highest attributes of sovereignty. This, without other evidence, is
sufficient to show that the great office of the Constitution of the
United States is to unite the States together under a Government
endowed with powers adequate to the purposes of its institution,
relating, directly or indirectly, to foreign concerns, to the discharge
of which a National Government thus formed alone could be competent.

This view of the exclusive jurisdiction of the several States over the
territory within their respective limits, except in cases otherwise
specially provided for, is supported by the obvious intent of the
several powers granted to Congress, to which a more particular attention
is now due. Of these the right to declare war is perhaps the most
important, as well by the consequences attending war as by the other
powers granted in aid of it. The right to lay taxes, duties, imposts,
and excises, though necessary for the support of the civil government,
is equally necessary to sustain the charges of war; the right to raise
and support armies and a navy and to call forth and govern the militia
when in the service of the United States are altogether of the latter
kind. They are granted in aid of the power to make war and intended to
give effect to it. These several powers are of great force and extent,
and operate more directly within the limits and upon the resources of
the States than any of the other powers. But still they are means only
for given ends. War is declared and must be maintained, an army and a
navy must be raised, fortifications must be erected for the common
defense, debts must be paid, For these purposes duties, imposts, and
excises are levied, taxes are laid, the lands, merchandise, and other
property of the citizens are liable for them; if the money is not paid,
seizures are made and the lands are sold. The transaction is terminated;
the lands pass into other hands, who hold them, as the former
proprietors did, under the laws of the individual States. They were
means only to certain ends; the United States have nothing further to
do with them. The same view is applicable to the power of the General
Government over persons. The militia is called into the service of the
United States; the service is performed; the corps returns to the State
to which it belongs; it is the militia of such State, and not of the
United States. Soldiers are required for the Army, who may be obtained
by voluntary enlistment or by some other process founded in the
principles of equality. In either case the citizen after the tour of
duty is performed is restored to his former station in society, with his
equal share in the common sovereignty of the nation. In all these cases,
which are the strongest which can be given, we see that the right of
the General Government is nothing more than what it is called in the
Constitution, a power to perform certain acts, and that the subject on
which it operates is a means only to that end; that it was both before
and after that act under the protection and subject to the laws of the
individual State within which it was.

To the other powers of the General Government the same remarks are
applicable and with greater force. The right to regulate commerce with
foreign powers was necessary as well to enable Congress to lay and
collect duties and imposts as to support the rights of the nation in
the intercourse with foreign powers. It is executed at the ports of
the several States and operates almost altogether externally. The right
to borrow and coin money and to fix its value and that of foreign
coin are important to the establishment of a National Government, and
particularly necessary in support of the right to declare war, as,
indeed, may be considered the right to punish piracy and felonies on
the high seas and offenses against the laws of nations. The right to
establish an uniform rule of naturalization and uniform laws respecting
bankruptcies seems to be essentially connected with the right to
regulate commerce. The first branch of it relates to foreigners entering
the country; the second to merchants who have failed. The right to
promote the progress of useful arts and sciences may be executed without
touching any of the individual States. It is accomplished by granting
patents to inventors and preserving models, which may be done
exclusively within the Federal district. The right to constitute courts
inferior to the Supreme Court was a necessary consequence of the
judiciary existing as a separate branch of the General Government.
Without such inferior court in every State it would be difficult and
might even be impossible to carry into effect the laws of the General
Government. The right to establish post-offices and post-roads is
essentially of the same character. For political, commercial, and social
purposes it was important that it should be vested in the General
Government. As a mere matter of regulation, and nothing more, I presume,
was intended by it, it is a power easily executed and involving little
authority within the States individually. The right to exercise
exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over the Federal district
and over forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful
buildings with the consent of the State within which the same may be is
a power of a peculiar character, and is sufficient in itself to confirm
what has been said of all the other powers of the General Government.
Of this particular grant further notice will hereafter be taken.

I shall conclude my remarks on this part of the subject by observing
that the view which has been presented of the powers and character of
the two Governments is supported by the marked difference which is
observable in the manner of their endowment. The State governments
are divided into three branches--a legislative, executive, and
judiciary--and the appropriate duties of each assigned to it without
any limitation of power except such as is-necessary to guard against
abuse, in the form of bills of right. But in instituting the National
Government an entirely different principle was adopted and pursued. The
Government itself is organized, like the State governments, into three
branches, but its powers are enumerated and defined in the most precise
form. The subject has already been too fully explained to require
illustration by a general view of the whole Constitution, every part
of which affords proof of what is here advanced. It will be sufficient
to advert to the eighth section of the first article, being that more
particularly which defines the powers and fixes the character of the
Government of the United States. By this section it is declared that
Congress shall have power, first, to lay and collect taxes, duties,
imposts, and excises, etc.

Having shown the origin of the State governments and their endowments
when first formed; having also shown the origin of the National
Government and the powers vested in it, and having shown, lastly, the
powers which are admitted to have remained to the State governments
after those which were taken from them by the National Government,
I will now proceed to examine whether the power to adopt and execute
a system of internal improvement by roads and canals has been vested
in the United States.

Before we can determine whether this power has been granted to the
General Government it will be necessary to ascertain distinctly the
nature and extent of the power requisite to make such improvements.
When that is done we shall be able to decide whether such power is
vested in the National Government.

If the power existed it would, it is presumed, be executed by a board of
skillful engineers, on a view of the whole Union, on a plan which would
secure complete effect to all the great purposes of our Constitution.
It is not my intention, however, to take up the subject here on this
scale. I shall state a case for the purpose of illustration only. Let
it be supposed that Congress intended to run a road from the city of
Washington to Baltimore and to connect the Chesapeake Bay with the
Delaware and the Delaware with the Raritan by a canal, what must be
done to carry the project into effect? I make here no question of the
existing power. I speak only of the power necessary for the purpose.
Commissioners would be appointed to trace a route in the most direct
line, paying due regard to heights, water courses, and other obstacles,
and to acquire the right to the ground over which the road and canal
would pass, with sufficient breadth for each. This must be done by
voluntary grants, or by purchases from individuals, or, in case they
would not sell or should ask an exorbitant price, by condemning the
property and fixing its value by a jury of the vicinage. The next object
to be attended to after the road and canal are laid out and made is to
keep them in repair. We know that there are people in every community
capable of committing voluntary injuries, of pulling down walls that are
made to sustain the road, of breaking the bridges over water courses,
and breaking the road itself. Some living near it might be disappointed
that it did not pass through their lands and commit these acts of
violence and waste from revenge or in the hope of giving it that
direction, though for a short time. Injuries of this kind have been
committed and are still complained of on the road from Cumberland to the
Ohio. To accomplish this object Congress should have a right to pass
laws to punish offenders wherever they may be found. Jurisdiction over
the road would not be sufficient, though it were exclusive. It would
seldom happen that the parties would be detected in the act. They would
generally commit it in the night and fly far off before the sun
appeared. The power to punish these culprits must therefore reach them
wherever they go. They must also be amenable to competent tribunals,
Federal or State. The power must likewise extend to another object not
less essential or important than those already mentioned. Experience
has shown that the establishment of turnpikes, with gates and tolls and
persons to collect the tolls, is the best expedient that can be adopted
to defray the expense of these improvements and the repairs which they
necessarily require. Congress must therefore have power to make such
an establishment and to support it by such regulations, with fines and
penalties in the case of injuries, as may be competent to the purpose.
The right must extend to all those objects, or it will be utterly
incompetent. It is possessed and exercised by the States individually,
and it must be possessed by the United States or the pretension must be
abandoned.

Let it be further supposed that Congress, believing that they do
possess the power, have passed an act for those purposes, under which
commissioners have been appointed, who have begun the work. They are met
at the first farm on which they enter by the owner, who forbids them
to trespass on his land. They offer to buy it at a fair price or at
twice or thrice its value. He persists in his refusal. Can they, on the
principle recognized and acted on by all the State governments that in
cases of this kind the obstinacy and perverseness of an individual must
yield to the public welfare, summon a jury of upright and discreet men
to condemn the land, value it, and compel the owner to receive the
amount and to deliver it up to them? I believe that very few would
concur in the opinion that such a power exists.

The next object is to preserve these improvements from injury. The locks
of the canal are broken, the walls which sustained the road are pulled
down, the bridges are broken, the road itself is plowed up, toll is
refused to be paid, the gates of the canal or turnpike are forced.
The offenders are pursued, caught, and brought to trial. Can they
be punished? The question of right must be decided on principle. The
culprits will avail themselves of every barrier that may serve to screen
them from punishment. They will plead that the law under which they
stand arraigned is unconstitutional, and that question must be decided
by the court, whether Federal or State, on a fair investigation of the
powers vested in the General Government by the Constitution. If the
judges find that these powers have not been granted to Congress, the
prisoners must be acquitted, and by their acquittal all claim to the
right to establish such a system is at an end.

I have supposed an opposition to be made to the right in Congress by the
owner of the land and other individuals charged with breaches of laws
made to protect the works from injury, because it is the mildest form in
which it can present itself. It is not, however, the only one. A State,
also, may contest the right, and then the controversy assumes another
character. Government might contend against government, for to a certain
extent both the Governments are sovereign and independent of each other,
and in that form it is possible, though not probable, that opposition
might be made. To each limitations are prescribed, and should a contest
rise between them respecting their rights and the people sustain it with
anything like an equal division of numbers the worst consequences might
ensue.

It may be urged that the opposition suggested by the owner of the
land or by the States individually may be avoided by a satisfactory
arrangement with the parties. But a suppression of opposition in that
way is no proof of a right in Congress, nor could it, if confined to
that limit, remove all the impediments to the exercise of the power.
It is not sufficient that Congress may by the command and application
of the public revenue purchase the soil, and thus silence that class of
individuals, or by the accommodation afforded to individual States put
down opposition on their part. Congress must be able rightfully to
control all opposition or they can not carry the system into effect.
Cases would inevitably occur to put the right to the test. The work must
be preserved from injury, tolls must be collected, offenders must be
punished. With these culprits no bargain can be made. When brought
to trial they must deny the validity of the law, and that plea being
sustained all claim to the right ceases.

If the United States possess this power, it must be either because it
has been specifically granted or that it is incidental and necessary
to carry into effect some specific grant. The advocates for the power
derive it from the following sources: First, the right to establish
post-offices and post-roads; second, to declare war; third, to regulate
commerce among the several States; fourth, from the power to pay the
debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the
United States; fifth, from the power to make all laws necessary and
proper for carrying into execution all the powers vested by the
Constitution in the Government of the United States or in any department
or officer thereof; sixth and lastly, from the power to dispose of and
make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory and
other property of the United States. It is to be observed that there
is but little accord among the advocates for this power as to the
particular source from whence it is derived. They all agree, however,
in ascribing it to some one or more of those above mentioned. I will
examine the ground of the claim in each instance.

The first of these grants is in the following words: "Congress shall
have power to establish post-offices and post-roads." What is the just
import of these words and the extent of the grant? The word "establish"
is the ruling term; "post-offices and post-roads" are the subjects on
which it acts. The question therefore is, What power is granted by that
word? The sense in which words are commonly used is that in which they
are to be understood in all transactions between public bodies and
individuals. The intention of the parties is to prevail, and there is
no better way of ascertaining it than by giving to the terms used their
ordinary import. If we were to ask any number of our most enlightened
citizens, who had no connection with public affairs and whose minds were
unprejudiced, what was the import of the word "establish" and the extent
of the grant which it controls, we do not think there would be any
difference of opinion among them. We are satisfied that all of them
would answer that a power was thereby given to Congress to fix on the
towns, court-houses, and other places throughout our Union at which
there should be post-offices, the routes by which the mails should be
carried from one post-office to another, so as to diffuse intelligence
as extensively and to make the institution as useful as possible, to
fix the postage to be paid on every letter and packet thus carried, to
support the establishment, and to protect the post-office and mails from
robbery by punishing those who should commit the offense. The idea of a
right to lay off the roads of the United States on a general scale of
improvement, to take the soil from the proprietor by force, to establish
turnpikes and tolls, and to punish offenders in the manner stated above
would never occur to any such person. The use of the existing road by
the stage, mail carrier, or postboy in passing over it as others do is
all that would be thought of, the jurisdiction and soil remaining to the
State, with a right in the State or those authorized by its legislature
to change the road at pleasure.

The intention of the parties is supported by other proof, which ought
to place it beyond all doubt. In the former act of Government, the
Confederation, we find a grant for the same purpose expressed in the
following words: "The United States in Congress assembled shall have
the sole and exclusive right and power of establishing and regulating
post-offices from one State to another throughout all the United States,
and exacting such postage on the papers passing through the same as
may be requisite to defray the expenses of the said office." The term
"establish" was likewise the ruling one in that instrument, and was
evidently intended and understood to give a power simply and solely to
fix where there should be post-offices. By transferring this term from
the Confederation into the Constitution it was doubtless intended that
it should be understood in the same sense in the latter that it was
in the former instrument, and to be applied alike to post-offices and
post-roads. In whatever sense it is applied to post-offices it must
be applied in the same sense to post-roads. But it may be asked, If
such was the intention, why were not all the other terms of the grant
transferred with it? The reason is obvious. The Confederation being a
bond of union between independent States, it was necessary in granting
the powers which were to be exercised over them to be very explicit
and minute in defining the powers granted. But the Constitution to the
extent of its powers having incorporated the States into one Government
like the government of the States individually, fewer words in defining
the powers granted by it were not only adequate, but perhaps better
adapted to the purpose. We find that brevity is a characteristic of the
instrument. Had it been intended to convey a more enlarged power in the
Constitution than had been granted in the Confederation, surely the same
controlling term would not have been used, or other words would have
been added, to show such intention and to mark the extent to which the
power should be carried. It is a liberal construction of the powers
granted in the Constitution by this term to include in it all the powers
that were granted in the Confederation by terms which specifically
defined and, as was supposed, extended their limits. It would be absurd
to say that by omitting from the Constitution any portion of the
phraseology which was deemed important in the Confederation the import
of that term was enlarged, and with it the powers of the Constitution,
in a proportional degree, beyond what they were in the Confederation.
The right to exact postage and to protect the post-offices and mails
from robbery by punishing the offenders may fairly be considered as
incidents to the grant, since without it the object of the grant might
be defeated. Whatever is absolutely necessary to the accomplishment of
the object of the grant, though not specified, may fairly be considered
as included in it. Beyond this the doctrine of incidental power can not
be carried.

If we go back to the origin of our settlements and institutions and
trace their progress down to the Revolution, we shall see that it was in
this sense, and in none other, that the power was exercised by all our
colonial governments. Post-offices were made for the country, and not
the country for them. They are the offspring of improvement; they never
go before it. Settlements are first made, after which the progress is
uniform and simple, extending to objects in regular order most necessary
to the comfort of man--schools, places of public worship, court-houses,
and markets; post-offices follow. Roads may, indeed, be said to be
coeval with settlements; they lead to all the places mentioned, and
to every other which the various and complicated interests of society
require.

It is believed that not one example can be given, from the first
settlement of our country to the adoption of this Constitution,
of a post-office being established without a view to existing roads or
of a single road having been made by pavement, turnpike, etc., for the
sole purpose of accommodating a post-office. Such, too, is the uniform
progress of all societies. In granting, then, this power to the United
States it was undoubtedly intended by the framers and ratifiers of the
Constitution to convey it in the sense and extent only in which it had
been understood and exercised by the previous authorities of the
country.

This conclusion is confirmed by the object of the grant and the
manner of its execution. The object is the transportation of the mail
throughout the United States, which may be done on horseback, and was
so done until lately, since the establishment of stages. Between the
great towns and in other places where the population is dense stages are
preferred because they afford an additional opportunity to make a profit
from passengers; but where the population is sparse and on crossroads it
is generally carried on horseback. Unconnected with passengers and other
objects, it can not be doubted that the mail itself may be carried in
every part of our Union with nearly as much economy and greater dispatch
on horseback than in a stage, and in many parts with much greater. In
every part of the Union in which stages can be preferred the roads are
sufficiently good provided those which serve for every other purpose
will accommodate them. In every other part where horses alone are used
if other people pass them on horseback surely the mail carrier can. For
an object so simple and so easy in its execution it would doubtless
excite surprise if it should be thought proper to appoint commissioners
to lay off the country on a great scheme of improvement, with the
power to shorten distances, reduce heights, level mountains, and pave
surfaces.

If the United States possessed the power contended for under this grant,
might they not in adopting the roads of the individual States for the
carriage of the mail, as has been done, assume jurisdiction over them
and preclude a right to interfere with or alter them? Might they not
establish turnpikes and exercise all the other acts of sovereignty
above stated over such roads necessary to protect them from injury and
defray the expense of repairing them? Surely if the right exists these
consequences necessarily followed as soon as the road was established.
The absurdity of such a pretension must be apparent to all who examine
it. In this way a large portion of the territory of every State might be
taken from it, for there is scarcely a road in any State which will not
be used for the transportation of the mail. A new field for legislation
and internal government would thus be opened.

From this view of the subject I think we may fairly conclude that the
right to adopt and execute a system of internal improvement, or any part
of it, has not been granted to Congress under the power to establish
post-offices and post-roads; that the common roads of the country only
were contemplated by that grant and are fully competent to all its
purposes.

The next object of inquiry is whether the right to declare war
includes the right to adopt and execute this system of improvement.
The objections to it are, I presume, not less conclusive than those
which are applicable to the grant which we have just examined.

Under the last-mentioned grant a claim has been set up to as much of
that system as relates to roads. Under this it extends alike to roads
and canals.

We must examine this grant by the same rules of construction that
were applied to the preceding one. The object was to take this power
from the individual States and to vest it in the General Government.
This has been done in clear and explicit terms, first by granting the
power to Congress, and secondly by prohibiting the exercise of it by
the States. "Congress shall have a right to declare war." This is the
language of the grant. If the right to adopt and execute this system
of improvement is included in it, it must be by way of incident only,
since there is nothing in the grant itself which bears any relation to
roads and canals. The following considerations, it is presumed, prove
incontestably that this power has not been granted in that or any other
manner.

The United States are exposed to invasion through the whole extent of
their Atlantic coast by any European power with whom we might be engaged
in war--on the northern and northwestern frontier on the side of Canada
by Great Britain, and on the southern by Spain or any power in alliance
with her. If internal improvements are to be carried to the full extent
to which they may be useful for military purposes, the power as it
exists must apply to all the roads of the Union, there being no
limitation to it. Wherever such improvements may facilitate the march
of troops, the transportation of cannon, or otherwise aid the operations
or mitigate the calamities of war along the coast or in any part of the
interior they would be useful for military purposes, and might therefore
be made. The power following as an incident to another power can be
measured as to its extent by reference only to the obvious extent of the
power to which it is incidental. So great a scope was, it is believed,
never given to incidental power.

If it had been intended that the right to declare war should include
all the powers necessary to maintain war, it would follow that nothing
would have been done to impair the right or to restrain Congress from
the exercise of any power which the exigencies of war might require.
The nature and extent of this exigency would mark the extent of the
power granted, which should always be construed liberally, so as to be
adequate to the end. A right to raise money by taxes, duties, excises,
and by loan, to raise and support armies and a navy, to provide for
calling forth, arming, disciplining, and governing the militia when
in the service of the United States, establishing fortifications and
governing the troops stationed in them independently of the State
authorities, and to perform many other acts is indispensable to the
maintenance of war--no war with any great power can be prosecuted with
success without the command of the resources of the Union in all these
respects. These powers, then, would of necessity and by common consent
have fallen within the right to declare war had it been intended to
convey by way of incident to that right the necessary powers to maintain
war. But these powers have all been granted specifically with many
others, in great detail, which experience had shown were necessary for
the purposes of war. By specifically granting, then, these powers it
is manifest that every power was thus granted which it was intended
to grant for military purposes, and that it was also intended that no
important power should be included in this grant by way of incident,
however useful it might be for some of the purposes of the grant.

By the sixteenth of the enumerated powers, Article I, section 8,
Congress are authorized to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases
whatever over such district as may by cession of particular States and
the acceptance of Congress, not exceeding 10 miles square, become the
seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like
authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature
of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts,
magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other useful buildings. If any doubt
existed on a view of other parts of the Constitution respecting the
decision which ought to be formed on the question under consideration,
I should suppose that this clause would completely remove it. It has been
shown after the most liberal construction of all the enumerated powers
of the General Government that the territory within the limits of the
respective States belonged to them; that the United States had no right
under the powers granted to them, with the exception specified in this
grant, to any the smallest portion of territory within a State, all
those powers operating on a different principle and having their full
effect without impairing in the slightest degree this right in the
States; that those powers were in every instance means to ends, which
being accomplished left the subject--that is, the property, in which
light only land could be regarded--where it was before, under the
jurisdiction and subject to the laws of the State governments.

The second number of the clause, which is applicable to military
and naval purposes alone, claims particular attention here. It fully
confirms the view taken of the other enumerated powers, for had it been
intended to include in the right to declare war, by way of incident,
any right of jurisdiction or legislation over territory within a State,
it would have been done as to fortifications, magazines, arsenals,
dockyards, and other needful buildings. By specifically granting the
right as to such small portions of territory as might be necessary for
these purposes and on certain conditions, minutely and well defined,
it is manifest that it was not intended to grant it as to any other
portion on any condition for any purpose or in any manner whatsoever.

It may be said that although the authority to exercise exclusive
legislation in certain cases within the States with their consent may
be considered as a prohibition to Congress to exercise like exclusive
legislation in any other case, although their consent should be granted,
it does not prohibit the exercise of such jurisdiction or power within
a State as would be competent to all the purposes of internal
improvement. I can conceive no ground on which the idea of such a power
over any part of the territory of a State can be inferred from the power
to declare war. There never can be an occasion for jurisdiction for
military purposes except in fortifications, dockyards, and the like
places. If the soldiers are in the field or are quartered in garrisons
without the fortifications, the civil authority must prevail where they
are. The government of the troops by martial law is not affected by it.
In war, when the forces are increased and the movement is on a greater
scale, consequences follow which are inseparable from the exigencies
of the state. More freedom of action and a wider range of power in the
military commanders, to be exercised on their own responsibility, may
be necessary to the public safety; but even here the civil authority
of the State never ceases to operate. It is also exclusive for all
civil purposes.

Whether any power short of that stated would be adequate to the purposes
of internal improvement is denied. In the case of territory one
government must prevail for all the purposes intended by the grant.
The jurisdiction of the United States might be modified in such manner
as to admit that of the State in all cases and for all purposes not
necessary to the execution of the proposed power; but the right of the
General Government must be complete for all the purposes above stated.
It must extend to the seizure and condemnation of the property, if
necessary; to the punishment of offenders for injuries to the roads and
canals; to the establishment and enforcement of tolls, etc. It must be
a complete right to the extent above stated or it will be of no avail.
That right does not exist.

The reasons which operate in favor of the right of exclusive legislation
in forts, dockyards, etc., do not apply to any other places. The safety
of such works and of the cities which they are intended to defend, and
even of whole communities, may sometimes depend on it. If spies are
admitted within them in time of war, they might communicate intelligence
to the enemy which might be fatal. All nations surround such works
with high walls and keep their gates shut. Even here, however, three
important conditions are indispensable to such exclusive legislation:
First, the ground must be requisite for and be applied to those
purposes; second, it must be purchased; third, it must be purchased by
the consent of the State in which it may be. When we find that so much
care has been taken to protect the sovereignty of the States over the
territory within their respective limits, admitting that of the United
States over such small portions and for such special and important
purposes only, the conclusion is irresistible not only that the power
necessary for internal improvements has not been granted, but that it
has been clearly prohibited.

I come next to the right to regulate commerce, the third source from
whence the right to make internal improvements is claimed. It is
expressed in the following words: "Congress shall have power to regulate
commerce with foreign nations and among the several States and with the
Indian tribes." The reasoning applicable to the preceding claims is
equally so to this. The mischief complained of was that this power could
not be exercised with advantage by the individual States, and the object
was to transfer it to the United States. The sense in which the power
was understood and exercised by the States was doubtless that in which
it was transferred to the United States. The policy was the same
as to three branches of this grant, and it is scarcely possible to
separate the two first from each other in any view which may be taken
of the subject. The last, relating to the Indian tribes, is of a
nature distinct from the others for reasons too well known to require
explanation. Commerce between independent powers or communities is
universally regulated by duties and imposts. It was so regulated by the
States before the adoption of this Constitution equally in respect to
each other and to foreign powers. The goods and vessels employed in the
trade are the only subjects of regulation. It can act on none other.
A power, then, to impose such duties and imposts in regard to foreign
nations and to prevent any on the trade between the States was the only
power granted.

If we recur to the causes which produced the adoption of this
Constitution, we shall find that injuries resulting from the regulation
of trade by the States respectively and the advantages anticipated from
the transfer of the power to Congress were among those which had the
most weight. Instead of acting as a nation in regard to foreign powers,
the States individually had commenced a system of restraint on each
other whereby the interests of foreign powers were promoted at their
expense. If one State imposed high duties on the goods or vessels of
a foreign power to countervail the regulations of such power, the next
adjoining States imposed lighter duties to invite those articles into
their ports, that they might be transferred thence into the other
States, securing the duties to themselves. This contracted policy in
some of the States was soon counteracted by others. Restraints were
immediately laid on such commerce by the suffering States, and thus had
grown up a state of affairs disorderly and unnatural, the tendency of
which was to destroy the Union itself and with it all hope of realizing
those blessings which we had anticipated from the glorious Revolution
which had been so recently achieved. From this deplorable dilemma, or,
rather, certain ruin, we were happily rescued by the adoption of the
Constitution.

Among the first and most important effects of this great Revolution
was the complete abolition of this pernicious policy. The States were
brought together by the Constitution as to commerce into one community
equally in regard to foreign nations and each other. The regulations
that were adopted regarded us in both respects as one people. The duties
and imposts that were laid on the vessels and merchandise of foreign
nations were all uniform throughout the United States, and in the
intercourse between the States themselves no duties of any kind were
imposed other than between different ports and counties within the
same State.

This view is supported by a series of measures, all of a marked
character, preceding the adoption of the Constitution. As early as
the year 1781 Congress recommended it to the States to vest in the
United States a power to levy a duty of 5 per cent on all goods imported
from foreign countries into the United States for the term of fifteen
years. In 1783 this recommendation, with alterations as to the kind of
duties and an extension of this term to twenty-five years, was repeated
and more earnestly urged. In 1784 it was recommended to the States
to authorize Congress to prohibit, under certain modifications, the
importation of goods from foreign powers into the United States for
fifteen years. In 1785 the consideration of the subject was resumed,
and a proposition presented in a new form, with an address to the
States, explaining fully the principles on which a grant of the power
to regulate trade was deemed indispensable. In 1786 a meeting took place
at Annapolis of delegates from several of the States on this subject,
and on their report a convention was formed at Philadelphia the ensuing
year from all the States, to whose deliberations we are indebted for
the present Constitution.

In none of these measures was the subject of internal improvement
mentioned or even glanced at. Those of 1784, 1785, 1786, and 1787,
leading step by step to the adoption of the Constitution, had in view
only the obtaining of a power to enable Congress to regulate trade with
foreign powers. It is manifest that the regulation of trade with the
several States was altogether a secondary object, suggested by and
adopted in connection with the other. If the power necessary to this
system of improvement is included under either branch of this grant,
I should suppose that it was the first rather than the second. The
pretension to it, however, under that branch has never been set up.
In support of the claim under the second no reason has been assigned
which appears to have the least weight.

The fourth claim is founded on the right of Congress to "pay the debts
and provide for the common defense and general welfare" of the United
States. This claim has less reason on its side than either of those
which we have already examined. The power of which this forms a part
is expressed in the following words: "Congress shall have power to lay
and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises; to pay the debts and
provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States;
but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the
United States." That the second part of this grant gives a right to
appropriate the public money, and nothing more, is evident from the
following considerations: First. If the right of appropriation is not
given by this clause, it is not given at all, there being no other grant
in the Constitution which gives it directly or which has any bearing
on the subject, even by implication, except the two following: First,
the prohibition, which is contained in the eleventh of the enumerated
powers, not to appropriate money for the support of armies for a longer
term than two years; and, second, the declaration of the sixth member
or clause of the ninth section of the first article that no money shall
be drawn from the Treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by
law. Second. This part of the grant has none of the characteristics of
a distinct and original power. It is manifestly incidental to the great
objects of the first part of the grant, which authorizes Congress to lay
and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, a power of vast extent,
not granted by the Confederation, the grant of which formed one of the
principal inducements to the adoption of this Constitution. If both
parts of the grant are taken together (as they must be, for the one
follows immediately after the other in the same sentence), it seems
to be impossible to give to the latter any other construction than
that contended for. Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes,
duties, imposts, and excises. For what purpose? To pay the debts and
provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States,
an arrangement and phraseology which clearly show that the latter part
of the clause was intended to enumerate the purposes to which the money
thus raised might be appropriated. Third. If this is not the real object
and fair construction of the second part of this grant, it follows
either that it has no import or operation whatever or one of much
greater extent than the first part. This presumption is evidently
groundless in both instances. In the first because no part of the
Constitution can be considered useless; no sentence or clause in it
without a meaning. In the second because such a construction as made the
second part of the clause an original grant, embracing the same object
with the first, but with much greater power than it, would be in the
highest degree absurd. The order generally observed in grants, an order
founded in common sense, since it promotes a clear understanding of
their import, is to grant the power intended to be conveyed in the
most full and explicit manner, and then to explain or qualify it, if
explanation or qualification should be necessary. This order has, it
is believed, been invariably observed in all the grants contained in
the Constitution. In the second because if the clause in question is
not construed merely as an authority to appropriate the public money,
it must be obvious that it conveys a power of indefinite and unlimited
extent; that there would have been no use for the special powers to
raise and support armies and a navy, to regulate commerce, to call forth
the militia, or even to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and
excises. An unqualified power to pay the debts and provide for the
common defense and general welfare, as the second part of this clause
would be if considered as a distinct and separate grant, would extend to
every object in which the public could be interested. A power to provide
for the common defense would give to Congress the command of the whole
force and of all the resources of the Union; but a right to provide for
the general welfare would go much further. It would, in effect, break
down all the barriers between the States and the General Government and
consolidate the whole under the latter.

The powers specifically granted to Congress are what are called the
enumerated powers, and are numbered in the order in which they stand,
among which that contained in the first clause holds the first place
in point of importance. If the power created by the latter part of the
clause is considered an original grant, unconnected with and independent
of the first, as in that case it must be, then the first part is
entirely done away, as are all the other grants in the Constitution,
being completely absorbed in the transcendent power granted in the
latter part; but if the clause be construed in the sense contended for,
then every part has an important meaning and effect; not a line, a word,
in it is superfluous. A power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts,
and excises subjects to the call of Congress every branch of the public
revenue, internal and external, and the addition to pay the debts and
provide for the common defense and general welfare gives the right of
applying the money raised--that is, of appropriating it to the purposes
specified according to a proper construction of the terms. Hence it
follows that it is the first part of the clause only which gives a power
which affects in any manner the power remaining to the States, as the
power to raise money from the people, whether it be by taxes, duties,
imposts, or excises, though concurrent in the States as to taxes and
excises must necessarily do. But the use or application of the money
after it is raised is a power altogether of a different character.
It imposes no burden on the people, nor can it act on them in a sense
to take power from the States or in any sense in which power can be
controverted, or become a question between the two Governments. The
application of money raised under a lawful power is a right or grant
which may be abused. It may be applied partially among the States, or
to improper purposes in our foreign and domestic concerns; but still
it is a power not felt in the sense of other power, since the only
complaint which any State can make of such partiality and abuse is
that some other State or States have obtained greater benefit from the
application than by a just rule of apportionment they were entitled to.
The right of appropriation is therefore from its nature secondary and
incidental to the right of raising money, and it was proper to place
it in the same grant and same clause with that right. By rinding them,
then, in that order we see a new proof of the sense in which the grant
was made, corresponding with the view herein taken of it.

The last part of this grant, which provides that all duties, imposts,
and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States, furnishes
another strong proof that it was not intended that the second part
should constitute a distinct grant in the sense above stated, or
convey any other right than that of appropriation. This provision
operates exclusively on the power granted in the first part of the
clause. It recites three branches of that power--duties, imposts, and
excises--those only on which it could operate, the rule by which the
fourth--that is, taxes--should be laid being already provided for in
another part of the Constitution. The object of this provision is to
secure a just equality among the States in the exercise of that power
by Congress. By placing it after both the grants--that is, after that
to raise and that to appropriate the public money--and making it apply
to the first only it shows that it was not intended that the power
granted in the second should be paramount to and destroy that granted in
the first. It shows also that no such formidable power as that suggested
had been granted in the second, or any power against the abuse of which
it was thought necessary specially to provide. Surely if it was deemed
proper to guard a specific power of limited extent and well-known
import against injustice and abuse, it would have been much more so
to have guarded against the abuse of a power of such vast extent and so
indefinite as would have been granted by the second part of the clause
if considered as a distinct and original grant.

With this construction all the other enumerated grants, and, indeed,
all the grants of power contained in the Constitution, have their full
operation and effect. They all stand well together, fulfilling the great
purposes intended by them. Under it we behold a great scheme, consistent
in all its parts, a Government instituted for national purposes, vested
with adequate powers for those purposes, commencing with the most
important of all, that of the revenue, and proceeding in regular order
to the others with which it was deemed proper to endow it, all, too,
drawn with the utmost circumspection and care. How much more consistent
is this construction with the great objects of the institution and with
the high character of the enlightened and patriotic citizens who framed
it, as well as of those who ratified it, than one which subverts every
sound principle and rule of construction and throws everything into
confusion.

I have dwelt thus long on this part of the subject from an earnest
desire to fix in a clear and satisfactory manner the import of the
second part of this grant, well knowing from the generality of the terms
used their tendency to lead into error. I indulge a strong hope that
the view herein presented will not be without effect, but will tend to
satisfy the unprejudiced and impartial that nothing more was granted by
that part than a power to _appropriate_ the public money raised under
the other part. To what extent that power may be carried will be the
next object of inquiry.

It is contended on the one side that as the National Government is
a government of limited powers it has no right to expend money except
in the performance of acts authorized by the other specific grants
according to a strict construction of their powers; that this grant
in neither of its branches gives to Congress discretionary power of
any kind, but is a mere instrument in its hands to carry into effect
the powers contained in the other grants. To this construction I was
inclined in the more early stage of our Government; but on further
reflection and observation my mind has undergone a change, for reasons
which I will frankly unfold.

The grant consists, as heretofore observed, of a twofold power--the
first to raise, the second to appropriate, the public money--and the
terms used in both instances are general and unqualified. Bach branch
was obviously drawn with a view to the other, and the import of each
tends to illustrate that of the other. The grant to raise money gives
a power over every subject from which revenue may be drawn, and is made
in the same manner with the grants to declare war, to raise and support
armies and a navy, to regulate commerce, to establish post-offices
and post-roads, and with all the other specific grants to the General
Government. In the discharge of the powers contained in any of these
grants there is no other check than that which is to be found in the
great principles of our system, the responsibility of the representative
to his constituents. If war, for example, is necessary, and Congress
declare it for good cause, their constituents will support them in it.
A like support will be given them for the faithful discharge of their
duties under any and every other power vested in the United States.
It affords to the friends of our free governments the most heartfelt
consolation to know--and from the best evidence, our own experience--that
in great emergencies the boldest measures, such as form the strongest
appeals to the virtue and patriotism of the people, are sure to obtain
the most decided approbation. But should the representative act
corruptly and betray his trust, or otherwise prove that he was unworthy
of the confidence of his constituents, he would be equally sure to lose
it and to be removed and otherwise censured, according to his deserts.
The power to raise money by taxes, duties, imposts, and excises is alike
unqualified, nor do I see any check on the exercise of it other than
that which applies to the other powers above recited, the responsibility
of the representative to his constituents. Congress know the extent of
the public engagements and the sums necessary to meet them; they know
how much may be derived from each branch of revenue without pressing
it too far; and, paying due regard to the interests of the people,
they likewise know which branch ought to be resorted to in the first
instance. From the commencement of the Government two branches of this
power, duties and imposts, have been in constant operation, the revenue
from which has supported the Government in its various branches and met
its other ordinary engagements. In great emergencies the other two,
taxes and excises, have likewise been resorted to, and neither was the
right or the policy ever called in question.

If we look to the second branch of this power, that which authorizes the
appropriation of the money thus raised, we find that it is not less
general and unqualified than the power to raise it. More comprehensive
terms than to "pay the debts and provide for the common defense and
general welfare" could not have been used. So intimately connected with
and dependent on each other are these two branches of power that had
either been limited the limitation would have had the like effect on
the other. Had the power to raise money been conditional or restricted
to special purposes, the appropriation must have corresponded with it,
for none but the money raised could be appropriated, nor could it be
appropriated to other purposes than those which were permitted. On the
other hand, if the right of appropriation had been restricted to certain
purposes, it would be useless and improper to raise more than would be
adequate to those purposes. It may fairly be inferred these restraints
or checks have been carefully and intentionally avoided. The power in
each branch is alike broad and unqualified, and each is drawn with
peculiar fitness to the other, the latter requiring terms of great
extent and force to accommodate the former, which have been adopted,
and both placed in the same clause and sentence.

Can it be presumed that all these circumstances were so nicely adjusted
by mere accident? Is it not more just to conclude that they were the
result of due deliberation and design? Had it been intended that
Congress should be restricted in the appropriation of the public money
to such expenditures as were authorized by a rigid construction of the
other specific grants, how easy would it have been to have provided for
it by a declaration to that effect. The omission of such declaration is
therefore an additional proof that it was not intended that the grant
should be so construed.

It was evidently impossible to have subjected this grant in either
branch to such restriction without exposing the Government to very
serious embarrassment. How carry it into effect? If the grant had been
made in any degree dependent upon the States, the Government would have
experienced the fate of the Confederation. Like it, it would have
withered and soon perished. Had the Supreme Court been authorized, or
should any other tribunal distinct from the Government be authorized,
to impose its veto, and to say that more money had been raised under
either branch of this power--that is, by taxes, duties, imposts, or
excises--than was necessary, that such a tax or duty was useless, that
the appropriation to this or that purpose was unconstitutional, the
movement might have been suspended and the whole system disorganized.
It was impossible to have created a power within the Government or
any other power distinct from Congress and the Executive which should
control the movement of the Government in this respect and not destroy
it. Had it been declared by a clause in the Constitution that the
expenditures under this grant should be restricted to the construction
which might be given of the other grants, such restraint, though the
most innocent, could not have failed to have had an injurious effect on
the vital principles of the Government and often on its most important
measures. Those who might wish to defeat a measure proposed might
construe the power relied on in support of it in a narrow and contracted
manner, and in that way fix a precedent inconsistent with the true
import of the grant. At other times those who favored a measure might
give to the power relied on a forced or strained construction, and,
succeeding in the object, fix a precedent in the opposite extreme.
Thus it is manifest that if the right of appropriation be confined
to that limit, measures may oftentimes be carried or defeated by
considerations and motives altogether independent of and unconnected
with their merits, and the several powers of Congress receive
constructions equally inconsistent with their true import. No such
declaration, however, has been made, and from the fair import of the
grant, and, indeed, its positive terms, the inference that such was
intended seems to be precluded.

Many considerations of great weight operate in favor of this
construction, while I do not perceive any serious objections to it.
If it be established, it follows that the words "to provide for the
common defense and general welfare" have a definite, safe, and useful
meaning. The idea of their forming an original grant, with unlimited
power, superseding every other grant, is abandoned. They will be
considered simply as conveying a right of appropriation, a right
indispensable to that of raising a revenue and necessary to expenditures
under every grant. By it, as already observed, no new power will be
taken from the States, the money to be appropriated being raised under
a power already granted to Congress. By it, too, the motive for giving
a forced or strained construction to any of the other specific grants
will in most instances be diminished and in many utterly destroyed.
The importance of this consideration can not be too highly estimated,
since, in addition to the examples already given, it ought particularly
to be recollected that to whatever extent any specified power may be
carried the right of jurisdiction goes with it, pursuing it through
all its incidents. The very important agency which this grant has in
carrying into effect every other grant is a wrong argument in favor of
the construction contended for. All the other grants are limited by
the nature of the offices which they have severally to perform, each
conveying a power to do a certain thing, and that only, whereas this is
coextensive with the great scheme of the Government itself. It is the
lever which raises and puts the whole machinery in motion and continues
the movement. Should either of the other grants fail in consequence of
any condition or limitation attached to it or misconstruction of its
powers, much injury might follow, but still it would be the failure of
one branch of power, of one item in the system only. All the others
might move on. But should the right to raise and appropriate the public
money be improperly restricted, the whole system might be sensibly
affected, if not disorganized. Each of the other grants is limited by
the nature of the grant itself; this, by the nature of the Government
only. Hence it became necessary that, like the power to declare war,
this power should be commensurate with the great scheme of the
Government and with all its purposes.

If, then, the right to raise and appropriate the public money is not
restricted to the expenditures under the other specific grants according
to a strict construction of their powers, respectively, is there no
limitation to it? Have Congress a right to raise and appropriate the
money to any and to every purpose according to their will and pleasure?
They certainly have not. The Government of the United States is a
limited Government, instituted for great national purposes, and for
those only. Other interests are committed to the States, whose duty
it is to provide for them. Each government should look to the great
and essential purposes for which it was instituted and confine itself
to those purposes. A State government will rarely if ever apply money to
national purposes without making it a charge to the nation. The people
of the State would not permit it. Nor will Congress be apt to apply
money in aid of the State administrations for purposes strictly local
in which the nation at large has no interest, although the State should
desire it. The people of the other States would condemn it. They would
declare that Congress had no right to tax them for such a purpose, and
dismiss at the next election such of their representatives as had voted
for the measure, especially if it should be severely felt. I do not
think that in offices of this kind there is much danger of the two
Governments mistaking their interests or their duties. I rather expect
that they would soon have a clear and distinct understanding of them
and move on in great harmony.

Good roads and canals will promote many very important national
purposes. They will facilitate the operations of war, the movements of
troops, the transportation of cannon, of provisions, and every warlike
store, much to our advantage and to the disadvantage of the enemy in
time of war. Good roads will facilitate the transportation of the mail,
and thereby promote the purposes of commerce and political intelligence
among the people. They will by being properly directed to these objects
enhance the value of our vacant lands, a treasure of vast resource to
the nation. To the appropriation of the public money to improvements
having these objects in view and carried to a certain extent I do not
see any well-founded constitutional objection.

In regard to our foreign concerns, provided they are managed with
integrity and ability, great liberality is allowable in the application
of the public money. In the management of these concerns no State
interests can be affected, no State rights violated. The complete and
exclusive control over them is vested in Congress. The power to form
treaties of alliance and commerce with foreign powers, to regulate by
law our commerce with them, to determine on peace or war, to raise
armies and a navy, to call forth the militia and direct their operations
belongs to the General Government. These great powers, embracing the
whole scope of our foreign relations, being granted, on what principle
can it be said that the minor are withheld? Are not the latter clearly
and evidently comprised in the former? Nations are sometimes called upon
to perform to each other acts of humanity and kindness, of which we see
so many illustrious examples between individuals in private life. Great
calamities make appeals to the benevolence of mankind which ought not
to be resisted. Good offices in such emergencies exalt the character
of the party rendering them. By exciting grateful feelings they soften
the intercourse between nations and tend to prevent war. Surely if the
United States have a right to make war they have a right to prevent it.
How was it possible to grant to Congress a power for such minor purposes
other than in general terms, comprising it within the scope and policy
of that which conveyed it for the greater?

The right of appropriation is nothing more than a right to apply the
public money to this or that purpose. It has no incidental power, nor
does it draw after it any consequences of that kind. All that Congress
could do under it in the case of internal improvements would be to
appropriate the money necessary to make them. For every act requiring
legislative sanction or support the State authority must be relied on.
The condemnation of the land, if the proprietors should refuse to sell
it, the establishment of turnpikes and tolls, and the protection of the
work when finished must be done by the State. To these purposes the
powers of the General Government are believed to be utterly incompetent.

To the objection that the United States have no power in any instance
which is not complete to all the purposes to which it may be made
instrumental, and in consequence that they have no right to appropriate
any portion of the public money to internal improvements because they
have not the right of sovereignty and jurisdiction over them when made,
a full answer has, it is presumed, been already given. It may, however,
be proper to add that if this objection was well founded it would not
be confined to the simple case of internal improvements, but would
apply to others of high importance. Congress have a right to regulate
commerce. To give effect to this power it becomes necessary to establish
custom-houses in every State along the coast and in many parts of
the interior. The vast amount of goods imported and the duties to be
performed to accommodate the merchants and secure the revenue make it
necessary that spacious buildings should be erected, especially in the
great towns, for their reception. This, it is manifest, could best be
performed under the direction of the General Government. Have Congress
the right to seize the property of individuals if they should refuse
to sell it, in quarters best adapted to the purpose, to have it valued,
and to take it at the valuation? Have they a right to exercise
jurisdiction within those buildings? Neither of these claims has ever
been set up, nor could it, as is presumed, be sustained. They have
invariably either rented houses where such as were suitable could be
obtained, or, where they could not, purchased the ground of individuals,
erected the buildings, and held them under the laws of the State. Under
the power to establish post-offices and post-roads houses are also
requisite for the reception of the mails and the transaction of the
business of the several offices. These have always been rented or
purchased and held under the laws of the State in the same manner as
if they had been taken by a citizen. The United States have a right to
establish tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court, and such have been
established in every State of the Union. It is believed that the houses
for these inferior courts have invariably been rented. No right of
jurisdiction in them has ever been claimed, nor other right than that of
privilege, and that only while the court is in session. A still stronger
case may be urged. Should Congress be compelled by invasion or other
cause to remove the Government to some town within one of the States,
would they have a right of jurisdiction over such town, or hold even the
house in which they held their session under other authority than the
laws of such State? It is believed that they would not. If they have
a right to appropriate money for any of these purposes, to be laid out
under the protection of the laws of the State, surely they have an equal
right to do it for the purposes of internal improvements.

It is believed that there is not a corporation in the Union which does
not exercise great discretion in the application of the money raised
by it to the purposes of its institution. It would be strange if the
Government of the United States, which was instituted for such important
purposes and endowed with such extensive powers, should not be allowed
at least equal discretion and authority. The evil to be particularly
avoided is the violation of State rights. Shunning that, it seems to be
reasonable and proper that the powers of Congress should be so construed
as that the General Government in its intercourse with other nations and
in our internal concerns should be able to adopt all such measures lying
within the fair scope and intended to facilitate the direct objects of
its powers as the public welfare may require and a sound and provident
policy dictate.

The measures of Congress have been in strict accord with the view taken
of the right of appropriation both as to its extent and limitation, as
will be shown by a reference to the laws, commencing at a very early
period. Many roads have been opened, of which the following are the
principal: The first from Cumberland, at the head waters of the Potomac,
in the State of Maryland, through Pennsylvania and Virginia, to the
State of Ohio (March 29, 1806; see vol. 4, p. 13, of the late edition
of the laws). The second from the frontiers of Georgia, on the route
from Athens to New Orleans, to its intersection with the thirty-first
degree of north latitude (April 31, 1806, p. 58). The third from the
Mississippi at a point and by a route described to the Ohio (same act).
The fourth from Nashville, in Tennessee, to Natchez (same act). The
fifth from the thirty-first degree of north latitude, on the route
from Athens to New Orleans, under such regulations as might be agreed
on between the Executive and the Spanish Government (March 3, 1807,
p. 117). The sixth from the foot of the rapids of the river Miami,
of Lake Erie, to the western line of the Connecticut Reserve (December
12, 1811, p. 364). The seventh from the Lower Sandusky to the boundary
line established by the treaty of Greenville (same act). The eighth from
a point where the United States road leading from Vincennes to the
Indian boundary line, established by the treaty of Greenville, strikes
the said line, to the North Bend, in the State of Ohio (January 8, 1812,
p. 367). The ninth for repairing and keeping in repair the road between
Columbia, on Duck River, in Tennessee, and Madisonville, in Louisiana,
and also the road between Fort Hawkins, in Georgia, and Fort Stoddard
(April 27, 1816, p. 104 of the acts of that year). The tenth from the
Shawneetown, on the Ohio River, to the Sabine, and to Kaskaskias,
in Illinois (April 27, 1816, p. 112). The eleventh from Reynoldsburg,
on Tennessee River, in the State of Tennessee, through the Chickasaw
Nation, to intersect the Natchez road near the Chickasaw old town (March
3, 1817, p. 252). The twelfth: By this act authority was given to the
President to appoint three commissioners for the purpose of examining
the country and laying out a road from the termination of the Cumberland
road, at Wheeling, on the Ohio, through the States of Ohio, Indiana,
and Illinois, to a point to be chosen by them, on the left bank of the
Mississippi, between St. Louis and the mouth of the Illinois River, and
to report an accurate plan of the said road, with an estimate of the
expense of making it. It is, however, declared by the act that nothing
was thereby intended to imply an obligation on the part of the United
States to make or defray the expense of making the said road or any part
thereof.

In the late war two other roads were made by the troops for military
purposes--one from the Upper Sandusky, in the State of Ohio, through
the Black Swamp, toward Detroit, and another from Plattsburg, on Lake
Champlain, through the Chatauga woods toward Sacketts Harbor, which have
since been repaired and improved by the troops. Of these latter there
is no notice in the laws. The extra pay to the soldiers for repairing
and improving those roads was advanced in the first instance from the
appropriation to the Quartermaster's Department and afterwards provided
for by a specific appropriation by Congress. The necessity of keeping
those roads open and in good repair, being on the frontier, to
facilitate a communication between our posts, is apparent.

All of these roads except the first were formed merely by cutting down
the trees and throwing logs across, so as to make causeways over such
parts as were otherwise impassable. The execution was of the coarsest
kind. The Cumberland road is the only regular work which has been
undertaken by the General Government or which could give rise to any
question between the two Governments respecting its powers. It is a
great work, over the highest mountains in our Union, connecting from
the seat of the General Government the Eastern with the Western waters,
and more intimately the Atlantic with the Western States, in the
formation of which $1,800,000 have been expended. The measures pursued
in this case require to be particularly noticed as fixing the opinion
of the parties, and particularly of Congress, on the important question
of the right. Passing through Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia,
it was thought necessary and proper to bring the subject before their
respective legislatures to obtain their sanction, which was granted by
each State by a legislative act, approving the route and providing for
the purchase and condemnation of the land. This road was founded on an
article of compact between the United States and the State of Ohio,
under which that State came into the Union, and by which the expense
attending it was to be defrayed by the application of a certain portion
of the money arising from the sale of the public lands within that
State. In this instance, which is by far the strongest in respect to
the expense, extent, and nature of the work done, the United States have
exercised no act of jurisdiction or sovereignty within either of the
States by taking the land from the proprietors by force, by passing acts
for the protection of the road, or to raise a revenue from it by the
establishment of turnpikes and tolls, or any other act founded on the
principle of jurisdiction or right. Whatever they have done has, on the
contrary, been founded on the opposite principle, on the voluntary and
unqualified admission that the sovereignty belonged to the State and not
to the United States, and that they could perform no act which should
tend to weaken the power of the State or to assume any to themselves.
All that they have done has been to appropriate the public money to
the construction of this road and to cause it to be constructed, for
I presume that no distinction can be taken between the appropriation
of money raised by the sale of the public lands and of that which
arises from taxes, duties, imposts, and excises; nor can I believe that
the power to appropriate derives any sanction from a provision to that
effect having been made by an article of compact between the United
States and the people of the then Territory of Ohio. This point may,
however, be placed in a clearer light by a more particular notice of
the article itself.

By an act of April 30, 1802, entitled "An act to enable the people of
the eastern division of the territory northwest of the river Ohio to
form a constitution and State government, and for the admission of such
State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States, and
for other purposes," after describing the limits of the proposed new
State and authorizing the people thereof to elect a convention to
form a constitution, the three following propositions were made to the
convention, to be obligatory on the United States if accepted by it:
First, that section No. 16 of every township, or, where such section
had been sold, other lands equivalent thereto, should be granted to the
inhabitants of such township for the use of free schools. Second, that
the 6 miles' reservation, including the salt springs commonly called
the Sciota Salt Springs, the salt springs near the Muskingum River and
in the military tract, with the sections which include the same, should
be granted to the said State for the use of the people thereof, under
such regulations as the legislature of the State should prescribe:
_Provided_, That it should never sell or lease the same for more than
ten years. Third, that one twentieth part of the proceeds of the public
lands lying within the said State which might be sold by Congress from
and after the 30th June ensuing should be applied to the laying out and
making public roads from the navigable waters emptying into the
Atlantic, to the Ohio, and through the State of Ohio, such roads to be
laid out under the authority of Congress, with the consent of the
several States through which they should pass.

These three propositions were made on the condition that the convention
of the State should provide by an ordinance, irrevocable without the
consent of the United States, that every tract of land sold by Congress
after the 30th of June ensuing should remain for the term of five years
after sale exempt from every species of tax whatsoever.

It is impossible to read the ordinance of the 23d of April, 1784, or
the provisions of the act of April 30, 1802, which are founded on it,
without being profoundly impressed with the enlightened and magnanimous
policy which dictated them. Anticipating that the new States would be
settled by the inhabitants of the original States and their offspring,
no narrow or contracted jealousy was entertained of their admission
into the Union in equal participation in the national sovereignty with
the original States. It was foreseen at the early period at which that
ordinance passed that the expansion of our Union to the Lakes and to
the Mississippi and all its waters would not only make us a greater
power, but cement the Union itself. These three propositions were well
calculated to promote these great results. A grant of land to each
township for free schools, and of the salt springs to the State, which
were within its limits, for the use of its citizens, with 5 per cent of
the money to be raised from the sale of lands within the State for the
construction of roads between the original States and the new State, and
of other roads within the State, indicated a spirit not to be mistaken,
nor could it fail to produce a corresponding effect in the bosoms of
those to whom it was addressed. For these considerations the sole return
required of the convention was that the new State should not tax the
public lands which might be sold by the United States within it for the
term of five years after they should be sold. As the value of these
lands would be enhanced by this exemption from taxes for that term, and
from which the new State would derive its proportionable benefit, and
as it would also promote the rapid sale of those lands, and with it
the augmentation of its own population, it can not be doubted, had this
exemption been suggested unaccompanied by any propositions of particular
advantage, that the convention would, in consideration of the relation
which had before existed between the parties, and was about to be so
much improved, most willingly have acceded to it and without regarding
it as an onerous condition.

Since, then, it appears that the whole of the money to be employed in
making this road was to be raised from the sale of the public lands, and
which would still belong to the United States, although no mention had
been made of them in the compact, it follows that the application of the
money to that purpose stands upon the same ground as if such compact had
not been made, and in consequence that the example in favor of the right
of appropriation is in no manner affected by it.

The same rule of construction of the right of appropriation has been
observed and the same liberal policy pursued toward the other new
States, with certain modifications adapted to the situation of each,
which were adopted with the State of Ohio. As, however, the reasoning
which is applicable to the compact with Ohio in relation to the right
of appropriation, in which light only I have adverted to it, is equally
applicable to the several compacts with the other new States, I deem it
unnecessary to take a particular notice of them.

It is proper to observe that the money which was employed in the
construction of all the other roads was taken directly from the
Treasury. This fact affords an additional proof that in the
contemplation of Congress no difference existed in the application of
money to those roads between that which was raised by the sale of lands
and that which was derived from taxes, duties, imposts, and excises.

So far I have confined my remarks to the acts of Congress respecting the
right of appropriation to such measures only as operate internally and
affect the territory of the individual States. In adverting to those
which operate externally and relate to foreign powers I find only two
which appear to merit particular attention. These were gratuitous grants
of money for the relief of foreigners in distress--the first in 1794
to the inhabitants of St. Domingo, who sought an asylum on our coast
from the convulsions and calamities of the island; the second in 1812
to the people of Caracas, reduced to misery by an earthquake. The
considerations which were applicable to these grants have already
been noticed and need not be repeated.

In this examination of the right of appropriation I thought it proper
to present to view also the practice of the Government under it, and to
explore the ground on which each example rested, that the precise nature
and extent of the construction thereby given of the right might be
clearly understood. The right to raise money would have given, as is
presumed, the right to use it, although nothing had been said to that
effect in the Constitution; and where the right to raise it is granted
without special limitation, we must look for such limitation to other
causes. Our attention is first drawn to the right to appropriate, and
not finding it there we must then look to the general powers of the
Government as designated by the specific grants and to the purposes
contemplated by them, allowing to this (the right to raise money), the
first and most important of the enumerated powers, a scope which will
be competent to those purposes. The practice of the Government, as
illustrated by numerous and strong examples directly applicable, ought
surely to have great weight in fixing the construction of each grant.
It ought, I presume, to settle it, especially where it is acquiesced
in by the nation and produces a manifest and positive good. A practical
construction, thus supported, shows that it has reason on its side and
is called for by the interests of the Union. Hence, too, the presumption
that it will be persevered in. It will surely be better to admit that
the construction given by these examples has been just arid proper than
to deny that construction and still to practice on it--to say one thing
and to do another.

Wherein consists the danger of giving a liberal construction to the
right of Congress to raise and appropriate the public money? It has
been shown that its obvious effect is to secure the rights of the
States from encroachment and greater harmony in the political movement
between the two governments, while it enlarges to a certain extent
in the most harmless way the useful agency of the General Government
for all the purposes of its institution. Is not the responsibility of
the representative to his constituent in every branch of the General
Government equally strong and as sensibly felt as in the State
governments, and is not the security against abuse as effectual in the
one as in the other government? The history of the General Government
in all its measures fully demonstrates that Congress will never venture
to impose unnecessary burdens on the people or any that can be avoided.
Duties and imposts have always been light, not greater, perhaps, than
would have been imposed for the encouragement of our manufactures had
there been no occasion for the revenue arising from them; and taxes and
excises have never been laid except in cases of necessity, and repealed
as soon as the necessity ceased. Under this mild process and the sale
of some hundreds of millions of acres of good land the Government will
be possessed of money, which may be applied with great advantage to
national purposes. Within the States only will it be applied, and,
of course, for their benefit, it not being presumable that such appeals
as were made to the benevolence of the country in the instances of
the inhabitants of St. Domingo and Caracas will often occur. How,
then, shall this revenue be applied? Should it be idle in the Treasury?
That our resources will be equal to such useful purposes I have no
doubt, especially if by completing our fortifications and raising and
maintaining our Navy at the point provided for immediately after the
war we sustain our present altitude and preserve by means thereof for
any length of time the peace of the Union.

When we hear charges raised against other governments of breaches
of their constitutions, or, rather, of their charters, we always
anticipate the most serious consequences--communities deprived of
privileges which they have long enjoyed, or individuals oppressed and
punished in violation of the ordinary forms and guards of trial to
which they were accustomed and entitled. How different is the situation
of the United States! Nor can anything mark more strongly the great
characteristics of that difference than the grounds on which like
charges are raised against this Government. It is not alleged that any
portion of the community or any individual has been oppressed or that
money has been raised under a doubtful title. The principal charges are
that a work of great utility to the Union and affecting immediately
and with like advantage many of the States has been constructed; that
pensions to the surviving patriots of our Revolution, to patriots who
fought the battles and promoted the independence of their country, have
been granted, by money, too, raised not only without oppression, but
almost without being felt, and under an acknowledged constitutional
power.

From this view of the right to appropriate and of the practice under
it I think that I am authorized to conclude that the right to make
internal improvements has not been granted by the power "to pay the
debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare," included
in the first of the enumerated powers; that that grant conveys nothing
more than a right to appropriate the public money, and stands on the
same ground with the right to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts,
and excises, conveyed by the first branch of that power; that the
Government itself being limited, both branches of the power to raise
and appropriate the public money are also limited, the extent of the
Government as designated by the specific grants marking the extent
of the power in both branches, extending, however, to every object
embraced by the fair scope of those grants and not confined to a strict
construction of their respective powers, it being safer to aid the
purposes of those grants by the appropriation of money than to extend
by a forced construction the grant itself; that although the right to
appropriate the public money to such improvements affords a resource
indispensably necessary to such a scheme, it is nevertheless deficient
as a power in the great characteristics on which its execution depends.

The substance of what has been urged on this subject may be expressed in
a few words. My idea is that Congress have an unlimited power to raise
money, and that in its appropriation they have a discretionary power,
restricted only by the duty to appropriate it to purposes of common
defense and of general, not local, national, not State, benefit.

I will now proceed to the fifth source from which the power is said to
be derived, viz, the power to make all laws which shall be necessary
and proper for carrying into execution all the powers vested by the
Constitution in the Government of the United States or in any department
or officer thereof. This is the seventeenth and last of the enumerated
powers granted to Congress.

I have always considered this power as having been granted on a
principle of greater caution to secure the complete execution of all
the powers which had been vested in the General Government. It contains
no distinct and specific power, as every other grant does, such as to
lay and collect taxes, to declare war, to regulate commerce, and the
like. Looking to the whole scheme of the General Government, it gives
to Congress authority to make all laws which should be deemed necessary
and proper for carrying all its powers into effect. My impression has
been invariably that this power would have existed substantially if this
grant had not been made; for why is any power granted unless it be to be
executed when required, and how can it be executed under our Government
unless it be by laws necessary and proper for the purpose--that is, well
adapted to the end? It is a principle universally admitted that a grant
of a power conveys as a necessary consequence or incident to it the
means of carrying it into effect by a fair construction of its import.
In the formation, however, of the Constitution, which was to act
directly upon the people and be paramount to the extent of its powers
to the constitutions of the States, it was wise in its framers to leave
nothing to implication which might be reduced to certainty. It is known
that all power which rests solely on that ground has been systematically
and zealously opposed under all governments with which we have any
acquaintance; and it was reasonable to presume that under our system,
where there was a division of the sovereignty between the two
independent governments, the measures of the General Government would
excite equal jealousy and produce an opposition not less systematic,
though, perhaps, less violent. Hence the policy by the framers of our
Government of securing by a fundamental declaration in the Constitution
a principle which in all other governments had been left to implication
only. The terms "necessary" and "proper" secure to the powers of all
the grants to which the authority given in this is applicable a fair
and sound construction, which is equally binding as a rule on both
Governments and on all their departments.

In examining the right of the General Government to adopt and execute
under this grant a system of internal improvement the sole question
to be decided is whether the power has been granted under any of the
other grants. If it has, this power is applicable to it to the extent
stated. If it has not, it does not exist at all, for it has not been
hereby granted. I have already examined all the other grants (one only
excepted, which will next claim attention) and shown, as I presume, on
the most liberal construction of their powers that the right has not
been granted by any of them; hence it follows that in regard to them
it has not been granted by this.

I come now to the last source from which this power is said to be
derived, viz, the power to dispose of and make all needful rules and
regulations respecting the territory or other property of the United
States, which is contained in the second clause of the third section
of the fourth article of the Constitution.

To form a just opinion of the nature and extent of this power it will
be necessary to bring into view the provisions contained in the first
clause of the section of the article referred to, which makes an
essential part of the policy in question. By this it is declared that
new States shall be admitted into the Union, but that no new States
shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State,
nor any States be formed by the junction of two or more States or parts
of States, without the consent of the legislatures of the States
concerned as well as of the United States.

If we recur to the condition of our country at the commencement of
the Revolution, we shall see the origin and cause of these provisions.
By the charters of the several colonies limits by latitude and other
descriptions were assigned to each. In commencing the Revolution the
colonies, as has already been observed, claimed by those limits,
although their population extended in many instances to a small portion
of the territory lying within them. It was contended by some of the
States after the declaration of independence that the vacant lands lying
within any of the States should become the property of the Union, as by
a common exertion they would be acquired. This claim was resisted by the
others on the principle that all the States entered into the contest in
the full extent of their chartered rights, and that they ought to have
the full benefit of those rights in the event of success. Happily this
controversy was settled, as all interfering claims and pretensions
between the members of our Union and between the General Government and
any of these members have been, in the most amicable manner and to the
satisfaction of all parties. On the recommendation of Congress the
individual States having such territory within their chartered limits
ceded large portions thereof to the United States on condition that it
should be laid off into districts of proper dimensions, the lands to
be sold for the benefit of the United States, and that the districts
be admitted into the Union when they should obtain such a population
as it might be thought proper and reasonable to prescribe. This is the
territory and this the property referred to in the second clause of the
fourth article of the Constitution.

All the States which had made cessions of vacant territory except
Georgia had made them before the adoption of the Constitution, and
that State had made a proposition to Congress to that effect which
was under consideration at the time the Constitution was adopted. The
cession was completed after the adoption of the Constitution. It was
made on the same principle and on similar conditions with those which
had been already made by the other States. As differences might arise
respecting the right or the policy in Congress to admit new States
into the Union under the new Government, or to make regulations for the
government of the territory ceded in the intermediate state, or for the
improvement and sale of the public lands, or to accept other cessions,
it was thought proper to make special provisions for these objects,
which was accordingly done by the above-recited clause in the
Constitution.

Thus the power of Congress over the ceded territory was not only
limited to these special objects, but was also temporary. As soon as
the territory became a State the jurisdiction over it as it had before
existed ceased. It extended afterwards only to the unsold lands, and
as soon as the whole were sold it ceased in that sense also altogether.
From that moment the United States have no jurisdiction or power in the
new States other than in the old, nor can it be obtained except by an
amendment of the Constitution.

Since, then, it is manifest that the power granted to Congress to
dispose of and make all needful regulations respecting the territory
and other property of the United States relates solely to the territory
and property which had been ceded by individual States, and which after
such cession lay without their respective limits, and for which special
provision was deemed necessary, the main power of the Constitution
operating internally, not being applicable or adequate thereto, it
follows that this power gives no authority, and has even no bearing on
the question of internal improvement. The authority to admit new States
and to dispose of the property and regulate the territory is not among
the enumerated powers granted to Congress, because the duties to be
performed under it are not among the ordinary duties of that body, like
the imposition of taxes, the regulation of commerce, and the like. They
are objects in their nature special, and for which special provision was
more suitable and proper.

Having now examined all the powers of Congress under which the right
to adopt and execute a system of internal improvement is claimed and
the reasons in support of it in each instance, I think that it may
fairly be concluded that such a right has not been granted. It appears
and is admitted that much may be done in aid of such a system by the
right which is derived from several of the existing grants, and more
especially from that to appropriate the public money. But still it is
manifest that as a system for the United States it can never be carried
into effect under that grant nor under all of them united, the great
and essential power being deficient, consisting of a right to take up
the subject on principle; to cause our Union to be examined by men of
science, with a view to such improvements; to authorize commissioners to
lay off the roads and canals in all proper directions; to take the land
at a valuation if necessary, and to construct the works; to pass laws
with suitable penalties for their protection; and to raise a revenue
from them, to keep them in repair, and make further improvement by the
establishment of turnpikes and tolls, with gates to be placed at the
proper distances.

It need scarcely be remarked that this power will operate, like many
others now existing, without affecting the sovereignty of the States
except in the particular offices to be performed. The jurisdiction of
the several States may still exist over the roads and canals within
their respective limits, extending alike to persons and property, as if
the right to make and protect such improvements had not been vested in
Congress. The right, being made commensurate simply with the purposes
indispensable to the system, may be strictly confined to them. The
right of Congress to protect the works by laws imposing penalties would
operate on the same principles as the right to protect the mail. The act
being punishable only, a jurisdiction over the place would be altogether
unnecessary and even absurd.

In the preceding inquiry little has been said of the advantages which
would attend the exercise of such a power by the General Government.
I have made the inquiry under a deep conviction that they are almost
incalculable, and that there was a general concurrence of opinion among
our fellow-citizens to that effect. Still, it may not be improper for
me to state the grounds upon which my own impression is founded. If it
sheds no additional light on this interesting part of the subject, it
will at least show that I have had more than one powerful motive for
making the inquiry. A general idea is all that I shall attempt.

The advantages of such a system must depend upon the interests to be
affected by it and the extent to which they may be affected, and those
must depend on the capacity of our country for improvement and the means
at its command applicable to that object.

I think that I may venture to affirm that there is no part of our globe
comprehending so many degrees of latitude on the main ocean and so
many degrees of longitude into the interior that admits of such great
improvement and at so little expense. The Atlantic on the one side, and
the Lakes, forming almost inland seas, on the other, separated by high
mountains, which rise in the valley of the St. Lawrence and determine
in that of the Mississippi, traversing from north to south almost the
whole interior, with innumerable rivers on every side of those mountains,
some of vast extent, many of which take their sources near to each other,
give the great outline. The details are to be seen on the valuable maps
of our country.

It appears by the light already before the public that it is practicable
and easy to connect by canals the whole coast from its southern to its
northern extremity in one continued inland navigation, and to connect in
like manner in many parts the Western lakes and rivers with each other.
It is equally practicable and easy to facilitate the intercourse between
the Atlantic and the Western country by improving the navigation of
many of the rivers which have their sources near to each other in the
mountains on each side, and by good roads across the mountains between
the highest navigable points of those rivers. In addition to the example
of the Cumberland road, already noticed, another of this kind is now in
train from the head waters of the river James to those of the Kanawha;
and in like manner may the Savannah be connected with the Tennessee. In
some instances it is understood that the Eastern and Western waters may
be connected together directly by canals. One great work of this kind is
now in its progress and far advanced in the State of New York, and there
is good reason to believe that two others may be formed, one at each
extremity of the high mountains above mentioned, connecting in the one
instance the waters of the St. Lawrence with Lake Champlain, and in
the other some of the most important of the Western rivers with those
emptying into the Gulf of Mexico, the advantage of which will be seen
at the first glance by an enlightened observer.

Great improvements may also be made by good roads in proper directions
through the interior of the country. As these roads would be laid out
on principle on a full view of the country, its mountains, rivers, etc.,
it would be useless, if I had the knowledge, to go into detail respecting
them. Much has been done by some of the States, but yet much remains to
be done with a view to the Union.

Under the colonial governments improvements of this kind were not
thought of. There was, it is believed, not one canal and little
communication from colony to colony. It was their policy to encourage
the intercourse between each colony and the parent country only. The
roads which were attended to were those which led from the interior of
each colony to its principal towns on the navigable waters. By those
routes the produce of the country was carried to the coast, and shipped
thence to the mercantile houses in London, Liverpool, Glasgow, or other
towns to which the trade was carried on. It is believed that there was
but one connected route from North to South at the commencement of the
Revolution, and that a very imperfect one. The existence and principle
of our Union point out the necessity of a very different policy.

The advantages which would be derived from such improvements are
incalculable. The facility which would thereby be afforded to the
transportation of the whole of the rich productions of our country
to market would alone more than amply compensate for all the labor
and expense attending them. Great, however, as is that advantage, it
is one only of many and by no means the most important, Every power of
the General Government and of the State governments connected with the
strength and resources of the country would be made more efficient
for the purposes intended by them. In war they would facilitate the
transportation of men, ordnance, and provisions, and munitions of war of
every kind to every part of our extensive coast and interior on which an
attack might be made or threatened. Those who have any knowledge of the
occurrences of the late war must know the good effect which would result
in the event of another war from the command of an interior navigation
alone along the coast for all the purposes of war as well as of commerce
between the different parts of our Union. The impediments to all
military operations which proceeded from the want of such a navigation
and the reliance which was placed, notwithstanding those impediments,
on such a commerce can not be forgotten. In every other line their
good effect would be most sensibly felt. Intelligence by means of the
Post-Office Department would be more easily, extensively, and rapidly
diffused. Parts the most remote from each other would be brought more
closely together. Distant lands would be made more valuable, and the
industry of our fellow-citizens on every portion of our soil be better
rewarded.

It is natural in so great a variety of climate that there should be
a corresponding difference in the produce of the soil; that one part
should raise what the other might want. It is equally natural that the
pursuits of industry should vary in like manner; that labor should be
cheaper and manufactures succeed better in one part than in another;
that were the climate the most severe and the soil less productive,
navigation, the fisheries, and commerce should be most relied on.
Hence the motive for an exchange for mutual accommodation and active
intercourse between them. Each part would thus find for the surplus
of its labor, in whatever article it consisted, an extensive market
at home, which would be the most profitable because free from duty.

There is another view in which these improvements are of still more
vital importance. The effect which they would have on the bond of union
itself affords an inducement for them more powerful than any which have
been urged or than all of them united. The only danger to which our
system is exposed arises from its expansion over a vast territory.
Our union is not held together by standing armies or by any ties other
than the positive interests and powerful attractions of its parts toward
each other. Ambitious men may hereafter grow up among us who may promise
to themselves advancement from a change, and by practicing upon the
sectional interests, feelings, and prejudices endeavor under various
pretexts to promote it. The history of the world is replete with
examples of this kind--of military commanders and demagogues becoming
usurpers and tyrants, and of their fellow-citizens becoming their
instruments and slaves. I have little fear of this danger, knowing well
how strong the bond which holds us together is and who the people are
who are thus held together; but still, it is proper to look at and to
provide against it, and it is not within the compass of human wisdom
to make a more effectual provision than would be made by the proposed
improvements. With their aid and the intercourse which would grow out
of them the parts would soon become so compacted and bound together
that nothing could break it.

The expansion of our Union over a vast territory can not operate
unfavorably to the States individually. On the contrary, it is believed
that the greater the expansion within practicable limits--and it is not
easy to say what are not so--the greater the advantage which the States
individually will derive from it. With governments separate, vigorous,
and efficient for all local purposes, their distance from each other can
have no injurious effect upon their respective interests. It has already
been shown that in some important circumstances, especially with the aid
of these improvements, they must derive great advantage from that cause
alone--that is, from their distance from each other. In every other way
the expansion of our system must operate favorably for every State in
proportion as it operates favorably for the Union. It is in that sense
only that it can become a question with the States, or, rather, with
the people who compose them. As States they can be affected by it only
by their relation to each other through the General Government and by
its effect on the operations of that Government. Manifest it is that to
any extent to which the General Government can sustain and execute its
functions with complete effect will the States--that is, the people who
compose them--be benefited. It is only when the expansion shall be
carried beyond the faculties of the General Government so as to enfeeble
its operations to the injury of the whole that any of the parts can be
injured. The tendency in that stage will be to dismemberment and not to
consolidation. This danger should, therefore, be looked at with profound
attention as one of a very serious character. I will remark here that
as the operations of the National Government are of a general nature,
the States having complete power for internal and local purposes, the
expansion may be carried to very great extent and with perfect safety.
It must be obvious to all that the further the expansion is carried,
provided it be not beyond the just limit, the greater will be the
freedom of action to both Governments and the more perfect their
security, and in all other respects the better the effect will be to
the whole American people. Extent of territory, whether it be great
or small, gives to a nation many of its characteristics. It marks the
extent of its resources, of its population, of its physical force.
It marks, in short, the difference between a great and a small power.

To what extent it may be proper to expand our system of government is a
question which does not press for a decision at this time. At the end of
the Revolutionary war, in 1783, we had, as we contended and believed,
a right to the free navigation of the Mississippi, but it was not until
after the expiration of twelve years, in 1795, that that right was
acknowledged and enjoyed. Further difficulties occurred in the bustling
of a contentious world when, at the expiration of eight years more, the
United States, sustaining the strength and energy of their character,
acquired the Province of Louisiana, with the free navigation of the
river from its source to the ocean and a liberal boundary on the western
side. To this Florida has since been added, so that we now possess all
the territory in which the original States had any interest, or in which
the existing States can be said, either in a national or local point
of view, to be in any way interested. A range of States on the western
side of the Mississippi, which already is provided for, puts us
essentially at ease. Whether it will be wise to go further will turn
on other considerations than those which have dictated the course
heretofore pursued. At whatever point we may stop, whether it be at
a single range of States beyond the Mississippi or by taking a greater
scope, the advantage of such improvements is deemed of the highest
importance. It is so on the present scale. The further we go the greater
will be the necessity for them.

It can not be doubted that improvements for great national purposes
would be better made by the National Government than by the governments
of the several States. Our experience prior to the adoption of the
Constitution demonstrated that in the exercise by the individual States
of most of the powers granted to the United States a contracted rivalry
of interest and misapplied jealousy of each other had an important
influence on all their measures to the great injury of the whole. This
was particularly exemplified by the regulations which they severally
made of their commerce with foreign nations and with each other. It
was this utter incapacity in the State governments, proceeding from
these and other causes, to act as a nation and to perform all the duties
which the nation owed to itself under any system which left the General
Government dependent on the States, which produced the transfer of
these powers to the United States by the establishment of the present
Constitution. The reasoning which was applicable to the grant of any of
the powers now vested in Congress is likewise so, at least to a certain
extent, to that in question. It is natural that the States individually
in making improvements should look to their particular and local
interests, The members composing their respective legislatures represent
the people of each State only, and might not feel themselves at liberty
to look to objects in these respects beyond that limit. If the resources
of the Union were to be brought into operation under the direction of
the State assemblies, or in concert with them, it may be apprehended
that every measure would become the object of negotiation, of bargain
and barter, much to the disadvantage of the system, as well as discredit
to both governments. But Congress would look to the whole and make
improvements to promote the welfare of the whole. It is the peculiar
felicity of the proposed amendment that while it will enable the United
States to accomplish every national object, the improvements made with
that view will eminently promote the welfare of the individual States,
who may also add such others as their own particular interests may
require.

The situation of the Cumberland road requires the particular and early
attention of Congress. Being formed over very lofty mountains and in
many instances over deep and wide streams, across which valuable bridges
have been erected, which are sustained by stone walls, as are many other
parts of the road, all these works are subject to decay, have decayed,
and will decay rapidly unless timely and effectual measures are adopted
to prevent it.

The declivities from the mountains and all the heights must suffer from
the frequent and heavy falls of water and its descent to the valleys,
as also from the deep congelations during our severe winters. Other
injuries have also been experienced on this road, such as the displacing
the capping of the walls and other works, committed by worthless people
either from a desire to render the road impassable or to have the
transportation in another direction, or from a spirit of wantonness to
create employment for idlers. These considerations show that an active
and strict police ought to be established over the whole road, with
power to make repairs when necessary, to establish turnpikes and tolls
as the means of raising money to make them, and to prosecute and punish
those who commit waste and other injuries.

Should the United States be willing to abandon this road to the States
through which it passes, would they take charge of it, each of that
portion within its limits, and keep it in repair? It is not to be
presumed that they would, since the advantages attending it are
exclusively national, by connecting, as it does, the Atlantic with the
Western States, and in a line with the seat of the National Government.
The most expensive parts of this road lie within Pennsylvania and
Virginia, very near the confines of each State and in a route not
essentially connected with the commerce of either.

If it is thought proper to vest this power in the United States,
the only mode in which it can be done is by an amendment of the
Constitution. The States individually can not transfer the power
to the United States, nor can the United States receive it. The
Constitution forms an equal and the sole relation between the General
Government and the several States, and it recognizes no change in it
which shall not in like manner apply to all. If it is once admitted
that the General Government may form compacts with individual States
not common to the others, and which the others might even disapprove,
into what pernicious consequences might it not lead? Such compacts are
utterly repugnant to the principles of the Constitution and of the most
dangerous tendency. The States through which this road passes have given
their sanction only to the route and to the acquisition of the soil
by the United States, a right very different from that of jurisdiction,
which can not be granted without an amendment to the Constitution, and
which need not be granted for the purposes of this system except in the
limited manner heretofore stated. On full consideration, therefore, of
the whole subject I am of opinion that such an amendment ought to be
recommended to the several States for their adoption.

I have now essentially executed that part of the task which I imposed
on myself of examining the right of Congress to adopt and execute a
system of internal improvement, and, I presume, have shown that it does
not exist. It is, I think, equally manifest that such a power vested in
Congress and wisely executed would have the happiest effect on all the
great interests of our Union. It is, however, my opinion that the power
should be confined to great national works only, since if it were
unlimited it would be liable to abuse and might be productive of evil.
For all minor improvements the resources of the States individually
would be fully adequate, and by the States such improvements might be
made with greater advantage than by the Union, as they would understand
better such as their more immediate and local interests required.

In the view above presented I have thought it proper to trace the
origin of our institutions, and particularly of the State and National
Governments, for although they have a common origin in the people, yet,
as the point at issue turned on what were the powers granted to the
one government and what were those which remained to the other, I was
persuaded that an analysis which should mark distinctly the source of
power in both governments, with its progress in each, would afford the
best means for obtaining a sound result. In our political career there
are, obviously, three great epochs. The colonial state forms the first;
the Revolutionary movement from its commencement to the adoption of the
Articles of Confederation the second, and the intervening space from
that event to the present day the third. The first may be considered
the infant state. It was the school of morality, of political science
and just principles. The equality of rights enjoyed by the people of
every colony under their original charters forms the basis of every
existing institution, and it was owing to the creation by those
charters of distinct communities that the power, when wrested from the
Crown, passed directly and exclusively to the people of each colony.
The Revolutionary struggle gave activity to those principles, and its
success secured to them a permanent existence in the governments
of our Union, State and National. The third epoch comprises the
administration under the Articles of Confederation, with the adoption
of the Constitution and administration under it. On the first and
last of these epochs it is not necessary to enlarge for any purpose
connected with the object of this inquiry. To the second, in which we
were transferred by a heroic exertion from the first to the third stage,
and whose events give the true character to every institution, some
further attention is due. In tracing in greater detail the prominent
acts of a movement to which we owe so much I shall perform an office
which, if not useful, will be gratifying to my own feelings, and I hope
not unacceptable to my readers.

Of the Revolutionary movement itself sentiments too respectful, too
exalted, can not be entertained. It is impossible for any citizen having
a just idea of the dangers which we had to encounter to read the record
of our early proceedings and to see the firmness with which they were
met and the wisdom and patriotism which were displayed in every stage
without being deeply affected by it. An attack on Massachusetts was
considered an attack on every colony, and the people of each moved in
her defense as in their own cause. The meeting of the General Congress
in Philadelphia on the 6th of September, 1774, appears to have been
the result of a spontaneous impulse in every quarter at the same time.
The first public act proposing it, according to the Journals of
the First Congress, was passed by the house of representatives of
Connecticut on the 3d of June of that year; but it is presumed that the
first suggestion came from Massachusetts, the colony most oppressed,
and in whose favor the general sympathy was much excited. The exposition
which that Congress made of grievances, in the petition to the King, in
the address to the people of Great Britain, and in that to the people
of the several colonies, evinced a knowledge so profound of the English
constitution and of the general principles of free government and of
liberty, of our rights founded on that constitution and on the charters
of the several colonies, and of the numerous and egregious violations
which had been committed of them, as must have convinced all impartial
minds that the talent on this side of the Atlantic was at least equal
to that on the other. The spirit in which those papers were drawn, which
was known to be in strict accord with the public sentiment, proved that,
although the whole people cherished a connection with the parent country
and were desirous of preserving it on just principles, they nevertheless
stood embodied at the parting line, ready to separate forever if
a redress of grievances, the alternative offered, was not promptly
rendered. That alternative was rejected, and in consequence war and
dismemberment followed.

The powers granted to the delegates of each colony who composed the
First Congress looked primarily to the support of rights and to a
redress of grievances, and, in consequence, to the restoration of
harmony, which was ardently desired. They justified, however, any
extremity in case of necessity. They were ample for such purposes,
and were executed in every circumstance with the utmost fidelity.
It was not until after the meeting of the Second Congress, which took
place on the 10th May, 1775, when full proof was laid before it of the
commencement of hostilities in the preceding month by a deliberate
attack of the British troops on the militia and inhabitants of Lexington
and Concord, in Massachusetts, that war might be said to be decided on,
and measures were taken to support it. The progress even then was slow
and reluctant, as will be seen by their second petition to the King and
their second address to the people of Great Britain, which were prepared
and forwarded after that event. The arrival, however, of large bodies of
troops and the pressure of war in every direction soon dispelled all
hope of accommodation.

On the 15th of June, 1775, a commander in chief of the forces raised and
to be raised for the defense of American liberty was appointed by the
unanimous vote of Congress, and his conduct in the discharge of the
duties of that high trust, which he held through the whole of the war,
has given an example to the world for talents as a military commander;
for integrity, fortitude, and firmness under the severest trials; for
respect to the civil authority and devotion to the rights and liberties
of his country, of which neither Rome nor Greece have exhibited the
equal. I saw him in my earliest youth, in the retreat through Jersey,
at the head of a small band, or rather in its rear, for he was always
next the enemy, and his countenance and manner made an impression on me
which time can never efface. A lieutenant then in the Third Virginia
Regiment, I happened to be on the rear guard at Newark, and I counted
the force under his immediate command by platoons as it passed me, which
amounted to less than 3,000 men. A deportment so firm, so dignified,
so exalted, but yet so modest and composed, I have never seen in any
other person.

On the 6th July, 1775, Congress published a declaration of the causes
which compelled them to take up arms, and immediately afterwards took
measures for augmenting the Army and raising a navy; for organizing the
militia and providing cannon and small arms and military stores of every
kind; for raising a revenue and pushing the war offensively with all the
means in their power. Nothing escaped the attention of that enlightened
body. The people of Canada were invited to join the Union, and a force
sent into the province to favor the Revolutionary party, which, however,
was not capable of affording any essential aid. The people of Ireland
were addressed in terms manifesting due respect for the sufferings, the
talents, and patriotism of that portion of the British Empire, and a
suitable acknowledgment was made to the assembly of Jamaica for the
approbation it had expressed of our cause and the part it had taken
in support of it with the British Government.

On the 2d of June, 1775, the convention of Massachusetts, by a letter
signed by their president, of May the 10th, stated to Congress that they
labored under difficulties for the want of a regular form of government,
and requested to be favored with explicit advice respecting the taking
up and exercising the powers of civil government, and declaring their
readiness to submit to such a general plan as the Congress might direct
for the colonies, or that they would make it their great study to
establish such a form of government there as should not only promote
their own advantage, but the union and interest of all America. To this
application an answer was given on the 9th, by which it was recommended
to the convention "to write letters to the inhabitants of the several
places entitled to representation in assembly, requesting them to choose
such representatives, and that the assembly, when chosen, should elect
councilors, and that said assembly or council should exercise the powers
of government until a governor of His Majesty's appointment will consent
to govern the colony according to its charter."

On the 18th October of the same year the delegates from New Hampshire
laid before Congress an instruction from their convention "to use their
utmost endeavors to obtain the advice and direction of Congress with
respect to a method for administering justice and regulating their civil
police." To this a reply was given on the 3d November, by which it was
recommended to the convention "to call a full and free representation of
the people, and that the representatives, if they thought it necessary,
should establish such a form of government as in their judgment would
best promote the happiness of the people and most effectually secure
peace and good order in the Province during the continuance of the
present dispute between Great Britain and the colonies."

On the 4th November it was resolved by Congress "that if the convention
of South Carolina shall find it necessary to establish a form of
government in that colony it be recommended to that convention to
call a full and free representation of the people; and the said
representatives, if they think it necessary, shall establish such a
form of government as in their judgment will best promote the happiness
of the people and most effectually secure peace and good order in the
colony during the continuance of the present dispute between Great
Britain and the colonies."

On the 4th December following a resolution passed recommending the same
measure, and precisely in the same words, to the convention of Virginia.

On the 10th May, 1776, it was recommended to the respective assemblies
and conventions of the united colonies, where no government sufficient
to the exigencies of their affairs had been established, "to adopt such
government as should, in the opinion of the representatives of the
people, best conduce to the happiness and safety of their constituents
in particular and America in general."

On the 7th June resolutions respecting independence were moved and
seconded, which were referred to a committee of the whole on the 8th
and 10th, on which latter day it was resolved to postpone a decision on
the first resolution or main question until the 1st July, but that no
time might be lost in case the Congress agree thereto that a committee
be appointed to prepare a declaration to the effect of that resolution.
On the 11th June, 1776, Congress appointed a committee to prepare and
digest a plan of confederation for the colonies. On the 12th July the
committee reported a draft of articles, which were severally afterwards
debated and amended until the 15th November, 1777, when they were
adopted. These articles were then proposed to the legislatures of the
several States, with a request that if approved by them they would
authorize their delegates to ratify the same in Congress, and, which
being done, to become conclusive. It was not until the 21st of March,
1781, as already observed, that they were ratified by the last State
and carried into effect.

On the 4th July, 1776, independence was declared by an act which
arrested the attention of the civilized world and will bear the test
of time. For force and condensation of matter, strength of reason,
sublimity of sentiment and expression, it is believed that no document
of equal merit exists. It looked to everything, and with a reach,
perspicuity, and energy of mind which seemed to be master of everything.

Thus it appears, in addition to the very important charge of managing
the war, that Congress had under consideration at the same time the
Declaration of Independence, the adoption of a confederation for the
States, and the propriety of instituting State governments, with the
nature of those governments, respecting which it had been consulted by
the conventions of several of the colonies. So great a trust was never
reposed before in a body thus constituted, and I am authorized to add,
looking to the great result, that never were duties more ably or
faithfully performed.

The distinguishing characteristic of this movement is that although the
connection which had existed between the people of the several colonies
before their dismemberment from the parent country was not only not
dissolved but increased by that event, even before the adoption of the
Articles of Confederation, yet the preservation and augmentation of that
tie were the result of a new creation, and proceeded altogether from
the people of each colony, into whose hands the whole power passed
exclusively when wrested from the Crown. To the same cause the greater
change which has since occurred by the adoption of the Constitution is
to be traced.

The establishment of our institutions forms the most important epoch
that history hath recorded. They extend unexampled felicity to the whole
body of our fellow-citizens, and are the admiration of other nations.
To preserve and hand them down in their utmost purity to the remotest
ages will require the existence and practice of virtues and talents
equal to those which were displayed in acquiring them. It is ardently
hoped and confidently believed that these will not be wanting.




PROCLAMATIONS.


BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

A PROCLAMATION.


Whereas by the second section of an act of Congress of the 6th of May
last, entitled "An act in addition to the act concerning navigation,
and also to authorize the appointment of deputy collectors," it is
provided that in the event of the signature of any treaty or convention
concerning the navigation or commerce between the United States and
France the President of the United States, if he should deem the same
expedient, may suspend by proclamation until the end of the next session
of Congress the operation of the act entitled "An act to impose a new
tonnage duty on French ships and vessels, and for other purposes," and
also to suspend, as aforesaid, all other duties on French vessels or
the goods imported in the same which may exceed the duties on American
vessels and on similar goods imported in the same; and

Whereas a convention of navigation and commerce between the United
States of America and His Majesty the King of France and Navarre has
this day been duly signed by John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State, on
the part of the United States, and by the Baron Hyde de Neuville, envoy
extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary from France, on the part of
His Most Christian Majesty, which convention is in the words following:

[Here follows the treaty.]

Now, therefore, be it known that I, James Monroe, President of the
United States, in pursuance of the authority aforesaid, do hereby
suspend from and after the 1st day of October next until the end of
the next session of Congress, the operation of the act aforesaid,
entitled "An act to impose a new tonnage duty on French ships and
vessels, and for other purposes," and also all other duties on French
vessels and the goods being the growth, produce, and manufacture of
France imported in the same which may exceed the duties on American
vessels and on similar goods imported in the same, saving only the
discriminating duties payable on French vessels and on articles the
growth, produce, and manufacture of France imported in the same
stipulated by the said convention to be paid.

In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be
affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand.

[SEAL.]

Done at Washington, the 24th day of June, A.D. 1822, and of the
Independence of the-United States the forty-sixth.

JAMES MONROE.

By the President:
  JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
    _Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.


Whereas by an act of the Congress of the United States passed on the
6th day of May last it was provided that on satisfactory evidence being
given to the President of the United States that the ports in the
islands or colonies in the West Indies under the dominion of Great
Britain have been opened to the vessels of the United States the
President should be, and thereby was, authorized to issue his
proclamation declaring that the ports of the United States should
thereafter be open to the vessels of Great Britain employed in the trade
and intercourse between the United States and such islands or colonies,
subject to such reciprocal rules and restrictions as the President of
the United States might by such proclamation make and publish, anything
in the laws entitled "An act concerning navigation" or an act entitled
"An act supplementary to an act concerning navigation" to the contrary
notwithstanding; and

Whereas satisfactory evidence has been given to the President of the
United States that the ports hereinafter named in the islands or
colonies in the West Indies under the dominion of Great Britain have
been opened to the vessels of the United States; that is to say, the
ports of Kingston, Savannah le Mar, Montego Bay, Santa Lucia, Antonio,
St. Ann, Falmouth, Maria, Morant Bay, in Jamaica; St. George, Grenada;
Roseau, Dominica; St. Johns, Antigua; San Josef, Trinidad; Scarborough,
Tobago; Road Harbour, Tortola; Nassau, New Providence; Pittstown,
Crooked Island; Kingston, St. Vincent; Port St. George and Port
Hamilton, Bermuda; any port where there is a custom-house, Bahamas;
Bridgetown, Barbadoes; St. Johns, St. Andrews, New Brunswick; Halifax,
Nova Scotia; Quebec, Canada; St. Johns, Newfoundland; Georgetown,
Demerara; New Amsterdam, Berbice; Castries, St. Lucia; Besseterre, St.
Kitts; Charlestown, Nevis; and Plymouth, Montserrat:

Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States of
America, do hereby declare and proclaim that the ports of the United
States shall hereafter, and until the end of the next session of the
Congress of the United States, be open to the vessels of Great Britain
employed in the trade and intercourse between the United States and the
islands and colonies hereinbefore named, anything in the laws entitled
"An act concerning navigation" or an act entitled "An act supplementary
to an act concerning navigation" to the contrary notwithstanding, under
the following reciprocal rules and restrictions, namely:

To vessels of Great Britain, bona fide British built, owned and the
master and three-fourths of the mariners of which at least shall belong
to Great Britain, or any United States built ship or vessel which has
been sold to and become the property of British subjects, such ship or
vessel being also navigated with a master and three-fourths of the
mariners at least belonging to Great Britain: _And provided always_,
That no articles shall be imported into the United States in any such
British ship or vessel other than articles of the growth, produce, or
manufacture of the British islands and colonies in the West Indies when
imported in British vessels coming from any such island or colony, and
articles of the growth, produce, or manufacture of the British colonies
in North America or of the island of Newfoundland in vessels coming from
the port of St. Johns, in that island, or from any of the aforesaid
ports of the British colonies in North America.

Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 24th day of August,
A.D. 1822, and in the forty-seventh year of the Independence of the
United States.

JAMES MONROE.

By the President:
  JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
    _Secretary of State_.




SIXTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.


WASHINGTON, _December 3, 1822_.

_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_:

Many causes unite to make your present meeting peculiarly interesting to
our constituents. The operation of our laws on the various subjects to
which they apply, with the amendments which they occasionally require,
imposes annually an important duty on the representatives of a free
people. Our system has happily advanced to such maturity that I am not
aware that your cares in that respect will be augmented. Other causes
exist which are highly interesting to the whole civilized world, and to
no portion of it more so, in certain views, than to the United States.
Of these causes and of their bearing on the interests of our Union I
shall communicate the sentiments which I have formed with that freedom
which a sense of duty dictates. It is proper, however, to invite your
attention in the first instance to those concerns respecting which
legislative provision is thought to be particularly urgent.

On the 24th of June last a convention of navigation and commerce was
concluded in this city between the United States and France by ministers
duly authorized for the purpose. The sanction of the Executive having
been given to this convention under a conviction that, taking all its
stipulations into view, it rested essentially on a basis of reciprocal
and equal advantage, I deemed it my duty, in compliance with the
authority vested in the Executive by the second section of the act of
the last session of the 6th of May, concerning navigation, to suspend by
proclamation until the end of the next session of Congress the operation
of the act entitled "An act to impose a new tonnage duty on French ships
and vessels, and for other purposes," and to suspend likewise all other
duties on French vessels or the goods imported in them which exceeded
the duties on American vessels and on similar goods imported in them.
I shall submit this convention forthwith to the Senate for its advice
and consent as to the ratification.

Since your last session the prohibition which had been imposed on the
commerce between the United States and the British colonies in the West
Indies and on this continent has likewise been removed. Satisfactory
evidence having been adduced that the ports of those colonies had been
opened to the vessels of the United States by an act of the British
Parliament bearing date on the 24th of June last, on the conditions
specified therein, I deemed it proper, in compliance with the provision
of the first section of the act of the last session above recited, to
declare, by proclamation bearing date on the 24th of August last, that
the ports of the United States should thenceforward and until the end of
the next session of Congress be opened to the vessels of Great Britain
employed in that trade, under the limitation specified in that
proclamation.

A doubt was entertained whether the act of Congress applied to the
British colonies on this continent as well as to those in the West
Indies, but as the act of Parliament opened the intercourse equally
with both, and it was the manifest intention of Congress, as well as
the obvious policy of the United States, that the provisions of the act
of Parliament should be met in equal extent on the part of the United
States, and as also the act of Congress was supposed to vest in the
President some discretion in the execution of it, I thought it advisable
to give it a corresponding construction.

Should the constitutional sanction of the Senate be given to the
ratification of the convention with France, legislative provisions will
be necessary to carry it fully into effect, as it likewise will be to
continue in force, on such conditions as may be deemed just and proper,
the intercourse which has been opened between the United States and the
British colonies. Every light in the possession of the Executive will
in due time be communicated on both subjects.

Resting essentially on a basis of reciprocal and equal advantage, it
has been the object of the Executive in transactions with other powers
to meet the propositions of each with a liberal spirit, believing that
thereby the interest of our country would be most effectually promoted.
This course has been systematically pursued in the late occurrences with
France and Great Britain, and in strict accord with the views of the
Legislature. A confident hope is entertained that by the arrangement
thus commenced with each all differences respecting navigation and
commerce with the dominions in question will be adjusted, and a solid
foundation be laid for an active and permanent intercourse which will
prove equally advantageous to both parties.

The decision of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia on the
question submitted to him by the United States and Great Britain,
concerning the construction of the first article of the treaty of Ghent,
has been received. A convention has since been concluded between the
parties, under the mediation of His Imperial Majesty, to prescribe the
mode by which that article shall be carried into effect in conformity
with that decision. I shall submit this convention to the Senate for
its advice and consent as to the ratification, and, if obtained, shall
immediately bring the subject before Congress for such provisions as
may require the interposition of the Legislature.

In compliance with an act of the last session a Territorial government
has been established in Florida on the principles of our system. By
this act the inhabitants are secured in the full enjoyment of their
rights and liberties, and to admission into the Union, with equal
participation in the Government with the original States on the
conditions heretofore prescribed to other Territories. By a clause in
the ninth article of the treaty with Spain, by which that Territory was
ceded to the United States, it is stipulated that satisfaction shall
be made for the injuries, if any, which by process of law shall be
established to have been suffered by the Spanish officers and individual
Spanish inhabitants by the late operations of our troops in Florida. No
provision having yet been made to carry that stipulation into effect,
it is submitted to the consideration of Congress whether it will not be
proper to vest the competent power in the district court at Pensacola,
or in some tribunal to be specially organized for the purpose.

The fiscal operations of the year have been more successful than had
been anticipated at the commencement of the last session of Congress.

The receipts into the Treasury during the three first quarters of the
year have exceeded the sum of $14,745,000. The payments made at the
Treasury during the same period have exceeded $12,279,000, leaving in
the Treasury on the 30th day of September last, including $1,168,592.24
which were in the Treasury on the 1st day of January last, a sum
exceeding $4,128,000.

Besides discharging all demands for the current service of the year,
including the interest and reimbursement of the public debt, the 6 per
cent stock of 1796, amounting to $80,000, has been redeemed. It is
estimated that, after defraying the current expenses of the present
quarter and redeeming the two millions of 6 per cent stock of 1820,
there will remain in the Treasury on the 1st of January next nearly
$3,000,000. It is estimated that the gross amount of duties which have
been secured from the 1st of January to the 30th of September last has
exceeded $19,500,000, and the amount for the whole year will probably
not fall short of $23,000,000.

Of the actual force in service under the present military establishment,
the posts at which it is stationed, and the condition of each post,
a report from the Secretary of War which is now communicated will give
a distinct idea. By like reports the state of the Academy at West Point
will be seen, as will be the progress which has been made on the
fortifications along the coast and at the national armories and
arsenals.

The position on the Red River and that at the Sault of St. Marie are
the only new posts that have been taken. These posts, with those
already occupied in the interior, are thought to be well adapted to the
protection of our frontiers. All the force not placed in the garrisons
along the coast and in the ordnance depots, and indispensably necessary
there, is placed on the frontiers.

The organization of the several corps composing the Army is such as to
admit its expansion to a great extent in case of emergency, the officers
carrying with them all the light which they possess to the new corps to
which they might be appointed.

With the organization of the staff there is equal cause to be satisfied.
By the concentration of every branch with its chief in this city, in
the presence of the Department, and with a grade in the chief military
station to keep alive and cherish a military spirit, the greatest
promptitude in the execution of orders, with the greatest economy and
efficiency, are secured. The same view is taken of the Military Academy.
Good order is preserved in it, and the youth are well instructed in
every science connected with the great objects of the institution. They
are also well trained and disciplined in the practical parts of the
profession. It has been always found difficult to control the ardor
inseparable from that early age in such manner as to give it a proper
direction. The rights of manhood are too often claimed prematurely, in
pressing which too far the respect which is due to age and the obedience
necessary to a course of study and instruction in every such institution
are sometimes lost sight of. The great object to be accomplished is the
restraint of that ardor by such wise regulations and government as, by
directing all the energies of the youthful mind to the attainment of
useful knowledge, will keep it within a just subordination and at the
same time elevate it to the highest purposes. This object seems to be
essentially obtained in this institution, and with great advantage to
the Union.

The Military Academy forms the basis, in regard to science, on which
the military establishment rests. It furnishes annually, after due
examination and on the report of the academic staff, many well-informed
youths to fill the vacancies which occur in the several corps of the
Army, while others who retire to private life carry with them such
attainments as, under the right reserved to the several States to
appoint the officers and to train the militia, will enable them, by
affording a wider field for selection, to promote the great object of
the power vested in Congress of providing for the organizing, arming,
and disciplining the militia. Thus by the mutual and harmonious
cooperation of the two governments in the execution of a power divided
between them, an object always to be cherished, the attainment of a
great result, on which our liberties may depend, can not fail to be
secured. I have to add that in proportion as our regular force is small
should the instruction and discipline of the militia, the great resource
on which we rely, be pushed to the utmost extent that circumstances
will admit.

A report from the Secretary of the Navy will communicate the progress
which has been made in the construction of vessels of war, with other
interesting details respecting the actual state of the affairs of
that Department. It has been found necessary for the protection of
our commerce to maintain the usual squadrons on the Mediterranean,
the Pacific, and along the Atlantic coast, extending the cruises of the
latter into the West Indies, where piracy, organized into a system, has
preyed on the commerce of every country trading thither. A cruise has
also been maintained on the coast of Africa, when the season would
permit, for the suppression of the slave trade, and orders have been
given to the commanders of all our public ships to seize our own
vessels, should they find any engaged in that trade, and to bring
them in for adjudication.

In the West Indies piracy is of recent date, which may explain the
cause why other powers have not combined against it. By the documents
communicated it will be seen that the efforts of the United States to
suppress it have had a very salutary effect. The benevolent provision
of the act under which the protection has been extended alike to the
commerce of other nations can not fail to be duly appreciated by them.

In compliance with the act of the last session entitled "An act
to abolish the United States trading establishments," agents were
immediately appointed and instructed, under the direction of the
Secretary of the Treasury, to close the business of the trading houses
among the Indian tribes and to settle the accounts of the factors and
subfactors engaged in that trade, and to execute in all other respects
the injunctions of that act in the mode prescribed therein. A final
report of their proceedings shall be communicated to Congress as soon
as it is received.

It is with great regret I have to state that a serious malady has
deprived us of many valuable citizens at Pensacola and checked the
progress of some of those arrangements which are important to the
Territory. This effect has been sensibly felt in respect to the Indians
who inhabit that Territory, consisting of the remnants of several tribes
who occupy the middle ground between St. Augustine and Pensacola, with
extensive claims but undefined boundaries. Although peace is preserved
with those Indians, yet their position and claims tend essentially to
interrupt the intercourse between the eastern and western parts of the
Territory, on which our inhabitants are principally settled. It is
essential to the growth and prosperity of the Territory, as well as to
the interests of the Union, that these Indians should be removed, by
special compact with them, to some other position or concentrated within
narrower limits where they are. With the limited means in the power of
the Executive, instructions were given to the governor to accomplish
this object so far as it might be practicable, which was prevented by
the distressing malady referred to. To carry it fully into effect in
either mode additional funds will be necessary, to the provision of
which the powers of Congress alone are competent. With a view to such
provision as may be deemed proper, the subject is submitted to your
consideration, and in the interim further proceedings are suspended.

It appearing that so much of the act entitled "An act regulating the
staff of the Army," which passed on the 14th April, 1818, as relates to
the commissariat will expire in April next, and the practical operation
of that department having evinced its great utility, the propriety of
its renewal is submitted to your consideration.

The view which has been taken of the probable productiveness of the
lead mines, connected with the importance of the material to the public
defense, makes it expedient that they should be managed with peculiar
care. It is therefore suggested whether it will not comport with the
public interest to provide by law for the appointment of an agent
skilled in mineralogy to superintend them, under the direction of
the proper department.

It is understood that the Cumberland road, which was constructed at
a great expense, has already suffered from the want of that regular
superintendence and of those repairs which are indispensable to the
preservation of such a work. This road is of incalculable advantage
in facilitating the intercourse between the Western and the Atlantic
States. Through it the whole country from the northern extremity of Lake
Erie to the Mississippi, and from all the waters which empty into each,
finds an easy and direct communication to the seat of Government, and
thence to the Atlantic. The facility which it affords to all military
and commercial operations, and also to those of the Post-Office
Department, can not be estimated too highly. This great work is likewise
an ornament and an honor to the nation. Believing that a competent power
to adopt and execute a system of internal improvement has not been
granted to Congress, but that such a power, confined to great national
purposes and with proper limitations, would be productive of eminent
advantage to our Union, I have thought it advisable that an amendment
of the Constitution to that effect should be recommended to the several
States. A bill which assumed the right to adopt and execute such a
system having been presented for my signature at the last session,
I was compelled, from the view which I had taken of the powers of the
General Government, to negative it, on which occasion I thought it
proper to communicate the sentiments which I had formed, on mature
consideration, on the whole subject. To that communication, in all the
views in which the great interest to which it relates may be supposed
to merit your attention, I have now to refer. Should Congress, however,
deem it improper to recommend such an amendment, they have, according to
my judgment, the right to keep the road in repair by providing for the
superintendence of it and appropriating the money necessary for repairs.
Surely if they had the right to appropriate money to make the road they
have a right to appropriate it to preserve the road from ruin. From the
exercise of this power no danger is to be apprehended. Under our happy
system the people are the sole and exclusive fountain of power. Each
government originates from them, and to them alone, each to its proper
constituents, are they respectively and solely responsible for the
faithful discharge of their duties within their constitutional limits;
and that the people will confine their public agents of every station
to the strict line of their constitutional duties there is no cause to
doubt. Having, however, communicated my sentiments to Congress at the
last session fully in the document to which I have referred, respecting
the right of appropriation as distinct from the right of jurisdiction
and sovereignty over the territory in question, I deem it improper to
enlarge on the subject here.

From the best information that I have been able to obtain it appears
that our manufactures, though depressed immediately after the peace,
have considerably increased, and are still increasing, under the
encouragement given them by the tariff of 1816 and by subsequent
laws. Satisfied I am, whatever may be the abstract doctrine in favor of
unrestricted commerce, provided all nations would, concur in it and it
was not liable to be interrupted by war, which has never occurred and
can not be expected, that there are other strong reasons applicable to
our situation and relations with other countries which impose on us the
obligation to cherish and sustain our manufactures. Satisfied, however,
I likewise am that the interest of every part of our Union, even of
those most benefited by manufactures, requires that this subject should
be touched with the greatest caution, and a critical knowledge of
the effect to be produced by the slightest change. On full consideration
of the subject in all its relations I am persuaded that a further
augmentation may now be made of the duties on certain foreign articles
in favor of our own and without affecting injuriously any other
interest. For more precise details I refer you to the communications
which were made to Congress during the last session.

So great was the amount of accounts for moneys advanced during the late
war, in addition to others of a previous date which in the regular
operations of the Government necessarily remained unsettled, that it
required a considerable length of time for their adjustment. By a report
from the First Comptroller of the Treasury it appears that on the 4th of
March, 1817, the accounts then unsettled amounted to $103,068,876.41, of
which, on the 30th of September of the present year, $93,175,396.56 had
been settled, leaving on that day a balance unsettled of $9,893,479.85.
That there have been drawn from the Treasury, in paying the public debt
and sustaining the Government in all its operations and disbursements,
since the 4th of March, 1817, $157,199,380.96, the accounts for which
have been settled to the amount of $137,501,451.12, leaving a balance
unsettled of $19,697,929.84. For precise details respecting each of
these balances I refer to the report of the Comptroller and the
documents which accompany it.

From this view it appears that our commercial differences with France
and Great Britain have been placed in a train of amicable arrangement on
conditions fair and honorable in both instances to each party; that our
finances are in a very productive state, our revenue being at present
fully competent to all the demands upon it; that our military force is
well organized in all its branches and capable of rendering the most
important service in case of emergency that its number will admit of;
that due progress has been made, under existing appropriations, in the
construction of fortifications and in the operations of the Ordnance
Department; that due progress has in like manner been made in the
construction of ships of war; that our Navy is in the best condition,
felt and respected in every sea in which it is employed for the
protection of our commerce; that our manufactures have augmented in
amount and improved in quality; that great progress has been made in
the settlement of accounts and in the recovery of the balances due by
individuals, and that the utmost economy is secured and observed in
every Department of the Administration.

Other objects will likewise claim your attention, because from the
station which the United States hold as a member of the great community
of nations they have rights to maintain, duties to perform, and dangers
to encounter.

A strong hope was entertained that peace would ere this have been
concluded between Spain and the independent governments south of the
United States in this hemisphere. Long experience having evinced the
competency of those governments to maintain the independence which they
had declared, it was presumed that the considerations which induced
their recognition by the United States would have had equal weight with
other powers, and that Spain herself, yielding to those magnanimous
feelings of which her history furnishes so many examples, would have
terminated on that basis a controversy so unavailing and at the same
time so destructive. We still cherish the hope that this result will
not long be postponed.

Sustaining our neutral position and allowing to each party while the war
continues equal rights, it is incumbent on the United States to claim of
each with equal rigor the faithful observance of our rights according to
the well-known law of nations. From each, therefore, a like cooperation
is expected in the suppression of the piratical practice which has grown
out of this war and of blockades of extensive coasts on both seas,
which, considering the small force employed to sustain them, have not
the slightest foundation to rest on.

Europe is still unsettled, and although the war long menaced between
Russia and Turkey has not broken out, there is no certainty that the
differences between those powers will be amicably adjusted. It is
impossible to look to the oppressions of the country respecting which
those differences arose without being deeply affected. The mention of
Greece fills the mind with the most exalted sentiments and arouses
in our bosoms the best feelings of which our nature is susceptible.
Superior skill and refinement in the arts, heroic gallantry in action,
disinterested patriotism, enthusiastic zeal and devotion in favor of
public and personal liberty are associated with our recollections of
ancient Greece. That such a country should have been overwhelmed and so
long hidden, as it were, from the world under a gloomy despotism has
been a cause of unceasing and deep regret to generous minds for ages
past. It was natural, therefore, that the reappearance of those people
in their original character, contending in favor of their liberties,
should produce that great excitement and sympathy in their favor which
have been so signally displayed throughout the United States. A strong
hope is entertained that these people will recover their independence
and resume their equal station among the nations of the earth.

A great effort has been made in Spain and Portugal to improve the
condition of the people, and it must be very consoling to all benevolent
minds to see the extraordinary moderation with which it has been
conducted. That it may promote the happiness of both nations is the
ardent wish of this whole people, to the expression of which we confine
ourselves; for whatever may be the feelings or sentiments which every
individual under our Government has a right to indulge and express,
it is nevertheless a sacred maxim, equally with the Government and
people, that the destiny of every independent nation in what relates
to such improvements of right belongs and ought to be left exclusively
to themselves.

Whether we reason from the late wars or from those menacing symptoms
which now appear in Europe, it is manifest that if a convulsion should
take place in any of those countries it will proceed from causes which
have no existence and are utterly unknown in these States, in which
there is but one order, that of the people, to whom the sovereignty
exclusively belongs. Should war break out in any of those countries, who
can foretell the extent to which it may be carried or the desolation
which it may spread? Exempt as we are from these causes, our internal
tranquillity is secure; and distant as we are from the troubled scene,
and faithful to first principles in regard to other powers, we might
reasonably presume that we should not be molested by them. This,
however, ought not to be calculated on as certain. Unprovoked injuries
are often inflicted, and even the peculiar felicity of our situation
might with some be a cause for excitement and aggression. The history
of the late wars in Europe furnishes a complete demonstration that no
system of conduct, however correct in principle, can protect neutral
powers from injury from any party; that a defenseless position and
distinguished love of peace are the surest invitations to war, and that
there is no way to avoid it other than by being always prepared and
willing for just cause to meet it. If there be a people on earth whose
more especial duty it is to be at all times prepared to defend the
rights with which they are blessed, and to surpass all others in
sustaining the necessary burdens, and in submitting to sacrifices to
make such preparations, it is undoubtedly the people of these States.

When we see that a civil war of the most frightful character rages
from the Adriatic to the Black Sea; that strong symptoms of war appear
in other parts, proceeding from causes which, should it break out, may
become general and be of long duration; that the war still continues
between Spain and the independent governments, her late Provinces,
in this hemisphere; that it is likewise menaced between Portugal and
Brazil, in consequence of the attempt of the latter to dismember
itself from the former, and that a system of piracy of great extent is
maintained in the neighboring seas, which will require equal vigilance
and decision to suppress it, the reasons for sustaining the attitude
which we now hold and for pushing forward all our measures of defense
with the utmost vigor appear to me to acquire new force.

The United States owe to the world a great example, and, by means
thereof, to the cause of liberty and humanity a generous support.
They have so far succeeded to the satisfaction of the virtuous and
enlightened of every country. There is no reason to doubt that their
whole movement will be regulated by a sacred regard to principle, all
our institutions being founded on that basis. The ability to support our
own cause under any trial to which it may be exposed is the great point
on which the public solicitude rests. It has been often charged against
free governments that they have neither the foresight nor the virtue to
provide at the proper season for great emergencies; that their course is
improvident and expensive; that war will always find them unprepared,
and, whatever may be its calamities, that its terrible warnings will
be disregarded and forgotten as soon as peace returns. I have full
confidence that this charge so far as relates to the United States
will be shewn to be utterly destitute of truth.

JAMES MONROE.




SPECIAL MESSAGES.


DECEMBER 4, 1822.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

The convention between the United States and France, concluded at
Washington on the 24th day of June last, is now transmitted to the
Senate for their advice and consent with regard to its ratification,
together with the documents relating to the negotiation, which may serve
to elucidate the deliberations of the Senate concerning its objects and
the purposes to which it was adapted.

JAMES MONROE.



DECEMBER 4, 1822.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith to the Senate, for their constitutional
consideration and decision thereon, a convention between the United
States and Great Britain, concluded at St. Petersburg on the 12th day
of July last, under the mediation of His Imperial Majesty of all the
Russias, together with the documents appertaining thereto, and which
may elucidate the motives for its negotiation and the objects for the
accomplishment of which it is intended.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _December 6, 1822_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
7th of May last, requiring that a plan for the peace establishment of
the Navy of the United States and also of the Marine Corps should be
communicated to that House at the present session, I transmit a report
of the Secretary of the Navy, containing a plan which has been prepared
for the proposed establishment.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _December 7, 1822_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 8th of May last,
requesting "information relative to the copper mines on the southern
shore of Lake Superior, their number, value, and position, the names of
the Indian tribes who claim them, the practicability of extinguishing
their titles, and the probable advantages which may result to the
Republic from the acquisition and working these mines," I herewith
transmit a report from the Secretary of War, which comprises the
information desired in the resolution referred to.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _December 9, 1822_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

Recent information of the multiplied outrages and depredations which
have been committed on our seamen and commerce by the pirates in the
West Indies and Gulf of Mexico, exemplified by the death of a very
meritorious officer, seems to call for some prompt and decisive measures
on the part of the Government. All the public vessels adapted to that
service which can be spared from other indispensable duties are already
employed in it; but from the knowledge which has been acquired of the
places from whence these outlaws issue and to which they escape from
danger it appears that it will require a particular kind of force,
capable of pursuing them into the shallow waters to which they retire,
effectually to suppress them. I submit to the consideration of the
Senate the propriety of organizing such force for that important object.

JAMES MONROE.

[The same message, dated December 6, 1822, was sent to the House of
Representatives.]



WASHINGTON, _December 9, 1822_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 22d of February
last, "requesting the President of the United States to cause to be
collected and communicated to the Senate at the commencement of the next
session of Congress the best information which he may be able to obtain
relative to certain Christian Indians and the lands intended for their
benefit on the Muskingum, in the State of Ohio, granted under an act
of Congress of June 1, 1796, to the Society of the United Brethren
for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen, showing as correctly as
possible the advance or decline of said Indians in numbers, morals, and
intellectual endowments; whether the lands have inured to their sole
benefit, and, if not, to whom, in whole or in part, have such benefits
accrued," I transmit a report from the Secretary of War with the
accompanying documents.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 3, 1823_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with the three resolutions of the Senate of the 5th April,
1822, requesting the President of the United States to communicate in
detail the expenses of building each vessel of war authorized by the act
of the 2d of January, 1813, and its supplements, and also the names,
number, grade, etc., of the officers and men employed at each navy-yard
and naval station during the two years immediately preceding the 1st of
January, 1822, I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of the
Navy, with the accompanying documents, which contains the desired
information.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 3, 1823_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolutions of the House of Representatives of
the 8th of January, 7th May, and 17th December, 1822, requesting the
President of the United States to cause to be laid before that House a
detailed statement of the current expenses of the Ordnance Department
for the years 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, and 1821, and as much as can be
shewn for the year 1822, and also the number and local position of each
of the armories, arsenals, and magazines of the United States, the total
expense of constructing and repairing the same up to the year 1821; the
number of cannon and other arms annually made at each, and the expenses
of each armory and arsenal for each year from 1816 to 1821, inclusive,
I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of War, accompanied by
such documents as will be found to contain the desired information.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 3, 1823_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
United States of the 19th of December, 1822, requesting the President of
the United States to cause to be laid before that House the several laws
which have been made by the governor and legislative council of Florida,
together with such information as may be in the possession of the
Executive, I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of State,
with the accompanying documents, which contains the information desired.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 6, 1823_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
19th of December last, requesting the President of the United States
to communicate to the House the progress which has been made in the
execution of the act of the last session entitled "An act to abolish
the Indian trading establishments," with a report from the factories,
respectively, as the same were made to him, I transmit a report from
the Secretary of the Treasury, with the documents referred to by that
resolution. In further execution of the act of the last session treaties
have since been made with the Osage and Sac Indians by which those
tribes have severally relinquished to the United States their right
under preceding treaties to the maintenance of a factory within each,
respectively.

JAMES MONROE.



JANUARY 6, 1823.

_To the Senate_:

I transmit to the Senate, for their advice and consent as to the
ratification, treaties which have been made with the Osage and Sac
tribes of Indians in execution of the provision contained in the act
of the last session entitled "An act to abolish the Indian trading
establishments."

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 10, 1823_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate requesting the President
of the United States "to cause to be laid before the Senate the number
of arms required annually to supply the militia of the West according to
acts of Congress; the probable number necessary to be placed in military
deposits located or to be located on the Western waters; the cost of
transportation of arms to the Western States and deposits; the probable
cost of manufacturing arms in the West; the probable cost of erecting at
this time on the Western waters such an armory as that at Harpers Ferry
or at Springfield, and such other information as he may deem important
to establish the expediency of erecting on the Western waters a national
armory," I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of War
containing the desired information.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 16, 1823_.

The VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE:

The convention concluded and signed at St. Petersburg on the 21st of
July last under the mediation of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of all
the Russias having been ratified by the three powers parties thereto,
and the ratifications of the same having been duly exchanged, copies of
it are now communicated to Congress, to the end that the measures for
carrying it on the part of the United States into execution may obtain
the cooperation of the Legislature necessary to the accomplishment of
some of its provisions. A translation is subjoined of three explanatory
documents, in the French language, referred to in the fourth article of
the convention and annexed to it. The agreement executed at the exchange
of the ratifications is likewise communicated.

JAMES MONROE.

[The same message was addressed to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives.]



JANUARY 22, 1823.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of December 12, 1822, requesting
that the President would cause to be laid before the Senate a
statement exhibiting the amount in aggregate of the goods, wares,
and merchandise exported from the United States to France, and imported
from thence, in each year from and after the year 1814 to the year
1820, discriminating in the reports between the articles of the growth,
produce, or manufacture of the United States and those of foreign
countries, and also stating the national character of the vessels in
which such exports and imports have been made, I transmit a report from
the Secretary of the Treasury, which contains the information desired.

JAMES MONROE.



JANUARY 22, 1823.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:


In carrying fully into effect the intention of Congress in making an
appropriation of $5,000 by the act of the 14th April, 1820, for the
survey of the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers from the Rapids of the
Ohio at Louisville to the Balize, for the purpose of facilitating and
ascertaining the most practicable route of improving the navigation of
these rivers, orders were given through the proper department to the
Board of Engineers to examine and survey the said rivers with reference
to those objects, and to report their opinion thereon, which they have
done, and which report I now communicate for the information of
Congress.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 25, 1823_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith to the House of Representatives a report from the
Secretary of State, together with the documents which contain the
information requested by the resolution of the House of the 10th of
December last, relating to the establishment at the mouth of Columbia
River.

JAMES MONROE.



_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of the Navy, containing
one from Captain John Rodgers, president of the Naval Board, accompanied
by a description of the inclined plane, dock, and fixtures for hauling
up ships, and an estimate of the cost and materials and workmanship
necessary for the completion of a dock and wharves, proposed to be
connected with the inclined plane constructed at the navy-yard,
Washington, and recommend the same to the attentive consideration of
Congress.

It is confidently believed that this invention combines advantages so
highly useful as to justify the appropriation required.

JAMES MONROE.

JANUARY 28, 1823



FEBRUARY 3, 1823.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

Having lately received a memorial from the legislative council of the
Territory of Florida on subjects very interesting to the inhabitants of
the Territory and also to the United States, which require legislative
provision, I transmit the same to Congress and recommend it to their
consideration,

JAMES MONROE.

[The same message was addressed to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives.]



WASHINGTON, _February 3, 1823_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit herewith a resolution of the legislature, with an extract
of a letter from the governor, of Georgia, and a memorial of the
legislature of Missouri, relative to the extinguishment of the Indian
title to lands within the limits of these States, respectively.
Believing the present time to be propitious for holding treaties for the
attainment of cessions of land from the Indians within those States,
I submit the subject to the consideration of Congress, that adequate
appropriations for such treaties may be made should Congress deem it
expedient.

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 4, 1823.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
12th of December last, requesting the President "to communicate to the
House such information as he might possess with regard to any expedition
prepared in the United States and having sailed from thence within the
year 1822 against the territory or dependency of any power in amity
with the United States, and to inform the House whether any measures
have been taken to bring to condign punishment persons who have been
concerned in such expedition contrary to the laws," I transmit to the
House reports from the Secretaries of State and of the Treasury, with
the documents mentioned in each. Those documents contain all the
information in possession of the Executive relating to the subject of
the resolution.

That a force of a very limited extent has been equipped in the ports
of the United States and sailed from thence for the purpose described
in the resolution is manifest from the documents now communicated. The
reports from the collectors of Philadelphia and New York will shew in
what manner this equipment escaped their notice.

The first information of this equipment was received from St.
Bartholomews, the place of its rendezvous. This was confirmed afterwards
from Curracoa with an account of its failure. Should any of those
persons return within the jurisdiction of the United States care will
be taken that the laws applicable to such offenses are duly enforced
against them. Whether any aid was afforded by others to the parties
engaged in this unlawful and contemptible adventure in the ports in
which it was planned, inconsistent with ordinary commercial transactions
and contrary to the laws of the United States, will be referred to the
Attorney-General, on whose advice any measures in regard to them will
depend.

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 6, 1823.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 28th of January last, requesting information "whether the treaty
concluded with the Choctaw Nation of Indians on the 18th of October,
1820, has been executed so far as respects the cession of certain lands
to said nation west of the river Mississippi, and if possession has been
given of the lands ceded to them; if not, that he assign the reasons
which prevented the immediate execution of the stipulations of said
treaty, and whether the difficulties have diminished or increased by the
delay in its execution," I communicate a report from the Secretary of
War, with the documents referred to in it,

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 10, 1823.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of February 3, requesting
a statement of the number and size of cannon, mortars, and howitzers
necessary for the armament of the fortifications already built and
intended to be built, with an estimate of the sum necessary for their
construction, I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, prepared
in execution of instructions given him to that effect.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 13, 1823_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of 22d
January last, requesting the communication to the House of all the
correspondence between the Governments of the United States and Great
Britain relating to the negotiation of the convention of the 20th
October, 1818, which may not be inconsistent with the public interest,
I transmit herewith to the House a report from the Secretary of State,
together with the papers requested by the resolution of the House.

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 14, 1823.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 11th of this month,
requesting the President to cause to be communicated to the Senate
an estimate of the amount of land in the State of Georgia to which the
Indian title has been extinguished by the United States since the
cession of a portion of the territory of Georgia to the United States,
with a statement of the cost of such extinguishment, and also an
estimate of the amount of land within the said State to which the Indian
title still remains to be extinguished, and by what tribes claimed,
I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, which contains the
information desired.

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 17, 1823.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
17th of December, requesting the President to communicate to the House
a statement of the amount expended for the current expenses of the
Ordnance Department during the years 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, and 1821,
and as much as can be shewn for the year 1822, with the items for which
the money was expended, the place where and the persons to whom paid,
what quantity of timber has been procured for gun carriages and
caissons, its cost annually, and where deposited; the quantity of
ordnance of every kind that has been procured during those years or
paid for, and the whole amount of arms of every description now
belonging to the United States; the sum expended in the purchase of
sites for arsenals since the peace, the cost of the buildings erected
thereon, and whether all those arsenals are necessary for the service of
the United States, I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, with
the documents mentioned therein, which contains the information desired.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 18, 1823_.

The VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE:

The convention of navigation and commerce between the United States of
America and His Majesty the King of France and Navarre, concluded and
signed at Washington on the 24th of June, 1822, with the first separate
article thereto annexed, having been ratified by the two parties, and
the ratifications of the same having been duly exchanged, copies of it
and of the separate article referred to are now communicated to the two
Houses of Congress, to the end that the necessary measures for carrying
it into execution on the part of the United States may be adopted by the
Legislature.

JAMES MONROE.

[The same message was sent to the House of Representatives.]



FEBRUARY 19, 1823.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 11th of December last, I transmit to the House a report from the
Secretary of the Treasury, containing the information requested, of
the amount of moneys advanced to agents, subagents, contractors,
subcontractors, or individuals since the 1st of January, 1817, which
have not been accounted for on settlement, and of the loss sustained
in each case, the sureties taken, and the names of the sureties.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 19, 1823_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives, in pursuance of a resolution
of that House of the 31st of last month, a report from the Secretary of
State, relative to the commissioners appointed for the purpose of
ascertaining the titles and claims to land in Florida.

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 19, 1823.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives an additional report from
the Secretary of the Treasury, with the documents referred to therein,
containing further information of the proceedings in execution of the
law of the last session respecting the trade with the Indian tribes,
called for by the resolution of the 19th of December last.

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 22, 1823.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:


In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
11th of this month, requesting information whether any prize agents have
neglected to render an account of their agency and to pay over the money
in their hands, the names of those who have failed, the sums unaccounted
for, and whether any of those thus failing are in the employ of the
Government, and their compensation has been in consequence suspended,
I transmit a report from the Secretary of the Navy, with the documents
referred to by him.

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 25, 1823.

_To the Congress of the United States_:

I transmit to Congress the general returns of the militia of the several
States and Territories for the year 1822, with an account of the arms,
accouterments, ammunition, ordnance, etc., belonging to each as far as
the returns have been received, in compliance with the provision of the
act of 1803.

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 25, 1823.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

By a resolution of the 27th of December last the President of the United
States was requested to communicate to the Senate such information as
he might possess respecting the political state of the island of St.
Domingo; whether the Government thereof was claimed by any European
nation, what our commercial relations with the Government of the island
were, and whether any further commercial relations with that Government
would be consistent with the interest and safety of the United States.

From the import of the resolution it is inferred that the Senate were
fully aware of the delicate and interesting nature of the subject
embraced by it in all its branches. The call supposes something peculiar
in the nature of the Government of that island and in the character of
its population, to which attention is due. Impressed always with an
anxious desire to meet every call of either House for information,
I most willingly comply in this instance and with a view to the
particular circumstances alluded to.

In adverting to the political state of St. Domingo I have to observe
that the whole island is now united under one Government, under a
constitution which retains the sovereignty in the hands of the people
of color, and with provisions which prohibit the employment in the
Government of all white persons who have emigrated there since 1816,
or who may hereafter emigrate there, and which prohibit also the
acquisition by such persons of the right of citizenship or to real
estate in the island. In the exercise of this sovereignty the Government
has not been molested by any European, power. No invasion of the island
has been made or attempted by any power. It is, however, understood that
the relations between the Government of France and the island have not
been adjusted, that its independence has not been recognized by France,
nor has peace been formally established between the parties.

The establishment of a Government of people of color in the island on
the principles above stated evinces distinctly the idea of a separate
interest and a distrust of other nations. Had that jealousy been
confined to the inhabitants of the parent country it would have been
less an object of attention; but by extending it to the inhabitants of
other countries with whom no difference ever existed the policy assumes
a character which does not admit of a like explanation. To what extent
that spirit may be indulged or to what purposes applied our experience
has yet been too limited to enable us to form a just estimate. These
are inquiries more peculiarly interesting to the neighboring islands.
They nevertheless deserve the attention of the United States.

Between the United States and the island a commercial intercourse
exists, and it will continue to be the object of this Government to
promote it. Our commerce there has been subjected to higher duties than
have been imposed on like articles from some other nations. It has
nevertheless been extensive, proceeding from the wants of the respective
parties and the enterprise of our citizens. Of this discrimination
to our injury we had a right to complain and have complained. It is
expected that our commercial intercourse with the island will be placed
on the footing of the most favored nation. No preference is sought
in our favor, nor ought any to be given to others. Regarding the high
interest of our happy Union and looking to every circumstance which
may by any possibility affect the tranquillity of any part, however
remotely, and guarding against such injury by suitable precautions, it
is the duty of this Government to promote by all the means in its power
and by a fair and honorable policy the best interest of every other
part, and thereby of the whole. Feeling profoundly the force of this
obligation, I shall continue to exert with unwearied zeal my best
faculties to give it effect.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 26, 1823_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives, in pursuance of a resolution
of that House of the 30th January last, a report from the Secretary
of State, containing the information required in relation to the
transactions of the commissioners under the sixth and seventh articles
of the treaty of Ghent, and also as to the measures which have been
taken under the fourth article of the treaty with Spain of the 22d of
February, 1819, for fixing the boundary line described in the third
article of the last-mentioned treaty.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 27, 1823_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives a report from the Secretary
of State, made in pursuance of their resolution of the 21st of January
last, requesting the President of the United States to cause to be
arranged and laid before that House a digest shewing such changes in the
commercial regulations of the different foreign countries with which the
United States have intercourse as shall have been adopted and come to
the knowledge of the Executive subsequently to the formation of the
digest communicated to the Senate on the 7th December, 1819.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 28, 1823_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives a report from the Secretary
of State, with copies of sundry papers which should have been included
among those which accompanied my message of the 13th instant, being part
of the correspondence with Great Britain relating to the negotiation of
the convention of 20th of October, 1818, but which were accidentally
omitted from the papers communicated to the House with that message.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 28, 1823_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
24th of January, requesting the President to communicate to the House
the number of persons and the amount due from each whose compensation
has been withheld or suspended, in pursuance of the law prohibiting
payments to persons in arrears to the United States; whether the amount
withheld has been applied in all cases to the extinguishment of their
debts to the Government; whether the said laws have been enforced in
all cases against securities who are liable for the payment of any
arrears due; whether any disbursing officer, within the knowledge of
the President, has given conclusive evidence of his insolvency, and,
if so, whether he is still retained in the service of the United States,
I transmit to the House a report from the Secretary of the Treasury,
with the documents mentioned therein.

The report has been confined to the operations of the law. Respecting
the circumstances of individuals in their transactions without the
sphere of their public duties I have no means of information other
than those which are common to all.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 7, 1823_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of this
day, requesting information of the measures taken with regard to the
illegal blockade of the ports of the Spanish Main, and to depredations
of privateers fitted out from Porto Rico and other Spanish islands on
the commerce of the United States, I transmit to the House a report
from the Secretary of State containing the information required by
the resolution.

JAMES MONROE.




SEVENTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.


WASHINGTON, _December 2, 1823_.

_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_:

Many important subjects will claim your attention during the
present session, of which I shall endeavor to give, in aid of your
deliberations, a just idea in this communication. I undertake this duty
with diffidence, from the vast extent of the interests on which I have
to treat and of their great importance to every portion of our Union.
I enter on it with zeal from a thorough conviction that there never
was a period since the establishment of our Revolution when, regarding
the condition of the civilized world and its bearing on us, there
was greater necessity for devotion in the public servants to their
respective duties, or for virtue, patriotism, and union in our
constituents.

Meeting in you a new Congress, I deem it proper to present this view
of public affairs in greater detail than might otherwise be necessary.
I do it, however, with peculiar satisfaction, from a knowledge that in
this respect I shall comply more fully with the sound principles of our
Government. The people being with us exclusively the sovereign, it is
indispensable that full information be laid before them on all important
subjects, to enable them to exercise that high power with complete
effect. If kept in the dark, they must be incompetent to it. We are
all liable to error, and those who are engaged in the management of
public affairs are more subject to excitement and to be led astray by
their particular interests and passions than the great body of our
constituents, who, living at home in the pursuit of their ordinary
avocations, are calm but deeply interested spectators of events and
of the conduct of those who are parties to them. To the people
every department of the Government and every individual in each are
responsible, and the more full their information the better they can
judge of the wisdom of the policy pursued and of the conduct of each in
regard to it. From their dispassionate judgment much aid may always be
obtained, while their approbation will form the greatest incentive
and most gratifying reward for virtuous actions, and the dread of
their censure the best security against the abuse of their confidence.
Their interests in all vital questions are the same, and the bond, by
sentiment as well as by interest, will be proportionably strengthened as
they are better informed of the real state of public affairs, especially
in difficult conjunctures. It is by such knowledge that local prejudices
and jealousies are surmounted, and that a national policy, extending its
fostering care and protection to all the great interests of our Union,
is formed and steadily adhered to.

A precise knowledge of our relations with foreign powers as respects our
negotiations and transactions with each is thought to be particularly
necessary. Equally necessary is it that we should form a just estimate
of our resources, revenue, and progress in every kind of improvement
connected with the national prosperity and public defense. It is by
rendering justice to other nations that we may expect it from them.
It is by our ability to resent injuries and redress wrongs that we may
avoid them. The commissioners under the fifth article of the treaty of
Ghent, having disagreed in their opinions respecting that portion of
the boundary between the Territories of the United States and of Great
Britain the establishment of which had been submitted to them, have
made their respective reports in compliance with that article, that
the same might be referred to the decision of a friendly power. It
being manifest, however, that it would be difficult, if not impossible,
for any power to perform that office without great delay and much
inconvenience to itself, a proposal has been made by this Government,
and acceded to by that of Great Britain, to endeavor to establish that
boundary by amicable negotiation. It appearing from long experience
that no satisfactory arrangement could be formed of the commercial
intercourse between the United States and the British colonies in this
hemisphere by legislative acts while each party pursued its own course
without agreement or concert with the other, a proposal has been made
to the British Government to regulate this commerce by treaty, as it has
been to arrange in like manner the just claim of the citizens of the
United States inhabiting the States and Territories bordering on the
lakes and rivers which empty into the St. Lawrence to the navigation of
that river to the ocean. For these and other objects of high importance
to the interests of both parties a negotiation has been opened with the
British Government which it is hoped will have a satisfactory result.

The commissioners under the sixth and seventh articles of the treaty of
Ghent having successfully closed their labors in relation to the sixth,
have proceeded to the discharge of those relating to the seventh. Their
progress in the extensive survey required for the performance of their
duties justifies the presumption that it will be completed in the
ensuing year.

The negotiation which had been long depending with the French Government
on several important subjects, and particularly for a just indemnity for
losses sustained in the late wars by the citizens of the United States
under unjustifiable seizures and confiscations of their property, has
not as yet had the desired effect. As this claim rests on the same
principle with others which have been admitted by the French Government,
it is not perceived on what just ground it can be rejected. A minister
will be immediately appointed to proceed to France and resume the
negotiation on this and other subjects which may arise between the two
nations.

At the proposal of the Russian Imperial Government, made through the
minister of the Emperor residing here, a full power and instructions
have been transmitted to the minister of the United States at St.
Petersburg to arrange by amicable negotiation the respective rights and
interests of the two nations on the northwest coast of this continent.
A similar proposal had been made by His Imperial Majesty to the
Government of Great Britain, which has likewise been acceded to. The
Government of the United States has been desirous by this friendly
proceeding of manifesting the great value which they have invariably
attached to the friendship of the Emperor and their solicitude to
cultivate the best understanding with his Government. In the discussions
to which this interest has given rise and in the arrangements by which
they may terminate the occasion has been judged proper for asserting,
as a principle in which the rights and interests of the United States
are involved, that the American continents, by the free and independent
condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be
considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.

Since the close of the last session of Congress the commissioners
and arbitrators for ascertaining and determining the amount of
indemnification which may be due to citizens of the United States
under the decision of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia,
in conformity to the convention concluded at St. Petersburg on the 12th
of July, 1822, have assembled in this city, and organized themselves
as a board for the performance of the duties assigned to them by that
treaty. The commission constituted under the eleventh article of the
treaty of the 22d of February, 1819, between the United States and Spain
is also in session here, and as the term of three years limited by the
treaty for the execution of the trust will expire before the period of
the next regular meeting of Congress, the attention of the Legislature
will be drawn to the measures which may be necessary to accomplish the
objects for which the commission was instituted.

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives adopted
at their last session, instructions have been given to all the ministers
of the United States accredited to the powers of Europe and America to
propose the proscription of the African slave trade by classing it under
the denomination, and inflicting on its perpetrators the punishment, of
piracy. Should this proposal be acceded to, it is not doubted that this
odious and criminal practice will be promptly and entirely suppressed.
It is earnestly hoped that it will be acceded to, from the firm belief
that it is the most effectual expedient that can be adopted for the
purpose.

At the commencement of the recent war between France and Spain it was
declared by the French Government that it would grant no commissions
to privateers, and that neither the commerce of Spain herself nor
of neutral nations should be molested by the naval force of France,
except in the breach of a lawful blockade. This declaration, which
appears to have been faithfully carried into effect, concurring with
principles proclaimed and cherished by the United States from the
first establishment of their independence, suggested the hope that
the time had arrived when the proposal for adopting it as a permanent
and invariable rule in all future maritime wars might meet the
favorable consideration of the great European powers. Instructions have
accordingly been given to our ministers with France, Russia, and Great
Britain to make those proposals to their respective Governments, and
when the friends of humanity reflect on the essential amelioration to
the condition of the human race which would result from the abolition of
private war on the sea and on the great facility by which it might be
accomplished, requiring only the consent of a few sovereigns, an earnest
hope is indulged that these overtures will meet with an attention
animated by the spirit in which they were made, and that they will
ultimately be successful.

The ministers who were appointed to the Republics of Colombia and Buenos
Ayres during the last session of Congress proceeded shortly afterwards
to their destinations. Of their arrival there official intelligence has
not yet been received. The minister appointed to the Republic of Chile
will sail in a few days. An early appointment will also be made to
Mexico. A minister has been received from Colombia, and the other
Governments have been informed that ministers, or diplomatic agents of
inferior grade, would be received from each, accordingly as they might
prefer the one or the other.

The minister appointed to Spain proceeded soon after his appointment
for Cadiz, the residence of the Sovereign to whom he was accredited.
In approaching that port the frigate which conveyed him was warned off
by the commander of the French squadron by which it was blockaded and
not permitted to enter, although apprised by the captain of the frigate
of the public character of the person whom he had on board, the landing
of whom was the sole object of his proposed entry. This act, being
considered an infringement of the rights of ambassadors and of nations,
will form a just cause of complaint to the Government of France against
the officer by whom it was committed.

The actual condition of the public finances more than realizes the
favorable anticipations that were entertained of it at the opening of
the last session of Congress. On the 1st of January there was a balance
in the Treasury of $4,237,427.55. From that time to the 30th September
the receipts amounted to upward of $16,100,000, and the expenditures to
$11,400,000. During the fourth quarter of the year it is estimated that
the receipts will at least equal the expenditures, and that there will
remain in the Treasury on the 1st day of January next a surplus of
nearly $9,000,000.

On the 1st of January, 1825, a large amount of the war debt and a part
of the Revolutionary debt become redeemable. Additional portions of the
former will continue to become redeemable annually until the year 1835.
It is believed, however, that if the United States remain at peace the
whole of that debt may be redeemed by the ordinary revenue of those
years during that period under the provision of the act of March 3,
1817, creating the sinking fund, and in that case the only part of the
debt that will remain after the year 1835 will be the $7,000,000 of
5 per cent stock subscribed to the Bank of the United States, and the
3 per cent Revolutionary debt, amounting to $13,296,099.06, both of
which are redeemable at the pleasure of the Government.

The state of the Army in its organization and discipline has been
gradually improving for several years, and has now attained a high
degree of perfection. The military disbursements have been regularly
made and the accounts regularly and promptly rendered for settlement.
The supplies of various descriptions have been of good quality,
and regularly issued at all of the posts. A system of economy and
accountability has been introduced into every branch of the service
which admits of little additional improvement. This desirable state
has been attained by the act reorganizing the staff of the Army,
passed on the 14th of April, 1818.

The moneys appropriated for fortifications have been regularly and
economically applied, and all the works advanced as rapidly as the
amount appropriated would admit. Three important works will be completed
in the course of this year--that is, Fort Washington, Fort Delaware, and
the fort at the Rigolets, in Louisiana.

The Board of Engineers and the Topographical Corps have been in constant
and active service in surveying the coast and projecting the works
necessary for its defense.

The Military Academy has attained a degree of perfection in its
discipline and instruction equal, as is believed, to any institution
of its kind in any country.

The money appropriated for the use of the Ordnance Department has been
regularly and economically applied. The fabrication of arms at the
national armories and by contract with the Department has been gradually
improving in quality and cheapness. It is believed that their quality
is now such as to admit of but little improvement.

The completion of the fortifications renders it necessary that there
should be a suitable appropriation for the purpose of fabricating the
cannon and carriages necessary for those works.

Under the appropriation of $5,000 for exploring the Western waters
for the location of a site for a Western armory, a commission was
constituted, consisting of Colonel McRee, Colonel Lee, and Captain
Talcott, who have been engaged in exploring the country. They have not
yet reported the result of their labors, but it is believed that they
will be prepared to do it at an early part of the session of Congress.

During the month of June last General Ashley and his party, who were
trading under a license from the Government, were attacked by the
Ricarees while peaceably trading with the Indians at their request.
Several of the party were killed and wounded and their property taken
or destroyed.

Colonel Leavenworth, who commanded Fort Atkinson, at the Council Bluffs,
the most western post, apprehending that the hostile spirit of the
Ricarees would extend to other tribes in that quarter, and that thereby
the lives of the traders on the Missouri and the peace of the frontier
would be endangered, took immediate measures to check the evil.

With a detachment of the regiment stationed at the Bluffs he
successfully attacked the Ricaree village, and it is hoped that such
an impression has been made on them as well as on the other tribes on
the Missouri as will prevent a recurrence of future hostility.

The report of the Secretary of War, which is herewith transmitted, will
exhibit in greater detail the condition of the Department in its various
branches, and the progress which has been made in its administration
during the three first quarters of the year.

I transmit a return of the militia of the several States according to
the last reports which have been made by the proper officers in each to
the Department of War. By reference to this return it will be seen that
it is not complete, although great exertions have been made to make it
so. As the defense and even the liberties of the country must depend in
times of imminent danger on the militia, it is of the highest importance
that it be well organized, armed, and disciplined throughout the Union.
The report of the Secretary of War shews the progress made during the
three first quarters of the present year by the application of the
fund appropriated for arming the militia. Much difficulty is found in
distributing the arms according to the act of Congress providing for
it from the failure of the proper departments in many of the States to
make regular returns. The act of May 12, 1820, provides that the system
of tactics and regulations of the various corps of the Regular Army
shall be extended to the militia. This act has been very imperfectly
executed from the want of uniformity in the organization of the militia,
proceeding from the defects of the system itself, and especially in its
application to that main arm of the public defense. It is thought that
this important subject in all its branches merits the attention of
Congress.

The report of the Secretary of the Navy, which is now communicated,
furnishes an account of the administration of that Department for the
three first quarters of the present year, with the progress made in
augmenting the Navy, and the manner in which the vessels in commission
have been employed.

The usual force has been maintained in the Mediterranean Sea, the
Pacific Ocean, and along the Atlantic coast, and has afforded the
necessary protection to our commerce in those seas.

In the West Indies and the Gulf of Mexico our naval force has been
augmented by the addition of several small vessels provided for by
the "act authorizing an additional naval force for the suppression of
piracy," passed by Congress at their last session. That armament has
been eminently successful in the accomplishment of its object. The
piracies by which our commerce in the neighborhood of the island of
Cuba had been afflicted have been repressed and the confidence of
our merchants in a great measure restored.

The patriotic zeal and enterprise of Commodore Porter, to whom the
command of the expedition was confided, has been fully seconded by
the officers and men under his command. And in reflecting with high
satisfaction on the honorable manner in which they have sustained the
reputation of their country and its Navy, the sentiment is alloyed
only by a concern that in the fulfillment of that arduous service the
diseases incident to the season and to the climate in which it was
discharged have deprived the nation of many useful lives, and among
them of several officers of great promise.

In the month of August a very malignant fever made its appearance
at Thompsons Island, which threatened the destruction of our station
there. Many perished, and the commanding officer was severely attacked.
Uncertain as to his fate and knowing that most of the medical officers
had been rendered incapable of discharging their duties, it was thought
expedient to send to that post an officer of rank and experience, with
several skillful surgeons, to ascertain the origin of the fever and the
probability of its recurrence there in future seasons; to furnish every
assistance to those who were suffering, and, if practicable, to avoid
the necessity of abandoning so important a station. Commodore Rodgers,
with a promptitude which did him honor, cheerfully accepted that trust,
and has discharged it in the manner anticipated from his skill and
patriotism. Before his arrival Commodore Porter, with the greater
part of the squadron, had removed from the island and returned to the
United States in consequence of the prevailing sickness. Much useful
information has, however, been obtained as to the state of the island
and great relief afforded to those who had been necessarily left there.

Although our expedition, cooperating with an invigorated administration
of the government of the island of Cuba, and with the corresponding
active exertions of a British naval force in the same seas, have almost
entirely destroyed the unlicensed piracies from that island, the success
of our exertions has not been equally effectual to suppress the same
crime, under other pretenses and colors, in the neighboring island
of Porto Rico. They have been committed there under the abusive
issue of Spanish commissions. At an early period of the present year
remonstrances were made to the governor of that island, by an agent
who was sent for the purpose, against those outrages on the peaceful
commerce of the United States, of which many had occurred. That officer,
professing his own want of authority to make satisfaction for our just
complaints, answered only by a reference of them to the Government of
Spain. The minister of the United States to that court was specially
instructed to urge the necessity of the immediate and effectual
interposition of that Government, directing restitution and indemnity
for wrongs already committed and interdicting the repetition of them.
The minister, as has been seen, was debarred access to the Spanish
Government, and in the meantime several new cases of flagrant outrage
have occurred, and citizens of the United States in the island of Porto
Rico have suffered, and others been threatened with assassination for
asserting their unquestionable rights even before the lawful tribunals
of the country.

The usual orders have been given to all our public ships to seize
American vessels engaged in the slave trade and bring them in for
adjudication, and I have the gratification to state that not one so
employed has been discovered, and there is good reason to believe
that our flag is now seldom, if at all, disgraced by that traffic.
It is a source of great satisfaction that we are always enabled to
recur to the conduct of our Navy with pride and commendation. As a
means of national defense it enjoys the public confidence, and is
steadily assuming additional importance. It is submitted whether a more
efficient and equally economical organization of it might not in several
respects be effected. It is supposed that higher grades than now exist
by law would be useful. They would afford well-merited rewards to those
who have long and faithfully served their country, present the best
incentives to good conduct, and the best means of insuring a proper
discipline; destroy the inequality in that respect between military and
naval services, and relieve our officers from many inconveniences and
mortifications which occur when our vessels meet those of other nations,
ours being the only service in which such grades do not exist.

A report of the Postmaster-General, which accompanies this
communication, will shew the present state of the Post-Office Department
and its general operations for some years past.

There is established by law 88,600 miles of post-roads, on which the
mail is now transported 85,700 miles, and contracts have been made
for its transportation on all the established routes, with one or two
exceptions. There are 5,240 post-offices in the Union, and as many
postmasters. The gross amount of postage which accrued from the 1st
July, 1822, to the 1st July, 1823, was $1,114,345.12. During the
same period the expenditures of the Post-Office Department amounted
to $1,169,885.51, and consisted of the following items, viz:
Compensation to postmasters, $353,995.98; incidental expenses,
$30,866.37; transportation of the mail, $784,600.08; payments into
the Treasury, $423.08. On the 1st of July last there was due to the
Department from postmasters $135,245.28; from _late_ postmasters and
contractors, $256,749.31; making a total amount of balances due to the
Department of $391,994.59. These balances embrace all delinquencies
of postmasters and contractors which have taken place since the
organization of the Department. There was due by the Department
to contractors on the 1st of July last $26,548.64.

The transportation of the mail within five years past has been greatly
extended, and the expenditures of the Department proportionably
increased. Although the postage which has accrued within the last three
years has fallen short of the expenditures $262,821.46, it appears that
collections have been made from the outstanding balances to meet the
principal part of the current demands.

It is estimated that not more than $250,000 of the above balances can
be collected, and that a considerable part of this sum can only be
realized by a resort to legal process. Some improvement in the receipts
for postage is expected. A prompt attention to the collection of moneys
received by postmasters, it is believed, will enable the Department
to continue its operations without aid from the Treasury, unless the
expenditures shall be increased by the establishment of new mail routes.

A revision of some parts of the post-office law may be necessary;
and it is submitted whether it would not be proper to provide for the
appointment of postmasters, where the compensation exceeds a certain
amount, by nomination to the Senate, as other officers of the General
Government are appointed.

Having communicated my views to Congress at the commencement of the
last session respecting the encouragement which ought to be given to our
manufactures and the principle on which it should be founded, I have
only to add that those views remain unchanged, and that the present
state of those countries with which we have the most immediate political
relations and greatest commercial intercourse tends to confirm them.
Under this impression I recommend a review of the tariff for the purpose
of affording such additional protection to those articles which we are
prepared to manufacture, or which are more immediately connected with
the defense and independence of the country.

The actual state of the public accounts furnishes additional evidence
of the efficiency of the present system of accountability in relation
to the public expenditure. Of the moneys drawn from the Treasury since
the 4th March, 1817, the sum remaining unaccounted for on the 30th of
September last is more than a million and a half of dollars less than on
the 30th of September preceding; and during the same period a reduction
of nearly a million of dollars has been made in the amount of the
unsettled accounts for moneys advanced previously to the 4th of March,
1817. It will be obvious that in proportion as the mass of accounts of
the latter description is diminished by settlement the difficulty of
settling the residue is increased from the consideration that in many
instances it can be obtained only by legal process. For more precise
details on this subject I refer to a report from the First Comptroller
of the Treasury.

The sum which was appropriated at the last session for the repairs of
the Cumberland road has been applied with good effect to that object.
A final report has not yet been received from the agent who was
appointed to superintend it. As soon as it is received it shall be
communicated to Congress.

Many patriotic and enlightened citizens who have made the subject an
object of particular investigation have suggested an improvement of
still greater importance. They are of opinion that the waters of the
Chesapeake and Ohio may be connected together by one continued canal,
and at an expense far short of the value and importance of the object
to be obtained. If this could be accomplished it is impossible to
calculate the beneficial consequences which would result from it.
A great portion of the produce of the very fertile country through
which it would pass would find a market through that channel. Troops
might be moved with great facility in war, with cannon and every kind
of munition, and in either direction. Connecting the Atlantic with the
Western country in a line passing through the seat of the National
Government, it would contribute essentially to strengthen the bond of
union itself. Believing as I do that Congress possess the right to
appropriate money for such a national object (the jurisdiction remaining
to the States through which the canal would pass), I submit it to your
consideration whether it may not be advisable to authorize by an
adequate appropriation the employment of a suitable number of the
officers of the Corps of Engineers to examine the unexplored ground
during the next season and to report their opinion thereon. It will
likewise be proper to extend their examination to the several routes
through which the waters of the Ohio may be connected by canals with
those of Lake Erie.

As the Cumberland road will require annual repairs, and Congress have
not thought it expedient to recommend to the States an amendment to the
Constitution for the purpose of vesting in the United States a power to
adopt and execute a system of internal improvement, it is also submitted
to your consideration whether it may not be expedient to authorize the
Executive to enter into an arrangement with the several States through
which the road passes to establish tolls, each within its limits, for
the purpose of defraying the expense of future repairs and of providing
also by suitable penalties for its protection against future injuries.

The act of Congress of the 7th of May, 1822, appropriated the sum of
$22,700 for the purpose of erecting two piers as a shelter for vessels
from ice near Cape Henlopen, Delaware Bay. To effect the object of the
act the officers of the Board of Engineers, with Commodore Bainbridge,
were directed to prepare plans and estimates of piers sufficient to
answer the purpose intended by the act. It appears by their report,
which accompanies the documents from the War Department, that the
appropriation is not adequate to the purpose intended; and as the piers
would be of great service both to the navigation of the Delaware Bay and
the protection of vessels on the adjacent parts of the coast, I submit
for the consideration of Congress whether additional and sufficient
appropriation should not be made.

The Board of Engineers were also directed to examine and survey the
entrance of the harbor of the port of Presquille, in Pennsylvania, in
order to make an estimate of the expense of removing the obstructions
to the entrance, with a plan of the best mode of effecting the same,
under the appropriation for that purpose by act of Congress passed 3d
of March last. The report of the Board accompanies the papers from the
War Department, and is submitted for the consideration of Congress.

A strong hope has been long entertained, founded on the heroic struggle
of the Greeks, that they would succeed in their contest and resume their
equal station among the nations of the earth. It is believed that the
whole civilized world take a deep interest in their welfare. Although
no power has declared in their favor, yet none, according to our
information, has taken part against them. Their cause and their
name have protected them from dangers which might ere this have
overwhelmed any other people. The ordinary calculations of interest and
of acquisition with a view to aggrandizement, which mingles so much in
the transactions of nations, seem to have had no effect in regard to
them. From the facts which have come to our knowledge there is good
cause to believe that their enemy has lost forever all dominion over
them; that Greece will become again an independent nation. That she
may obtain that rank is the object of our most ardent wishes.

It was stated at the commencement of the last session that a great
effort was then making in Spain and Portugal to improve the condition of
the people of those countries, and that it appeared to be conducted with
extraordinary moderation. It need scarcely be remarked that the result
has been so far very different from what was then anticipated. Of events
in that quarter of the globe, with which we have so much intercourse
and from which we derive our origin, we have always been anxious and
interested spectators. The citizens of the United States cherish
sentiments the most friendly in favor of the liberty and happiness
of their fellow-men on that side of the Atlantic. In the wars of the
European powers in matters relating to themselves we have never taken
any part, nor does it comport with our policy so to do. It is only when
our rights are invaded or seriously menaced that we resent injuries or
make preparation for our defense. With the movements in this hemisphere
we are of necessity more immediately connected, and by causes which must
be obvious to all enlightened and impartial observers. The political
system of the allied powers is essentially different in this respect
from that of America. This difference proceeds from that which exists
in their respective Governments; and to the defense of our own, which
has been achieved by the loss of so much blood and treasure, and matured
by the wisdom of their most enlightened citizens, and under which we
have enjoyed unexampled felicity, this whole nation is devoted. We owe
it, therefore, to candor and to the amicable relations existing between
the United States and those powers to declare that we should consider
any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this
hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the existing
colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered
and shall not interfere. But with the Governments who have declared
their independence and maintained it, and whose independence we have,
on great consideration and on just principles, acknowledged, we could
not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or
controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any European power
in any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly
disposition toward the United States. In the war between those new
Governments and Spain we declared our neutrality at the time of their
recognition, and to this we have adhered, and shall continue to adhere,
provided no change shall occur which, in the judgment of the competent
authorities of this Government, shall make a corresponding change on
the part of the United States indispensable to their security.

The late events in Spain and Portugal shew that Europe is still
unsettled. Of this important fact no stronger proof can be adduced than
that the allied powers should have thought it proper, on any principle
satisfactory to themselves, to have interposed by force in the internal
concerns of Spain. To what extent such interposition may be carried, on
the same principle, is a question in which all independent powers whose
governments differ from theirs are interested, even those most remote,
and surely none more so than the United States. Our policy in regard
to Europe, which was adopted at an early stage of the wars which have
so long agitated that quarter of the globe, nevertheless remains the
same, which is, not to interfere in the internal concerns of any of
its powers; to consider the government _de facto_ as the legitimate
government for us; to cultivate friendly relations with it, and to
preserve those relations by a frank, firm, and manly policy, meeting
in all instances the just claims of every power, submitting to injuries
from none. But in regard to those continents circumstances are eminently
and conspicuously different. It is impossible that the allied powers
should extend their political system to any portion of either continent
without endangering our peace and happiness; nor can anyone believe that
our southern brethren, if left to themselves, would adopt it of their
own accord. It is equally impossible, therefore, that we should behold
such interposition in any form with indifference. If we look to the
comparative strength and resources of Spain and those new Governments,
and their distance from each other, it must be obvious that she can
never subdue them. It is still the true policy of the United States
to leave the parties to themselves, in the hope that other powers will
pursue the same course.

If we compare the present condition of our Union with its actual state
at the close of our Revolution, the history of the world furnishes no
example of a progress in improvement in all the important circumstances
which constitute the happiness of a nation which bears any resemblance
to it. At the first epoch our population did not exceed 3,000,000.
By the last census it amounted to about 10,000,000, and, what is more
extraordinary, it is almost altogether native, for the immigration
from other countries has been inconsiderable At the first epoch half
the territory within our acknowledged limits was uninhabited and a
wilderness. Since then new territory has been acquired of vast extent,
comprising within it many rivers, particularly the Mississippi, the
navigation of which to the ocean was of the highest importance to the
original States. Over this territory our population has expanded in
every direction, and new States have been established almost equal in
number to those which formed the first bond of our Union. This expansion
of our population and accession of new States to our Union have had the
happiest effect on all its highest interests. That it has eminently
augmented our resources and added to our strength and respectability
as a power is admitted by all. But it is not in these important
circumstances only that this happy effect is felt. It is manifest that
by enlarging the basis of our system and increasing the number of
States the system itself has been greatly strengthened in both its
branches. Consolidation and disunion have thereby been rendered equally
impracticable. Each Government, confiding in its own strength, has less
to apprehend from the other, and in consequence each, enjoying a greater
freedom of action, is rendered more efficient for all the purposes
for which it was instituted. It is unnecessary to treat here of the
vast improvement made in the system itself by the adoption of this
Constitution and of its happy effect in elevating the character and in
protecting the rights of the nation as well as of individuals. To what,
then, do we owe these blessings? It is known to all that we derive them
from the excellence of our institutions. Ought we not, then, to adopt
every measure which may be necessary to perpetuate them?

JAMES MONROE.




SPECIAL MESSAGES.


WASHINGTON CITY, _December 7, 1823_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

By an act of the last session of Congress it was made the duty of
the accounting officers of the Treasury to adjust and settle the
accounts of Daniel D. Tompkins, late governor of the State of New
York, on principles of equity and justice, subject to the revision and
final decision of the President of the United States. The accounting
officers have, in compliance with this act, reported to me a balance of
$35,190 in favor of Governor Tompkins, which report I have had under
consideration, together with his claim to an additional allowance,
and should have decided on the same before the present time had I not
delayed my decision at his request. From the view which I have taken
of the subject I am satisfied, considering all the circumstances of
the case, that a larger sum ought to be allowed him than that reported
by the accounting officers of the Treasury. No appropriation, however,
having been made by the act, and it appearing by recent information from
him that the sum reported would afford him an essential accommodation
at this time, the subject is submitted to the consideration of Congress
with a view to that object.

JAMES MONROE.



_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate, for its advice and consent as to the
ratification, a treaty lately concluded with the Seminole Indians in
Florida, whereby a cession of territory is made to the United States.

JAMES MONROE.

DECEMBER 15, 1823.



WASHINGTON, _December 23, 1823_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I herewith transmit to Congress a statement by William Lambert,
explanatory of his astronomical calculations with a view to establish
the longitude of the Capitol.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _December 31, 1823_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives a report from the Secretary
of State, with accompanying documents, containing the information
requested by the resolution of the House of the 19th instant, relating
to the condition and future prospects of the Greeks.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 5, 1824_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
18th of December last, requesting copies of contracts for cannon, cannon
shot, muskets, and other small arms which have been entered into since
the 1st of January, 1820, and for other detailed information therein
specified, I herewith transmit a report, with accompanying documents,
from the Department of War,

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 9, 1824_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

Agreeably to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 18th
of December, 1823, requesting copies of all contracts for cannon,
cannon shot, muskets, and other small arms entered into since the
1st of January, 1820, I herewith transmit a report from the Department
of the Navy, with other documents relating thereto.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 12, 1824_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of December
24, requesting the President of the United States to lay before the
House such information as he may possess, and which may be disclosed
without injury to the public good, relative to the determination of
any sovereign, or combination of sovereigns, to assist Spain in the
subjugation of her late colonies on the American continent, and whether
any Government of Europe is disposed or determined to oppose any aid or
assistance which such sovereign or combination of sovereigns may afford
to Spain for the subjugation of her late colonies above mentioned,
I have to state that I possess no information on that subject not known
to Congress which can be disclosed without injury to the public good.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 30, 1824_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
15th of December last, requesting the President of the United States "to
communicate a plan for a peace establishment of the Navy of the United
States," I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of the Navy,
which contains the plan required.

In presenting this plan to the consideration of Congress, I avail myself
of the occasion to make some remarks on it which the importance of the
subject requires and experience justifies.

If a system of universal and permanent peace could be established, or
if in war the belligerent parties would respect the rights of neutral
powers, we should have no occasion for a navy or an army. The expense
and dangers of such establishments might be avoided. The history of all
ages proves that this can not be presumed; on the contrary, that at
least one-half of every century, in ancient as well as modern times,
has been consumed in wars, and often of the most general and desolating
character. Nor is there any cause to infer, if we examine the condition
of the nations with which we have the most intercourse and strongest
political relations, that we shall in future be exempt from that
calamity within any period to which a rational calculation may be
extended. And as to the rights of neutral powers, it is sufficient to
appeal to our own experience to demonstrate how little regard will be
paid to them whenever they come in conflict with the interests of the
powers at war while we rely on the justice of our cause and on argument
alone. The amount of the property of our fellow-citizens which was
seized and confiscated or destroyed by the belligerent parties in the
wars of the French Revolution, and of those which followed before we
became a party to the war, is almost incalculable.

The whole movement of our Government from the establishment of our
independence has been guided by a sacred regard for peace. Situated as
we are in the new hemisphere, distant from Europe and unconnected with
its affairs, blessed with the happiest Government on earth, and having
no objects of ambition to gratify, the United States have steadily
cultivated the relations of amity with every power; and if in any
European wars a respect for our rights might be relied on, it was
undoubtedly in those to which I have adverted. The conflict being vital,
the force being nearly equally balanced, and the result uncertain, each
party had the strongest motives of interest to cultivate our good will,
lest we might be thrown into the opposite scale. Powerful as this
consideration usually is, it was nevertheless utterly disregarded
in almost every stage of and by every party to those wars. To these
encroachments and injuries our regard for peace was finally forced
to yield.

In the war to which at length we became a party our whole coast from St.
Croix to the Mississippi was either invaded or menaced with invasion,
and in many parts with a strong imposing force both land and naval.
In those parts where the population was most dense the pressure was
comparatively light, but there was scarcely an harbor or city on any
of our great inlets which could be considered secure. New York and
Philadelphia were eminently exposed, the then existing works not being
sufficient for their protection. The same remark is applicable in a
certain extent to the cities eastward of the former, and as to the
condition of the whole country southward of the latter the events which
mark the war are too recent to require detail. Our armies and Navy
signalized themselves in every quarter where they had occasion to meet
their gallant foe, and the militia voluntarily flew to their aid with
a patriotism and fought with a bravery which exalted the reputation of
their Government and country and which did them the highest honor. In
whatever direction the enemy chose to move with their squadrons and to
land their troops our fortifications, where any existed, presented but
little obstacle to them. They passed those works without difficulty.
Their squadrons, in fact, annoyed our whole coast, not of the sea only,
but every bay and great river throughout its whole extent. In entering
those inlets and sailing up them with a small force the effect was
disastrous, since it never failed to draw out the whole population on
each side and to keep it in the field while the squadron remained there.
The expense attending this species of defense, with the exposure of
the inhabitants and the waste of property, may readily be conceived.

The occurrences which preceded the war and those which attended it were
alike replete with useful instruction as to our future policy. Those
which marked the first epoch demonstrate clearly that in the wars of
other powers we can rely only on force for the protection of our neutral
rights. Those of the second demonstrate with equal certainty that in any
war in which we may be engaged hereafter with a strong naval power the
expense, waste, and other calamities attending it, considering the vast
extent of our maritime frontier, can not fail, unless it be defended
by adequate fortifications and a suitable naval force, to correspond
with those which were experienced in the late war. Two great objects
are therefore to be regarded in the establishment of an adequate naval
force: The first, to prevent war so far as it may be practicable; the
second, to diminish its calamities when it may be inevitable. Hence the
subject of defense becomes intimately connected in all its parts in war
and in peace, for the land and at sea. No government will be disposed in
its wars with other powers to violate our rights if it knows we have the
means, are prepared and resolved to defend them. The motive will also be
diminished if it knows that our defenses by land are so well planned and
executed that an invasion of our coast can not be productive of the
evils to which we have heretofore been exposed.

It was under a thorough conviction of these truths, derived from the
admonitions of the late war, that Congress, as early as the year 1816,
during the term of my enlightened and virtuous predecessor, under whom
the war had been declared, prosecuted, and terminated, digested and made
provision for the defense of our country and support of its rights,
in peace as well as in war, by acts which authorized and enjoined the
augmentation of our Navy to a prescribed limit, and the construction
of suitable fortifications throughout the whole extent of our maritime
frontier and wherever else they might be deemed necessary. It is to the
execution of these works, both land and naval, and under a thorough
conviction that by hastening their completion I should render the best
service to my country and give the most effectual support to our free
republican system of government that my humble faculties would admit of,
that I have devoted so much of my time and labor to this great system of
national policy since I came into this office, and shall continue to do
it until my retirement from it at the end of your next session.

The Navy is the arm from which our Government will always derive most
aid in support of our neutral rights. Every power engaged in war will
know the strength of our naval force, the number of our ships of each
class, their condition, and the promptitude with which we may bring them
into service, and will pay due consideration to that argument. Justice
will always have great weight in the cabinets of Europe; but in long and
destructive wars exigencies often occur which press so vitally on them
that unless the argument of force is brought to its aid it will be
disregarded. Our land forces will always perform their duty in the event
of war, but they must perform it on the land. Our Navy is the arm which
must be principally relied on for the annoyance of the commerce of the
enemy and for the protection of our own, and also, by cooperation with
the land forces, for the defense of the country. Capable of moving in
any and every direction, it possesses the faculty, even when remote from
our coast, of extending its aid to every interest on which the security
and welfare of our Union depend. Annoying the commerce of the enemy and
menacing in turn its coast, provided the force on each side is nearly
equally balanced, it will draw its squadrons from our own; and in case
of invasion by a powerful adversary by a land and naval force, which is
always to be anticipated and ought to be provided against, our Navy may,
by like cooperation with our land forces, render essential aid in
protecting our interior from incursion and depredation.

The great object in the event of war is to stop the enemy at the coast.
If this is done our cities and whole interior will be secure. For the
accomplishment of this object our fortifications must be principally
relied on. By placing strong works near the mouths of our great inlets
in such positions as to command the entrances into them, as may be done
in many instances, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for ships
to pass them, especially if other precautions, and particularly that of
steam batteries, are resorted to in their aid. In the wars between other
powers into which we may be drawn in support of our neutral rights it
can not be doubted that this defense would be adequate to the purpose
intended by it, nor can it be doubted that the knowledge that such works
existed would form a strong motive with any power not to invade our
rights, and thereby contribute essentially to prevent war. There are,
it is admitted, some entrances into our interior which are of such
vast extent that it would be utterly impossible for any works, however
extensive or well posted, to command them. Of this class the Chesapeake
Bay, which is an arm of the sea, may be given as an example. But, in my
judgment, even this bay may be defended against any power with whom we
may be involved in war as a third party in the defense of our neutral
rights. By erecting strong works at the mouth of James River, on both
sides, near the capes, as we are now doing, and at Old Point Comfort and
the Rip Raps, and connecting those works together by chains whenever the
enemy's force appeared, placing in the rear some large ships and steam
batteries, the passage up the river would be rendered impracticable.
This guard would also tend to protect the whole country bordering on the
bay and rivers emptying into it, as the hazard would be too great for
the enemy, however strong his naval force, to ascend the bay and leave
such a naval force behind; since, in the event of a storm, whereby his
vessels might be separated, or of a calm, the ships and steam batteries
behind the works might rush forth and destroy them. It could only be in
the event of an invasion by a great power or a combination of several
powers, and by land as well as by naval forces, that those works could
be carried; and even then they could not fail to retard the movement of
the enemy into the country and to give time for the collection of our
regular troops, militia, and volunteers to that point, and thereby
contribute essentially to his ultimate defeat and expulsion from our
territory.

Under a strong impression that a peace establishment of our Navy is
connected with the possible event of war, and that the naval force
intended for either state, however small it may be, is connected with
the general system of public defense, I have thought it proper in
communicating this report to submit these remarks on the whole subject.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 2, 1824_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
11th of December last, requesting the President of the United States to
communicate to the House all such parts of the correspondence with the
Government of Spain relating to the Florida treaty to the period of its
final ratification, not heretofore communicated, which, in his opinion,
it might not be inconsistent with the public interest to communicate,
I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of State, with copies
of the correspondence requested.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 23, 1824_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

The House of Representatives on the 12th instant having "resolved that
the President of the United States be requested to inform this House
whether the rules and regulations compiled by General Scott for the
government of the Army are now in force in the Army, or any part
thereof, and by what authority the same has been adopted and enforced,"
I herewith transmit a report from the Department of War, which contains
the information required.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 23, 1824_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

Agreeably to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 11th
instant, requesting the President of the United States "to inform this
House if the line intended to constitute the western boundary of the
Territory of Arkansas has been run in conformity with the provisions
of the third section of the act of Congress of the 3d of March, 1823,
entitled 'An act making appropriation for the military service of the
United States for the year 1823, and for other purposes,' and, if said
line has not been run, that he inform this House what instructions have
been given or measures adopted in relation to the execution of the
provision of the law, and what causes have prevented said line from
being run," I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of War,
which contains the information required.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 23, 1824_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

The House of Representatives on the 26th ultimo having "resolved that
the President of the United States be requested to cause to be laid
before the House an estimate of the expense which would be incurred by
transporting 200 of the troops now at the Council Bluffs to the mouth
of the Columbia or Oregon River," I herewith transmit a report of the
Secretary of War, which contains the information required.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 23, 1824_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I herewith transmit to Congress certain documents relating to a claim
of Massachusetts for services rendered by the militia of that State
in the late war, and for which payment was made by the State. From the
particular circumstances attending this claim I have thought it proper
to submit the subject to the consideration of Congress.

In forming a just estimate of this claim it will be necessary to recur
to the cause which prevented its admission, or the admission of any part
thereof, at an earlier day. It will be recollected that when a call was
made on the militia of that State for service in the late war, under
an arrangement which was alike applicable to the militia of all the
States and in conformity with the acts of Congress, the executive of
Massachusetts refused to comply with the call, on the principle that
the power vested in Congress by the Constitution to provide for
calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress
insurrections, and repel invasions was not a complete power for
those purposes, but conditional, and dependent on the consent of the
executives of the several States, and, also, that when called into
service, such consent being given, they could not be commanded by a
regular officer of the United States, or other officer than of the
militia, except by the President in person. That this decision of
the executive of Massachusetts was repugnant to the Constitution of
the United States, and of dangerous tendency, especially when it is
considered that we were then engaged in a war with a powerful nation
for the defense of our common rights, was the decided opinion of this
Government; and when the period at which that decision was formed was
considered, it being as early as the 5th of August, 1812, immediately
after the war was declared, and that it was not relinquished during the
war, it was inferred by the Executive of the United States that the
decision of the executive of that State was alike applicable to all the
services that were rendered by the militia of the State during the war.

In the correspondence with the governor of Massachusetts at that
important epoch, and on that very interesting subject, it was announced
to him by the Secretary of War that if the militia of the State were
called into service by the executive of the State, and not put under the
command of the Major-General of the United States, as the militia of
the other States were, the expense attending their service would be
chargeable to the State, and not to the United States. It was also
stated to him at the same time that any claim which the State might
have for the reimbursement of such expenses could not be allowed by the
Executive of the United States, since it would involve principles on
which that branch of the Government could not decide.

Under these circumstances a decision on the claim of the State of
Massachusetts has hitherto been suspended, and it need not be remarked
that the suspension has proceeded from a conviction that it would be
improper to give any sanction by its admission, or by the admission
of any part thereof, either to the construction of the Constitution
contended for by the then executive of that State or to its conduct
at that period toward the General Government and the Union.

In January, 1823, the Representatives in Congress from Massachusetts and
Maine suggested, by memorial, that the constitutional objection could
not apply to a portion of the claim, and requested that the accounting
officer of the Government might be instructed to audit and admit such
part as might be free from that objection. In all cases where claims
are presented for militia service it is the duty and the practice of
the accounting officer to submit them to the Department for instruction
as to the legality of the claim; that is, whether the service had been
rendered by order of the competent authority, or otherwise, under
circumstances to justify the claim against the United States, admitting
that the evidence in support of it should be satisfactory. To this
request there appeared to be no well-founded objection, under the
reservation as to the constitutional principle, and accordingly an order
was given to the accounting officers of the Treasury to proceed in
auditing the claim with that reservation.

In conformity with this arrangement, the executive of Massachusetts
appointed two citizens of that State commissioners to attend to the
settlement of its claim, and who, in execution of the trust reposed in
them, have presented to the accounting officer of the Treasury that
portion comprehending the services of the fifth division of the militia
of the State, which has been audited and reported for consideration,
subject to the objection above stated. I have examined this report, with
the documents presented by the commissioners, and am of opinion that
the services rendered by that division were spontaneous, patriotic, and
proper, necessary for self-defense, to repel in some instances actual
invasion and in others to meet by adequate preparation invasions that
were menaced. The commissioners of the State having intimated that other
portions of service stood on similar ground, the accounting officer has
been instructed, in auditing the whole, to do it in such manner as to
enable the Department to show distinctly under what circumstances each
portion of service was rendered, whether voluntary, called out by
invasion or the menace of invasion, or by public authority, and in such
case whether the militia rendering such service was placed under the
authority of the United States or retained under that of the State.

It affords me great pleasure to state that the present executive of
Massachusetts has disclaimed the principle which was maintained by the
former executive, and that in this disclaimer both branches of the
legislature have concurred. By this renunciation the State is placed on
the same ground in this respect with the other States, and this very
distressing anomaly in our system is removed. It is well known that the
great body of our fellow-citizens in Massachusetts are as firmly devoted
to our Union and to the free republican principles of our Government as
our fellow-citizens of the other States. Of this important truth their
conduct in every stage of our Revolutionary struggle and in many other
emergencies bears ample testimony; and I add with profound interest and
a thorough conviction that, although the difficulty adverted to in the
late war with their executive excited equal surprise and regret, it
was not believed to extend to them. There never was a moment when the
confidence of the Government in the great body of our fellow-citizens
of that State was impaired, nor is a doubt entertained that they were
at all times willing and ready to support their rights and repel an
invasion by the enemy.

The commissioners of Massachusetts have urged, in compliance with their
instructions, the payment of so much of their claim as applies to the
services rendered by the fifth division, which have been audited, and
I should have no hesitation in admitting it if I did not think, under
all the circumstances of the case, that the claim in all its parts was
cognizable by Congress alone. The period at which the constitutional
difficulty was raised by the executive of the State was in the highest
degree important, as was the tendency of the principle for which it
contended, and which was adhered to during the war. The public mind
throughout the Union was much excited by that occurrence, and great
solicitude was felt as to its consequences. The Executive of the United
States was bound to maintain, and did maintain, a just construction of
the Constitution, in doing which it is gratifying to recollect that the
most friendly feelings were cherished toward their brethren of that
State. The executive of the State was warned, in the correspondence
which then took place, of the light in which its conduct was viewed
and of the effect it would have, so far as related to the right of the
Executive of the United States, on any claim which might afterwards be
presented by the State to compensation for such services. Under these
circumstances the power of the Executive of the United States to settle
any portion of this claim seems to be precluded. It seems proper, also,
that this claim should be decided on full investigation before the
public, that the principle on which it is decided may be thoroughly
understood by our fellow-citizens of every State, which can be done by
Congress alone, who alone, also, possess the power to pass laws which
may be necessary to carry such decision into effect.

In submitting this subject to the calm and enlightened judgment of
Congress, I do it with peculiar satisfaction, from a knowledge that you
are now placed, by the course of events, in a situation which will
enable you to adopt such measures as will not only comport with the
sound principles of our Government, but likewise be conducive to other
the highest interests of our Union. By the renunciation of the principle
maintained by the then executive of Massachusetts, as has been done by
its present executive and both branches of the legislature in the most
formal manner and in accord with the sentiments of the great body of the
people, the Constitution is restored in a very important feature (that
connected with the public defense) and in the most important branch
(that of the militia) to its native strength. It is very gratifying to
know that this renunciation has been produced by the regular, orderly,
and pacific operation of our republican system, whereby those who
were in the right at the moment of difficulty and who sustained the
Government with great firmness have daily gained strength until this
result was accomplished. The points on which you will have to decide
are, What is fairly due for the services which were actually rendered?
By what means shall we contribute most to cement the Union and give the
greatest support to our most excellent Constitution? In seeking each
object separately we are led to the same result. All that can be claimed
by our fellow-citizens of Massachusetts is that the constitutional
objection be waived, and that they be placed on the same footing with
their brethren in the other States; that regarding the services rendered
by the militia of other States, for which compensation has been made,
giving to the rule the most liberal construction, like compensation be
made for similar services rendered by the militia of that State.

I have been led to conclude on great consideration that the principles
of justice as well as a due regard for the great interests of our Union
require that this claim in the extent proposed should be acceded to.
Essential service was rendered in the late war by the militia of
Massachusetts, and with the most patriotic motives. It seems just,
therefore, that they should be compensated for such services in like
manner with the militia of the other States. The constitutional
difficulty did not originate with them, and has now been removed. It
comports with our system to look to the service rendered and to the
intention with which it was rendered, and to award the compensation
accordingly, especially as it may now be done without the sacrifice of
principle. The motive in this instance is the stronger because well
satisfied I am that by so doing we shall give the most effectual support
to our republican institutions. No latent cause of discontent will be
left behind. The great body of the people will be gratified, and even
those who now survive who were then in error can not fail to see with
interest and satisfaction this distressing occurrence thus happily
terminated. I therefore consider it my duty to recommend it to Congress
to make provision for the settlement of the claim of Massachusetts
for services rendered in the late war by the militia of the State,
in conformity with the rules which have governed in the settlement of
the claims for services rendered by the militia of the other States.

JAMES MONROE.



FEBRUARY 24, 1824.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of War, containing the
information called for by a resolution of the House of Representatives
of the United States, passed on the 4th instant, respecting any suit or
suits which have been or are now depending, in which the United States
are interested, for the recovery of the Pea Patch.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 25, 1824_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In conformity with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
17th instant, I now transmit the report of the Secretary of the Navy,
accompanied by statements marked A and B, shewing "the amount of money
expended in conformity with the provisions of the act entitled 'An act
for the gradual increase of the Navy of the United States,' approved
April 29, 1816, and of the act to amend said act, approved 3d of March,
1821; also the number of vessels built or now on the stocks, with their
rates, the value of the timber purchased, or for which contracts
have been made, and whether sufficient timber has been purchased or
contracted for to build the vessels contemplated by the provisions of
said acts."

JAMES MONROE.



MARCH 3, 1824.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate a report of the Secretary of the Treasury,
containing copies of the contracts made by the Surveyor-General,
and called for by a resolution of the Senate bearing date the 24th
February, 1824.

JAMES MONROE.



MARCH 4, 1824.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit a report of the Secretary of the Treasury, which communicates
all the information in possession of the Department called for by a
resolution of the House requesting a copy of the report of the register
of the land office in the eastern district of Louisiana, bearing date
the 6th of January, 1821, together with all the information from the
said register to the Treasury Department.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 4, 1824_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
1st March, 1823, requesting information of the number and position of
the permanent fortifications which have been and are now erecting for
the defense of the coasts, harbors, and frontiers of the United States,
with the classification and magnitude of each, with the amount expended
on each, showing the work done and to be done, the number of guns of
every caliber for each fortification, the total cost of a complete
armament for each, the force required to garrison each in time of peace
and of war, I transmit to the House a report from the Secretary of War
containing the information required by the resolution.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 8, 1824_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

On the 3d March, 1819, James Miller was first commissioned as governor
of the Territory of Arkansas for the term of three years from that date.

Before the expiration of that time, and in the winter of 1821-22, a
nomination of him for reappointment was intended, and believed by me
to have been made to the Senate, and to have received the confirmation
of that body.

By some accident, the cause of which is unknown, it appears that this
impression was erroneous, and in December, 1822, it was discovered that
Mr. Miller had not then been recommissioned, though in the confidence
that he had been he had continued to act in that capacity. He was then
renominated to the Senate, with the additional proposal that his
commission should take effect from 3d March, 1822, when his first
commission had expired.

The nomination was confirmed by the Senate so far as regarded the
appointment, but without concurrence in the retrospective effect
proposed to be given to the commission.

His second commission, therefore, bears date on the 3d January, 1823,
and the interposition of the Legislature becomes necessary to legalize
his official acts in the interval between 3d March, 1822, and that time,
a subject which I recommend to the consideration of Congress.

JAMES MONROE.



MARCH 17, 1824.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
17th of February last, requesting "information whether any measures had
been taken for carrying into effect the resolution of Congress of June
17, 1777, directing a monument to be erected to the memory of David
Wooster, a brigadier-general in the Army of the United States, who fell
in defending the liberties of America and bravely repelling an inroad
of the British forces to Danbury, in Connecticut," I have caused the
necessary inquiries to be made, and find by the report of the Register
of the Treasury that no monument has been erected to the memory of that
patriotic and gallant officer, nor has any money been paid to the
executive of Connecticut on that account.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 25, 1824_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 25th of February, requesting information whether the title of the
United Brethren for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen to certain
sections of land in Ohio has been purchased for the United States, and,
if so, to cause a copy of the contract and of the papers relating
thereto to be laid before the House, I transmit herewith all the
documents required.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 25, 1824_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

Having seen with regret that occasional errors have been made in
nominations to the Senate, sometimes by the omission of a letter in
the name, proceeding from casualties in the Departments and in my own
office, it would be satisfactory to me if an arrangement could be made
whereby such errors might be corrected without the formality of a
special message. Where there is an accord as to the person there seems
to be no reason for resorting to a renomination for the correction of
such trivial errors. Any mode which the Senate may adopt will be
satisfactory to me.

JAMES MONROE.



MARCH 25, 1824.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

Having stated to Congress on the 7th of December last that Daniel D.
Tompkins, late governor of New York, was entitled to a larger sum than
that reported in his favor by the accounting officers of the Government,
and that in the execution of the law of the last session I had the
subject still under consideration, I now communicate to you the result.

On full consideration of the law by which this duty was enjoined on me
and of the report of the committee on the basis of which the law was
founded, I have thought that I was authorized to adopt the principles
laid down in that report in deciding on the sum which should be allowed
to him for his services. With this view and on a comparison of his
services with those which were rendered by other disbursing officers,
taking into consideration also his aid in obtaining loans, I had decided
to allow him 5 per cent for all sums borrowed and disbursed by him, and
of which decision I informed him. Mr. Tompkins has since stated to me
that this allowance will not indemnify him for his advances, loans,
expenditures, and losses in rendering those services, nor place him
on the footing of those who loaned money to the Government at that
interesting period. He has also expressed a desire that I would submit
the subject to the final decision of Congress, which I now do. In
adopting this measure I think proper to add that I concur fully in the
sentiments expressed by the committee in favor of the very patriotic and
valuable services which were rendered by Mr. Tompkins in the late war.

JAMES MONROE.



MARCH 28, 1824.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I herewith transmit a report of the Secretary of War, together with a
report from the Commissioner of the General Land Office, accompanied
by the necessary documents, communicating the information heretofore
requested by a resolution of the House in relation to the salt springs,
lead and copper mines, together with the probable value of each of them
and of the reservations attached to each, the extent to which they have
been worked, the advantages and proximity of each to navigable waters,
and the origin, nature, and extent of any claim made to them by
individuals or companies, which reports contain all the information
at present possessed on the subjects of the said resolution.

JAMES MONROE.



MARCH 30, 1824.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
14th instant, requesting information whether an advance of compensation
had been made to any of the commissioners who had been appointed for
the examination of titles and claims to land in Florida, and by what
authority such advance, if any, had been made, I transmit a report of
the Secretary of State, which contains the information desired.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _March 30, 1824_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to Congress certain papers enumerated in a report from the
Secretary of War, relating to the compact between the United States and
the State of Georgia entered into in 1802, whereby the latter ceded to
the former a portion of the territory then within its limits on the
conditions therein specified. By the fourth article of that compact
it was stipulated that the United States should at their own expense
extinguish for the use of Georgia the Indian title to all the lands
within the State as soon as it might be done _peaceably_ and on
_reasonable_ conditions. These papers show the measures adopted by the
Executive of the United States in fulfillment of the several conditions
of the compact from its date to the present time, and particularly the
negotiations and treaties with the Indian tribes for the extinguishment
of their title, with an estimate of the number of acres purchased and
sums paid for lands they acquired. They show also the state in which
this interesting concern now rests with the Cherokees, one of the tribes
within the State, and the inability of the Executive to make any further
movement with this tribe without the special sanction of Congress.

I have full confidence that my predecessors exerted their best endeavors
to execute this compact in all its parts, of which, indeed, the sums
paid and the lands acquired during their respective terms in fulfillment
of its several stipulations are a full proof. I have also been animated
since I came into this office with the same zeal, from an anxious
desire to meet the wishes of the State, and in the hope that by the
establishment of these tribes beyond the Mississippi their improvement
in civilization, their security and happiness would be promoted. By the
paper bearing date on the 30th of January last, which was communicated
to the chiefs of the Cherokee Nation in this city, who came to protest
against any further appropriations of money for holding treaties with
them, the obligation imposed on the United States by the compact with
Georgia to extinguish the Indian title to the right of soil within the
State, and the incompatibility with our system of their existence as
a distinct community within any State, were pressed with the utmost
earnestness. It was proposed to them at the same time to procure and
convey to them territory beyond the Mississippi in exchange for that
which they hold within the limits of Georgia, or to pay them for it its
value in money. To this proposal their answer, which bears date 11th of
February following, gives an unqualified refusal. By this it is manifest
that at the present time and in their present temper they can be removed
only by force, to which, should it be deemed proper, the power of the
Executive is incompetent.

I have no hesitation, however, to declare it as my opinion that the
Indian title was not affected in the slightest circumstance by the
compact with Georgia, and that there is no obligation on the United
States to remove the Indians by force. The express stipulation of the
compact that their title should be extinguished at the expense of the
United States when it may be done _peaceably_ and on _reasonable_
conditions is a full proof that it was the clear and distinct
understanding of both parties to it that the Indians had a right to
the territory, in the disposal of which they were to be regarded as
free agents. An attempt to remove them by force would, in my opinion,
be unjust. In the future measures to be adopted in regard to the Indians
within our limits, and, in consequence, within the limits of any State,
the United States have duties to perform and a character to sustain
to which they ought not to be indifferent. At an early period their
improvement in the arts of civilized life was made an object with the
Government, and that has since been persevered in. This policy was
dictated by motives of humanity to the aborigines of the country, and
under a firm conviction that the right to adopt and pursue it was
equally applicable to all the tribes within our limits.

My impression is equally strong that it would promote essentially the
security and happiness of the tribes within our limits if they could be
prevailed on to retire west and north of our States and Territories on
lands to be procured for them by the United States, in exchange for
those on which they now reside. Surrounded as they are, and pressed
as they will be, on every side by the white population, it will be
difficult if not impossible for them, with their kind of government, to
sustain order among them. Their interior will be exposed to frequent
disturbances, to remedy which the interposition of the United States
will be indispensable, and thus their government will gradually lose its
authority until it is annihilated. In this process the moral character
of the tribes will also be lost, since the change will be too rapid to
admit their improvement in civilization to enable them to institute and
sustain a government founded on our principles, if such a change were
compatible either with the compact with Georgia or with our general
system, or to become members of a State, should any State be willing
to adopt them in such numbers, regarding the good order, peace, and
tranquillity of such State. But all these evils may be avoided if these
tribes will consent to remove beyond the limits of our present States
and Territories. Lands equally good, and perhaps more fertile, may be
procured for them in those quarters. The relations between the United
States and such Indians would still be the same.

Considerations of humanity and benevolence, which have now great weight,
would operate in that event with an augmented force, since we should
feel sensibly the obligation imposed on us by the accommodation which
they thereby afforded us. Placed at ease, as the United States would
then be, the improvement of those tribes in civilization and in all
the arts and usages of civilized life would become the part of a general
system which might be adopted on great consideration, and in which every
portion of our Union would then take an equal interest. These views have
steadily been pursued by the Executive, and the moneys which have
been placed at its disposal have been so applied in the manner best
calculated, according to its judgment, to produce this desirable result,
as will appear by the documents which accompany the report of the
Secretary of War.

I submit this subject to the consideration of Congress under a high
sense of its importance and of the propriety of an early decision on it.
This compact gives a claim to the State which ought to be executed in
all its conditions with perfect good faith. In doing this, however, it
is the duty of the United States to regard its strict import, and to
make no sacrifice of their interest not called for by the compact nor
contemplated by either of the parties when it was entered into, nor
to commit any breach of right or of humanity in regard to the Indians
repugnant to the judgment and revolting to the feelings of the whole
American people. I submit the subject to your consideration, in full
confidence that you will duly weigh the obligations of the compact with
Georgia, its import in all its parts, and the extent to which the United
States are bound to go under it. I submit it with equal confidence that
you will also weigh the nature of the Indian title to the territory
within the limits of any State, with the stipulations in the several
treaties with this tribe respecting territory held by it within the
State of Georgia, and decide whether any measure on the part of Congress
is called for at the present time, and what such measure shall be if any
is deemed expedient.

JAMES MONROE.



APRIL 9, 1824.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I herewith transmit the report of the Secretary of War, with the
accompanying documents, containing the information requested by a
resolution of the House of the 10th ultimo, and which communicates
the accounts of all the generals of the Army, likewise of the
Inspector-General, the chiefs of the Engineer and Ordnance Corps, and
Surgeon-General for the two years preceding the 30th of September last;
also shewing the amount of money paid to each under the different heads
of pay, fuel, straw, quarters, transportation, and all other extra and
contingent allowances; which report, together with the statements
herewith transmitted, furnishes all the information required.

JAMES MONROE.



_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

The executive of Virginia having requested payment of the amount of
interest paid by the State for moneys borrowed and paid by it for
services rendered by the militia in the late war, and such claim not
being allowable according to the uniform decisions of the accounting
officers of the Government, I submit the subject to your consideration,
with a report from the Secretary of War and all the documents connected
with it.

The following are the circumstances on which this claim is founded:
From an early stage of the war the squadrons of the enemy entered
occasionally the Chesapeake Bay, and, menacing its shores and those of
the principal rivers emptying into it, subjected the neighboring militia
to calls from the local authorities for the defense of the parts thus
menaced. The pressure was most sensibly felt in 1814, after the attack
on this city and its capture, when the invading force, retiring to its
squadron, menaced alike Baltimore, Norfolk, and Richmond. The attack
on this city had induced a call by the Department of War for large
detachments of the militia of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia,
which, being collected in this quarter, and the enemy bearing, in the
first instance, on Baltimore, were ordered to its defense. As early
as the 31st of August notice was given by the Secretary of War to the
governor of Virginia of the position of the enemy and of the danger to
which Richmond as well as Norfolk and Baltimore were exposed, and he was
also authorized and enjoined to be on his guard, prepared at every point
and in every circumstance to meet and repel the invaders. This notice
was repeated several times afterwards, until the enemy left the bay and
moved to the south.

In the course of the war the State had augmented its taxes to meet the
pressure, but the funds being still inadequate, it borrowed money to a
considerable amount, which was applied to the payment of the militia for
the services thus rendered. The calls which had been made, except for
the brigades in this quarter and at Norfolk, being made by the State,
the settlement with those corps and the payment for their services were
made according to the rules and usage of the Department by the State
and not by the United States. On the settlement by the State, after the
peace, with the accounting officers of the Government the reimbursement
of the interest which the State had paid on the sums thus borrowed and
paid to the militia was claimed, but not allowed for the reason above
stated. It is this claim which I now submit to the consideration of
Congress.

It need scarcely be remarked that where a State advances money for the
use of the General Government for a purpose authorized by it that the
claim for the interest on the amount thus advanced, which has been paid
by the State, is reasonable and just. The claim is the stronger under
the circumstance which existed when those advances were made, it being
at a period of great difficulty, when the United States were compelled
to borrow very large sums for the prosecution of the war. Had the State
not borrowed this money the militia, whose services have been recognized
since by the nation, must have been disbanded and the State left without
defense.

The claim is, in my opinion, equally well founded where a State advances
money which it has in its treasury, or which it raises by taxes, to meet
the current demand.

In submitting this claim to your consideration it is proper to observe
that many other States have like claims with those of Virginia, and that
all those similarly circumstanced should be placed on the same footing.

I invite your attention to a principle which is deemed just, and with a
view that the provision which may be made respecting it may be extended
alike to all the States.

JAMES MONROE.

APRIL, 12, 1824.



APRIL, 16, 1824.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
8th of April, requesting information whether the fifth section of the
act of the 3d March, 1803, relating to a township of land lying within
John Cleves Symmes's patent, had been executed, and, if not, what
reasons had prevented it, I transmit a report from the Secretary of
the Treasury, which affords the information desired.

JAMES MONROE.



APRIL, 16, 1824.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives a report of the Secretary of
War, containing the information requested by a resolution of the House
dated 25th ultimo, shewing the reason why the engineers appointed to
examine the most suitable site for a national armory on the Western
waters have not made their report.

JAMES MONROE.



APRIL, 16, 1824.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I herewith transmit to the House of Representatives a report from
the Secretary of War, which contains the information requested by a
resolution of the 8th instant, respecting the proposals that were made
by certain Indians, therein described, of the Cherokee Nation for the
cession of their lands to the United States.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _April 18, 1824_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
13th instant, requesting a detailed account of the disbursement of the
sums appropriated by the acts of the 30th April, 1818, and of the 3d
March, 1819, for making certain improvements in the grounds connected
with the public offices and the President's house, I transmit a report
from the Commissioner of the Public Buildings, which contains the
information desired.

JAMES MONROE.



APRIL, 23, 1824.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In conformity with a resolution of the House of Representatives of
yesterday, I have received a copy of the proceedings of the committee to
whom was referred a communication from Ninian Edwards, lately appointed
a minister plenipotentiary to Mexico, in which it is decided that
his attendance in this city for the purpose of being examined by the
committee on matters contained in the said communication was requisite.
As soon as I was apprised that such a communication had been made to the
House, anticipating that the attendance of Mr. Edwards might be desired
for the purpose stated, I thought it proper that he should be informed
thereof, and instructed him not to proceed on his mission, but to await
such call as might be made on him either by the House or its committee,
and in consequence a letter was addressed to him to that effect by the
Secretary of State.

JAMES MONROE.



APRIL 27, 1824.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In conformity with the resolution of the Senate of the 19th instant,
requesting information whether the Executive, through the agency of
the War Department, borrowed any money during the late war, under the
condition of applying the same to the defense of the State wherein the
said loans were made, to what amount, and whether interest was paid by
the United States for such loans, etc., I herewith transmit a report
from the Secretary of War containing all the information in that
Department in relation to the resolution.

JAMES MONROE.



APRIL, 28, 1824.

_To the House of Representatives_:

The House of Representatives having referred back the accounts and
claims of Daniel D. Tompkins, late governor of New York, to be settled
on the principles established by the report of the committee and the law
founded on it in the last session I have reconsidered the subject, and
now communicate the result.

By the report of the committee, which it was understood was adopted by
the House, it was decided that his accounts and claims should be settled
on the four following principles:

First. That interest should be allowed him on all moneys advanced by
him for the public from the time of the advance to that of his being
reimbursed.

Second. That a reasonable commission should be allowed him on all moneys
disbursed by him during the late war.

Third. That an indemnity should be allowed for all losses which he had
sustained by the failure of the Government to fulfill its engagements
to send him money or Treasury notes within the time specified to be
deposited in certain banks as collateral security for loans procured
by him at the request and on account of the Government.

Fourth. That he should not be held responsible for losses incurred by
the frauds and failures of subagents to whom moneys were advanced
through his hands.

On the first, that of interest on his advances for the public, I have
allowed him $14,438.68. This allowance is made on advances admitted by
the accounting department, and on the declaration of Mr. Tompkins that
the remittances made to him, after his advances and previous to the
24th of December, 1814, when a very large sum was remitted to him, were
applied to public purposes and not to the reimbursement of his advances.

On the second head, that of a reasonable commission for his
disbursements during the late war, I have allowed him 5 per cent on
the whole sum disbursed by him, amounting to $92,213.13. I have made
him this extra allowance in consideration of the aid which he afforded
to the Government at that important epoch in obtaining the loan of a
considerable part of the sums thus disbursed.

On the third head, that of an indemnity for losses sustained by him in
consequence of the failure of the Government to fulfill its engagements
to send him money or Treasury notes within the time specified, I have
allowed him $4,411.25, being the amount of the loss sustained on the
sale of Treasury notes, for which he was responsible.

On the fourth head, that of losses sustained by him by any frauds or
failures of subagents, none such having been shewn no allowance whatever
has been made to him.

From the amount thus allowed to Mr. Tompkins after deducting the sum
paid him under the act of the present session and the moneys charged
to his account there will remain a balance due him of $60,238.46, as
appears by the sketch herewith communicated.

In making a final decision on Mr. Tompkins's claims a question arises,
Shall interest be allowed him on the amount of the commission on his
disbursements? The law of the last session grants to the President
a power to allow interest on moneys advanced by him to the public,
but does not authorize it on the commission to be allowed on his
disbursements. To make such allowance belongs exclusively to Congress.
Had his claims been settled at the end of the last war on the principles
established by the law of the last session a commission on disbursements
would then have been allowed him. This consideration operates with great
force in favor of the allowance of interest on that commission at this
time, which I recommend to Congress.

I think proper to add that the official relation which I bore to
Governor Tompkins at that very interesting epoch, under the highly
distinguished and meritorious citizen under whom we both served,
enabling me to feel very sensibly the value of his services, excites a
strong interest in his favor, which I deem it not improper to express.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _April 30, 1824_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate, for their constitutional advice with regard
to its ratification, a convention for the suppression of the African
slave trade, signed at London on the 13th ultimo by the minister of the
United States residing there on their part, with the plenipotentiaries
of the British Government on the part of that nation, together with
the correspondence relating thereto, a part of which is included in a
communication made to the House of Representatives on the 19th ultimo,
a printed copy of which is among the documents herewith sent.

Motives of accommodation to the wishes of the British Government
render it desirable that the Senate should act definitively upon
this convention as speedily as may be found convenient.

JAMES MONROE.



APRIL 30, 1824.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I communicate to the Senate a treaty entered into with the Cherokee
Nation as early as 1804, but which, owing to causes not now understood,
has never been carried into effect. Of the authenticity of the
transaction a report from the Secretary of War, with the documents
accompanying it, furnishes the most unquestionable proof. I submit it
to the Senate for its advice and consent as to the ratification.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _May 7, 1824_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I communicate herewith to the Senate a report from the Secretary
of State, with the documents relating to the present state of the
commercial intercourse between the United States and Portugal,
requested by the resolution of the Senate of the 13th ultimo.

JAMES MONROE.



MAY 11, 1824.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I herewith transmit to the House of Representatives a report of
the Secretary of War, containing the information called for by the
resolution of the 10th of March, requesting the names of all the
officers of the Army who have been brevetted, stating their lineal rank
and brevet rank, when brevetted, and the amount of money paid to each
and when paid, which report, with the accompanying documents, contains
the information desired.

JAMES MONROE.



MAY 13, 1824.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 15th of April, requesting the President to cause to be communicated
to the House a statement of the supplies which have been sent from the
United States to any ports of South America for the use of our squadron
in the Pacific Ocean, of the amount paid for such supplies, with the
names of the owners of the vessels, and other details therein specified,
I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Navy, which, with
the documents accompanying it, furnishes the information desired.

JAMES MONROE.



MAY 14, 1824.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I herewith transmit to the House of Representatives a report of the
Secretary of the Navy, together with the proceedings of a court-martial
lately held at Norfolk for the trial of Lieutenant Beverly Kennon, as
requested by a resolution of the House bearing date the 25th of April,
1824.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _May 18, 1824_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I communicate to the House a report, with accompanying documents,
received from Alexander Hamilton, one of the commissioners of land
titles in East Florida, deeming the statements therein contained to be
worthy of the particular attention of the House, and of a nature which
may, perhaps, require their interposition or that of both branches of
the Legislature.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _May 21, 1824_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

Apprehending from the delay in the decision that some difficulty exists
with the Senate respecting the ratification of the convention lately
concluded with the British Government for the suppression of the slave
trade by making it piratical, I deem it proper to communicate for your
consideration such views as appear to me to merit attention. Charged
as the Executive is, and as I have long been, with maintaining the
political relations between the United States and other nations, I
consider it my duty, in submitting for your advice and consent as to
the ratification any treaty or convention which has been agreed on
with another power, to explain, when the occasion requires it, all
the reasons which induced the measure. It is by such full and frank
explanation only that the Senate can be enabled to discharge the high
trust reposed in them with advantage to their country. Having the
instrument before them, with the views which guided the Executive in
forming it, the Senate will possess all the light necessary to a sound
decision.

By an act of Congress of 15th May, 1820, the slave trade, as described
by that act, was made piratical, and all such of our citizens as might
be found engaged in that trade were subjected, on conviction thereof
by the circuit courts of the United States, to capital punishment. To
communicate more distinctly the import of that act, I refer to its
fourth and fifth sections, which are in the following words:

  SEC. 4. _And be it further enacted_, That if any citizen of the United
  States, being of the crew or ship's company of any foreign ship or
  vessel engaged in the slave trade, or any person whatever, being of the
  crew or ship's company of any ship or vessel owned in the whole or part
  or navigated for or in behalf of any citizen or citizens of the United
  States, shall land from any such ship or vessel, and on any foreign
  shore seize any Negro or Mulatto not held to service or labor by the
  laws of either of the States or Territories of the United States, with
  intent to make such Negro or Mulatto a slave, or shall decoy or forcibly
  bring or carry, or shall receive, such Negro or Mulatto on board any
  such ship or vessel, with intent as aforesaid, such citizen or person
  shall be adjudged a pirate, and on conviction thereof before the circuit
  court of the United States for the district wherein he may be brought or
  found shall suffer death.

  SEC. 5. _And be it further enacted_, That if any citizen of the United
  States, being of the crew or ship's company of any foreign ship or
  vessel engaged in the slave trade, or any person whatever, being of the
  crew or ship's company of any ship or vessel owned wholly or in part, or
  navigated for or in behalf of, any citizen or citizens of the United
  States, shall forcibly confine or detain, or aid and abet in forcibly
  confining or detaining, on board such ship or vessel any Negro or
  Mulatto not held to service by the laws of either of the States or
  Territories of the United States, with intent to make such Negro or
  Mulatto a slave, or shall on board any such ship or vessel offer or
  attempt to sell as a slave any Negro or Mulatto not held to service as
  aforesaid, or shall on the high seas or anywhere on tide water transfer
  or deliver over to any other ship or vessel any Negro or Mulatto not
  held to service as aforesaid, with intent to make such Negro or mulatto
  a slave, or shall land or deliver on shore from on board any such ship
  or vessel any such Negro or mulatto, with intent to make sale of, or
  having previously sold such Negro or Mulatto as a slave, such citizen or
  person shall be adjudged a pirate, and on conviction thereof before the
  circuit court of the United States for the district wherein he may be
  brought or found shall suffer death.

And on the 28th February, 1823, the House of Representatives, by a
majority of 131 to 9, passed a resolution to the following effect:

  _Resolved_, That the President of the United States be requested to
  enter upon and prosecute from time to time such negotiations with the
  several maritime powers of Europe and America as he may deem expedient
  for the effectual abolition of the African slave trade and its ultimate
  denunciation as piracy under the law of nations, by the consent of the
  civilized world.

By the act of Congress above referred to, whereby the most effectual
means that could be devised were adopted for the extirpation of the
slave trade, the wish of the United States was explicitly declared, that
all nations might concur in a similar policy. It could only be by such
concurrence that the great object could be accomplished, and it was by
negotiation and treaty alone that such concurrence could be obtained,
commencing with one power and extending it to others. The course,
therefore, which the Executive, who had concurred in the act, had to
pursue was distinctly marked out for it. Had there, however, been any
doubt respecting it, the resolution of the House of Representatives,
the branch which might with strict propriety express its opinion, could
not fail to have removed it.

By the tenth article of the treaty of peace between the United States
and Great Britain, concluded at Ghent, it was stipulated that both
parties should use their best endeavors to accomplish the abolition
of the African slave trade. This object has been accordingly pursued
by both Governments with great earnestness, by separate acts of
legislation, and by negotiation almost uninterrupted, with the purpose
of establishing a conceit between them in some measure which might
secure its accomplishment.

Great Britain in her negotiations with other powers had concluded
treaties with Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, in which, without
constituting the crime as piracy or classing it with crimes of that
denomination, the parties had conceded to the naval officers of each
other the right of search and capture of the vessels of either that
might be engaged in the slave trade, and had instituted courts
consisting of judges, subjects of both parties, for the trial of the
vessels so captured.

In the negotiations with the United States Great Britain had earnestly
and repeatedly pressed on them the adoption of similar provisions.
They had been resisted by the Executive on two grounds: One, that
the constitution of mixed tribunals was incompatible with their
Constitution; and the other, that the concession of the right of search
in time of peace for an offense not piratical would be repugnant to the
feelings of the nation and of dangerous tendency. The right of search is
the right of war of the belligerent toward the neutral. To extend it in
time of peace to any object whatever might establish a precedent which
might lead to others with some powers, and which, even if confined to
the instance specified, might be subject to great abuse.

Animated by an ardent desire to suppress this trade, the United States
took stronger ground by making it, by the act above referred to,
piratical, a measure more adequate to the end and free from many of
the objections applicable to the plan which had been proposed to them.
It is this alternative which the Executive, under the sanction and
injunctions above stated, offered to the British Government, and which
that Government has accepted. By making the crime piracy the right of
search attaches to the crime, and which when adopted by all nations will
be common to all; and that it will be so adopted may fairly be presumed
if steadily persevered in by the parties to the present convention. In
the meantime, and with a view to a fair experiment, the obvious course
seems to be to carry into effect with every power such treaty as may be
made with each in succession.

In presenting this alternative to the British Government it was made
an indispensable condition that the trade should be made piratical
by act of Parliament, as it had been by an act of Congress. This was
provided for in the convention, and has since been complied with. In
this respect, therefore, the nations rest on the same ground. Suitable
provisions have also been adopted to protect each party from the abuse
of the power granted to the public ships of the other. Instead of
subjecting the persons detected in the slave trade to trial by the
courts of the captors, as would be the case if such trade was piracy by
the laws of nations, it is stipulated that until that event they shall
be tried by the courts of their own country only. Hence there could be
no motive for an abuse of the right of search, since such abuse could
not fail to terminate to the injury of the captor.

Should this convention be adopted, there is every reason to believe
that it will be the commencement of a system destined to accomplish the
entire abolition of the slave trade. Great Britain, by making it her
own, confessedly adopted at the suggestion of the United States, and
being pledged to propose and urge its adoption by other nations in
concert with the United States, will find it for her interest to abandon
the less-effective system of her previous treaties with Spain, Portugal,
and the Netherlands, and to urge on those and other powers their
accession to this. The crime will then be universally proscribed as
piracy, and the traffic be suppressed forever.

Other considerations of high importance urge the adoption of this
convention. We have at this moment pending with Great Britain sundry
other negotiations intimately connected with the welfare and even the
peace of our Union. In one of them nearly a third part of the territory
of the State of Maine is in contestation. In another the navigation of
the St. Lawrence, the admission of consuls into the British islands, and
a system of commercial intercourse between the United States and all the
British possessions in this hemisphere are subjects of discussion. In a
third our territorial and other rights upon the northwest coast are to
be adjusted, while a negotiation on the same interest is opened with
Russia. In a fourth all the most important controvertible points of
maritime law in time of war are brought under consideration, and in
the fifth the whole system of South American concerns, connected with
a general recognition of South American independence, may again from
hour to hour become, as it has already been, an object of concerted
operations of the highest interest to both nations and to the peace
of the world.

It can not be disguised that the rejection of this convention can not
fail to have a very injurious influence on the good understanding
between the two Governments on all these points. That it would place
the Executive Administration under embarrassment, and subject it, the
Congress, and the nation to the charge of insincerity respecting the
great result of the final suppression of the slave trade, and that
its first and indispensable consequence will be to constrain the
Executive to suspend all further negotiation with every European and
American power to which overtures have been made in compliance with the
resolution of the House of Representatives of 28th February, 1823, must
be obvious. To invite all nations, with the statute of piracy in our
hands, to adopt its principles as the law of nations and yet to deny
to all the common right of search for the pirate, whom it would be
impossible to detect without entering and searching the vessel, would
expose us not simply to the charge of inconsistency.

It must be obvious that the restriction of search for pirates to the
African coast is incompatible with the idea of such a crime. It is
not doubted also if the convention is adopted that no example of the
commission of that crime by the citizens or subjects of either power
will ever occur again. It is believed, therefore, that this right as
applicable to piracy would not only extirpate the trade, but prove
altogether innocent in its operation.

In further illustration of the views of Congress on this subject, I
transmit to the Senate extracts from two resolutions of the House of
Representatives, one of the 9th February, 1821, the other of 12th April,
1822. I transmit also a letter from the charge d'affaires of the British
Government, which shows the deep interest which that Government takes
in the ratification of the treaty.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON CITY, _May 22, 1824_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives a report of the Secretary of
the Navy, in compliance with their resolution of the 14th of April last,
respecting prize agents, which report contains the information
requested.

JAMES MONROE.



MAY 24, 1824.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
13th instant, requesting the President to communicate any information
he may possess in relation to the intercourse and trade now carried on
between the people of the United States (and particularly the people
of the State of Missouri) and the Mexican Provinces, how and by what
route that trade or intercourse is carried on, in what it consists, the
distances, etc., the nations of Indians through which it passes, their
dispositions, whether pacific or otherwise, the advantages resulting or
likely to result from that trade or intercourse, I herewith transmit
a communication from the Department of State, which contains all the
information which has yet been collected in relation to those subjects.

JAMES MONROE.



MAY 24, 1824.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the 20th instant, I transmit
herewith to the House of Representatives a report of David Shriver,
superintendent of the Cumberland road, stating the manner in which the
appropriation made at the last session for the repair of that road has
been expended, and also the present condition of the road.

JAMES MONROE.




EIGHTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.


WASHINGTON, _December 7, 1824_.

_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:

The view which I have now to present to you of our affairs, foreign and
domestic, realizes the most sanguine anticipations which have been
entertained of the public prosperity. If we look to the whole, our
growth as a nation continues to be rapid beyond example; if to the
States which compose it, the same gratifying spectacle is exhibited.
Our expansion over the vast territory within our limits has been
great, without indicating any decline in those sections from which the
emigration has been most conspicuous. We have daily gained strength by
a native population in every quarter--a population devoted to our happy
system of government and cherishing the bond of union with fraternal
affection. Experience has already shewn that the difference of climate
and of industry, proceeding from that cause, inseparable from such vast
domains, and which under other systems might have a repulsive tendency,
can not fail to produce with us under wise regulations the opposite
effect. What one portion wants the other may supply; and this will be
most sensibly felt by the parts most distant from each other, forming
thereby a domestic market and an active intercourse between the extremes
and throughout every portion of our Union. Thus by a happy distribution
of power between the National and State Governments, Governments which
rest exclusively on the sovereignty of the people and are fully adequate
to the great purposes for which they were respectively instituted,
causes which might otherwise lead to dismemberment operate powerfully
to draw us closer together. In every other circumstance a correct view
of the actual state of our Union must be equally gratifying to our
constituents. Our relations with foreign powers are of a friendly
character, although certain interesting differences remain unsettled
with some. Our revenue under the mild system of impost and tonnage
continues to be adequate to all the purposes of the Government Our
agriculture, commerce, manufactures, and navigation flourish. Our
fortifications are advancing in the degree authorized by existing
appropriations to maturity, and due progress is made in the augmentation
of the Navy to the limit prescribed for it by law. For these blessings
we owe to Almighty God, from whom we derive them, and with profound
reverence, our most grateful and unceasing acknowledgments.

In adverting to our relations with foreign powers, which are always
an object of the highest importance, I have to remark that of the
subjects which have been brought into discussion with them during the
present Administration some have been satisfactorily terminated, others
have been suspended, to be resumed hereafter under circumstances more
favorable to success, and others are still in negotiation, with the hope
that they may be adjusted with mutual accommodation to the interests
and to the satisfaction of the respective parties. It has been the
invariable object of this Government to cherish the most friendly
relations with every power, and on principles and conditions which might
make them permanent. A systematic effort has been made to place our
commerce with each power on a footing of perfect reciprocity, to settle
with each in a spirit of candor and liberality all existing differences,
and to anticipate and remove so far as it might be practicable all
causes of future variance.

It having been stipulated by the seventh article of the convention of
navigation and commerce which was concluded on the 24th of June, 1822,
between the United States and France, that the said convention should
continue in force for two years from the 1st of October of that year,
and for an indefinite term afterwards, unless one of the parties should
declare its intention to renounce it, in which event it should cease
to operate at the end of six months from such declaration, and no
such intention having been announced, the convention having been
found advantageous to both parties, it has since remained, and still
remains, in force. At the time when that convention was concluded many
interesting subjects were left unsettled, and particularly our claim to
indemnity for spoliations which were committed on our commerce in the
late wars. For these interests and claims it was in the contemplation
of the parties to make provision at a subsequent day by a more
comprehensive and definitive treaty. The object has been duly attended
to since by the Executive, but as yet it has not been accomplished. It
is hoped that a favorable opportunity will present itself for opening
a negotiation which may embrace and arrange all existing differences
and every other concern in which they have a common interest upon the
accession of the present King of France, an event which has occurred
since the close of the last session of Congress.

With Great Britain our commercial intercourse rests on the same footing
that it did at the last session. By the convention of 1815 the commerce
between the United States and the British dominions in Europe and the
East Indies was arranged on a principle of reciprocity. That convention
was confirmed and continued in force, with slight exceptions, by a
subsequent treaty for the term of ten years from the 20th of October,
1818, the date of the latter. The trade with the British colonies in the
West Indies has not as yet been arranged, by treaty or otherwise, to our
satisfaction. An approach to that result has been made by legislative
acts, whereby many serious impediments which had been raised by the
parties in defense of their respective claims were removed. An earnest
desire exists, and has been manifested on the part of this Government,
to place the commerce with the colonies, likewise, on a footing of
reciprocal advantage, and it is hoped that the British Government,
seeing the justice of the proposal and its importance to the colonies,
will ere long accede to it.

The commissioners who were appointed for the adjustment of the boundary
between the territories of the United States and those of Great Britain,
specified in the fifth article of the treaty of Ghent, having disagreed
in their decision, and both Governments having agreed to establish that
boundary by amicable negotiation between them, it is hoped that it may
be satisfactorily adjusted in that mode. The boundary specified by the
sixth article has been established by the decision of the commissioners.
From the progress made in that provided for by the seventh, according to
a report recently received, there is good cause to presume that it will
be settled in the course of the ensuing year.

It is a cause of serious regret that no arrangement has yet been finally
concluded between the two Governments to secure by joint cooperation
the suppression of the slave trade. It was the object of the British
Government in the early stages of the negotiation to adopt a plan for
the suppression which should include the concession of the mutual right
of search by the ships of war of each party of the vessels of the other
for suspected offenders. This was objected to by this Government on
the principle that as the right of search was a right of war of a
belligerent toward a neutral power it might have an ill effect to extend
it by treaty, to an offense which had been made comparatively mild, to
a time of peace. Anxious however, for the suppression of this trade,
it was thought advisable, in compliance with a resolution of the House
of Representatives, founded on an act of Congress, to propose to the
British Government an expedient which should be free from that objection
and more effectual for the object, by making it piratical. In that
mode the enormity of tho crime would place the offenders out of the
protection of their Government, and involve no question of search or
other question between the parties touching their respective rights.
It was believed, also, that it would completely suppress the trade
in the vessels of both parties, and by their respective citizens and
subjects in those of other powers, with whom it was hoped that the odium
which would thereby be attached to it would produce a corresponding
arrangement, and by means thereof its entire extirpation forever. A
convention to this effect was concluded and signed in London on the
13th day of March, 1824, by plenipotentiaries duly authorized by both
Governments, to the ratification of which certain obstacles have arisen
which are not yet entirely removed. The difference between the parties
still remaining has been reduced to a point not of sufficient magnitude,
as is presumed, to be permitted to defeat an object so near to the heart
of both nations and so desirable to the friends of humanity throughout
the world. As objections, however, to the principle recommended by the
House of Representatives, or at least to the consequences inseparable
from it, and which are understood to apply to the law, have been raised,
which may deserve a reconsideration of the whole subject, I have thought
it proper to suspend the conclusion of a new convention until the
definitive sentiments of Congress may be ascertained. These documents
relating to the negotiation are with that intent submitted to your
consideration.

Our commerce with Sweden has been placed on a footing of perfect
reciprocity by treaty, and with Russia, the Netherlands, Prussia,
the free Hanseatic cities, the Dukedom of Oldenburg, and Sardinia by
internal regulations on each side, founded on mutual agreement between
the respective Governments.

The principles upon which the commercial policy of the United States
is founded are to be traced to an early period. They are essentially
connected with those upon which their independence was declared, and
owe their origin to the enlightened men who took the lead in our
affairs at that important epoch. They are developed in their first
treaty of commerce with France of 6th February, 1778, and by a formal
commission which was instituted immediately after the conclusion of
their Revolutionary struggle, for the purpose of negotiating treaties
of commerce with every European power. The first treaty of the United
States with Prussia, which was negotiated by that commission, affords
a signal illustration of those principles. The act of Congress of the
3d March. 1815. adopted immediately after the return of a general peace,
was a new overture to foreign nations to establish our commercial
relations with them on the basis of free and equal reciprocity. That
principle has pervaded all the acts of Congress and all the negotiations
of the Executive on the subject since.

A convention for the settlement of important questions in relation
to the northwest coast of this continent and its adjoining seas was
concluded and signed at St. Petersburg on the 5th day of April last by
the minister plenipotentiary of the United States and plenipotentiaries
of the Imperial Government of Russia. It will immediately be laid before
the Senate for the exercise of the constitutional authority of that body
with reference to its ratification. It is proper to add that the manner
in which this negotiation was invited and conducted on the part of the
Emperor has been very satisfactory.

The great and extraordinary changes which have happened in the
Governments of Spain and Portugal within the last two years, without
seriously affecting the friendly relations which under all of them
have been maintained with those powers by the United States, have been
obstacles to the adjustment of the particular subjects of discussion
which have arisen with each. A resolution of the Senate adopted at their
last session called for information as to the effect produced upon our
relations with Spain by the recognition on the part of the United States
of the independent South American Governments. The papers containing
that information are now communicated to Congress.

A charge d'affaires has been received from the independent Government of
Brazil. That country, heretofore a colonial possession of Portugal, had
some years since been proclaimed by the Sovereign of Portugal himself an
independent Kingdom. Since his return to Lisbon a revolution in Brazil
has established a new Government there with an imperial title, at the
head of which is placed a prince, in whom the regency had been vested by
the King at the time of his departure. There is reason to expect that by
amicable negotiation the independence of Brazil will ere long be
recognized by Portugal herself.

With the remaining powers of Europe, with those on the coast of Barbary,
and with all the new South American States our relations are of a
friendly character. We have ministers plenipotentiary residing with the
Republics of Colombia and Chile, and have received ministers of the same
rank from Colombia, Guatemala, Buenos Ayres, and Mexico. Our commercial
relations with all those States are mutually beneficial and increasing.
With the Republic of Colombia a treaty of commerce has been formed, of
which a copy is received and the original daily expected. A negotiation
for a like treaty would have been commenced with Buenos Ayres had it not
been prevented by the indisposition and lamented decease of Mr. Rodney,
our minister there, and to whose memory the most respectful attention
has been shewn by the Government of that Republic. An advantageous
alteration in our treaty with Tunis has been obtained by our consular
agent residing there, the official document of which when received will
be laid before the Senate.

The attention of the Government has been drawn with great solicitude
to other subjects, and particularly to that relating to a state of
maritime war, involving the relative rights of neutral and belligerent
in such wars. Most of the difficulties which we have experienced and of
the losses which we have sustained since the establishment of our
independence have proceeded from the unsettled state of those rights and
the extent to which the belligerent claim has been carried against the
neutral party. It is impossible to look back on the occurrences of the
late wars in Europe, and to behold the disregard which was paid to our
rights as a neutral power, and the waste which was made of our commerce
by the parties to those wars by various acts of their respective
Governments, and under the pretext by each that the other had set the
example, without great mortification and a fixed purpose never to submit
to the like in future. An attempt to remove those causes of possible
variance by friendly negotiation and on just principles which should
be applicable to all parties could, it was presumed, be viewed by none
other than as a proof of an earnest desire to preserve those relations
with every power. In the late war between France and Spain a crisis
occurred in which it seemed probable that all the controvertible
principles involved in such wars might be brought into discussion and
settled to the satisfaction of all parties. Propositions having this
object in view have been made to the Governments of Great Britain,
France, Russia, and of other powers, which have been received in a
friendly manner by all, but as yet no treaty has been formed with either
for its accomplishment. The policy will, it is presumed, be persevered
in, and in the hope that it may be successful.

It will always be recollected that with one of the parties to those
wars, and from whom we received those injuries, we sought redress by
war. From the other, by whose then reigning Government our vessels
were seized in port as well as at sea and their cargoes confiscated,
indemnity has been expected, but has not yet been tendered. It was under
the influence of the latter that our vessels were likewise seized by
the Governments of Spain, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, and Naples, and
from whom indemnity has been claimed and is still expected, with the
exception of Spain, by whom it has been rendered. With both parties we
had abundant cause of war, but we had no alternative but to resist that
which was most powerful at sea and pressed us nearest at home. With this
all differences were settled by a treaty, founded on conditions fair and
honorable to both, and which has been so far executed with perfect good
faith. It has been earnestly hoped that the other would of its own
accord, and from a sentiment of justice and conciliation, make to our
citizens the indemnity to which they are entitled, and thereby remove
from our relations any just cause of discontent on our side.

It is estimated that the receipts into the Treasury during the current
year, exclusive of loans, will exceed $18,500,000, which, with the sum
remaining in the Treasury at the end of the last year, amounting to
$9.463,922.81, will, after discharging the current disbursements of the
year, the interest on the public debt, and upward of $11,633,011.52 of
the principal, leave a balance of more than $3,000,000 in the Treasury
on the 1st day of January next.

A larger amount of the debt contracted during the late war, bearing an
interest of 6 per cent, becoming redeemable in the course of the ensuing
year than could be discharged by the ordinary revenue, the act of the
26th of May authorized a loan of $5,000,000 at 4-1/2 per cent to meet
the same. By this arrangement an annual saving will accrue to the public
of $75,000.

Under the act of the 24th of May last a loan of $5,000,000 was
authorized, in order to meet the awards under the Florida treaty,
which was negotiated at par with the Bank of the United States at 4-1/2
percent, the limit of interest fixed by the act. By this provision the
claims of our citizens who had sustained so great a loss by spoliations,
and from whom indemnity had been so long withheld, were promptly paid.
For these advances the public will be amply repaid at no distant day by
the sale of the lands in Florida. Of the great advantages resulting from
the acquisition of the Territory in other respects too high an estimate
can not be formed.

It is estimated that the receipts into the Treasury during the year
1825 will be sufficient to meet the disbursements of the year,
including the sum of $10,000,000, which is annually appropriated by
the act constituting the sinking fund to the payment of the principal
and interest of the public debt.

The whole amount of the public debt on the 1st of January next may be
estimated at $86,000,000, inclusive of $2,500,000 of the loan authorized
by the act of the 26th of May last. In this estimate is included a stock
of $7,000,000, issued for the purchase of that amount of the capital
stock of the Bank of the United States, and which, as the stock of the
bank still held by the Government will at least be fully equal to its
reimbursement, ought not to be considered as constituting a part of the
public debt. Estimating, then, the whole amount of the public debt at
$79,000,000 and regarding the annual receipts and expenditures of the
Government, a well-founded hope may be entertained that, should no
unexpected event occur, the whole of the public debt may be discharged
in the course of ten years, and the Government be left at liberty
thereafter to apply such portion of the revenue as may not be necessary
for current expenses to such other objects as may be most conducive
to the public security and welfare. That the sums applicable to these
objects will be very considerable may be fairly concluded when it is
recollected that a large amount of the public revenue has been applied
since the late war to the construction of the public buildings in this
city; to the erection of fortifications along the coast and of arsenals
in different parts of the Union; to the augmentation of the Navy; to the
extinguishment of the Indian title to large tracts of fertile territory;
to the acquisition of Florida; to pensions to Revolutionary officers and
soldiers, and to invalids of the late war. On many of these objects the
expense will annually be diminished and cease at no distant period on
most of them. On the 1st of January, 1817, the public debt amounted
to $123,491,965.16, and, notwithstanding the large sums which have
been applied to these objects, it has been reduced since that period
$37,446,961.78. The last portion of the public debt will be redeemable
on the 1st of January, 1835, and while there is the best reason to
believe that the resources of the Government will be continually
adequate to such portions of it as may become due in the interval, it
is recommended to Congress to seize every opportunity which may present
itself to reduce the rate of interest on every part thereof. The high
state of the public credit and the great abundance of money are at this
time very favorable to such a result. It must be very gratifying to our
fellow-citizens to witness this flourishing state of the public finances
when it is recollected that no burthen whatever has been imposed upon
them.

The military establishment in all its branches, in the performance of
the various duties assigned to each, justifies the favorable view which
was presented of the efficiency of its organization at the last session.
All the appropriations have been regularly applied to the objects
intended by Congress, and so far as the disbursements have been made the
accounts have been rendered and settled without loss to the public.
The condition of the Army itself, as relates to the officers and men,
in science and discipline is highly respectable. The Military Academy,
on which the Army essentially rests, and to which it is much indebted
for this state of improvement, has attained, in comparison with any
other institution of a like kind, a high degree of perfection.
Experience, however, has shewn that the dispersed condition of the corps
of artillery is unfavorable to the discipline of that important branch
of the military establishment. To remedy this inconvenience, eleven
companies have been assembled at the fortification erected at Old Point
Comfort as a school for artillery instruction, with intention as they
shall be perfected in the various duties of that service to order them
to other posts, and to supply their places with other companies for
instruction in like manner. In this mode a complete knowledge of the
science and duties of this arm will be extended throughout the whole
corps of artillery.-But to carry this object fully into effect will
require the aid of Congress, to obtain which the subject is now
submitted to your consideration.

Of the progress which has been made in the construction of
fortifications for the permanent defense of our maritime frontier,
according to the plan decided on and to the extent of the existing
appropriations, the report of the Secretary of War, which is herewith
communicated, will give a detailed account. Their final completion can
not fail to give great additional security to that frontier, and to
diminish proportionably the expense of defending it in the event of war.

The provisions in the several acts of Congress of the last session for
the improvement of the navigation of the Mississippi and the Ohio, of
the harbor of Presqu'isle, on Lake Erie, and the repair of the Plymouth
beach are in a course of regular execution; and there is reason to
believe that the appropriation in each instance will be adequate
to the object. To carry these improvements fully into effect, the
superintendence of them has been assigned to officers of the Corps
of Engineers.

Under the act of 30th April last, authorizing the President to cause a
survey to be made, with the necessary plans and estimates, of such roads
and canals as he might deem of national importance in a commercial or
military point of view, or for the transportation of the mail, a board
has been instituted, consisting of two distinguished officers of the
Corps of Engineers and a distinguished civil engineer, with assistants,
who have been actively employed in carrying into effect the object of
the act. They have carefully examined the route between the Potomac and
the Ohio rivers; between the latter and Lake Erie; between the Alleghany
and the Susquehannah; and the routes between the Delaware and the
Raritan, Barnstable and Buzzards Bay, and between Boston Harbor and
Narraganset Bay. Such portion of the Corps of Topographical Engineers
as could be spared from the survey of the coast has been employed in
surveying the very important route between the Potomac and the Ohio.
Considerable progress has been made in it, but the survey can not be
completed until the next season. It is gratifying to add, from the view
already taken, that there is good cause to believe that this great
national object may be fully accomplished.

It is contemplated to commence early in the next season the execution of
the other branch of the act--that which relates to roads--and with the
survey of a route from this city, through the Southern States, to New
Orleans, the importance of which can not be too highly estimated. All
the officers of both the corps of engineers who could be spared from
other services have been employed in exploring and surveying the routes
for canals. To digest a plan for both objects for the great purposes
specified will require a thorough knowledge of every part of our Union
and of the relation of each part to the others and of all to the seat of
the General Government. For such a digest it will be necessary that the
information be full, minute, and precise. With a view to these important
objects, I submit to the consideration of the Congress the propriety of
enlarging both the corps of engineers--the military and topographical.
It need scarcely be remarked that the more extensively these corps are
engaged in the improvement of their country, in the execution of the
powers of Congress, and in aid of the States in such improvements as lie
beyond that limit, when such aid is desired, the happier the effect will
be in many views of which the subject is susceptible. By profiting of
their science the works will always be well executed, and by giving to
the officers such employment our Union will derive all the advantage, in
peace as well as in war, from their talents and services which they can
afford. In this mode, also, the military will be incorporated with the
civil, and unfounded and injurious distinctions and prejudices of every
kind be done away. To the corps themselves this service can not fail to
be equally useful, since by the knowledge they would thus acquire they
would be eminently better qualified in the event of war for the great
purposes for which they were instituted.

Our relations with the Indian tribes within our limits have not been
materially changed during the year. The hostile disposition evinced by
certain tribes on the Missouri during the last year still continues,
and has extended in some degree to those on the Upper Mississippi and
the Upper Lakes. Several parties of our citizens have been plundered
and murdered by those tribes. In order to establish relations of
friendship with them, Congress at the last session made an appropriation
for treaties with them and for the employment of a suitable military
escort to accompany and attend the commissioners at the places appointed
for the negotiations. This object has not been effected. The season
was too far advanced when the appropriation was made and the distance
too great to permit it, but measures have been taken, and all the
preparations will be completed to accomplish it at an early period
in the next season.

Believing that the hostility of the tribes, particularly on the Upper
Mississippi and the Lakes, is in no small degree owing to the wars which
are carried on between the tribes residing in that quarter, measures
have been taken to bring about a general peace among them, which, if
successful, will not only tend to the security of our citizens, but
be of great advantage to the Indians themselves.

With the exception of the tribes referred to, our relations with all
the others are on the same friendly footing, and it affords me great
satisfaction to add that they are making steady advances in civilization
and the improvement of their condition. Many of the tribes have already
made great progress in the arts of civilized life. This desirable result
has been brought about by the humane and persevering policy of the
Government, and particularly by means of the appropriation for the
civilization of the Indians. There have been established under the
provisions of this act 32 schools, containing 916 scholars, who are
well instructed in several branches of literature, and likewise in
agriculture and the ordinary arts of life.

Under the appropriation to authorize treaties with the Creeks and
Quaupaw Indians commissioners have been appointed and negotiations
are now pending, but the result is not yet known.

For more full information respecting the principle which has been
adopted for carrying into effect the act of Congress authorizing
surveys, with plans and estimates for canals and roads, and on every
other branch of duty incident to the Department of War. I refer you
to the report of the Secretary.

The squadron in the Mediterranean has been maintained in the extent
which was proposed in the report of the Secretary of the Navy of the
last year, and has afforded to our commerce the necessary protection
in that sea. Apprehending, however, that the unfriendly relations which
have existed between Algiers and some of the powers of Europe might
be extended to us, it has been thought expedient to augment the force
there, and in consequence the _North Carolina_, a ship of the line,
has been prepared, and will sail in a few days to join it.

The force employed in the Gulf of Mexico and in the neighboring seas
for the suppression of piracy has likewise been preserved essentially in
the state in which it was during the last year. A persevering effort has
been made for the accomplishment of that object, and much protection has
thereby been afforded to our commerce, but still the practice is far
from being suppressed. From every view which has been taken of the
subject it is thought that it will be necessary rather to augment than
to diminish our force in that quarter. There is reason to believe that
the piracies now complained of are committed by bands of robbers who
inhabit the land, and who, by preserving good intelligence with the
towns and seizing favorable opportunities, rush forth and fall on
unprotected merchant vessels, of which they make an easy prey. The
pillage thus taken they carry to their lurking places, and dispose of
afterwards at prices tending to seduce the neighboring population. This
combination is understood to be of great extent, and is the more to be
deprecated because the crime of piracy is often attended with the murder
of the crews, these robbers knowing if any survived their lurking places
would be exposed and they be caught and punished. That this atrocious
practice should be carried to such extent is cause of equal surprise and
regret. It is presumed that it must be attributed to the relaxed and
feeble state of the local governments, since it is not doubted, from
the high character of the governor of Cuba, who is well known and much
respected here, that if he had the power he would promptly suppress
it. Whether those robbers should be pursued on the land, the local
authorities be made responsible for these atrocities, or any other
measure be resorted to to suppress them, is submitted to the
consideration of Congress.

In execution of the laws for the suppression of the slave trade a vessel
has been occasionally sent from that squadron to the coast of Africa
with orders to return thence by the usual track of the slave ships, and
to seize any of our vessels which might be engaged in that trade. None
have been found, and it is believed that none are thus employed. It is
well known, however, that the trade still exists under other flags.

The health of our squadron while at Thompsons Island has been much
better during the present than it was the last season. Some improvements
have been made and others are contemplated there which, it is believed,
will have a very salutary effect.

On the Pacific our commerce has much increased, and on that coast, as
well as on that seas the United States have many important interests
which require attention and protection. It is thought that all the
considerations which suggested the expediency of placing a squadron
on that sea operate with augmented force for maintaining it there, at
least in equal extent.

For detailed information respecting the state of our maritime force
on each sea, the improvement necessary to be made on either in the
organization of the naval establishment generally, and of the laws for
its better government I refer you to the report of the Secretary of the
Navy, which is herewith communicated.

The revenue of the Post-Office Department has received a considerable
augmentation in the present year. The current receipts will exceed the
expenditures, although the transportation of the mail within the year
has been much increased. A report of the Postmaster-General, which is
transmitted, will furnish in detail the necessary information respecting
the administration and present state of this Department.

In conformity with a resolution of Congress of the last session, an
invitation was given to General Lafayette to visit the United States,
with an assurance that a ship of war should attend at any port of France
which he might designate, to receive and convey him across the Atlantic,
whenever it might be convenient for him to sail. He declined the offer
of the public ship from motives of delicacy, but assured me that he
had long intended and would certainly visit our Union in the course of
the present year. In August last he arrived at New York, where he was
received with the warmth of affection and gratitude to which his very
important and disinterested services and sacrifices in our Revolutionary
struggle so eminently entitled him. A corresponding sentiment has since
been manifested in his favor throughout every portion of our Union, and
affectionate invitations have been given him to extend his visits to
them. To these he has yielded all the accommodation in his power.
At every designated point of rendezvous the whole population of the
neighboring country has been assembled to greet him, among whom it
has excited in a peculiar manner the sensibility of all to behold the
surviving members of our Revolutionary contest, civil and military, who
had shared with him in the toils and dangers of the war, many of them
in a decrepit state. A more interesting spectacle, it is believed, was
never witnessed, because none could be founded on purer principles, none
proceed from higher or more disinterested motives. That the feelings
of those who had fought and bled with him in a common cause should
have been much excited was natural. There are, however, circumstances
attending these interviews which pervaded the whole community and
touched the breasts of every age, even the youngest among us. There
was not an individual present who had not some relative who had not
partaken in those scenes, nor an infant who had not heard the relation
of them. But the circumstance which was most sensibly felt, and which
his presence brought forcibly to the recollection of all, was the great
cause in which we were engaged and the blessings which we have derived
from our success in it. The struggle was for independence and liberty,
public and personal, and in this we succeeded. The meeting with one who
had borne so distinguished a part in that great struggle, and from such
lofty and disinterested motives, could not fail to affect profoundly
every individual and of every age. It is natural that we should all take
a deep interest in his future welfare, as we do. His high claims on our
Union are felt, and the sentiment universal that they should be met in
a generous spirit. Under these impressions I invite your attention to
the subject, with a view that, regarding his very important services,
losses, and sacrifices, a provision may be made and tendered to him
which shall correspond with the sentiments and be worthy the character
of the American people.

In turning our attention to the condition of the civilized world,
in which the United States have always taken a deep interest, it is
gratifying to see how large a portion of it is blessed with peace.
The only wars which now exist within that limit are those between
Turkey and Greece, in Europe, and between Spain and the new Governments,
our neighbors, in this hemisphere. In both these wars the cause of
independence, of liberty and humanity, continues to prevail. The success
of Greece, when the relative population of the contending parties is
considered, commands our admiration and applause, and that it has had a
similar effect with the neighboring powers is obvious. The feeling of
the whole civilized world is excited in a high degree in their favor.
May we not hope that these sentiments, winning on the hearts of their
respective Governments, may lead to a more decisive result; that they
may produce an accord among them to replace Greece on the ground which
she formerly held, and to which her heroic exertions at this day so
eminently entitle her?

With respect to the contest to which our neighbors are a party, it is
evident that Spain as a power is scarcely felt in it. These new States
had completely achieved their independence before it was acknowledged by
the United States, and they have since maintained it with little foreign
pressure. The disturbances which have appeared in certain portions of
that vast territory have proceeded from internal causes, which had their
origin in their former Governments and have not yet been thoroughly
removed. It is manifest that these causes are daily losing their effect,
and that these new States are settling down under Governments elective
and representative in every branch, similar to our own. In this course
we ardently wish them to persevere, under a firm conviction that it will
promote their happiness. In this, their career, however, we have not
interfered, believing that every people have a right to institute for
themselves the government which, in their judgment, may suit them best.
Our example is before them, of the good effect of which, being our
neighbors, they are competent judges, and to their judgment we leave
it, in the expectation that other powers will pursue the same policy.
The deep interest which we take in their independence, which we have
acknowledged, and in their enjoyment of all the rights incident
thereto, especially in the very important one of instituting their own
Governments, has been declared, and is known to the world. Separated as
we are from Europe by the great Atlantic Ocean, we can have no concern
in the wars of the European Governments nor in the causes which produce
them. The balance of power between them, into whichever scale it may
turn in its various vibrations, can not affect us. It is the interest
of the United States to preserve the most friendly relations with every
power and on conditions fair, equal, arid applicable to all. But in
regard to our neighbors our situation is different. It is impossible
for the European Governments to interfere in their concerns, especially
in those alluded to, which are vital, without affecting us; indeed, the
motive which might induce such interference in the present state of the
war between the parties, if a war it may be called, would appear to be
equally applicable to us. It is gratifying to know that some of the
powers with whom we enjoy a very friendly intercourse, and to whom
these views have been communicated, have appeared to acquiesce in them.

The augmentation of our population with the expansion of our Union and
increased number of States have produced effects in certain branches
of our system which merit the attention of Congress. Some of our
arrangements, and particularly the judiciary establishment, were made
with a view to the original thirteen States only. Since then the United
States have acquired a vast extent of territory; eleven new States have
been admitted into the Union, and Territories have been laid off for
three others, which will likewise be admitted at no distant day. An
organization of the Supreme Court which assigns to the judges any
portion of the duties which belong to the inferior, requiring their
passage over so vast a space under any distribution of the States that
may now be made, if not impracticable in the execution, must render
it impossible for them to discharge the duties of either branch with
advantage to the Union. The duties of the Supreme Court would be of
great importance if its decisions were confined to the ordinary limits
of other tribunals, but when it is considered that this court decides,
and in the last resort, on all the great questions which arise under our
Constitution, involving those between the United States individually,
between the States and the United States, and between the latter and
foreign powers, too high an estimate of their importance can not be
formed. The great interests of the nation seem to require that the
judges of the Supreme Court should be exempted from every other duty
than those which are incident to that high trust. The organization of
the inferior courts would of course be adapted to circumstances. It is
presumed that such an one might be formed as would secure an able and
faithful discharge of their duties, and without any material
augmentation of expense.

The condition of the aborigines within our limits, and especially
those who are within the limits of any of the States, merits likewise
particular attention. Experience has shown that unless the tribes be
civilized they can never be incorporated into our system in any form
whatever. It has likewise shown that in the regular augmentation of
our population with the extension of our settlements their situation
will become deplorable, if their extinction is not menaced. Some
well-digested plan which will rescue them from such calamities is due
to their rights, to the rights of humanity, and to the honor of the
nation. Their civilization is indispensable to their safety, and this
can be accomplished only by degrees. The process must commence with the
infant state, through whom some effect may be wrought on the parental.
Difficulties of the most serious character present themselves to the
attainment of this very desirable result on the territory on which they
now reside. To remove them from it by force, even with a view to their
own security and happiness, would be revolting to humanity and utterly
unjustifiable. Between the limits of our present States and Territories
and the Rocky Mountains and Mexico there is a vast territory to which
they might be invited with inducements which might be successful. It is
thought if that territory should be divided into districts by previous
agreement with the tribes now residing there and civil governments be
established in each, with schools for every branch of instruction in
literature and the arts of civilized life, that all the tribes now
within our limits might gradually be drawn there. The execution of
this plan would necessarily be attended with expense, and that not
inconsiderable, but it is doubted whether any other can be devised
which would be less liable to that objection or more likely to succeed.

In looking to the interests which the United States have on the
Pacific Ocean and on the western coast of this continent, the propriety
of establishing a military post at the mouth of Columbia River, or at
some other point in that quarter within our acknowledged limits, is
submitted to the consideration of Congress. Our commerce and fisheries
on that sea and along the coast have much increased and are increasing.
It is thought that a military post, to which our ships of war might
resort, would afford protection to every interest, and have a tendency
to conciliate the tribes to the northwest, with whom our trade is
extensive. It is thought also that by the establishment of such a post
the intercourse between our Western States and Territories and the
Pacific and our trade with the tribes residing in the interior on each
side of the Rocky Mountains would be essentially promoted. To carry this
object into effect the appropriation of an adequate sum to authorize the
employment of a frigate, with an officer of the Corps of Engineers,
to explore the mouth of the Columbia River and the coast contiguous
thereto, to enable the Executive to make such establishment at the most
suitable point, is recommended to Congress.

It is thought that attention is also due to the improvement of this
city. The communication between the public buildings and in various
other parts and the grounds around those buildings require it. It is
presumed also that the completion of the canal from the Tiber to the
Eastern Branch would have a very salutary effect. Great exertions have
been made and expenses incurred by the citizens in improvements of
various kinds; but those which are suggested belong exclusively to the
Government, or are of a nature to require expenditures beyond their
resources. The public lots which are still for sale would, it is not
doubted, be more than adequate to these purposes.

From the view above presented it is manifest that the situation of the
United States is in the highest degree prosperous and happy. There is no
object which as a people we can desire which we do not possess or which
is not within our reach. Blessed with governments the happiest which the
world ever knew, with no distinct orders in society or divided interests
in any portion of the vast territory over which their dominion extends,
we have every motive to cling together which can animate a virtuous and
enlightened people. The great object is to preserve these blessings,
and to hand them down to the latest posterity. Our experience ought to
satisfy us that our progress under the most correct and provident policy
will not be exempt from danger. Our institutions form an important epoch
in the history of the civilized world. On their preservation and in
their utmost purity everything will depend. Extending as our interests
do to every part of the inhabited globe and to every sea to which our
citizens are carried by their industry and enterprise, to which they are
invited by the wants of others, and have a right to go, we must either
protect them in the enjoyment of their rights or abandon them in certain
events to waste and desolation. Our attitude is highly interesting as
relates to other powers, and particularly to our southern neighbors. We
have duties to perform with respect to all to which we must be faithful.
To every kind of danger we should pay the most vigilant and unceasing
attention, remove the cause where it may be practicable, and be prepared
to meet it when inevitable.

Against foreign danger the policy of the Government seems to be already
settled. The events of the late war admonished us to make our maritime
frontier impregnable by a well-digested chain of fortifications, and
to give efficient protection to our commerce by augmenting our Navy
to a certain extent, which has been steadily pursued, and which it is
incumbent upon us to complete as soon as circumstances will permit.
In the event of war it is on the maritime frontier that we shall be
assailed. It is in that quarter, therefore, that we should be prepared
to meet the attack. It is there that our whole force will be called
into action to prevent the destruction of our towns and the desolation
and pillage of the interior. To give full effect to this policy great
improvements will be indispensable. Access to those works by every
practicable communication should be made easy and in every direction.
The intercourse between every part of our Union should also be promoted
and facilitated by the exercise of those powers which may comport with
a faithful regard to the great principles of our Constitution. With
respect to internal causes, those great principles point out with
equal certainty the policy to be pursued. Resting on the people as
our Governments do, State and National, with well-defined powers,
it is of the highest importance that they severally keep within the
limits prescribed to them. Fulfilling that sacred duty, it is of equal
importance that the movement between them be harmonious, and in case
of any disagreement, should any such occur, a calm appeal be made to
the people, and that their voice be heard and promptly obeyed. Both
Governments being instituted for the common good, we can not fail to
prosper while those who made them are attentive to the conduct of their
representatives and control their measures. In the pursuit of these
great objects let a generous spirit and national views and feelings be
indulged, and let every part recollect that by cherishing that spirit
and improving the condition of the others in what relates to their
welfare the general interest will not only be promoted, but the local
advantage be reciprocated by all.

I can not conclude this communication, the last of the kind which I
shall have to make, without recollecting with great sensibility and
heartfelt gratitude the many instances of the public confidence and the
generous support which I have received from my fellow-citizens in the
various trusts with which I have been honored. Having commenced my
service in early youth, and continued it since with few and short
intervals, I have witnessed the great difficulties to which our Union
has been exposed, and admired the virtue and intelligence with which
they have been surmounted. From the present prosperous and happy state
I derive a gratification which I can not express. That these blessings
may be preserved and perpetuated will be the object of my fervent and
unceasing prayers to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe.

JAMES MONROE.




SPECIAL MESSAGES.


DECEMBER 6, 1824.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

Agreeably to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 13th of
May last, requesting the President to cause to be made and submitted to
the House on the first day of the next [present] session of Congress a
full and complete statement of the exact number of lots belonging to
the United States in the city of Washington which have been sold by the
public agents for that purpose; when sold, by whom, to whom, and for
what price each lot was purchased; what part of the purchase money has
been paid, the amount due, and by whom due, and when payable; whether
the debts are well secured, and whether the money received has been
applied, to what purposes, and by whom, I herewith transmit a report and
statements from the Commissioner of Public Buildings, which will afford
the information required.

JAMES MONROE.



DECEMBER 13, 1824.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with an act of Congress which originated in the House
of Representatives, passed the 26th of May, 1824, "to authorize the
President of the United States to enter into certain negotiations
relative to lands located under Virginia military land warrants, lying
between Ludlow's and Roberts's lines, in the State of Ohio," I herewith
transmit a report, with accompanying documents, from the Commissioner
of the General Land Office, shewing the measures which have been taken
under the provisions of the aforesaid act.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _December 13, 1824_.

The PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE PRO TEMPORE:

I transmit to the Senate a convention, negotiated and signed by Samuel
D. Heap, acting consul of the United States, on the part of the United
States, and Mahmoud Bashaw, Bey of Tunis, on the 24th day of February
last, together with copies of Mr. Heap's correspondence appertaining
to the negotiation of the same, for the constitutional consideration
of the Senate with regard to its ratification.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _December 13, 1824_.

The PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES PRO TEMPORE:

I transmit to the Senate the convention, signed by the plenipotentiaries
of the United States and of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia
at St. Petersburg on the 5th (17th) of April last, referred to in
my message to both Houses of Congress, together with the documents
appertaining to the negotiation of the same, for the constitutional
consideration of the Senate with regard to its ratification.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _December 23, 1824_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

Agreeably to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
15th instant, requesting the President to lay before the House a copy
of the instructions under which the articles of a treaty with the
Cherokee Indians were formed by Daniel Smith and R.J. Meigs, acting as
commissioners of the United States, at Telico on the 24th October, 1804,
with copies of all the correspondence or other documents relating to
that instrument in either of the Executive Departments, with a statement
of the causes which prevented an earlier decision upon it, I herewith
transmit a report from the Secretary of War, with the documents referred
to in it.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _December 23, 1824_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I herewith transmit to the House a report from the Secretary of State,
with copies of the correspondence with the Government of France
requested by the resolution of the House of the 26th May last.

JAMES MONROE.



DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

_Washington, December 23, 1824_.

  The Secretary of State, to whom has been referred a resolution of the
  House of Representatives of the 26th of May last, requesting that the
  President of the United States would lay before that House at the
  then next session, as early as the public interest would permit, the
  correspondence which might be held with the Government of France prior
  to that time on the subject of injuries sustained by citizens of the
  United States since the year 1806, has the honor of reporting to the
  President copies of the documents requested by that resolution.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.



[Extract of a letter from Mr. Adams (No. 1) to Mr. Sheldon, dated
Department of State, Washington, August 13, 1823.]

I have had the honor of receiving your dispatches Nos. 1 and 2, the
latter dated the 10th of June. Mr. Gallatin arrived with his family
at New York on the 24th of that month.

I inclose herewith copies of the recent correspondence between the
Count de Menou, the charge d'affaires of France, and this Department
on various subjects highly interesting to the relations between the
two countries.

With regard to the Count's note of the 11th of July, the President
received with great satisfaction the testimonial of the Viscount de
Chateaubriand to the candor and ability with which Mr. Gallatin has
performed the duties of his official station in France. The proposal
to renew the negotiation in behalf of the well-founded claims of our
citizens upon the French Government in _connection_ with a claim on
the part of France to special privileges in the ports of Louisiana,
which, after a very full discussion, had in the views of this Government
been proved utterly groundless, could neither be accepted nor considered
as evidence of the same conciliatory spirit. The claims of our citizens
are for mere justice; they are for reparation of unquestionable
wrongs--for indemnity or restitution of property taken from them or
destroyed without shadow or color of right. The claim under the eighth
article of the Louisiana convention has nothing to rest upon but a
forced construction of the terms of the stipulation, which the American
Government considered, and have invariably considered, as totally
without foundation. These are elements not to be coupled together in the
same negotiation, and while we yet trust to the final sense of justice
of France for the adjustment of the righteous claims of our citizens, we
still hope that their unquestionable character will ultimately secure
to them a consideration unencumbered with other discussions. You will
respectfully make this representation to the Viscount de Chateaubriand,
with the assurance of the readiness of this Government to discuss the
question upon the Louisiana convention further if desired by France,
but of our final conviction that it is not to be blended with the claims
of our citizens for mere justice.



_Count de Menou to Mr. Adams_.

[Translation.]

LEGATION OF FRANCE TO THE UNITED STATES,

_Washington, July 11, 1823_.

The Honorable SECRETARY OF STATE:

His Excellency the Viscount de Chateaubriand, in announcing to me that
Mr. Gallatin was about to leave France, expresses his regret at his
departure in such terms that I should do him injustice were I not to use
his own expressions. "My correspondence with this minister," he remarks
to me, "has caused me to appreciate his talents, his ability, and his
attachment to the system of friendship that unites the two powers. It
is with regret that I suspend my communications with him."

I esteem myself happy, sir, in conveying to you such sentiments toward
the representative of the United States in France, and I should have
thought that I had but imperfectly apprehended the design of the
Viscount de Chateaubriand had I neglected to communicate them to the
Federal Government.

The minister for foreign affairs reminds me also on this occasion that
Mr. Gallatin having frequently laid before him claims of Americans
against the French Government, he had shown himself disposed to enter
upon a general negotiation, in which they should be comprehended with
claims of French citizens against the Federal Government at the same
time with the arrangement relative to the execution of the eighth
article of the treaty of Louisiana, The object of his excellency was to
arrive at a speedy and friendly disposition of all difficulties that
might subsist between the two powers, well assured that France and the
United States would be found to have the same views of justice and
conciliation.

His excellency regrets that Mr. Gallatin, who, he says, "has convinced
him how pleasing and advantageous it is to negotiate with a statesman
who exhibits candor and ability in his discussions," did not receive
from his Government during his stay in France the necessary powers for
this double negotiation. But he informs me that the Government of His
Majesty remains always disposed to open it, either with Mr. Gallatin
should he return with these powers, or with Mr. Sheldon if the Federal
Government should think proper to confer them on him.

I greatly desire, sir, to see these propositions acceded to by the
Federal Government and to be able to reply to his excellency, as he
expresses his wish that an arrangement putting an end to every subject
of discussion might soon be expected.

I pray the Secretary of State to receive the renewed assurance of my
high consideration.

The charge d'affaires of France near the United States,

MENOU.



_Mr. Adams to Count de Menou_.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

_Washington, August 12, 1823_.

The COUNT DE MENOU,

_Charge d'Affaires from France_.

SIR: Your letter of the 11th of last month has been submitted to the
consideration of the President of the United States, by whom I am
directed to express the high satisfaction that he has felt at the manner
in which His Excellency the Viscount de Chateaubriand has noticed in
his correspondence with you the temporary absence of Mr. Gallatin from
France and the terms of regard and esteem with which he notices the
character and conduct of that minister. The anxious desire of the
President for the promotion of the good understanding between the United
States and France could not be more gratified than by the testimonial of
His Most Christian Majesty's Government to the good faith and ability
with which the minister of the United States at his Court has performed
his official duties.

With regard to the assurance of His Excellency the Viscount de
Chateaubriand's disposition to enter upon a negotiation with Mr.
Gallatin in the event of his return to France, or with Mr. Sheldon
during his absence, concerning the claims of citizens of the United
States on the Government of France in connection with an arrangement
concerning the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty, I am directed to
observe that those subjects rest upon grounds so totally different that
the Government of the United States can not consent to connect them
together in negotiation.

The claims of the citizens of the United States upon the French
Government have been of many years' standing, often represented by
successive ministers of the United States, and particularly by Mr.
Gallatin during a residence of seven years, with a perspicuity of
statement and a force of evidence which could leave to the Government
of the United States no desire but that they should have been received
with friendly attention and no regret but that they should have proved
ineffectual. The justice of these claims has never been denied by
France, and while the United States are still compelled to wait for
their adjustment, similar and less forceful claims of the subjects of
other nations have been freely admitted and liquidated.

A long and protracted discussion has already taken place between the
two Governments in relation to the claim of France under the eighth
article of the Louisiana convention, the result of which has been a
thorough conviction on the part of the American Government that the
claim has no foundation in the treaty whatever. The reasons for this
conviction have been so fully set forth in the discussion that it was
not anticipated a further examination of it would be thought desirable.
As a subject of discussion, however, the American Government is willing
to resume it whenever it may suit the views of France to present further
considerations relating to it; but while convinced that the claim is
entirely without foundation, they can not place it on a footing of
concurrent negotiation with claims of their citizens, the justice of
which is so unequivocal that they have not even been made the subject
of denial.

From the attention which His Excellency the Viscount de Chateaubriand
has intimated his willingness to give to the consideration of these
claims the President indulges the hope that they will be taken into view
upon their own merits, and in that hope the representative of the United
States at Paris will at an early day be instructed to present them again
to the undivided and unconditional sense of the justice of France.

I pray you, sir, to accept the renewed assurance of my distinguished
consideration.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.



[Extract of a letter from Mr, Sheldon (No. 2) to Mr, Adams, dated
Paris, October 16, 1823.]

I took an early occasion after the receipt of your dispatch No. 1, of
the 10th August, to communicate the subjects of it in a conversation
I had with Viscount de Chateaubriand. His observations in relation to
that of the claims, as connected with the pretensions of France under
the Louisiana treaty, were of a very general nature and amounted to
little more than a repetition of his readiness to enter upon the
consideration of whatever subjects of discussion might exist between the
two countries and the expression of his satisfaction at the prospect of
being soon relieved from the labor which the affairs of Spain had thrown
upon him, and having thus more time to devote to those of the United
States and others not of the same pressing nature. He avoided any
intimation of a disposition to take up the claims by themselves, and
it can hardly be expected that the French Government will at this time
relax from the ground they have so lately taken upon that point. I
informed him that I should communicate in writing an answer to the
overture made by Count de Menou at Washington for uniting in a new
negotiation this subject with that of the Louisiana treaty, in substance
the same as that gentleman had already received there, and should again
press upon the French Government the consideration of the claims by
themselves; to which he replied that any communication I might make
would be received and treated with all the attention to which it was
entitled on his part.



_Mr. Sheldon to the Viscount de Chateaubriand_.

PARIS, _October 11, 1823_.

SIR: Mr. Gallatin, during his residence as minister of the United
States in France, had upon various occasions called the attention
of His Majesty's Government to the claims of our citizens for the
reparation of wrongs sustained by them from the unjust seizure,
detention, and confiscation of their property by officers and agents
acting under authority of the Government of France. During the past
year His Majesty's ministers had consented to enter upon the
consideration of these claims, but they proposed to couple with it
another subject having no connection with those claims, either in its
nature, its origin, or the principles on which it depended--a question
of the disputed construction of one of the articles of the treaty of
cession of Louisiana, by virtue of which France claimed certain
commercial privileges in the ports of that Province. Mr. Gallatin had
not received from his Government any authority to connect these two
dissimilar subjects in the same negotiation, or, indeed, to treat upon
the latter, which had already been very amply discussed at Washington
between the Secretary of State of the United States and His Majesty's
minister at that place, without producing any result except a conviction
on the part of the Government of the United States that the privileges
for French vessels, as claimed by the minister of France, never could
have been, and were not in fact, conceded by the treaty in question.
A stop was then put to the negotiations already commenced in relation
to the claims, and with which had been united, on the proposition of
the French Government, and as being naturally connected with it, the
consideration of certain claims of French citizens on the Government
of the United States.

The charge d'affaires of France at Washington has lately, on behalf
of his Government, expressed to that of the United States a wish that
this double negotiation might be resumed and that a definitive
arrangement might be made as well in relation to the disputed article of
the Louisiana treaty as of the subject of the claims upon the one side
and upon the other. The Government of the United States has nothing
more at heart than to remove by friendly arrangements every subject of
difference which may exist between the two countries, and to examine
with the greatest impartiality and good faith as well the nature and
extent of the stipulations into which they have entered as the appeals
to their justice made by individuals claiming reparation for wrongs
supposed to have been sustained at their hands.

But these two subjects are essentially dissimilar; there are no points
of connection between them; the principles upon which they depend are
totally different; they have no bearing upon each other; and the justice
which is due to individuals ought not to be delayed or made dependent
upon the right or the wrong interpretation by one or the other party of
a treaty having for its object the regulation of entirely distinct and
different interests.

The reclamations of American citizens upon the Government of France
are for mere justice--for the reparation of unquestionable wrongs,
indemnity or restitution of property taken from them or destroyed
forcibly and without right. They are of ancient date, and justice has
been long and anxiously waited for. They have been often represented to
the Government of France, and their validity is not disputed. Similar
reclamations without greater merit or stronger titles to admission
presented by citizens of other nations have been favorably received,
examined, and liquidated, and it seems to have been hitherto reserved
to those of the United States alone to meet with impediments at every
juncture and to seek in vain the moment in which the Government of
France could consent to enter upon their consideration. Although the
question arising under the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty has
already been fully examined, the Government of the United States is
ready, if it is desired by France, and if it is thought that any new
light can be thrown upon it, to discuss the subject further whenever it
shall be presented anew by France to their consideration. But they are
convinced that by blending it with the claims not only will no progress
be made toward its solution, but that these last, standing upon their
own unquestionable character, ought not to be trammeled with a subject
to which they are wholly foreign.

I am instructed to bring them anew before your excellency, and to
express the hope of the President that His Majesty's Government will not
continue to insist upon connecting together two subjects of so different
a nature, but that the claims may be taken up on their own merits and
receive the consideration which they deserve, unencumbered with other
discussions.

I request your excellency to accept the assurance, etc,

D. SHELDON.



[Extracts of a letter from the Secretary of State to Mr. Brown, dated
Washington, December 23, 1823.]

You will immediately after your reception earnestly call the attention
of the French Government to the claims of our citizens for indemnity.

You will at the same time explicitly make known that this Government
can not consent to connect this discussion with that of the pretension
raised by France on the construction given by her to the eighth article
of the Louisiana cession treaty. The difference in the nature and
character of the two interests is such that they can not with propriety
be blended together. The claims are of reparation to individuals for
their property taken from them by manifest and undisputed wrong. The
question upon the Louisiana treaty is a question of _right_ upon the
meaning of a contract. It has been fully, deliberately, and thoroughly
investigated, and the Government of the United States is under the
entire and solemn conviction that the pretension of France is utterly
unfounded. We are, nevertheless, willing to resume the discussion if
desired by France; but to refuse justice to individuals unless the
United States will accede to the construction of an article in a treaty
contrary to what they believe to be its real meaning would be not only
incompatible with the principles of equity, but submitting to a species
of compulsion derogatory to the honor of the nation.



[Extract of a letter (No. 2) from James Brown, envoy extraordinary and
minister plenipotentiary of the United States, dated April 28, 1824.]

I have in a letter to M. de Chateaubriand, copy of which I have now the
honor to send, made an effort to separate the claims of our citizens
from the Louisiana question.



_Mr. Brown to M. de Chateaubriand_.

PARIS, _April 28, 1824_.

His Excellency VISCOUNT DE CHATEAUBRIAND,

_Minister of Foreign Affairs, etc_.

SIR: In the conference with which your excellency honored me a few
days ago I mentioned a subject deeply interesting to many citizens
of the United States, on which I have been instructed to address your
excellency, and to which I earnestly wish to call your immediate
attention.

It is well known to your excellency that my predecessor, Mr. Gallatin,
during several years made repeated and urgent applications to His
Majesty's Government for the adjustment of claims to a very large
amount, affecting the interests of American citizens and originating in
gross violations of the law of nations and of the rights of the United
States, and that he never could obtain from France either a settlement
of those claims or even an examination and discussion of their validity.
To numerous letters addressed by him to His Majesty's ministers on that
subject either no answers were given or answers which had for their only
object to postpone the investigation of the subject. Whilst, however,
he indulged the hope that these delays would be abandoned, and that the
rights of our citizens, which had been urged for so many years, would at
length be taken up for examination, he learned with surprise and regret
that His Majesty's Government had determined to insist that they should
be discussed in connection with the question of the construction of
the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty of cession. Against this
determination he strongly but ineffectually remonstrated in a letter
to Mr. De Villele, dated the 12th November, 1822.

It is notorious that the Government of the United States, whenever
requested by that of His Majesty, have uniformly agreed to discuss any
subject presented for their consideration, whether the object has been
to obtain the redress of public or private injuries. Acting upon this
principle, the question of the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty
was, upon the suggestion of the minister of France, made the subject of
a voluminous correspondence, in the course of which all the arguments
of the parties respectively were fully made known to each other and
examined. The result of this discussion has been a thorough conviction
on the part of the Government of the United States that the construction
of that article of the treaty contended for by France is destitute of
any solid foundation and wholly inadmissible. After a discussion so
full as to exhaust every argument on that question, the attempt to
renew it in connection with the question of the claims of our citizens
appeared to the Government of the United States to be a measure so
contrary to the fair and regular course of examining controverted
points between nations that they instructed Mr, Sheldon, their charge
d'affaires, to prepare and present a note explaining their views of the
proceeding, which he delivered on the 11th of October, 1823. To this
note no answer has ever been received.

I have the express instructions of the Government again to call the
attention of that of His Majesty to this subject, and to insist that
the claims of our citizens may continue to be discussed as a distinct
question, without connecting it in any way with the construction of the
Louisiana treaty. The two subjects are in every respect dissimilar. The
difference in the nature and character of the two interests is such as
to prevent them from being blended in the same discussion. The claims
against France are of reparation to individuals for their property taken
from them by undisputed wrong and injustice; the claim of France under
the treaty is that of a right founded on a contract. In the examination
of these questions the one can impart no light to the other; they are
wholly unconnected, and ought on every principle to undergo a distinct
and separate examination. To involve in the same investigation the
indisputable rights of American citizens to indemnity for losses and
the doubtful construction of a treaty can have no other effect than to
occasion an indefinite postponement of the reparation due to individuals
or a sacrifice on the part of the Government of the United States of a
treaty stipulation in order to obtain that reparation. The United States
would hope that such an alternative will not be pressed upon them by the
Government of His Majesty.

Whilst I indulge a hope that the course to which I have objected will no
longer be insisted on by His Majesty's ministers, permit me to renew to
your excellency the sincere assurance that the United States earnestly
desire that every subject of difference between the two countries should
be amicably adjusted and all their relations placed upon the most
friendly footing. Although they believe that any further discussion of
the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty would be wholly unprofitable,
they will be at all times ready to renew the discussion of that article
or to examine any question which may remain to be adjusted between them
and France.

I request your excellency to accept, etc.

JAMES BROWN.



[Extract of a letter (No. 3) from James Brown to the Secretary of State,
dated Paris, May 11, 1824.]

I have the honor to inclose a copy of the answer of the minister of
foreign affairs to the letter which I addressed to him on the 27th
ultimo, upon the subject of the claims of our citizens against the
French Government. You will perceive that no change has been made in
the determination expressed to Mr. Gallatin of connecting in the same
discussion the question on the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty
of cession and the claims of the citizens of the United States against
France. In expressing this resolution it has not been considered
necessary even to notice the arguments made use of to induce them
to adopt a different opinion.



_Viscount Chateaubriand to Mr. Brown_.

[Translation.]

PARIS, _May 7, 1824_.

SIR: The object of the letter which you did me the honor to address to
me on the 28th of April is to recall the affair of American claims,
already repeatedly called up by your predecessors, that they may be
regulated by an arrangement between the two powers, and that in this
negotiation the examination of the difficulties which were raised about
the execution of the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty should not
be included.

Although the claims made by France upon this last point be of a
different nature from those of the Americans, yet no less attention
ought to be paid to arrange both in a just and amicable manner.

Our claims upon the eighth article had already been laid before the
Federal Government by His Majesty's plenipotentiary when he was
negotiating the commercial convention of 24th June, 1822.

The negotiators not agreeing upon a subject so important, the King's
Government did not wish this difficulty to suspend any longer the
conclusion of an arrangement which might give more activity to commerce
and multiply relations equally useful to the two powers. It reserves to
itself the power of comprehending this object in another negotiation,
and it does not renounce in any manner the claim which it urged.

It is for this reason, sir, that my predecessors and myself have
constantly insisted that the arrangements to be made upon the eighth
article of the Louisiana treaty should be made a part of those which
your Government were desirous of making upon other questions still at
issue.

It is the intention of His Majesty not to leave unsettled any subject
of grave discussion between the two States, and the King is too well
convinced of the friendly sentiments of your Government not to believe
that the United States will be disposed to agree with France on all the
points.

His Majesty authorizes me, sir, to declare to you that a negotiation
will be opened with you upon the American claims if this negotiation
should also include the French claims, and particularly the arrangements
to be concluded concerning the execution of the eighth article of the
Louisiana treaty.

Accept, sir, the assurances of the very distinguished consideration with
which I have the honor to be, etc.,

CHATEAUBRIAND.



[Extracts of a letter (No. 4) from the Secretary of State to Mr. Brown,
dated Department of State, Washington, August 14, 1824.]

The subject which has first claimed the attention of the President
has been the result of your correspondence with the Viscount de
Chateaubriand in relation to the claims of numerous citizens of
the United States upon the justice of the French Government.

I inclose herewith a copy of the report of the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the House of Representatives upon several petitions
addressed to that body at their last session by some of those claimants
and a resolution of the House adopted thereupon.

The President has deliberately considered the purport of M. de
Chateaubriand's answer to your note of the 28th of April upon this
subject, and he desires that you will renew with earnestness the
application for indemnity to our citizens for claims notoriously just
and resting upon the same principle with others which have been admitted
and adjusted by the Government of France.

In the note of the Viscount de Chateaubriand to you of 7th May it is
said that he is authorized to declare a negotiation will be opened with
you upon the American claims if this negotiation should also include
French claims, and particularly the arrangements to be concluded
concerning the execution of the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty.

You are authorized in reply to declare that any just claims which
subjects of France may have upon the Government of the United States
will readily be included in the negotiation, and to stipulate any
suitable provision for the examination, adjustment, and satisfaction
of them.

But the question relating to the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty
is not only of a different character--it can not be blended with that of
indemnity for individual claims without a sacrifice on the part of the
United States of a principle of right. The negotiation for indemnity
presupposes that wrong has been done, that indemnity ought to be made,
and the object of any treaty stipulation concerning it can only be to
ascertain what is justly due and to make provision for the payment of
it. By consenting to connect with such a negotiation that relating to
the eighth article of the Louisiana convention the United States would
abandon the _principle_ upon which the whole discussion concerning
it depends. The situation of the parties to the negotiation would be
unequal. The United States, asking reparation for admitted wrong, are
told that France will not discuss it with them unless they will first
renounce their own sense of right to admit and discuss with it a claim
the _justice_ of which they have constantly denied.

The Government of the United States is prepared to renew the discussion
with that of France relating to the eighth article of the Louisiana
treaty in any manner which may be desired and by which they shall not
be understood to admit that France has _any_ claim under it whatever.



_Mr. Brown to Mr. Adams_ (_No. 12_).

PARIS, _August 12, 1824_.

SIR: Some very unimportant changes have taken place in the composition
of the ministry. The Baron de Damas, late minister of war, is now
minister of foreign affairs; the Marquis de Clermont Tonnese is
appointed to the department of war, and the Count Chabrol de Crousal
to that of the marine.

These appointments are believed to correspond with the wishes of the
president of the Council of Ministers, and do not inspire a hope that
our claims will be more favorably attended to than they have been under
the former administrations. The interpretation of the eighth article
of the Louisiana treaty contended for by France will, I apprehend,
be persisted in and all indemnity refused until it shall have been
discussed and decided. After the correspondence which has already passed
upon that article, it would appear that any further discussion upon it
would be wholly unprofitable. With a view, however, of ascertaining the
opinions of the minister of foreign affairs, I shall at an early day
solicit a conference with him, and inform you of the result.

I have had the honor of receiving your letter recommending the claim of
Mr. Kingston to my attention. The difficulties which that claim must
experience, from its antiquity and from the operation of the treaty of
1803, can not have escaped your observation. It has also to encounter,
in common with all our claims, the obstacle presented by the eighth
article, which is found broad enough to be used as a shield to protect
France, in the opinion of ministers, from the examination and adjustment
of any claim which we can present.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, sir, your most obedient and
humble servant,

JAMES BROWN.



_Mr. Brown to Mr. Adams_ (_No. 14_).

PARIS, _September 28, 1824_.

SIR: Little has occurred of importance during the present month, except
the death of the King. This event had been anticipated for nearly a
year; he had declined gradually, and the affairs of the Government
have been for some time almost wholly directed by Monsieur, who on his
accession to the throne has declared that his reign would be only a
continuation of that of the late King. No change in the policy of the
Government is expected, and probably none in the composition of the
ministry. The present King is satisfied with Mr. De Villele, who is at
its head; and if any of its members should be changed the spirit in
which public affairs are directed will not, it is believed, be affected
by that circumstance.

The ceremonies attending the change of the Crown have principally
occupied the public attention for the last fortnight. It will, I
presume, be officially announced by the French minister at Washington,
and, according to the forms observed here, will, I understand, require
fresh letters of credence for all foreign ministers at this Court,
addressed to the new King.

My health has not permitted me (having been confined for some weeks to
the bed by a rheumatic affection) to confer with the Baron de Damas on
our affairs since his appointment as minister of the foreign department.
I should regret this the more if I were not satisfied that the same
impulse will direct the decisions of the Government upon these points
now as before he had this department in charge, and that no favorable
change in those decisions can be expected from any personal influence
which might be exerted by the new minister. I shall, however, take the
earliest opportunity that my health will allow to mention the subject
to him and ascertain what his views of it are.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, sir, your most obedient and
humble servant.

JAMES BROWN.



[Extracts of a letter from Mr. James Brown to Mr, Adams (No. 16).]

PARIS, _October 23, 1824_.

The packet ship which sailed from New York on the 1st of September
brought me the letter which you did me the honor to address to me on
the 14th of August.

In conformity with the instructions contained in that letter, I have
addressed one to the Baron de Damas, minister of foreign affairs, a copy
of which I now inclose. I expect to receive his answer in time to be
sent by the packet which will sail from Havre on the 1st of next month,
in which event it may probably reach Washington about the 15th of
December.

The recent changes which have been made in the ministry, of which I have
already informed you, do not justify any very strong expectation that a
change of measures in relation to our affairs at this Court will follow.
The same individuals fill different places in the ministry from those
which they formerly held, but in all probability adhere to their former
opinions in relation to the subjects of discussion between the United
States and France. On the point to which my letter to the Baron de
Damas particularly relates the Count de Villele has already given his
deliberate views in his letters to Mr. Gallatin dated 6th and 15th
November, 1822, and I have every reason to believe that they remain
unchanged. Having bestowed much attention on the subject, it is probable
his opinion will be in a great measure decisive as to the answer which
shall be given to my letter. It is the opinion of many well-informed men
that in the course of a few months important changes will be made in the
composition of the ministry. As these changes, however, will proceed
from causes wholly unconnected with foreign affairs, I am by no means
sanguine in my expectations that under any new composition of the
ministry we may hope for a change of policy as it relates to our claims.
The eighth article of the Louisiana treaty will be continually put
forward as a bar to our claims and its adjustment urged as often as
we renew our claim for indemnity.

The Journal des Debats of this morning states that at a superior council
of commerce and of the colonies at which His Majesty yesterday presided
Mr. De St. Cricq, president of the bureau de commerce, made a report on
the commercial convention of the 24th June, 1822, between the United
States and France.



_Mr. Brown to Baron de Damas_.

PARIS, _October 22, 1824_.

His Excellency BARON DE DAMAS,

_Minister of Foreign Affairs, etc_.

SIR: I availed myself of the earliest opportunity to transmit to my
Government a copy of the letter which I had the honor to address to the
Viscount de Chateaubriand on the 28th day of April last, together with
a copy of his answer to that letter, dated 7th of May.

After a candid and deliberate consideration of the subject of that
correspondence, my Government has sent me recent instructions to
renew with earnestness the application, already so frequently and so
ineffectually made, for indemnity to our citizens for claims notoriously
just, and resting on the same principles with others which have been
admitted and adjusted by the Government of France.

In reply to that part of the Viscount de Chateaubriand's letter in
which he offers to open with me a negotiation upon American claims if
that negotiation should also include French claims, and particularly
the arrangements to be concluded concerning the eighth article of the
Louisiana treaty, I have been instructed to declare that any just claims
which the subjects of France may have upon the Government of the United
States will readily be embraced in the negotiation, and that I am
authorized to stipulate any suitable provision for the examination,
adjustment, and satisfaction of them.

The question relating to the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty is
viewed by my Government as one of a very different character. It can
not be blended with that of indemnity for individual claims without
a sacrifice on the part of the United States of a principle of right.
Every negotiation for indemnity necessarily presupposes that some wrong
has been done, and that indemnity ought to be made; and the object of
every treaty stipulation respecting it can only be to ascertain the
extent of the injury, and to make provision for its adequate reparation.
This is precisely the nature of the negotiation for American claims
which has been for so many years the subject of discussion between
the Governments of the United States and of France. The wrongs done to
our citizens have never been denied, whilst their right to indemnity
has been established by acts done by the French Government in cases
depending upon the same principles under which they derive their claim.
By consenting to connect with such a negotiation that relating to the
eighth article of the Louisiana treaty the United States would abandon
the principle upon which the whole discussion depends. When asking for
reparation for acknowledged wrong the United States have been told that
France will not discuss it with them unless they will first renounce
their own sense of right and admit and discuss in connection with it a
claim the justice of which they have hitherto constantly denied. In any
negotiation commenced under such circumstances the situation of the
parties would be unequal. By consenting to connect the pretensions of
France under the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty with claims for
indemnity for acknowledged injustice and injury the United States would
be understood as admitting that those pretensions were well founded;
that wrong had been done to France for which reparation ought to be
made. The Government of the United States, not having yet been convinced
that this is the case, can not consent to any arrangement which shall
imply an admission so contrary to their deliberate sense of right.

I am authorized and prepared on behalf of the United States to enter
upon a further discussion of the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty
in any manner which may be desired, and by which they shall not be
understood previously to admit that the construction of that article
claimed by France is well founded; and also to renew the separate
negotiation for American claims, embracing at the same time all just
claims winch French subjects may have upon the Government of the
United States.

The change which has lately taken place in His Majesty's department of
foreign affairs encourages the hope that this important subject will
be candidly reconsidered; that the obstacles which have arrested the
progress of the negotiation may be removed, and that the subjects of
contestation between the two Governments may be ultimately adjusted upon
such principles as may perpetuate the good understanding and harmony
which have so long subsisted between the United States and France.

Should I, however, be disappointed in the result of this application,
it is to be seriously apprehended that as the United States have not
hitherto seen in the course of the discussion any just claim of France
arising from the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty, so in the
persevering refusal of the French Government to discuss and adjust
the well-founded claims of citizens of the United States to indemnity
for wrongs unless in connection with one which they are satisfied
is unfounded the United States will ultimately perceive only a
determination to deny justice to the claimants.

Permit me respectfully to request that at as early a day as your
convenience will allow your excellency will favor me with an answer
to this letter.

I embrace with pleasure this occasion to offer to your excellency the
renewed assurance, etc.,

JAMES BROWN.



WASHINGTON, _December 24, 1824_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
23d December, 1823, requesting that a negotiation should be opened with
the British Government "for the cession of so much land on the island of
Abaco at or near the Hole-in-the-Wall, and on such other places within
the acknowledged dominions of that power on the islands, keys, or shoals
of the Bahama Banks as may be necessary for the erection and support of
light-houses, beacons, buoys, or floating lights for the security of
navigation over or near the said banks, and to be used solely for that
purpose," directions were given to the minister of the United States at
London on the 1st of January, 1824, to communicate the purport of that
resolution to the Government of Great Britain with a view to their
acceding to the wish of this; and I transmit to the House copies of Mr.
Rush's correspondence upon this subject, communicating the result of
his application to the British Government.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _December 28, 1824_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 27th instant, requesting information explanatory of the character
and objects of the visit of the naval officer of the United States
commanding in the West Indies to the town of Faxyardo, in the island
of Porto Rico, on the ---- day of November last, I herewith transmit
a report of the Secretary of the Navy, with a letter from Commodore
Porter, which contains all the information in possession of the
Executive on the subject.

Deeming the transactions adverted to of high importance, an order has
been sent to Commodore Porter to repair hither without delay, that all
the circumstances connected therewith may be fully investigated.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 5, 1825_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

As the term of my service in this high trust will expire at the end
of the present session of Congress, I think it proper to invite your
attention to an object very interesting to me, and which in the movement
of our Government is deemed on principle equally interesting to the
public. I have been long in the service of my country and in its most
difficult conjunctures, as well abroad as at home, in the course of
which I have had a control over the public moneys to a vast amount.
If in the course of my service it shall appear on the most severe
scrutiny, which I invite, that the public have sustained any loss by
any act of mine, or of others for which I ought to be held responsible,
I am willing to bear it. If, on the other hand, it shall appear on a
view of the law and of precedents in other cases that justice has been
withheld from me in any instance, as I have believed it to be in many,
and greatly to my injury, it is submitted whether it ought not to be
rendered. It is my wish that all matters of account and claims between
my country and myself be settled with that strict regard to justice
which is observed in settlements between individuals in private life.
It would be gratifying to me, and it appears to be just, that the
subject should be now examined in both respects with a view to a
decision hereafter. No bill would, it is presumed, be presented for my
signature which would operate either for or against me, and I would
certainly sanction none in my favor. While here I can furnish testimony,
applicable to any case, in both views, which a full investigation may
require, and the committee to whom the subject may be referred, by
reporting facts now with a view to a decision after my retirement, will
allow time for further information and due consideration of all matters
relating thereto. Settlements with a person in this trust, which could
not be made with the accounting officers of the Government, should
always be made by Congress and before the public. The cause of the delay
in presenting these claims will be explained to the committee to whom
the subject may be referred. It will, I presume, be made apparent that
it was inevitable; that from the peculiar circumstances attending each
case Congress alone could decide on it, and that from considerations of
delicacy it would have been highly improper for me to have sought it
from Congress at an earlier period than that which is now proposed--the
expiration of my term in this high trust.

Other considerations appear to me to operate with great force in
favor of the measure which I now propose. A citizen who has long served
his country in its highest trusts has a right, if he has served with
fidelity, to enjoy undisturbed tranquillity and peace in his retirement.
This he can not expect to do unless his conduct in all pecuniary
concerns shall be placed by severe scrutiny on a basis not to be shaken.
This, therefore, forms a strong motive with me for the inquiry which I
now invite. The public may also derive considerable advantage from the
precedent in the future movement of the Government. It being known that
such scrutiny was made in my case, it may form a new and strong barrier
against the abuse of the public confidence in future.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 10, 1825_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I should hasten to communicate to you the documents called for by the
resolution of the House of Representatives of the 4th instant, relating
to the conduct of the officers of the Navy of the United States on the
Pacific Ocean and of other public agents in South America, if such a
communication might now be made consistently with the public interest or
with justice to the parties concerned. In consequence of several charges
which have been alleged against Commodore Stewart, touching his conduct
while commanding the squadron of the United States on that sea, it has
been deemed proper to suspend him from duty and to subject him to trial
on these charges. It appearing also that some of those charges have been
communicated to the Department by Mr. Prevost, political agent at this
time of the United States at Peru, and heretofore at Buenos Ayres and
Chile, and apparently with his sanction, and that charges have likewise
been made against him by citizens of the United States engaged in
commerce in that quarter, it has been thought equally just and proper
that he should attend here, as well to furnish the evidence in his
possession applicable to the charges exhibited against Commodore
Stewart as to answer such as have been exhibited against himself.

In this stage the publication of those documents might tend to excite
prejudices which might operate to the injury of both. It is important
that the public servants in every station should perform their duty with
fidelity, according to the injunctions of the law and the orders of the
Executive in fulfillment thereof. It is peculiarly so that this should
be done by the commanders of our squadrons, especially on distant seas,
and by political agents who represent the United States with foreign
powers, for reasons that are obvious in both instances. It is due to
their rights and to the character of the Government that they be not
censured without just cause, which can not be ascertained until, on
a view of tho charges, they are heard in their defense, and after a
thorough and impartial investigation of their conduct. Under these
circumstances it is thought that a communication at this time of those
documents would not comport with the public interest nor with what is
due to the parties concerned.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 13, 1825_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with two resolutions of the Senate, the first of the
21st and the second of the 23d December last, requesting information
respecting the injuries which have been sustained by our citizens by
piratical depredations, and other details connected therewith, and
requesting also information of the measures which have been adopted for
the suppression of piracy, and whether in the opinion of the Executive
it will not be necessary to adopt other means for the accomplishment
of the object, and, in that event, what other means it will be most
advisable to recur to, I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary
of State, and likewise a report from the Secretary of the Navy, with
the documents referred to in each.

On the very important question submitted to the Executive as to the
necessity of recurring to other more effectual means for the suppression
of a practice so destructive of the lives and property of our citizens,
I have to observe that three expedients occur--one by the pursuit of the
offenders to the settled as well as the unsettled parts of the island
from whence they issue, another by reprisal on the property of the
inhabitants, and a third by the blockade of the ports of those islands.
It will be obvious that neither of these measures can be resorted to
in a spirit of amity with Spain otherwise than in a firm belief that
neither the Government of Spain nor the government of either of the
islands has the power to suppress that atrocious practice, and that the
United States interposed their aid for the accomplishment of an object
which is of equal importance to them as well as to us. Acting on this
principle, the facts which justify the proceeding being universally
known and felt by all engaged in commerce in that sea, it may fairly be
presumed that neither will the Government of Spain nor the government
of either of those islands complain of a resort to either of those
measures, or to all of them, should such resort be necessary. It is
therefore suggested that a power commensurate with either resource be
granted to the Executive, to be exercised according to his discretion
and as circumstances may imperiously require. It is hoped that the
manifestation of a policy so decisive will produce the happiest result;
that it will rid these seas and this hemisphere of this practice. This
hope is strengthened by the belief that the Government of Spain and the
governments of the islands, particularly of Cuba, whose chief is known
here, will faithfully cooperate in such measures as may be necessary
for the accomplishment of this very important object. To secure such
cooperation will be the earnest desire and, of course, the zealous
and persevering effort of the Executive.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 17, 1825_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate, for its advice and consent as to the
ratification, a treaty which has been concluded by a commissioner duly
authorized for the purpose with the Quapaw Indians in Arkansas for the
cession of their claim to the lands in that Territory. I transmit also
a report from the Secretary of War, with other documents, relating to
this subject.

JAMES MONROE.



JANUARY 17, 1825.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

Agreeably to the resolution of the Senate of 19th May last, requesting
the President to cause to be laid before the Senate a report "shewing
the amount of duties which shall have accrued on importations into the
United States for the three quarters of a year ending June 30, 1824;
also the amount of duties which would have accrued on the same
importations at such higher rates of duty as may be imposed by any act
of the present session of Congress," I herewith transmit a report from
the Secretary of the Treasury, which contains the information required.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 18, 1825_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I communicate herewith to both Houses of Congress copies of the
convention between the United States and His Majesty the Emperor of
all the Russias, concluded at St. Petersburg on the 5th (17th) of April
last, which has been duly ratified on both sides, and the ratifications
of which were exchanged on the 11th instant.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 20, 1825_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
19th of December, 1822, requesting the President to communicate "what
progress has been made in the execution of the act of the last session
entitled 'An act to abolish the Indian trading establishments,' with
a report from the factories, respectively, as the same may be made to
him," I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of the Treasury,
with documents, which contains the information requested.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 27, 1825_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

Being deeply impressed with the opinion that the removal of the Indian
tribes from the lands which they now occupy within the limits of the
several States and Territories to the country lying westward and
northward thereof, within our acknowledged boundaries, is of very
high importance to our Union, and may be accomplished on conditions and
in a manner to promote the interest and happiness of those tribes, the
attention of the Government has been long drawn with great solicitude
to the object. For the removal of the tribes within the limits of the
State of Georgia the motive has been peculiarly strong, arising from
the compact with that State whereby the United States are bound to
extinguish the Indian title to the lands within it whenever it may
be done peaceably and on reasonable conditions. In the fulfillment of
this compact, I have thought that the United States should act with a
generous spirit; that they should omit nothing which should comport with
a liberal construction of the instrument and likewise be in accordance
with the just rights of those tribes. From the view which I have taken
of the subject I am satisfied that in the discharge of these important
duties in regard to both the parties alluded to the United States will
have to encounter no conflicting interests with either. On the contrary,
that the removal of the tribes from the territory which they now inhabit
to that which was designated in the message at the commencement of
the session, which would accomplish the object for Georgia, under a
well-digested plan for their government and civilization, which should
be agreeable to themselves, would not only shield them from impending
ruin, but promote their welfare and happiness. Experience has clearly
demonstrated that in their present state it is impossible to incorporate
them in such masses, in any form whatever, into our system. It has also
demonstrated with equal certainty that without a timely anticipation
of and provision against the dangers to which they are exposed, under
causes which it will be difficult, if not impossible, to control, their
degradation and extermination will be inevitable.

The great object to be accomplished is the removal of these tribes to
the territory designated on conditions which shall be satisfactory to
themselves and honorable to the United States. This can be done only by
conveying to each tribe a good title to an adequate portion of land to
which it may consent to remove, and by providing for it there a system
of internal government which shall protect their property from invasion,
and, by the regular progress of improvement and civilization, prevent
that degeneracy which has generally marked the transition from the one
to the other state.

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, which presents
the best estimate which can be formed, from the documents in that
Department, of the number of Indians within our States and Territories
and of the amount of lands held by the several tribes within each; of
the state of the country lying northward and westward thereof, within
our acknowledged boundaries; of the parts to which the Indian title has
already been extinguished, and of the conditions on which other parts,
in an amount which may be adequate to the object contemplated, may be
obtained. By this report it appears that the Indian title has already
been extinguished to extensive tracts in that quarter, and that other
portions maybe acquired to the extent desired on very moderate
conditions. Satisfied I also am that the removal proposed is not only
practicable, but that the advantages attending it to the Indians may be
made so apparent to them that all the tribes, even those most opposed,
may be induced to accede to it at no very distant day.

The digest of such a government, with the consent of the Indians,
which should be endowed with sufficient power to meet all the objects
contemplated--to connect the several tribes together in a bond of amity
and preserve order in each; to prevent intrusions on their property;
to teach them by regular instruction the arts of civilized life and make
them a civilized people--is an object of very high importance. It is
the powerful consideration which we have to offer to these tribes as
an inducement to relinquish the lands on which they now reside and
to remove to those which are designated. It is not doubted that this
arrangement will present considerations of sufficient force to surmount
all their prejudices in favor of the soil of their nativity, however
strong they may be. Their elders have sufficient intelligence to discern
the certain progress of events in the present train, and sufficient
virtue, by yielding to momentary sacrifices, to protect their families
and posterity from inevitable destruction. They will also perceive that
they may thus attain an elevation to which as communities they could not
otherwise aspire.

To the United States the proposed arrangement offers many important
advantages in addition to those which have been already enumerated.
By the establishment of such a government over these tribes with
their consent we become in reality their benefactors. The relation of
conflicting interests which has heretofore existed between them and our
frontier settlements will cease. There will be no more wars between them
and the United States. Adopting such a government, their movement will
be in harmony with us, and its good effect be felt throughout the whole
extent of our territory to the Pacific. It may fairly be presumed that,
through the agency of such a government, the condition of all the tribes
inhabiting that vast region may be essentially improved; that permanent
peace may be preserved with them, and our commerce be much extended.

With a view to this important object I recommend it to Congress to
adopt, by solemn declaration, certain fundamental principles in accord
with those above suggested, as the basis of such arrangements as may
be entered into with the several tribes, to the strict observance of
which the faith of the nation shall be pledged, I recommend it also to
Congress to provide by law for the appointment of a suitable number
of commissioners who shall, under the direction of the President, be
authorized to visit and explain to the several tribes the objects of
the Government, and to make with them, according to their instructions,
such arrangements as shall be best calculated to carry those objects
into effect.

A negotiation is now depending with the Creek Nation for the cession of
lands held by it within the limits of Georgia, and with a reasonable
prospect of success. It is presumed, however, that the result will not
be known during the present session of Congress. To give effect to this
negotiation and to the negotiations which it is proposed to hold with
all the other tribes within the limits of the several States and
Territories on the principles and for the purposes stated, it is
recommended that an adequate appropriation be now made by Congress.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _January 27, 1825_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate a treaty concluded in this city with a
deputation from the Choctaw Indians, accompanied with the report from
the Secretary of War, with a copy of the correspondence connected with
the negotiations, for the advice and consent of the Senate.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 2, 1825_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I communicate herewith to both Houses of Congress copies of the
alterations in the treaty of peace and friendship of August, 1797,
between the United States and the Bashaw Bey of Tunis, concluded at
the Palace of Bardo, near Tunis, on the 24th of February last, and
of treaties between the United States and the Sock and Fox tribes of
Indians and the Ioway tribe of Indians, concluded at the city of
Washington on the 4th of August last, which have been duly ratified.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 4, 1825_.

The PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF THE SENATE:

It appearing by certain provisions contained in a late act of the
general assembly of Virginia, entitled "An act incorporating the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company," that the assent of Congress will
be necessary to carry the said act into effect, I herewith transmit
a copy thereof, that it may be considered with a view to the object
contemplated.

JAMES MONROE.

[The same message was sent to the House of Representatives.]



WASHINGTON, _February 7, 1825_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit herewith to the House a report from the Secretary of State,
with copies of the correspondence relating to the claims of the citizens
of the United States upon the Government of the Netherlands, requested
by a resolution of the House of the 18th of January last.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 11, 1825_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of
January 5, I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of the Navy,
with copies of the proceedings of the courts-martial in the cases of
Lieutenants Weaver and Conner.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 14, 1825_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of War, with a report
to him by the Chief Engineer, of the examination which has been made by
the Board of Engineers for Internal Improvement, in obedience to their
instructions, of the country between the Potomac and Ohio rivers,
between the latter and Lake Erie, between the Allegheny and Schuylkill
rivers, the Delaware and the Raritan, between Buzzards and Barnstable
bays, and the Narraganset roads and Boston Harbor, with explanatory
observations on each route. From the view which I have taken of these
reports I contemplate results of incalculable advantage to our Union,
because I see in them the most satisfactory proof that certain
impediments which had a tendency to embarrass the intercourse between
some of its most important sections may be removed without serious
difficulty, and that facilities may be afforded in other quarters which
will have the happiest effect. Of the right in Congress to promote these
great results by the appropriation of the public money, in harmony
with the States to be affected by them, having already communicated
my sentiments fully and on mature consideration, I deem it unnecessary
to enlarge at this time.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 16, 1825_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives a report from the Secretary
of State, containing the information called for by their resolution of
the 1st of this month, touching the capture and detention of American
fishermen during the last season.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 17, 1825_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I herewith transmit to the House a report from the Secretary of State,
with copies of the correspondence with the Government of France,
requested by the resolution of the House of the 25th of January last.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 17, 1825_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I invite the attention of Congress to the peculiar situation of this
District in regard to the exposure of its inhabitants to contagious
diseases from abroad, against which it is thought that adequate
provision should now be made. The exposure being common to the whole
District, the regulation should apply to the whole, to make which
Congress alone possesses the adequate power. That the regulation should
be made by Congress is the more necessary from the consideration that
this being the seat of the Government, its protection against such
diseases must form one of its principal objects.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 21, 1825_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, with a report
to him from the Third Auditor, of the settlement in the amount stated
of the claims of the State of Massachusetts for services rendered by
the militia of that State in the late war, the payment of which has
hitherto been prevented by causes which are well known to Congress.
Having communicated my sentiments on this subject fully in a message
bearing date on the 23d of February, 1824, it is unnecessary to repeat
in detail here what I there advanced. By recurring to that message and
to the documents referred to in it it will be seen that the conduct of
the executive of that State in refusing to place the militia thereof at
that difficult conjuncture under the direction of the Executive of the
United States, as it was bound to do by a fair construction of the
Constitution, and as the other States did, is the great cause to which
the difficulty adverted to is to be ascribed. It will also be seen on a
view of those documents that the executive of the State was warned at
the time if it persevered in the refusal that the consequences which
have followed would be inevitable; that the attitude assumed by the
State formed a case which was not contemplated by the existing laws
of the United States relating to militia services; that the payment
of the claims of the State for such services could be provided for by
Congress only and by a special law for the purpose. Having made this
communication while acting in the Department of War to the governor
of Massachusetts, with the sanction and under the direction of my
enlightened and virtuous predecessor, it would be improper in any view
which may be taken of the subject for me to change the ground then
assumed, to withdraw this great question from the consideration of
Congress, and to act on it myself. Had the Executive been in error,
it is entitled to censure, making a just allowance for the motive which
guided it. If its conduct was correct, the ground then assumed ought
to be maintained by it. It belongs to Congress alone to terminate this
distressing incident on just principles, with a view to the highest
interests of our Union.

From the view which I have taken of the subject I am confirmed in the
opinion that Congress should now decide on the claim and allow to the
State such portions thereof as are founded on the principles laid down
in the former message. If those principles are correct, as on great
consideration I am satisfied they are, it appears to me to be just
in itself and of high importance that the sums which may be due in
conformity therewith should no longer be withheld from the State.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 21, 1825_.

The PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE PRO TEMPORE:

I transmit to the Senate a convention, signed by the plenipotentiaries
of the United States and of the Republic of Colombia at Bogota on the
10th of December, 1824, together with the documents appertaining to the
negotiation of the same, for the constitutional consideration of the
Senate with regard to its ratification,

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 21, 1825_.

The PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE PRO TEMPORE:

I transmit to the Senate a convention of general peace, amity,
navigation, and commerce, signed by the plenipotentiaries of the United
States and of the Republic of Colombia at Bogota on the 3d of October,
1824, together with the documents appertaining to the negotiation of the
same, for the constitutional consideration of the Senate with regard to
its ratification.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 23, 1825_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives a further report from the
Secretary of State, in pursuance of their resolution of the 1st instant,
with the papers to which it refers, upon the subject of the capture and
detention of American fishermen the past season in the Bay of Fundy.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 25, 1825_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I communicate herewith to both Houses of Congress copies of the treaties
between the United States and the Quapaw Nation of Indians, concluded at
Harringtons, in the Territory of Arkansas, on the 15th day of November
last, and between the United States and the Choctaw Nation of Indians,
concluded at the city of Washington on the 20th day of January last,
which have been duly ratified.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 26, 1825_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

Just before the termination of the last session an act entitled "An
act concerning wrecks on the coast of Florida," which then passed,
was presented to me with many others and approved, and, as I thought,
signed. A report to that effect was then made to Congress. It appeared,
however, after the adjournment that the evidence of such approbation
had not been attached to it. Whether the act may be considered in
force under such circumstances is a point on which it belongs not
to me to decide. To remove all doubt on the subject, I submit to the
consideration of Congress the propriety of passing a declaratory act
to that effect.

JAMES MONROE.



WASHINGTON, _February 28, 1825_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate, for the exercise of its constitutional power,
a treaty lately concluded at the Indian Springs, by commissioners of
the United States duly authorized, with the chiefs of the Creek Nation,
assembled there in council, with the documents connected therewith.

JAMES MONROE.




PROCLAMATION.


[From Senate Journal, Eighteenth Congress, second session, p. 269.]

WASHINGTON, _January 19, 1825_.

_The President of the United States to ------, Senator for the State
of ------_:

Certain matters touching the public good requiring that the Senate of
the United States should be convened on Friday, the 4th day of March
next, you are desired to attend at the Senate Chamber, in the city of
Washington, on that day, then and there to receive and deliberate on
such communications as shall be made to you.

JAMES MONROE.





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