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diff --git a/old/12462.txt b/old/12462.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fc76aa8 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12462.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18445 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of +the Presidents: Lincoln, by Compiled by James D. Richardson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents: Lincoln + Section 1 (of 2) of Volume 6: Abraham Lincoln + +Author: Compiled by James D. Richardson + +Release Date: May 28, 2004 [EBook #12462] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PAPERS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, David Garcia and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + +A COMPILATION OF THE MESSAGES AND PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS + +BY JAMES D. RICHARDSON + +A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE STATE OF TENNESSEE + + +VOLUME VI + + +PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF CONGRESS + +1902 + + + + +Prefatory Note + + +The Presidential papers during the period from March 4, 1861, to March +4, 1869, are contained in this volume. No other period of American +history since the Revolution comprises so many events of surpassing +importance. The Administrations of Presidents Lincoln, and Johnson +represent two distinct epochs. That of Abraham Lincoln was dedicated to +the successful prosecution of the most stupendous war of modern times, +while that of Andrew Johnson was dedicated to the reestablishment +of peace and the restoration of the Union as it had existed prior +to the war. Strange to say, it fell to the lot of the kind-hearted +humanitarian, who loved peace and his fellow-man, to wage the bloody +conflict of civil war, and the more aggressive, combative character +directed the affairs of the Government while the land took upon itself +the conditions of peace. Yet who can say that each was not best suited +for his particular sphere of action? A greater lover of his kind has not +filled the office of President since Thomas Jefferson, and no public +servant ever left with the people a gentler memory than Abraham Lincoln. +A more self-willed and determined Chief Executive has not held that +office since Andrew Jackson, and no public servant ever left with the +people a higher character for honesty, integrity, and sincerity of +purpose and action than Andrew Johnson. The life of each of these two +great men had been a series of obscure but heroic struggles; each had +experienced a varied and checkered career; each reached the highest +political station of earth. Their official state papers are of supreme +interest, and comprise the utterances of President Lincoln while he in +four years placed in the field nearly three millions of soldiers; what +he said when victories were won or when his armies went down in defeat; +what treasures of blood and money it cost to triumph; also, the +utterances of President Johnson as he through his eventful term waged +the fiercest political battle of our country's history in his efforts, +along his own lines, for the restoration of peace and the reunion of the +States. + +Interesting papers relating to the death and funeral obsequies of +President Lincoln have been inserted, as also the more important papers +and proceedings connected with the impeachment of President Johnson. + +Much time and labor have been expended in the compilation of this +volume--more than on any one of the preceding--to the end that all +papers of importance that could be found should be published; and I feel +sure that no other collection of Presidential papers is so thorough and +complete. + +The perusal of these papers should kindle within the heart of every +citizen of the American Republic, whether he fought on the one side or +the other in that unparalleled struggle, or whether he has come upon the +scene since its closing, a greater love of country, a greater devotion +to the cause of true liberty, and an undying resolve that all the +blessings of a free government and the fullest liberty of the individual +shall be perpetuated. + +JAMES D. RICHARDSON. + +NOVEMBER 25, 1897. + + * * * * * + + +Abraham Lincoln + +March 4, 1861, to April 15, 1865 + + + * * * * * + + + + +Abraham Lincoln + + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN was born in Hardin County, Ky., February 12, 1809. His +earliest ancestor in America was Samuel Lincoln, of Norwich, England, +who settled in Hingham, Mass., where he died, leaving a son, Mordecai, +whose son of the same name removed to Monmouth, N.J., and thence to +Berks County, Pa., where he died in 1735. One of his sons, John, removed +to Buckingham County, Va., and died there, leaving five sons, one of +whom, named Abraham, emigrated to Kentucky about 1780. About 1784 he was +killed by Indians, leaving three sons, Mordecai, Josiah, and Thomas, and +two daughters. Their mother then located in Washington County, Ky., and +there brought up her family. The youngest son, Thomas, learned the trade +of a carpenter, and in 1806 married Nancy Hanks, a niece of the man with +whom he learned his trade. They had three children, the second being +Abraham, the future President of the United States. In 1816 Thomas +Lincoln removed to Indiana, and settled on Little Pigeon Creek, not far +distant from the Ohio River, where Abraham grew to manhood. He made the +best use of his limited opportunities to acquire an education and at the +same time prepare himself for business. At the age of 19 years he was +intrusted with a cargo of farm products, which he took to New Orleans +and sold. In 1830 his father again emigrated, and located in Macon +County, Ill. Abraham by this time had attained the unusual stature of +6 feet 4 inches, and was of great muscular strength; joined with his +father in building his cabin, clearing the field, and splitting the +rails for fencing the farm. It was not long, however, before his father +again changed his home, locating this time in Coles County, where he +died in 1851 at the age of 73 years. Abraham left his father as soon as +his farm was fenced and cleared and hired himself to a man named Denton +Offutt, in Sangamon County, whom he assisted to build a flatboat; +accompanied him to New Orleans on a trading voyage and returned with him +to New Salem, Menard County, where Offutt opened a store for the sale of +general merchandise. Mr. Lincoln remained with him for a time, during +which he employed his leisure in constant reading and study. Learned +the elements of English grammar and made a beginning in the study of +surveying and the principles of law. But the next year an Indian war +began, and Lincoln volunteered in a company raised in Sangamon County +and was immediately elected captain. His company was organized at +Richland April 21, 1832; but his service in command of it was brief, for +it was mustered out on May 27. Mr. Lincoln immediately reenlisted as a +private and served for several weeks, being finally mustered out on June +16, 1832, by Lieutenant Robert Anderson, who afterwards commanded Fort +Sumter at the beginning of the civil war. He returned to his home and +made a brief but active canvass for the legislature, but was defeated. +At this time he thought seriously of learning the blacksmith's trade, +but an opportunity was offered him to buy a store, which he did, giving +his notes for the purchase money. He was unfortunate in his selection of +a partner, and the business soon went to wreck, leaving him burdened +with a heavy debt, which he finally paid in full. He then applied +himself earnestly to the study of the law. Was appointed postmaster of +New Salem in 1833, and filled the office for three years. At the same +time was appointed deputy county surveyor. In 1834 was elected to the +legislature, and was reelected in 1836, 1838, and 1840, after which he +declined further election. In his last two terms he was the candidate of +his party for the speakership of the house of representatives. In 1837 +removed to Springfield, where he entered into partnership with John +T. Stuart and began the practice of the law. November 4, 1842, married +Miss Mary Todd, daughter of Robert S. Todd, of Kentucky. In 1846 was +elected to Congress over Rev. Peter Cartwright. Served only one term, +and was not a candidate for reelection. While a member he advocated the +abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. Was an unsuccessful +applicant for Commissioner of the General Land Office under President +Taylor; was tendered the office of governor of Oregon Territory, which +he declined. Was an able and influential exponent of the principles of +the Whig party in Illinois, and did active campaign work. Was voted for +by the Whig minority in the State legislature for United States Senator +in 1855. As soon as the Republican party was fully organized throughout +the country he became its leader in Illinois. In 1858 he was chosen by +his party to oppose Stephen A. Douglas for the Senate, and challenged +him to a joint debate. The challenge was accepted, and a most exciting +debate followed, which attracted national attention. The legislature +chosen was favorable to Mr. Douglas, and he was elected. In May, 1860, +when the Republican convention met in Chicago, Mr. Lincoln was nominated +for the Presidency, on the third ballot, over William H. Seward, who was +his principal competitor. Was elected on November 6, receiving 180 +electoral votes to 72 for John C. Breckinridge, 39 for John Bell, and +12 for Stephen A. Douglas. Was inaugurated March 4, 1861. On June 8, +1864, was unanimously renominated for the Presidency by the Republican +convention at Baltimore, and at the election in November received 212 +electoral votes to 21 for General McClellan. Was inaugurated for his +second term March 4, 1865. Was shot by an assassin at Ford's Theater, in +Washington, April 14, 1865, and died the next day. Was buried at Oak +Ridge, near Springfield, Ill. + + + + +FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS. + + +_Fellow-Citizens of the United States_: + +In compliance with a custom as old as the Government itself, I appear +before you to address you briefly and to take in your presence the oath +prescribed by the Constitution of the United States to be taken by the +President "before he enters on the execution of his office." + +I do not consider it necessary at present for me to discuss those +matters of administration about which there is no special anxiety or +excitement. + +Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States that +by the accession of a Republican Administration their property and their +peace and personal security are to be endangered. There has never been +any reasonable cause for such apprehension. Indeed, the most ample +evidence to the contrary has all the while existed and been open to +their inspection. It is found in nearly all the published speeches of +him who now addresses you. I do but quote from one of those speeches +when I declare that-- + + I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the + institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe + I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. + + +Those who nominated and elected me did so with full knowledge that I had +made this and many similar declarations and had never recanted them; and +more than this, they placed in the platform for my acceptance, and as a +law to themselves and to me, the clear and emphatic resolution which I +now read: + + _Resolved_, That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the + States, and especially the right of each State to order and control its + own domestic institutions according to its own judgment exclusively, is + essential to that balance of power on which the perfection and endurance + of our political fabric depend; and we denounce the lawless invasion by + armed force of the soil of any State or Territory, no matter under what + pretext, as among the gravest of crimes. + + +I now reiterate these sentiments, and in doing so I only press upon +the public attention the most conclusive evidence of which the case is +susceptible that the property, peace, and security of no section are +to be in any wise endangered by the now incoming Administration. I add, +too, that all the protection which, consistently with the Constitution +and the laws, can be given will be cheerfully given to all the States +when lawfully demanded, for whatever cause--as cheerfully to one section +as to another. + +There is much controversy about the delivering up of fugitives from +service or labor. The clause I now read is as plainly written in the +Constitution as any other of its provisions: + + No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, + escaping into another, shall in consequence of any law or regulation + therein be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered + up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. + + +It is scarcely questioned that this provision was intended by those who +made it for the reclaiming of what we call fugitive slaves; and the +intention of the lawgiver is the law. All members of Congress swear +their support to the whole Constitution--to this provision as much as +to any other. To the proposition, then, that slaves whose cases come +within the terms of this clause "shall be delivered up" their oaths are +unanimous. Now, if they would make the effort in good temper, could they +not with nearly equal unanimity frame and pass a law by means of which +to keep good that unanimous oath? + +There is some difference of opinion whether this clause should be +enforced by national or by State authority, but surely that difference +is not a very material one. If the slave is to be surrendered, it can be +of but little consequence to him or to others by which authority it is +done. And should anyone in any case be content that his oath shall go +unkept on a merely unsubstantial controversy as to _how_ it shall be +kept? + +Again: In any law upon this subject ought not all the safeguards of +liberty known in civilized and humane jurisprudence to be introduced, so +that a free man be not in any case surrendered as a slave? And might it +not be well at the same time to provide by law for the enforcement of +that clause in the Constitution which guarantees that "the citizens of +each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of +citizens in the several States"? + +I take the official oath to-day with no mental reservations and with no +purpose to construe the Constitution or laws by any hypercritical rules; +and while I do not choose now to specify particular acts of Congress as +proper to be enforced, I do suggest that it will be much safer for all, +both in official and private stations, to conform to and abide by all +those acts which stand unrepealed than to violate any of them trusting +to find impunity in having them held to be unconstitutional. + +It is seventy-two years since the first inauguration of a President +under our National Constitution. During that period fifteen different +and greatly distinguished citizens have in succession administered the +executive branch of the Government. They have conducted it through many +perils, and generally with great success. Yet, with all this scope of +precedent, I now enter upon the same task for the brief constitutional +term of four years under great and peculiar difficulty. A disruption of +the Federal Union, heretofore only menaced, is now formidably attempted. + +I hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution +the Union of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity is implied, if not +expressed, in the fundamental law of all national governments. It is +safe to assert that no government proper ever had a provision in its +organic law for its own termination. Continue to execute all the express +provisions of our National Constitution, and the Union will endure +forever, it being impossible to destroy it except by some action not +provided for in the instrument itself. + +Again: If the United States be not a government proper, but an +association of States in the nature of contract merely, can it, as a +contract, be peaceably unmade by less than all the parties who made it? +One party to a contract may violate it--break it, so to speak--but does +it not require all to lawfully rescind it? + +Descending from these general principles, we find the proposition that +in legal contemplation the Union is perpetual confirmed by the history +of the Union itself. The Union is much older than the Constitution. +It was formed, in fact, by the Articles of Association in 1774. It was +matured and continued by the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It was +further matured, and the faith of all the then thirteen States expressly +plighted and engaged that it should be perpetual, by the Articles of +Confederation in 1778. And finally, in 1787, one of the declared objects +for ordaining and establishing the Constitution was "_to form a more +perfect Union_." + +But if destruction of the Union by one or by a part only of the States +be lawfully possible, the Union is _less_ perfect than before the +Constitution, having lost the vital element of perpetuity. + +It follows from these views that no State upon its own mere motion can +lawfully get out of the Union; that _resolves_ and _ordinances_ to that +effect are legally void, and that acts of violence within any State or +States against the authority of the United States are insurrectionary or +revolutionary, according to circumstances. + +I therefore consider that in view of the Constitution and the laws the +Union is unbroken, and to the extent of my ability I shall take care, as +the Constitution itself expressly enjoins upon me, that the laws of the +Union be faithfully executed in all the States. Doing this I deem to +be only a simple duty on my part, and I shall perform it so far as +practicable unless my rightful masters, the American people, shall +withhold the requisite means or in some authoritative manner direct the +contrary. I trust this will not be regarded as a menace, but only as the +declared purpose of the Union that it _will_ constitutionally defend and +maintain itself. + +In doing this there needs to be no bloodshed or violence, and there +shall be none unless it be forced upon the national authority. The power +confided to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property +and places belonging to the Government and to collect the duties and +imposts; but beyond what may be necessary for these objects, there will +be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people anywhere. +Where hostility to the United States in any interior locality shall be +so great and universal as to prevent competent resident citizens from +holding the Federal offices, there will be no attempt to force obnoxious +strangers among the people for that object. While the strict legal right +may exist in the Government to enforce the exercise of these offices, +the attempt to do so would be so irritating and so nearly impracticable +withal that I deem it better to forego for the time the uses of such +offices. + +The mails, unless repelled, will continue to be furnished in all parts +of the Union. So far as possible the people everywhere shall have that +sense of perfect security which is most favorable to calm thought and +reflection. The course here indicated will be followed unless current +events and experience shall show a modification or change to be proper, +and in every case and exigency my best discretion will be exercised, +according to circumstances actually existing and with a view and a hope +of a peaceful solution of the national troubles and the restoration of +fraternal sympathies and affections. + +That there are persons in one section or another who seek to destroy the +Union at all events and are glad of any pretext to do it I will neither +affirm nor deny; but if there be such, I need address no word to them. +To those, however, who really love the Union may I not speak? + +Before entering upon so grave a matter as the destruction of our +national fabric, with all its benefits, its memories, and its hopes, +would it not be wise to ascertain precisely why we do it? Will you +hazard so desperate a step while there is any possibility that any +portion of the ills you fly from have no real existence? Will you, while +the certain ills you fly to are greater than all the real ones you fly +from, will you risk the commission of so fearful a mistake? + +All profess to be content in the Union if all constitutional rights can +be maintained. Is it true, then, that any right plainly written in the +Constitution has been denied? I think not. Happily, the human mind is +so constituted that no party can reach to the audacity of doing this. +Think, if you can, of a single instance in which a plainly written +provision of the Constitution has ever been denied. If by the mere force +of numbers a majority should deprive a minority of any clearly written +constitutional right, it might in a moral point of view justify +revolution; certainly would if such right were a vital one. But such is +not our case. All the vital rights of minorities and of individuals are +so plainly assured to them by affirmations and negations, guaranties +and prohibitions, in the Constitution that controversies never arise +concerning them. But no organic law can ever be framed with a provision +specifically applicable to every question which may occur in practical +administration. No foresight can anticipate nor any document of +reasonable length contain express provisions for all possible questions. +Shall fugitives from labor be surrendered by national or by State +authority? The Constitution does not expressly say. _May_ Congress +prohibit slavery in the Territories? The Constitution does not expressly +say. _Must_ Congress protect slavery in the Territories? The +Constitution does not expressly say. + +From questions of this class spring all our constitutional +controversies, and we divide upon them into majorities and minorities. +If the minority will not acquiesce, the majority must, or the Government +must cease. There is no other alternative, for continuing the Government +is acquiescence on one side or the other. If a minority in such case +will secede rather than acquiesce, they make a precedent which in turn +will divide and ruin them, for a minority of their own will secede from +them whenever a majority refuses to be controlled by such minority. For +instance, why may not any portion of a new confederacy a year or two +hence arbitrarily secede again, precisely as portions of the present +Union now claim to secede from it? All who cherish disunion sentiments +are now being educated to the exact temper of doing this. + +Is there such perfect identity of interests among the States to compose +a new union as to produce harmony only and prevent renewed secession? + +Plainly the central idea of secession is the essence of anarchy. +A majority held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, +and always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions +and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people. Whoever +rejects it does of necessity fly to anarchy or to despotism. Unanimity +is impossible. The rule of a minority, as a permanent arrangement, is +wholly inadmissible; so that, rejecting the majority principle, anarchy +or despotism in some form is all that is left. + +I do not forget the position assumed by some that constitutional +questions are to be decided by the Supreme Court, nor do I deny that +such decisions must be binding in any case upon the parties to a suit as +to the object of that suit, while they are also entitled to very high +respect and consideration in all parallel cases by all other departments +of the Government. And while it is obviously possible that such decision +may be erroneous in any given case, still the evil effect following it, +being limited to that particular case, with the chance that it may be +overruled and never become a precedent for other cases, can better be +borne than could the evils of a different practice. At the same time, +the candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the Government +upon vital questions affecting the whole people is to be irrevocably +fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court, the instant they are made in +ordinary litigation between parties in personal actions the people will +have ceased to be their own rulers, having to that extent practically +resigned their Government into the hands of that eminent tribunal. Nor +is there in this view any assault upon the court or the judges. It is +a duty from which they may not shrink to decide cases properly brought +before them, and it is no fault of theirs if others seek to turn their +decisions to political purposes. + +One section of our country believes slavery is _right_ and ought to be +extended, while the other believes it is _wrong_ and ought not to be +extended. This is the only substantial dispute. The fugitive-slave +clause of the Constitution and the law for the suppression of the +foreign slave trade are each as well enforced, perhaps, as any law can +ever be in a community where the moral sense of the people imperfectly +supports the law itself. The great body of the people abide by the dry +legal obligation in both cases, and a few break over in each. This, I +think, can not be perfectly cured, and it would be worse in both cases +_after_ the separation of the sections than before. The foreign slave +trade, now imperfectly suppressed, would be ultimately revived without +restriction in one section, while fugitive slaves, now only partially +surrendered, would not be surrendered at all by the other. + +Physically speaking, we can not separate. We can not remove our +respective sections from each other nor build an impassable wall between +them. A husband and wife may be divorced and go out of the presence and +beyond the reach of each other, but the different parts of our country +can not do this. They can not but remain face to face, and intercourse, +either amicable or hostile, must continue between them. Is it possible, +then, to make that intercourse more advantageous or more satisfactory +_after_ separation than _before_? Can aliens make treaties easier than +friends can make laws? Can treaties be more faithfully enforced between +aliens than laws can among friends? Suppose you go to war, you can not +fight always; and when, after much loss on both sides and no gain on +either, you cease fighting, the identical old questions, as to terms of +intercourse, are again upon you. + +This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit +it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing Government, they +can exercise their _constitutional_ right of amending it or their +_revolutionary_ right to dismember or overthrow it. I can not be +ignorant of the fact that many worthy and patriotic citizens are +desirous of having the National Constitution amended. While I make no +recommendation of amendments, I fully recognize the rightful authority +of the people over the whole subject, to be exercised in either of the +modes prescribed in the instrument itself; and I should, under existing +circumstances, favor rather than oppose a fair opportunity being +afforded the people to act upon it. I will venture to add that to me +the convention mode seems preferable, in that it allows amendments to +originate with the people themselves, instead of only permitting them to +take or reject propositions originated by others, not especially chosen +for the purpose, and which might not be precisely such as they would +wish to either accept or refuse. I understand a proposed amendment to +the Constitution--which amendment, however, I have not seen--has passed +Congress, to the effect that the Federal Government shall never +interfere with the domestic institutions of the States, including that +of persons held to service. To avoid misconstruction of what I have +said, I depart from my purpose not to speak of particular amendments +so far as to say that, holding such a provision to now be implied +constitutional law, I have no objection to its being made express and +irrevocable. + +The Chief Magistrate derives all his authority from the people, and they +have conferred none upon him to fix terms for the separation of the +States. The people themselves can do this also if they choose, but the +Executive as such has nothing to do with it. His duty is to administer +the present Government as it came to his hands and to transmit it +unimpaired by him to his successor. + +Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate justice +of the people? Is there any better or equal hope in the world? In our +present differences, is either party without faith of being in the +right? If the Almighty Ruler of Nations, with His eternal truth and +justice, be on your side of the North, or on yours of the South, that +truth and that justice will surely prevail by the judgment of this great +tribunal of the American people. + +By the frame of the Government under which we live this same people have +wisely given their public servants but little power for mischief, and +have with equal wisdom provided for the return of that little to their +own hands at very short intervals. While the people retain their virtue +and vigilance no Administration by any extreme of wickedness or folly +can very seriously injure the Government in the short space of four +years. + +My countrymen, one and all, think calmly and _well_ upon this whole +subject. Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time. If there be an +object to _hurry_ any of you in hot haste to a step which you would +never take _deliberately_, that object will be frustrated by taking +time; but no good object can be frustrated by it. Such of you as are now +dissatisfied still have the old Constitution unimpaired, and, on the +sensitive point, the laws of your own framing under it; while the new +Administration will have no immediate power, if it would, to change +either. If it were admitted that you who are dissatisfied hold the +right side in the dispute, there still is no single good reason for +precipitate action. Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm +reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken this favored land are still +competent to adjust in the best way all our present difficulty. + +In _your_ hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in _mine_, +is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not assail +_you_. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. +_You_ have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while +_I_ shall have the most solemn one to "preserve, protect, and defend +it." + +I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be +enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds +of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every +battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all +over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again +touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. + +MARCH 4, 1861. + + + + +SPECIAL MESSAGES. + + +WASHINGTON, _March 16, 1861_. + +_To the Senate_: + +The Senate has transmitted to me a copy of the message sent by my +predecessor to that body on the 21st day of February last, proposing to +take its advice on the subject of a proposition made by the British +Government through its minister here to refer the matter in controversy +between that Government and the Government of the United States to the +arbitrament of the King of Sweden and Norway, the King of the +Netherlands, or the Republic of the Swiss Confederation. + +In that message my predecessor stated that he wished to submit to the +Senate the precise questions following, namely: + + Will the Senate approve a treaty referring to either of the sovereign + powers above named the dispute now existing between the Governments of + the United States and Great Britain concerning the boundary line between + Vancouvers Island and the American continent? In case the referee shall + find himself unable to decide where the line is by the description of it + in the treaty of 15th June, 1846, shall he be authorized to establish a + line according to the treaty as nearly as possible? Which of the three + powers named by Great Britain as an arbiter shall be chosen by the + United States? + + +I find no reason to disapprove of the course of my predecessor in this +important matter, but, on the contrary, I not only shall receive the +advice of the Senate therein cheerfully, but I respectfully ask the +Senate for their advice on the three questions before recited. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _March 26, 1861_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I have received a copy of a resolution of the Senate passed on the +25th instant, requesting me, if in my opinion not incompatible with the +public interest, to communicate to the Senate the dispatches of Major +Robert Anderson to the War Department during the time he has been in +command of Fort Sumter. + +On examining the correspondence thus called for I have, with the highest +respect for the Senate, come to the conclusion that at the present +moment the publication of it would be inexpedient. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + +PROCLAMATIONS. + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas the laws of the United States have been for some time past and +now are opposed and the execution thereof obstructed in the States of +South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and +Texas by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary +course of judicial proceedings or by the powers vested in the marshals +by law: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, in +virtue of the power in me vested by the Constitution and the laws, have +thought fit to call forth, and hereby do call forth, the militia of the +several States of the Union to the aggregate number of 75,000, in order +to suppress said combinations and to cause the laws to be duly executed. + +The details for this object will be immediately communicated to the +State authorities through the War Department. + +I appeal to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate, and aid this effort +to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our National +Union and the perpetuity of popular government and to redress wrongs +already long enough endured. + +I deem it proper to say that the first service assigned to the forces +hereby called forth will probably be to repossess the forts, places, and +property which have been seized from the Union; and in every event the +utmost care will be observed, consistently with the objects aforesaid, +to avoid any devastation, any destruction of or interference with +property, or any disturbance of peaceful citizens in any part of the +country. + +And I hereby command the persons composing the combinations aforesaid to +disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes within twenty +days from this date. + +Deeming that the present condition of public affairs presents an +extraordinary occasion, I do hereby, in virtue of the power in me vested +by the Constitution, convene both Houses of Congress. Senators and +Representatives are therefore summoned to assemble at their respective +chambers at 12 o'clock noon on Thursday, the 4th day of July next, then +and there to consider and determine such measures as, in their wisdom, +the public safety and interest may seem to demand. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 15th day of April, A.D. 1861, and +of the Independence of the United States the eighty-fifth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas an insurrection against the Government of the United States has +broken out in the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, +Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, and the laws of the United States for +the collection of the revenue can not be effectually executed therein +conformably to that provision of the Constitution which requires duties +to be uniform throughout the United States; and + +Whereas a combination of persons engaged in such insurrection have +threatened to grant pretended letters of marque to authorize the bearers +thereof to commit assaults on the lives, vessels, and property of good +citizens of the country lawfully engaged in commerce on the high seas +and in waters of the United States; and + +Whereas an Executive proclamation has been already issued requiring the +persons engaged in these disorderly proceedings to desist therefrom, +calling out a militia force for the purpose of repressing the same, and +convening Congress in extraordinary session to deliberate and determine +thereon: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, +with a view to the same purposes before mentioned and to the protection +of the public peace and the lives and property of quiet and orderly +citizens pursuing their lawful occupations, until Congress shall have +assembled and deliberated on the said unlawful proceedings or until the +same shall have ceased, have further deemed it advisable to set on foot +a blockade of the ports within the States aforesaid, in pursuance of +the laws of the United States and of the law of nations in such case +provided. For this purpose a competent force will be posted so as to +prevent entrance and exit of vessels from the ports aforesaid. If, +therefore, with a view to violate such blockade, a vessel shall approach +or shall attempt to leave either of the said ports, she will be duly +warned by the commander of one of the blockading vessels, who will +indorse on her register the fact and date of such warning, and if the +same vessel shall again attempt to enter or leave the blockaded port +she will be captured and sent to the nearest convenient port for such +proceedings against her and her cargo as prize as may be deemed +advisable. + +And I hereby proclaim and declare that if any person, under the +pretended authority of the said States or under any other pretense, +shall molest a vessel of the United States or the persons or cargo on +board of her, such person will be held amenable to the laws of the +United States for the prevention and punishment of piracy. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 19th day of April, A.D. 1861, and +of the Independence of the United States the eighty-fifth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas, for the reasons assigned in my proclamation of the 19th +instant, a blockade of the ports of the States of South Carolina, +Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas was ordered +to be established; and + +Whereas since that date public property of the United States has been +seized, the collection of the revenue obstructed, and duly commissioned +officers of the United States, while engaged in executing the orders of +their superiors, have been arrested and held in custody as prisoners or +have been impeded in the discharge of their official duties, without due +legal process, by persons claiming to act under authorities of the +States of Virginia and North Carolina, an efficient blockade of the +ports of those States will also be established. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 27th day of April, A.D. 1861, and +of the Independence of the United States the eighty-fifth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas existing exigencies demand immediate and adequate measures for +the protection of the National Constitution and the preservation of the +National Union by the suppression of the insurrectionary combinations +now existing in several States for opposing the laws of the Union and +obstructing the execution thereof, to which end a military force in +addition to that called forth by my proclamation of the 15th day of +April in the present year appears to be indispensably necessary: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States and +Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy thereof and of the militia of +the several States when called into actual service, do hereby call into +the service of the United States 42,034 volunteers to serve for the +period of three years, unless sooner discharged, and to be mustered into +service as infantry and cavalry. The proportions of each arm and the +details of enrollment and organization will be made known through the +Department of War. + +And I also direct that the Regular Army of the United States be +increased by the addition of eight regiments of infantry, one regiment +of cavalry, and one regiment of artillery, making altogether a maximum +aggregate increase of 22,714 officers and enlisted men, the details of +which increase will also be made known through the Department of War. + +And I further direct the enlistment for not less than one or more than +three years of 18,000 seamen, in addition to the present force, for the +naval service of the United States. The details of the enlistment and +organization will be made known through the Department of the Navy. + +The call for volunteers hereby made and the direction for the increase +of the Regular Army and for the enlistment of seamen hereby given, +together with the plan of organization adopted for the volunteer and for +the regular forces hereby authorized, will be submitted to Congress as +soon as assembled. + +In the meantime I earnestly invoke the cooperation of all good citizens +in the measures hereby adopted for the effectual suppression of unlawful +violence, for the impartial enforcement of constitutional laws, and for +the speediest possible restoration of peace and order, and with these of +happiness and prosperity, throughout our country. + +In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 3d day of May, A.D. 1861, and of +the Independence of the United States the eighty-fifth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas an insurrection exists in the State of Florida by which the +lives, liberty, and property of loyal citizens of the United States are +endangered; and + +Whereas it is deemed proper that all needful measures should be taken +for the protection of such citizens and all officers of the United +States in the discharge of their public duties in the State aforesaid: + +Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the +United States, do hereby direct the commander of the forces of the +United States on the Florida coast to permit no person to exercise any +office or authority upon the islands of Key West, the Tortugas, and +Santa Rosa which may be inconsistent with the laws and Constitution of +the United States, authorizing him at the same time, if he shall find it +necessary, to suspend there the writ of _habeas corpus_ and to remove +from the vicinity of the United States fortresses all dangerous or +suspected persons. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 10th day of May, A.D. 1861, and of +the Independence of the United States the eighty-fifth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + + +EXECUTIVE ORDERS. + + +WASHINGTON, _April 25, 1861_. + +Lieutenant-General SCOTT. + +MY DEAR SIR: The Maryland legislature assembles to-morrow at Annapolis, +and not improbably will take action to arm the people of that State +against the United States. The question has been submitted to and +considered by me whether it would not be justifiable, upon the ground of +necessary defense, for you, as General in Chief of the United States +Army, to arrest or disperse the members of that body. I think it would +not be justifiable nor efficient for the desired object. + +First. They have a clearly legal right to assemble, and we can not know +in advance that their action will not be lawful and peaceful, and if we +wait until they shall have acted their arrest or dispersion will not +lessen the effect of their action. + +Secondly. We can not permanently prevent their action. If we arrest +them, we can not long hold them as prisoners, and when liberated they +will immediately reassemble and take their action; and precisely the +same if we simply disperse them--they will immediately reassemble in +some other place. + +I therefore conclude that it is only left to the Commanding General to +watch and await their action, which, if it shall be to arm their people +against the United States, he is to adopt the most prompt and efficient +means to counteract, even, if necessary, to the bombardment of their +cities and, in the extremest necessity, the suspension of the writ of +_habeas corpus_. + +Your obedient servant, + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +The COMMANDING GENERAL OF THE ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES: + +You are engaged in suppressing an insurrection against the laws of the +United States. If at any point on or in the vicinity of any military +line which is now or which shall be used between the city of +Philadelphia and the city of Washington you find resistance which +renders it necessary to suspend the writ of _habeas corpus_ for the +public safety, you personally, or through the officer in command at the +point where resistance occurs, are authorized to suspend that writ. + +Given under my hand and the seal of the United States, at the city of +Washington, this 27th day of April, 1861, and of the Independence of the +United States the eighty-fifth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President of the United States: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +GENERAL ORDERS, No. 13. + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, April 30, 1861_. + +The President directs that all officers of the Army, except those who +have entered the service since the 1st instant, take and subscribe anew +the oath of allegiance to the United States of America, as set forth in +the tenth article of war. + +Commanding officers will see to the prompt execution of this order, and +report accordingly. + +By order: + +L. THOMAS, + +_Adjutant-General_. + + + +_To all who shall see these presents, greeting_: + +Know ye that, reposing special trust and confidence in the patriotism, +valor, fidelity, and ability of Colonel Robert Anderson, United States +Army, I have empowered him, and do hereby empower him, to receive into +the Army of the United States as many regiments of volunteer troops from +the State of Kentucky and from the western part of the State of Virginia +as shall be willing to engage in the service of the United States for +the term of three years upon the terms and according to the plan +proposed by the proclamation of May 3, 1861, and General Orders, No. 15, +from the War Department, of May 4, 1861. + +The troops whom he receives shall be on the same footing in every +respect as those of the like kind called for in the proclamation above +cited, except that the officers shall be commissioned by the United +States. He is therefore carefully and diligently to discharge the duty +hereby devolved upon him by doing and performing all manner of things +thereunto belonging. + +Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 7th day of May, +A.D. 1861, and in the eighty-fifth year of the Independence of the +United States. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + SIMON CAMERON, + _Secretary of War_. + + + +STATE DEPARTMENT, _June 20, 1861_. + +The LIEUTENANT-GENERAL COMMANDING THE ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES: + +You or any officer you may designate will, in your discretion, suspend +the writ of _habeas corpus_ so far as may relate to Major Chase, lately +of the Engineer Corps of the Army of the United States, now alleged to +be guilty of treasonable practices against this Government. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD. + + + +The COMMANDING GENERAL, ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES: + +You are engaged in suppressing an insurrection against the laws of the +United States. If at any point on or in the vicinity of any military +line which is now or which shall be used between the city of New York +and the city of Washington you find resistance which renders it +necessary to suspend the writ of _habeas corpus_ for the public safety, +you personally, or through the officer in command at the point where +resistance occurs, are authorized to suspend that writ. + +[SEAL.] + +Given under my hand and the seal of the United States, at the city of +Washington, this 2d day of July, A.D. 1861, and of the Independence of +the United States the eighty-fifth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + + +SPECIAL SESSION MESSAGE. + + +JULY 4, 1861. + +_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +Having been convened on an extraordinary occasion, as authorized by the +Constitution, your attention is not called to any ordinary subject of +legislation. + +At the beginning of the present Presidential term, four months ago, the +functions of the Federal Government were found to be generally suspended +within the several States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, +Mississippi, Louisiana, and Florida, excepting only those of the +Post-Office Department. + +Within these States all the forts, arsenals, dockyards, custom-houses, +and the like, including the movable and stationary property in and +about them, had been seized and were held in open hostility to this +Government, excepting only Forts Pickens, Taylor, and Jefferson, on and +near the Florida coast, and Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor, South +Carolina. The forts thus seized had been put in improved condition, +new ones had been built, and armed forces had been organized and were +organizing, all avowedly with the same hostile purpose. + +The forts remaining in the possession of the Federal Government in +and near these States were either besieged or menaced by warlike +preparations, and especially Fort Sumter was nearly surrounded by +well-protected hostile batteries, with guns equal in quality to the +best of its own and outnumbering the latter as perhaps ten to one. A +disproportionate share of the Federal muskets and rifles had somehow +found their way into these States, and had been seized to be used +against the Government. Accumulations of the public revenue lying within +them had been seized for the same object. The Navy was scattered in +distant seas, leaving but a very small part of it within the immediate +reach of the Government. Officers of the Federal Army and Navy had +resigned in great numbers, and of those resigning a large proportion had +taken up arms against the Government. Simultaneously and in connection +with all this the purpose to sever the Federal Union was openly avowed. +In accordance with this purpose, an ordinance had been adopted in each +of these States declaring the States respectively to be separated from +the National Union. A formula for instituting a combined government of +these States had been promulgated, and this illegal organization, in the +character of Confederate States, was already invoking recognition, aid, +and intervention from foreign powers. + +Finding this condition of things and believing it to be an imperative +duty upon the incoming Executive to prevent, if possible, the +consummation of such attempt to destroy the Federal Union, a choice of +means to that end became indispensable. This choice was made, and was +declared in the inaugural address. The policy chosen looked to the +exhaustion of all peaceful measures before a resort to any stronger +ones. It sought only to hold the public places and property not already +wrested from the Government and to collect the revenue, relying for the +rest on time, discussion, and the ballot box. It promised a continuance +of the mails at Government expense to the very people who were resisting +the Government, and it gave repeated pledges against any disturbance to +any of the people or any of their rights. Of all that which a President +might constitutionally and justifiably do in such a case, everything was +forborne without which it was believed possible to keep the Government +on foot. + +On the 5th of March, the present incumbent's first full day in office, +a letter of Major Anderson, commanding at Fort Sumter, written on the +28th of February and received at the War Department on the 4th of March, +was by that Department placed in his hands. This letter expressed the +professional opinion of the writer that reenforcements could not be +thrown into that fort within the time for his relief rendered necessary +by the limited supply of provisions, and with a view of holding +possession of the same, with a force of less than 20,000 good and +well-disciplined men. This opinion was concurred in by all the officers +of his command, and their memoranda on the subject were made inclosures +of Major Anderson's letter. The whole was immediately laid before +Lieutenant-General Scott, who at once concurred with Major Anderson in +opinion. On reflection, however, he took full time, consulting with +other officers, both of the Army and the Navy, and at the end of four +days came reluctantly, but decidedly, to the same conclusion as before. +He also stated at the same time that no such sufficient force was then +at the control of the Government or could be raised and brought to +the ground within the time when the provisions in the fort would be +exhausted. In a purely military point of view this reduced the duty +of the Administration in the case to the mere matter of getting the +garrison safely out of the fort. + +It was believed, however, that to so abandon that position under the +circumstances would be utterly ruinous; that the _necessity_ under which +it was to be done would not be fully understood; that by many it would +be construed as a part of a _voluntary_ policy; that at home it would +discourage the friends of the Union, embolden its adversaries, and go +far to insure to the latter a recognition abroad; that, in fact, it +would be our national destruction consummated. This could not be +allowed. Starvation was not yet upon the garrison, and ere it would be +reached _Fort Pickens_ might be reenforced. This last would be a clear +indication of _policy_, and would better enable the country to accept +the evacuation of Fort Sumter as a military _necessity_. An order was +at once directed to be sent for the landing of the troops from the +steamship _Brooklyn_ into Fort Pickens. This order could not go by land, +but must take the longer and slower route by sea. The first return news +from the order was received just one week before the fall of Fort +Sumter. The news itself was that the officer commanding the _Sabine_, +to which vessel the troops had been transferred from the _Brooklyn_, +acting upon some _quasi_ armistice of the late Administration (and of +the existence of which the present Administration, up to the time the +order was dispatched, had only too vague and uncertain rumors to fix +attention), had refused to land the troops. To now reenforce Fort +Pickens before a crisis would be reached at Fort Sumter was impossible, +rendered so by the near exhaustion of provisions in the latter-named +fort. In precaution against such a conjuncture the Government had a +few days before commenced preparing an expedition, as well adapted as +might be, to relieve Fort Sumter, which expedition was intended to +be ultimately used or not, according to circumstances. The strongest +anticipated case for using it was now presented, and it was resolved to +send it forward. As had been intended in this contingency, it was also +resolved to notify the governor of South Carolina that he might expect +an attempt would be made to provision the fort, and that if the attempt +should not be resisted there would be no effort to throw in men, arms, +or ammunition without further notice, or in case of an attack upon the +fort. This notice was accordingly given, whereupon the fort was attacked +and bombarded to its fall, without even awaiting the arrival of the +provisioning expedition. + +It is thus seen that the assault upon and reduction of Fort Sumter was +in no sense a matter of self-defense on the part of the assailants. They +well knew that the garrison in the fort could by no possibility commit +aggression upon them. They knew--they were expressly notified--that the +giving of bread to the few brave and hungry men of the garrison was +all which would on that occasion be attempted, unless themselves, by +resisting so much, should provoke more. They knew that this Government +desired to keep the garrison in the fort, not to assail them, but merely +to maintain visible possession, and thus to preserve the Union from +actual and immediate dissolution, trusting, as hereinbefore stated, to +time, discussion, and the ballot box for final adjustment; and they +assailed and reduced the fort for precisely the reverse object--to drive +out the visible authority of the Federal Union, and thus force it to +immediate dissolution. That this was their object the Executive well +understood; and having said to them in the inaugural address, "You can +have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors," he took pains +not only to keep this declaration good, but also to keep the case so +free from the power of ingenious sophistry as that the world should not +be able to misunderstand it. By the affair at Fort Sumter, with its +surrounding circumstances, that point was reached. Then and thereby the +assailants of the Government began the conflict of arms, without a gun +in sight or in expectancy to return their fire, save only the few in the +fort, sent to that harbor years before for their own protection, and +still ready to give that protection in whatever was lawful. In this act, +discarding all else, they have forced upon the country the distinct +issue, "Immediate dissolution or blood." + +And this issue embraces more than the fate of these United States. +It presents to the whole family of man the question whether a +constitutional republic, or democracy--a government of the people by the +same people--can or can not maintain its territorial integrity against +its own domestic foes. It presents the question whether discontented +individuals, too few in numbers to control administration according to +organic law in any case, can always, upon the pretenses made in this +case, or on any other pretenses, or arbitrarily without any pretense, +break up their government, and thus practically put an end to free +government upon the earth. It forces us to ask, Is there in all +republics this inherent and fatal weakness? Must a government of +necessity be too _strong_ for the liberties of its own people, or +too _weak_ to maintain its own existence? + +So viewing the issue, no choice was left but to call out the war power +of the Government and so to resist force employed for its destruction +by force for its preservation. + +The call was made, and the response of the country was most gratifying, +surpassing in unanimity and spirit the most sanguine expectation. Yet +none of the States commonly called slave States, except Delaware, gave a +regiment through regular State organization. A few regiments have been +organized within some others of those States by individual enterprise +and received into the Government service. Of course the seceded States, +so called (and to which Texas had been joined about the time of the +inauguration), gave no troops to the cause of the Union. The border +States, so called, were not uniform in their action, some of them being +almost _for_ the Union, while in others, as Virginia, North Carolina, +Tennessee, and Arkansas, the Union sentiment was nearly repressed and +silenced. The course taken in Virginia was the most remarkable, perhaps +the most important. A convention elected by the people of that State +to consider this very question of disrupting the Federal Union was in +session at the capital of Virginia when Fort Sumter fell. To this body +the people had chosen a large majority of _professed_ Union men. Almost +immediately after the fall of Sumter many members of that majority went +over to the original disunion minority, and with them adopted an +ordinance for withdrawing the State from the Union. Whether this change +was wrought by their great approval of the assault upon Sumter or their +great resentment at the Government's resistance to that assault is not +definitely known. Although they submitted the ordinance for ratification +to a vote of the people, to be taken on a day then somewhat more than +a month distant, the convention and the legislature (which was also in +session at the same time and place), with leading men of the State not +members of either, immediately commenced acting as if the State were +already out of the Union. They pushed military preparations vigorously +forward all over the State. They seized the United States armory +at Harpers Ferry and the navy-yard at Gosport, near Norfolk. They +received--perhaps invited--into their State large bodies of troops, +with their warlike appointments, from the so-called seceded States. +They formally entered into a treaty of temporary alliance and +cooperation with the so-called "Confederate States," and sent members +to their congress at Montgomery; and, finally, they permitted the +insurrectionary government to be transferred to their capital at Richmond. + +The people of Virginia have thus allowed this giant insurrection to make +its nest within her borders, and this Government has no choice left but +to deal with it _where_ it finds it; and it has the less regret, as the +loyal citizens have in due form claimed its protection. Those loyal +citizens this Government is bound to recognize and protect, as being +Virginia. + +In the border States, so called--in fact, the Middle States--there are +those who favor a policy which they call "armed neutrality;" that is, +an arming of those States to prevent the Union forces passing one way +or the disunion the other over their soil. This would be disunion +completed. Figuratively speaking, it would be the building of an +impassable wall along the line of separation, and yet not quite an +impassable one, for, under the guise of neutrality, it would tie the +hands of the Union men and freely pass supplies from among them to the +insurrectionists, which it could not do as an open enemy. At a stroke it +would take all the trouble off the hands of secession, except only what +proceeds from the external blockade. It would do for the disunionists +that which of all things they most desire--feed them well and give them +disunion without a struggle of their own. It recognizes no fidelity to +the Constitution, no obligation to maintain the Union; and while very +many who have favored it are doubtless loyal citizens, it is, +nevertheless, very injurious in effect. + +Recurring to the action of the Government, it may be stated that at +first a call was made for 75,000 militia, and rapidly following this a +proclamation was issued for closing the ports of the insurrectionary +districts by proceedings in the nature of blockade. So far all was +believed to be strictly legal. At this point the insurrectionists +announced their purpose to enter upon the practice of privateering. + +Other calls were made for volunteers to serve three years unless sooner +discharged, and also for large additions to the Regular Army and Navy. +These measures, whether strictly legal or not, were ventured upon under +what appeared to be a popular demand and a public necessity, trusting +then, as now, that Congress would readily ratify them. It is believed +that nothing has been done beyond the constitutional competency of +Congress. + +Soon after the first call for militia it was considered a duty to +authorize the Commanding General in proper cases, according to his +discretion, to suspend the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_, +or, in other words, to arrest and detain without resort to the ordinary +processes and forms of law such individuals as he might deem dangerous +to the public safety. This authority has purposely been exercised but +very sparingly. Nevertheless, the legality and propriety of what has +been done under it are questioned, and the attention of the country has +been called to the proposition that one who is sworn to "take care that +the laws be faithfully executed" should not himself violate them. Of +course some consideration was given to the questions of power and +propriety before this matter was acted upon. The whole of the laws which +were required to be faithfully executed were being resisted and failing +of execution in nearly one-third of the States. Must they be allowed to +finally fail of execution, even had it been perfectly clear that by the +use of the means necessary to their execution some single law, made in +such extreme tenderness of the citizen's liberty that practically it +relieves more of the guilty than of the innocent, should to a very +limited extent be violated? To state the question more directly, Are +all the laws _but one_ to go unexecuted, and the Government itself go +to pieces lest that one be violated? Even in such a case, would not the +official oath be broken if the Government should be overthrown when it +was believed that disregarding the single law would tend to preserve it? +But it was not believed that this question was presented. It was not +believed that any law was violated. The provision of the Constitution +that "the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ shall not be +suspended unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public +safety may require it" is equivalent to a provision--is a +provision--that such privilege may be suspended when, in cases of +rebellion or invasion, the public safety _does_ require it. It was +decided that we have a case of rebellion and that the public safety does +require the qualified suspension of the privilege of the writ which was +authorized to be made. Now it is insisted that Congress, and not the +Executive, is vested with this power; but the Constitution itself is +silent as to which or who is to exercise the power; and as the provision +was plainly made for a dangerous emergency, it can not be believed the +framers of the instrument intended that in every case the danger should +run its course until Congress could be called together, the very +assembling of which might be prevented, as was intended in this case, +by the rebellion. + +No more extended argument is now offered, as an opinion at some length +will probably be presented by the Attorney-General. Whether there shall +be any legislation upon the subject, and, if any, what, is submitted +entirely to the better judgment of Congress. + +The forbearance of this Government had been so extraordinary and so long +continued as to lead some foreign nations to shape their action as if +they supposed the early destruction of our National Union was probable. +While this on discovery gave the Executive some concern, he is now happy +to say that the sovereignty and rights of the United States are now +everywhere practically respected by foreign powers, and a general +sympathy with the country is manifested throughout the world. + +The reports of the Secretaries of the Treasury, War, and the Navy will +give the information in detail deemed necessary and convenient for your +deliberation and action, while the Executive and all the Departments +will stand ready to supply omissions or to communicate new facts +considered important for you to know. + +It is now recommended that you give the legal means for making this +contest a short and a decisive one; that you place at the control of the +Government for the work at least 400,000 men and $400,000,000. That +number of men is about one-tenth of those of proper ages within the +regions where apparently _all_ are willing to engage, and the sum is +less than a twenty-third part of the money value owned by the men who +seem ready to devote the whole. A debt of $600,000,000 _now_ is a less +sum per head than was the debt of our Revolution when we came out of +that struggle, and the money value in the country now bears even a +greater proportion to what it was _then_ than does the population. +Surely each man has as strong a motive _now_ to _preserve_ our liberties +as each had _then_ to _establish_ them. + +A right result at this time will be worth more to the world than ten +times the men and ten times the money. The evidence reaching us from the +country leaves no doubt that the material for the work is abundant, and +that it needs only the hand of legislation to give it legal sanction and +the hand of the Executive to give it practical shape and efficiency. One +of the greatest perplexities of the Government is to avoid receiving +troops faster than it can provide for them. In a word, the people will +save their Government if the Government itself will do its part only +indifferently well. + +It might seem at first thought to be of little difference whether the +present movement at the South be called "secession" or "rebellion." The +movers, however, well understand the difference. At the beginning they +knew they could never raise their treason to any respectable magnitude +by any name which implies _violation_ of law. They knew their people +possessed as much of moral sense, as much of devotion to law and order, +and as much pride in and reverence for the history and Government of +their common country as any other civilized and patriotic people. They +knew they could make no advancement directly in the teeth of these +strong and noble sentiments. Accordingly, they commenced by an insidious +debauching of the public mind. They invented an ingenious sophism, +which, if conceded, was followed by perfectly logical steps through all +the incidents to the complete destruction of the Union. The sophism +itself is that any State of the Union may _consistently_ with the +National Constitution, and therefore _lawfully_ and _peacefully_, +withdraw from the Union without the consent of the Union or of any other +State. The little disguise that the supposed right is to be exercised +only for just cause, themselves to be the sole judge of its justice, +is too thin to merit any notice. + +With rebellion thus sugar coated they have been drugging the public mind +of their section for more than thirty years, and until at length they +have brought many good men to a willingness to take up arms against the +Government the day _after_ some assemblage of men have enacted the +farcical pretense of taking their State out of the Union who could have +been brought to no such thing the day _before_. + +This sophism derives much, perhaps the whole, of its currency from the +assumption that there is some omnipotent and sacred supremacy pertaining +to a _State_--to each State of our Federal Union. Our States have +neither more nor less power than that reserved to them in the Union by +the Constitution, no one of them ever having been a State _out_ of the +Union. The original ones passed into the Union even _before_ they cast +off their British colonial dependence, and the new ones each came into +the Union directly from a condition of dependence, excepting Texas; and +even Texas, in its temporary independence, was never designated a State. +The new ones only took the designation of States on coming into the +Union, while that name was first adopted for the old ones in and by the +Declaration of Independence. Therein the "United Colonies" were declared +to be "free and independent States;" but even then the object plainly +was not to declare their independence of _one another_ or of the +_Union_, but directly the contrary, as their mutual pledge and their +mutual action before, at the time, and afterwards abundantly show. The +express plighting of faith by each and all of the original thirteen in +the Articles of Confederation, two years later, that the Union shall be +perpetual is most conclusive. Having never been States, either in +substance or in name, _outside_ of the Union, whence this magical +omnipotence of "State rights," asserting a claim of power to lawfully +destroy the Union itself? Much is said about the "sovereignty" of the +States, but the word even is not in the National Constitution, nor, as +is believed, in any of the State constitutions. What is a "sovereignty" +in the political sense of the term? Would it be far wrong to define it +"a political community without a political superior"? Tested by this, +no one of our States, except Texas, ever was a sovereignty; and even +Texas gave up the character on coming into the Union, by which act she +acknowledged the Constitution of the United States and the laws and +treaties of the United States made in pursuance of the Constitution to +be for her the supreme law of the land. The States have their status in +the Union, and they have no other legal status. If they break from this, +they can only do so against law and by revolution. The Union, and not +themselves separately, procured their independence and their liberty. +By conquest or purchase the Union gave each of them whatever of +independence and liberty it has. The Union is older than any of the +States, and, in fact, it created them as States. Originally some +dependent colonies made the Union, and in turn the Union threw off their +old dependence for them and made them States, such as they are. Not +one of them ever had a State constitution independent of the Union. +Of course it is not forgotten that all the new States framed their +constitutions before they entered the Union, nevertheless dependent +upon and preparatory to coming into the Union. + +Unquestionably the States have the powers and rights reserved to them +in and by the National Constitution; but among these surely are not +included all conceivable powers, however mischievous or destructive, but +at most such only as were known in the world at the time as governmental +powers; and certainly a power to destroy the Government itself had never +been known as a governmental--as a merely administrative power. This +relative matter of national power and State rights, as a principle, is +no other than the principle of _generality_ and _locality_. Whatever +concerns the whole should be confided to the whole--to the General +Government--while whatever concerns _only_ the State should be left +exclusively to the State. This is all there is of original principle +about it. Whether the National Constitution in defining boundaries +between the two has applied the principle with exact accuracy is not +to be questioned. We are all bound by that defining without question. + +What is now combated is the position that secession is _consistent_ with +the Constitution--is _lawful_ and _peaceful_. It is not contended that +there is any express law for it, and nothing should ever be implied as +law which leads to unjust or absurd consequences. The nation purchased +with money the countries out of which several of these States were +formed. Is it just that they shall go off without leave and without +refunding? The nation paid very large sums (in the aggregate, I believe, +nearly a hundred millions) to relieve Florida of the aboriginal tribes. +Is it just that she shall now be off without consent or without making +any return? The nation is now in debt for money applied to the benefit +of these so-called seceding States in common with the rest. Is it just +either that creditors shall go unpaid or the remaining States pay the +whole? A part of the present national debt was contracted to pay the old +debts of Texas. Is it just that she shall leave and pay no part of this +herself? + +Again: If one State may secede, so may another; and when all shall have +seceded none is left to pay the debts. Is this quite just to creditors? +Did we notify them of this sage view of ours when we borrowed their +money? If we now recognize this doctrine by allowing the seceders to go +in peace, it is difficult to see what we can do if others choose to go +or to extort terms upon which they will promise to remain. + +The seceders insist that our Constitution admits of secession. They +have assumed to make a national constitution of their own, in which +of necessity they have either _discarded_ or _retained_ the right of +secession, as they insist it exists in ours. If they have discarded it, +they thereby admit that on principle it ought not to be in ours. If they +have retained it, by their own construction of ours they show that to be +consistent they must secede from one another whenever they shall find it +the easiest way of settling their debts or effecting any other selfish +or unjust object. The principle itself is one of disintegration, and +upon which no government can possibly endure. + +If all the States save one should assert the power to _drive_ that one +out of the Union, it is presumed the whole class of seceder politicians +would at once deny the power and denounce the act as the greatest +outrage upon State rights. But suppose that precisely the same act, +instead of being called "driving the one out," should be called "the +seceding of the others from that one," it would be exactly what the +seceders claim to do, unless, indeed, they make the point that the one, +because it is a minority, may rightfully do what the others, because +they are a majority, may not rightfully do. These politicians are subtle +and profound on the rights of minorities. They are not partial to that +power which made the Constitution and speaks from the preamble, calling +itself "we, the people." + +It may well be questioned whether there is to-day a majority of the +legally qualified voters of any State, except, perhaps, South Carolina, +in favor of disunion. There is much reason to believe that the Union men +are the majority in many, if not in every other one, of the so-called +seceded States. The contrary has not been demonstrated in any one of +them. It is ventured to affirm this even of Virginia and Tennessee; for +the result of an election held in military camps, where the bayonets are +all on one side of the question voted upon, can scarcely be considered +as demonstrating popular sentiment. At such an election all that large +class who are at once, _for_ the Union and _against_ coercion would be +coerced to vote against the Union. + +It may be affirmed without extravagance that the free institutions we +enjoy have developed the powers and improved the condition of our whole +people beyond any example in the world. Of this we now have a striking +and an impressive illustration. So large an army as the Government has +now on foot was never before known without a soldier in it but who had +taken his place there of his own free choice. But more than this, there +are many single regiments whose members, one and another, possess full +practical knowledge of all the arts, sciences, professions, and whatever +else, whether useful or elegant, is known in the world; and there is +scarcely one from which there could not be selected a President, a +Cabinet, a Congress, and perhaps a court, abundantly competent to +administer the Government itself. Nor do I say this is not true also in +the army of our late friends, now adversaries in this contest; but if +it is, so much better the reason why the Government which has conferred +such benefits on both them and us should not be broken up. Whoever in +any section proposes to abandon such a government would do well to +consider in deference to what principle it is that he does it; what +better he is likely to get in its stead; whether the substitute will +give, or be intended to give, so much of good to the people. There are +some foreshadowings on this subject. Our adversaries have adopted some +declarations of independence in which, unlike the good old one penned by +Jefferson, they omit the words "all men are created equal." Why? They +have adopted a temporary national constitution, in the preamble of +which, unlike our good old one signed by Washington, they omit "We, +the people," and substitute "We, the deputies of the sovereign and +independent States." Why? Why this deliberate pressing out of view +the rights of men and the authority of the people? + +This is essentially a people's contest. On the side of the Union it +is a struggle for maintaining in the world that form and substance of +government whose leading object is to elevate the condition of men; +to lift artificial weights from all shoulders; to clear the paths of +laudable pursuit for all; to afford all an unfettered start and a +fair chance in the race of life. Yielding to partial and temporary +departures, from necessity, this is the leading object of the Government +for whose existence we contend. + +I am most happy to believe that the plain people understand and +appreciate this. It is worthy of note that while in this the +Government's hour of trial large numbers of those in the Army and Navy +who have been favored with the offices have resigned and proved false +to the hand which had pampered them, not one common soldier or common +sailor is known to have deserted his flag. + +Great honor is due to those officers who remained true despite the +example of their treacherous associates; but the greatest honor and +most important fact of all is the unanimous firmness of the common +soldiers and common sailors. To the last man, so far as known, they +have successfully resisted the traitorous efforts of those whose +commands but an hour before they obeyed as absolute law. This is the +patriotic instinct of plain people. They understand without an argument +that the destroying the Government which was made by Washington means +no good to them. + +Our popular Government has often been called an experiment. Two points +in it our people have already settled--the successful _establishing_ and +the successful _administering_ of it. One still remains--its successful +_maintenance_ against a formidable internal attempt to overthrow it. It +is now for them to demonstrate to the world that those who can fairly +carry an election can also suppress a rebellion; that ballots are the +rightful and peaceful successors of bullets, and that when ballots have +fairly and constitutionally decided there can be no successful appeal +back to bullets; that there can be no successful appeal except to +ballots themselves at succeeding elections. Such will be a great lesson +of peace, teaching men that what they can not take by an election +neither can they take it by a war; teaching all the folly of being the +beginners of a war. + +Lest there be some uneasiness in the minds of candid men as to what is +to be the course of the Government toward the Southern States _after_ +the rebellion shall have been suppressed, the Executive deems it proper +to say it will be his purpose then, as ever, to be guided by the +Constitution and the laws, and that he probably will have no different +understanding of the powers and duties of the Federal Government +relatively to the rights of the States and the people under the +Constitution than that expressed in the inaugural address. + +He desires to preserve the Government, that it may be administered +for all as it was administered by the men who made it. Loyal citizens +everywhere have the right to claim this of their government, and the +government has no right to withhold or neglect it. It is not perceived +that in giving it there is any coercion, any conquest, or any +subjugation in any just sense of those terms. + +The Constitution provides, and all the States have accepted the +provision, that "the United States shall guarantee to every State in +this Union a republican form of government." But if a State may lawfully +go out of the Union, having done so it may also discard the republican +form of government; so that to prevent its going out is an indispensable +_means_ to the _end_ of maintaining the guaranty mentioned; and when an +end is lawful and obligatory the indispensable means to it are also +lawful and obligatory. + +It was with the deepest regret that the Executive found the duty of +employing the war power in defense of the Government forced upon him. +He could but perform this duty or surrender the existence of the +Government. No compromise by public servants could in this case be a +cure; not that compromises are not often proper, but that no popular +government can long survive a marked precedent that those who carry an +election can only save the government from immediate destruction by +giving up the main point upon which the people gave the election. The +people themselves, and not their servants, can safely reverse their own +deliberate decisions. + +As a private citizen the Executive could not have consented that these +institutions shall perish; much less could he in betrayal of so vast and +so sacred a trust as these free people had confided to him. He felt that +he had no moral right to shrink, nor even to count the chances of his +own life, in what might follow. In full view of his great responsibility +he has so far done what he has deemed his duty. You will now, according +to your own judgment, perform yours. He sincerely hopes that your views +and your action may so accord with his as to assure all faithful +citizens who have been disturbed in their rights of a certain and speedy +restoration to them under the Constitution and the laws. + +And having thus chosen our course, without guile and with pure purpose, +let us renew our trust in God and go forward without fear and with manly +hearts. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + +SPECIAL MESSAGES. + + +WASHINGTON, _July 11, 1861_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 9th +instant, requesting a copy of correspondence upon the subject of the +incorporation of the Dominican Republic with the Spanish Monarchy, I +transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution +was referred. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _July 19, 1861_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a copy of correspondence between the Secretary +of State and Her Britannic Majesty's envoy extraordinary and minister +plenipotentiary accredited to this Government, relative to an exhibition +of the products of industry of all nations which is to take place at +London in the course of next year. As citizens of the United States may +justly pride themselves upon their proficiency in industrial arts, it is +desirable that they should have proper facilities toward taking part in +the exhibition. With this view I recommend such legislation by Congress +at this session as may be necessary for that purpose. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _July 19, 1861_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate, for its advice with a view to a formal +execution of the instrument, the draft of a treaty informally agreed +upon between the United States and the Delaware tribe of Indians, +relative to certain lands of that tribe. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _July 19, 1861_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +As the United States have, in common with Great Britain and France, +a deep interest in the preservation and development of the fisheries +adjacent to the northeastern coast and islands of this continent, it +seems proper that we should concert with the Governments of those +countries such measures as may be conducive to those important objects. +With this view I transmit to Congress a copy of a correspondence between +the Secretary of State and the British minister here, in which the +latter proposes on behalf of his Government the appointment of a joint +commission to inquire into the matter, in order that such ulterior +measures may be adopted as may be advisable for the objects proposed. +Such legislation is recommended as may be necessary to enable the +Executive to provide for a commissioner on behalf of the United States. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _July 25, 1861_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 22d +instant, requesting a copy of the correspondence between this Government +and foreign powers with reference to maritime rights, I transmit a +report from the Secretary of State. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _July 25, 1861_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 15th +instant, requesting a copy of the correspondence between this Government +and foreign powers on the subject of the existing insurrection in the +United States, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _July 27, 1861_. + +_To the Senate_: + +In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 25th instant, relative +to the instructions to the ministers of the United States abroad in +reference to the rebellion now existing in the southern portion of the +Union, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _July 27, 1861_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 24th +instant, asking the grounds, reasons, and evidence upon which the police +commissioners of Baltimore were arrested and are now detained as +prisoners at Fort McHenry, I have to state that it is judged to be +incompatible with the public interest at this time to furnish the +information called for by the resolution. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE OFFICE, _July 29, 1861_. + +Hon. H. HAMLIN, + +_President of the Senate_. + +SIR: I transmit herewith, to be laid before the Senate for its +constitutional action thereon, articles of agreement and convention,[1] +with accompanying papers. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +[Footnote 1: With confederated tribes of Arapahoe and Cheyenne Indiana +of the Upper Arkansas River.] + + + +JULY 30, 1861. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 19th instant, requesting +information concerning the _quasi_ armistice alluded to in my message +of the 4th instant,[2] I transmit a report from the Secretary of the Navy. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +[Footnote 2: See p. 22.] + + + +JULY 30, 1861. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 23d instant, requesting +information concerning the imprisonment of Lieutenant John J. Worden +[John L. Worden], of the United States Navy, I transmit a report from +the Secretary of the Navy. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + +WASHINGTON, _August 1, 1861_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I submit herewith, for consideration with a view to ratification, a +postal treaty between the United States of America and the United +Mexican States, concluded by their respective plenipotentiaries on the +31st ultimo. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _August 2, 1861_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of yesterday, +requesting information regarding the imprisonment of loyal citizens +of the United States by the forces now in rebellion against this +Government, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the copy +of a telegraphic dispatch by which it was accompanied. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +AUGUST 2, 1861 + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +The resolution of your honorable body which is herewith returned has +been submitted to the Secretary of the Navy, who has made the report +upon it which I have the honor to inclose herewith. + +I have the honor to add that the same rule stated by the Secretary of +the Navy is found in section 5 of the Army Regulations published in +1861. It certainly is competent for Congress to change this rule by law, +but it is respectfully suggested that a rule of so long standing and of so +extensive application should not be hastily changed, nor by any authority +less than the full lawmaking power. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + +NAVY DEPARTMENT, _August 2, 1861_. + +The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. + +SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the resolution of +the Senate of the 31st ultimo, in relation to the recent nominations of +lieutenants of marines, which nominations were directed to "be returned +to the President and he be informed that the Senate adhere to the +opinion expressed in the resolution passed by them on the 19th of July +instant, and that the Senate are of opinion that rank and position in +the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps should not be decided by lot, but that, +all other things being equal, preference should be given to age." + +If I understand correctly the resolution of the Senate, it is an +expression of opinion on the part of that body against the Army +Regulations, which are made applicable to the Marine Corps--regulations +that have been in existence almost from the commencement of the +Government. + +In the published edition of Army Regulations when Mr. Calhoun was +Secretary of War, section 1, article 3, it is expressly stated that the +questions respecting the rank of officers arising from the sameness of +dates in commissions of the same grade shall be decided, first, by a +reference to the relative rank of the parties in the regular forces +(including the United States Marine Corps) at the time the present +appointments or promotions were made; second, by reference to former +rank therein taken away by derangement or disbandment; third, by +reference to former rank therein given up by resignation; fourth, by +lottery. + +And in the last edition of Army Regulations, before me, published in +1857, it is specified in article 2, section 5, that "when commissions +are of the same date the rank is to be decided between officers of the +same regiment or corps by the order of appointment; between officers of +different regiments or corps, first, by rank in actual service when +appointed; second, by former rank and service in the Army or Marine +Corps; third, by lottery among such as have not been in the military +service of the United States." + +The rule here laid down governed in the appointment of the lieutenants +of marines who have been nominated the present session to the Senate. +Their order of rank was determined by lottery, agreeably to the +published Army Regulations, and applied by those regulations +specifically to the Marine Corps. + +The gentlemen thus appointed in conformity to regulations have been +mustered into service and done duty under fire. One of the number has +fallen in the rank and place assigned him according to those +regulations, and to set them aside and make a new order in conflict with +the regulations will, I apprehend, be deemed, if not _ex post facto_, +almost invidious. + +In this matter the Department has no feeling, but it is desirable that +it should be distinctly settled whether hereafter the Army Regulations +are to govern in the question of rank in the Marine Corps or whether +they are to be set aside by resolution of the Senate. + +I have the honor to return the papers and subscribe myself, very +respectfully, your obedient servant, + +GIDEON WELLES. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _August 5, 1861_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In answer to the resolution of your honorable body of date July 31, +1861, requesting the President to inform the Senate whether the Hon. +James H. Lane, a member of that body from Kansas, has been appointed a +brigadier-general in the Army of the United States, and, if so, whether +he has accepted such appointment, I have the honor to transmit herewith +certain papers, numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, which taken together +explain themselves, and which contain all the information I possess upon +the questions propounded. + +It was my intention, as shown by my letter of June 20, 1861, to appoint +Hon. James H. Lane, of Kansas, a brigadier-general of United States +Volunteers, in anticipation of the act of Congress since passed for +raising such volunteers; and I have no further knowledge upon the +subject except as derived from the papers herewith inclosed. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + +PROCLAMATIONS. + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas a joint committee of both Houses of Congress has waited on the +President of the United States and requested him to "recommend a day of +public humiliation, prayer, and fasting to be observed by the people of +the United States with religious solemnities and the offering of fervent +supplications to Almighty God for the safety and welfare of these +States, His blessings on their arms, and a speedy restoration of peace;" +and + +Whereas it is fit and becoming in all people at all times to acknowledge +and revere the supreme government of God, to bow in humble submission to +His chastisements, to confess and deplore their sins and transgressions +in the full conviction that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of +wisdom, and to pray with all fervency and contrition for the pardon of +their past offenses and for a blessing upon their present and +prospective action; and + +Whereas when our own beloved country, once, by the blessing of God, +united, prosperous, and happy, is now afflicted with faction and civil +war, it is peculiarly fit for us to recognize the hand of God in this +terrible visitation, and in sorrowful remembrance of our own faults and +crimes as a nation and as individuals to humble ourselves before Him and +to pray for His mercy--to pray that we may be spared further punishment, +though most justly deserved; that our arms may be blessed and made +effectual for the reestablishment of law, order, and peace throughout +the wide extent of our country; and that the inestimable boon of civil +and religious liberty, earned under His guidance and blessing by the +labors and sufferings of our fathers, may be restored in all its +original excellence: + +Therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do appoint +the last Thursday in September next as a day of humiliation, prayer, and +fasting for all the people of the nation. And I do earnestly recommend +to all the people, and especially to all ministers and teachers of +religion of all denominations and to all heads of families, to observe +and keep that day according to their several creeds and modes of worship +in all humility and with all religious solemnity, to the end that the +united prayer of the nation may ascend to the Throne of Grace and bring +down plentiful blessings upon our country. + +In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed, this 12th day of August, A.D. 1861, and +of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-sixth. + +[SEAL.] + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas on the 15th day of April, 1861, the President of the United +States, in view of an insurrection against the laws, Constitution, and +Government of the United States which had broken out within the States +of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, +and Texas, and in pursuance of the provisions of the act entitled "An +act to provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the +Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions, and to repeal the +act now in force for that purpose," approved February 28, 1795, did call +forth the militia to suppress said insurrection and to cause the laws' +of the Union to be duly executed, and the insurgents have failed to +disperse by the time directed by the President; and + +Whereas such insurrection has since broken out, and yet exists, within +the States of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas; and + +Whereas the insurgents in all the said States claim to act under the +authority thereof, and such claim is not disclaimed or repudiated by the +persons exercising the functions of government in such State or States +or in the part or parts thereof in which such combinations exist, nor +has such insurrection been suppressed by said States: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, in +pursuance of an act of Congress approved July 13, 1861, do hereby +declare that the inhabitants of the said States of Georgia, South +Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, +Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Florida (except the inhabitants of +that part of the State of Virginia lying west of the Alleghany Mountains +and of such other parts of that State and the other States hereinbefore +named as may maintain a loyal adhesion to the Union and the Constitution +or may be from time to time occupied and controlled by forces of the +United States engaged in the dispersion of said insurgents) are in a +state of insurrection against the United States, and that all commercial +intercourse between the same and the inhabitants thereof, with the +exceptions aforesaid, and the citizens of other States and other parts +of the United States is unlawful, and will remain unlawful until such +insurrection shall cease or has been suppressed; that all goods and +chattels, wares and merchandise, coming from any of said States, with +the exceptions aforesaid, into other parts of the United States without +the special license and permission of the President, through the +Secretary of the Treasury, or proceeding to any of said States, with the +exceptions aforesaid, by land or water, together with the vessel or +vehicle conveying the same or conveying persons to or from said States, +with said exceptions, will be forfeited to the United States; and that +from and after fifteen days from the issuing of this proclamation all +ships and vessels belonging in whole or in part to any citizen or +inhabitant of any of said States, with said exceptions, found at sea or +in any port of the United States will be forfeited to the United States; +and I hereby enjoin upon all district attorneys, marshals, and officers +of the revenue and of the military and naval forces of the United States +to be vigilant in the execution of said act and in the enforcement of +the penalties and forfeitures imposed or declared by it, leaving any +party who may think himself aggrieved thereby to his application to the +Secretary of the Treasury for the remission of any penalty or +forfeiture, which the said Secretary is authorized by law to grant if in +his judgment the special circumstances of any case shall require such +remission. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 16th day of August, A.D. 1861, and +of the Independence of the United States the eighty-sixth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + + +EXECUTIVE ORDERS. + +JULY 31, 1861. + +The marshal of the United States in the vicinity of forts where +political prisoners are held will supply decent lodging and subsistence +for such prisoners, unless they shall prefer to provide in those +respects for themselves, in which cases they will be allowed to do so by +the commanding officers in charge. + +Approved, and the Secretary of State will transmit the order to +marshals, the Lieutenant-General, and Secretary of the Interior. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +AUGUST 7, 1861. + +By the fifty-seventh article of the act of Congress entitled "An act for +establishing rules and articles for the government of the armies of the +United States," approved April 10, 1806, holding correspondence with or +giving intelligence to the enemy, either directly or indirectly, is made +punishable by death, or such other punishment as shall be ordered by the +sentence of a court-martial. Public safety requires strict enforcement +of this article. + +_It is therefore ordered_, That all correspondence and communication, +verbally or by writing, printing, or telegraphing, respecting operations +of the Army or military movements on land or water, or respecting the +troops, camps, arsenals, intrenchments, or military affairs within the +several military districts, by which intelligence shall be, directly or +indirectly, given to the enemy, without the authority and sanction of +the major-general in command, be, and the same are, absolutely +prohibited, and from and after the date of this order persons violating +the same will be proceeded against under the fifty-seventh article of +war. + +SIMON CAMERON. + +Approved: + +A. LINCOLN. + + + + +GENERAL ORDER. + +EXECUTIVE OF THE UNITED STATES, _October 4, 1861_ + +Flag-officers of the United States Navy authorized to wear a square flag +at the mizzenmast head will take rank with major-generals of the United +States Army. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _October 14, 1861_. + +Lieutenant-General WINFIELD SCOTT: + +The military line of the United States for the suppression of the +insurrection may be extended so far as Bangor, in Maine. You and any +officer acting under your authority are hereby authorized to suspend the +writ of _habeas corpus_ in any place between that place and the city of +Washington. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +GENERAL ORDERS, NO. 94. + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, November 1, 1861_. + +The following order from the President of the United States, announcing +the retirement from active command of the honored veteran +Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott, will be read by the Army with +profound regret: + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, November 1, 1861_. + +On the 1st day of November, A.D. 1861, upon his own application to the +President of the United States, Brevet Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott +is ordered to be placed, and hereby is placed, upon the list of retired +officers of the Army of the United States, without reduction in his +current pay, subsistence, or allowances. + +The American people will hear with sadness and deep emotion that General +Scott has withdrawn from the active control of the Army, while the +President and a unanimous Cabinet express their own and the nation's +sympathy in his personal affliction and their profound sense of the +important public services rendered by him to his country during his long +and brilliant career, among which will ever be gratefully distinguished +his faithful devotion to the Constitution, the Union, and the flag when +assailed by parricidal rebellion. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +The President is pleased to direct that Major-General George B. +McClellan assume the command of the Army of the United States. The +headquarters of the Army will be established in the city of Washington. +All communications intended for the Commanding General will hereafter be +addressed direct to the Adjutant-General. The duplicate returns, orders, +and other papers heretofore sent to the Assistant Adjutant-General, +Headquarters of the Army, will be discontinued. + +By order of the Secretary of War: + +L. THOMAS, + +_Adjutant-General_. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, November 5, 1861_. + +The governor of the State of Missouri, acting under the direction of the +convention of that State, proposes to the Government of the United +States that he will raise a military force, to serve within the State as +State militia during the war there, to cooperate with the troops in the +service of the United States in repelling the invasion of the State and +suppressing rebellion therein; the said State militia to be embodied and +to be held in the camp and in the field, drilled, disciplined, and +governed according to the Army Regulations and subject to the Articles +of War; the said State militia not to be ordered out of the State except +for the immediate defense of the State of Missouri, but to cooperate +with the troops in the service of the United States in military +operations within the State or necessary to its defense, and when +officers of the State militia act with officers in the service of the +United States of the same grade the officers of the United States +service shall command the combined force; the State militia to be armed, +equipped, clothed, subsisted, transported, and paid by the United States +during such time as they shall be actually engaged as an embodied +military force in service in accordance with Regulations of the United +States Army or general orders as issued from time to time. + +In order that the Treasury of the United States may not be burdened +with the pay of unnecessary officers, the governor proposes that, +although the State law requires him to appoint upon the general staff +an adjutant-general, a commissary-general, an inspector-general, +a quartermaster-general, a paymaster-general, and a surgeon-general, +each with the rank of colonel of cavalry, yet he proposes that the +Government of the United States pay only the adjutant-general, the +quartermaster-general, and inspect or-general, their services being +necessary in the relations which would exist between the State militia +and the United States. The governor further proposes that, while he is +allowed by the State law to appoint aids-de-camp to the governor at his +discretion, with the rank of colonel, three only shall be reported to +the United States for payment. He also proposes that the State militia +shall be commanded by a single major-general and by such number of +brigadier-generals as shall allow one for a brigade of not less than +four regiments, and that no greater number of staff officers shall be +appointed for regimental, brigade, and division duties than as provided +for in the act of Congress of the 22d July, 1861; and that, whatever +be the rank of such officers as fixed by the law of the State, the +compensation that they shall receive from the United States shall only +be that which belongs to the rank given by said act of Congress to +officers in the United States service performing the same duties. + +The field officers of a regiment in the State militia are one colonel, +one lieutenant-colonel, and one major, and the company officers are a +captain, a first lieutenant, and a second lieutenant. + +The governor proposes that, as the money to be disbursed is the money of +the United States, such staff officers in the service of the United +States as may be necessary to act as disbursing officers for the State +militia shall be assigned by the War Department for that duty; or, if +such can not be spared from their present duty, he will appoint such +persons disbursing officers for the State militia as the President of +the United States may designate. Such regulations as may be required, in +the judgment of the President, to insure regularity of returns and to +protect the United States from any fraudulent practices shall be +observed and obeyed by all in office in the State militia. + +The above propositions are accepted on the part of the United States, +and the Secretary of War is directed to make the necessary orders upon +the Ordnance, Quartermaster's, Commissary, Pay, and Medical departments +to carry this agreement into effect. He will cause the necessary staff +officers in the United States service to be detailed for duty in +connection with the Missouri State militia, and will order them to make +the necessary provision in their respective offices for fulfilling this +agreement. All requisitions upon the different officers of the United +States under this agreement to be made in substance in the same mode for +the Missouri State militia as similar requisitions are made for troops +in the service of the United States; and the Secretary of War will cause +any additional regulations that may be necessary to insure regularity +and economy in carrying this agreement into effect to be adopted and +communicated to the governor of Missouri for the government of the +Missouri State militia. + +[Indorsement.] + +NOVEMBER 6, 1861. + +This plan approved, with the modification that the governor stipulates +that when he commissions a major-general of militia it shall be the same +person at the time in command of the United States Department of the +West; and in case the United States shall change such commander of the +department, he (the governor) will revoke the State commission given to +the person relieved and give one to the person substituted to the United +States command of said department. + +A. LINCOLN. + + + +GENERAL ORDERS, No. 96. + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, November 7, 1861_. + +Authority to raise a force of State militia, to serve during the war, is +granted, by direction of the President, to the governor of Missouri. +This force is to cooperate with the troops in the service of the United +States in repelling the invasion of the State of Missouri and in +suppressing rebellion therein. It is to be held, in camp and in the +field, drilled, disciplined, and governed according to the Regulations +of the United States Army and subject to the Articles of War; but it is +not to be ordered out of the State of Missouri except for the immediate +defense of the said State. + +The State forces thus authorized will be, during such time as they shall +be actually engaged as an embodied military force in active service, +armed, equipped, clothed, subsisted, transported, and paid by the United +States in accordance with the Regulations of the United States Army and +such orders as may from time to time be issued from the War Department, +and in no other manner; and they shall be considered as disbanded from +the service of the United States whenever the President may so direct. + +In connection with this force the governor is authorized to appoint the +following officers, who will be recognized and paid by the United +States, to wit: One major-general, to command the whole of the State +forces brought into service, who shall be the same person appointed by +the President to command the United States Military Department of the +West, and shall retain his commission as major-general of the State +forces only during his command of the said department; one +adjutant-general, one inspector-general, and one quartermaster-general, +each with the rank and pay of a colonel of cavalry; three aids-de-camp +to the governor, each with the rank and pay of a colonel of infantry; +brigadier-generals at the rate of one to a brigade of not less than four +regiments; and division, brigade, and regimental staff officers not to +exceed in numbers those provided for in the organization prescribed by +the act approved July 22, 1861, "for the employment of volunteers," nor +to be more highly compensated by the United States, whatever their +nominal rank in the State service, than officers performing the same +duties under that act. + +The field officers of a regiment to be one colonel, one +lieutenant-colonel, and one major, and the officers of a company to be +one captain, one first and one second lieutenant. + +When officers of the said State forces shall act in conjunction with +officers of the United States Army of the same grade, the latter shall +command the combined force. + +All disbursements of money made to these troops or in consequence of +their employment by the United States shall be made by disbursing +officers of the United States Army, assigned by the War Department, or +specially appointed by the President for that purpose, who will make +their requisitions upon the different supply departments in the same +manner for the Missouri State forces as similar requisitions are made +for other volunteer troops in the service of the United States. + +The Secretary of War will cause any additional regulations that may be +necessary for the purpose of promoting economy, insuring regularity of +returns, and protecting the United States from fraudulent practices to +be adopted and published for the government of the said State forces, +and the same will be obeyed and observed by all in office under the +authority of the State of Missouri. + +By order: + +JULIUS P. GARESCHE, + +_Assistant Adjutant-General_. + + + +GENERAL ORDERS, No. 100. + +HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, November 16, 1861_. + +Complaint has been made to the President of the United States that +certain persons within the State of Virginia, in places occupied by the +forces of the United States, claim to be incumbents of civil +offices--State, county, and municipal--by alleged authority from the +Commonwealth of Virginia, in disregard and violation of the "declaration +of the people of Virginia represented in convention at the city of +Wheeling, Thursday, June 13, 1861," and of the ordinances of said +convention, and of the acts of the general assembly held by authority of +said convention. + +It is therefore ordered, by direction of the President, that if any +person shall hereafter attempt within the State of Virginia, under the +alleged authority of said Commonwealth, to exercise any official powers +of a civil nature within the limits of any of the commands of the +occupying forces of the United States, unless in pursuance of the +declaration and ordinances of the convention assembled at Wheeling on +the 13th day of June, 1861, and the acts of the general assembly held by +authority of said convention, such attempt shall be treated as an act of +hostility against the United States, and such person shall be taken into +military custody. + +Commanding officers are directed to enforce this order within their +respective commands. + + * * * * * + +By command of Major-General McClellan: + +L. THOMAS, + +_Adjutant-General_ + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, November 27, 1861_. + +The municipal authorities of Washington and Georgetown, in this +District, having appointed to-morrow, the 28th instant, as a day of +thanksgiving, the several Departments will on that occasion be closed, +in order that the officers of the Government may partake in the +ceremonies. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + +FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. + +WASHINGTON, _December 3, 1861_. + +_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +In the midst of unprecedented political troubles we have cause of great +gratitude to God for unusual good health and most abundant harvests. + +You will not be surprised to learn that in the peculiar exigencies of +the times our intercourse with foreign nations has been attended with +profound solicitude, chiefly turning upon our own domestic affairs. + +A disloyal portion of the American people have during the whole year +been engaged in an attempt to divide and destroy the Union. A nation +which endures factious domestic division is exposed to disrespect +abroad, and one party, if not both, is sure sooner or later to invoke +foreign intervention. + +Nations thus tempted to interfere are not always able to resist the +counsels of seeming expediency and ungenerous ambition, although +measures adopted under such influences seldom fail to be unfortunate and +injurious to those adopting them. + +The disloyal citizens of the United States who have offered the ruin of +our country in return for the aid and comfort which they have invoked +abroad have received less patronage and encouragement than they probably +expected. If it were just to suppose, as the insurgents have seemed to +assume, that foreign nations in this case, discarding all moral, social, +and treaty obligations, would act solely and selfishly for the most +speedy restoration of commerce, including especially the acquisition of +cotton, those nations appear as yet not to have seen their way to their +object more directly or clearly through the destruction than through the +preservation of the Union. If we could dare to believe that foreign +nations are actuated by no higher principle than this, I am quite sure a +sound argument could be made to show them that they can reach their aim +more readily and easily by aiding to crush this rebellion than by giving +encouragement to it. + +The principal lever relied on by the insurgents for exciting foreign +nations to hostility against us, as already intimated, is the +embarrassment of commerce. Those nations, however, not improbably saw +from the first that it was the Union which made as well our foreign as +our domestic commerce. They can scarcely have failed to perceive that +the effort for disunion produces the existing difficulty, and that one +strong nation promises more durable peace and a more extensive, +valuable, and reliable commerce than can the same nation broken into +hostile fragments. + +It is not my purpose to review our discussions with foreign states, +because, whatever might be their wishes or dispositions, the integrity +of our country and the stability of our Government mainly depend not +upon them, but on the loyalty, virtue, patriotism, and intelligence of +the American people. The correspondence itself, with the usual +reservations, is herewith submitted. + +I venture to hope it will appear that we have practiced prudence and +liberality toward foreign powers, averting causes of irritation and with +firmness maintaining our own rights and honor. + +Since, however, it is apparent that here, as in every other state, +foreign dangers necessarily attend domestic difficulties, I recommend +that adequate and ample measures be adopted for maintaining the public +defenses on every side. While under this general recommendation +provision for defending our seacoast line readily occurs to the mind, I +also in the same connection ask the attention of Congress to our great +lakes and rivers. It is believed that some fortifications and depots of +arms and munitions, with harbor and navigation improvements, all at +well-selected points upon these, would be of great importance to the +national defense and preservation. I ask attention to the views of the +Secretary of War, expressed in his report, upon the same general +subject. + +I deem it of importance that the loyal regions of east Tennessee and +western North Carolina should be connected with Kentucky and other +faithful parts of the Union by railroad. I therefore recommend, as a +military measure, that Congress provide for the construction of such +road as speedily as possible. Kentucky no doubt will cooperate, and +through her legislature make the most judicious selection of a line. The +northern terminus must connect with some existing railroad, and whether +the route shall be from Lexington or Nicholasville to the Cumberland +Gap, or from Lebanon to the Tennessee line, in the direction of +Knoxville, or on some still different line, can easily be determined. +Kentucky and the General Government cooperating, the work can be +completed in a very short time, and when done it will be not only of +vast present usefulness, but also a valuable permanent improvement, +worth its cost in all the future. + +Some treaties, designed chiefly for the interests of commerce, and +having no grave political importance, have been negotiated, and will be +submitted to the Senate for their consideration. + +Although we have failed to induce some of the commercial powers to adopt +a desirable melioration of the rigor of maritime war, we have removed +all obstructions from the way of this humane reform except such as are +merely of temporary and accidental occurrence. + +I invite your attention to the correspondence between Her Britannic +Majesty's minister accredited to this Government and the Secretary of +State relative to the detention of the British ship _Perthshire_ in June +last by the United States steamer _Massachusetts_ for a supposed breach +of the blockade. As this detention was occasioned by an obvious +misapprehension of the facts, and as justice requires that we should +commit no belligerent act not founded in strict right as sanctioned by +public law, I recommend that an appropriation be made to satisfy the +reasonable demand of the owners of the vessel for her detention. + +I repeat the recommendation of my predecessor in his annual message to +Congress in December last in regard to the disposition of the surplus +which will probably remain after satisfying the claims of American +citizens against China, pursuant to the awards of the commissioners +under the act of the 3d of March, 1859. If, however, it should not be +deemed advisable to carry that recommendation into effect, I would +suggest that authority be given for investing the principal, over the +proceeds of the surplus referred to, in good securities, with a view to +the satisfaction of such other just claims of our citizens against China +as are not unlikely to arise hereafter in the course of our extensive +trade with that Empire. + +By the act of the 5th of August last Congress authorized the President +to instruct the commanders of suitable vessels to defend themselves +against and to capture pirates. This authority has been exercised in a +single instance only. For the more effectual protection of our extensive +and valuable commerce in the Eastern seas especially, it seems to me +that it would also be advisable to authorize the commanders of sailing +vessels to recapture any prizes which pirates may make of United States +vessels and their cargoes, and the consular courts now established by +law in Eastern countries to adjudicate the cases in the event that this +should not be objected to by the local authorities. + +If any good reason exists why we should persevere longer in withholding +our recognition of the independence and sovereignty of Hayti and +Liberia, I am unable to discern it. Unwilling, however, to inaugurate a +novel policy in regard to them without the approbation of Congress, I +submit for your consideration the expediency of an appropriation for +maintaining a charge d'affaires near each of those new States. It does +not admit of doubt that important commercial advantages might be secured +by favorable treaties with them. + +The operations of the Treasury during the period which has elapsed since +your adjournment have been conducted with signal success. The patriotism +of the people has placed at the disposal of the Government the large +means demanded by the public exigencies; Much of the national loan has +been taken by citizens of the industrial classes, whose confidence in +their country's faith and zeal for their country's deliverance from +present peril have induced them to contribute to the support of the +Government the whole of their limited acquisitions. This fact imposes +peculiar obligations to economy in disbursement and energy in action. + +The revenue from all sources, including loans, for the financial year +ending on the 30th of June, 1861, was $86,835,900.27, and the +expenditures for the same period, including payments on account of the +public debt, were $84,578,834.47, leaving a balance in the Treasury on +the 1st of July of $2,257,065.80. For the first quarter of the financial +year ending on the 30th of September, 1861, the receipts from all +sources, including the balance of the 1st of July, were $102,532,509.27, +and the expenses $98,239,733.09, leaving a balance on the 1st of +October, 1861, of $4,292,776.18. + +Estimates for the remaining three quarters of the year and for the +financial year 1863, together with his views of ways and means for +meeting the demands contemplated by them, will be submitted to Congress +by the Secretary of the Treasury. It is gratifying to know that the +expenditures made necessary by the rebellion are not beyond the +resources of the loyal people, and to believe that the same patriotism +which has thus far sustained the Government will continue to sustain it +till peace and union shall again bless the land. + +I respectfully refer to the report of the Secretary of War for +information respecting the numerical strength of the Army and for +recommendations having in view an increase of its efficiency and the +well-being of the various branches of the service intrusted to his care. +It is gratifying to know that the patriotism of the people has proved +equal to the occasion, and that the number of troops tendered greatly +exceeds the force which Congress authorized me to call into the field. + +I refer with pleasure to those portions of his report which make +allusion to the creditable degree of discipline already attained by our +troops and to the excellent sanitary condition of the entire Army. + +The recommendation of the Secretary for an organization of the militia +upon a uniform basis is a subject of vital importance to the future +safety of the country, arid is commended to the serious attention of +Congress. + +The large addition to the Regular Army, in connection with the defection +that has so considerably diminished the number of its officers, gives +peculiar importance to his recommendation for increasing the corps of +cadets to the greatest capacity of the Military Academy. + +By mere omission, I presume, Congress has failed to provide chaplains +for hospitals occupied by volunteers. This subject was brought to my +notice, and I was induced to draw up the form of a letter, one copy of +which, properly addressed, has been delivered to each of the persons, +and at the dates respectively named and stated in a schedule, containing +also the form of the letter marked A, and herewith transmitted. + +These gentlemen, I understand, entered upon the duties designated at the +times respectively stated in the schedule, and have labored faithfully +therein ever since. I therefore recommend that they be compensated at +the same rate as chaplains in the Army. I further suggest that general +provision be made for chaplains to serve at hospitals, as well as with +regiments. + +The report of the Secretary of the Navy presents in detail the +operations of that branch of the service, the activity and energy which +have characterized its administration, and the results of measures to +increase its efficiency and power. Such have been the additions, by +construction and purchase, that it may almost be said a navy has been +created and brought into service since our difficulties commenced. + +Besides blockading our extensive coast, squadrons larger than ever +before assembled under our flag have been put afloat and performed deeds +which have increased our naval renown. + +I would invite special attention to the recommendation of the Secretary +for a more perfect organization of the Navy by introducing additional +grades in the service. + +The present organization is defective and unsatisfactory, and the +suggestions submitted by the Department will, it is believed, if +adopted, obviate the difficulties alluded to, promote harmony, and +increase the efficiency of the Navy. + +There are three vacancies on the bench of the Supreme Court--two by the +decease of Justices Daniel and McLean and one by the resignation of +Justice Campbell. I have so far forborne making nominations to fill +these vacancies for reasons which I will now state. Two of the out-going +judges resided within the States now overrun by revolt, so that if +successors were appointed in the same localities they could not now +serve upon their circuits; and many of the most competent men there +probably would not take the personal hazard of accepting to serve, even +here, upon the Supreme bench. I have been unwilling to throw all the +appointments northward, thus disabling myself from doing justice to the +South on the return of peace; although I may remark that to transfer to +the North one which has heretofore been in the South would not, with +reference to territory and population, be unjust. + +During the long and brilliant judicial career of Judge McLean his +circuit grew into an empire--altogether too large for any one judge to +give the courts therein more than a nominal attendance--rising in +population from 1,470,018 in 1830 to 6,151,405 in 1860. + +Besides this, the country generally has outgrown our present judicial +system. If uniformity was at all intended, the system requires that all +the States shall be accommodated with circuit courts, attended by +Supreme judges, while, in fact, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, +Florida, Texas, California, and Oregon have never had any such courts. +Nor can this well be remedied without a change in the system, because +the adding of judges to the Supreme Court, enough for the accommodation +of all parts of the country with circuit courts, would create a court +altogether too numerous for a judicial body of any sort. And the evil, +if it be one, will increase as new States come into the Union. Circuit +courts are useful or they are not useful. If useful, no State should be +denied them; if not useful, no State should have them. Let them be +provided for all or abolished as to all. + +Three modifications occur to me, either of which, I think, would be an +improvement upon our present system. Let the Supreme Court be of +convenient number in every event; then, first, let the whole country be +divided into circuits of convenient size, the Supreme judges to serve in +a number of them corresponding to their own number, and independent +circuit judges be provided for all the rest; or, secondly, let the +Supreme judges be relieved from circuit duties and circuit judges +provided for all the circuits; or, thirdly, dispense with circuit courts +altogether, leaving the judicial functions wholly to the district courts +and an independent Supreme Court. + +I respectfully recommend to the consideration of Congress the present +condition of the statute laws, with the hope that Congress will be able +to find an easy remedy for many of the inconveniences and evils which +constantly embarrass those engaged in the practical administration of +them. Since the organization of the Government Congress has enacted some +5,000 acts and joint resolutions, which fill more than 6,000 closely +printed pages and are scattered through many volumes. Many of these acts +have been drawn in haste and without sufficient caution, so that their +provisions are often obscure in themselves or in conflict with each +other, or at least so doubtful as to render it very difficult for even +the best-informed persons to ascertain precisely what the statute law +really is. + +It seems to me very important that the statute laws should be made as +plain and intelligible as possible, and be reduced to as small a compass +as may consist with the fullness and precision of the will of the +Legislature and the perspicuity of its language. This well done would, I +think, greatly facilitate the labors of those whose duty it is to assist +in the administration of the laws, and would be a lasting benefit to the +people, by placing before them in a more accessible and intelligible +form the laws which so deeply concern their interests and their duties. + +I am informed by some whose opinions I respect that all the acts of +Congress now in force and of a permanent and general nature might be +revised and rewritten so as to be embraced in one volume (or at most two +volumes) of ordinary and convenient size; and I respectfully recommend +to Congress to consider of the subject, and if my suggestion be approved +to devise such plan as to their wisdom shall seem most proper for the +attainment of the end proposed. + +One of the unavoidable consequences of the present insurrection is the +entire suppression in many places of all the ordinary means of +administering civil justice by the officers and in the forms of existing +law. This is the case, in whole or in part, in all the insurgent States; +and as our armies advance upon and take possession of parts of those +States the practical evil becomes more apparent. There are no courts nor +officers to whom the citizens of other States may apply for the +enforcement of their lawful claims against citizens of the insurgent +States, and there is a vast amount of debt constituting such claims. +Some have estimated it as high as $200,000,000, due in large part from +insurgents in open rebellion to loyal citizens who are even now making +great sacrifices in the discharge of their patriotic duty to support the +Government. + +Under these circumstances I have been urgently solicited to establish by +military power courts to administer summary justice in such cases. I +have thus far declined to do it, not because I had any doubt that the +end proposed--the collection of the debts--was just and right in itself, +but because I have been unwilling to go beyond the pressure of necessity +in the unusual exercise of power. But the powers of Congress, I suppose, +are equal to the anomalous occasion, and therefore I refer the whole +matter to Congress, with the hope that a plan may be devised for the +administration of justice in all such parts of the insurgent States and +Territories as may be under the control of this Government, whether by a +voluntary return to allegiance and order or by the power of our arms; +this, however, not to be a permanent institution, but a temporary +substitute, and to cease as soon as the ordinary courts can be +reestablished in peace. + +It is important that some more convenient means should be provided, if +possible, for the adjustment of claims against the Government, +especially in view of their increased number by reason of the war. It is +as much the duty of Government to render prompt justice against itself +in favor of citizens as it is to administer the same between private +individuals. The investigation and adjudication of claims in their +nature belong to the judicial department. Besides, it is apparent that +the attention of Congress will be more than usually engaged for some +time to come with great national questions. It was intended by the +organization of the Court of Claims mainly to remove this branch of +business from the halls of Congress; but while the court has proved to +be an effective and valuable means of investigation, it in great degree +fails to effect the object of its creation for want of power to make its +judgments final. + +Fully aware of the delicacy, not to say the danger, of the subject, I +commend to your careful consideration whether this power of making +judgments final may not properly be given to the court, reserving the +right of appeal on questions of law to the Supreme Court, with such +other provisions as experience may have shown to be necessary. + +I ask attention to the report of the Postmaster-General, the following +being a summary statement of the condition of the Department: + +The revenue from all sources during the fiscal year ending June 30, +1861, including the annual permanent appropriation of $700,000 for the +transportation of "free mail matter," was $9,049,296.40, being about 2 +per cent less than the revenue for 1860. + +The expenditures were $13,606,759.11, showing a decrease of more than 8 +per cent as compared with those of the previous year and leaving an +excess of expenditure over the revenue for the last fiscal year of +$4,557,462.71. + +The gross revenue for the year ending June 30, 1863, is estimated at an +increase of 4 per cent on that of 1861, making $8,683,000, to which +should be added the earnings of the Department in carrying free matter, +viz, $700,000, making $9,383,000. + +The total expenditures for 1863 are estimated at $12,528,000, leaving an +estimated deficiency of $3,145,000 to be supplied from the Treasury in +addition to the permanent appropriation. + +The present insurrection shows, I think, that the extension of this +District across the Potomac River at the time of establishing the +capital here was eminently wise, and consequently that the +relinquishment of that portion of it which lies within the State of +Virginia was unwise and dangerous. I submit for your consideration the +expediency of regaining that part of the District and the restoration of +the original boundaries thereof through negotiations with the State of +Virginia. + +The report of the Secretary of the Interior, with the accompanying +documents, exhibits the condition of the several branches of the public +business pertaining to that Department. The depressing influences of the +insurrection have been specially felt in the operations of the Patent +and General Land Offices. The cash receipts from the sales of public +lands during the past year have exceeded the expenses of our land system +only about $200,000. The sales have been entirely suspended in the +Southern States, while the interruptions to the business of the country +and the diversion of large numbers of men from labor to military service +have obstructed settlements in the new States and Territories of the +Northwest. + +The receipts of the Patent Office have declined in nine months about +$100,000, rendering a large reduction of the force employed necessary to +make it self-sustaining. + +The demands upon the Pension Office will be largely increased by the +insurrection. Numerous applications for pensions, based upon the +casualties of the existing war, have already been made. There is reason +to believe that many who are now upon the pension rolls and in receipt +of the bounty of the Government are in the ranks of the insurgent army +or giving them aid and comfort. The Secretary of the Interior has +directed a suspension of the payment of the pensions of such persons +upon proof of their disloyalty. I recommend that Congress authorize that +officer to cause the names of such persons to be stricken from the +pension rolls. + +The relations of the Government with the Indian tribes have been greatly +disturbed by the insurrection, especially in the southern +superintendency and in that of New Mexico. The Indian country south of +Kansas is in the possession of insurgents from Texas and Arkansas. The +agents of the United States appointed since the 4th of March for this +superintendency have been unable to reach their posts, while the most of +those who were in office before that time have espoused the +insurrectionary cause, and assume to exercise the powers of agents by +virtue of commissions from the insurrectionists. It has been stated in +the public press that a portion of those Indians have been organized as +a military force and are attached to the army of the insurgents. +Although the Government has no official information upon this subject, +letters have been written to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs by +several prominent chiefs giving assurance of their loyalty to the United +States and expressing a wish for the presence of Federal troops to +protect them. It is believed that upon the repossession of the country +by the Federal forces the Indians will readily cease all hostile +demonstrations and resume their former relations to the Government. + +Agriculture, confessedly the largest interest of the nation, has not a +department nor a bureau, but a clerkship only, assigned to it in the +Government. While it is fortunate that this great interest is so +independent in its nature as to not have demanded and extorted more from +the Government, I respectfully ask Congress to consider whether +something more can not be given voluntarily with general advantage. + +Annual reports exhibiting the condition of our agriculture, commerce, +and manufactures would present a fund of information of great practical +value to the country. While I make no suggestion as to details, I +venture the opinion that an agricultural and statistical bureau might +profitably be organized. + +The execution of the laws for the suppression of the African slave trade +has been confided to the Department of the Interior. It is a subject of +gratulation that the efforts which have been made for the suppression of +this inhuman traffic have been recently attended with unusual success. +Five vessels being fitted out for the slave trade have been seized and +condemned. Two mates of vessels engaged in the trade and one person in +equipping a vessel as a slaver have been convicted and subjected to the +penalty of fine and imprisonment, and one captain, taken with a cargo of +Africans on board his vessel, has been convicted of the highest grade of +offense under our laws, the punishment of which is death. + +The Territories of Colorado, Dakota, and Nevada, created by the last +Congress, have been organized, and civil administration has been +inaugurated therein under auspices especially gratifying when it is +considered that the leaven of treason was found existing in some of +these new countries when the Federal officers arrived there. + +The abundant natural resources of these Territories, with the security +and protection afforded by organized government, will doubtless invite +to them a large immigration when peace shall restore the business of the +country to its accustomed channels. I submit the resolutions of the +legislature of Colorado, which evidence the patriotic spirit of the +people of the Territory. So far the authority of the United States has +been upheld in all the Territories, as it is hoped it will be in the +future. I commend their interests and defense to the enlightened and +generous care of Congress. + +I recommend to the favorable consideration of Congress the interests of +the District of Columbia. The insurrection has been the cause of much +suffering and sacrifice to its inhabitants, and as they have no +representative in Congress that body should not overlook their just +claims upon the Government. + +At your late session a joint resolution was adopted authorizing the +President to take measures for facilitating a proper representation of +the industrial interests of the United States at the exhibition of the +industry of all nations to be holden at London in the year 1862. I +regret to say I have been unable to give personal attention to this +subject--a subject at once so interesting in itself and so extensively +and intimately connected with the material prosperity of the world. +Through the Secretaries of State and of the Interior a plan or system +has been devised and partly matured, and which will be laid before you. + +Under and by virtue of the act of Congress entitled "An act to +confiscate property used for insurrectionary purposes," approved August +6, 1861, the legal claims of certain persons to the labor and service of +certain other persons have become forfeited, and numbers of the latter +thus liberated are already dependent on the United States and must be +provided for in some way. Besides this, it is not impossible that some +of the States will pass similar enactments for their own benefit +respectively, and by operation of which persons of the same class will +be thrown upon them for disposal. In such case I recommend that Congress +provide for accepting such persons from such States, according to some +mode of valuation, in lieu, _pro tanto_, of direct taxes, or upon some +other plan to be agreed on with such States respectively; that such +persons, on such acceptance by the General Government, be at once deemed +free, and that in any event steps be taken for colonizing both classes +(or the one first mentioned if the other shall not be brought into +existence) at some place or places in a climate congenial to them. It +might be well to consider, too, whether the free colored people already +in the United States could not, so far as individuals may desire, be +included in such colonization. + +To carry out the plan of colonization may involve the acquiring of +territory, and also the appropriation of money beyond that to be +expended in the territorial acquisition. Having practiced the +acquisition of territory for nearly sixty years, the question of +constitutional power to do so is no longer an open one with us. The +power was questioned at first by Mr. Jefferson, who, however, in the +purchase of Louisiana, yielded his scruples on the plea of great +expediency. If it be said that the only legitimate object of acquiring +territory is to furnish homes for white men, this measure effects that +object, for the emigration of colored men leaves additional room for +white men remaining or coming here. Mr. Jefferson, however, placed the +importance of procuring Louisiana more on political and commercial +grounds than on providing room for population. + +On this whole proposition, including the appropriation of money with the +acquisition of territory, does not the expediency amount to absolute +necessity--that without which the Government itself can not be +perpetuated? + +The war continues. In considering the policy to be adopted for +suppressing the insurrection I have been anxious and careful that the +inevitable conflict for this purpose shall not degenerate into a +violent and remorseless revolutionary struggle. I have therefore in +every case thought it proper to keep the integrity of the Union +prominent as the primary object of the contest on our part, leaving all +questions which are not of vital military importance to the more +deliberate action of the Legislature. + +In the exercise of my best discretion I have adhered to the blockade of +the ports held by the insurgents, instead of putting in force by +proclamation the law of Congress enacted at the late session for closing +those ports. + +So also, obeying the dictates of prudence, as well as the obligations of +law, instead of transcending I have adhered to the act of Congress to +confiscate property used for insurrectionary purposes. If a new law +upon the same subject shall be proposed, its propriety will be duly +considered The Union must be preserved, and hence all indispensable +means must be employed. We should not be in haste to determine that +radical and extreme measures, which may reach the loyal as well as the +disloyal, are indispensable. + +The inaugural address at the beginning of the Administration and the +message to Congress at the late special session were both mainly devoted +to the domestic controversy out of which the insurrection and consequent +war have sprung. Nothing now occurs to add or subtract to or from the +principles or general purposes stated and expressed in those documents. + +The last ray of hope for preserving the Union peaceably expired at the +assault upon Fort Sumter, and a general review of what has occurred +since may not be unprofitable. What was painfully uncertain then is much +better defined and more distinct now, and the progress of events is +plainly in the right direction. The insurgents confidently claimed a +strong support from north of Mason and Dixon's line, and the friends of +the Union were not free from apprehension on the point. This, however, +was soon settled definitely, and on the right side. South of the line +noble little Delaware led off right from the first. Maryland was made to +_seem_ against the Union. Our soldiers were assaulted, bridges were +burned, and railroads torn up within her limits, and we were many days +at one time without the ability to bring a single regiment over her soil +to the capital. Now her bridges and railroads are repaired and open to +the Government; she already gives seven regiments to the cause of the +Union, and none to the enemy; and her people, at a regular election, +have sustained the Union by a larger majority and a larger aggregate +vote than they ever before gave to any candidate or any question. +Kentucky, too, for some time in doubt, is now decidedly and, I think, +unchangeably ranged on the side of the Union, Missouri is comparatively +quiet, and, I believe, can not again be overrun by the insurrectionists. +These three States of Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, neither of which +would promise a single soldier at first, have now an aggregate of not +less than 40,000 in the field for the Union, while of their citizens +certainly not more than a third of that number, and they of doubtful +whereabouts and doubtful existence, are in arms against us. After a +somewhat bloody struggle of months, winter closes on the Union people of +western Virginia, leaving them masters of their own country. + +An insurgent force of about 1,500, for months dominating the narrow +peninsular region constituting the counties of Accomac and Northampton, +and known as Eastern Shore of Virginia, together with some contiguous +parts of Maryland, have laid down their arms, and the people there have +renewed their allegiance to and accepted the protection of the old flag. +This leaves no armed insurrectionist north of the Potomac or east of the +Chesapeake. + +Also we have obtained a footing at each of the isolated points on the +southern coast of Hatteras, Port Royal, Tybee Island (near Savannah), +and Ship Island; and we likewise have some general accounts of popular +movements in behalf of the Union in North Carolina and Tennessee. + +These things demonstrate that the cause of the Union is advancing +steadily and certainly southward. + +Since your last adjournment Lieutenant-General Scott has retired from +the head of the Army. During his long life the nation has not been +unmindful of his merit; yet on calling to mind how faithfully, ably, and +brilliantly he has served the country, from a time far back in our +history, when few of the now living had been born, and thenceforward +continually, I can not but think we are still his debtors. I submit, +therefore, for your consideration what further mark of recognition is +due to him, and to ourselves as a grateful people. + +With the retirement of General Scott came the Executive duty of +appointing in his stead a General in Chief of the Army. It is a +fortunate circumstance that neither in council nor country was there, so +far as I know, any difference of opinion as to the proper person to be +selected. The retiring chief repeatedly expressed his judgment in favor +of General McClellan for the position, and in this the nation seemed to +give a unanimous concurrence. The designation of General McClellan is +therefore in considerable degree the selection of the country as well as +of the Executive, and hence there is better reason to hope there will be +given him the confidence and cordial support thus by fair implication +promised, and without which he can not with so full efficiency serve the +country. + +It has been said that one bad general is better than two good ones, and +the saying is true if taken to mean no more than that an army is better +directed by a single mind, though inferior, than by two superior ones at +variance and cross-purposes with each other. + +And the same is true in all joint operations wherein those engaged _can_ +have none but a common end in view and _can_ differ only as to the +choice of means. In a storm at sea no one on board _can_ wish the ship +to sink, and yet not unfrequently all go down together because too many +will direct and no single mind can be allowed to control. + +It continues to develop that the insurrection is largely, if not +exclusively, a war upon the first principle of popular government--the +rights of the people. Conclusive evidence of this is found in the most +grave and maturely considered public documents, as well as in the +general tone of the insurgents. In those documents we find the +abridgment of the existing right of suffrage and the denial to the +people of all right to participate in the selection of public officers +except the legislative boldly advocated, with labored arguments to prove +that large control of the people in government is the source of all +political evil. Monarchy itself is sometimes hinted at as a possible +refuge from the power of the people. + +In my present position I could scarcely be justified were I to omit +raising a warning voice against this approach of returning despotism. + +It is not needed nor fitting here that a general argument should be made +in favor of popular institutions, but there is one point, with its +connections, not so hackneyed as most others, to which I ask a brief +attention. It is the effort to place _capital_ on an equal footing with, +if not above, _labor_ in the structure of government. It is assumed that +labor is available only in connection with capital; that nobody labors +unless some-body else, owning capital, somehow by the use of it induces +him to labor. This assumed, it is next considered whether it is best +that capital shall _hire_ laborers, and thus induce them to work by +their own consent, or _buy_ them and drive them to it without their +consent. Having proceeded so far, it is naturally concluded that all +laborers are either _hired_ laborers or what we call slaves. And +further, it is assumed that whoever is once a hired laborer is fixed in +that condition for life. + +Now there is no such relation between capital and labor as assumed, nor +is there any such thing as a free man being fixed for life in the +condition of a hired laborer. Both these assumptions are false, and all +inferences from them are groundless. + +Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit +of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. +Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher +consideration. Capital has its rights, which are as worthy of protection +as any other rights. Nor is it denied that there is, and probably always +will be, a relation between labor and capital producing mutual benefits. +The error is in assuming that the whole labor of community exists within +that; relation. A few men own capital, and that few avoid labor +themselves, and with their capital hire or buy another few to labor for +them. A large majority belong to neither class--neither work for others +nor have others working for them. In most of the Southern States a +majority of the whole people of all colors are neither slaves nor +masters, while in the Northern a large majority are neither hirers nor +hired. Men, with their families-wives, sons, and daughters--work for +themselves on their farms, in their houses, and in their shops, taking +the whole product to themselves, and asking no favors of capital on the +one hand nor of hired laborers or slaves on the other. It is not +forgotten that a considerable number of persons mingle their own labor +with capital; that is, they labor with their own hands and also buy or +hire others to labor for them; but this is only a mixed and not a +distinct class. No principle stated is disturbed by the existence of +this mixed class. + +Again, as has already been said, there is not of necessity any such +thing as the free hired laborer being fixed to that condition for life. +Many independent men everywhere in these States a few years back in +their lives were hired laborers. The prudent, penniless beginner in the +world labors for wages awhile, saves a surplus with which to buy tools +or land for himself, then labors on his own account another while, and +at length hires another new beginner to help him. This is the just and +generous and prosperous system which opens the way to all, gives hope to +all, and consequent energy and progress and improvement of condition to +all. No men living are more worthy to be trusted than those who toil up +from poverty; none less inclined to take or touch aught which they have +not honestly earned. Let them beware of surrendering a political power +which they already possess, and which if surrendered will surely be used +to close the door of advancement against such as they and to fix new +disabilities and burdens upon them till all of liberty shall be lost. + +From the first taking of our national census to the last are seventy +years, and we find our population at the end of the period eight times +as great as it was at the beginning. The increase of those other things +which men deem desirable has been even greater. We thus have at one view +what the popular principle, applied to Government through the machinery +of the States and the Union, has produced in a given time, and also what +if firmly maintained it promises for the future. There are already among +us those who if the Union be preserved will live to see it contain +250,000,000. The struggle _of_ to-day is not altogether _for_ to-day; it +is for a vast future also. With a reliance on Providence all the more +firm and earnest, let us proceed in the great task which events have +devolved upon us. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + +SPECIAL MESSAGES. + +WASHINGTON, _December 4, 1861_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, in reply to +the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 31st July last, +upon the subject of increasing and extending trade and commerce of the +United States with foreign countries. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 4, 1861_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, in reply to +the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 13th July last, in +relation to the correspondence between this Government and foreign +nations respecting the rights of blockade, privateering, and the +recognition of the so-called Confederate States. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 5, 1861_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to +ratification, a treaty between the United States of America and His +Majesty the King of Hanover, concerning the abolition of the Stade or +Brunshausen dues, signed at Berlin on the 6th November, 1861. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 9, 1861_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, in reply to +the resolution of the House of the 4th instant, relative to the +intervention of certain European powers in the affairs of Mexico. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, December 14, 1861_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In compliance with the resolution of your honorable body "that the +President be requested to furnish to the Senate copies of the charges, +testimony, and finding of the recent court of inquiry in the case of +Colonel Dixon S. Miles, of the United States Army," I have the honor to +transmit herewith the copies desired, which have been procured from the +War Department. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 16, 1861_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I submit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification, +the amendments introduced by the Constituent National Assembly of +Bolivia in its decree of ratification into the treaty of peace, +friendship, commerce, and navigation concluded with that Republic on the +13th of May, 1858, an official translation of which decree accompanies +this message, with the original treaty. As the time within which the +exchange of ratifications should be effected is limited, I recommend, in +view of the delay which must necessarily occur and the difficulty of +reaching the seat of Government of that Republic, that the time within +which such exchange shall take place be extended in the following terms: +"Within such period as may be mutually convenient to both Governments." + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 17, 1861_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to the Senate and House of Representatives copies of the +correspondence between the Secretary of State, Secretary of War, and the +governor of the State of Maine on the subject of the fortification of +the seacoast and Lakes. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 17, 1861_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate, for its advice, a copy of a draft for a +convention with the Republic of Mexico, proposed to the Government of +that Republic by Mr. Corwin, the minister of the United States +accredited to that Government, together with the correspondence relating +to it. + +As the subject is of momentous interest to the two Governments at this +juncture, the early consideration of it by the Senate is very desirable. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 20, 1861_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a letter from the secretary of the executive +committee of the commission appointed to represent the interests of +those American citizens who may desire to become exhibitors at the +industrial exhibition to be held in London in 1862, and a memorial of +that commission, with a report of the executive committee thereof and +copies of circulars announcing the decisions of Her Majesty's +commissioners in London, giving directions to be observed in regard to +articles intended for exhibition, and also of circular forms of +application, demands for space, approvals, etc., according to the rules +prescribed by the British commissioners. + +As these papers fully set forth the requirements necessary to enable +those citizens of the United States who may wish to become exhibitors to +avail themselves of the privileges of the exhibition, I commend them to +your early consideration, especially in view of the near approach of the +time when the exhibition will begin. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 23, 1861_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the +13th July last, requesting information respecting the Asiatic cooly +trade, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, with the +documents which accompanied it. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 30, 1861_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a correspondence which has taken place between +the Secretary of State and authorities of Great Britain and France on +the subject of the recent removal of certain citizens[3] of the United +States from the British mail steamer _Trent_ by order of Captain Wilkes, +in command of the United States war steamer _San Jacinto_. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +[Footnote 3: James M. Mason and John Slidell, Confederate envoys to +England and France, respectively, and two others.] + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 2, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a copy of a letter to the Secretary of State from +James R. Partridge, secretary to the executive committee to the +industrial exhibition to be held in London in the course of the present +year, and a copy of the correspondence to which it refers, relative to a +vessel for the purpose of taking such articles as persons in this +country may wish to exhibit on that occasion. As it appears that no +naval vessel can be spared for the purpose, I recommend that authority +be given to charter a suitable merchant vessel, in order that facilities +similar to those afforded by the Government for the exhibition of 1851 +may also be extended to those citizens of the United States who may +desire to contribute to the exhibition of this year. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 2, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, a +treaty concluded on the 15th November, 1861, between William W. Ross, +agent on the part of the United States, and the chiefs and headmen of +the tribe of Pottawatomie Indians, with accompanying communications from +the Secretary of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the +latter of which proposes certain modifications of said treaty, which are +also referred for the consideration of the Senate. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 10, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a translation of an instruction to the minister +of His Majesty the Emperor of Austria accredited to this Government, and +a copy of a note to that minister from the Secretary of State, relative +to the questions involved in the taking from the British steamer _Trent_ +of certain citizens of the United States by order of Captain Wilkes, +of the United States Navy. This correspondence may be considered as a +sequel to that previously communicated to Congress relating to the same +subject. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 17, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a translation of an instruction to the minister +of His Majesty the King of Prussia accredited to this Government, and a +copy of a note to that minister from the Secretary of State, relating to +the capture and detention of certain citizens of the United States, +passengers on board the British steamer _Trent_ by order of Captain +Wilkes, of the United States Navy. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 17, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit herewith, for the consideration of the Senate, a petition of +certain members of the Pottawatomie tribe of Indians, complaining of the +treaty made by W. W. Ross on the 15th November last with that tribe, +which treaty was laid before the Senate for its constitutional action in +my communication to that body dated the 6th [3d] instant. + +A letter of the 16th instant from the Secretary of the Interior, +inclosing a report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs dated the 15th +instant, in relation to the subject, is also herewith transmitted. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _January, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, +articles of agreement and convention concluded at Niobrara, Nebraska +Territory, on the 14th day of November, 1860, between J. Shaw Gregory, +agent on the part of the United States, and the chiefs and headmen of +the Poncas tribe of Indians, being supplementary to the treaty with said +tribe made on the 12th day of March, 1858. + +I also transmit a letter, dated the 4th instant, from the Secretary of +the Interior, inclosing a copy of a report of the Commissioner of Indian +Affairs of the 20th September, 1861, in relation to the subject. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 24, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I submit to Congress the accompanying copy of a correspondence between +the Secretary of State, the Spanish minister, and the Secretary of the +Navy, concerning the case of the bark _Providencia_, a Spanish vessel +seized on her voyage from Havana to New York by a steamer of the United +States Blockading Squadron and subsequently released. I recommend the +appropriation of the amount of the award of the referee. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 24, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I lay before the Senate a dispatch which has just been received from Mr. +Corwin, our minister to Mexico. It communicates important information +concerning the war which is waged against Mexico by the combined powers +of Spain, France, and Great Britain. + +Mr. Corwin asks instructions by which to regulate his proceedings so as +to save our national interests in the case of an adjustment of the +difficulties between the belligerents. I have heretofore submitted to +the Senate a request for its advice upon the question pending by treaty +for making a loan to Mexico, which Mr. Corwin thinks will in any case be +expedient. It seems to be my duty now to solicit an early action of the +Senate upon the subject, to the end that I may cause such instructions +to be given to Mr. Corwin as will enable him to act in the manner which, +while it will most carefully guard the interests of our country, will at +the same time be most beneficial to Mexico. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 28, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I submit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to +ratification, a treaty of extradition concluded by Mr. Corwin with the +Mexican Government on the 11th of December last. + +I also submit a postal convention concluded by that gentleman at the +same time, and a copy of his dispatch of the 24th of the same month +explanatory of the provisions of both these instruments, and the reasons +for the nonratification by Mexico of the postal convention concluded in +this city on the 31st of July last and approved by the Senate on the 6th +of August. + +A copy of a letter from the Postmaster-General to the Secretary of State +in relation to Mr. Corwin's postal convention is also herewith +communicated. The advice of the Senate as to the expediency of accepting +that convention as a substitute for the one of the 31st of July last is +requested. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 31, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +As a sequel to the correspondence on the subject previously +communicated, I transmit to Congress extracts from a dispatch of the +20th ultimo from Mr. Adams, United States minister at London, to the +Secretary of State, and a copy of an instruction from Earl Russell to +Lord Lyons of the 10th instant, relative to the removal of certain +citizens of the United States from the British mail steamer _Trent_ by +order of the commander of the United States war steamer _San Jacinto_. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON CITY, _February 4, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +The third section of the "Act further to promote the efficiency of the +Navy," approved December 21, 1861, provides-- + + That the President of the United States, by and with the advice and + consent of the Senate, shall have the authority to detail from the + retired list of the Navy for the command of squadrons and single ships + such officers as he may believe that the good of the service requires + to be thus placed in command; and such officers may, if upon the + recommendation of the President of the United States they shall receive + a vote of thanks of Congress for their services and gallantry in action + against an enemy, be restored to the active list, and not otherwise. + +In conformity with this law, Captain Samuel F. Du Pont, of the Navy, was +nominated to the Senate for continuance as the flag-officer in command +of the squadron which recently rendered such important service to the +Union in the expedition to the coast of South Carolina. + +Believing that no occasion could arise which would more fully correspond +with the intention of the law or be more pregnant with happy influence +as an example, I cordially recommend that Captain Samuel F. Du Pont +receive a vote of thanks of Congress for his services and gallantry +displayed in the capture of Forts Walker and Beauregard, commanding the +entrance of Port Royal Harbor, on the 7th of November, 1861. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 7, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 5th instant, requesting +a communication of any recent correspondence relating to the +presentation of American citizens to the Court of France, I transmit a +copy of a dispatch of the 14th ultimo from the United States minister at +Paris to the Secretary of State and of an instruction of Mr. Seward to +Mr. Dayton of the 3d instant. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 12, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a copy of a special treaty between the United +States and His Majesty the King of Hanover for the abolition of the +Stade dues, which was signed at Berlin on the 6th of November last. In +this treaty, already approved by the Senate and ratified on the part of +the United States, it is stipulated that the sums specified in Articles +III and IV to be paid to the Hanoverian Government shall be paid at +Berlin on the day of the exchange of ratifications. I therefore +recommend that seasonable provision be made to enable the Executive to +carry this stipulation into effect. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON CITY, _February 15, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_: + +The third section of the "Act further to promote the efficiency of the +Navy," approved December 21, 1861, provides-- + + That the President of the United States, by and with the advice and + consent of the Senate, shall have the authority to detail from the + retired list of the Navy for the command of squadrons and single ships + such officers as he may believe that the good of the service requires to + be thus placed in command; and such officers may, if upon the + recommendation of the President of the United States they shall receive + a vote of thanks of Congress for their services and gallantry in action + against an enemy, be restored to the active list, and not otherwise. + +In conformity with this law, Captain Louis M. Goldsborough, of the Navy, +was nominated to the Senate for continuance as the flag-officer in +command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, which recently +rendered such important service to the Union in the expedition to the +coast of North Carolina. + +Believing that no occasion could arise which would more fully correspond +with the intention of the law or be more pregnant with happy influence +as an example, I cordially recommend that Captain Louis M. Goldsborough +receive a vote of thanks of Congress for his services and gallantry +displayed in the combined attack of the forces commanded by him and +Brigadier-General Burnside in the capture of Roanoke Island and the +destruction of rebel gunboats on the 7th, 8th, and 10th of February, +1862. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 21, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +The President of the United States was last evening plunged into +affliction by the death of a beloved child. The heads of the +Departments, in consideration of this distressing event, have thought it +would be agreeable to Congress and to the American people that the +official and private buildings occupied by them should not be +illuminated in the evening of the 22d instant. + + WILLIAM H. SEWARD. + S.P. CHASE. + EDWIN M. STANTON. + GIDEON WELLES. + CALEB B. SMITH. + M. BLAIR. + EDWARD BATES. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 25, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a copy of an instruction from Prince Gortchakoff +to Mr. De Stoeckl, the minister of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of +Russia accredited to this Government, and of a note of the Secretary of +State to the latter, relative to the adjustment of the question between +the United States and Great Britain growing out of the removal of +certain of our citizens from the British mail steamer _Trent_ by order +of the commander of the United States war steamer _San Jacinto_. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 26, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +In transmitting to Congress the accompanying copy of two letters, +bearing date the 14th of February, 1861, from His Majesty the Major King +of Siam to the President of the United States, and of the President's +answer thereto, I submit for their consideration the question as to the +proper place of deposit of the gifts received with the royal letters +referred to. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 27, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +Lieutenant-General Scott has advised me that while he would cheerfully +accept a commission as additional minister to Mexico, with a view to +promote the interests of the United States and of peace, yet his +infirmities are such that he could not be able to reach the capital of +that country by any existing mode of travel, and he therefore deems it +his duty to decline the important mission I had proposed for him. For +this reason I withdraw the nomination in this respect heretofore +submitted to the Senate. It is hardly necessary to add that the +nomination was made without any knowledge of it on his part. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _March 3, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a copy of a dispatch to the Secretary of State +from the minister resident of the United States at Lisbon, concerning +recent measures which have been adopted by the Government of Portugal +intended to encourage the growth and to enlarge the area of the culture +of cotton in its African possessions. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _March 3, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a translation of an instruction to the minister +of His Majesty the King of Italy accredited to this Government, and a +copy of a note to that minister from the Secretary of State, relating to +the settlement of the question arising out of the capture and detention +of certain citizens of the United States, passengers on board the +British steamer _Trent_, by order of Captain Wilkes, of the United +States Navy. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _March 3, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate a translation of a note addressed to the +Secretary of State on the 1st instant by General P. A. Herran, envoy +extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the Granadian +Confederation, with a translation of the communication accompanying that +note from the special commissioner of that Republic, together with a +copy of a letter from the special commissioner of the United States of +the 26th ultimo, under the convention of the 10th September, 1857, +setting forth the impracticability of disposing of the cases submitted +to the joint commission now in session under the convention within the +period prescribed therein. + +I recommend, therefore, that the Senate consent to the extension of time +for ---- days from and after the expiration of the time limited by the +convention. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _March 3, 1862_. + +_To the House of Representatives of the United States_: + +I transmit herewith a communication[4] of the Secretary of War, +inclosing a report of the Adjutant-General, in answer to a resolution of +the House of Representatives of the 22d of January, 1862. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +[Footnote 4: Relating to assignment of officers of the Army to duty.] + + + +WASHINGTON, _March 5, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I submit to the Senate, for its consideration, a copy of a message +addressed to that body by my immediate predecessor on the 12th February, +1861, relating to the award made by the joint commission under the +convention between the United States and Paraguay of the 4th February, +1859, together with the original "journal of the proceedings" of the +commission and a printed copy of the "statements and arguments--and for +the Republic," and request the advice of the Senate as to the final +acquiescence in or rejection of the award of the commissioner by the +Government of the United States. As the "journal" is an original +document, pertaining to the archives of the Department of State, it +is proper, when the Senate shall have arrived at a conclusion on the +subject, that the volume be returned to the custody of the Secretary +of State. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +MARCH 6, 1862. + +_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I recommend the adoption of a joint resolution by your honorable bodies, +which shall be substantially as follows: + + + _Resolved_, That the United States ought to cooperate with any State + which may adopt gradual abolishment of slavery, giving to such State + pecuniary aid, to be used by such State, in its discretion, to + compensate for the inconveniences, public and private, produced by such + change of system. + + +If the proposition contained in the resolution does not meet the +approval of Congress and the country, there is the end; but if it does +command such approval, I deem it of importance that the States and +people immediately interested should be at once distinctly notified of +the fact, so that they may begin to consider whether to accept or reject +it. The Federal Government would find its highest interest in such a +measure, as one of the most efficient means of self-preservation. The +leaders of the existing insurrection entertain the hope that this +Government will ultimately be forced to acknowledge the independence of +some part of the disaffected region, and that all the slave States north +of such part will then say, "The Union for which we have struggled being +already gone, we now choose to go with the Southern section." To deprive +them of this hope substantially ends the rebellion, and the initiation +of emancipation completely deprives them of it as to all the States +initiating it. The point is not that _all_ the States tolerating slavery +would very soon, if at all, initiate emancipation; but that while the +offer is equally made to all, the more northern shall by such initiation +make it certain to the more southern that in no event will the former +ever join the latter in their proposed confederacy. I say "initiation" +because, in my judgment, gradual and not sudden emancipation is better +for all. In the mere financial or pecuniary view any member of Congress +with the census tables and Treasury reports before him can readily see +for himself how very soon the current expenditures of this war would +purchase, at fair valuation, all the slaves in any named State. Such a +proposition on the part of the General Government sets up no claim of a +right by Federal authority to interfere with slavery within State +limits, referring, as it does, the absolute control of the subject in +each case to the State and its people immediately interested. It is +proposed as a matter of perfectly free choice with them. + +In the annual message last December I thought fit to say "the Union must +be preserved, and hence all indispensable means must be employed." I +said this not hastily, but deliberately. War has been made and continues +to be an indispensable means to this end. A practical reacknowledgment +of the national authority would render the war unnecessary, and it would +at once cease. If, however, resistance continues, the war must also +continue; and it is impossible to foresee all the incidents which may +attend and all the ruin which may follow it. Such as may seem +indispensable or may obviously promise great efficiency toward ending +the struggle must and will come. + +The proposition now made (though an offer only), I hope it may be +esteemed no offense to ask whether the pecuniary consideration tendered +would not be of more value to the States and private persons concerned +than are the institution and property in it in the present aspect of +affairs. + +While it is true that the adoption of the proposed resolution would be +merely initiatory, and not within itself a practical measure, it is +recommended in the hope that it would soon lead to important practical +results. In full view of my great responsibility to my God and to my +country, I earnestly beg the attention of Congress and the people to the +subject. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 7, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate +thereon, a treaty concluded at Paola, Kans., on the 18th day of August, +between Seth Clover, commissioner on the part of the United States, and +the delegates of the united tribes of Kaskaskia and Peoria, Piankeshaw, +and Wea Indians. + +I also transmit a communication of the Secretary of the Interior of the +6th instant and accompanying papers from the Acting Commissioner of +Indian Affairs, in relation to the subject. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _March 12, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 11th instant, +requesting "a copy of any correspondence on the records or files of the +Department of State in regard to railway systems in Europe," I transmit +a report from the Secretary of State and the papers by which it was +accompanied. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _March 14, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +With reference to my recent message on the subject of claims of citizens +of the United States on the Government of Paraguay, I transmit a copy of +three memorials of the claimants and of their closing arguments in the +case, together with extracts from a dispatch from Mr. Bowlin, the late +commissioner of the United States to that country. These extracts show +that President Lopez offered and expected to pay a large sum of money as +a compromise of the claims. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _March 14, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I submit to Congress the accompanying copy of a correspondence between +the Secretary of State, the Danish charge d'affaires, and the Secretary +of the Navy, concerning the case of the bark _Jorgen Lorentzen_, a +Danish vessel seized on her voyage from Rio Janeiro to Havana by the +United States ship _Morning Light_ and subsequently released. I recommend +the appropriation of the amount of the award of the referees. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON CITY, _March 20, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +The third section of the "Act further to promote the efficiency of the +Navy," approved December 21, 1861, provides-- + + That the President of the United States, by and with the advice and + consent of the Senate, shall have the authority to detail from the + retired list of the Navy for the command of squadrons and single ships + such officers as he may believe that the good of the service requires to + be thus placed in command; and such officers may, if upon the + recommendation of the President of the United States they shall receive + a vote of thanks of Congress for their services and gallantry in action + against an enemy, be restored to the active list, and not otherwise. + +In conformity with this law, Captain Samuel F. Du Pont, of the Navy, was +nominated to the Senate for continuance as the flag-officer in command +of the squadron which recently rendered such important service to the +Union in the expedition to the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and +Florida. + +Believing that no occasion could arise which would more fully correspond +with the intention of the law or be more pregnant with happy influence +as an example, I cordially recommend that Captain Samuel F. Du Pont +receive a vote of thanks of Congress for his service and gallantry +displayed in the capture since the 21st December, 1861, of various +points on the coasts of Georgia and Florida, particularly Brunswick, +Cumberland Island and Sound, Amelia Island, the towns of St. Marys, St. +Augustine, and Jacksonville and Fernandina. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _March 26, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit a copy of a communication[5] of the 21st of December last +addressed to the Secretary of State by the governor of the Territory of +Nevada, and commend to the particular attention of Congress those parts +of it which show that further legislation is desirable for the public +welfare in that quarter. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +[Footnote 5: Containing a narrative of incidents pertaining to the +government of the Territory of Nevada.] + + + +WASHINGTON, _March 31, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to +ratification, a treaty of commerce and navigation between the United +States and the Ottoman Empire, signed at Constantinople on the 25th of +last month. Extracts from a dispatch of the same date, upon the subject +of the treaty, from Mr. Morris, the United States minister at +Constantinople, to the Secretary of State, are also herewith +communicated. + +It will be noticed that the exchange of ratifications is to take place +within three months from the date of the instrument. This renders it +desirable that the Senate should decide in regard to it as soon as this +may be convenient, for if that decision be favorable the ratifications +of this Government must reach Constantinople prior to the expiration of +the three months adverted to. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _April 5, 1862_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of +yesterday, requesting any information which may have been received at +the Department of State showing the system of revenue and finance now +existing in any foreign country, I transmit a copy of a recent dispatch +from Mr. Pike, the United States minister at The Hague. This is +understood to be the only information on the subject of the resolution +recently received which has not been made public. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _April 10, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to +ratification, a treaty between the United States and Her Britannic +Majesty for the suppression of the slave trade. A copy of the +correspondence between the Secretary of State and Lord Lyons on the +subject of the treaty is also herewith transmitted. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _April 14, 1862_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the +3d ultimo, requesting information in regard to the present condition of +Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the +documents by which it was accompanied. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _April 15, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +On the 26th of June, 1860, the Senate approved of the treaty of +friendship and commerce between the United States and Nicaragua, signed +on the 16th of March, 1859, with certain amendments. + +On the next day, namely, June 27, 1860, the Senate adopted a resolution +extending the period for the exchange of the ratifications of the treaty +for six months from that date; that is, until the 27th of December, +1860. + +Although the amendments of the Senate were immediately transmitted to +our minister in Nicaragua for submission to the Government of that +Republic, he failed, notwithstanding earnest efforts, to induce that +Government to call an extra session of Congress to take into +consideration the amendments of the Senate of the United States within +the supplementary time named in the resolution of June 27, 1860, for the +exchange of ratifications. + +It was not until the 25th of March, 1861, nearly three months after the +expiration of the six months extended by the Senate resolution, that the +Congress of Nicaragua acted favorably upon the amendments of the Senate +of the United States. + +A translation of the decree of the Nicaraguan Government approving the +treaty as amended, with an additional amendment, is herewith inclosed. + +It will be perceived that while the ratification of Nicaragua recites +literally the second amendment of the Senate and accepts it with an +additional clause, it does not in explicit terms accept the first +amendment of the Senate, striking out the last clause of the sixteenth +article. + +That amendment is of so much importance that the adoption or rejection +of it by the Government of Nicaragua should not be left to construction +or inference. + +The final amendment of that Government properly extended the time of +exchanging ratifications for an additional twelve months. That time has +expired. For obvious reasons connected with our internal affairs, the +subject has not sooner been submitted to the Senate, but the treaty is +now laid before that body, with this brief historical sketch and the +decree of the Nicaraguan Government, for such further advice as may be +deemed necessary and proper in regard to the acceptance or rejection of +the amendments of Nicaragua. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _April 15, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In consequence of the delay attending the approval by the Senate of the +extradition treaty with Mexico signed on the 11th December last, it is +impossible to effect the exchange of ratifications of that and the +postal convention of the same date within the period assigned by those +instruments. + +I recommend, therefore, the passage of a resolution at the earliest +practicable moment extending the time specified in the eighth article of +the extradition treaty and in the twelfth article of the postal +convention for the exchange of ratifications for sixty days from and +after the 11th June next, the date of the expiration of the period named +for that purpose in both instruments. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _April 15, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit herewith, for the consideration and such constitutional +action as the Senate may deem proper to take, a treaty negotiated on the +6th March, 1861, between late Agent Vanderslice, on the part of the +United States, and certain delegates of the Sac and Fox of the Missouri +and the Iowa tribes of Indians; also certain petitions of said tribes, +praying that the treaty may be ratified with an amendment as set forth +in said petitions. A letter of the Secretary of the Interior, with a +report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and letter of the present +agent of the Indians, accompany the treaty and petitions. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +APRIL 16, 1862. + +_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +The act entitled "An act for the release of certain persons held to +service or labor in the District of Columbia" has this day been approved +and signed. + +I have never doubted the constitutional authority of Congress to abolish +slavery in this District, and I have ever desired to see the national +capital freed from the institution in some satisfactory way. Hence there +has never been in my mind any question upon the subject except the one +of expediency, arising in view of all the circumstances. If there be +matters within and about this act which might have taken a course or +shape more satisfactory to my judgment, I do not attempt to specify +them. I am gratified that the two principles of compensation and +colonization are both recognized and practically applied in the act. + +In the matter of compensation, it is provided that claims may be +presented within ninety days from the passage of the act, "but not +thereafter;" and there is no saving for minors, femes covert, insane or +absent persons. I presume this is an omission by mere oversight, and I +recommend that it be supplied by an amendatory or supplemental act. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _April 18, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a copy of a correspondence between the Secretary +of State and Benjamin E. Brewster, of Philadelphia, relative to the +arrest in that city of Simon Cameron, late Secretary of War, at the suit +of Pierce Butler, for trespass _vi et armis_, assault and battery, and +false imprisonment. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, April 24, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In obedience to your resolution of the 17th instant, I herewith +communicate the testimony and judgment of the recent naval court of +inquiry in the case of Lieutenant Charles E. Fleming, of the United +States Navy; also the testimony and finding of the naval retiring board +in the case of the said Lieutenant Fleming. + +I have the honor to state that the judgment and finding aforesaid have +not been approved by me. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _April 26, 1862_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the +24th of February last, requesting information in regard to insurgent +privateers in foreign ports, I transmit a report from the Secretary of +State and the documents by which it was accompanied. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, May 1, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In answer to the resolution of the Senate in relation to +Brigadier-General Stone, I have the honor to state that he was arrested +and imprisoned under my general authority, and upon evidence which, +whether he be guilty or innocent, required, as appears to me, such +proceedings to be had against him for the public safety. I deem it +incompatible with the public interest, as also, perhaps, unjust to +General Stone, to make a more particular statement of the evidence. + +He has not been tried because in the state of military operations at the +time of his arrest and since the officers to constitute a court-martial +and for witnesses could not be withdrawn from duty without serious +injury to the service. He will be allowed a trial without any +unnecessary delay, the charges and specifications will be furnished him +in due season, and every facility for his defense will be afforded him +by the War Department. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, May 1, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In accordance with the suggestion of the Secretary of the Treasury +contained in the accompanying letter, I have the honor to transmit the +inclosed petition and report thereon of the Third Auditor for the +consideration of Congress. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 14, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +The third section of the "Act further to promote the efficiency of the +Navy," approved 21st of December, 1861, provides-- + + + That the President of the United States, by and with the advice and + consent of the Senate, shall have the authority to detail from the + retired list of the Navy for the command of squadrons and single ships + such officers as he may believe that the good of the service requires + to be thus placed in command; and such officers may, if upon the + recommendation of the President of the United States they shall receive + a vote of thanks of Congress for their services and gallantry in action + against an enemy, be restored to the active list, and not otherwise. + + +In conformity with this law, Captain David G. Farragut was nominated to +the Senate for continuance as the flag-officer in command of the +squadron which recently rendered such important service to the Union by +his successful operations on the Lower Mississippi and capture of New +Orleans. + +Believing that no occasion could arise which would more fully correspond +with the intention of the law or be more pregnant with happy influence +as an example, I cordially recommend that Captain D.G. Farragut receive +a vote of thanks of Congress for his services and gallantry displayed in +the capture since 21st December, 1861, of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, +city of New Orleans, and the destruction of various rebel gunboats, +rams, etc. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 14, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I submit herewith a list of naval officers who commanded vessels engaged +in the recent brilliant operations of the squadron commanded by +Flag-Officer Farragut, which led to the capture of Forts Jackson and St. +Philip, city of New Orleans, and the destruction of rebel gunboats, +rams, etc., in April, 1862. For their services and gallantry on those +occasions I cordially recommend that they should by name receive a vote +of thanks of Congress. + +LIST. + + Captain Theodorus Bailey. + Captain Henry W. Morris. + Captain Thomas T. Craven. + Commander Henry H. Bell. + Commander Samuel Phillips Lee. + Commander Samuel Swartwout. + Commander Melancton Smith. + Commander Charles Stewart Boggs. + Commander John De Camp. + Commander James Alden. + Commander David D. Porter. + Commander Richard Wainwright. + Commander William B. Renshaw. + Lieutenant Commanding Abram D. Harrell. + Lieutenant Commanding Edward Donaldson. + Lieutenant Commanding George H. Preble. + Lieutenant Commanding Edward T. Nichols. + Lieutenant Commanding Jonathan M. Wainwright. + Lieutenant Commanding John Guest. + Lieutenant Commanding Charles H.B. Caldwell. + Lieutenant Commanding Napoleon B. Harrison. + Lieutenant Commanding Albert N. Smith. + Lieutenant Commanding Pierce Crosby. + Lieutenant Commanding George M. Ransom. + Lieutenant Commanding Watson Smith. + Lieutenant Commanding John H. Russell. + Lieutenant Commanding Walter W. Queen. + Lieutenant Commanding K. Randolph Breese. + Acting Lieutenant Commanding Selim E. Woodworth. + Acting Lieutenant Commanding Charles H. Baldwin. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE OFFICE, _May, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a +treaty negotiated on the 13th of March, 1862, between H.W. Farnsworth, +a commissioner on the part of the United States, and the authorized +representatives of the Kansas tribe of Indians. + +A communication from the Secretary of the Interior, together with +a letter of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, suggesting certain +amendments to the treaty and inclosing papers relating thereto, are +also transmitted. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _May 21, 1862_. + +_To the Senate_: + +In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 14th instant, +requesting information in regard to arrests in the State of Kentucky, I +transmit a report from the Secretary of War, to whom the resolution was +referred. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _May 22, 1862_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the +20th instant, requesting information in regard to the indemnity obtained +by the consul-general of the United States at Alexandria, Egypt, for the +maltreatment of Faris-El-Hakim, an agent in the employ of the American +missionaries in that country, I transmit a report from the Secretary of +State and the documents by which it was accompanied. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _May 23, 1862_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to the +resolution of the House of Representatives of the 22d instant, calling +for further correspondence relative to Mexican affairs. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +[The same message was sent to the Senate, in answer to a resolution +of that body.] + + + +WASHINGTON, _May 26, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +The insurrection which is yet existing in the United States and +aims at the overthrow of the Federal Constitution and the Union was +clandestinely prepared during the winter of 1860 and 1861, and assumed +an open organization in the form of a treasonable provisional government +at Montgomery, in Alabama, on the 18th day of February, 1861. On the +12th day of April, 1861, the insurgents committed the flagrant act of +civil war by the bombardment and capture of Fort Sumter, which cut off +the hope of immediate conciliation. Immediately afterwards all the roads +and avenues to this city were obstructed, and the capital was put into +the condition of a siege. The mails in every direction were stopped, and +the lines of telegraph cut off by the insurgents, and military and naval +forces which had been called out by the Government for the defense of +Washington were prevented from reaching the city by organized and +combined treasonable resistance in the State of Maryland. There was no +adequate and effective organization for the public defense. Congress had +indefinitely adjourned. There was no time to convene them. It became +necessary for me to choose whether, using only the existing means, +agencies, and processes which Congress had provided, I should let the +Government fall at once into ruin or whether, availing myself of the +broader powers conferred by the Constitution in cases of insurrection, +I would make an effort to save it, with all its blessings, for the +present age and for posterity. + +I thereupon summoned my constitutional advisers, the heads of all the +Departments, to meet on Sunday, the 20th day of April, 1861, at the +office of the Navy Department, and then and there, with their unanimous +concurrence, I directed that an armed revenue cutter should proceed to +sea to afford protection to the commercial marine, and especially the +California treasure ships then on their way to this coast. I also +directed the commandant of the navy-yard at Boston to purchase or +charter and arm as quickly as possible five steamships for purposes +of public defense. I directed the commandant of the navy-yard at +Philadelphia to purchase or charter and arm an equal number for the same +purpose. I directed the commandant at New York to purchase or charter +and arm an equal number. I directed Commander Gillis to purchase or +charter and arm and put to sea two other vessels. Similar directions +were given to Commodore Du Pont, with a view to the opening of passages +by water to and from the capital. I directed the several officers to +take the advice and obtain the aid and efficient services in the matter +of His Excellency Edwin D. Morgan, the governor of New York, or in his +absence George D. Morgan, William M. Evarts, R.M. Blatchford, and Moses +H. Grinnell, who were by my directions especially empowered by the +Secretary of the Navy to act for his Department in that crisis in +matters pertaining to the forwarding of troops and supplies for the +public defense. + +On the same occasion I directed that Governor Morgan and Alexander +Cummings, of the city of New York, should be authorized by the Secretary +of War, Simon Cameron, to make all necessary arrangements for the +transportation of troops and munitions of war, in aid and assistance of +the officers of the Army of the United States, until communication by +mails and telegraph should be completely reestablished between the +cities of Washington and New York. No security was required to be given +by them, and either of them was authorized to act in case of inability +to consult with the other. + +On the same occasion I authorized and directed the Secretary of the +Treasury to advance, without requiring security, $2,000,000 of public +money to John A. Dix, George Opdyke, and Richard M. Blatchford, of New +York, to be used by them in meeting such requisitions as should be +directly consequent upon the military and naval measures necessary for +the defense and support of the Government, requiring them only to act +without compensation and to report their transactions when duly called +upon. The several Departments of the Government at that time contained +so large a number of disloyal persons that it would have been impossible +to provide safely through official agents only for the performance of +the duties thus confided to citizens favorably known for their ability, +loyalty, and patriotism. + +The several orders issued upon these occurrences were transmitted by +private messengers, who pursued a circuitous way to the seaboard cities, +inland across the States of Pennsylvania and Ohio and the northern +lakes. I believe that by these and other similar measures taken in that +crisis, some of which were without any authority of law, the Government +was saved from overthrow. I am not aware that a dollar of the public +funds thus confided without authority of law to unofficial persons was +either lost or wasted, although apprehensions of such misdirection +occurred to me as objections to those extraordinary proceedings, and +were necessarily overruled. + +I recall these transactions now because my attention has been directed +to a resolution which was passed by the House of Representatives on the +30th day of last month, which is in these words: + + _Resolved_, That Simon Cameron, late Secretary of War, by investing + Alexander Cummings with the control of large sums of the public money + and authority to purchase military supplies without restriction, without + requiring from him any guaranty for the faithful performance of his + duties, when the services of competent public officers were available, + and by involving the Government in a vast number of contracts with + persons not legitimately engaged in the business pertaining to the + subject-matter of such contracts, especially in the purchase of arms + for future delivery, has adopted a policy highly injurious to the + public service, and deserves the censure of the House. + + +Congress will see that I should be wanting equally in candor and in +justice if I should leave the censure expressed in this resolution to +rest exclusively or chiefly upon Mr. Cameron. The same sentiment is +unanimously entertained by the heads of Departments who participated +in the proceedings which the House of Representatives has censured. +It is due to Mr. Cameron to say that although he fully approved the +proceedings they were not moved nor suggested by himself, and that not +only the President, but all the other heads of Departments, were at +least equally responsible with him for whatever error, wrong, or fault +was committed in the premises. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _May 30, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to +ratification, a treaty of amity, commerce, consular privileges, and +extradition between the United States and the Republic of Salvador, +signed in this city on the 29th instant. It is believed that though +this instrument contains no stipulation which may not be found in some +subsisting treaty between the United States and foreign powers, it will +prove to be mutually advantageous. Several of the Republics of this +hemisphere, among which is Salvador, are alarmed at a supposed sentiment +tending to reactionary movements against republican institutions on this +continent. It seems, therefore, to be proper that we should show to +any of them who may apply for that purpose that, compatibly with our +cardinal policy and with an enlightened view of our own interests, we +are willing to encourage them by strengthening our ties of good will +and good neighborhood with them. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _June 4, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 29th ultimo, +adopted in executive session, requesting information in regard to +the claims of citizens of the United States on Paraguay and the +correspondence relating thereto, I transmit a report from the Secretary +of State and the documents by which it was accompanied. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _June 4, 1862_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of War, in answer to +the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 2d of June, in +relation to the authority and action of the Hon. Edward Stanly, military +governor of North Carolina. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _June 10, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a copy of a treaty for the suppression of the +African slave trade, between the United States and Her Britannic +Majesty, signed in this city on the 7th of April last, and the +ratifications of which were exchanged at London on the 20th ultimo. + +A copy of the correspondence which preceded the conclusion of the +instrument between the Secretary of State and Lord Lyons, Her Britannic +Majesty's envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, is also +herewith transmitted. + +It is desirable that such legislation as may be necessary to carry the +treaty into effect should be enacted as soon as may comport with the +convenience of Congress. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, June 12, 1862_. + +_To the Honorable House of Representatives_: + +In obedience to the resolution of your honorable body of the 9th +instant, requesting certain information in regard to the circuit court +of the United States for the State of California, and the judge of said +court, I have the honor to transmit a letter of the Attorney-General, +with copies of two other letters and of an indorsement of my own upon +one of them; all which, taken together, contain all the information +within my power to give upon the subject. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, June 13, 1862_. + +_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I herewith transmit a memorial addressed and presented to me in behalf +of the State of New York in favor of enlarging the locks of the Erie and +Oswego Canal. While I have not given nor have leisure to give the +subject a careful examination, its great importance is obvious and +unquestionable. The large amount of valuable statistical information +which is collated and presented in the memorial will greatly facilitate +the mature consideration of the subject, which I respectfully ask for it +at your hands. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington City, June 17, 1862_. + +_The Speaker of the House of Representatives_: + +The resolution of the House of Representatives of the 9th instant, +asking whether any legislation is necessary in order to give effect to +the provisions of the act of April 16, 1862, providing for the +reorganization of the Medical Department of the Army, was referred to +the Secretary of War, whose report thereon is herewith communicated. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _June 23, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +On the 7th day of December, 1861, I submitted to the Senate the project +of a treaty between the United States and Mexico which had been proposed +to me by Mr. Corwin, our minister to Mexico, and respectfully requested +the advice of the Senate thereupon. + +On the 25th day of February last a resolution was adopted by the Senate +to the effect "that it is not advisable to negotiate a treaty that will +require the United States to assume any portion of the principal or +interest of the debt of Mexico, or that will require the concurrence of +European powers." + +This resolution having been duly communicated to me, notice thereof was +immediately given by the Secretary of State to Mr. Corwin, and he was +informed that he was to consider his instructions upon the subject +referred to modified by this resolution and would govern his course +accordingly. That dispatch failed to reach Mr. Corwin, by reason of the +disturbed condition of Mexico, until a very recent date, Mr. Corwin +being without instructions, or thus practically left without +instructions, to negotiate further with Mexico. + +In view of the very important events occurring there, he has thought +that the interests of the United States would be promoted by the +conclusion of two treaties which should provide for a loan to that +Republic. He has therefore signed such treaties, and they having been +duly ratified by the Government of Mexico he has transmitted them to me +for my consideration. The action of the Senate is of course conclusive +against an acceptance of the treaties on my part. I have, nevertheless, +thought it just to our excellent minister in Mexico and respectful to +the Government of that Republic to lay the treaties before the Senate, +together with the correspondence which has occurred in relation to them. +In performing this duty I have only to add that the importance of the +subject thus submitted to the Senate can not be overestimated, and I +shall cheerfully receive and consider with the highest respect any +further advice the Senate may think proper to give upon the subject. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, June 26, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +The accompanying treaty, made and concluded at the city of Washington on +the 24th day of June, 1862, between the United States and the united +bands of the Ottawa Indians of Blanchards Fork and of Roche de Boeuf, in +Kansas, is transmitted for the consideration and constitutional action +of the Senate, agreeably to recommendation of inclosed letter from the +Secretary of the Interior of this date. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _July 1, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I most cordially recommend that Captain Andrew H. Foote, of the United +States Navy, receive a vote of thanks of Congress for his eminent +services in organizing the flotilla on the Western waters, and for his +gallantry at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Island No. 10, and at various +other places, whilst in command of the naval forces, embracing a period +of nearly ten months. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 5, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate +thereon, a treaty negotiated in this city on the 3d instant with the Sac +and Fox Indians of the Mississippi. + +Letters from the Secretary of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian +Affairs accompany the treaty. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _July 9, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification, +a postal convention with Costa Rica, concluded at San Jose on the 9th +June last. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 11, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, a +treaty negotiated at the Kickapoo Agency on the 28th of June, 1862, +between Charles B. Keith, commissioner on the part of the United States, +and the chiefs, headmen, and delegates of the Kickapoo Indians of +Kansas. + +A letter of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 10th instant is +also transmitted, suggesting amendments to the treaty for the +consideration of the Senate. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 11, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I recommend that the thanks of Congress be given to the following +officers of the United States Navy: + +Captain James L. Lardner, for meritorious conduct at the battle of Port +Royal and distinguished services on the coast of the United States +against the enemy. + +Captain Charles Henry Davis, for distinguished services in conflict with +the enemy at Fort Pillow, at Memphis, and for successful operations at +other points in the waters of the Mississippi River. + +Commander John A. Dahlgren, for distinguished services in the line of +his profession, improvements in ordnance, and zealous and efficient +labors in the ordnance branch of the service. + +Commander Stephen C. Rowan, for distinguished services in the waters of +North Carolina, and particularly in the capture of Newbern, being in +chief command of the naval forces. + +Commander David D. Porter, for distinguished services in the conception +and preparation of the means used for the capture of the forts below New +Orleans, and for highly meritorious conduct in the management of the +mortar flotilla during the bombardment of Forts Jackson and St. Philip. + +Captain Silas H. Stringham, now on the retired list, for distinguished +services in the capture of Forts Hatteras and Clark. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _July 12, 1862_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +I transmit a report of the Secretary of State upon the subject of the +resolution of the House of Representatives of the 9th ultimo, requesting +information in regard to the relations between the United States and +foreign powers. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 14, 1862_. + +_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +Herewith is a draft of a bill to compensate any State which may abolish +slavery within its limits, the passage of which substantially as +presented I respectfully and earnestly recommend. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + _Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United + States of America in Congress assembled_, That whenever the President of + the United States shall be satisfied that any State shall have lawfully + abolished slavery within and throughout such State, either immediately + or gradually, it shall be the duty of the President, assisted by the + Secretary of the Treasury, to prepare and deliver to such State an + amount of 6 per cent interest-bearing bonds of the United States equal + to the aggregate value at $---- per head of all the slaves within such + State as reported by the census of the year 1860; the whole amount for + any one State to be delivered at once if the abolishment be immediate, + or in equal annual installments if it be gradual, interest to begin + running on each bond at the time of its delivery, and not before. + + _And be it further enacted_, That if any State, having so received any + such bonds, shall at any time afterwards by law reintroduce or tolerate + slavery within its limits contrary to the act of abolishment upon which + such bonds shall have been received, said bonds so received by said + State shall at once be null and void, in whosesoever hands they may be, + and such State shall refund to the United States all interest which may + have been paid on such bonds. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, July 15, 1862_. + +Hon. SOLOMON FOOT, + _President pro tempore of the Senate_. + +SIR: Please inform the Senate that I shall be obliged if they will +postpone the adjournment at least one day beyond the time which I +understand to be now fixed for it. + +Your obedient servant, + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +[The same message was addressed to Hon. Calusha A. Crow, Speaker of the +House of Representatives.] + + + +JULY 17, 1862. + +_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +Considering the bill for "An act to suppress insurrection, to punish +treason and rebellion, to seize and confiscate the property of rebels, +and for other purposes," and the joint resolution explanatory of said +act as being substantially one, I have approved and signed both. + +Before I was informed of the passage of the resolution I had prepared +the draft of a message stating objections to the bill becoming a law, +a copy of which draft is herewith transmitted. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + _Fellow-Citizens of the House of Representatives_: + + I herewith return to your honorable body, in which it originated, the + bill for an act entitled "An act to suppress treason and rebellion, to + seize and confiscate the property of rebels, and for other purposes," + together with my objections to its becoming a law. + + There is much in the bill to which I perceive no objection. It is wholly + prospective, and touches neither person nor property of any loyal + citizen, in which particulars it is just and proper. The first and + second sections provide for the conviction and punishment of persons who + shall be guilty of treason and persons who shall "incite, set on foot, + assist, or engage in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority + of the United States or the laws thereof, or shall give aid and comfort + thereto, or shall engage in or give aid and comfort to any such existing + rebellion or insurrection." By fair construction persons within these + sections are not to be punished without regular trials in duly + constituted courts, under the forms and all the substantial provisions + of law and of the Constitution applicable to their several cases. To + this I perceive no objection, especially as such persons would be within + the general pardoning power and also the special provision for pardon + and amnesty contained in this act. + + It is also provided that the slaves of persons convicted under these + sections shall be free. I think there is an unfortunate form of + expression rather than a substantial objection in this. It is startling + to say that Congress can free a slave within a State, and yet if it were + said the ownership of the slave had first been transferred to the nation + and that Congress had then liberated him the difficulty would at once + vanish. And this is the real case. The traitor against the General + Government forfeits his slave at least as justly as he does any other + property, and he forfeits both to the Government against which he + offends. The Government, so far as there can be ownership, thus owns the + forfeited slaves, and the question for Congress in regard to them is, + "Shall they be made free or be sold to new masters?" I perceive no + objection to Congress deciding in advance that they shall be free. To + the high honor of Kentucky, as I am informed, she has been the owner of + some slaves by escheat and has sold none, but liberated all. I hope the + same is true of some other States. Indeed I do not believe it would be + physically possible for the General Government to return persons so + circumstanced to actual slavery. I believe there would be physical + resistance to it which could neither be turned aside by argument nor + driven away by force. In this view I have no objection to this feature + of the bill. Another matter involved in these two sections, and running + through other parts of the act, will be noticed hereafter. + + I perceive no objection to the third and fourth sections. + + So far as I wish to notice the fifth and sixth sections, they may be + considered together. That the enforcement of these sections would do no + injustice to the persons embraced within them is clear. That those who + make a causeless war should be compelled to pay the cost of it is too + obviously just to be called in question. To give governmental protection + to the property of persons who have abandoned it and gone on a crusade + to overthrow that same government is absurd if considered in the mere + light of justice. The severest justice may not always be the best + policy. The principle of seizing and appropriating the property of the + persons embraced within these sections is certainly not very + objectionable, but a justly discriminating application of it would be + very difficult, and to a great extent impossible. And would it not be + wise to place a power of remission somewhere, so that these persons may + know they have something to lose by persisting and something to save by + desisting? I am not sure whether such power of remission is or is not + within section 13. + + Without any special act of Congress, I think our military commanders, + when, in military phrase, "they are within the enemy's country," should + in an orderly manner seize and use whatever of real or personal property + may be necessary or convenient for their commands, at the same time + preserving in some way the evidence of what they do. + + What I have said in regard to slaves while commenting on the first and + second sections is applicable to the ninth, with the difference that no + provision is made in the whole act for determining whether a particular + individual slave does or does not fall within the classes defined in + that section. He is to be free upon certain conditions, but whether + those conditions do or do not pertain to him no mode of ascertaining is + provided. This could be easily supplied. + + To the tenth section I make no objection. The oath therein required + seems to be proper, and the remainder of the section is substantially + identical with a law already existing. + + The eleventh section simply assumes to confer discretionary powers upon + the Executive. Without the law I have no hesitation to go as far in the + direction indicated as I may at any time deem expedient. And I am ready + to say now, I think it is proper for our military commanders to employ + as laborers as many persons of African descent as can be used to + advantage. + + The twelfth and thirteenth sections are somewhat better than + objectionable, and the fourteenth is entirely proper if all other parts + of the act shall stand. + + That to which I chiefly object pervades most parts of the act, but more + distinctly appears in the first, second, seventh, and eighth sections. + It is the sum of those provisions which results in the divesting of + title forever. For the causes of treason and the ingredients of treason + not amounting to the full crime it declares forfeiture extending beyond + the lives of the guilty parties, whereas the Constitution of the United + States declares that "no attainder of treason shall work corruption of + blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted." + True, there seems to be no formal attainder in this case; still, I think + the greater punishment can not be constitutionally inflicted in a + different form for the same offense. With great respect I am constrained + to say I think this feature of the act is unconstitutional. It would not + be difficult to modify it. + + I may remark that this provision of the Constitution, put in language + borrowed from Great Britain, applies only in this country to real or + landed estate. + + Again, this act, by proceedings _in rem_, forfeits property for the + ingredients of treason without a conviction of the supposed criminal or + a personal hearing given him in any proceeding. That we may not touch + property lying within our reach because we can not give personal notice + to an owner who is absent endeavoring to destroy the Government is + certainly not very satisfactory. Still, the owner may not be thus + engaged; and I think a reasonable time should be provided for such + parties to appear and have personal hearings. Similar provisions are not + uncommon in connection with proceedings _in rem_. + + For the reasons stated, I return the bill to the House, in which it + originated. + + + +JULY 17, 1862. + +_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I have inadvertently omitted so long to inform you that in March last +Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt, of New York, gratuitously presented to the +United States the ocean steamer _Vanderbilt_, by many esteemed the +finest merchant ship in the world. She has ever since been and still is +doing valuable service to the Government. For the patriotic act in +making this magnificent and valuable present to the country, I recommend +that some suitable acknowledgment be made. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + +VETO MESSAGES. + + +JUNE 23, 1862. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +The bill which has passed the House of Representatives and the Senate +entitled "An act to repeal that part of an act of Congress which prohibits +the circulation of bank notes of a less denomination than $5 in the +District of Columbia" has received my attentive consideration, and I +now return it to the Senate, in which it originated, with the following +objections: + +1. The bill proposes to repeal the existing legislation prohibiting the +circulation of bank notes of a less denomination than $5 within the +District of Columbia without permitting the issuing of such bills by +banks not now legally authorized to issue them. In my judgment it will +be found impracticable in the present condition of the currency to make +such a discrimination. The banks have generally suspended specie +payments, and a legal sanction given to the circulation of the +irredeemable notes of one class of them will almost certainly be so +extended in practical operation as to include those of all classes, +whether authorized or unauthorized. If this view be correct, the +currency of the District, should this act become a law, will certainly +and greatly deteriorate, to the serious injury of honest trade and +honest labor. + +2. This bill seems to contemplate no end which can not be otherwise more +certainly and beneficially attained. During the existing war it is +peculiarly the duty of the National Government to secure to the people a +sound circulating medium. This duty has been under existing +circumstances satisfactorily performed, in part at least, by authorizing +the issue of United States notes, receivable for all Government dues +except customs, and made a legal tender for all debts, public and +private, except interest on public debt. The object of the bill +submitted to me, namely, that of providing a small-note currency during +the present suspension, can be fully accomplished by authorizing the +issue, as part of any new emission of United States notes made necessary +by the circumstances of the country, of notes of a similar character but +of less denomination than $5. Such an issue would answer all the +beneficial purposes of the bill, would save a considerable amount to the +Treasury in interest, would greatly facilitate payments to soldiers and +other creditors of small sums, and would furnish to the people a +currency as safe as their own Government. + +Entertaining these objections to the bill, I feel myself constrained to +withhold from it my approval and return it for the further consideration +and action of Congress. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_July 2, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I herewith return to your honorable body, in which it originated, an act +entitled "An act to provide for additional medical officers of the +volunteer service," without my approval. + +My reason for so doing is that I have approved an act of the same title +passed by Congress after the passage of the one first mentioned for the +express purpose of correcting errors in and superseding the same, as I +am informed. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + +PROCLAMATIONS. + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +It is recommended to the people of the United States that they assemble +in their customary places of meeting for public solemnities on the 22d +day of February instant and celebrate the anniversary of the birth of +the Father of his Country by causing to be read to them his immortal +Farewell Address. + +Given under my hand and the seal of the United States, at Washington, +the 19th day of February, A.D. 1862, and of the Independence of the +United States of America the eighty-sixth. + +[SEAL.] + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +It has pleased Almighty God to vouchsafe signal victories to the land +and naval forces engaged in suppressing an internal rebellion, and at +the same time to avert from our country the dangers of foreign +intervention and invasion. + +It is therefore recommended to the people of the United States that at +their next weekly assemblages in their accustomed places of public +worship which shall occur after notice of this proclamation shall have +been received they especially acknowledge and render thanks to our +Heavenly Father for these inestimable blessings, that they then and +there implore spiritual consolation in behalf of all who have been +brought into affliction by the casualties and calamities of sedition and +civil war, and that they reverently invoke the divine guidance for our +national counsels, to the end that they may speedily result in the +restoration of peace, harmony, and unity throughout our borders and +hasten the establishment of fraternal relations among all the countries +of the earth. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 10th day of April, A.D. 1862, and +of the Independence of the United States the eighty sixth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas by my proclamation of the 19th of April, 1861, it was declared +that the ports of certain States, including those of Beaufort, in the +State of North Carolina; Port Royal, in the State of South Carolina; and +New Orleans, in the State of Louisiana, were, for reasons therein set +forth, intended to be placed under blockade; and + +Whereas the said ports of Beaufort, Port Royal, and New Orleans have +since been blockaded; but as the blockade of the same ports may now be +safely relaxed with advantage to the interests of commerce: + +Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the +United States, pursuant to the authority in me vested by the fifth +section of the act of Congress approved on the 13th of July last, +entitled "An act further to provide for the collection of duties on +imports, and for other purposes," do hereby declare that the blockade of +the said ports of Beaufort, Port Royal, and New Orleans shall so far +cease and determine, from and after the 1st day of June next, that +commercial intercourse with those ports, except as to persons, things, +and information contraband of war, may from that time be carried on +subject to the laws of the United States and to the limitations and in +pursuance of the regulations which are prescribed by the Secretary of +the Treasury in his order of this date, which is appended to this +proclamation. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 12th day of May, A.D. 1862, and of +the Independence of the United States the eighty-sixth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +REGULATIONS RELATING TO TRADE WITH PORTS OPENED BY PROCLAMATION. + +Treasury Department, _May 12, 1862_. + +1. To vessels clearing from foreign ports and destined to ports opened +by the proclamation of the President of the United States of this date, +namely, Beaufort, in North Carolina; Port Royal, in South Carolina, and +New Orleans, in Louisiana, licenses will be granted by consuls of the +United States upon satisfactory evidence that the vessels so licensed +will convey no persons, property, or information contraband of war +either to or from the said ports, which licenses shall be exhibited to +the collector of the port to which said vessels may be respectively +bound immediately on arrival, and, if required, to any officer in charge +of the blockade; and on leaving either of said ports every vessel will +be required to have a clearance from the collector of the customs, +according to law, showing no violation of the conditions of the license. +Any violation of said conditions will involve the forfeiture and +condemnation of the vessel and cargo and the exclusion of all parties +concerned from any further privilege of entering the United States +during the war for any purpose whatever. + +2. To vessels of the United States clearing coastwise for the ports +aforesaid licenses can only be obtained from the Treasury Department. + +3. In all other respects the existing blockade remains in full force and +effect as hitherto established and maintained, nor is it relaxed by the +proclamation except in regard to the ports to which the relaxation is by +that instrument expressly applied. + +S.P. CHASE, + +_Secretary of the Treasury_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas there appears in the public prints what purports to be a +proclamation of Major-General Hunter, in the words and figures +following, to wit: + + HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, + _Hilton Head, S.C., May 9, 1862_. + + _General Orders, No. 11_.--The three States of Georgia, Florida, and + South Carolina, comprising the Military Department of the South, having + deliberately declared themselves no longer under the protection of the + United States of America, and having taken up arms against the said + United States, it becomes a military necessity to declare them under + martial law. This was accordingly done on the 25th day of April, 1862. + Slavery and martial law in a free country are altogether incompatible; + the persons in these three States--Georgia, Florida, and South + Carolina--heretofore held as slaves are therefore declared forever free. + + DAVID HUNTER, + _Major-General Commanding_. + + Official: + + ED. W. SMITH, + _Acting Assistant Adjutant-General_. + + +And whereas the same is producing some excitement and misunderstanding: + +Therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, proclaim +and declare that the Government of the United States had no knowledge, +information, or belief of an intention on the part of General Hunter to +issue such a proclamation, nor has it yet any authentic information that +the document is genuine; and, further, that neither General Hunter nor +any other commander or person has been authorized by the Government of +the United States to make proclamations declaring the slaves of any +State free, and that the supposed proclamation now in question, whether +genuine or false, is altogether void so far as respects such +declaration. + +I further make known that whether it be competent for me, as Commander +in Chief of the Army and Navy, to declare the slaves of any State or +States free, and whether at any time, in any case, it shall have become +a necessity indispensable to the maintenance of the Government to +exercise such supposed power, are questions which, under my +responsibility, I reserve to myself, and which I can not feel justified +in leaving to the decision of commanders in the field. These are totally +different questions from those of police regulations in armies and +camps. + +On the 6th day of March last, by a special message, I recommended to +Congress the adoption of a joint resolution to be substantially as +follows: + +_Resolved_, That the United States ought to cooperate with any State +which may adopt a gradual abolishment of slavery, giving to such State +pecuniary aid, to be used by such State, in its discretion, to +compensate for the inconveniences, public and private, produced by such +change of system. + +The resolution, in the language above quoted, was adopted by large +majorities in both branches of Congress, and now stands an authentic, +definite, and solemn proposal of the nation to the States and people +most immediately interested in the subject-matter. To the people of +those States I now earnestly appeal--I do not argue; I beseech you to +make the arguments for yourselves; you can not, if you would, be blind +to the signs of the times. I beg of you a calm and enlarged +consideration of them, ranging, if it may be, far above personal and +partisan politics. This proposal makes common cause for a common object, +casting no reproaches upon any. It acts not the Pharisee. The change it +contemplates would come gently as the dews of heaven, not rending or +wrecking anything. Will you not embrace it? So much good has not been +done by one effort in all past time as, in the providence of God, it is +now your high privilege to do. May the vast future not have to lament +that you have neglected it. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal +of the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 19th day of May, A.D. 1862, and of +the Independence of the United States the eighty-sixth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas in and by the second section of an act of Congress passed on the +7th day of June, A.D. 1862, entitled "An act for the collection of +direct taxes in insurrectionary districts within the United States, and +for other purposes," it is made the duty of the President to declare, on +or before the 1st day of July then next following, by his proclamation, +in what States and parts of States insurrection exists: + +Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the +United States of America, do hereby declare and proclaim that the States +of South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, +Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, and the State of +Virginia except the following counties--Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, +Wetzel, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, Taylor, Pleasants, Tyler, Ritchie, +Doddridge, Harrison, Wood, Jackson, Wirt, Roane, Calhoun, Gilmer, +Barbour, Tucker, Lewis, Braxton, Upshur, Randolph, Mason, Putnam, +Kanawha, Clay, Nicholas, Cabell, Wayne, Boone, Logan, Wyoming, Webster, +Fayette, and Raleigh--are now in insurrection and rebellion, and by +reason thereof the civil authority of the United States is obstructed so +that the provisions of the "Act to provide increased revenue from +imports, to pay the interest on the public debt, and for other +purposes," approved August 5, 1861, can not be peaceably executed; and +that the taxes legally chargeable upon real estate under the act last +aforesaid lying within the States and parts of States as aforesaid, +together with a penalty of 50 _per centum_ of said taxes, shall be a +lien upon the tracts or lots of the same, severally charged, till paid. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 1st day of July, A.D. 1862, and of +the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-sixth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + F.W. SEWARD, + _Acting Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +In pursuance of the sixth section of the act of Congress entitled "An +act to suppress insurrection and to punish treason and rebellion, to +seize and confiscate property of rebels, and for other purposes," +approved July 17, 1862, and which act and the joint resolution +explanatory thereof are herewith published, I, Abraham Lincoln, +President of the United States, do hereby proclaim to and warn all +persons within the contemplation of said sixth section to cease +participating in, aiding, countenancing, or abetting the existing +rebellion or any rebellion against the Government of the United States +and to return to their proper allegiance to the United States on pain of +the forfeitures and seizures as within and by said sixth section +provided. + +In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 25th day of July, A.D. 1862, and of +the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventh. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +[From Statutes at Large (Little, Brown & Co.), Vol. XII, p. 589.] + +AN ACT to suppress insurrection, to punish treason and rebellion, to +seize and confiscate the property of rebels, and for other purposes. + +_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United +States of America in Congress assembled_, That every person who shall +hereafter commit the crime of treason against the United States, and +shall be adjudged guilty thereof, shall suffer death, and all his +slaves, if any, shall be declared and made free; or, at the discretion +of the court, he shall be imprisoned for not less than five years and +fined not less than $10,000, and all his slaves, if any, shall be +declared and made free; said fine shall be levied and collected on any +or all of the property, real and personal, excluding slaves, of which +the said person so convicted was the owner at the time of committing the +said crime, any sale or conveyance to the contrary notwithstanding. + +SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That if any person shall hereafter +incite, set on foot, assist, or engage in any rebellion or insurrection +against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or shall +give aid or comfort thereto, or shall engage in or give aid and comfort +to any such existing rebellion or insurrection, and be convicted +thereof, such person shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not +exceeding ten years, or by a fine not exceeding $10,000, and by the +liberation of all his slaves, if any he have; or by both of said +punishments, at the discretion of the court. + +SEC. 3. _And be it further enacted_, That every person guilty of either +of the offenses described in this act shall be forever incapable and +disqualified to hold any office under the United States. + +SEC. 4. _And be it further enacted_, That this act shall not be +construed in any way to affect or alter the prosecution, conviction, or +punishment of any person or persons guilty of treason against the United +States before the passage of this act, unless such person is convicted +under this act. + +SEC. 5. _And be it further enacted_, That to insure the speedy +termination of the present rebellion it shall be the duty of the +President of the United States to cause the seizure of all the estate +and property, money, stocks, credits, and effects of the persons +hereinafter named in this section, and to apply and use the same and the +proceeds thereof for the support of the Army of the United States; that +is to say: + +First. Of any person hereafter acting as an officer of the army or navy +of the rebels in arms against the Government of the United States. + +Secondly. Of any person hereafter acting as president, vice-president, +member of congress, judge of any court, cabinet officer, foreign +minister, commissioner, or consul of the so-called Confederate States of +America. + +Thirdly. Of any person acting as governor of a State, member of a +convention or legislature, or judge of any court of any of the so-called +Confederate States of America. + +Fourthly. Of any person who, having held an office of honor, trust, or +profit in the United States, shall hereafter hold an office in the +so-called Confederate States of America. + +Fifthly. Of any person hereafter holding any office or agency under the +government of the so-called Confederate States of America, or under any +of the several States of the said Confederacy, or the laws thereof, +whether such office or agency be national, State, or municipal in its +name or character: _Provided_, That the persons thirdly, fourthly, and +fifthly above described shall have accepted their appointment or +election since the date of the pretended ordinance of secession of the +State, or shall have taken an oath of allegiance to or to support the +constitution of the so-called Confederate States. + +Sixthly. Of any person who, owning property in any loyal State or +Territory of the United States, or in the District of Columbia, shall +hereafter assist and give aid and comfort to such rebellion; and all +sales, transfers, or conveyances of any such property shall be null and +void; and it shall be a sufficient bar to any suit brought by such +person for the possession or the use of such property, or any of it, to +allege and prove that he is one of the persons described in this +section. + +SEC. 6. _And be it further enacted_, That if any person within any State +or Territory of the United States, other than those named as aforesaid, +after the passage of this act, being engaged in armed rebellion against +the Government of the United States, or aiding or abetting such +rebellion, shall not, within sixty days after public warning and +proclamation duly given and made by the President of the United States, +cease to aid, countenance, and abet such rebellion, and return to his +allegiance to the United States, all the estate and property, moneys, +stocks, and credits of such person shall be liable to seizure as +aforesaid, and it shall be the duty of the President to seize and use +them as aforesaid, or the proceeds thereof. And all sales, transfers, or +conveyances of any such property after the expiration of the said sixty +days from the date of such warning and proclamation shall be null and +void; and it shall be a sufficient bar to any suit brought by such +person for the possession or the use of such property, or any of it, to +allege and prove that he is one of the persons described in this +section. + +SEC. 7. _And be it further enacted_, That to secure the condemnation and +sale of any of such property, after the same shall have been seized, so +that it may be made available for the purpose aforesaid, proceedings _in +rem_ shall be instituted in the name of the United States in any +district court thereof, or in any Territorial court, or in the United +States district court for the District of Columbia, within which the +property above described, or any part thereof, may be found, or into +which the same, if movable, may first be brought, which proceedings +shall conform as nearly as may be to proceedings in admiralty or revenue +cases; and if said property, whether real or personal, shall be found to +have belonged to a person engaged in rebellion, or who has given aid or +comfort thereto, the same shall be condemned as enemies' property and +become the property of the United States, and may be disposed of as the +court shall decree and the proceeds thereof paid into the Treasury of +the United States for the purposes aforesaid. + +SEC. 8. _And be it further enacted_, That the several courts aforesaid +shall have power to make such orders, establish such forms of decree and +sale, and direct such deeds and conveyances to be executed and delivered +by the marshals thereof where real estate shall be the subject of sale +as shall fitly and efficiently effect the purposes of this act, and vest +in the purchasers of such property good and valid titles thereto. And +the said courts shall have power to allow such fees and charges of their +officers as shall be reasonable and proper in the premises. + +SEC. 9. _And be it further enacted_, That all slaves of persons who +shall hereafter be engaged in rebellion against the Government of the +United States, or who shall in any way give aid or comfort thereto, +escaping from such persons and taking refuge within the lines of the +army, and all slaves captured from such persons or deserted by them and +coming under the control of the Government of the United States, and all +slaves of such persons found on [or] being within any place occupied by +rebel forces and afterwards occupied by the forces of the United States, +shall be deemed captives of war, and shall be forever free of their +servitude, and not again held as slaves. + +SEC. 10. _And be it further enacted_, That no slave escaping into any +State, Territory, or the District of Columbia from any other State shall +be delivered up or in any way impeded or hindered of his liberty except +for crime or some offense against the laws, unless the person claiming +said fugitive shall first make oath that the person to whom the labor or +service of such fugitive is alleged to be due is his lawful owner and +has not borne arms against the United States in the present rebellion +nor in any way given aid and comfort thereto; and no person engaged in +the military or naval service of the United States shall, under any +pretense whatever, assume to decide on the validity of the claim of any +person to the service or labor of any other person, or surrender up any +such person to the claimant, on pain of being dismissed from the +service. + +SEC. 11. _And be it further enacted_, That the President of the United +States is authorized to employ as many persons of African descent as he +may deem necessary and proper for the suppression of this rebellion, and +for this purpose he may organize and use them in such manner as he may +judge best for the public welfare. + +SEC. 12. _And be it further enacted_, That the President of the United +States is hereby authorized to make provision for the transportation, +colonization, and settlement, in some tropical country beyond the limits +of the United States, of such persons of the African race, made free by +the provisions of this act, as may be willing to emigrate, having first +obtained the consent of the Government of said country to their +protection and settlement within the same, with all the rights and +privileges of freemen. + +SEC. 13. _And be it further enacted_, That the President is hereby +authorized, at any time hereafter, by proclamation, to extend to persons +who may have participated in the existing rebellion in any State or part +thereof pardon and amnesty, with such exceptions and at such time and on +such conditions as he may deem expedient for the public welfare. + +SEC. 14. _And be it further enacted_, That the courts of the United +States shall have full power to institute proceedings, make orders and +decrees, issue process, and do all other things necessary to carry this +act into effect. + +Approved, July 17, 1862. + + + +[From Statutes at Large (Little, Brown & Co.), Vol. XII, p. 627.] + +JOINT RESOLUTION explanatory of "An act to suppress insurrection, to +punish treason and rebellion, to seize and confiscate the property of +rebels, and for other purposes." + +_Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United +States of America in Congress assembled_, That the provisions of the +third clause of the fifth section of "An act to suppress insurrection, +to punish treason and rebellion, to seize and confiscate the property of +rebels, and for other purposes" shall be so construed as not to apply to +any act or acts done prior to the passage thereof, nor to include any +member of a State legislature or judge of any State court who has not in +accepting or entering upon his office taken an oath to support the +constitution of the so-called "Confederate States of America;" nor shall +any punishment or proceedings under said act be so construed as to work +a forfeiture of the real estate of the offender beyond his natural life. + +Approved, July 17, 1862. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America and +Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy thereof, do hereby proclaim and +declare that hereafter, as heretofore, the war will be prosecuted for +the object of practically restoring the constitutional relation between +the United States and each of the States and the people thereof in which +States that relation is or may be suspended or disturbed. + +That it is my purpose, upon the next meeting of Congress, to again +recommend the adoption of a practical measure tendering pecuniary aid to +the free acceptance or rejection of all slave States, so called, the +people whereof may not then be in rebellion against the United States, +and which States may then have voluntarily adopted, or thereafter may +voluntarily adopt, immediate or gradual abolishment of slavery within +their respective limits; and that the effort to colonize persons of +African descent with their consent upon this continent or elsewhere, +with the previously obtained consent of the governments existing there, +will be continued. + +That on the 1st day of January, A.D. 1863, all persons held as slaves +within any State or designated part of a State the people whereof shall +then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, +thenceforward, and forever free; and the executive government of the +United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will +recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons and will do no act or +acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may +make for their actual freedom. + +That the Executive will on the 1st day of January aforesaid, by +proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which +the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the +United States; and the fact that any State or the people thereof shall +on that day be in good faith represented in the Congress of the United +States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the +qualified voters of such State shall have participated shall, in the +absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive +evidence that such State and the people thereof are not then in +rebellion against the United States. + +That attention is hereby called to an act of Congress entitled "An act +to make an additional article of war," approved March 13, 1862, and +which act is in the words and figure following: + + _Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United + States of America in Congress assembled_, That hereafter the following + shall be promulgated as an additional article of war for the government + of the Army of the United States, and shall be obeyed and observed as + such: + + ART.--. All officers or persons in the military or naval service of the + United States are prohibited from employing any of the forces under + their respective commands for the purpose of returning fugitives from + service or labor who may have escaped from any persons to whom such + service or labor is claimed to be due, and any officer who shall be + found guilty by a court-martial of violating this article shall be + dismissed from the service. + + SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That this act shall take effect + from and after its passage. + + +Also to the ninth and tenth sections of an act entitled "An act to +suppress insurrection, to punish treason and rebellion, to seize and +confiscate the property of rebels, and for other purposes," approved +July 17, 1862, and which sections are in the words and figures +following: + + + SEC. 9. _And be it further enacted_, That all slaves of persons who + shall hereafter be engaged in rebellion against the Government of the + United States, or who shall in any way give aid or comfort thereto, + escaping from such persons and taking refuge within the lines of the + army, and all slaves captured from such persons or deserted by them and + coming under the control of the Government of the United States, and all + slaves of such persons found on [or] being within any place occupied by + rebel forces and afterwards occupied by the forces of the United States, + shall be deemed captives of war and shall be forever free of their + servitude and not again held as slaves. + + SEC. 10. _And be it further enacted_, That no slave escaping into any + State, Territory, or the District of Columbia from any other State shall + be delivered up or in any way impeded or hindered of his liberty except + for crime or some offense against the laws, unless the person claiming + said fugitive shall first make oath that the person to whom the labor or + service of such fugitive is alleged to be due is his lawful owner and + has not borne arms against the United States in the present rebellion + nor in any way given aid and comfort thereto; and no person engaged in + the military or naval service of the United States shall, under any + pretense whatever, assume to decide on the validity of the claim of any + person to the service or labor of any other person or surrender up any + such person to the claimant on pain of being dismissed from the service. + + +And I do hereby enjoin upon and order all persons engaged in the +military and naval service of the United States to observe, obey, and +enforce within their respective spheres of service the act and sections +above recited. + +And the Executive will in due time recommend that all citizens of the +United States who shall have remained loyal thereto throughout the +rebellion shall, upon the restoration of the constitutional relation +between the United States and their respective States and people, if +that relation shall have been suspended or disturbed, be compensated for +all losses by acts of the United States; including the loss of slaves. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 22d day of September, A.D. 1862, +and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventh. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas it has become necessary to call into service not only +volunteers, but also portions of the militia of the States by draft in +order to suppress the insurrection existing in the United States, and +disloyal persons are not adequately restrained by the ordinary processes +of law from hindering this measure and from giving aid and comfort in +various ways to the insurrection: + +Now, therefore, be it ordered, first, that during the existing +insurrection, and as a necessary measure for suppressing the same, all +rebels and insurgents, their aiders and abettors, within the United +States, and all persons discouraging volunteer enlistments, resisting +militia drafts, or guilty of any disloyal practice affording aid and +comfort to rebels against the authority of the United States, shall be +subject to martial law and liable to trial and punishment by +courts-martial or military commissions; second, that the writ of _habeas +corpus_ is suspended in respect to all persons arrested, or who are now +or hereafter during the rebellion shall be imprisoned in any fort, camp, +arsenal, military prison, or other place of confinement by any military +authority or by the sentence of any court-martial or military +commission. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 24th day of September, A.D. 1862, +and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventh. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + + +EXECUTIVE ORDERS. + + +Major-General H.W. HALLECK + +_Commanding in the Department of Missouri_. + +GENERAL: As an insurrection exists in the United States and is in arms +in the State of Missouri, you are hereby authorized and empowered to +suspend the writ of _habeas corpus_ within the limits of the military +division under your command and to exercise martial law as you find it +necessary, in your discretion, to secure the public safety and the +authority of the United States. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed, at Washington, this 2d day of December, +A.D. 1861. + +[SEAL.] + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +GENERAL ORDERS, NO. III. + +HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, December 30, 1861_. + + * * * * * + +Joint Resolution expressive of the recognition by Congress of the +gallant and patriotic services of the late Brigadier-General Nathaniel +Lyon and the officers and soldiers under his command at the battle of +Springfield, Mo. + + _Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United + States of America in Congress assembled_, 1. That Congress deems it just + and proper to enter upon its records a recognition of the eminent and + patriotic services of the late Brigadier-General Nathaniel Lyon. The + country to whose service he devoted his life will guard and preserve his + fame as a part of its own glory. + + 2. That the thanks of Congress are hereby given to the brave officers + and soldiers who, under the command of the late General Lyon, sustained + the honor of the flag and achieved victory against overwhelming numbers + at the battle of Springfield, in Missouri; and that, in order to + commemorate an event so honorable to the country and to themselves, it + is ordered that each regiment engaged shall be authorized to bear upon + its colors the word "Springfield," embroidered in letters of gold. And + the President of the United States is hereby requested to cause these + resolutions to be read at the head of every regiment in the Army of the + United States. + + +The President of the United States directs that the foregoing joint +resolution be read at the head of every regiment in the Army of the +United States. + +By command of Major General McClellan: + +L. THOMAS, + +_Adjutant-General_. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, _January 22, 1862_. + +The President, Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, has received +information of a brilliant victory by the United States forces over a +large body of armed traitors and rebels at Mill Springs, in the State of +Kentucky. He returns thanks to the gallant officers and soldiers who won +that victory, and when the official reports shall be received the +military and personal valor displayed in battle will be acknowledged and +rewarded in a fitting manner. + +The courage that encountered and vanquished the greatly superior numbers +of the rebel force, pursued and attacked them in their intrenchments, +and paused not until the enemy was completely routed merits and receives +commendation. + +The purpose of this war is to attack, pursue, and destroy a rebellious +enemy and to deliver the country from danger menaced by traitors. +Alacrity, daring, courageous spirit, and patriotic zeal on all occasions +and under every circumstance are expected from the Army of the United +States. In the prompt and spirited movements and daring battle of Mill +Springs the nation will realize its hopes, and the people of the United +States will rejoice to honor every soldier and officer who proves his +courage by charging with the bayonet and storming intrenchments or in +the blaze of the enemy's fire. + +By order of the President: + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +PRESIDENT'S GENERAL WAR ORDER NO. 1 + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, January 27, 1862_. + +_Ordered_, That the 22d day of February, 1862, be the day for a general +movement of the land and naval forces of the United States against the +insurgent forces; that especially the army at and about Fortress Monroe, +the Army of the Potomac, the Army of Western Virginia, the army near +Munfordville, Ky., the army and flotilla at Cairo, and a naval force in +the Gulf of Mexico be ready to move on that day. + +That all other forces, both land and naval, with their respective +commanders, obey existing orders for the time and be ready to obey +additional orders when duly given. + +That the heads of Departments, and especially the Secretaries of War and +of the Navy, with all their subordinates, and the General in Chief, with +all other commanders and subordinates of land and naval forces, will +severally be held to their strict and full responsibilities for prompt +execution of this order. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +PRESIDENT'S SPECIAL WAR ORDER NO. 1. + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, January 31, 1862_. + +_Ordered_, that all the disposable force of the Army of the Potomac, +after providing safely for the defense of Washington, be formed into an +expedition for the immediate object of seizing and occupying a point +upon the railroad southwest ward of what is known as Manassas Junction; +all details to be in the discretion of the General in Chief, and the +expedition to move before or on the 22d day of February next. + +A. LINCOLN. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington City, February 11, 1862_. + +_Ordered_, That D.C. McCallum be, and he is hereby, appointed military +director and superintendent of railroads in the United States, with +authority to enter upon, take possession of, hold, and use all +railroads, engines, cars, locomotives, equipments, appendages, and +appurtenances that may be required for the transport of troops, arms, +ammunition, and military supplies of the United States, and to do and +perform all acts and things that may be necessary or proper to be done +for the safe and speedy transport aforesaid. + +By order of the President, Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of +the United States: + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, _February 13, 1862_. + +_Ordered_, 1. That all applications to go south across the military lines +of the United States be made to Major-General John A. Dix, commanding +at Baltimore, who will grant or refuse the same at his discretion. + +2. That all prisoners of war and other persons imprisoned by authority +of any department of the Government who shall be released on parole or +exchange shall report themselves immediately on their arrival at Baltimore +to Major-General Dix and be subject to his direction while remaining +in that city. Any failure to observe this order will be taken as a +forfeiture of the parole or exchange. + +The regulation heretofore existing which required passes across the +military lines of the United States to be signed by the Secretary of +State and countersigned by the General Commanding is rescinded. + +By order of the President: + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 1, RELATING TO POLITICAL PRISONERS. + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington, February 14, 1862_. + +The breaking out of a formidable insurrection based on a conflict of +political ideas, being an event without precedent in the United States, +was necessarily attended by great confusion and perplexity of the public +mind. Disloyalty before unsuspected suddenly became bold, and treason +astonished the world by bringing at once into the field military forces +superior in number to the standing Army of the United States. + +Every department of the Government was paralyzed by treason. Defection +appeared in the Senate, in the House of Representatives, in the Cabinet, +in the Federal courts; ministers and consuls returned from foreign +countries to enter the insurrectionary councils or land or naval forces; +commanding and other officers of the Army and in the Navy betrayed our +councils or deserted their posts for commands in the insurgent forces. +Treason was flagrant in the revenue and in the post-office service, as +well as in the Territorial governments and in the Indian reserves. + +Not only governors, judges, legislators, and ministerial officers in the +States, but even whole States rushed one after another with apparent +unanimity into rebellion. The capital was besieged and its connection +with all the States cut off. + +Even in the portions of the country which were most loyal political +combinations and secret societies were formed furthering the work of +disunion, while, from motives of disloyalty or cupidity or from excited +passions or perverted sympathies, individuals were found furnishing men, +money, and materials of war and supplies to the insurgents' military and +naval forces. Armies, ships, fortifications, navy-yards, arsenals, +military posts, and garrisons one after another were betrayed or +abandoned to the insurgents. + +Congress had not anticipated, and so had not provided for, the +emergency. The municipal authorities were powerless and inactive. The +judicial machinery seemed as if it had been designed, not to sustain the +Government, but to embarrass and betray it. + +Foreign intervention, openly invited and industriously instigated by the +abettors of the insurrection, became imminent, and has only been +prevented by the practice of strict and impartial justice, with the most +perfect moderation, in our intercourse with nations. + +The public mind was alarmed and apprehensive, though fortunately not +distracted or disheartened. It seemed to be doubtful whether the Federal +Government, which one year before had been thought a model worthy of +universal acceptance, had indeed the ability to defend and maintain +itself. + +Some reverses, which, perhaps, were unavoidable, suffered by newly +levied and inefficient forces, discouraged the loyal and gave new hopes +to the insurgents. Voluntary enlistments seemed about to cease and +desertions commenced. Parties speculated upon the question whether +conscription had not become necessary to fill up the armies of the +United States. + +In this emergency the President felt it his duty to employ with energy +the extraordinary powers which the Constitution confides to him in cases +of insurrection. He called into the field such military and naval +forces, unauthorized by the existing laws, as seemed necessary. He +directed measures to prevent the use of the post-office for treasonable +correspondence. He subjected passengers to and from foreign countries to +new passport regulations, and he instituted a blockade, suspended the +writ of _habeas corpus_ in various places, and caused persons who were +represented to him as being or about to engage in disloyal and +treasonable practices to be arrested by special civil as well as +military agencies and detained in military custody when necessary to +prevent them and deter others from such practices. Examinations of such +cases were instituted, and some of the persons so arrested have been +discharged from time to time under circumstances or upon conditions +compatible, as was thought, with the public safety. + +Meantime a favorable change of public opinion has occurred. The line +between loyalty and disloyalty is plainly defined. The whole structure +of the Government is firm and stable. Apprehension of public danger and +facilities for treasonable practices have diminished with the passions +which prompted heedless persons to adopt them. The insurrection is +believed to have culminated and to be declining. + +The President, in view of these facts, and anxious to favor a return to +the normal course of the Administration as far as regard for the public +welfare will allow, directs that all political prisoners or state +prisoners now held in military custody be released on their subscribing +to a parole engaging them to render no aid or comfort to the enemies in +hostility to the United States. + +The Secretary of War will, however, in his discretion, except from the +effect of this order any persons detained as spies in the service of the +insurgents, or others whose release at the present moment may be deemed +incompatible with the public safety. + +To all persons who shall be so released and who shall keep their parole +the President grants an amnesty for any past offenses of treason or +disloyalty which they may have committed. + +Extraordinary arrests will hereafter be made under the direction of the +military authorities alone. + +By order of the President: + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +The President's Thanks to the Forces That Captured Fort Henry and +Roanoke Island. + +WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _February 15, 1862_. + +The President, Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, returns thanks +to Brigadier-General Burnside and Flag-Officer Goldsborough, and to +Brigadier-General Grant and Flag-Officer Foote, and the land and naval +forces under their respective commands, for their gallant achievements +in the capture of Fort Henry and at Roanoke Island. While it will be no +ordinary pleasure for him to acknowledge and reward in a becoming manner +the valor of the living, he also recognizes his duty to pay fitting +honor to the memory of the gallant dead. The charge at Roanoke Island, +like the bayonet charge at Mill Springs, proves that the close grapple +and sharp steel of loyal and patriotic soldiers must always put rebels +and traitors to flight. + +The late achievements of the Navy show that the flag of the Union, once +borne in proud glory around the world by naval heroes, will soon again +float over every rebel city and stronghold, and that it shall forever be +honored and respected as the emblem of liberty and union in every land +and upon every sea. + +By order of the President: + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + +GIDEON WELLES, + +_Secretary of the Navy_. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington City, D.C., February 17, 1862_. + +Brigadier-General F.W. LANDER: + +The President directs me to say that he has observed with pleasure the +activity and enterprise manifested by yourself and the officers and +soldiers of your command. You have shown how much may be done in the +worst weather and worst roads by a spirited officer at the head of a +small force of brave men, unwilling to waste life in camp when the +enemies of their country are within reach. Your brilliant success is a +happy presage of what may be expected when the Army of the Potomac shall +be led to the field by their gallant general. + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +GENERAL ORDERS, No. 16. + +HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, February 18, 1862_. + +I. The following concurrent resolutions of the two Houses of the +Congress of the United States are published for the information of the +Army: + +_Resolved_, That the two Houses will assemble in the Chamber of the +House of Representatives on Saturday, the 22d day of February instant, +at 12 o'clock meridian, and that in the presence of the two Houses of +Congress thus assembled the Farewell Address of George Washington to the +people of the United States shall be read; and that the President of the +Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives be requested to +invite the President of the United States, the heads of the several +Departments, the judges of the Supreme Court, the representatives from +all foreign governments near this Government, and such officers of the +Army and Navy and distinguished citizens as may then be at the seat of +Government to be present on that occasion. + +_Resolved_, That the President of the United States, Commander in Chief +of the Army and Navy, be requested to direct that orders be issued for +the reading to the Army and Navy of the United States of the Farewell +Address of George Washington, or such parts thereof as he may select, on +the 22d day of February instant. + +II. In compliance with the foregoing resolutions, the President of the +United States, Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, orders that the +following extracts from the Farewell Address of George Washington be +read to the troops at every military post and at the head of the several +regiments and corps of the Army: + +Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, +no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the +attachment. + +The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now +dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of +your real independence, the support of your tranquillity at home, your +peace abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of that very liberty +which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that from +different causes and from different quarters much pains will be taken, +many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this +truth, as this is the point in your political fortress against which the +batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and +actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of +infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense value of +your national union to your collective and individual happiness; that +you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; +accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the palladium of +your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with +jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion +that it can in any event be abandoned, and indignantly frowning upon the +first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country +from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the +various parts. + +For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens by +birth or choice of a common country, that country has a right to +concentrate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to you +in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of +patriotism more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. +With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, +habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and +triumphed together. The independence and liberty you possess are the +work of joint councils and joint efforts, of common dangers, sufferings, +and successes. + + * * * * * + +While, then, every part of our country thus feels an immediate and +particular interest in union, all the parts combined can not fail to +find in the united mass of means and efforts greater strength, greater +resource, proportionably greater security from external danger, a less +frequent interruption of their peace by foreign nations, and, what is of +inestimable value, they must derive from union an exemption from those +broils and wars between themselves which so frequently afflict +neighboring countries not tied together by the same governments, which +their own rivalships alone would be sufficient to produce, but which +opposite foreign alliances, attachments, and intrigues would stimulate +and imbitter. Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those +overgrown military establishments which, under any form of government, +are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as +particularly hostile to republican liberty. In this sense it is that +your union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and +that the love of the one ought to endear to you the preservation of the +other. + + * * * * * + +To the efficacy and permanency of your union a government for the whole +is indispensable. No alliances, however strict, between the parts can be +an adequate substitute. They must inevitably experience the infractions +and interruptions which all alliances in all times have experienced. +Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon your first +essay by the adoption of a Constitution of Government better calculated +than your former for an intimate union and for the efficacious +management of your common concerns. This Government, the offspring of +our own choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full investigation +and mature deliberation, completely free in its principles, in the +distribution of its powers, uniting security with energy, and containing +within itself a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to +your confidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance +with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the +fundamental maxims of true liberty. The basis of our political systems +is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of +government. But the constitution which at any time exists till changed +by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people is sacredly +obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of the +people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual +to obey the established government. + +All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and +associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design +to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and +action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this +fundamental principle and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize +faction; to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put in the +place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a +small but artful and enterprising minority of the community, and, +according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the +public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous +projects of faction rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome +plans, digested by common counsels and modified by mutual interests. + + * * * * * + +Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, +religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that +man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these +great pillars of human happiness--these firmest props of the duties +of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, +ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all +their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be +asked, Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, +if the sense of religious obligation _desert_ the oaths which are the +instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with +caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without +religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education +on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to +expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious +principle. + +It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring +of popular government. The rule indeed extends with more or less force +to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it +can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the +fabric? Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions +for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure +of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that +public opinion should be enlightened. + + * * * * * + +Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and +harmony with all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct. And can it +be that good policy does not equally enjoin it? It will be worthy of a +free, enlightened, and at no distant period a great nation to give to +mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided +by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt that in the course +of time and things the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any +temporary advantages which might be lost by a steady adherence to it? +Can it be that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of +a nation with its virtue? The experiment, at least, is recommended by +every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas! is it rendered +impossible by its vices? + + * * * * * + +Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by +policy, humanity, and interest. But even our commercial policy should +hold an equal and impartial hand, neither seeking nor granting exclusive +favors or preferences; consulting the natural course of things; +diffusing and diversifying by gentle means the streams of commerce, but +forcing nothing; establishing with powers so disposed, in order to give +trade a stable course, to define the rights of our merchants, and to +enable the Government to support them, conventional rules of +intercourse, the best that present circumstances and mutual opinion will +permit, but temporary and liable to be from time to time abandoned or +varied as experience and circumstances shall dictate; constantly keeping +in view that it is folly in one nation to look for disinterested favors +from another; that it must pay with a portion of its independence for +whatever it may accept under that character; that by such acceptance it +may place itself in the condition of having given equivalents for +nominal favors, and yet of being reproached with ingratitude for not +giving more. There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate +upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which +experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard. + +In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and +affectionate friend I dare not hope they will make the strong and +lasting impression I could wish--that they will control the usual +current of the passions or prevent our nation from running the course +which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But if I may even +flatter myself that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some +occasional good--that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury +of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to +guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism--this hope will be +a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare by which they have +been dictated. + + * * * * * + +Though in reviewing the incidents of my Administration I am unconscious +of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not +to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever +they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the +evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that +my country will never cease to view them with indulgence, and that, +after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service with an +upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to +oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest. + +Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, and actuated by that +fervent love toward it which is so natural to a man who views in it the +native soil of himself and his progenitors for several generations, I +anticipate with pleasing expectation that retreat in which I promise +myself to realize without alloy the sweet enjoyment of partaking in the +midst of my fellow-citizens the benign influence of good laws under a +free government--the ever-favorite object of my heart, and the happy +reward, as I trust, of our mutual cares, labors, and dangers. + +By command of Major-General McClellan: + +L. THOMAS, + +_Adjutant-General_. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington City, D.C., February 18, 1862_. + +_Ordered by the President, Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of +the United States_, That on the 22d day of February, in the Hall of the +House of Representatives, immediately after the Farewell Address of +George Washington shall have been read, the rebel flags lately captured +by the United States forces shall be presented to Congress by the +Adjutant-General, to be disposed of as Congress may direct. + +By order of the President, + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington City, February 25, 1862_. + +_Ordered_, first. On and after the 26th day of February instant the +President, by virtue of the act of Congress, takes military possession +of all the telegraph lines in the United States. + +Second. All telegraphic communications in regard to military operations +not expressly authorized by the War Department, the General Commanding, +or the generals commanding armies in the field, in the several +departments, are absolutely forbidden. + +Third. All newspapers publishing military news, however obtained and by +whatever medium received, not authorized by the official authority +mentioned in the preceding paragraph will be excluded thereafter from +receiving information by telegraph or from transmitting their papers by +railroad. + +Fourth. Edward S. Sanford is made military supervisor of telegraphic +messages throughout the United States. Anson Stager is made military +superintendent of all telegraph lines and offices in the United States. + +Fifth. This possession and control of the telegraph lines is not +intended to interfere in any respect with the ordinary affairs of the +companies or with private business. + +By order of the President: + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington, February 27, 1862_. + +_It is ordered_, first. That a special commission of two persons, one of +military rank and the other in civil life, be appointed to examine the +cases of the state prisoners remaining in the military custody of the +United States, and to determine whether, in view of the public safety +and the existing rebellion, they should be discharged or remain in +military custody or be remitted to the civil tribunals for trial. + +Second. That Major-General John A. Dix, commanding in Baltimore, and the +Hon. Edwards Pierrepont, of New York, be, and they are hereby, appointed +commissioners for the purposes above mentioned, and they are authorized +to examine, hear, and determine the cases aforesaid, _ex parte_ and in a +summary manner, at such times and places as in their discretion they may +appoint, and make full report to the War Department. + +By order of the President: + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. + +WASHINGTON, _February 28, 1862_. + +Considering that the existing circumstances of the country allow a +partial restoration of commercial intercourse between the inhabitants of +those parts of the United States heretofore declared to be in +insurrection and the citizens of the loyal States of the Union, and +exercising the authority and discretion confided to me by the act of +Congress approved July 13, 1861, entitled "An act further to provide for +the collection of duties on imports, and for other purposes," I hereby +license and permit such commercial intercourse in all cases within the +rules and regulations which have been or may be prescribed by the +Secretary of the Treasury for the conducting and carrying on of the same +on the inland waters and ways of the United States. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +PRESIDENT'S GENERAL WAR ORDER No. 2. + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, March 8, 1862_. + +_Ordered_, 1. That the major-general commanding the Army of the Potomac +proceed forthwith to organize that part of the said army destined to +enter upon active operations (including the reserve, but excluding the +troops to be left in the fortifications about Washington) into four army +corps, to be commanded according to seniority of rank, as follows: + +First Corps to consist of four divisions, and to be commanded by +Major-General I. McDowell. + +Second Corps to consist of three divisions, and to be commanded by +Brigadier-General E.V. Sumner. + +Third Corps to consist of three divisions, and to be commanded by +Brigadier-General S.P. Heintzelman. + +Fourth Corps to consist of three divisions, and to be commanded by +Brigadier-General E.D. Keyes. + +2. That the divisions now commanded by the officers above assigned to +the commands of army corps shall be embraced in and form part of their +respective corps. + +3. The forces left for the defense of Washington will be placed in +command of Brigadier-General James S. Wadsworth, who shall also be +military governor of the District of Columbia. + +4. That this order be executed with such promptness and dispatch as not +to delay the commencement of the operations already directed to be +undertaken by the Army of the Potomac. + +5. A fifth army corps, to be commanded by Major-General N.P. Banks, will +be formed from his own and General Shields's (late General Lander's) +divisions. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +PRESIDENT'S GENERAL WAR ORDER No. 3. + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, March 8, 1862_. + +_Ordered_, That no change of the base of operations of the Army of the +Potomac shall be made without leaving in and about Washington such a +force as in the opinion of the General in Chief and the commanders of +all the army corps shall leave said city entirely secure. + +That no more than two army corps (about 50,000 troops) of said Army of +the Potomac shall be moved _en route_ for a new base of operations until +the navigation of the Potomac from Washington to the Chesapeake Bay +shall be freed from enemy's batteries and other obstructions, or until +the President shall hereafter give express permission. + +That any movements as aforesaid _en route_ for a new base of operations +which may be ordered by the General in Chief, and which may be intended +to move upon the Chesapeake Bay, shall begin to move upon the bay as +early as the 18th day of March instant, and the General in Chief shall +be responsible that it so move as early as that day. + +_Ordered_, That the Army and Navy cooperate in an immediate effort to +capture the enemy's batteries upon the Potomac between Washington and +the Chesapeake Bay. + +A. LINCOLN. + + + +PRESIDENT'S SPECIAL WAR ORDER No. 3 + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, March 11, 1862_. + +Major-General McClellan having personally taken the field at the head of +the Army of the Potomac, until otherwise ordered he is relieved from the +command of the other military departments, he retaining command of the +Department of the Potomac. + +_Ordered further_, That the departments now under the respective +commands of Generals Halleck and Hunter, together with so much of that +under General Buell as lies west of a north and south line indefinitely +drawn through Knoxville, Tenn., be consolidated and designated the +Department of the Mississippi, and that until otherwise ordered +Major-General Halleck have command of said department. + +_Ordered also_, That the country west of the Department of the Potomac +and east of the Department of the Mississippi be a military department, +to be called the Mountain Department, and that the same be commanded by +Major-General Fremont. + +That all the commanders of departments, after the receipt of this order +by them, respectively report severally and directly to the Secretary of +War, and that prompt, full, and frequent reports will be expected of all +and each of them. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, _March 13, 1862_. + +Major-General GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN: + +The President, having considered the plan of operations agreed upon by +yourself and the commanders of army corps, makes no objection to the +same, but gives the following directions as to its execution: + +1. Leave such force at Manassas Junction as shall make it entirely +certain that the enemy shall not repossess himself of that position and +line of communication. + +2. Leave Washington entirely secure. + +3. Move the remainder of the force down the Potomac, choosing a new base +at Fortress Monroe, or anywhere between here and there, or, at all +events, move such remainder of the army at once in pursuit of the enemy +by some route. + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +[From the Daily National Intelligencer, March 28, 1862.] + +NAVY DEPARTMENT, _March 15, 1862_. + +Lieutenant JOHN L. WORDEN, United States Navy, + +_Commanding United States Steamer Monitor, Washington_. + +SIR: The naval action which took place on the 10th instant between the +_Monitor_ and _Merrimac_ at Hampton Roads, when your vessel, with two +guns, engaged a powerful armored steamer of at least eight guns, and +after a few hours' conflict repelled her formidable antagonist, has +excited general admiration and received the applause of the whole +country. + +The President directs me, while earnestly and deeply sympathizing with +you in the injuries which you have sustained, but which it is believed +are but temporary, to thank you and your command for the heroism you +have displayed and the great service you have rendered. + +The action of the 10th and the performance, power, and capabilities of +the _Monitor_ must effect a radical change in naval warfare. + +Flag-Officer Goldsborough, in your absence, will be furnished by the +Department with a copy of this letter of thanks and instructed to cause +it to be read to the officers and crew of the _Monitor_. + +I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, + +GIDEON WELLES. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington, D.C., April 5, 1862_. + +Major-General JOHN A. DIX: + +_Ordered_, That Major-General John A. Dix, commanding at Baltimore, be, +and he is, authorized and empowered at his discretion-- + +First. To assume and exercise control over the police of the city of +Baltimore; to supersede and remove the civil police or any part thereof +and establish a military police in said city. + +Second. To arrest and imprison disloyal persons, declare martial law, +and suspend the writ of _habeas corpus_ in the city of Baltimore or any +part of his command, and to exercise and perform all military power, +function, and authority that he may deem proper for the safety of his +command or to secure obedience and respect to the authority and +Government of the United States. + +By order of the President: + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +[From the Daily National Intelligencer, May 17, 1862.] + +The skillful and gallant movements of Major-General John E. Wool and the +forces under his command, which resulted in the surrender of Norfolk and +the evacuation of strong batteries erected by the rebels on Sewells +Point and Craney Island and the destruction of the rebel ironclad +steamer _Merrimac_, are regarded by the President as among the most +important successes of the present war. He therefore orders that his +thanks as Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy be communicated by the +War Department to Major-General John E. Wool and the officers and +soldiers of his command for their gallantry and good conduct in the +brilliant operations mentioned. + +By order of the President, made at the city of Norfolk on the 11th day +of May, 1862: + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, _May 25, 1862_. + +_Ordered_: By virtue of the authority vested by act of Congress, the +President takes military possession of all the railroads in the United +States from and after this date until further order, and directs that +the respective railroad companies, their officers and servants, shall +hold themselves in readiness for the transportation of such troops and +munitions of war as may be ordered by the military authorities, to the +exclusion of all other business. + +By order of the Secretary of War: + +M.C. MEIGS, + +_Quartermaster-General_. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington, D.C., May 28, 1862_. + +Colonel HAUPT: + +SIR: You are hereby appointed chief of construction and transportation +in the Department of the Rappahannock, with the rank of colonel, and +attached to the staff of Major-General McDowell. + +You are authorized to do whatever you may deem expedient to open for use +in the shortest possible time all military railroads now or hereafter +required in said department; to use the same for transportation under +such rules and regulations as you may prescribe; to appoint such +assistants and employees as you may deem necessary, define their duties +and fix their compensation; to make requisitions upon any of the +military authorities, with the approval of the Commanding General, for +such temporary or permanent details of men as may be required for the +construction or protection of lines of communication; to use such +Government steamers and transports as you may deem necessary; to pass +free of charge in such steamers and transports and on other military +roads all persons whose services may be required in construction or +transportation; to purchase all such machinery, rolling stock, and +supplies as the proper use and operation of the said railroads may +require, and certify the same to the Quartermaster-General, who shall +make payment therefor. You are also authorized to form a permanent corps +of artificers, organized, officered, and equipped in such manner as you +may prescribe; to supply said corps with rations, transportation, tools, +and implements by requisitions upon the proper departments; to employ +civilians as foremen and assistants, under such rules and rates of +compensation as you may deem expedient; to make such additions to +ordinary rations when actually at work as you may deem necessary. + +You are also authorized to take possession of and use all railroads, +engines, cars, buildings, machinery, and appurtenances within the +geographical limits of the Department of the Rappahannock, and all +authority heretofore given to other parties which may in any way +conflict with the instructions herein contained are and will be without +force and effect in the said Department of the Rappahannock from and +after this date. + +By order of the President, Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of +the United States: + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington City, D.C., May 30, 1862_. + +All regiments of militia or of three-months' volunteers who have offered +their services under the recent call of the War Department, and who have +so far perfected their organization as to be able to report for orders +at St. Louis, at Columbus, or at Washington City by the 10th of June, +will be mustered into the service of the United States for three months +from that date, the pay of each volunteer or militiaman commencing from +the date of his enlistment. + +Under the call for three-years volunteers 50,000 men will be accepted as +raised and reported by the respective State governors. + +By order of the President: + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +NEW YORK, _June 30, 1862_. + +_To the Governors of the several States_: + +The capture of New Orleans, Norfolk, and Corinth by the national forces +has enabled the insurgents to concentrate a large force at and about +Richmond, which place we must take with the least possible delay; in +fact, there will soon be no formidable insurgent force except at +Richmond. With so large an army there, the enemy can threaten us on the +Potomac and elsewhere. Until we have reestablished the national +authority, all these places must be held, and we must keep a respectable +force in front of Washington. But this, from the diminished strength of +our Army by sickness and casualties, renders an addition to it necessary +in order to close the struggle which has been prosecuted for the last +three months with energy and success. Rather than hazard the +misapprehension of our military condition and of groundless alarm by a +call for troops by proclamation, I have deemed it best to address you in +this form. To accomplish the object stated we require without delay +150,000 men, including those recently called for by the Secretary of +War. Thus reenforced our gallant Army will be enabled to realize the +hopes and expectations of the Government and the people. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +JUNE 28, 1862. + +The PRESIDENT: + +The undersigned, governors of States of the Union, impressed with the +belief that the citizens of the States which they respectively represent +are of one accord in the hearty desire that the recent successes of the +Federal arms may be followed up by measures which must insure the speedy +restoration of the Union, and believing that, in view of the present +state of the important military movements now in progress and the +reduced condition of our effective forces in the field, resulting from +the usual and unavoidable casualties in the service, the time has +arrived for prompt and vigorous measures to be adopted by the people in +support of the great interests committed to your charge, respectfully +request, if it meets with your entire approval, that you at once call +upon the several States for such number of men as may be required to +fill up all military organizations now in the field, and add to the +armies heretofore organized such additional number of men as may, in +your judgment, be necessary to garrison and hold all the numerous cities +and military positions that have been captured by our armies, and to +speedily crush the rebellion that still exists in several of the +Southern States, thus practically restoring to the civilized world our +great and good Government. All believe that the decisive moment is near +at hand, and to that end the people of the United States are desirous to +aid promptly in furnishing all reenforcements that you may deem needful +to sustain our Government. + + ISRAEL WASHBURN, Jr., Governor of Maine; H.S. BERRY, Governor of + New Hampshire; FREDERICK HOLBROOK, Governor of Vermont; WILLIAM A. + BUCKINGHAM, Governor of Connecticut; E.D. MORGAN, Governor of New + York; CHARLES S. OLDEN, Governor of New Jersey; A.G. CURTIN, Governor + of Pennsylvania; A.W. BRADFORD, Governor of Maryland, F.H. PEIRPOINT, + Governor of Virginia; AUSTIN BLAIR, Governor of Michigan; J.B. TEMPLE, + President Military Board of Kentucky; ANDREW JOHNSON, Governor of + Tennessee; H.R. GAMBLE, Governor of Missouri; O.P. MORTON, Governor + of Indiana; DAVID TODD, Governor of Ohio; ALEXANDER RAMSEY, Governor + of Minnesota; RICHARD YATES, Governor of Illinois; EDWARD SALOMON, + Governor of Wisconsin. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, July 1, 1862_. + +Gentlemen: Fully concurring in the wisdom of the views expressed to me +in so patriotic a manner by you in the communication of the 28th day of +June, I have decided to call into the service an additional force of +300,000 men. I suggest and recommend that the troops should be chiefly +of infantry. The quota of your State would be ------. I trust that they +may be enrolled without delay, so as to bring this unnecessary and +injurious civil war to a speedy and satisfactory conclusion. An order +fixing the quotas of the respective States will be issued by the War +Department to-morrow. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, July 11, 1862_. + +_Ordered_, That Major-General Henry W. Halleck be assigned to command +the whole land forces of the United States as General in Chief, and that +he repair to this capital as soon as he can with safety to the positions +and operations within the department under his charge. + +A. LINCOLN. + + +Whereas, in the judgment of the President, the public safety does +require that the railroad line called and known as the Southwest Branch +of the Pacific Railroad in the State of Missouri be repaired, extended, +and completed from Rolla to Lebanon, in the direction to Springfield, in +the said State, the same being necessary to the successful and +economical conduct of the war and to the maintenance of the authority of +the Government in the Southwest: + +Therefore, under and in virtue of the act of Congress entitled "An act +to authorize the President of the United States in certain cases to take +possession of railroad and telegraph lines, and for other purposes," +approved January 31, 1862, it is-- + +_Ordered_, That the portion of the said railroad line which reaches from +Rolla to Lebanon be repaired, extended, and completed, so as to be made +available for the military uses of the Government, as speedily as may +be. And inasmuch as, upon the part of the said line from Rolla to the +stream called Little Piney a considerable portion of the necessary work +has already been done by the railroad company, and the road to this +extent may be completed at comparatively small cost, it is ordered that +the said line from Rolla to and across Little Piney be first completed, +and as soon as possible. + +The Secretary of War is charged with the execution of this order. And to +facilitate the speedy execution of the work, he is directed, at his +discretion, to take possession and control of the whole or such part of +the said railroad line, and the whole or such part of the rolling stock, +offices, shops, buildings, and all their appendages and appurtenances, +as he may judge necessary or convenient for the early completion of the +road from Rolla to Lebanon. + +Done at the city of Washington, July 11, 1862. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +GENERAL ORDERS, No. 82. + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, July 21, 1862_. + +The following order has been received from the President of the United +States: + +Representations have been made to the President by the ministers of +various foreign powers in amity with the United States that subjects of +such powers have during the present insurrection been obliged or +required by military authorities to take an oath of general or qualified +allegiance to this Government. It is the duty of all aliens residing in +the United States to submit to and obey the laws and respect the +authority of the Government. For any proceeding or conduct inconsistent +with this obligation and subversive of that authority they may +rightfully be subjected to military restraints when this may be +necessary. But they can not be required to take an oath of allegiance to +this Government, because it conflicts with the duty they owe to their +own sovereigns. All such obligations heretofore taken are therefore +remitted and annulled. Military commanders will abstain from imposing +similar obligations in future, and will in lieu thereof adopt such other +restraints of the character indicated as they shall find necessary, +convenient, and effectual for the public safety. It is further directed +that whenever any order shall be made affecting the personal liberty of +an alien reports of the same and of the causes thereof shall be made to +the War Department for the consideration of the Department of State. + +By order of the Secretary of War: + +L. THOMAS, + +_Adjutant-General_. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, _July 22, 1862_. + +1. _Ordered_, That military commanders within the States of Virginia, +South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, +Texas, and Arkansas in an orderly manner seize and use any property, +real or personal, which may be necessary or convenient for their several +commands as supplies or for other military purposes; and that while +property may be destroyed for proper military objects, none shall be +destroyed in wantonness or malice. + +2. That military and naval commanders shall employ as laborers within +and from said States so many persons of African descent as can be +advantageously used for military or naval purposes, giving them +reasonable wages for their labor. + +3. That as to both property and persons of African descent accounts +shall be kept sufficiently accurate and in detail to show quantities and +amounts and from whom both property and such persons shall have come, as +a basis upon which compensation can be made in proper cases; and the +several Departments of this Government shall attend to and perform their +appropriate parts toward the execution of these orders. + +By order of the President: + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +GENERAL ORDERS, No. 89. + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, July 25, 1862_. + +I. The following order of the President of the United States +communicates information of the death of ex-President Martin Van Buren: + +WASHINGTON, _July 25, 1862_. + +The President with deep regret announces to the people of the United +States the decease, at Kinderhook, N.Y., on the 24th instant, of his +honored predecessor Martin Van Buren. + +This event will occasion mourning in the nation for the loss of a +citizen and a public servant whose memory will be gratefully cherished. +Although it has occurred at a time when his country is afflicted with +division and civil war, the grief of his patriotic friends will +measurably be assuaged by the consciousness that while suffering with +disease and seeing his end approaching his prayers were for the +restoration of the authority of the Government of which he had been the +head and for peace and good will among his fellow-citizens. + +As a mark of respect for his memory, it is ordered that the Executive +Mansion and the several Executive Departments, except those of War and +the Navy, be immediately placed in mourning and all business be +suspended during to-morrow. + +It is further ordered that the War and Navy Departments cause suitable +military and naval honors to be paid on this occasion to the memory of +the illustrious dead. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + +II. On the day after the receipt of this order the troops will be +paraded at 10 o'clock a.m. and the order read to them. The national flag +will be displayed at half-staff. At dawn of day thirteen guns will be +fired, and afterwards at intervals of thirty minutes between rising and +setting sun a single gun, and at the close of the day a national salute +of thirty-four guns. The officers of the Army will wear crape on the +left arm and on their swords and the colors of the several regiments +will be put in mourning for the period of six months. + +By order of the Secretary of War: + +L. THOMAS, + +_Adjutant-General_. + + + +GENERAL ORDER. + +NAVY DEPARTMENT, _July 25, 1862_. + +The death of ex-President Martin Van Buren is announced in the following +order of the President of the United States: + +[For order see preceding page.] + +In pursuance of the foregoing order, it is hereby directed that thirty +minute guns, commencing at noon, be fired on the day after the receipt +of this general order at the navy-yards, naval stations, and on board +the vessels of the Navy in commission; that their flags be displayed at +half-mast for one week, and that crape be worn on the left arm by all +officers of the Navy for a period of six months. + +GIDEON WELLES, + +_Secretary of the Navy_. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington City, D.C., July 31, 1862_. + +The absence of officers and privates from their duty under various +pretexts while receiving pay, at great expense and burden to the +Government, makes it necessary that efficient measures be taken to +enforce their return to duty or that their places be supplied by those +who will not take pay while rendering no service. This evil, moreover, +tends greatly to discourage the patriotic impulses of those who would +contribute to support the families of faithful soldiers. + +It is therefore ordered by the President-- + +I. That on Monday, the 11th day of August, all leaves of absence and +furloughs, by whomsoever given, unless by the War Department, are +revoked and absolutely annulled, and all officers capable of service are +required forthwith to join their respective commands and all privates +capable of service to join their regiments, under penalty of a dismissal +from the service, or such penalty as a court-martial may award, unless +the absence be occasioned by lawful cause. + +II. The only excuses allowed for the absence of officers or privates +after the 11th day of August are: + +First. The order or leave of the War Department. + +Second. Disability from wounds received in service. + +Third. Disability from disease that renders the party unfit for military +duty. But any officer or private whose health permits him to visit +watering places or places of amusement, or to make social visits or walk +about the town, city, or neighborhood in which he may be, will be +considered fit for military duty and as evading duty by absence from his +command or ranks. + +III. On Monday, the 18th day of August, at 10 o'clock a.m., each +regiment and corps shall be mustered. The absentees will be marked, +three lists of the same made out, and within forty-eight hours after the +muster one copy shall be sent to the Adjutant-General of the Army, one +to the commander of the corps, the third to be retained; and all +officers and privates fit for duty absent at that time will be regarded +as absent without cause, their pay will be stopped, and they dismissed +from the service or treated as deserters unless restored; and no officer +shall be restored to his rank unless by the judgment of a court of +inquiry, to be approved by the President, he shall establish that his +absence was with good cause. + +IV. Commanders of corps, divisions, brigades, regiments, and detached +posts are strictly enjoined to enforce the muster and return aforesaid. +Any officer failing in his duty herein will be deemed guilty of gross +neglect of duty and be dismissed from the service. + +V. A commissioner shall be appointed by the Secretary of War to +superintend the execution of this order in the respective States. + +The United States marshals in the respective districts, the mayor and +chief of police of any town or city, the sheriff of the respective +counties in each State, all postmasters and justices of the peace, are +authorized to act as special provost-marshals to arrest any officer or +private soldier fit for duty who may be found absent from his command +without just cause and convey him to the nearest military post or depot. +The transportation, reasonable expenses of this duty, and $5 will be +paid for each officer or private so arrested and delivered. + +By order of the President: + +E.M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington City, D.C., August 4, 1862_. + +_Ordered_, I. That a draft of 300,000 militia be immediately called into +the service of the United States, to serve for nine months unless sooner +discharged. The Secretary of War will assign the quotas to the States +and establish regulations for the draft. + +II. That if any State shall not by the 15th of August furnish its quota +of the additional 300,000 volunteers authorized by law the deficiency of +volunteers in that State will also be made up by special draft from the +militia. The Secretary of War will establish regulations for this +purpose. + +III. Regulations will be prepared by the War Department and presented to +the President with the object of securing the promotion of officers of +the Army and Volunteers for meritorious and distinguished services and +of preventing the nomination or appointment in the military service of +incompetent or unworthy officers. The regulations will also provide for +ridding the service of such incompetent persons as now hold commissions +in it. + +By order of the President: + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington, D.C., August 8, 1862_. + +By direction of the President of the United States, it is hereby ordered +that until further order no citizen liable to be drafted into the +militia shall be allowed to go to a foreign country. And all marshals, +deputy marshals, and military officers of the United States are +directed, and all police authorities, especially at the ports of the +United States on the seaboard and on the frontier, are requested, to see +that this order is faithfully carried into effect. And they are hereby +authorized and directed to arrest and detain any person or persons about +to depart from the United States in violation of this order, and report +to Major L.C. Turner, judge-advocate at Washington City, for further +instructions respecting the person or persons so arrested or detained. + +II. Any person liable to draft who shall absent himself from his county +or State before such draft is made will be arrested by any +provost-marshal or other United States or State officer, wherever he may +be found within the jurisdiction of the United States, and be conveyed +to the nearest military post or depot and placed on military duty for +the term of the draft; and the expenses of his own arrest and conveyance +to such post or depot, and also the sum of $5, as a reward to the +officer who shall make such arrest, shall be deducted from his pay. + +III. The writ of _habeas corpus_ is hereby suspended in respect to all +persons so arrested and detained, and in respect to all persons arrested +for disloyal practices. + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington City, D.C., August 14, 1862_. + +ORDER RESPECTING VOLUNTEERS AND MILITIA. + +_Ordered_, first. That after the 15th of this month bounty and advanced +pay shall not be paid to volunteers for any new regiments, but only to +volunteers for regiments now in the field and volunteers to fill up new +regiments now organizing, but not yet full. + +Second. Volunteers to fill up new regiments now organizing will be +received and paid the bounty and advanced pay until the 22d day of this +month, and if not completed by that time the incomplete regiments will +be consolidated and superfluous officers mustered out. + +Third. Volunteers to fill up the old regiments will be received and paid +the bounty and advanced pay until the 1st day of September. + +Fourth. The draft for 300,000 militia called for by the President will +be made on Wednesday, the 3d day of September, between the hours of 9 +a.m. and 5 p.m., and continue from day to day between the same hours +until completed. + +Fifth. If the old regiments should not be filled up by volunteers before +the 1st day of September, a special draft will be ordered for the +deficiency. + +Sixth. The exigencies of the service require that officers now in the +field should remain with their commands, and no officer now in the field +in the regular or volunteer service will under any circumstances be +detailed to accept a new command. + +By order of the President: + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +SPECIAL ORDERS, No. 218. + +HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, September 2, 1862_. + + * * * * * + +By direction of the President, all the clerks and employees of the civil +Departments and all the employees on the public buildings in Washington +will be immediately organized into companies, under the direction of +Brigadier-General Wadsworth, and will be armed and supplied with +ammunition, for the defense of the capital. + +By command of Major-General Halleck: + +F.D. TOWNSEND, + +_Assistant Adjutant-General_. + + + + +EXECUTIVE ORDER ESTABLISHING A PROVISIONAL COURT IN LOUISIANA. + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington City, October 20, 1862_. + +The insurrection which has for some time prevailed in several of the +States of this Union, including Louisiana, having temporarily subverted +and swept away the civil institutions of that State, including the +judiciary and the judicial authorities of the Union, so that it has +become necessary to hold the State in military occupation, and it being +indispensably necessary that there shall be some judicial tribunal +existing there capable of administering justice, I have therefore +thought it proper to appoint, and I do hereby constitute, a provisional +court, which shall be a court of record, for the State of Louisiana; and +I do hereby appoint Charles A. Peabody, of New York, to be a provisional +judge to hold said court, with authority to hear, try, and determine all +causes, civil and criminal, including causes in law, equity, revenue, +and admiralty, and particularly all such powers and jurisdiction as +belong to the district and circuit courts of the United States, +conforming his proceedings so far as possible to the course of +proceedings and practice which has been customary in the courts of the +United States and Louisiana, his judgment to be final and conclusive. +And I do hereby authorize and empower the said judge to make and +establish such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the +exercise of his jurisdiction, and empower the said judge to appoint a +prosecuting attorney, marshal, and clerk of the said court, who shall +perform the functions of attorney, marshal, and clerk according to such +proceedings and practice as before mentioned and such rules and +regulations as may be made and established by said judge. These +appointments are to continue during the pleasure of the President, not +extending beyond the military occupation of the city of New Orleans or +the restoration of the civil authority in that city and in the State of +Louisiana. These officers shall be paid, out of the contingent fund of +the War Department, compensation as follows: The judge at the rate of +$3,500 per annum; the prosecuting attorney, including the fees, at the +rate of $3,000 per annum; the marshal, including the fees, at the rate +of $3,000 per annum; and the clerk, including the fees, at the rate of +$2,500 per annum; such compensations to be certified by the Secretary of +War. A copy of this order, certified by the Secretary of War and +delivered to such judge, shall be deemed and held to be a sufficient +commission. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN, + +_President of the United States_. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, October 29, 1862_. + +Two associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States having +been appointed since the last adjournment of said court, and +consequently no allotment of the members of said court to the several +circuits having been made by them, according to the fifth section of the +act of Congress entitled "An act to amend the judicial system of the +United States," approved April 29, 1802, I, Abraham Lincoln, President +of the United States, in virtue of said section, do make an allotment of +the justices of said court to the circuits now existing by law, as +follows: + +For the first circuit: Nathan Clifford, associate justice. + +For the second circuit: Samuel Nelson, associate justice. + +For the third circuit: Robert C. Grier, associate justice. + +For the fourth circuit: Roger B. Taney, Chief Justice. + +For the fifth circuit: James M. Wayne, associate justice. + +For the sixth circuit: John Catron, associate justice. + +For the seventh circuit: Noah H. Swayne, associate justice. + +For the eighth circuit: David Davis, associate justice. + +For the ninth circuit: Samuel F. Miller, associate justice. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, November 5, 1862_. + +By direction of the President, it is ordered that Major-General +McClellan be relieved from the command of the Army of the Potomac, and +that Major-General Burnside take the command of that army; also that +Major-General Hunter take command of the corps in said army which is now +commanded by General Burnside; that Major-General Fitz John Porter be +relieved from the command of the corps he now commands in said army, and +that Major-General Hooker take command of said corps. + +The General in Chief is authorized, in [his] discretion, to issue an +order substantially as the above forthwith, or so soon as he may deem +proper. + +A. LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _November 7, 1862_. + +_Ordered_, That Brigadier-General Ellet report to Rear-Admiral Porter +for instructions, and act under his direction until otherwise ordered by +the War Department. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, November 12, 1862_. + +_Ordered_, first. That clearances issued by the Treasury Department for +vessels or merchandise bound for the port of Norfolk for the military +necessities of the department, certified by the military commandant at +Fort Monroe, shall be allowed to enter said port. + +Second. That vessels and domestic produce from Norfolk, permitted by the +military commandant at Fort Monroe for the military purposes of his +command, shall on his permit be allowed to pass from said port to their +destination in any port not blockaded by the United States. + +A. LINCOLN. + + + +[From the Daily National Intelligencer, November 25, 1862.] + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_November 13, 1862_. + +_Ordered by the President of the United States_, That the +Attorney-General be charged with the superintendence and direction of +all proceedings to be had under the act of Congress of the 17th of July, +1862, entitled "An act to suppress insurrection, to punish treason and +rebellion, to seize and confiscate the property of rebels, and for other +purposes," in so far as may concern the seizure, prosecution, and +condemnation of the estate, property, and effects of rebels and +traitors, as mentioned and provided for in the fifth, sixth, and seventh +sections of the said act of Congress. And the Attorney-General is +authorized and required to give to the attorneys and marshals of the +United States such instructions and directions as he may find needful +and convenient touching all such seizures, prosecutions, and +condemnations, and, moreover, to authorize all such attorneys and +marshals, whenever there may be reasonable ground to fear any forcible +resistance to them in the discharge of their respective duties in this +behalf, to call upon any military officer in command of the forces of +the United States to give to them such aid, protection, and support as +may be necessary to enable them safely and efficiently to discharge +their respective duties; and all such commanding officers are required +promptly to obey such call, and to render the necessary service as far +as may be in their power consistently with their other duties. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + EDWARD BATES, + _Attorney-General_. + + + +GENERAL ORDER RESPECTING THE OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH DAY IN THE ARMY +AND NAVY. + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, November 15, 1862_. + +The President, Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, desires and +enjoins the orderly observance of the Sabbath by the officers and men in +the military and naval service. The importance for man and beast of the +prescribed weekly rest, the sacred rights of Christian soldiers and +sailors, a becoming deference to the best sentiment of a Christian +people, and a due regard for the divine will demand that Sunday labor in +the Army and Navy be reduced to the measure of strict necessity. + +The discipline and character of the national forces should not suffer +nor the cause they defend be imperiled by the profanation of the day or +name of the Most High. "At this time of public distress," adopting the +words of Washington in 1776, "men may find enough to do in the service +of God and their country without abandoning themselves to vice and +immorality." The first general order issued by the Father of his Country +after the Declaration of Independence indicates the spirit in which our +institutions were founded and should ever be defended: + +_The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor +to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier defending the dearest +rights and liberties of his country_. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington City, November 21, 1862_. + +_Ordered_, That no arms, ammunition, or munitions of war be cleared or +allowed to be exported from the United States until further order; that +any clearances for arms, ammunition, or munitions of war issued +heretofore by the Treasury Department be vacated if the articles have +not passed without the United States, and the articles stopped; that the +Secretary of War hold possession of the arms, etc., recently seized by +his order at Rouses Point, bound for Canada. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + +SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. + +DECEMBER 1, 1862. + +_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +Since your last annual assembling another year of health and bountiful +harvests has passed, and while it has not pleased the Almighty to bless +us with a return of peace, we can but press on, guided by the best light +He gives us, trusting that in His own good time and wise way all will +yet be well. + +The correspondence touching foreign affairs which has taken place during +the last year is herewith submitted, in virtual compliance with a +request to that effect made by the House of Representatives near the +close of the last session of Congress. + +If the condition of our relations with other nations is less gratifying +than it has usually been at former periods, it is certainly more +satisfactory than a nation so unhappily distracted as we are might +reasonably have apprehended. In the month of June last there were some +grounds to expect that the maritime powers which at the beginning of our +domestic difficulties so unwisely and unnecessarily, as we think, +recognized the insurgents as a belligerent would soon recede from that +position, which has proved only less injurious to themselves than to our +own country. But the temporary reverses which afterwards befell the +national arms, and which were exaggerated by our own disloyal citizens +abroad, have hitherto delayed that act of simple justice. + +The civil war, which has so radically changed for the moment the +occupations and habits of the American people, has necessarily disturbed +the social condition and affected very deeply the prosperity of the +nations with which we have carried on a commerce that has been steadily +increasing throughout a period of half a century. It has at the same +time excited political ambitions and apprehensions which have produced a +profound agitation throughout the civilized world. In this unusual +agitation we have forborne from taking part in any controversy between +foreign states and between parties or factions in such states. We have +attempted no propagandism and acknowledged no revolution. But we have +left to every nation the exclusive conduct and management of its own +affairs. Our struggle has been, of course, contemplated by foreign +nations with reference less to its own merits than to its supposed and +often exaggerated effects and consequences resulting to those nations +themselves. Nevertheless, complaint on the part of this Government, even +if it were just, would certainly be unwise. + +The treaty with Great Britain for the suppression of the slave trade has +been put into operation with a good prospect of complete success. It is +an occasion of special pleasure to acknowledge that the execution of it +on the part of Her Majesty's Government has been marked with a jealous +respect for the authority of the United States and the rights of their +moral and loyal citizens. + +The convention with Hanover for the abolition of the Stade dues has been +carried into full effect under the act of Congress for that purpose. + +A blockade of 3,000 miles of seacoast could not be established and +vigorously enforced in a season of great commercial activity like the +present without committing occasional mistakes and inflicting +unintentional injuries upon foreign nations and their subjects. + +A civil war occurring in a country where foreigners reside and carry on +trade under treaty stipulations is necessarily fruitful of complaints of +the violation of neutral rights. All such collisions tend to excite +misapprehensions, and possibly to produce mutual reclamations between +nations which have a common interest in preserving peace and friendship. +In clear cases of these kinds I have so far as possible heard and +redressed complaints which have been presented by friendly powers. There +is still, however, a large and an augmenting number of doubtful cases +upon which the Government is unable to agree with the governments whose +protection is demanded by the claimants. There are, moreover, many cases +in which the United States or their citizens suffer wrongs from the +naval or military authorities of foreign nations which the governments +of those states are not at once prepared to redress. I have proposed to +some of the foreign states thus interested mutual conventions to examine +and adjust such complaints. This proposition has been made especially to +Great Britain, to France, to Spain, and to Prussia. In each case it has +been kindly received, but has not yet been formally adopted. + +I deem it my duty to recommend an appropriation in behalf of the owners +of the Norwegian bark _Admiral P. Tordenskiold_, which vessel was in +May, 1861, prevented by the commander of the blockading force off +Charleston from leaving that port with cargo, notwithstanding a similar +privilege had shortly before been granted to an English vessel. I have +directed the Secretary of State to cause the papers in the case to be +communicated to the proper committees. + +Applications have been made to me by many free Americans of African +descent to favor their emigration, with a view to such colonization as +was contemplated in recent acts of Congress. Other parties, at home and +abroad--some from interested motives, others upon patriotic +considerations, and still others influenced by philanthropic +sentiments--have suggested similar measures, while, on the other hand, +several of the Spanish American Republics have protested against the +sending of such colonies to their respective territories. Under these +circumstances I have declined to move any such colony to any state +without first obtaining the consent of its government, with an agreement +on its part to receive and protect such emigrants in all the rights of +freemen; and I have at the same time offered to the several States +situated within the Tropics, or having colonies there, to negotiate with +them, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, to favor the +voluntary emigration of persons of that class to their respective +territories, upon conditions which shall be equal, just, and humane. +Liberia and Hayti are as yet the only countries to which colonists of +African descent from here could go with certainty of being received and +adopted as citizens; and I regret to say such persons contemplating +colonization do not seem so willing to migrate to those countries as to +some others, nor so willing as I think their interest demands. I +believe, however, opinion among them in this respect is improving, and +that ere long there will be an augmented and considerable migration to +both these countries from the United States. + +The new commercial treaty between the United States and the Sultan of +Turkey has been carried into execution. + +A commercial and consular treaty has been negotiated, subject to the +Senate's consent, with Liberia, and a similar negotiation is now pending +with the Republic of Hayti. A considerable improvement of the national +commerce is expected to result from these measures. + +Our relations with Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Russia, +Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Rome, and the +other European States remain undisturbed. Very favorable relations also +continue to be maintained with Turkey, Morocco, China, and Japan. + +During the last year there has not only been no change of our previous +relations with the independent States of our own continent, but more +friendly sentiments than have heretofore existed are believed to be +entertained by these neighbors, whose safety and progress are so +intimately connected with our own. This statement especially applies to +Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, Peru, and Chile. + +The commission under the convention with the Republic of New Granada +closed its session without having audited and passed upon all the claims +which were submitted to it. A proposition is pending to revive the +convention, that it may be able to do more complete justice. The joint +commission between the United States and the Republic of Costa Rica has +completed its labors and submitted its report. + +I have favored the project for connecting the United States with Europe +by an Atlantic telegraph, and a similar project to extend the telegraph +from San Francisco to connect by a Pacific telegraph with the line which +is being extended across the Russian Empire. + +The Territories of the United States, with unimportant exceptions, have +remained undisturbed by the civil war; and they are exhibiting such +evidence of prosperity as justifies an expectation that some of them +will soon be in a condition to be organized as States and be +constitutionally admitted into the Federal Union. + +The immense mineral resources of some of those Territories ought to be +developed as rapidly as possible. Every step in that direction would +have a tendency to improve the revenues of the Government and diminish +the burdens of the people. It is worthy of your serious consideration +whether some extraordinary measures to promote that end can not be +adopted. The means which suggests itself as most likely to be effective +is a scientific exploration of the mineral regions in those Territories +with a view to the publication of its results at home and in foreign +countries--results which can not fail to be auspicious. + +The condition of the finances will claim your most diligent +consideration. The vast expenditures incident to the military and naval +operations required for the suppression of the rebellion have hitherto +been met with a promptitude and certainty unusual in similar +circumstances, and the public credit has been fully maintained. The +continuance of the war, however, and the increased disbursements made +necessary by the augmented forces now in the field demand your best +reflections as to the best modes of providing the necessary revenue +without injury to business and with the least possible burdens upon +labor. + +The suspension of specie payments by the banks soon after the +commencement of your last session made large issues of United States +notes unavoidable. In no other way could the payment of the troops and +the satisfaction of other just demands be so economically or so well +provided for. The judicious legislation of Congress, securing the +receivability of these notes for loans and internal duties and making +them a legal tender for other debts, has made them an universal +currency, and has satisfied, partially at least, and for the time, the +long-felt want of an uniform circulating medium, saving thereby to the +people immense sums in discounts and exchanges. + +A return to specie payments, however, at the earliest period compatible +with due regard to all interests concerned should ever be kept in view. +Fluctuations in the value of currency are always injurious, and to +reduce these fluctuations to the lowest possible point will always be a +leading purpose in wise legislation. Convertibility, prompt and certain +convertibility, into coin is generally acknowledged to be the best and +surest safeguard against them; and it is extremely doubtful whether a +circulation of United States notes payable in coin and sufficiently +large for the wants of the people can be permanently, usefully, and +safely maintained. + +Is there, then, any other mode in which the necessary provision for the +public wants can be made and the great advantages of a safe and uniform +currency secured? + +I know of none which promises so certain results and is at the same time +so unobjectionable as the organization of banking associations, under a +general act of Congress, well guarded in its provisions. To such +associations the Government might furnish circulating notes, on the +security of United States bonds deposited in the Treasury. These notes, +prepared under the supervision of proper officers, being uniform in +appearance and security and convertible always into coin, would at once +protect labor against the evils of a vicious currency and facilitate +commerce by cheap and safe exchanges. + +A moderate reservation from the interest on the bonds would compensate +the United States for the preparation and distribution of the notes and +a general supervision of the system, and would lighten the burden of +that part of the public debt employed as securities. The public credit, +moreover, would be greatly improved and the negotiation of new loans +greatly facilitated by the steady market demand for Government bonds +which the adoption of the proposed system would create. + +It is an additional recommendation of the measure, of considerable +weight, in my judgment, that it would reconcile as far as possible all +existing interests by the opportunity offered to existing institutions +to reorganize under the act, substituting only the secured uniform +national circulation for the local and various circulation, secured and +unsecured, now issued by them. + +The receipts into the Treasury from all sources, including loans and +balance from the preceding year, for the fiscal year ending on the 30th +June, 1862, were $583,885,247.06, of which sum $49,056,397.62 were +derived from customs; $1,795,331.73 from the direct tax; from public +lands, $152,203.77; from miscellaneous sources, $931,787.64; from loans +in all forms, $529,692,460.50. The remainder, $2,257,065.80, was the +balance from last year. + +The disbursements during the same period were: For Congressional, +executive, and judicial purposes, $5,939,009.29; for foreign +intercourse, $1,339,710.35; for miscellaneous expenses, including the +mints, loans, Post-Office deficiencies, collection of revenue, and other +like charges, $14,129,771.50; for expenses under the Interior +Department, $3,102,985.52; under the War Department, $394,368,407.36; +under the Navy Department, $42,674,569.69; for interest on public debt, +$13,190,324.45; and for payment of public debt, including reimbursement +of temporary loan and redemptions, $96,096,922.09; making an aggregate +of $570,841,700.25, and leaving a balance in the Treasury on the 1st day +of July, 1862, of $13,043,546.81. + +It should be observed that the sum of $96,096,922.09, expended for +reimbursements and redemption of public debt, being included also in the +loans made, may be properly deducted both from receipts and +expenditures, leaving the actual receipts for the year $487,788,324.97, +and the expenditures $474,744,778.16. + +Other information on the subject of the finances will be found in the +report of the Secretary of the Treasury, to whose statements and views I +invite your most candid and considerate attention. + +The reports of the Secretaries of War and of the Navy are herewith +transmitted. These reports, though lengthy, are scarcely more than brief +abstracts of the very numerous and extensive transactions and operations +conducted through those Departments. Nor could I give a summary of them +here upon any principle which would admit of its being much shorter than +the reports themselves. I therefore content myself with laying the +reports before you and asking your attention to them. + +It gives me pleasure to report a decided improvement in the financial +condition of the Post-Office Department as compared with several +preceding years. The receipts for the fiscal year 1861 amounted to +$8,349,296.40, which embraced the revenue from all the States of the +Union for three quarters of that year. Notwithstanding the cessation of +revenue from the so-called seceded States during the last fiscal year, +the increase of the correspondence of the loyal States has been +sufficient to produce a revenue during the same year of $8,299,820.90, +being only $50,000 less than was derived from all the States of the +Union during the previous year. The expenditures show a still more +favorable result. The amount expended in 1861 was $13,606,759.11. For +the last year the amount has been reduced to $11,125,364.13, showing a +decrease of about $2,481,000 in the expenditures as compared with the +preceding year, and about $3,750,000 as compared with the fiscal year +1860. The deficiency in the Department for the previous year was +$4,551,966.98. For the last fiscal year it was reduced to $2,112,814.57. +These favorable results are in part owing to the cessation of mail +service in the insurrectionary States and in part to a careful review of +all expenditures in that Department in the interest of economy. The +efficiency of the postal service, it is believed, has also been much +improved. The Postmaster-General has also opened a correspondence +through the Department of State with foreign governments proposing a +convention of postal representatives for the purpose of simplifying the +rates of foreign postage and to expedite the foreign mails. This +proposition, equally important to our adopted citizens and to the +commercial interests of this country, has been favorably entertained and +agreed to by all the governments from whom replies have been received. + +I ask the attention of Congress to the suggestions of the +Postmaster-General in his report respecting the further legislation +required, in his opinion, for the benefit of the postal service. + +The Secretary of the Interior reports as follows in regard to the public +lands: + + The public lands have ceased to be a source of revenue. From the 1st + July, 1861, to the 30th September, 1862, the entire cash receipts from + the sale of lands were $137,476.26--a sum much less than the expenses of + our land system during the same period. The homestead law, which will + take effect on the 1st of January next, offers such inducements to + settlers that sales for cash can not be expected to an extent sufficient + to meet the expenses of the General Land Office and the cost of + surveying and bringing the land into market. + + +The discrepancy between the sum here stated as arising from the sales of +the public lands and the sum derived from the same source as reported +from the Treasury Department arises, as I understand, from the fact that +the periods of time, though apparently, were not really coincident at +the beginning point, the Treasury report including a considerable sum +now which had previously been reported from the Interior, sufficiently +large to greatly overreach the sum derived from the three months now +reported upon by the Interior and not by the Treasury. + +The Indian tribes upon our frontiers have during the past year +manifested a spirit of insubordination, and at several points have +engaged in open hostilities against the white settlements in their +vicinity. The tribes occupying the Indian country south of Kansas +renounced their allegiance to the United States and entered into +treaties with the insurgents. Those who remained loyal to the United +States were driven from the country. The chief of the Cherokees has +visited this city for the purpose of restoring the former relations of +the tribe with the United States. He alleges that they were constrained +by superior force to enter into treaties with the insurgents, and that +the United States neglected to furnish the protection which their treaty +stipulations required. + +In the month of August last the Sioux Indians in Minnesota attacked the +settlements in their vicinity with extreme ferocity, killing +indiscriminately men, women, and children. This attack was wholly +unexpected, and therefore no means of defense had been provided. It is +estimated that not less than 800 persons were killed by the Indians, and +a large amount of property was destroyed. How this outbreak was induced +is not definitely known, and suspicions, which may be unjust, need not +to be stated. Information was received by the Indian Bureau from +different sources about the time hostilities were commenced that a +simultaneous attack was to be made upon the white settlements by all the +tribes between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. The State +of Minnesota has suffered great injury from this Indian war. A large +portion of her territory has been depopulated, and a severe loss has +been sustained by the destruction of property. The people of that State +manifest much anxiety for the removal of the tribes beyond the limits of +the State as a guaranty against future hostilities. The Commissioner of +Indian Affairs wall furnish full details. I submit for your especial +consideration whether our Indian system shall not be remodeled. Many +wise and good men have impressed me with the belief that this can be +profitably done. + +I submit a statement of the proceedings of commissioners, which shows +the progress that has been made in the enterprise of constructing the +Pacific Railroad. And this suggests the earliest completion of this +road, and also the favorable action of Congress upon the projects now +pending before them for enlarging the capacities of the great canals in +New York and Illinois, as being of vital and rapidly increasing +importance to the whole nation, and especially to the vast interior +region hereinafter to be noticed at some greater length. I purpose +having prepared and laid before you at an early day some interesting and +valuable statistical information upon this subject. The military and +commercial importance of enlarging the Illinois and Michigan Canal and +improving the Illinois River is presented in the report of Colonel +Webster to the Secretary of War, and now transmitted to Congress. I +respectfully ask attention to it. + +To carry out the provisions of the act of Congress of the 15th of May +last, I have caused the Department of Agriculture of the United States +to be organized. + +The Commissioner informs me that within the period of a few months this +Department has established an extensive system of correspondence and +exchanges, both at home and abroad, which promises to effect highly +beneficial results in the development of a correct knowledge of recent +improvements in agriculture, in the introduction of new products, and in +the collection of the agricultural statistics of the different States. + +Also, that it will soon be prepared to distribute largely seeds, +cereals, plants, and cuttings, and has already published and liberally +diffused much valuable information in anticipation of a more elaborate +report, which will in due time be furnished, embracing some valuable +tests in chemical science now in progress in the laboratory. + +The creation of this Department was for the more immediate benefit of a +large class of our most valuable citizens, and I trust that the liberal +basis upon which it has been organized will not only meet your +approbation, but that it will realize at no distant day all the fondest +anticipations of its most sanguine friends and become the fruitful +source of advantage to all our people. + +On the 22d day of September last a proclamation was issued by the +Executive, a copy of which is herewith submitted. + +In accordance with the purpose expressed in the second paragraph of that +paper, I now respectfully recall your attention to what may be called +"compensated emancipation." + +A nation may be said to consist of its territory, its people, and its +laws. The territory is the only part which is of certain durability. +"One generation passeth away and another generation cometh, but the +earth abideth forever." It is of the first importance to duly consider +and estimate this ever-enduring part. That portion of the earth's +surface which is owned and inhabited by the people of the United States +is well adapted to be the home of one national family, and it is not +well adapted for two or more. Its vast extent and its variety of climate +and productions are of advantage in this age for one people, whatever +they might have been in former ages. Steam, telegraphs, and intelligence +have brought these to be an advantageous combination for one united +people. + +In the inaugural address I briefly pointed out the total inadequacy of +disunion as a remedy for the differences between the people of the two +sections. I did so in language which I can not improve, and which, +therefore, I beg to repeat: + + One section of our country believes slavery is _right_ and ought to be + extended, while the other believes it is _wrong_ and ought not to be + extended. This is the only substantial dispute. The fugitive-slave + clause of the Constitution and the law for the suppression of the + foreign slave trade are each as well enforced, perhaps, as any law can + ever be in a community where the moral sense of the people imperfectly + supports the law itself. The great body of the people abide by the dry + legal obligation in both cases, and a few break over in each. This, I + think, can not be perfectly cured, and it would be worse in both cases + _after_ the separation of the sections than before. The foreign slave + trade, now imperfectly suppressed, would be ultimately revived without + restriction in one section, while fugitive slaves, now only partially + surrendered, would not be surrendered at all by the other. + + Physically speaking, we can not separate. We can not remove our + respective sections from each other nor build an impassable wall between + them. A husband and wife may be divorced and go out of the presence and + beyond the reach of each other, but the different parts of our country + can not do this. They can not but remain face to face, and intercourse, + either amicable or hostile, must continue between them. Is it possible, + then, to make that intercourse more advantageous or more satisfactory + _after_ separation than _before_? Can aliens make treaties easier than + friends can make laws? Can treaties be more faithfully enforced between + aliens than laws can among friends? Suppose you go to war, you can not + fight always; and when, after much loss on both sides and no gain on + either, you cease fighting, the identical old questions, as to terms of + intercourse, are again upon you. + + +There is no line, straight or crooked, suitable for a national boundary +upon which to divide. Trace through, from east to west, upon the line +between the free and slave country, and we shall find a little more than +one-third of its length are rivers, easy to be crossed, and populated, +or soon to be populated, thickly upon both sides; while nearly all its +remaining length are merely surveyors' lines, over which people may walk +back and forth without any consciousness of their presence. No part of +this line can be made any more difficult to pass by writing it down on +paper or parchment as a national boundary. The fact of separation, if it +comes, gives up on the part of the seceding section the fugitive-slave +clause, along with all other constitutional obligations upon the section +seceded from, while I should expect no treaty stipulation would ever be +made to take its place. + +But there is another difficulty. The great interior region bounded east +by the Alleghanies, north by the British dominions, west by the Rocky +Mountains, and south by the line along which the culture of corn and +cotton meets, and which includes part of Virginia, part of Tennessee, +all of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, +Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, and the Territories of Dakota, Nebraska, and +part of Colorado, already has above 10,000,000 people, and will have +50,000,000 within fifty years if not prevented by any political folly or +mistake. It contains more than one-third of the country owned by the +United States--certainly more than 1,000,000 square miles. Once half as +populous as Massachusetts already is, it would have more than 75,000,000 +people. A glance at the map shows that, territorially speaking, it is +the great body of the Republic. The other parts are but marginal borders +to it, the magnificent region sloping west from the Rocky Mountains to +the Pacific being the deepest and also the richest in undeveloped +resources. In the production of provisions, grains, grasses, and all +which proceed from them this great interior region is naturally one of +the most important in the world. Ascertain from the statistics the small +proportion of the region which has as yet been brought into cultivation, +and also the large and rapidly increasing amount of its products, and we +shall be overwhelmed with the magnitude of the prospect presented. And +yet this region has no seacoast--touches no ocean anywhere. As part of +one nation, its people now find, and may forever find, their way to +Europe by New York, to South America and Africa by New Orleans, and to +Asia by San Francisco; but separate our common country into two nations, +as designed by the present rebellion, and every man of this great +interior region is thereby cut off from some one or more of these +outlets, not perhaps by a physical barrier, but by embarrassing and +onerous trade regulations. + +And this is true, _wherever_ a dividing or boundary line may be fixed. +Place it between the now free and slave country, or place it south of +Kentucky or north of Ohio, and still the truth remains that none south +of it can trade to any port or place north of it, and none north of it +can trade to any port or place south of it, except upon terms dictated +by a government foreign to them. These outlets, east, west, and south, +are indispensable to the well-being of the people inhabiting and to +inhabit this vast interior region. _Which_ of the three may be the best +is no proper question. All are better than either, and all of right +belong to that people and to their successors forever. True to +themselves, they will not ask _where_ a line of separation shall be, but +will vow rather that there shall be no such line. Nor are the marginal +regions less interested in these communications to and through them to +the great outside world. They, too, and each of them, must have access +to this Egypt of the West without paying toll at the crossing of any +national boundary. + +Our national strife springs not from our permanent part; not from the +land we inhabit; not from our national homestead. There is no possible +severing of this but would multiply and not mitigate evils among us. In +all its adaptations and aptitudes it demands union and abhors +separation. In fact, it would ere long force reunion, however much of +blood and treasure the separation might have cost. + +Our strife pertains to ourselves--to the passing generations of men--and +it can without convulsion be hushed forever with the passing of one +generation. + +In this view I recommend the adoption of the following resolution and +articles amendatory to the Constitution of the United States: + +_Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United +States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of both Houses +concurring)_, That the following articles be proposed to the +legislatures (or conventions) of the several States as amendments to +the Constitution of the United States, all or any of which articles, +when ratified by three-fourths of the said legislatures (or conventions), +to be valid as part or parts of the said Constitution, viz: + + ART. --. Every State wherein slavery now exists which shall abolish + the same therein at any time or times before the 1st day of January, + A.D. 1900, shall receive compensation from the United States as + follows, to wit: + + The President of the United States shall deliver to every such State + bonds of the United States bearing interest at the rate of ---- per cent + per annum to an amount equal to the aggregate sum of ---- for each slave + shown to have been therein by the Eighth Census of the United States, + said bonds to be delivered to such State by installments or in one + parcel at the completion of the abolishment, accordingly as the same + shall have been gradual or at one time within such State; and interest + shall begin to run upon any such bond only from the proper time of its + delivery as aforesaid. Any State having received bonds as aforesaid and + afterwards reintroducing or tolerating slavery therein shall refund to + the United States the bonds so received, or the value thereof, and all + interest paid thereon. + + ART. --. All slaves who shall have enjoyed actual freedom by the chances + of the war at any time before the end of the rebellion shall be forever + free; but all owners of such who shall not have been disloyal shall + be compensated for them at the same rates as is provided for States + adopting abolishment of slavery, but in such way that no slave shall + be twice accounted for. + + ART. --. Congress may appropriate money and otherwise provide for + colonizing free colored persons with their own consent at any place + or places without the United States. + + +I beg indulgence to discuss these proposed articles at some length. +Without slavery the rebellion could never have existed; without slavery +it could not continue. + +Among the friends of the Union there is great diversity of sentiment and +of policy in regard to slavery and the African race amongst us. Some +would perpetuate slavery; some would abolish it suddenly and without +compensation; some would abolish it gradually and with compensation; +some would remove the freed people from us, and some would retain them +with us; and there are yet other minor diversities. Because of these +diversities we waste much strength in struggles among ourselves. By +mutual concession we should harmonize and act together. This would be +compromise, but it would be compromise among the friends and not with +the enemies of the Union. These articles are intended to embody a plan +of such mutual concessions. If the plan shall be adopted, it is assumed +that emancipation will follow, at least in several of the States. + +As to the first article, the main points are, first, the emancipation; +secondly, the length of time for consummating it (thirty-seven years); +and, thirdly, the compensation. + +The emancipation will be unsatisfactory to the advocates of perpetual +slavery, but the length of time should greatly mitigate their +dissatisfaction. The time spares both races from the evils of sudden +derangement-- in fact, from the necessity of any derangement--while most +of those whose habitual course of thought will be disturbed by the +measure will have passed away before its consummation. They will never +see it. Another class will hail the prospect of emancipation, but will +deprecate the length of time. They will feel that it gives too little to +the now living slaves. But it really gives them much. It saves them from +the vagrant destitution which must largely attend immediate emancipation +in localities where their numbers are very great, and it gives the +inspiring assurance that their posterity shall be free forever. The plan +leaves to each State choosing to act under it to abolish slavery now or +at the end of the century, or at any intermediate time, or by degrees +extending over the whole or any part of the period, and it obliges no +two States to proceed alike. It also provides for compensation, and +generally the mode of making it. This, it would seem, must further +mitigate the dissatisfaction of those who favor perpetual slavery, and +especially of those who are to receive the compensation. Doubtless some +of those who are to pay and not to receive will object. Yet the measure +is both just and economical. In a certain sense the liberation of slaves +is the destruction of property--property acquired by descent or by +purchase, the same as any other property. It is no less true for having +been often said that the people of the South are not more responsible +for the original introduction of this property than are the people of +the North; and when it is remembered how unhesitatingly we all use +cotton and sugar and share the profits of dealing in them, it may not be +quite safe to say that the South has been more responsible than the +North for its continuance. If, then, for a common object this property +is to be sacrificed, is it not just that it be done at a common charge? + +And if with less money, or money more easily paid, we can preserve the +benefits of the Union by this means than we can by the war alone, is it +not also economical to do it? Let us consider it, then. Let us ascertain +the sum we have expended in the war since compensated emancipation was +proposed last March, and consider whether if that measure had been +promptly accepted by even some of the slave States the same sum would +not have done more to close the war than has been otherwise done. If so, +the measure would save money, and in that view would be a prudent and +economical measure. Certainly it is not so easy to pay _something_ as it +is to pay _nothing_, but it is easier to pay a _large_ sum than it is to +pay a _larger_ one. And it is easier to pay any sum _when_ we are able +than it is to pay it _before_ we are able. The war requires large sums, +and requires them at once. The aggregate sum necessary for compensated +emancipation of course would be large. But it would require no ready +cash, nor the bonds even any faster than the emancipation progresses. +This might not, and probably would not, close before the end of the +thirty-seven years. At that time we shall probably have a hundred +millions of people to share the burden, instead of thirty-one millions +as now. And not only so, but the increase of our population may be +expected to continue for a long time after that period as rapidly as +before, because our territory will not have become full. I do not state +this inconsiderately. At the same ratio of increase which we have +maintained, on an average, from our first national census, in 1790, +until that of 1860, we should in 1900 have a population of 103,208,415. +And why may we not continue that ratio far beyond that period? Our +abundant room, our broad national homestead, is our ample resource. Were +our territory as limited as are the British Isles, very certainly our +population could not expand as stated. Instead of receiving the foreign +born as now, we should be compelled to send part of the native born +away. But such is not our condition. We have 2,963,000 square miles. +Europe has 3,800,000, with a population averaging 73-1/3 persons to the +square mile. Why may not our country at some time average as many? Is it +less fertile? Has it more waste surface by mountains, rivers, lakes, +deserts, or other causes? Is it inferior to Europe in any natural +advantage? If, then, we are at some time to be as populous as Europe, +how soon? As to when this _may_ be, we can judge by the past and the +present; as to when it _will_ be, if ever, depends much on whether we +maintain the Union. Several of our States are already above the average +of Europe--73-1/3 to the square mile. Massachusetts has 157; Rhode +Island, 133; Connecticut, 99; New York and New Jersey, each 80. Also two +other great States, Pennsylvania and Ohio, are not far below, the former +having 63 and the latter 59. The States already above the European +average, except New York, have increased in as rapid a ratio since +passing that point as ever before, while no one of them is equal to some +other parts of our country in natural capacity for sustaining a dense +population. + +Taking the nation in the aggregate, and we find its population and ratio +of increase for the several decennial periods to be as follows: + + Year. Population. Ratio of increase. + _Per cent._ + 1790 3,929,827 ..... + 1800 5,305,937 35.02 + 1810 7,239,814 36.45 + 1820 9,638,131 33.13 + 1830 12,866,020 33.49 + 1840 17,069,453 32.67 + 1850 23,191,876 35.87 + 1860 31,443,790 35.58 + + +This shows an average decennial increase of 34.60 per cent in population +through the seventy years from our first to our last census yet taken. +It is seen that the ratio of increase at no one of these seven periods +is either 2 per cent below or 2 per cent above the average, thus showing +how inflexible, and consequently how reliable, the law of increase in +our case is. Assuming that it will continue, it gives the following +results: + + Year. Population. + + 1870 42,323,341 + 1880 56,967,216 + 1890 76,677,872 + 1900 103,208,415 + 1910 138,918,526 + 1920 186,984,335 + 1930 251,680,914 + + +These figures show that our country _may_ be as populous as Europe now +is at some point between 1920 and 1930--say about 1925--our territory, +at 73-1/3 persons to the square mile, being of capacity to contain +217,186,000. + +And we _will_ reach this, too, if we do not ourselves relinquish the +chance by the folly and evils of disunion or by long and exhausting war +springing from the only great element of national discord among us. +While it can not be foreseen exactly how much one huge example of +secession, breeding lesser ones indefinitely, would retard population, +civilization, and prosperity, no one can doubt that the extent of it +would be very great and injurious. + +The proposed emancipation would shorten the war, perpetuate peace, +insure this increase of population, and proportionately the wealth of +the country. With these we should pay all the emancipation would cost, +together with our other debt, easier than we should pay our other debt +without it. If we had allowed our old national debt to run at 6 per cent +per annum, simple interest, from the end of our revolutionary struggle +until to-day, without paying anything on either principal or interest, +each man of us would owe less upon that debt now than each man owed upon +it then; and this because our increase of men through the whole period +has been greater than 6 per cent--has run faster than the interest upon +the debt. Thus time alone relieves a debtor nation, so long as its +population increases faster than unpaid interest accumulates on its +debt. + +This fact would be no excuse for delaying payment of what is justly due, +but it shows the great importance of time in this connection--the great +advantage of a policy by which we shall not have to pay until we number +100,000,000 what by a different policy we would have to pay now, when we +number but 31,000,000. In a word, it shows that a dollar will be much +harder to pay for the war than will be a dollar for emancipation on the +proposed plan. And then the latter will cost no blood, no precious life. +It will be a saving of both. + +As to the second article, I think it would be impracticable to return to +bondage the class of persons therein contemplated. Some of them +doubtless, in the property sense belong to loyal owners, and hence +provision is made in this article for compensating such. + +The third article relates to the future of the freed people. It does not +oblige, but merely authorizes Congress to aid in colonizing such as may +consent. This ought not to be regarded as objectionable on the one hand +or on the other, insomuch as it comes to nothing unless by the mutual +consent of the people to be deported and the American voters, through +their representatives in Congress. + +I can not make it better known than it already is that I strongly favor +colonization; and yet I wish to say there is an objection urged against +free colored persons remaining in the country which is largely +imaginary, if not sometimes malicious. + +It is insisted that their presence would injure and displace white labor +and white laborers. If there ever could be a proper time for mere catch +arguments, that time surely is not now. In times like the present men +should utter nothing for which they would not willingly be responsible +through time and in eternity. Is it true, then, that colored people can +displace any more white labor by being free than by remaining slaves? If +they stay in their old places, they jostle no white laborers; if they +leave their old places, they leave them open to white laborers. +Logically, there is neither more nor less of it. Emancipation, even +without deportation, would probably enhance the wages of white labor, +and very surely would not reduce them. Thus the customary amount of +labor would still have to be performed--the freed people would surely +not do more than their old proportion of it, and very probably for a +time would do less, leaving an increased part to white laborers, +bringing their labor into greater demand, and consequently enhancing the +wages of it. With deportation, even to a limited extent, enhanced wages +to white labor is mathematically certain. Labor is like any other +commodity in the market--increase the demand for it and you increase the +price of it. Reduce the supply of black labor by colonizing the black +laborer out of the country, and by precisely so much you increase the +demand for and wages of white labor. + +But it is dreaded that the freed people will swarm forth and cover the +whole land. Are they not already in the land? Will liberation make them +any more numerous? Equally distributed among the whites of the whole +country; and there would be but one colored to seven whites. Could the +one in any way greatly disturb the seven? There are many communities now +having more than one free colored person to seven whites and this +without any apparent consciousness of evil from it. The District of +Columbia and the States of Maryland and Delaware are all in this +condition. The District has more than one free colored to six whites, +and yet in its frequent petitions to Congress I believe it has never +presented the presence of free colored persons as one of its grievances. +But why should emancipation South send the free people North? People of +any color seldom run unless there be something to run from. _Heretofore_ +colored people to some extent have fled North from bondage, and _now_, +perhaps, from both bondage and destitution. But if gradual emancipation +and deportation be adopted, they will have neither to flee from. Their +old masters will give them wages at least until new laborers can be +procured, and the freedmen in turn will gladly give their labor for the +wages till new homes can be found for them in congenial climes and with +people of their own blood and race. This proposition can be trusted on +the mutual interests involved. And in any event, can not the North +decide for itself whether to receive them? + +Again, as practice proves more than theory in any case, has there been +any irruption of colored people northward because of the abolishment of +slavery in this District last spring? + +What I have said of the proportion of free colored persons to the whites +in the District is from the census of 1860, having no reference to +persons called contrabands nor to those made free by the act of Congress +abolishing slavery here. + +The plan consisting of these articles is recommended, not but that a +restoration of the national authority would be accepted without its +adoption. + +Nor will the war nor proceedings under the proclamation of September 22, +1862, be stayed because of the _recommendation_ of this plan. Its timely +_adoption_, I doubt not, would bring restoration, and thereby stay both. + +And notwithstanding this plan, the recommendation that Congress provide +by law for compensating any State which may adopt emancipation before +this plan shall have been acted upon is hereby earnestly renewed. Such +would be only an advance part of the plan, and the same arguments apply +to both. + +This plan is recommended as a means, not in exclusion of, but additional +to, all others for restoring and preserving the national authority +throughout the Union. The subject is presented exclusively in its +economical aspect. The plan would, I am confident, secure peace more +speedily and maintain it more permanently than can be done by force +alone, while all it would cost, considering amounts and manner of +payment and times of payment, would be easier paid than will be the +additional cost of the war if we rely solely upon force. It is much, +very much, that it would cost no blood at all. + +The plan is proposed as permanent constitutional law. It can not become +such without the concurrence of, first, two-thirds of Congress, and +afterwards three-fourths of the States. The requisite three-fourths of +the States will necessarily include seven of the slave States. Their +concurrence, if obtained, will give assurance of their severally +adopting emancipation at no very distant day upon the new constitutional +terms. This assurance would end the struggle now and save the Union +forever. + +I do not forget the gravity which should characterize a paper addressed +to the Congress of the nation by the Chief Magistrate of the nation, nor +do I forget that some of you are my seniors, nor that many of you have +more experience than I in the conduct of public affairs. Yet I trust +that in view of the great responsibility resting upon me you will +perceive no want of respect to yourselves in any undue earnestness I may +seem to display. + +Is it doubted, then, that the plan I propose, if adopted, would shorten +the war, and thus lessen its expenditure of money and of blood? Is it +doubted that it would restore the national authority and national +prosperity and perpetuate both indefinitely? Is it doubted that we +here--Congress and Executive--can secure its adoption? Will not the good +people respond to a united and earnest appeal from us? Can we, can they, +by any other means so certainly or so speedily assure these vital +objects? We can succeed only by concert. It is not "Can _any_ of us +_imagine_ better?" but "Can we _all_ do better?" Object whatsoever is +possible, still the question recurs, "Can we do better?" The dogmas of +the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is +piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our +case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall +ourselves, and then we shall save our country. + +Fellow-citizens, _we_ can not escape history. We of this Congress and +this Administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No +personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. +The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or +dishonor to the latest generation. We _say_ we are for the Union. The +world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. +The world knows we do know how to save it. We, even _we here_, hold the +power and bear the responsibility. In _giving_ freedom to the _slave_ we +_assure_ freedom to the _free_--honorable alike in what we give and what +we preserve. We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of +earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, +peaceful, generous, just--a way which if followed the world will forever +applaud and God must forever bless. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + + +SPECIAL MESSAGES. + + +WASHINGTON, _December 3, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +On the 3d of November, 1861, a collision took place off the coast of +Cuba between the United States war steamer _San Jacinto_ and the French +brig _Jules et Marie_, resulting in serious damage to the latter. The +obligation of this Government to make amends therefor could not be +questioned if the injury resulted from any fault on the part of the +_San Jacinto_. + +With a view to ascertain this, the subject was referred to a commission +of the United States and French naval officers at New York, with a naval +officer of Italy as an arbiter. The conclusion arrived at was that the +collision was occasioned by the failure of the _San Jacinto_ seasonably +to reverse her engine. It then became necessary to ascertain the amount +of indemnification due to the injured party. The United States +consul-general at Havana was consequently instructed to confer with the +consul of France on this point, and they have determined that the sum of +$9,500 is an equitable allowance under the circumstances. + +I recommend an appropriation of this sum for the benefit of the owners +of the _Jules et Marie_. + +A copy of the letter of Mr. Shufeldt, the consul-general of the United +States at Havana, to the Secretary of State on the subject is herewith +transmitted. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _December 8, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +In conformity to the law of July 16, 1862, I most cordially recommend +that Commander John L. Worden, United States Navy, receive a vote of +thanks of Congress for the eminent skill and gallantry exhibited by him +in the late remarkable battle between the United States ironclad steamer +_Monitor_, under his command, and the rebel ironclad steamer _Merrimac_, +in March last. + +The thanks of Congress for his services on the occasion referred to were +tendered by a resolution approved July 11, 1862, but the recommendation +is now specially made in order to comply with the requirements of the +ninth section of the act of July 16, 1862, which is in the following +words, viz: + +That any line officer of the Navy or Marine Corps may be advanced one +grade if upon recommendation of the President by name he receives the +thanks of Congress for highly distinguished conduct in conflict with the +enemy or for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _December 9, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the United States of +the 13th of March last, requesting a copy of the correspondence relative +to the attempted seizure of Mr. Fauchet by the commander of the _Africa_ +within the waters of the United States, I transmit a report from the +Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _December 10, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +In conformity to the law of July 16, 1862, I most cordially recommend +that Lieutenant-Commander George U. Morris, United States Navy, receive +a vote of thanks of Congress for the determined valor and heroism +displayed in his defense of the United States ship of war _Cumberland_, +temporarily under his command, in the naval engagement at Hampton Roads +on the 8th March, 1862, with the rebel ironclad steam frigate +_Merrimac_. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 10, 1862_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 17th +of July last, requesting the communication of correspondence relating to +the arrest of a part of the crew of the brig _Sumter_ at Tangier, +Morocco, I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of State. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In compliance with your resolution of December 5, 1862, requesting the +President "to furnish the Senate with all information in his possession +touching the late Indian barbarities in the State of Minnesota, and also +the evidence in his possession upon which some of the principal actors +and headmen were tried and condemned to death," I have the honor to +state that on receipt of said resolution I transmitted the same to the +Secretary of the Interior, accompanied by a note a copy of which is +herewith inclosed, marked A, and in response to which I received through +that Department a letter of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, a copy +of which is herewith inclosed, marked B. + +I further state that on the 8th day of November last I received a +long telegraphic dispatch from Major-General Pope, at St. Paul, Minn., +simply announcing the names of the persons sentenced to be hanged. I +immediately telegraphed to have transcripts of the records in all the +cases forwarded to me, which transcripts, however, did not reach me +until two or three days before the present meeting of Congress. Meantime +I received, through telegraphic dispatches and otherwise, appeals in +behalf of the condemned, appeals for their execution, and expressions +of opinion as to proper policy in regard to them and to the Indians +generally in that vicinity, none of which, as I understand, falls within +the scope of your inquiry. After the arrival of the transcripts of +records, but before I had sufficient opportunity to examine them, +I received a joint letter from one of the Senators and two of the +Representatives from Minnesota, which contains some statements of fact +not found in the records of the trials, and for which reason I herewith +transmit a copy, marked C. I also, for the same reason, inclose a +printed memorial of the citizens of St. Paul addressed to me and +forwarded with the letter aforesaid. + +Anxious to not act with so much clemency as to encourage another +outbreak on the one hand, nor with so much severity as to be real +cruelty on the other, I caused a careful examination of the records +of trials to be made, in view of first ordering the execution of +such as had been proved guilty of violating females. Contrary to my +expectations, only two of this class were found. I then directed a +further examination, and a classification of all who were proven to have +participated in _massacres_, as distinguished from participation in +_battles_. This class numbered forty, and included the two convicted +of female violation. One of the number is strongly recommended by the +commission which tried them for commutation to ten years' imprisonment. +I have ordered the other thirty-nine to be executed on Friday, the 19th +instant. The order was dispatched from here on Monday, the 8th instant, +by a messenger to General Sibley, and a copy of which order is herewith +transmitted, marked D. + +An abstract of the evidence as to the forty is herewith inclosed, +marked E. + +To avoid the immense amount of copying, I lay before the Senate the +original transcripts of the records of trials as received by me. + +This is as full and complete a response to the resolution as it is in my +power to make. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +DECEMBER 11, 1862. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 11, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to +ratification, a treaty between the United States and the Republic of +Liberia, signed at London by the plenipotentiaries of the parties on the +21st of October last. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +DECEMBER 12, 1862. + +_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I have in my possession three valuable swords, formerly the property of +General David E. Twiggs, which I now place at the disposal of Congress. +They are forwarded to me from New Orleans by Major-General Benjamin F. +Butler. If they or any of them shall be by Congress disposed of in +reward or compliment of military service, I think General Butler is +entitled to the first consideration. A copy of the General's letter to +me accompanying the swords is herewith transmitted. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _December 13, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In the list of nominations transmitted to the Senate under date of the +1st instant Captain William M. Glendy, United States Navy, was included +therein for promotion to the grade of commodore. + +Since submitting this nomination it appears that this officer was +ineligible for the advancement to which he had been nominated in +consequence of his age, being 62 on the 23d of May, 1862, and under the +law of 21st December, 1861, should, had this fact been known to the Navy +Department, have been transferred to the retired list on the day when he +completed sixty-two years. + +The nomination of Captain Glendy is accordingly withdrawn. + +It is due to this officer to state that at the period of the passage of +the law of December, 1861, he was and still is absent on duty on a +foreign station, and the certificate of his age required by the Navy +Department was only received a few days since. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 18, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit a copy of a dispatch to the Secretary of State from Mr. +Adams, United States minister at London, and of the correspondence to +which it refers between that gentleman and Mr. Panizzi, the principal +librarian of the British Museum, relative to certain valuable +publications presented to the Library of Congress. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 22, 1862_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 15th instant, +requesting a copy of the report of the Hon. Reverdy Johnson,[6] I +transmit a communication from the Secretary of State and the documents +by which it was accompanied. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +[Footnote 6: United States commissioner at New Orleans.] + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 24, 1862_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit, for the consideration of Congress, a report from the +Secretary of State on the subject of consular pupils. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 2, 1863_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I submit to Congress the expediency of extending to other Departments of +the Government the authority conferred on the President by the eighth +section of the act of the 8th of May, 1792, to appoint a person to +temporarily discharge the duties of Secretary of State, Secretary of the +Treasury, and Secretary of War in case of the death, absence from the +seat of Government, or sickness of either of those officers. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 3, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification, +a convention for the mutual adjustment of claims between the United +States and Ecuador, signed by the respective plenipotentiaries of the +two Governments in Guayaquil on the 25th November ultimo. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 5, 1863_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the +22d ultimo, in relation to the alleged interference of our minister to +Mexico in favor of the French, I transmit a report from the Secretary of +State and the papers with which it is accompanied. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 6, 1863_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit for the consideration of Congress, and with a view to the +adoption of such measures in relation to the subject of it as may be +deemed expedient, a copy of a note of the 8th instant addressed to the +Secretary of State by the minister resident of the Hanseatic Republics +accredited to this Government, concerning an international agricultural +exhibition to be held next summer in the city of Hamburg. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 14, 1863_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +The Secretary of State has submitted to me a resolution of the House of +Representatives of the 5th instant, which has been delivered to him, and +which is in the following words: + + _Resolved_, That the Secretary of State be requested to communicate + to this House, if not in his judgment incompatible with the public + interest, why our minister in New Granada has not presented his + credentials to the actual Government of that country; also the reasons + for which Senor Murillo is not recognized by the United States as the + diplomatic representative of the Mosquera Government of that country; + also what negotiations have been had, if any, with General Herran, as + the representative of Ospina's Government in New Granada, since it + went into existence. + + +On the 12th day of December, 1846, a treaty of amity, peace, and concord +was concluded between the United States of America and the Republic of +New Granada, which is still in force. On the 7th day of December, 1847, +General Pedro Alcantara Herran, who had been duly accredited, was +received here as the envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of +that Republic. On the 30th day of August, 1849, Senor Don Rafael Rivas +was received by this Government as charge d'affaires of the same +Republic. On the 5th day of December, 1851, a consular convention was +concluded between that Republic and the United States, which treaty was +signed on behalf of the Republic of Granada by the same Senor Rivas. +This treaty is still in force. On the 27th of April, 1852, Senor Don +Victoriano de Diego Paredes was received as charge d'affaires of the +Republic of New Granada. On the 20th of June, 1855, General Pedro +Alcantara Herran was again received as envoy extraordinary and minister +plenipotentiary, duly accredited by the Republic of New Granada, and he +has ever since remained, under the same credentials, as the +representative of that Republic near the Government of the United +States. On the 10th of September, 1857, a claims convention was +concluded between the United States and the Republic of Granada. This +convention is still in force, and has in part been executed. In May, +1858, the constitution of the Republic was remodeled, and the nation +assumed the political title of "The Granadian Confederacy." This fact +was formally announced to this Government, but without any change in +their representative here. Previously to the 4th day of March, 1861, a +revolutionary war against the Republic of New Granada, which had thus +been recognized and treated with by the United States, broke out in New +Granada, assuming to set up a new government under the name of "The +United States of Colombia." This war has had various vicissitudes, +sometimes favorable, sometimes adverse, to the revolutionary movements. +The revolutionary organization has hitherto been simply a military +provisionary power, and no definitive constitution of government has yet +been established in New Granada in place of that organized by the +constitution of 1858. The minister of the United States to the Granadian +Confederacy, who was appointed on the 29th day of May, 1861, was +directed, in view of the occupation of the capital by the revolutionary +party and of the uncertainty of the civil war, not to present his +credentials to either the Government of the Granadian Confederacy or to +the provisional military Government, but to conduct his affairs +informally, as is customary in such cases, and to report the progress of +events and await the instructions of this Government. The advices which +have been received from him have not hitherto been sufficiently +conclusive to determine me to recognize the revolutionary Government. +General Herran being here, with full authority from the Government of +New Granada, which had been so long recognized by the United States, I +have not received any representative from the revolutionary Government, +which has not yet been recognized, because such a proceeding would in +itself be an act of recognition. + +Official communications have been had on various incidental and +occasional questions with General Herran as the minister plenipotentiary +and envoy extraordinary of the Granadian Confederacy, but in no other +character. No definitive measure or proceeding has resulted from these +communications, and a communication of them at present would not, in my +judgment, be compatible with the public interest. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +JANUARY 17, 1863. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I have signed the joint resolution to provide for the immediate payment +of the Army and Navy of the United States, passed by the House of +Representatives on the 14th and by the Senate on the 15th instant. + +The joint resolution is a simple authority, amounting, however, under +existing circumstances, to a direction, to the Secretary of the Treasury +to make an additional issue of $100,000,000 in United States notes, if +so much money is needed, for the payment of the Army and Navy. + +My approval is given in order that every possible facility may be +afforded for the prompt discharge of all arrears of pay due to our +soldiers and our sailors. + +While giving this approval, however, I think it my duty to express my +sincere regret that it has been found necessary to authorize so large an +additional issue of United States notes, when this circulation and that +of the suspended banks together have become already so redundant as to +increase prices beyond real values, thereby augmenting the cost of +living to the injury of labor, and the cost of supplies to the injury of +the whole country. + +It seems very plain that continued issues of United States notes without +any check to the issues of suspended banks and without adequate +provision for the raising of money by loans and for funding the issues +so as to keep them within due limits must soon produce disastrous +consequences; and this matter appears to me so important that I feel +bound to avail myself of this occasion to ask the special attention of +Congress to it. + +That Congress has power to regulate the currency of the country can +hardly admit of doubt, and that a judicious measure to prevent the +deterioration of this currency, by a seasonable taxation of bank +circulation or otherwise, is needed seems equally clear. Independently +of this general consideration, it would be unjust to the people at large +to exempt banks enjoying the special privilege of circulation from their +just proportion of the public burdens. + +In order to raise money by way of loans most easily and cheaply, it is +clearly necessary to give every possible support to the public credit. +To that end a uniform currency, in which taxes, subscriptions to loans, +and all other ordinary public dues, as well as all private dues, may be +paid, is almost, if not quite, indispensable. Such a currency can be +furnished by banking associations, organized under a general act of +Congress, as suggested in my message at the beginning of the present +session. The securing of this circulation by the pledge of United States +bonds, as therein suggested, would still further facilitate loans by +increasing the present and causing a future demand for such bonds. + +In view of the actual financial embarrassments of the Government and of +the greater embarrassments sure to come if the necessary means of relief +be not afforded, I feel that I should not perform my duty by a simple +announcement of my approval of the joint resolution, which proposes +relief only by increasing circulation, without expressing my earnest +desire that measures such in substance as those I have just referred to +may receive the early sanction of Congress. + +By such measures, in my opinion, will payment be most certainly secured, +not only to the Army and Navy, but to all honest creditors of the +Government, and satisfactory provision made for future demands on the +Treasury. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 20, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to +the resolution of the Senate relative to the correspondence between this +Government and the Mexican minister in relation to the exportation of +articles contraband of war for the use of the French army in Mexico. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, January 21, 1863_. + +_Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I submit herewith, for your consideration, the joint resolutions of the +corporate authorities of the city of Washington adopted September 27, +1862, and a memorial of the same under date of October 28, 1862, both +relating to and urging the construction of certain railroads +concentrating upon the city of Washington. + +In presenting this memorial and the joint resolutions to you I am not +prepared to say more than that the subject is one of great practical +importance and that I hope it will receive the attention of Congress. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 23, 1863_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit, for the consideration of Congress, a report from the +Secretary of State, transmitting the regulations, decrees, and orders +for the government of the United States consular courts in Turkey. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 26, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 13th instant, +requesting a copy of certain correspondence respecting the capture of +British vessels sailing from one British port to another having on board +contraband of war intended for the use of the insurgents, I have the +honor to transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the documents +by which it was accompanied. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON CITY, _January 28, 1863_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +In conformity to the law of July 16, 1862, I most cordially recommend +that Commander David D. Porter, United States Navy, acting rear-admiral, +commanding the Mississippi Squadron, receive a vote of thanks of +Congress for the bravery and skill displayed in the attack on the post +of Arkansas, which surrendered to the combined military and naval forces +on the 10th instant. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 4, 1863_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the +5th December last, requesting information upon the present condition of +Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the papers +by which it was accompanied. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 4, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In pursuance of the joint resolution of Congress approved 3d February, +1863, tendering its thanks to Commander John L. Worden, United States +Navy, I nominate that officer to be a captain in the Navy on the active +list from the 3d February, 1863. + +It may be proper to state that the number of captains authorized by the +second section of the act of 16th July, 1862, is now full, but presuming +that the meaning of the ninth section of the same act is that the +officer receiving the vote of thanks shall immediately be advanced one +grade I have made the nomination. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 5, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I submit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification, a +"convention between the United States of America and the Republic of +Peru for the settlement of the pending claims of the citizens of either +country against the other," signed at Lima on the 12th January ultimo, +with the following amendment: + +Article 1, strike out the words "the claims of the American citizens Dr. +Charles Easton, Edmund Sartori, and the owners of the whale ship +_William Lee_ against the Government of Peru, and the Peruvian citizen +Stephen Montano against the Government of the United States," and +insert: _all claims of citizens of the United States against the +Government of Peru and of citizens of Peru against the Government of the +United States which have not been embraced in conventional or diplomatic +agreement between the two Governments or their plenipotentiaries, and +statements of which soliciting the interposition of either Government +may previously to the exchange of the ratifications of this convention +have been filed in the Department of State at Washington or the +department for foreign affairs at Lima_, etc. + +This amendment is considered desirable, as there are believed to be +other claims proper for the consideration of the commission which are +not among those specified in the original article, and because it is at +least questionable whether either Government would be justified in +incurring the expense of a commission for the sole purpose of disposing +of the claims mentioned in that article. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 5, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I submit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification, +a "convention between the United States of America and the Republic of +Peru, providing for the reference to the King of Belgium of the claims +arising out of the capture and confiscation of the ships _Lizzie +Thompson_ and _Georgiana_," signed at Lima on the 20th December, 1862. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 6, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the United States of +yesterday, requesting information in regard to the death of General +Ward, a citizen of the United States in the military service of the +Chinese Government, I transmit a copy of a dispatch of the 27th of +October last, its accompaniment, from the minister of the United States +in China. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 6, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit herewith a report[7] from the Secretary of State, with +accompanying documents, in answer to the resolution of the Senate of the +30th ultimo. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +[Footnote 7: Relating to the building of ships of war for the Japanese +Government.] + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 10, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In answer to the resolution of the Senate of yesterday, requesting +information touching the visit of Mr. Mercier to Richmond in April last, +I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution +was referred. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 12, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +On the 4th of September, 1862, Commander George Henry Preble, United +States Navy, then senior officer in command of the naval force off the +harbor of Mobile, was guilty of inexcusable neglect in permitting the +armed steamer _Oreto_ in open daylight to run the blockade. For his +omission to perform his whole duty on that occasion and the injury +thereby inflicted on the service and the country, his name was stricken +from the list of naval officers and he was dismissed the service. + +Since his dismissal earnest application has been made for his +restoration to his former position by Senators and naval officers, on +the ground that his fault was an error of judgment, and that the example +in his case has already had its effect in preventing a repetition of +similar neglect. + +I therefore, on this application and representation, and in +consideration of his previous fair record, do hereby nominate George +Henry Preble to be a commander in the Navy from the 16th July, 1862, to +take rank on the active list next after Commander Edward Donaldson, and +to fill a vacancy occasioned by the death of Commander J.M. Wainwright. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 12, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +On the 24th August, 1861, Commander Roger Perry, United States Navy, +was dismissed from the service under a misapprehension in regard to his +loyalty to the Government, from the circumstance that several oaths +were transmitted to him and the Navy Department failed to receive any +recognition of them. After his dismissal, and upon his assurance that +the oath failed to reach him and his readiness to execute it, he was +recommissioned to his original position on the 4th September following. +On the same day, 4th September, he was ordered to command the sloop of +war _Vandalia_; on the 22d this order was revoked and he was ordered to +duty in the Mississippi Squadron, and on the 23d January, 1862, was +detached sick, and has since remained unemployed. The advisory board +under the act of 16th July, 1862, did not recommend him for further +promotion. + +This last commission, having been issued during the recess of the +Senate, expired at the end of the succeeding session, 17th July, 1862, +from which date, not having been nominated to the Senate, he ceased to +be a commander in the Navy. + +To correct the omission to nominate this officer to the Senate at its +last session, I now nominate Commander Roger Perry to be a commander in +the Navy from the 14th September, 1855, to take his relative position on +the list of commanders not recommended for further promotion. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 12, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 10th instant, +requesting information on the subjects of mediation, arbitration, +or other measures looking to the termination of the existing civil +war, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the documents +by which it was accompanied. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 13, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 12th +instant, the accompanying report[8] from the Secretary of State. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +[Footnote 8: Relating to the use of negroes by the French army in Mexico.] + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 13, 1863_. + +Hon. GALUSHA A. GROW, + +_Speaker of the House of Representatives_. + +SIR: I herewith communicate to the House of Representatives, in answer +to their resolution of the 18th of December last, a report from the +Secretary of the Interior, containing all the information in the +possession of the Department respecting the causes of the recent +outbreaks of the Indian tribes in the Northwest which has not +heretofore been transmitted to Congress. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE OFFICE, _February 17, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate +thereon, a treaty made and concluded on the 3d day of February, 1863, +between W.W. Ross, commissioner on the part of the United States, and +the chiefs and headmen of the Pottawatomie Nation of Indians of Kansas, +which, it appears from the accompanying letter from the Secretary of the +Interior of the 17th instant, is intended to be amendatory of the treaty +concluded with said Indians on the 15th November, 1862. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 18, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to its +ratification, an additional article to the treaty between the United +States and Great Britain of the 7th of April, 1862, for the suppression +of the African slave trade, which was concluded and signed at Washington +on the 17th instant by the Secretary of State and Her Britannic +Majesty's minister accredited to this Government. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 19, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +Congress on my recommendation passed a resolution, approved 7th +February, 1863, tendering its thanks to Commodore Charles Henry Davis +for "distinguished service in conflict with the enemy at Fort Pillow, at +Memphis, and for successful operations at other points in the waters of +the Mississippi River." + +I therefore, in conformity with the seventh section of the act approved +16th July, 1862, nominate Commodore Charles Henry Davis to be a +rear-admiral in the Navy on the active list from the 7th February, 1863. + +Captain John A. Dahlgren having in said resolution of the 7th February +in like manner received the thanks of Congress "for distinguished +service in the line of his profession, improvements in ordnance, and +zealous and efficient labors in the ordnance branch of the service," I +therefore, in conformity with the seventh section of the act of 16th +July, 1862, nominate Captain John A. Dahlgren to be a rear-admiral in +the Navy on the active list from the 7th February, 1863. + +The ninth section of the act of July, 1862, authorizes "any line officer +of the Navy or Marine Corps to be advanced one grade if upon +recommendation of the President by name he receives the thanks of +Congress for highly distinguished conduct in conflict with the enemy or +for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession," and Captain +Stephen C. Rowan and Commander David D. Porter having each on my +recommendation received the thanks of Congress for distinguished +service, by resolution or the 7th February, 1863, I do therefore +nominate Captain Stephen C. Rowan to be a commodore in the Navy on the +active list from the 7th February, 1863. Commander David D. Porter to be +a captain in the Navy on the active list from the 7th February, 1863. + +If this nomination should be confirmed, there will be vacancies in the +several grades to which these officers are nominated for promotion. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington City, February 25, 1863_. + +THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE. + +SIR: In answer to the Senate resolution of the 21st instant, I have +the honor to inclose herewith a letter of the 24th instant from the +Secretary of War, by which it appears that there are 438 assistant +quartermasters, 387 commissaries of subsistence, and 343 additional +paymasters now in the volunteer service, including those before the +Senate for confirmation. + +I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 25, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I nominate Passed Midshipmen Samuel Pearce and Nathaniel T. West, now on +the retired list, to be ensigns in the Navy on the retired list. + +These nominations are made in conformity with the fourth section of the +act to amend an act entitled "An act to promote the efficiency of the +Navy," approved 16th January, 1857, and are induced by the following +considerations: + +The pay of a passed midshipman on the retired list as fixed by the "Act +for the better organization of the military establishment," approved 3d +August, 1861, amounted, including rations, to $788 per annum. By the +"Act to establish and equalize the grade of line officers of the United +States Navy," approved 16th July, 1862, the grade or rank of passed +midshipman, which was the next below that of master, was discontinued +and that of ensign was established, being now the next grade below that +of master and the only grade in the line list between those of master +and midshipman. The same act fixes the pay of officers on the retired +list, omitting the grade of passed midshipman, and prohibits the +allowance of rations to retired officers. The effect of this was to +reduce the pay of a passed midshipman on the retired list from $788 to +$350 per annum, or less than half of previous rate. + +This was no doubt an unintended result of the law, operating exclusively +on the two passed midshipmen then on the retired list, and their +promotion or transfer to the equivalent grade of ensign would not +completely indemnify them, the pay of an ensign on the retired list +being only $500 per annum. It is the only relief, however, which is +deemed within the intention of the existing laws, and it is the more +willingly recommended in this case, as there is nothing in the character +of the officers to be relieved which would make it objectionable. These +are the only cases of the kind. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 28, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 26th instant, +requesting a copy of any correspondence which may have taken place +between me and workingmen in England, I transmit the papers mentioned in +the subjoined list. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 28, 1863_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit, for the consideration of Congress, a dispatch to the +Secretary of State from the United States consul at Liverpool, and the +address to which it refers, of the distressed operatives of Blackburn, +in England, to the New York relief committee and to the inhabitants of +the United States generally. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _March 2, 1863_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a copy of a preamble and joint resolution of the +legislative assembly of the Territory of New Mexico, accepting the +benefits of the act of Congress approved the 2d of July last, entitled +"An act donating public lands to the several States and Territories +which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the +mechanic arts." + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + +PROCLAMATION. + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas on the 22d day of September, A.D. 1862, a proclamation was +issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other +things, the following, to wit: + + That on the 1st day of January, A.D. 1863, all persons held as slaves + within any State or designated part of a State the people whereof + shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, + thenceforward, and forever free; and the executive government of the + United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, + will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons and will do + no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts + they may make for their actual freedom. + + That the Executive will on the 1st day of January aforesaid, by + proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in + which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion + against the United States; and the fact that any State or the people + thereof shall on that day be in good faith represented in the Congress + of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a + majority of the qualified voters of such States shall have participated + shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed + conclusive evidence that such State and the people thereof are not then + in rebellion against the United States. + + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by +virtue of the power in me vested as Commander in Chief of the Army and +Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the +authority and Government of the United States, and as a fit and +necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this 1st +day of January, A.D. 1863, and in accordance with my purpose so to do, +publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days from the day +first above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of +States wherein the people thereof, respectively, are this day in +rebellion against the United States the following, to wit: + +Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana (except the parishes of St. Bernard, +Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, +Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, +including the city of New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, +Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia (except the +forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties +of Berkeley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Anne, +and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth), and which +excepted parts are for the present left precisely as if this +proclamation were not issued. + +And by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and +declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States +and parts of States are and henceforward shall be free, and that the +executive government of the United States, including the military and +naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of +said persons. + +And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain +from all violence, unless in necessary self-defense; and I recommend to +them that in all cases when allowed they labor faithfully for reasonable +wages. + +And I further declare and make known that such persons of suitable +condition will be received into the armed service of the United States +to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places and to man +vessels of all sorts in said service. + +And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted +by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate +judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 1st day of January, A.D. 1863, and +of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + + +EXECUTIVE ORDERS. + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, December 22, 1862_. + +_To the Army of the Potomac_: + +I have just read your commanding general's preliminary report of the +battle of Fredericksburg. Although you were not successful, the attempt +was not an error nor the failure other than an accident. The courage +with which you in an open field maintained the contest against an +intrenched foe and the consummate skill and success with which you +crossed and recrossed the river in face of the enemy show that you +possess all the qualities of a great army, which will yet give victory +to the cause of the country and of popular government. Condoling with +the mourners for the dead and sympathizing with the severely wounded, I +congratulate you that the number of both is comparatively so small. + +I tender to you, officers and soldiers, the thanks of the nation. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, January 4, 1863_. + +Hon. GIDEON WELLES, + +_Secretary of the Navy_. + +DEAR SIR: As many persons who come well recommended for loyalty and +service to the Union cause, and who are refugees from rebel oppression +in the State of Virginia, make application to me for authority and +permission to remove their families and property to protection within +the Union lines by means of our armed gunboats on the Potomac River and +Chesapeake Bay, you are hereby requested to hear and consider all such +applications and to grant such assistance to this class of persons as in +your judgment their merits may render proper and as may in each case be +consistent with the perfect and complete efficiency of the naval service +and with military expediency. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 8, 1863_. + +_Ordered by the President_: + +Whereas on the 13th day of November, 1862, it was ordered that the +Attorney-General be charged with the superintendence and direction of +all proceedings to be had under the act of Congress of the 17th of July, +entitled "An act to suppress insurrection, to punish treason and +rebellion, and to seize and confiscate the property of rebels, and for +other purposes," in so far as may concern the seizure, prosecution, +and condemnation of the estate, property, and effects of rebels and +traitors, as mentioned and provided for in the fifth, sixth, and +seventh sections of the said act of Congress; and + +Whereas since that time it has been ascertained that divers prosecutions +have been instituted in the courts of the United States for the +condemnation of property of rebels and traitors under the act of +Congress of August 6, 1861, entitled "An act to confiscate property used +for insurrectionary purposes," which equally require the superintending +care of the Government: Therefore + +_It is now further ordered by the President_, That the Attorney-General +be charged with superintendence and direction of all proceedings to be +had under the said last-mentioned act (the act of 1861) as fully in all +respects as under the first-mentioned act (the act of 1862). + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + EDW. BATES, + _Attorney-General_. + + +Whereas by the twelfth section of an act of Congress entitled "An act +to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the +Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, and to secure to the Government the +use of the same for postal, military, and other purposes," approved July +1, 1862, it is made the duty of the President of the United States to +determine the uniform width of the track of the entire line of the said +railroad and the branches of the same; and + +Whereas application has been made to me by the Leavenworth, Pawnee and +Western Railroad Company, a company authorized by the act of Congress +above mentioned to construct a branch of said railroad, to fix the gauge +thereof: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of +America, do determine that the uniform width of the track of said +railroad and all its branches which are provided for in the aforesaid +act of Congress shall be 5 feet, and that this order be filed in the +office of the Secretary of the Interior for the information and guidance +of all concerned. + +Done at the city of Washington, this 21st day of January, A.D. 1863. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + +PROCLAMATION. + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas objects of interest to the United States require that the Senate +should be convened at 12 o'clock on the 4th of March next to receive and +act upon such communications as may be made to it on the part of the +Executive: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, have +considered it to be my duty to issue this my proclamation, declaring +that an extraordinary occasion requires the Senate of the United States +to convene for the transaction of business at the Capitol, in the city +of Washington, on the 4th day of March next, at 12 o'clock at noon on +that day, of which all who shall at that time be entitled to act as +members of that body are hereby required to take notice. + +Given under my hand and the seal of the United States, at Washington, +the 28th day of February, A.D. 1863, and of the Independence of the +United States of America the eighty-seventh. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + + +SPECIAL MESSAGES. + + +WASHINGTON, _March 5, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +For the reasons stated by the Secretary of War, I present the nomination +of the persons named in the accompanying communication for confirmation +of the rank which they held at the time they fell in the service of +their country. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington, March 5, 1863_. + +The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. + +SIR: The following-named persons having fallen in battle after having +received appointments to the grades for which they are herein nominated, +I have the honor to propose that their names be submitted to the Senate +for confirmation of their rank, as a token of this Government's +approbation of their distinguished merit. This has been the practice of +the Department in similar cases, brevet nominations and confirmations +having been made after the decease of gallant officers. + +_To be major-generals_. + +Brigadier-General Philip Kearny, of the United States Volunteers, July +14, 1862. (Killed in the battle of Chantilly.) + +Brigadier-General Israel B. Richardson, of the United States Volunteers, +July 4, 1862. (Died of wounds received at the battle of Antietam.) + +Brigadier-General Jesse L. Reno, of the United States Volunteers, July +18, 1862. (Killed in the battle of South Mountain.) + +_To be brigadier-general_. + +Captain William R. Terrill, of the Fifth United States Artillery, +September 9, 1862. (Killed in the battle of Perryville.) + +I am, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant, + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +WASHINGTON, _March 5, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +For the reasons stated by the Secretary of War, I present the nomination +of the persons named in the accompanying communication for confirmation +of the rank of major-general, in which capacity they were acting at the +time they fell in battle. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington, March 5, 1863_. + +The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. + +SIR: The following-named persons having fallen in battle while +performing the duty and exercising command as major-generals, a rank +which they had earned in the service of their country, I have the honor +to propose that their names be submitted to the Senate for confirmation, +as a token of the Government's appreciation of their distinguished +merit. This is in accordance with the practice in similar cases, brevet +nominations and confirmations having been made after the decease of +gallant officers. + +_To be major-generals of volunteers_. + +Brigadier-General Joseph K.F. Mansfield, of the United States Army, July +18, 1862. (Died of wounds received in the battle of Antietam, Md.) + +Brigadier-General Isaac I. Stevens, of the United States Volunteers, +July 18, 1862. (Killed in the battle of Chantilly, Va.) + +I am, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant, + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + _Secretary of War_. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 12, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I herewith transmit to the Senate, for its consideration and +ratification, a treaty with the chiefs and headmen of the Chippewas of +the Mississippi and the Pillagers and Lake Winnibigoshish bands of +Chippewa Indians. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + +PROCLAMATIONS. + + +[From Final Report of the Provost-Marshal-General (March 17, 1866), +p. 218.] + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 10 1863_. + +In pursuance of the twenty-sixth section of the act of Congress entitled +"An act for enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other +purposes," approved on the 3d day of March, 1863, I, Abraham Lincoln, +President and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United +States, do hereby order and command that all soldiers enlisted or +drafted in the service of the United States now absent from their +regiments without leave shall forthwith return to their respective +regiments. + +And I do hereby declare and proclaim that all soldiers now absent from +their respective regiments without leave who shall, on or before the 1st +day of April, 1863, report themselves at any rendezvous designated by +the general orders of the War Department No. 58, hereto annexed, may be +restored to their respective regiments without punishment, except the +forfeiture of pay and allowances during their absence; and all who do +not return within the time above specified shall be arrested as +deserters and punished as the law provides; and + +Whereas evil-disposed and disloyal persons at sundry places have enticed +and procured soldiers to desert and absent themselves from their +regiments, thereby weakening the strength of the armies and prolonging +the war, giving aid and comfort to the enemy, and cruelly exposing the +gallant and faithful soldiers remaining in the ranks to increased +hardships and danger: + +I do therefore call upon all patriotic and faithful citizens to oppose +and resist the aforementioned dangerous and treasonable crimes, and to +aid in restoring to their regiments all soldiers absent without leave, +and to assist in the execution of the act of Congress "for enrolling and +calling out the national forces, and for other purposes," and to support +the proper authorities in the prosecution and punishment of offenders +against said act and in suppressing the insurrection and rebellion. + +In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. + +Done at the city of Washington, this 10th day of March, A.D. 1863, +and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventh. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + EDWIN M. STANTON, + _Secretary of War_. + + + +GENERAL ORDERS, No. 58. + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, March 10, 1863_. + +I. The following is the twenty-sixth section of the act "for enrolling +and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes," approved +March 3, 1863: + +"SEC. 26. _And be it further enacted_, That immediately after the +passage of this act the President shall issue his proclamation declaring +that all soldiers now absent from their regiments without leave may +return, within a time specified, to such place or places as he may +indicate in his proclamation, and be restored to their respective +regiments without punishment, except the forfeiture of their pay and +allowances during their absence; and all deserters who shall not return +within the time so specified by the President shall, upon being +arrested, be punished as the law provides." + +II. The following places[9] are designated as rendezvous to which +soldiers absent without leave may report themselves to the officers +named on or before the 1st day of April next under the proclamation of +the President of this date. + +III. Commanding officers at the above-named places of rendezvous, or, in +the absence of commanding officers, superintendents of recruiting +service, recruiting officers, and mustering and disbursing officers, +will take charge of all soldiers presenting themselves as above directed +and cause their names to be enrolled, and copy of said roll will, on or +before the 10th day of April, be sent to the Adjutant-General of the +Army. + +The soldiers so reporting themselves will be sent without delay to their +several regiments, a list of those sent being furnished to the +commanding officer of the regiment and a duplicate to the +Adjutant-General of the Army. The commanding officer of the regiment +will immediately report to the Adjutant-General of the Army the receipt +of any soldiers so sent to him. + +By order of the Secretary of War: + +L. THOMAS, + +_Adjutant-General_. + +[Footnote 9: Omitted.] + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the +supreme authority and just government of Almighty God in all the affairs +of men and of nations, has by a resolution requested the President to +designate and set apart a day for national prayer and humiliation; and + +Whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their +dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and +transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine +repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime +truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that +those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord; + +And, insomuch as we know that by His divine law nations, like +individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this +world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which +now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our +presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a +whole people? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of +Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; +we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever +grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand +which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened +us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, +that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and +virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too +self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, +too proud to pray to the God that made us. + +It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to +confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness. + +Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in +the views of the Senate, I do by this my proclamation designate and set +apart Thursday, the 30th day of April, 1863, as a day of national +humiliation, fasting, and prayer. And I do hereby request all the people +to abstain on that day from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to +unite at their several places of public worship and their respective +homes in keeping the day holy to the Lord and devoted to the humble +discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion. + +All this being done in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in +the hope authorized by the divine teachings that the united cry of the +nation will be heard on high and answered with blessings no less than +the pardon of our national sins and the restoration of our now divided +and suffering country to its former happy condition of unity and peace. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 30th day of March, A.D. 1863, +and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventh. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas, in pursuance of the act of Congress approved July 13, 1861, I +did, by proclamation dated August 16, 1861, declare that the inhabitants +of the States of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, +Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Florida +(except the inhabitants of that part of Virginia lying west of the +Alleghany Mountains and of such other parts of that State and the other +States hereinbefore named as might maintain a legal adhesion to the +Union and the Constitution or might be from time to time occupied and +controlled by forces of the United States engaged in the dispersion of +said insurgents) were in a state of insurrection against the United +States, and that all commercial intercourse between the same and the +inhabitants thereof, with the exceptions aforesaid, and the citizens of +other States and other parts of the United States was unlawful and would +remain unlawful until such insurrection should cease or be suppressed, +and that all goods and chattels, wares and merchandise, coming from any +of said States, with the exceptions aforesaid, into other parts of the +United States without the license and permission of the President, +through the Secretary of the Treasury, or proceeding to any of said +States, with the exceptions aforesaid, by land or water, together with +the vessel or vehicle conveying the same to or from said States, with +the exceptions aforesaid, would be forfeited to the United States; and + +Whereas experience has shown that the exceptions made in and by said +proclamation embarrass the due enforcement of said act of July 13, 1861, +and the proper regulation of the commercial intercourse authorized by +said act with the loyal citizens of said States: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do +hereby revoke the said exceptions, and declare that the inhabitants of +the States of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, +Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Florida, and Virginia +(except the forty-eight counties of Virginia designated as West +Virginia, and except also the ports of New Orleans, Key West, Port +Royal, and Beaufort, in North Carolina) are in a state of insurrection +against the United States, and that all commercial intercourse not +licensed and conducted as provided in said act between the said States +and the inhabitants thereof, with the exceptions aforesaid, and the +citizens of other States and other parts of the United States is +unlawful and will remain unlawful until such insurrection shall cease or +has been suppressed and notice thereof has been duly given by +proclamation; and all cotton, tobacco, and other products, and all other +goods and chattels, wares and merchandise, coming from any of said +States, with the exceptions aforesaid, into other parts of the United +States, or proceeding to any of said States, with the exceptions +aforesaid, without the license and permission of the President, through +the Secretary of the Treasury, will, together with the vessel or vehicle +conveying the same, be forfeited to the United States. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 2d day of April, A.D. 1863, and +of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +_To all to whom these presents shall come, greeting_: + +Know ye that, whereas a paper bearing date the 31st day of December +last, purporting to be an agreement between the United States and one +Bernard Kock for immigration of persons of African extraction to a +dependency of the Republic of Hayti, was signed by me on behalf of the +party of the first part; but whereas the said instrument was and has +since remained incomplete in consequence of the seal of the United +States not having been thereunto affixed; and whereas I have been moved +by considerations by me deemed sufficient to withhold my authority for +affixing the said seal: + +Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the +United States, do hereby authorize the Secretary of State to cancel my +signature to the instrument aforesaid. + +Done at Washington, this 16th day of April, A.D. 1863. + +[SEAL.] + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas by the act of Congress approved the 31st day of December last +the State of West Virginia was declared to be one of the United States +of America, and was admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the +original States in all respects whatever, upon the condition that +certain changes should be duly made in the proposed constitution for +that State; and + +Whereas proof of a compliance with that condition, as required by the +second section of the act aforesaid has been submitted to me: + +Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the +United States, do hereby, in pursuance of the act of Congress aforesaid, +declare and proclaim that the said act shall take effect and be in force +from and after sixty days from the date hereof. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 20th day of April, A.D. 1863, +and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventh. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + + +Whereas the Congress of the United States at its last session enacted a +law entitled "An act for enrolling and calling out the national forces +and for other purposes," which was approved on the 3d day of March last; +and + +Whereas it is recited in the said act that there now exists in the +United States an insurrection and rebellion against the authority +thereof, and it is, under the Constitution of the United States, the +duty of the Government to suppress insurrection and rebellion, to +guarantee to each State a republican form of government, and to preserve +the public tranquillity; and + +Whereas for these high purposes a military force is indispensable, to +raise and support which all persons ought willingly to contribute; and + +Whereas no service can be more praiseworthy and honorable than that +which is rendered for the maintenance of the Constitution and Union and +the consequent preservation of free government; and + +Whereas, for the reasons thus recited, it was enacted by the said +statute that all able-bodied male citizens of the United States and +persons of foreign birth who shall have declared on oath their intention +to become citizens under and in pursuance of the laws thereof, between +the ages of 20 and 45 years (with certain exceptions not necessary to be +here mentioned), are declared to constitute the national forces, and +shall be liable to perform military duty in the service of the United +States when called out by the President for that purpose; and + +Whereas it is claimed by and in behalf of persons of foreign birth +within the ages specified in said act who have heretofore declared on +oath their intentions to become citizens under and in pursuance of the +laws of the United States, and who have not exercised the right of +suffrage or any other political franchise under the laws of the United +States or of any of the States thereof, that they are not absolutely +concluded by their aforesaid declaration of intention from renouncing +their purpose to become citizens, and that, on the contrary, such +persons, under treaties or the law of nations, retain a right to +renounce that purpose and to forego the privileges of citizenship and +residence within the United States under the obligations imposed by the +aforesaid act of Congress: + +Now, therefore, to avoid all misapprehensions concerning the liability +of persons concerned to perform the service required by such enactment, +and to give it full effect, I do hereby order and proclaim that no plea +of alienage will be received or allowed to exempt from the obligations +imposed by the aforesaid act of Congress any person of foreign birth who +shall have declared on oath his intention to become a citizen of the +United States under the laws thereof, and who shall be found within the +United States at any time during the continuance of the present +insurrection and rebellion or after the expiration of the period of +sixty-five days from the date of this proclamation, nor shall any such +plea of alienage be allowed in favor of any such person who has so as +aforesaid declared his intention to become a citizen of the United +States and shall have exercised at any time the right of suffrage or +any other political franchise within the United States under the laws +thereof or under the laws of any of the several States. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 8th day of May, A.D. 1863, and +of the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventh. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas the armed insurrectionary combinations now existing in several +of the States are threatening to make inroads into the States of +Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, requiring immediately +an additional military force for the service of the United States: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States and +Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy thereof and of the militia of +the several States when called into actual service, do hereby call into +the service of the United States 100,000 militia from the States +following, namely: From the State of Maryland, 10,000; from the State of +Pennsylvania, 50,000; from the State of Ohio, 30,000; from the State of +West Virginia, 10,000--to be mustered into the service of the United +States forthwith and to serve for the period of six months from the date +of such muster into said service, unless sooner discharged; to be +mustered in as infantry, artillery, and cavalry, in proportions which +will be made known through the War Department, which Department will +also designate the several places of rendezvous. These militia to be +organized according to the rules and regulations of the volunteer +service and such orders as may hereafter be issued, The States aforesaid +will be respectively credited under the enrollment act for the militia +services rendered under this proclamation. + +In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 15th day of June, A.D. 1863, and +of the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventh. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +It has pleased Almighty God to hearken to the supplications and prayers +of an afflicted people and to vouchsafe to the Army and the Navy of the +United States victories on land and on the sea so signal and so +effective as to furnish reasonable grounds for augmented confidence that +the Union of these States will be maintained, their Constitution +preserved, and their peace and prosperity permanently restored. But +these victories have been accorded not without sacrifices of life, limb, +health, and liberty, incurred by brave, loyal, and patriotic citizens. +Domestic affliction in every part of the country follows in the train of +these fearful bereavements. It is meet and right to recognize and +confess the presence of the Almighty Father and the power of His hand +equally in these triumphs and in these sorrows: + +Now, therefore, be it known that I do set apart Thursday, the 6th day of +August next, to be observed as a day for national thanksgiving, praise, +and prayer, and I invite the people of the United States to assemble on +that occasion in their customary places of worship and in the forms +approved by their own consciences render the homage due to the Divine +Majesty for the wonderful things He has done in the nation's behalf and +invoke the influence of His Holy Spirit to subdue the anger which has +produced and so long sustained a needless and cruel rebellion, to change +the hearts of the insurgents, to guide the counsels of the Government +with wisdom adequate to so great a national emergency, and to visit with +tender care and consolation throughout the length and breadth of our +land all those who, through the vicissitudes of marches, voyages, +battles, and sieges, have been brought to suffer in mind, body, or +estate, and finally to lead the whole nation through the paths of +repentance and submission to the divine will back to the perfect +enjoyment of union and fraternal peace. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 15th day of July, A.D. 1863, and +of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-eighth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas the Constitution of the United States has ordained that the +privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ shall not be suspended unless +when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require +it; and + +Whereas a rebellion was existing on the 3d day of March, 1863, which +rebellion is still existing; and + +Whereas by a statute which was approved on that day it was enacted by +the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress +assembled that during the present insurrection the President of the +United States, whenever in his judgment the public safety may require, +is authorized to suspend the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ in +any case throughout the United States or any part thereof; and + +Whereas, in the judgment of the President, the public safety does +require that the privilege of the said writ shall now be suspended +throughout the United States in the cases where, by the authority of the +President of the United States, military, naval, and civil officers of +the United States, or any of them, hold persons under their command or +in their custody, either as prisoners of war, spies, or aiders or +abettors of the enemy, or officers, soldiers, or seamen enrolled or +drafted or mustered or enlisted in or belonging to the land or naval +forces of the United States, or as deserters therefrom, or otherwise +amenable to military law or the rules and articles of war or the rules +or regulations prescribed for the military or naval services by +authority of the President of the United States, or for resisting a +draft, or for any other offense against the military or naval service: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do +hereby proclaim and make known to all whom it may concern that the +privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ is suspended throughout the +United States in the several cases before mentioned, and that this +suspension will continue throughout the duration of the said rebellion +or until this proclamation shall, by a subsequent one to be issued by +the President of the United States, be modified or revoked. And I do +hereby require all magistrates, attorneys, and other civil officers +within the United States and all officers and others in the military and +naval services of the United States to take distinct notice of this +suspension and to give it full effect, and all citizens of the United +States to conduct and govern themselves accordingly and in conformity +with the Constitution of the United States and the laws of Congress in +such case made and provided. + +[SEAL.] + +In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed this 15th day of September, A.D. 1863, +and of the Independence of the United States of America the +eighty-eighth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas in my proclamation of the 27th of April, 1861, the ports of the +States of Virginia and North Carolina were, for reasons therein set +forth, placed under blockade; and + +Whereas the port of Alexandria, Va., has since been blockaded, but as +the blockade of said port may now be safely relaxed with advantage to +the interests of commerce: + +Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the +United States, pursuant to the authority in me vested by the fifth +section of the act of Congress approved on the 13th of July, 1861, +entitled "An act further to provide for the collection of duties on +imports and for other purposes," do hereby declare that the blockade of +the said port of Alexandria shall so far cease and determine from and +after this date that commercial intercourse with said port, except as to +persons, things, and information contraband of war, may from this date +be carried on, subject to the laws of the United States and to the +limitations and in pursuance of the regulations which are prescribed by +the Secretary of the Treasury in his order which is appended to my +proclamation of the 12th of May, 1862. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 24th day of September, A.D. 1863, +and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the +blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, +which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the +source from which they come, others have been added which are of so +extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften +even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful +providence of Almighty God. + +In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which +has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their +aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been +maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has +prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while +that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and +navies of the Union. + +Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of +peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, +the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our +settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious +metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population +has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in +the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in +the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to +expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. + +No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these +great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, +while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless +remembered mercy. + +It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, +reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one +voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my +fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who +are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart +and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving +and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And +I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due +to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with +humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend +to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, +or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably +engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand +to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be +consistent with the divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, +harmony, tranquillity, and union. + +In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 3d day of October, A.D. 1863, and +of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas the term of service of a part of the volunteer forces of the +United States will expire during the coming year; and + +Whereas, in addition to the men raised by the present draft, it is +deemed expedient to call out 300,000 volunteers to serve for three years +or the war, not, however, exceeding three years: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States and +Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy thereof and of the militia of +the several States when called into actual service, do issue this my +proclamation, calling upon the governors of the different States to +raise and have enlisted into the United States service for the various +companies and regiments in the field from their respective States their +quotas of 300,000 men. + +I further proclaim that all volunteers thus called out and duly enlisted +shall receive advance pay, premium, and bounty, as heretofore +communicated to the governors of States by the War Department through +the Provost-Marshal-General's Office by special letters. + +I further proclaim that all volunteers received under this call, as well +as all others not heretofore credited, shall be duly credited on and +deducted from the quotas established for the next draft. + +I further proclaim that if any State shall fail to raise the quota +assigned to it by the War Department under this call, then a draft for +the deficiency in said quota shall be made on said State, or on the +districts of said State, for their due proportion of said quota; and the +said draft shall commence on the 5th day of January, 1864. + +And I further proclaim that nothing in this proclamation shall interfere +with existing orders, or those which may be issued, for the present +draft in the States where it is now in progress or where it has not yet +commenced. + +The quotas of the States and districts will be assigned by the War +Department, through the Provost-Marshal-General's Office, due regard +being had for the men heretofore furnished, whether by volunteering or +drafting, and the recruiting will be conducted in accordance with such +instructions as have been or may be issued by that Department. + +In issuing this proclamation I address myself not only to the governors +of the several States, but also to the good and loyal people thereof, +invoking them to lend their willing, cheerful, and effective aid to the +measures thus adopted, with a view to reenforce our victorious armies +now in the field and bring our needful military operations to a +prosperous end, thus closing forever the fountains of sedition and civil +war. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 17th day of October, A.D. 1863, and +of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + + +EXECUTIVE ORDERS. + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, March 31, 1863_. + +Whereas by the act of Congress approved July 13, 1861, entitled "An +act to provide for the collection of duties on imports, and for other +purposes," all commercial intercourse between the inhabitants of such +States as should by proclamation be declared in insurrection against the +United States and the citizens of the rest of the United States was +prohibited so long as such condition of hostility should continue, +except as the same shall be licensed and permitted by the President to +be conducted and carried on only in pursuance of rules and regulations +prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury; and + +Whereas it appears that a partial restoration of such intercourse +between the inhabitants of sundry places and sections heretofore +declared in insurrection in pursuance of said act and the citizens of +the rest of the United States will favorably affect the public +interests: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, +exercising the authority and discretion confided to me by the said act +of Congress, do hereby license and permit such commercial intercourse +between the citizens of loyal States and the inhabitants of such +insurrectionary States in the cases and under the restrictions described +and expressed in the regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the +Treasury bearing even date with these presents, or in such other +regulations as he may hereafter, with my approval, prescribe. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, June 22, 1863_. + +Whereas the act of Congress approved the 3d day of March, A.D. 1863, +entitled "An act to provide circuit courts for the districts of +California and Oregon, and for other purposes," authorized the +appointment of one additional associate justice of the Supreme Court of +the United States, and provided that the districts of California and +Oregon should constitute the tenth circuit and that the other circuits +should remain as then constituted by law; and + +Whereas Stephen J. Field was appointed the said additional associate +justice of the Supreme Court since the last adjournment of said court, +and consequently he was not allotted to the said circuit according to +the fifth section of the act of Congress entitled "An act to amend the +judicial system of the United States," approved the 29th day of April, +1802: + +Now I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, under the +authority of said section, do allot the said associate justice, Stephen +J. Field, to the said tenth circuit. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +Attest: + +TITIAN J. COFFEY, + +_Attorney-General ad interim_. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington, July 4, 1863--10 a.m._ + +The President announces to the country that news from the Army of the +Potomac up to 10 o'clock p.m. of the 3d is such as to cover that army +with the highest honor, to promise a great success to the cause of the +Union, and to claim the condolence of all for the many gallant fallen; +and that for this he especially desires that on this day He whose will, +not ours, should ever be done be everywhere remembered and ever +reverenced with profoundest gratitude. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +GENERAL ORDERS, No. 211. + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, July 9, 1863_. + + +ORDER ABOLISHING MILITARY GOVERNORSHIP OF ARKANSAS. + +_Ordered_, That the appointment of John S. Phelps as military governor +of the State of Arkansas and of Amos F. Eno as secretary be revoked, and +the office of military governor in said State is abolished, and that all +authority, appointments, and power heretofore granted to and exercised +by them, or either of them, as military governor or secretary, or by any +person or persons appointed by or acting under them, is hereby revoked +and annulled. + +By order of the President: + +E.D. TOWNSEND, + +_Assistant Adjutant-General_. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, July 25, 1863_. + +Hon. SECRETARY OF THE NAVY. + +SIR: Certain matters have come to my notice, and considered by me, which +induce me to believe that it will conduce to the public interest for you +to add to the general instructions given to our naval commanders in +relation to contraband trade propositions substantially as follows, to +wit: + +First. You will avoid the reality, and as far as possible the +appearance, of using any neutral port to watch neutral vessels, and then +to dart out and seize them on their departure. + +NOTE.--Complaint is made that this has been practiced at the port of St. +Thomas, which practice, if it exists, is disapproved and must cease. + +Second. You will not in any case detain the crew of a captured neutral +vessel or any other subject of a neutral power on board such vessel, as +prisoners of war or otherwise, except the small number necessary as +witnesses in the prize court. + +NOTE.--The practice here forbidden is also charged to exist, which, if +true, is disapproved and must cease. + +My dear sir, it is not intended to be insinuated that you have, been +remiss in the performance of the arduous and responsible duties of your +Department, which, I take pleasure in affirming, has in your hands been +conducted with admirable success. Yet, while your subordinates are +almost of necessity brought into angry collision with the subjects of +foreign states, the representatives of those states and yourself do not +come into immediate contact for the purpose of keeping the peace, in +spite of such collisions. At that point there is an ultimate and heavy +responsibility upon me. + +What I propose is in strict accordance with international law, and is +therefore unobjectionable; whilst, if it does no other good, it will +contribute to sustain a considerable portion of the present British +ministry in their places, who, if displaced, are sure to be replaced by +others more unfavorable to us. + +Your obedient servant, + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, July 30, 1863_. + +It is the duty of every government to give protection to its citizens, +of whatever class, color, or condition, and especially to those who are +duly organized as soldiers in the public service. The law of nations and +the usages and customs of war, as carried on by civilized powers, permit +no distinction as to color in the treatment of prisoners of war as +public enemies. To sell or enslave any captured person on account of his +color, and for no offense against the laws of war, is a relapse into +barbarism and a crime against the civilization of the age. + +The Government of the United States will give the same protection to all +its soldiers, and if the enemy shall sell or enslave anyone because of +his color the offense shall be punished by retaliation upon the enemy's +prisoners in our possession. + +_It is therefore ordered_, That for every soldier of the United States +killed in violation of the laws of war a rebel soldier shall be +executed, and for every one enslaved by the enemy or sold into slavery +a rebel soldier shall be placed at hard labor on the public works and +continued at such labor until the other shall be released and receive +the treatment due to a prisoner of war. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington City, August 25, 1863_. + +_Ordered_, first. That clearances issued by the Treasury Department for +vessels or merchandise bound for the port of New Orleans for the +military necessities of the department, certified by Brigadier-General +Shepley, the military governor of Louisiana, shall be allowed to enter +said port. + +Second. That vessels and domestic produce from New Orleans permitted by +the military governor of Louisiana at New Orleans for the military +purpose of his department shall on his permit be allowed to pass from +said port to its destination to any port not blockaded by the United +States. + +A. LINCOLN. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington City, August 31, 1863_. + +_Ordered_, That the Executive order of November 21, 1862, prohibiting +the exportation of arms, ammunition, or munitions of war from the United +States, be, and the same hereby is, modified so far as to permit the +exportation of imported arms, ammunition, and munitions of war to the +ports whence they were shipped for the United States. + +By order of the President: + +[EDWIN M. STANTON.] + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, September 4, 1863_. + +_Ordered_, That the Executive order dated November 21, 1862, prohibiting +the exportation from the United States of arms, ammunition, or munitions +of war, under which the commandants of departments were, by order of the +Secretary of War dated May 13, 1863, directed to prohibit the purchase +and sale for exportation from the United States of all horses and mules +within their respective commands, and to take and appropriate to the use +of the United States any horses, mules, and live stock designed for +exportation, be so far modified that any arms heretofore imported into +the United States may be reexported to the place of original shipment, +and that any live stock raised in any State or Territory bounded by the +Pacific Ocean may be exported from any port of such State or Territory. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington City, September 24, 1863_. + +_Ordered by the President of the United States_, That Major-General +Hooker be, and he is hereby, authorized to take military possession of +all railroads, with their cars, locomotives, plants, and equipments, +that may be necessary for the execution of the military operation +committed to his charge; and all officers, agents, and employees of said +roads are directed to render their aid and assistance therein and to +respect and obey his commands, pursuant to the act of Congress in such +case made and provided. + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, November 10, 1863_. + +In consideration of the peculiar circumstances and pursuant to the +comity deemed to be due to friendly powers, any tobacco in the United +States belonging to the government either of France, Austria, or any +other state with which this country is at peace, and which tobacco was +purchased and paid for by such government prior to the 4th day of March, +1861, may be exported from any port of the United States under the +supervision and upon the responsibility of naval officers of such +governments and in conformity to such regulations as may be presented +by the Secretary of State of the United States, and not otherwise. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + +THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE. + +DECEMBER 8, 1863. + +_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +Another year of health and of sufficiently abundant harvests has passed. +For these, and especially for the improved condition of our national +affairs, our renewed and profoundest gratitude to God is due. + +We remain in peace and friendship with foreign powers. + +The efforts of disloyal citizens of the United States to involve us in +foreign wars to aid an inexcusable insurrection have been unavailing. +Her Britannic Majesty's Government, as was justly expected, have +exercised their authority to prevent the departure of new hostile +expeditions from British ports. The Emperor of France has by a like +proceeding promptly vindicated the neutrality which he proclaimed at the +beginning of the contest. Questions of great intricacy and importance +have arisen out of the blockade and other belligerent operations between +the Government and several of the maritime powers, but they have been +discussed and, as far as was possible, accommodated in a spirit of +frankness, justice, and mutual good will. It is especially gratifying +that our prize courts, by the impartiality of their adjudications, have +commanded the respect and confidence of maritime powers. + +The supplemental treaty between the United States and Great Britain for +the suppression of the African slave trade, made on the 17th day of +February last, has been duly ratified and carried into execution. It is +believed that so far as American ports and American citizens are +concerned that inhuman and odious traffic has been brought to an end. + +I shall submit for the consideration of the Senate a convention for the +adjustment of possessory claims in Washington Territory arising out of +the treaty of the 15th June, 1846, between the United States and Great +Britain, and which have been the source of some disquiet among the +citizens of that now rapidly improving part of the country. + +A novel and important question, involving the extent of the maritime +jurisdiction of Spain in the waters which surround the island of Cuba, +has been debated without reaching an agreement, and it is proposed in an +amicable spirit to refer it to the arbitrament of a friendly power. A +convention for that purpose will be submitted to the Senate. + +I have thought it proper, subject to the approval of the Senate, to +concur with the interested commercial powers in an arrangement for the +liquidation of the Scheldt dues, upon the principles which have been +heretofore adopted in regard to the imposts upon navigation in the +waters of Denmark. + +The long-pending controversy between this Government and that of Chile +touching the seizure at Sitana, in Peru, by Chilean officers, of a large +amount in treasure belonging to citizens of the United States has been +brought to a close by the award of His Majesty the King of the Belgians, +to whose arbitration the question was referred by the parties. The +subject was thoroughly and patiently examined by that justly respected +magistrate, and although the sum awarded to the claimants may not have +been as large as they expected there is no reason to distrust the wisdom +of His Majesty's decision. That decision was promptly complied with by +Chile when intelligence in regard to it reached that country. + +The joint commission under the act of the last session for carrying into +effect the convention with Peru on the subject of claims has been +organized at Lima, and is engaged in the business intrusted to it. + +Difficulties concerning interoceanic transit through Nicaragua are in +course of amicable adjustment. + +In conformity with principles set forth in my last annual message, I +have received a representative from the United States of Colombia, and +have accredited a minister to that Republic. + +Incidents occurring in the progress of our civil war have forced upon my +attention the uncertain state of international questions touching the +rights of foreigners in this country and of United States citizens +abroad. In regard to some governments these rights are at least +partially defined by treaties. In no instance, however, is it expressly +stipulated that in the event of civil war a foreigner residing in this +country within the lines of the insurgents is to be exempted from the +rule which classes him as a belligerent, in whose behalf the Government +of his country can not expect any privileges or immunities distinct from +that character. I regret to say, however, that such claims have been put +forward, and in some instances in behalf of foreigners who have lived in +the United States the greater part of their lives. + +There is reason to believe that many persons born in foreign countries +who have declared their intention to become citizens, or who have been +fully naturalized, have evaded the military duty required of them by +denying the fact and thereby throwing upon the Government the burden of +proof. It has been found difficult or impracticable to obtain this +proof, from the want of guides to the proper sources of information. +These might be supplied by requiring clerks of courts where declarations +of intention may be made or naturalizations effected to send +periodically lists of the names of the persons naturalized or declaring +their intention to become citizens to the Secretary of the Interior, in +whose Department those names might be arranged and printed for general +information. + +There is also reason to believe that foreigners frequently become +citizens of the United States for the sole purpose of evading duties +imposed by the laws of their native countries, to which on becoming +naturalized here they at once repair, and though never returning to the +United States they still claim the interposition of this Government as +citizens. Many altercations and great prejudices have heretofore arisen +out of this abuse. It is therefore submitted to your serious +consideration. It might be advisable to fix a limit beyond which no +citizen of the United States residing abroad may claim the interposition +of his Government. + +The right of suffrage has often been assumed and exercised by aliens +under pretenses of naturalization, which they have disavowed when +drafted into the military service. I submit the expediency of such an +amendment of the law as will make the fact of voting an estoppel against +any plea of exemption from military service or other civil obligation on +the ground of alienage. + +In common with other Western powers, our relations with Japan have been +brought into serious jeopardy through the perverse opposition of the +hereditary aristocracy of the Empire to the enlightened and liberal +policy of the Tycoon, designed to bring the country into the society of +nations. It is hoped, although not with entire confidence, that these +difficulties may be peacefully overcome. I ask your attention to the +claim of the minister residing there for the damages he sustained in the +destruction by fire of the residence of the legation at Yedo. + +Satisfactory arrangements have been made with the Emperor of Russia, +which, it is believed, will result in effecting a continuous line of +telegraph through that Empire from our Pacific coast. + +I recommend to your favorable consideration the subject of an +international telegraph across the Atlantic Ocean, and also of a +telegraph between this capital and the national forts along the Atlantic +seaboard and the Gulf of Mexico. Such communications, established with +any reasonable outlay, would be economical as well as effective aids to +the diplomatic, military, and naval service. + +The consular system of the United States, under the enactments of the +last Congress, begins to be self-sustaining, and there is reason to hope +that it may become entirely so with the increase of trade which will +ensue whenever peace is restored. Our ministers abroad have been +faithful in defending American rights. In protecting commercial +interests our consuls have necessarily had to encounter increased labors +and responsibilities growing out of the war. These they have for the +most part met and discharged with zeal and efficiency. This +acknowledgment justly includes those consuls who, residing in Morocco, +Egypt, Turkey, Japan, China, and other Oriental countries, are charged +with complex functions and extraordinary powers. + +The condition of the several organized Territories is generally +satisfactory, although Indian disturbances in New Mexico have not been +entirely suppressed. The mineral resources of Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, +New Mexico, and Arizona are proving far richer than has been heretofore +understood. I lay before you a communication on this subject from the +governor of New Mexico. I again submit to your consideration the +expediency of establishing a system for the encouragement of +immigration. Although this source of national wealth and strength is +again flowing with greater freedom than for several years before the +insurrection occurred, there is still a great deficiency of laborers in +every field of industry, especially in agriculture and in our mines, as +well of iron and coal as of the precious metals. While the demand for +labor is much increased here, tens of thousands of persons, destitute of +remunerative occupation, are thronging our foreign consulates and +offering to emigrate to the United States if essential, but very cheap, +assistance can be afforded them. It is easy to see that under the sharp +discipline of civil war the nation is beginning a new life. This noble +effort demands the aid and ought to receive the attention and support of +the Government. + +Injuries unforeseen by the Government and unintended may in some cases +have been inflicted on the subjects or citizens of foreign countries, +both at sea and on land, by persons in the service of the United States. +As this Government expects redress from other powers when similar +injuries are inflicted by persons in their service upon citizens of the +United States, we must be prepared to do justice to foreigners. If the +existing judicial tribunals are inadequate to this purpose, a special +court may be authorized, with power to hear and decide such claims of +the character referred to as may have arisen under treaties and the +public law. Conventions for adjusting the claims by joint commission +have been proposed to some governments, but no definitive answer to the +proposition has yet been received from any. + +In the course of the session I shall probably have occasion to request +you to provide indemnification to claimants where decrees of restitution +have been rendered and damages awarded by admiralty courts, and in other +cases where this Government may be acknowledged to be liable in +principle and where the amount of that liability has been ascertained by +an informal arbitration. + +The proper officers of the Treasury have deemed themselves required by +the law of the United States upon the subject to demand a tax upon the +incomes of foreign consuls in this country. While such a demand may not +in strictness be in derogation of public law, or perhaps of any existing +treaty between the United States and a foreign country, the expediency +of so far modifying the act as to exempt from tax the income of such +consuls as are not citizens of the United States, derived from the +emoluments of their office or from property not situated in the United +States, is submitted to your serious consideration. I make this +suggestion upon the ground that a comity which ought to be reciprocated +exempts our consuls in all other countries from taxation to the extent +thus indicated. The United States, I think, ought not to be +exceptionally illiberal to international trade and commerce. + +The operations of the Treasury during the last year have been +successfully conducted. The enactment by Congress of a national banking +law has proved a valuable support of the public credit, and the general +legislation in relation to loans has fully answered the expectations of +its favorers. Some amendments may be required to perfect existing laws, +but no change in their principles or general scope is believed to be +needed. + +Since these measures have been in operation all demands on the Treasury, +including the pay of the Army and Navy, have been promptly met and fully +satisfied. No considerable body of troops, it is believed, were ever +more amply provided and more liberally and punctually paid, and it may +be added that by no people were the burdens incident to a great war ever +more cheerfully borne. + +The receipts during the year from all sources, including loans and +balance in the Treasury at its commencement, were $901,125,674.86, and +the aggregate disbursements $895,796,630.65, leaving a balance on the +1st of July, 1863, of $5,329,044.21. Of the receipts there were derived +from customs $69,059,642.40, from internal revenue $37,640,787.95, from +direct tax $1,485,103.61, from lands $167,617.17, from miscellaneous +sources $3,046,615.35, and from loans $776,682,361.57, making the +aggregate $901,125,674.86. Of the disbursements there were for the civil +service $23,253,922.08, for pensions and Indians $4,216,520.79, for +interest on public debt $24,729,846.51, for the War Department +$599,298,600.83, for the Navy Department $63,211,105.27, for payment of +funded and temporary debt $181,086,635.07, making the aggregate +$895,796,630.65 and leaving the balance of $5,329,044.21. But the +payment of funded and temporary debt, having been made from moneys +borrowed during the year, must be regarded as merely nominal payments +and the moneys borrowed to make them as merely nominal receipts, and +their amount, $181,086,635.07, should therefore be deducted both from +receipts and disbursements. This being done there remains as actual +receipts $720,039,039.79 and the actual disbursements $714,709,995.58, +leaving the balance as already stated. + +The actual receipts and disbursements for the first quarter and the +estimated receipts and disbursements for the remaining three quarters of +the current fiscal year (1864) will be shown in detail by the report of +the Secretary of the Treasury, to which I invite your attention. It is +sufficient to say here that it is not believed that actual results will +exhibit a state of the finances less favorable to the country than the +estimates of that officer heretofore submitted, while it is confidently +expected that at the close of the year both disbursements and debt will +be found very considerably less than has been anticipated. + +The report of the Secretary of War is a document of great interest. It +consists of-- + +1. The military operations of the year, detailed in the report of the +General in Chief. + +2. The organization of colored persons into the war service. + +3. The exchange of prisoners, fully set forth in the letter of General +Hitchcock. + +4. The operations under the act for enrolling and calling out the +national forces, detailed in the report of the Provost-Marshal-General. + +5. The organization of the invalid corps, and + +6. The operation of the several departments of the +Quartermaster-General, Commissary-General, Paymaster-General, Chief of +Engineers, Chief of Ordnance, and Surgeon-General. + +It has appeared impossible to make a valuable summary of this report, +except such as would be too extended for this place, and hence I content +myself by asking your careful attention to the report itself. + +The duties devolving on the naval branch of the service during the year +and throughout the whole of this unhappy contest have been discharged +with fidelity and eminent success. The extensive blockade has been +constantly increasing in efficiency as the Navy has expanded, yet on so +long a line it has so far been impossible to entirely suppress illicit +trade. From returns received at the Navy Department it appears that more +than 1,000 vessels have been captured since the blockade was instituted, +and that the value of prizes already sent in for adjudication amounts to +over $13,000,000. + +The naval force of the United States consists at this time of 588 +vessels completed and in the course of completion, and of these 75 are +ironclad or armored steamers. The events of the war give an increased +interest and importance to the Navy which will probably extend beyond +the war itself. + +The armored vessels in our Navy completed and in service, or which are +under contract and approaching completion, are believed to exceed in +number those of any other power; but while these may be relied upon for +harbor defense and coast service, others of greater strength and +capacity will be necessary for cruising purposes and to maintain our +rightful position on the ocean. + +The change that has taken place in naval vessels and naval warfare since +the introduction of steam as a motive power for ships of war demands +either a corresponding change in some of our existing navy-yards or the +establishment of new ones for the construction and necessary repair of +modern naval vessels. No inconsiderable embarrassment, delay, and public +injury have been experienced from the want of such governmental +establishments. The necessity of such a navy-yard, so furnished, at some +suitable place upon the Atlantic seaboard has on repeated occasions been +brought to the attention of Congress by the Navy Department, and is +again presented in the report of the Secretary which accompanies this +communication. I think it my duty to invite your special attention to +this subject, and also to that of establishing a yard and depot for +naval purposes upon one of the Western rivers. A naval force has been +created on those interior waters, and under many disadvantages, within +little more than two years, exceeding in numbers the whole naval force +of the country at the commencement of the present Administration. +Satisfactory and important as have been the performances of the heroic +men of the Navy at this interesting period, they are scarcely more +wonderful than the success of our mechanics and artisans in the +production of war vessels, which has created a new form of naval power. + +Our country has advantages superior to any other nation in our resources +of iron and timber, with inexhaustible quantities of fuel in the +immediate vicinity of both, and all available and in close proximity to +navigable waters. Without the advantage of public works, the resources +of the nation have been developed and its power displayed in the +construction of a Navy of such magnitude, which has at the very period +of its creation rendered signal service to the Union. + +The increase of the number of seamen in the public service from 7,500 +men in the spring of 1861 to about 34,000 at the present time has been +accomplished without special legislation or extraordinary bounties to +promote that increase. It has been found, however, that the operation of +the draft, with the high bounties paid for army recruits, is beginning +to affect injuriously the naval service, and will, if not corrected, be +likely to impair its efficiency by detaching seamen from their proper +vocation and inducing them to enter the Army. I therefore respectfully +suggest that Congress might aid both the army and naval services by a +definite provision on this subject which would at the same time be +equitable to the communities more especially interested. + +I commend to your consideration the suggestions of the Secretary of the +Navy in regard to the policy of fostering and training seamen and also +the education of officers and engineers for the naval service. The Naval +Academy is rendering signal service in preparing midshipmen for the +highly responsible duties which in after life they will be required to +perform. In order that the country should not be deprived of the proper +quota of educated officers, for which legal provision has been made at +the naval school, the vacancies caused by the neglect or omission to +make nominations from the States in insurrection have been filled by the +Secretary of the Navy. The school is now more full and complete than at +any former period, and in every respect entitled to the favorable +consideration of Congress. + +During the past fiscal year the financial condition of the Post-Office +Department has been one of increasing prosperity, and I am gratified in +being able to state that the actual postal revenue has nearly equaled +the entire expenditures, the latter amounting to $11,314,206.84 and the +former to $11,163,789.59, leaving a deficiency of but $150,417.25. In +1860, the year immediately preceding the rebellion, the deficiency +amounted to $5,656,705.49, the postal receipts of that year being +$2,645,722.19 less than those of 1863. The decrease since 1860 in the +annual amount of transportation has been only about 25 per cent, but the +annual expenditure on account of the same has been reduced 35 per cent. +It is manifest, therefore, that the Post-Office Department may become +self-sustaining in a few years, even with the restoration of the whole +service. + +The international conference of postal delegates from the principal +countries of Europe and America, which was called at the suggestion of +the Postmaster-General, met at Paris on the 11th of May last and +concluded its deliberations on the 8th of June. The principles +established by the conference as best adapted to facilitate postal +intercourse between nations and as the basis of future postal +conventions inaugurate a general system of uniform international charges +at reduced rates of postage, and can not fail to produce beneficial +results. + +I refer you to the report of the Secretary of the Interior, which is +herewith laid before you, for useful and varied information in relation +to the public lands, Indian affairs, patents, pensions, and other +matters of public concern pertaining to his Department. + +The quantity of land disposed of during the last and the first quarter +of the present fiscal years was 3,841,549 acres, of which 161,911 acres +were sold for cash, 1,456,514 acres were taken up under the homestead +law, and the residue disposed of under laws granting lands for military +bounties, for railroad and other purposes. It also appears that the sale +of the public lands is largely on the increase. + +It has long been a cherished opinion of some of our wisest statesmen +that the people of the United States had a higher and more enduring +interest in the early settlement and substantial cultivation of the +public lands than in the amount of direct revenue to be derived from the +sale of them. This opinion has had a controlling influence in shaping +legislation upon the subject of our national domain. I may cite as +evidence of this the liberal measures adopted in reference to actual +settlers; the grant to the States of the overflowed lands within their +limits, in order to their being reclaimed and rendered fit for +cultivation; the grants to railway companies of alternate sections of +land upon the contemplated lines of their roads, which when completed +will so largely multiply the facilities for reaching our distant +possessions. This policy has received its most signal and beneficent +illustration in the recent enactment granting homesteads to actual +settlers. Since the 1st day of January last the before-mentioned +quantity of 1,456,514 acres of land have been taken up under its +provisions. This fact and the amount of sales furnish gratifying +evidence of increasing settlement upon the public lands, notwithstanding +the great struggle in which the energies of the nation have been +engaged, and which has required so large a withdrawal of our citizens +from their accustomed pursuits. I cordially concur in the recommendation +of the Secretary of the Interior suggesting a modification of the act in +favor of those engaged in the military and naval service of the United +States. I doubt not that Congress will cheerfully adopt such measures as +will, without essentially changing the general features of the system, +secure to the greatest practicable extent its benefits to those who have +left their homes in the defense of the country in this arduous crisis. + +I invite your attention to the views of the Secretary as to the +propriety of raising by appropriate legislation a revenue from the +mineral lands of the United States. + +The measures provided at your last session for the removal of certain +Indian tribes have been carried into effect. Sundry treaties have been +negotiated, which will in due time be submitted for the constitutional +action of the Senate. They contain stipulations for extinguishing the +possessory rights of the Indians to large and valuable tracts of lands. +It is hoped that the effect of these treaties will result in the +establishment of permanent friendly relations with such of these tribes +as have been brought into frequent and bloody collision with our +outlying settlements and emigrants. Sound policy and our imperative duty +to these wards of the Government demand our anxious and constant +attention to their material well-being, to their progress in the arts of +civilization, and, above all, to that moral training which under the +blessing of Divine Providence will confer upon them the elevated and +sanctifying influences, the hopes and consolations, of the Christian +faith. + +I suggested in my last annual message the propriety of remodeling our +Indian system. Subsequent events have satisfied me of its necessity. The +details set forth in the report of the Secretary evince the urgent need +for immediate legislative action. + +I commend the benevolent institutions established or patronized by the +Government in this District to your generous and fostering care. + +The attention of Congress during the last session was engaged to some +extent with a proposition for enlarging the water communication between +the Mississippi River and the northeastern seaboard, which proposition, +however, failed for the time. Since then, upon a call of the greatest +respectability, a convention has been held at Chicago upon the same +subject, a summary of whose views is contained in a memorial addressed +to the President and Congress, and which I now have the honor to lay +before you. That this interest is one which ere long will force its own +way I do not entertain a doubt, while it is submitted entirely to your +wisdom as to what can be done now. Augmented interest is given to this +subject by the actual commencement of work upon the Pacific Railroad, +under auspices so favorable to rapid progress and completion. The +enlarged navigation becomes a palpable need to the great road. + +I transmit the second annual report of the Commissioner of the +Department of Agriculture, asking your attention to the developments in +that vital interest of the nation. + +When Congress assembled a year ago, the war had already lasted nearly +twenty months, and there had been many conflicts on both land and sea, +with varying results; the rebellion had been pressed back into reduced +limits; yet the tone of public feeling and opinion, at home and abroad, +was not satisfactory. With other signs, the popular elections then just +past indicated uneasiness among ourselves, while, amid much that was +cold and menacing, the kindest words coming from Europe were uttered in +accents of pity that we were too blind to surrender a hopeless cause. +Our commerce was suffering greatly by a few armed vessels built upon and +furnished from foreign shores, and we were threatened with such +additions from the same quarter as would sweep our trade from the sea +and raise our blockade. We had failed to elicit from European +Governments anything hopeful upon this subject. The preliminary +emancipation proclamation, issued in September, was running its assigned +period to the beginning of the new year. A month later the final +proclamation came, including the announcement that colored men of +suitable condition would be received into the war service. The policy of +emancipation and of employing black soldiers gave to the future a new +aspect, about which hope and fear and doubt contended in uncertain +conflict. According to our political system, as a matter of civil +administration, the General Government had no lawful power to effect +emancipation in any State, and for a long time it had been hoped that +the rebellion could be suppressed without resorting to it as a military +measure. It was all the while deemed possible that the necessity for it +might come, and that if it should the crisis of the contest would then +be presented. It came, and, as was anticipated, it was followed by dark +and doubtful days. Eleven months having now passed, we are permitted to +take another review. The rebel borders are pressed still farther back, +and by the complete opening of the Mississippi the country dominated by +the rebellion is divided into distinct parts, with no practical +communication between them. Tennessee and Arkansas have been +substantially cleared of insurgent control, and influential citizens in +each, owners of slaves and advocates of slavery at the beginning of the +rebellion, now declare openly for emancipation in their respective +States. Of those States not included in the emancipation proclamation, +Maryland and Missouri, neither of which three years ago would tolerate +any restraint upon the extension of slavery into new Territories, only +dispute now as to the best mode of removing it within their own limits. + +Of those who were slaves at the beginning of the rebellion full 100,000 +are now in the United States military service, about one-half of which +number actually bear arms in the ranks, thus giving the double advantage +of taking so much labor from the insurgent cause and supplying the +places which otherwise must be filled with so many white men. So far as +tested, it is difficult to say they are not as good soldiers as any. No +servile insurrection or tendency to violence or cruelty has marked the +measures of emancipation and arming the blacks. These measures have been +much discussed in foreign countries, and, contemporary with such +discussion, the tone of public sentiment there is much improved. At home +the same measures have been fully discussed, supported, criticised, and +denounced, and the annual elections following are highly encouraging to +those whose official duty it is to bear the country through this great +trial. Thus we have the new reckoning. The crisis which threatened to +divide the friends of the Union is past. + +Looking now to the present and future, and with reference to a +resumption of the national authority within the States wherein that +authority has been suspended, I have thought fit to issue a +proclamation, a copy of which is herewith transmitted.[10] On examination +of this proclamation it will appear, as is believed, that nothing will +be attempted beyond what is amply justified by the Constitution. True, +the form of an oath is given, but no man is coerced to take it. The man +is only promised a pardon in case he voluntarily takes the oath. The +Constitution authorizes the Executive to grant or withhold the pardon at +his own absolute discretion, and this includes the power to grant on +terms, as is fully established by judicial and other authorities. + +[Footnote 10: See proclamation dated December 8, 1863, pp. 213-215.] + +It is also proffered that if in any of the States named a State +government shall be in the mode prescribed set up, such government shall +be recognized and guaranteed by the United States, and that under it the +State shall, on the constitutional conditions, be protected against +invasion and domestic violence. The constitutional obligation of the +United States to guarantee to every State in the Union a republican form +of government and to protect the State in the cases stated is explicit +and full. But why tender the benefits of this provision only to +a State government set up in this particular way? This section of the +Constitution contemplates a case wherein the element within a State +favorable to republican government in the Union may be too feeble for +an opposite and hostile element external to or even within the State, +and such are precisely the cases with which we are now dealing. + +An attempt to guarantee and protect a revived State government, +constructed in whole or in preponderating part from the very element +against whose hostility and violence it is to be protected, is simply +absurd. There must be a test by which to separate the opposing elements, +so as to build only from the sound; and that test is a sufficiently +liberal one which accepts as sound whoever will make a sworn recantation +of his former unsoundness. + +But if it be proper to require as a test of admission to the political +body an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and +to the Union under it, why also to the laws and proclamations in regard +to slavery? Those laws and proclamations were enacted and put forth for +the purpose of aiding in the suppression of the rebellion. To give them +their fullest effect there had to be a pledge for their maintenance. In +my judgment, they have aided and will further aid the cause for which +they were intended. To now abandon them would be not only to relinquish +a lever of power, but would also be a cruel and an astounding breach +of faith. I may add at this point that while I remain in my present +position I shall not attempt to retract or modify the emancipation +proclamation, nor shall I return to slavery any person who is free +by the terms of that proclamation or by any of the acts of Congress. +For these and other reasons it is thought best that support of these +measures shall be included in the oath, and it is believed the Executive +may lawfully claim it in return for pardon and restoration of forfeited +rights, which he has clear constitutional power to withhold altogether +or grant upon the terms which he shall deem wisest for the public +interest. It should be observed also that this part of the oath is +subject to the modifying and abrogating power of legislation and supreme +judicial decision. + +The proposed acquiescence of the National Executive in any reasonable +temporary State arrangement for the freed people is made with the view +of possibly modifying the confusion and destitution which must at best +attend all classes by a total revolution of labor throughout whole +States. It is hoped that the already deeply afflicted people in those +States may be somewhat more ready to give up the cause of their +affliction if to this extent this vital matter be left to themselves, +while no power of the National Executive to prevent an abuse is abridged +by the proposition. + +The suggestion in the proclamation as to maintaining the political +framework of the States on what is called reconstruction is made in the +hope that it may do good without danger of harm. It will save labor and +avoid great confusion. + +But why any proclamation now upon this subject? This question is beset +with the conflicting views that the step might be delayed too long or be +taken too soon. In some States the elements for resumption seem ready +for action, but remain inactive apparently for want of a rallying +point--a plan of action. Why shall A adopt the plan of B rather than B +that of A? And if A and B should agree, how can they know but that the +General Government here will reject their plan? By the proclamation a +plan is presented which may be accepted by them as a rallying point, and +which they are assured in advance will not be rejected here. This may +bring them to act sooner than they otherwise would. + +The objections to a premature presentation of a plan by the National +Executive consist in the danger of committals on points which could be +more safely left to further developments. Care has been taken to so +shape the document as to avoid embarrassments from this source. Saying +that on certain terms certain classes will be pardoned with rights +restored, it is not said that other classes or other terms will never be +included. Saying that reconstruction will be accepted if presented in +a specified way, it is not said it will never be accepted in any other +way. + +The movements by State action for emancipation in several of the States +not included in the emancipation proclamation are matters of profound +gratulation. And while I do not repeat in detail what I have heretofore +so earnestly urged upon this subject, my general views and feelings +remain unchanged; and I trust that Congress will omit no fair +opportunity of aiding these important steps to a great consummation. + +In the midst of other cares, however important, we must not lose sight +of the fact that the war power is still our main reliance. To that power +alone can we look yet for a time to give confidence to the people in the +contested regions that the insurgent power will not again overrun them. +Until that confidence shall be established little can be done anywhere +for what is called reconstruction. Hence our chiefest care must still be +directed to the Army and Navy, who have thus far borne their harder part +so nobly and well; and it may be esteemed fortunate that in giving the +greatest efficiency to these indispensable arms we do also honorably +recognize the gallant men, from commander to sentinel, who compose them, +and to whom more than to others the world must stand indebted for the +home of freedom disenthralled, regenerated, enlarged, and perpetuated. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + +SPECIAL MESSAGES. + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _December 8, 1863_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +In conformity to the law of July 16, 1862, I most cordially recommend +that Captain John Rodgers, United States Navy, receive a vote of thanks +from Congress for the eminent skill and gallantry exhibited by him in +the engagement with the rebel armed ironclad steamer _Fingal_, alias +_Atlanta_, whilst in command of the United States ironclad steamer +_Weehawken_, which led to her capture on the 17th June, 1863, and also +for the zeal, bravery, and general good conduct shown by this officer on +many occasions. + +This recommendation is specially made in order to comply with the +requirements of the ninth section of the aforesaid act, which is in the +following words, viz: + +That any line officer of the Navy or Marine Corps may be advanced one +grade if upon recommendation of the President by name he receives the +thanks of Congress for highly distinguished conduct in conflict with the +enemy or for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _December 8, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +Congress, on my recommendation, passed a resolution, approved 7th +February, 1863, tendering its thanks to Commander D.D. Porter "for the +bravery and skill displayed in the attack on the post of Arkansas on the +10th January, 1863," and in consideration of those services, together +with his efficient labors and vigilance subsequently displayed in +thwarting the efforts of the rebels to obstruct the Mississippi and its +tributaries and the important part rendered by the squadron under his +command, which led to the surrender of Vicksburg. + +I do therefore, in conformity to the seventh section of the act approved +16th July, 1862, nominate Commander D.D. Porter to be a rear-admiral in +the Navy on the active list from the 4th July, 1863, to fill an existing +vacancy. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 10, 1863_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit herewith a report, dated the 9th instant, with the +accompanying papers, received from the Secretary of State in compliance +with the requirements of the sixteenth and eighteenth sections of the +act entitled "An act to regulate the diplomatic and consular systems of +the United States," approved August 18, 1856. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, December, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, a treaty +concluded at Le Roy, Kans., on the 29th day of August, 1863, between +William P. Dole, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and William G. Coffin, +superintendent of Indian affairs of the southern superintendency, +commissioners on the part of the United States, and the chiefs and +headmen of the Great and Little Osage tribe of Indians of the State of +Kansas. + +A communication from the Secretary of the Interior, dated the 12th +instant, accompanies the treaty. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, December, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, a treaty +concluded on the 7th day of October, 1863, at Conejos, Colorado +Territory, between John Evans, governor and _ex officio_ superintendent +of Indian affairs of said Territory; Michael Steck, superintendent of +Indian affairs for the Territory of New Mexico; Simeon Whitely and +Lafayette Head, Indian agents, commissioners on the part of the United +States, and the chiefs and warriors of the Tabeguache band of Utah +Indians. + +I also transmit a report of the Secretary of the Interior of the 12th +instant, submitting the treaty; an extract from the last annual report +of Governor Evans, of Colorado Territory, relating to its negotiation, +and a map upon which is delineated the boundaries of the country ceded +by the Indians and that retained for their own use. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, December, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, a treaty +concluded at the city of Washington on the 6th day of April, 1863, +between John P. Usher, commissioner on the part of the United States, +and the chiefs and headmen of the Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache tribes of +Indians, duly authorized thereto. + +A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 12th instant +accompanies the treaty. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, December, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, a treaty +concluded at the Sac and Fox Agency, in Kansas, on the 2d day of +September, 1863, between William P. Dole, Commissioner of Indian +Affairs, commissioner on the part of the United States, and the New York +Indians, represented by duly authorized members of the bands of said +tribe. + +A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 12th instant +accompanies the treaty. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, December, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, a treaty +concluded at the Sac and Fox Agency, in Kansas, on the 3d day of +September, 1863, between William P. Dole, Commissioner of Indian +Affairs, and William G. Coffin, superintendent of Indian affairs for the +southern superintendency, on the part of the United States, and the +Creek Nation of Indians, represented by its chiefs. + +A letter from the Secretary of the Interior, dated the 12th instant, +accompanies the treaty. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, December, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, a treaty +concluded at the Sac and Fox Agency, in Kansas, on the 4th day of +September, 1863, between William P. Dole, Commissioner of Indian +Affairs, and Henry W. Martin, agent for the Sacs and Foxes, +commissioners on the part of the United States, and the united tribes of +Sac and Fox Indians of the Mississippi. + +A letter from the Secretary of the Interior, dated the 12th instant, +accompanies the treaty. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 15, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 11th of March last, +requesting certain information touching persons in the service of this +Government, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the +resolution was referred. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 17, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to its +ratification, a convention between the United States and Her Britannic +Majesty for the final adjustment of the claims of the Hudsons Bay and +Pugets Sound Agricultural Companies, signed in this city on the 1st day +of July last (1863). + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +DECEMBER 17, 1863. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_: + +Herewith I lay before you a letter addressed to myself by a committee of +gentlemen representing the freedmen's aid societies in Boston, New York, +Philadelphia, and Cincinnati. The subject of the letter, as indicated +above, is one of great magnitude and importance, and one which these +gentlemen, of known ability and high character, seem to have considered +with great attention and care. Not having the time to form a mature +judgment of my own as to whether the plan they suggest is the best, I +submit the whole subject to Congress, deeming that their attention +thereto is almost imperatively demanded. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 22, 1863_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to +ratification, two conventions between the United States and His Belgian +Majesty, signed at Brussels on the 20th May and the 20th of July last, +respectively, and both relating to the extinguishment of the Scheldt +dues, etc. A copy of so much of the correspondence between the Secretary +of State and Mr. Sanford, the minister resident of the United States at +Brussels, on the subject of the conventions as is necessary to a full +understanding of it is also herewith transmitted. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 23, 1863_ + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a copy of the report to the Secretary of State of +the commissioners on the part of the United States under the convention +with Peru of the 12th of January last, on the subject of claims. It will +be noticed that two claims of Peruvian citizens on this Government have +been allowed. An appropriation for the discharge of the obligations of +the United States in these cases is requested. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +JANUARY 5, 1864. + +_Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +By a joint resolution of your honorable bodies approved December 23, +1863, the paying of bounties to veteran volunteers, as now practiced by +the War Department, is, to the extent of $300 in each case, prohibited +after this 5th day of the present month. I transmit for your +consideration a communication from the Secretary of War, accompanied by +one from the Provost-Marshal-General to him, both relating to the +subject above mentioned. I earnestly recommend that the law be so +modified as to allow bounties to be paid as they now are, at least until +the ensuing 1st day of February. + +I am not without anxiety lest I appear to be importunate in thus +recalling your attention to a subject upon which you have so recently +acted, and nothing but a deep conviction that the public interest +demands it could induce me to incur the hazard of being misunderstood on +this point. The Executive approval was given by me to the resolution +mentioned, and it is now by a closer attention and a fuller knowledge of +facts that I feel constrained to recommend a reconsideration of the +subject. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 7_ + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a copy of the decree of the court of the United +States for the southern district of New York, awarding the sum of +$17,150.66 for the illegal capture of the British schooner _Glen_, +and request that an appropriation of that amount may be made as an +indemnification to the parties interested. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, January, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon +the following-described treaties, viz: + +A treaty made at Fort Bridger, Utah Territory, on the 2d day of July, +1863, between the United States and the chiefs, principal men, and +warriors of the eastern bands of the Shoshonee Nation of Indians. + +A treaty made at Box Elder, Utah Territory, on the 30th day of July, +1863, between the United States and the chiefs and warriors of the +northwestern bands of the Shoshonee Nation of Indians. + +A treaty made at Ruby Valley, Nevada Territory, on the 1st day of +October, 1863, between the United States and the chiefs, principal men, +and warriors of the Shoshonee Nation of Indians. + +A treaty made at Tuilla Valley, Utah Territory, on the 12th day of +October, 1863, between the United States and the chiefs, principal men, +and warriors of the Goship bands of Shoshonee Indians. + +A treaty made at Soda Springs, in Idaho Territory, on the 14th day of +October, 1863, between the United States and the chiefs of the mixed +bands of Bannacks and Shoshonees, occupying the valley of the Shoshonee +River. + +A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 5th instant, a copy of +a report of the 30th ultimo, from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, a +copy of a communication from Governor Doty, superintendent of Indian +Affairs, Utah Territory, dated November 10, 1863, relating to the +Indians parties to the several treaties herein named, and a map, +furnished by that gentleman, are herewith transmitted. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, January, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, +a treaty made at the Old Crossing of Red Lake River, in the State of +Minnesota, on the 2d day of October, 1863, between Alexander Ramsey and +Ashley C. Morrill, commissioners on the part of the United States, and +the chiefs, headmen, and warriors of the Red Lake and Pembina bands of +Chippewa Indians. + +A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 8th instant, together +with a communication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 5th +instant and copies of Mr. Ramsey's report and journal, relating to the +treaty, and a map showing the territory ceded, are herewith transmitted. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_January 12, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In accordance with the request of the Senate conveyed in their +resolution of the 16th of December, 1863, desiring any information in my +possession relative to the alleged exceptional treatment of Kansas +troops when captured by those in rebellion, I have the honor to transmit +a communication from the Secretary of War, accompanied by reports from +the General in Chief of the Army and the Commissary-General of Prisoners +relative to the subject-matter of the resolution. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +JANUARY 20, 1864. + +_Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +In accordance with a letter addressed by the Secretary of State, with my +approval, to the Hon. Joseph A. Wright, of Indiana, that patriotic and +distinguished gentleman repaired to Europe and attended the +International Agricultural Exhibition, held at Hamburg last year, and +has since his return made a report to me, which, it is believed, can not +fail to be of general interest, and especially so to the agricultural +community. I transmit for your consideration copies of the letters and +report. While it appears by the letter that no reimbursement of expenses +or compensation was promised him, I submit whether reasonable allowance +should not be made him for them. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 21, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of yesterday, respecting +the recent destruction by fire of the Church of the Compania at +Santiago, Chile, and the efforts of citizens of the United States to +rescue the victims of the conflagration, I transmit a report from the +Secretary of State, with the papers accompanying it. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 23, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate a copy of a dispatch of the 12th of April last, +addressed by Anson Burlingame, esq., the minister of the United States +to China, to the Secretary of State, relative to a modification of the +twenty-first article of a treaty between the United States and China of +the 18th of June, 1858, a printed copy of which is also herewith +transmitted. + +These papers are submitted to the consideration of the Senate with a +view to their advice and consent being given to the modification of the +said twenty-first article, as explained in the said dispatch and its +accompaniments. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 29, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to +the resolution of the Senate respecting the correspondence with the +authorities of Great Britain in relation to the proposed pursuit of +hostile bands of the Sioux Indians into the Hudson Bay territories. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 4, 1864_. + +_To the Senate_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 26th ultimo, +requesting "a copy of all the correspondence between the authorities of +the United States and the rebel authorities on the exchange of +prisoners, and the different propositions connected with that subject," +I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War and the papers +with which it is accompanied. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 5, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In answer to the resolution of the Senate of yesterday on the subject of +a reciprocity treaty with the Sandwich Islands, I transmit a report from +the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 16, 1864_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of State, with the +accompanying papers, relative to the claim on this Government of the +owners of the French ship _La Manche_, and recommend an appropriation +for the satisfaction of the claim, pursuant to the award of the +arbitrators. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 16, 1864_. + +_To the House of Representatives of the United States_: + +In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 8th +instant, requesting information touching the arrest of the United States +consul-general to the British North American Provinces, and certain +official communications respecting Canadian commerce, I transmit a +report from the Secretary of State and the documents by which it was +accompanied. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 22, 1864_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress the copy of a correspondence which has recently +taken place between Her Britannic Majesty's minister accredited to this +Government and the Secretary of State, in order that the expediency of +sanctioning the acceptance by the master of the American schooner +_Highlander_ of a present of a watch which the lords of the committee of +Her Majesty's privy council for trade propose to present to him in +recognition of services rendered by him to the crew of the British +vessel _Pearl_ may be taken into consideration. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I communicate to the Senate herewith, for its constitutional action +thereon, the articles of agreement and convention made and concluded at +the city of Washington on the 25th day of the present month by and +between William P. Dole, as commissioner on the part of the United +States, and the duly authorized delegates of the Swan Creek and Black +River Chippewas and the Munsees or Christian Indians in Kansas. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 29, 1864_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 26th +instant, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, +relative to the reenlistment of veteran volunteers. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, February 29, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I nominate Ulysses S. Grant, now a major-general in the military +service, to be lieutenant-general in the Army of the United States. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit herewith a report[11] of the Secretary of the Interior of the +11th instant, containing the information requested in Senate resolution +of the 29th ultimo. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +[Footnote 11: Relating to the amount of money received for the sale of +the Wea trust lands in Kansas, etc.] + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 9, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 1st instant, +respecting the points of commencement of the Union Pacific Railroad, +on the one hundredth degree of west longitude, and of the branch road, +from the western boundary of Iowa to the said one hundredth degree of +longitude, I transmit the accompanying report from the Secretary of +the Interior, containing the information called for. + +I deem it proper to add that on the 17th day of November last an +Executive order was made upon this subject and delivered to the +vice-president of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, which fixed the +point on the western boundary of the State of Iowa from which the +company should construct their branch road to the one hundredth degree +of west longitude, and declared it to be within the limits of the +township in Iowa opposite the town of Omaha, in Nebraska. Since then +the company has represented to me that upon actual surveys made it has +determined upon the precise point of departure of their said branch +road from the Missouri River, and located the same as described in the +accompanying report of the Secretary of the Interior, which point is +within the limits designated in the order of November last; and inasmuch +as that order is not of record in any of the Executive Departments, and +the company having desired a more definite one, I have made the order +of which a copy is herewith, and caused the same to be filed in the +Department of the Interior. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE OFFICE, _March 12, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In obedience to the resolution of the Senate of the 28th of January +last, I communicate herewith a report, with accompanying papers, from +the Secretary of the Interior, showing what portion of the +appropriations for the colonization of persons of African descent has +been expended and the several steps which have been taken for the +execution of the acts of Congress on that subject. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _March 14, 1864_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a copy of a treaty between the United States and +Great Britain for the final settlement of the claims of the Hudsons Bay +and Pugets Sound Agricultural Companies, concluded on the 1st of July +last, the ratifications of which were exchanged in this city on the 5th +instant, and recommend an appropriation to carry into effect the first, +second, and third articles thereof. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _March 14, 1864_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +On the 25th day of November, 1862, a convention for the mutual +adjustment of claims pending between the United States and Ecuador was +signed at Quito by the plenipotentiaries of the contracting parties. +A copy is herewith inclosed. + +This convention, already ratified by this Government, has been sent +to Quito for the customary exchange of ratifications, which it is not +doubted will be promptly effected. As the stipulations of the instrument +require that the commissioners who are to be appointed pursuant to its +provisions shall meet at Guayaquil within ninety days after such +exchange, it is desirable that the legislation necessary to give effect +to the convention on the part of the United States should anticipate the +usual course of proceeding. + +I therefore invite the early attention of Congress to the subject. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE OFFICE, + +_Washington, March 22, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, +a treaty made and concluded in Washington City on the 18th instant by +and between William P. Dole, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and the +Shawnee Indians, represented by their duly authorized delegates. + +A report of the Secretary of the Interior and a communication of the +Commissioner of Indian Affairs accompany the treaty. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _March 24, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In reply to the resolution of the Senate of the 15th instant, in +relation to the establishment of monarchical governments in Central and +South America, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom +the subject was referred. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +MARCH 29, 1864. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +Mr. Charles B. Stuart, consulting engineer, appointed such by me upon +invitation of the governor of New York, according to a law of that +State, has made a report upon the proposed improvements to pass gunboats +from tide water to the northern and northwestern lakes, which report is +herewith respectfully submitted for your consideration. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE OFFICE, + +_Washington, April 4, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, +a treaty concluded June 9, 1863, between C.H. Hale, superintendent of +Indian affairs, Charles Hutchins and S.D. Howe, Indian agents, on the +part of the United States, and the chiefs, headmen, and delegates of the +Nez Perce tribe of Indians in Washington Territory. + +A report of the Secretary of the Interior of the 1st instant, with +a letter from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 2d ultimo, +proposing amendments to the treaty, together with a report of +Superintendent Hale on the subject and a synopsis of the proceedings of +the council held with the Nez Perce Indians, are herewith transmitted +for the consideration of the Senate. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _April 7, 1864_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, in answer to +the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 4th instant, in +relation to Major N.H. McLean. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON CITY, _April 15, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, +a supplemental treaty negotiated on the 12th of April, 1864, with the +Red Lake and Pembina bands of Chippewa Indians. + +A report of the Secretary of the Interior of this date and a +communication from the Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs accompany +the treaty. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _April 23, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, in answer to the +resolutions passed by the Senate in executive session on the 14th and +18th of April, 1864. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington City, April 22, 1864_. + +The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. + +SIR: In answer to the Senate resolutions of April 14 and April 18, I +have the honor to state that the nominations of Colonel Hiram Burnham, +Colonel Edward M. McCook, Colonel Lewis A. Grant, and Colonel Edward +Hatch are not either of them made to fill any vacancy in the proper +sense of that term. They are not made to fill a command vacated by any +other general, but are independent nominations, and if confirmed the +officers will be assigned to such command as the General Commanding may +deem proper. But in consequence of the resignations of Generals Miller, +Boyle, and Beatty and the death of General Champlin, their confirmations +will be within the number of brigadiers allowed by law. + +Your obedient servant, + +EDWIN M. STANTON + _Secretary of War_. + + + +WASHINGTON, _April 23, 1864_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a copy of a note of the 19th instant from Lord +Lyons to the Secretary of State, on the subject of two British naval +officers who recently received medical treatment at the naval hospital +at Norfolk. The expediency of authorizing Surgeon Solomon Sharp to +accept the piece of plate to which the note refers, as an acknowledgment +of his services, is submitted to your consideration. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +APRIL 28, 1864. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +In obedience to the resolution of your honorable body a copy of which +is herewith returned, I have the honor to make the following brief +statement, which is believed to contain the information sought. + +Prior to and at the meeting of the present Congress Robert C. Schenck, +of Ohio, and Frank P. Blair, jr., of Missouri, members elect thereto, by +and with the consent of the Senate held commissions from the Executive +as major-generals in the Volunteer Army. General Schenck tendered the +resignation of his said commission and took his seat in the House of +Representatives at the assembling thereof upon the distinct verbal +understanding with the Secretary of War and the Executive that he might +at any time during the session, at his own pleasure, withdraw said +resignation and return to the field. General Blair was, by temporary +assignment of General Sherman, in command of a corps through the battles +in front of Chattanooga and in the march to the relief of Knoxville, +which occurred in the latter days of November and early days of December +last, and of course was not present at the assembling of Congress. When +he subsequently arrived here, he sought and was allowed by the Secretary +of War and the Executive the same conditions and promise as allowed and +made to General Schenck. General Schenck has not applied to withdraw +his resignation, but when General Grant was made lieutenant-general, +producing some change of commanders, General Blair sought to be assigned +to the command of a corps. This was made known to Generals Grant and +Sherman and assented to by them, and the particular corps for him +designated. This was all arranged and understood, as now remembered, +so much as a month ago, but the formal withdrawal of General Blair's +resignation and making the order assigning him to the command of a corps +were not consummated at the War Department until last week, perhaps on +the 23d of April instant. As a summary of the whole, it may be stated +that General Blair holds no military commission or appointment other +than as herein stated, and that it is believed he is now acting as a +major-general upon the assumed validity of the commission herein stated, +in connection with the facts herein stated, and not otherwise. There +are some letters, notes, telegrams, orders, entries, and perhaps other +documents in connection with this subject, which it is believed would +throw no additional light upon it, but which will be cheerfully +furnished if desired. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +APRIL 28, 1864. + +_To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I have the honor to transmit herewith an address to the President of the +United States, and through him to both Houses of Congress, on the +condition and wants of the people of east Tennessee, and asking their +attention to the necessity of some action on the part of the Government +for their relief, and which address is presented by a committee of an +organization called "The East Tennessee Relief Association." + +Deeply commiserating the condition of these most loyal and suffering +people, I am unprepared to make any specific recommendation for their +relief. The military is doing and will continue to do the best for them +within its power. Their address represents that the construction of +direct railroad communication between Knoxville and Cincinnati by way of +central Kentucky would be of great consequence in the present emergency. +It may be remembered that in the annual message of December, 1861, such +railroad construction was recommended. I now add that, with the hearty +concurrence of Congress, I would yet be pleased to construct a road, +both for the relief of these people and for its continuing military +importance. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _April 29, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 27th instant, +requesting information in regard to the condition of affairs in the +Territory of Nevada, I transmit a copy of a letter of the 25th of last +month addressed to the Secretary of State by James W. Nye, the governor +of that Territory. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +MAY 2, 1864. + +_To the Honorable the House of Representatives_: + +In compliance with the request contained in your resolution of the 29th +ultimo, a copy of which resolution is herewith returned, I have the +honor to transmit the following: + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, November 2, 1863_. + +Hon. MONTGOMERY BLAIR. + +MY DEAR SIR: Some days ago I understood you to say that your brother, +General Frank Blair, desired to be guided by my wishes as to whether he +will occupy his seat in Congress or remain in the field. My wish, then, +is compounded of what I believe will be best for the country and best +for him, and it is that he will come here, put his military commission +in my hands, take his seat, go into caucus with our friends, abide the +nominations, help elect the nominees, and thus aid to organize a House +of Representatives which will really support the Government in the war. +If the result shall be the election of himself as Speaker, let him serve +in that position; if not, let him retake his commission and return to +the Army. For the country, this will heal a dangerous schism. For him, +it will relieve from a dangerous position. By a misunderstanding, as I +think, he is in danger of being permanently separated from those with +whom only he can ever have a real sympathy--the sincere opponents of +slavery. It will be a mistake if he shall allow the provocations offered +him by insincere timeservers to drive him from the house of his own +building. He is young yet. He has abundant talents, quite enough to +occupy all his time without devoting any to temper. He is rising in +military skill and usefulness. His recent appointment to the command of +a corps by one so competent to judge as General Sherman proves this. In +that line he can serve both the country and himself more profitably than +he could as a Member of Congress upon the floor. The foregoing is what +I would say if Frank Blair were my brother instead of yours. + +Yours, truly, + +A. LINCOLN. + + + +HEADQUARTERS MIDDLE DEPARTMENT, EIGHTH ARMY CORPS, + +_Baltimore, Md., November 13, 1863_. + +Hon. E.M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + +SIR: Inclosed I forward to the President my resignation, to take effect +on the 5th of December. + +I respectfully request, however, that I may be relieved from my command +at an earlier day, say by the 20th instant, or as soon thereafter as +some officer can be ordered to succeed me. While I desire to derange the +plans or hurry the action of the Department as little as possible, it +will be a great convenience to me to secure some little time before the +session of Congress for a necessary journey and for some preparations +for myself and family in view of my approaching change of residence +and occupation. I could also spend two or three days very profitably, +I think, to the service of my successor after his arrival here. + +I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, + +ROBT. C. SCHENCK, + +_Major-General_. + + + +HEADQUARTERS MIDDLE DEPARTMENT, EIGHTH ARMY CORPS, + +_Baltimore, Md., November 13, 1863_. + +The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. + +SIR: Having concluded to accept the place of Member of Congress in +the House of Representatives, to which I was elected in October, 1862, +I hereby tender the resignation of my commission as a major-general of +United States Volunteers, to take effect on the 5th day of December +next. + +I shall leave the military service with much reluctance and a sacrifice +of personal feelings and desires, and only consent to do so in the hope +that in another capacity I may be able to do some effective service in +the cause of my country and Government in this time of peculiar trial. + +I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, + +ROBT. C. SCHENCK, + +_Major-General_. + + +[Indorsement on the foregoing letter.] + +The resignation of General Schenck is accepted, and he is authorized to +turn over his command to Brigadier-General Lockwood at any time. + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, November 21, 1863_. + +Major-General ROBERT C. SCHENCK, + +_United States Volunteers, Commanding Middle Department, Baltimore, Md._ + +SIR: Your resignation has been accepted by the President of the United +States, to take effect the 5th day of December, 1863. + +I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, + +E.D. TOWNSEND, + +_Assistant Adjutant-General_. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 1, 1864_. + +The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, + +_Washington City, D.C._: + +I hereby tender my resignation as a major-general of the United States +Volunteers. + +Respectfully, + +FRANK P. BLAIR, + +_Major-General, United States Volunteers_. + + + +JANUARY 12, 1864. + +Accepted, by order of the President. + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, January 12, 1864_. + +Major-General FRANCIS P. BLAIR, + +_U.S. Volunteers_. + +(Care of Hon. M. Blair, Washington, D.C.) + +SIR: Your resignation has been accepted by the President of the United +States, to take effect this day. + +I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, + +JAS. A. HARDIE, + +_Assistant Adjutant-General_. + + + +[Telegram.] + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, D.C., March 15, 1864_. + +Lieutenant-General GRANT, + +_Nashville, Tenn._: + +General McPherson having been assigned to the command of a department, +could not General Frank Blair, without difficulty or detriment to the +service, be assigned to command the corps he commanded a while last +autumn? + +A. LINCOLN. + + + +[Telegram.] + +NASHVILLE, TENN., _March 16, 1864--10 a.m._ + +His Excellency the PRESIDENT: + +General Logan commands the corps referred to in your dispatch. I will +see General Sherman in a few days and consult him about the transfer, +and answer. + +U.S. GRANT, + +_Lieutenant-General_. + + + +[Telegram.] + +NASHVILLE, TENN., _March 17, 1864_. + +His Excellency A. LINCOLN, + +_President of the United States_: + +General Sherman is here. He consents to the transfer of General Logan to +the Seventeenth Corps and the appointment of General F.P. Blair to the +Fifteenth Corps. + +U.S. GRANT, + +_Lieutenant-General_. + + + +[Telegram.] + +HUNTSVILLE, ALA., _March 26, 1864_. + +His Excellency A. LINCOLN, + +_President of the United States_: + +I understand by the papers that it is contemplated to make a change +of commanders of the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Army Corps, so as to +transfer me to the Seventeenth. I hope this will not be done. I fully +understand the organization of the Fifteenth Corps now, of which I have +labored to complete the organization this winter. Earnestly hope that +the change may not be made. + +JOHN A. LOGAN, + +_Major-General_. + + + +[Telegram.] + +OFFICE UNITED STATES MILITARY TELEGRAPH, + +_War Department_. + +The following telegram received at Washington 9 a.m. March 31, 1864, +from Culpeper Court-House, 11.30 p.m., dated March 30, 1864: + +"Major-General W.T. SHERMAN, + +"_Nashville_: + +"General F.P. Blair will be assigned to the Seventeenth (17th) Corps, +and not the Fifteenth (15th). Assign General Joseph Hooker, subject to +the approval of the President, to any other corps command you may have, +and break up the anomaly of one general commanding two (2) corps. + +"U.S. GRANT + +"_Lieutenant-General, Commanding_." + +From a long dispatch of April 2, 1864, from General Sherman to General +Grant, presenting his plan for disposing the forces under his command, +the following extracts, being the only parts pertinent to the subject +now under consideration, are taken: + +After a full consultation with all my army commanders, I have settled +down to the following conclusions, to which I would like to have the +President's consent before I make the orders: + + * * * * * + +Third. General McPherson. * * * His [three] corps to be commanded by +Major-Generals Logan, Blair, and Dodge. * * * + + + +OFFICE UNITED STATES MILITARY TELEGRAPH, + _War Department_. + +The following telegram received at Washington 3 p.m. April 10, 1864, +from Culpeper Court-House, Va., 10 p.m., dated April 9, 1864: + +"Major-General H.W. HALLECK, + +"_Chief of Staff_: + +"Will you please ascertain if General F.P. Blair is to be sent to +General Sherman. If not, an army-corps commander will have to be named +for the Fifteenth Corps. + +"U.S. GRANT, _Lieutenant-General_." + + + +WASHINGTON, _April 20, 1864_. + +The PRESIDENT: + +You will do me a great favor by giving the order assigning me to the +command of the Seventeenth Army Corps immediately, as I desire to leave +Washington the next Saturday to join the command. I also request the +assignment of Captain Andrew J. Alexander, of Third Regiment United +States Cavalry, as adjutant-general of the Seventeenth Corps, with the +rank of lieutenant-colonel. The present adjutant, or rather the former +adjutant, Colonel Clark, has, I understand, been retained by General +McPherson as adjutant-general of the department, and the place of +adjutant-general of the corps is necessarily vacant. + +I also request the appointment of George A. Maguire, formerly captain +Thirty-first Missouri Volunteer Infantry, as major and aid-de-camp, and +Lieutenant Logan Tompkins, Twenty-first Missouri Volunteer Infantry, as +captain and aid-de-camp on my staff. + +Respectfully, + +FRANK P. BLAIR. + + +[Indorsements.] + +APRIL 21, 1864. + +HONORABLE SECRETARY OF WAR: + +Please have General Halleck make the proper order in this case. + +A. LINCOLN. + +Referred to General Halleck, chief of staff. + +EDWIN M. STANTON, _Secretary of War_. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, April 23, 1864_. + +HONORABLE SECRETARY OF WAR. + +MY DEAR SIR: According to our understanding with Major-General Frank P. +Blair at the time he took his seat in Congress last winter, he now asks +to withdraw his resignation as major-general, then tendered, and be sent +to the field. Let this be done. Let the order sending him be such as +shown me to-day by the Adjutant-General, only dropping from it the names +of Maguire and Tompkins. + +Yours, truly, + +A. LINCOLN. + + +[Indorsement.] + +APRIL 23, 1864. + +Referred to the Adjutant-General. + +EDWIN M. STANTON, _Secretary of War_. + + + +WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _April 23, 1864_. + +Hon. E.M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_: + +I respectfully request to withdraw my resignation as major-general of +the United States Volunteers, tendered on the 12th day of January, 1864. + +Respectfully, + +FRANK P. BLAIR. + + + +GENERAL ORDERS, No. 178. + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, April 23, 1864_. + +I. Major-General F.P. Blair, jr., is assigned to the command of the +Seventeenth Army Corps. + +II. Captain Andrew J. Alexander, Third Regiment United States Cavalry, +is assigned as assistant adjutant-general of the Seventeenth Army Corps, +with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, under the tenth section of the act +approved July 17, 1862. + +By order of the President of the United States: + +E.D. TOWNSEND, + +_Assistant Adjutant-General_. + +The foregoing constitutes all sought by the resolution so far as is +remembered or has been found upon diligent search. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +MAY 7, 1864. + +_To the Senate of the United States:_ + +In compliance with the request contained in a resolution of the Senate +dated April 30, 1864, I herewith transmit to your honorable body a copy +of the opinion by the Attorney-General on the rights of colored persons +in the Army or volunteer service of the United States, together with the +accompanying papers. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _May 12, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 9th instant, requesting +a copy of correspondence relative to a controversy between the Republics +of Chile and Bolivia, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, +to whom the resolution was referred. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, May 14, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of the Interior of the +14th instant, and accompanying papers, in answer to a resolution of the +Senate of the 14th ultimo, in the following words, viz: + + _Resolved_, That the President of the United States be requested to + communicate to the Senate the reasons, if any exist, why the refugee + Indians in the State of Kansas are not returned to their homes. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, May 17, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, +a treaty concluded on the 7th instant in this city between William P. +Dole, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and Clark W. Thompson, +superintendent of Indian affairs, northern superintendency, on the part +of the United States, and the chief Hole-in-the-day and Mis-qua-dace for +and on behalf of the Chippewas of the Mississippi, and the Pillager and +Lake Winnibigoshish bands of Chippewa Indians in Minnesota. + +A communication from the Secretary of the Interior of the 17th instant, +with a statement and copies of reports of the Commissioner of Indian +Affairs of the 12th and 17th instant, accompany the treaty. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 24, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I recommend Lieutenant-Commander Francis A. Roe for advancement in his +grade five numbers, to take rank next after Lieutenant-Commander John H. +Upshur, for distinguished conduct in battle in command of the United +States steamer _Sassacus_ in her attack on and attempt to run down the +rebel ironclad ram _Albemarle_ on the 5th of May, 1864. + +I also recommend that First Assistant Engineer James M. Hobby be +advanced thirty numbers in his grade for distinguished conduct in +battle and extraordinary heroism, as mentioned in the report of +Lieutenant-Commander Francis A. Roe, commanding the United States +steamer _Sassacus_ in her action with the rebel ram _Albemarle_ on +the 5th May, 1864. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _May 24, 1864_. + +_To the House of Representatives_: + +In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of yesterday +on the subject of the joint resolution of the 4th of last month relative +to Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the +resolution was referred. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _May 28, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In reply to a resolution of the Senate of the 25th instant, relating to +Mexican affairs, I transmit a partial report from the Secretary of State +of this date, with the papers therein mentioned. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _May 31, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 28th +instant, a report[12] from the Secretary of State, with accompanying +documents. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +[Footnote 12: Relating to the delivery of a person charged with crime +against Spain to the officers of that Government.] + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 8, 1864_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I have the honor to submit, for the consideration of Congress, a letter +and inclosure[13] from the Secretary of War, with my concurrence in the +recommendation therein made. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +[Footnote 13: Report from the Provost-Marshal-General, showing the result +of the draft to fill a deficiency in the quotas of certain States, and +recommending a repeal of the clause in the enrollment act commonly known +as the three-hundred-dollar clause.] + + + +WASHINGTON, _June 13, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 4th of March, +1864, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War in the case +of William Yokum, with accompanying papers. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _June 13, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit herewith, for consideration with a view to ratification, a +convention between the United States of America and the United Colombian +States, signed by the plenipotentiaries of the contracting powers on the +10th February last, providing for a revival of the joint commission on +claims under the convention of 10th September, 1857, with New Granada. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _June 18, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In further answer to the Senate's resolution of the 28th ultimo, +requesting to be informed whether the President "has, and when, +authorized a person alleged to have committed a crime against Spain or +any of its dependencies to be delivered up to officers of that +Government, and whether such delivery was had, and, if so, under what +authority of law or of treaty it was done," I transmit a copy of a +dispatch of the 10th instant to the Secretary of State from the acting +consul of the United States at Havana. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _June 21, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I herewith communicate to the Senate, for its constitutional action +thereon, the articles of agreement and convention made and concluded at +the city of Washington on the 15th instant between the United States and +the Delaware Indians of Kansas, referred to in the accompanying +communication of the present date from the Secretary of the Interior. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, June 24, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, +a treaty made and concluded at the city of Washington on the 11th day of +June, 1864, by and between William P. Dole, Commissioner of Indian +Affairs, and Hiram W. Farnsworth, United States Indian agent, +commissioners on the part of the United States, and the chiefs and +headmen of the Kansas tribe of Indians. + +A communication of the Secretary of the Interior of the 18th instant, +with a copy of report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 13th +instant, accompany the treaty. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _June 28, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 24th instant, +requesting information in regard to the alleged enlistment in foreign +countries of recruits for the military and naval service of the United +States, I transmit reports from the Secretaries of State, of War, and of +the Navy, respectively. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _June 28, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 16th of last +month, requesting information in regard to the maltreatment of +passengers and seamen on board ships plying between New York and +Aspinwall, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom +the resolution was referred. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _July 2, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 6th ultimo, requesting +information upon the subject of the African slave trade, I transmit a +report from the Secretary of State and the papers by which it was +accompanied. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + +PROCLAMATIONS. + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + + +Whereas in and by the Constitution of the United States it is provided +that the President "shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for +offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment;" and + +Whereas a rebellion now exists whereby the loyal State governments of +several States have for a long time been subverted, and many persons +have committed and are now guilty of treason against the United States; +and + +Whereas, with reference to said rebellion and treason, laws have been +enacted by Congress declaring forfeitures and confiscation of property +and liberation of slaves, all upon terms and conditions therein stated, +and also declaring that the President was thereby authorized at any time +thereafter, by proclamation, to extend to persons who may have +participated in the existing rebellion in any State or part thereof +pardon and amnesty, with such exceptions and at such times and on such +conditions as he may deem expedient for the public welfare; and + +Whereas the Congressional declaration for limited and conditional pardon +accords with well-established judicial exposition of the pardoning +power; and + +Whereas, with reference to said rebellion, the President of the United +States has issued several proclamations with provisions in regard to the +liberation of slaves; and + +Whereas it is now desired by some persons heretofore engaged in said +rebellion to resume their allegiance to the United States and to +reinaugurate loyal State governments within and for their respective +States: + +Therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do +proclaim, declare, and make known to all persons who have, directly or +by implication, participated in the existing rebellion, except as +hereinafter excepted, that a full pardon is hereby granted to them and +each of them, with restoration of all rights of property, except as to +slaves and in property cases where rights of third parties shall have +intervened, and upon the condition that every such person shall take and +subscribe an oath and thenceforward keep and maintain said oath +inviolate, and which oath shall be registered for permanent preservation +and shall be of the tenor and effect following, to wit: + +I, ---- ----, do solemnly swear, in presence of Almighty God, that I +will henceforth faithfully support, protect, and defend the Constitution +of the United States and the Union of the States thereunder; and that I +will in like manner abide by and faithfully support all acts of Congress +passed during the existing rebellion with reference to slaves, so long +and so far as not repealed, modified, or held void by Congress or by +decision of the Supreme Court; and that I will in like manner abide by +and faithfully support all proclamations of the President made during +the existing rebellion having reference to slaves, so long and so far as +not modified or declared void by decision of the Supreme Court. So help +me God. + +The persons excepted from the benefits of the foregoing provisions are +all who are or shall have been civil or diplomatic officers or agents of +the so-called Confederate Government; all who have left judicial +stations under the United States to aid the rebellion; all who are or +shall have been military or naval officers of said so-called Confederate +Government above the rank of colonel in the army or of lieutenant in the +navy; all who left seats in the United States Congress to aid the +rebellion; all who resigned commissions in the Army or Navy of the +United States and afterwards aided the rebellion; and all who have +engaged in any way in treating colored persons, or white persons in +charge of such, otherwise than lawfully as prisoners of war, and which +persons may have been found in the United States service as soldiers, +seamen, or in any other capacity. + +And I do further proclaim, declare, and make known that whenever, in any +of the States of Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, +Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, a number +of persons, not less than one-tenth in number of the votes cast in such +State at the Presidential election of the year A.D. 1860, each having +taken the oath aforesaid, and not having since violated it, and being a +qualified voter by the election law of the State existing immediately +before the so-called act of secession, and excluding all others, shall +reestablish a State government which shall be republican and in nowise +contravening said oath, such shall be recognized as the true government +of the State, and the State shall receive thereunder the benefits of the +constitutional provision which declares that "the United States shall +guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government +and shall protect each of them against invasion, and, on application of +the legislature, or the executive (when the legislature can not be +convened), against domestic violence." + +And I do further proclaim, declare, and make known that any provision +which may be adopted by such State government in relation to the freed +people of such State which shall recognize and declare their permanent +freedom, provide for their education, and which may yet be consistent as +a temporary arrangement with their present condition as a laboring, +landless, and homeless class, will not be objected to by the National +Executive. + +And it is suggested as not improper that in constructing a loyal State +government in any State the name of the State, the boundary, the +subdivisions, the constitution, and the general code of laws as before +the rebellion be maintained, subject only to the modifications made +necessary by the conditions hereinbefore stated, and such others, if +any, not contravening said conditions and which may be deemed expedient +by those framing the new State government. + +To avoid misunderstanding, it may be proper to say that this +proclamation, so far as it relates to State governments, has no +reference to States wherein loyal State governments have all the while +been maintained. And for the same reason it may be proper to further say +that whether members sent to Congress from any State shall be admitted +to seats constitutionally rests exclusively with the respective Houses, +and not to any extent with the Executive. And, still further, that this +proclamation is intended to present the people of the States wherein the +national authority has been suspended and loyal State governments have +been subverted a mode in and by which the national authority and loyal +State governments may be reestablished within said States or in any of +them; and while the mode presented is the best the Executive can +suggest, with his present impressions, it must not be understood that no +other possible mode would be acceptable. + +[SEAL.] + +Given under my hand at the city of Washington, the 8th day of December, +A.D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States of America the +eighty-eighth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _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 24th of +May, 1828, entitled "An act in addition to an act entitled 'An act +concerning discriminating duties of tonnage and impost' and to equalize +the duties on Prussian vessels and their cargoes,' 'it is provided that +upon satisfactory evidence being given to the President of the United +States by the government of any foreign nation that no discriminating +duties of tonnage or impost are imposed or levied in the ports of the +said nation upon vessels wholly belonging to citizens of the United +States or upon the produce, manufactures, or merchandise imported in the +same from the United States or from any foreign country, the President +is thereby authorized to issue his proclamation declaring that the +foreign discriminating duties of tonnage and impost within the United +States are and shall be suspended and discontinued so far as respects +the vessels of the said foreign nation and the produce, manufactures, or +merchandise imported into the United States in the same from the said +foreign nation or from any other foreign country, the said suspension to +take effect from the time of such notification being given to the +President of the United States and to continue so long as the reciprocal +exemption of vessels belonging to citizens of the United States and +their cargoes, as aforesaid, shall be continued, and no longer; and + +Whereas satisfactory evidence has lately been received by me through an +official communication of Senor Don Luis Molina, envoy extraordinary and +minister plenipotentiary of the Republic of Nicaragua, under date of the +28th of November, 1863, that no other or higher duties of tonnage and +impost have been imposed or levied since the 2d day of August, 1838, in +the ports of Nicaragua upon vessels wholly belonging to citizens of the +United States and upon the produce, manufactures, or merchandise +imported in the same from the United States and from any foreign country +whatever than are levied on Nicaraguan ships and their cargoes in the +same ports under like circumstances: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States +of America, do hereby declare and proclaim that so much of the several +acts imposing discriminating duties of tonnage and impost within the +United States are and shall be suspended and discontinued so far as +respects the vessels of Nicaragua and the produce, manufactures, and +merchandise imported into the United States in the same from the +dominions of Nicaragua and from any other foreign country whatever, the +said suspension to take effect from the day above mentioned and to +continue thenceforward so long as the reciprocal exemption of the vessels +of the United States and the produce, manufactures, and merchandise +imported into the dominions of Nicaragua in the same, as aforesaid, shall +be continued on the part of the Government of Nicaragua. + +[SEAL.] + +Given under my hand at the city of Washington, the 16th day of December, +A.D. 1863, and the eighty-eighth of the Independence of the United +States. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas by my proclamation of the 19th of April, 1861, the ports of the +States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, +Louisiana, and Texas were, for reasons therein set forth, placed under +blockade; and + +Whereas the port of Brownsville, in the district of Brazos Santiago, in +the State of Texas, has since been blockaded, but as the blockade of +said port may now be safely relaxed with advantage to the interests of +commerce: + +Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the +United States, pursuant to the authority in me vested by the fifth +section of the act of Congress approved on the 13th of July, 1861, +entitled "An act further to provide for the collection of duties on +imports and for other purposes," do hereby declare that the blockade of +the said port of Brownsville shall so far cease and determine from and +after this date that commercial intercourse with said port, except as to +persons, things, and information hereinafter specified, may from this +date be carried on subject to the laws of the United States, to the +regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and, until the +rebellion shall have been suppressed, to such orders as may be +promulgated by the general commanding the department or by an officer +duly authorized by him and commanding at said port. This proclamation +does not authorize or allow the shipment or conveyance of persons in or +intending to enter the service of the insurgents, or of things or +information intended for their use or for their aid or comfort, nor, +except upon the permission of the Secretary of War or of some officer +duly authorized by him, of the following prohibited articles, namely: +Cannon, mortars, firearms, pistols, bombs, grenades, powder, saltpeter, +sulphur, balls, bullets, pikes, swords, boarding caps (always excepting +the quantity of the said articles which may be necessary for the defense +of the ship and those who compose the crew), saddles, bridles, +cartridge-bag material, percussion and other caps, clothing adapted for +uniforms, sailcloth of all kinds, hemp and cordage, intoxicating drinks +other than beer and light native wines. + +To vessels clearing from foreign ports and destined to the port of +Brownsville, opened by this proclamation, licenses will be granted by +consuls of the United States upon satisfactory evidence that the vessel +so licensed will convey no persons, property, or information excepted or +prohibited above either to or from the said port, which licenses shall +be exhibited to the collector of said port immediately on arrival, and, +if required, to any officer in charge of the blockade; and on leaving +said port every vessel will be required to have a clearance from the +collector of the customs, according to law, showing no violation of the +conditions of the license. Any violations of said conditions will +involve the forfeiture and condemnation of the vessel and cargo and the +exclusion of all parties concerned from any further privilege of +entering the United States during the war for any purpose whatever. + +In all respects except as herein specified the existing blockade remains +in full force and effect as hitherto established and maintained, nor is +it relaxed by this proclamation except in regard to the port to which +relaxation is or has been expressly applied. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +Done at the city of Washington, this 18th day of February, +A.D. 1864, and of the Independence of the United States the +eighty-eighth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas it has become necessary to define the cases in which insurgent +enemies are entitled to the benefits of the proclamation of the +President of the United States which was made on the 8th day of +December, 1863, and the manner in which they shall proceed to avail +themselves of those benefits; and + +Whereas the objects of that proclamation were to suppress the +insurrection and to restore the authority of the United States; and + +Whereas the amnesty therein proposed by the President was offered with +reference to these objects alone: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do +hereby proclaim and declare that the said proclamation does not apply to +the cases of persons who at the time when they seek to obtain the +benefits thereof by taking the oath thereby prescribed are in military, +naval, or civil confinement or custody, or under bonds, or on parole of +the civil, military, or naval authorities or agents of the United States +as prisoners of war, or persons detained for offenses of any kind, +either before or after conviction, and that, on the contrary, it does +apply only to those persons who, being yet at large and free from any +arrest, confinement, or duress, shall voluntarily come forward and take +the said oath with the purpose of restoring peace and establishing the +national authority. Prisoners excluded from the amnesty offered in the +said proclamation may apply to the President for clemency, like all +other offenders, and their applications will receive due consideration. + +I do further declare and proclaim that the oath prescribed in the +aforesaid proclamation of the 8th of December, 1863, may be taken and +subscribed before any commissioned officer, civil, military, or naval, +in the service of the United States or any civil or military officer of +a State or Territory not in insurrection who by the laws thereof may be +qualified for administering oaths. All officers who receive such oaths +are hereby authorized to give certificates thereon to the persons +respectively by whom they are made, and such officers are hereby +required to transmit the original records of such oaths at as early a +day as may be convenient to the Department of State, where they will be +deposited and remain in the archives of the Government. The Secretary of +State will keep a register thereof, and will on application, in proper +cases, issue certificates of such records in the customary form of +official certificates. + +In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +Done at the city of Washington, the 26th day of March, +A.D. 1864, and of the Independence of the United States the +eighty-eighth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +_To all whom it may concern_: + +An exequatur bearing date the 3d day of May, 1850, having been issued to +Charles Hunt, a citizen of the United States, recognizing him as consul +of Belgium for St. Louis, Mo., and declaring him free to exercise and +enjoy such functions, powers, and privileges as are allowed to the +consuls of the most favored nations in the United States, and the said +Hunt having sought to screen himself from his military duty to his +country in consequence of thus being invested with the consular +functions of a foreign power in the United States, it is deemed +advisable that the said Charles Hunt should no longer be permitted to +continue in the exercise of said functions, powers, and privileges: + +These are, therefore, to declare that I no longer recognize the said +Charles Hunt as consul of Belgium for St. Louis, Mo., and will not permit +him to exercise or enjoy any of the functions, powers, or privileges +allowed to consuls of that nation, and that I do hereby wholly revoke +and annul the said exequatur heretofore given and do declare the same to +be absolutely null and void from this day forward. + +In testimony whereof I have caused these letters to be made patent and +the seal of the United States of America to be hereunto affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Given under my hand, at Washington, this 19th day of May, A.D. 1864, and +of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-eighth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas by a proclamation which was issued on the 15th day of April, +1861, the President of the United States announced and declared that the +laws of the United States had been for some time past, and then were, +opposed and the execution thereof obstructed in certain States therein +mentioned by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary +course of judicial proceedings or by the powers vested in the marshals +by law; and + +Whereas immediately after the issuing of the said proclamation the land +and naval forces of the United States were put into activity to suppress +the said insurrection and rebellion; and + +Whereas the Congress of the United States by an act approved on the 3d +day of March, 1863, did enact that during the said rebellion the +President of the United States, whenever in his judgment the public +safety may require it, is authorized to suspend the privilege of the +writ of _habeas corpus_ in any case throughout the United States or in +any part thereof; and + +Whereas the said insurrection and rebellion still continue, endangering +the existence of the Constitution and Government of the United States; +and + +Whereas the military forces of the United States are now actively +engaged in suppressing the said insurrection and rebellion in various +parts of the States where the said rebellion has been successful in +obstructing the laws and public authorities, especially in the States of +Virginia and Georgia; and + +Whereas on the 15th day of September last the President of the United +States duly issued his proclamation, wherein he declared that the +privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ should be suspended throughout +the United States in the cases where, by the authority of the President +of the United States, military, naval, and civil officers of the United +States, or any of them, hold persons under their command or in their +custody, either as prisoners of war, spies, or aiders or abettors of the +enemy, or officers, soldiers, or seamen enrolled or drafted or mustered +or enlisted in or belonging to the land or naval forces of the United +States, or as deserters therefrom, or otherwise amenable to military law +or the rules and articles of war or the rules or regulations prescribed +for the military or naval services by authority of the President of the +United States, or for resisting a draft, or for any other offense +against the military or naval service; and + +Whereas many citizens of the State of Kentucky have joined the forces of +the insurgents, and such insurgents have on several occasions entered +the said State of Kentucky in large force, and, not without aid and +comfort furnished by disaffected and disloyal citizens of the United +States residing therein, have not only greatly disturbed the public +peace, but have overborne the civil authorities and made flagrant civil +war, destroying property and life in various parts of that State; and + +Whereas it has been made known to the President of the United States by +the officers commanding the national armies that combinations have been +formed in the said State of Kentucky with a purpose of inciting rebel +forces to renew the said operations of civil war within the said State +and thereby to embarrass the United States armies now operating in the +said States of Virginia and Georgia and even to endanger their safety: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by +virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws, do +hereby declare that in my judgment the public safety especially requires +that the suspension of the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_, so +proclaimed in the said proclamation of the 15th of September, 1863, be +made effectual and be duly enforced in and throughout the said State of +Kentucky, and that martial law be for the present established therein. I +do therefore hereby require of the military officers in the said State +that the privileges of the writ of _habeas corpus_ be effectually +suspended within the said State, according to the aforesaid +proclamation, and that martial law be established therein, to take +effect from the date of this proclamation, the said suspension and +establishment of martial law to continue until this proclamation shall +be revoked or modified, but not beyond the period when the said +rebellion shall have been suppressed or come to an end. And I do hereby +require and command as well all military officers as all civil officers +and authorities existing or found within the said State of Kentucky to +take notice of this proclamation and to give full effect to the same. + +The martial law herein proclaimed and the things in that respect herein +ordered will not be deemed or taken to interfere with the holding of +lawful elections, or with the proceedings of the constitutional +legislature of Kentucky, or with the administration of justice in the +courts of law existing therein between citizens of the United States in +suits or proceedings which do not affect the military operations or the +constituted authorities of the Government of the United States. + +In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 5th day of July, A.D. 1864, and of +the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas the Senate and House of Representatives at their last session +adopted a concurrent resolution, which was approved on the 2d day of +July instant and which was in the words following, namely: + +That the President of the United States be requested to appoint a day +for humiliation and prayer by the people of the United States; that he +request his constitutional advisers at the head of the Executive +Departments to unite with him as Chief Magistrate of the nation, at the +city of Washington, and the members of Congress, and all magistrates, +all civil, military, and naval officers, all soldiers, sailors, and +marines, with all loyal and law-abiding people, to convene at their +usual places of worship, or wherever they may be, to confess and to +repent of their manifold sins; to implore the compassion and forgiveness +of the Almighty, that, if consistent with His will, the existing +rebellion may be speedily suppressed and the supremacy of the +Constitution and laws of the United States may be established throughout +all the States; to implore Him, as the Supreme Ruler of the World, not +to destroy us as a people, nor suffer us to be destroyed by the +hostility or connivance of other nations or by obstinate adhesion to our +own counsels, which may be in conflict with His eternal purposes, and to +implore Him to enlighten the mind of the nation to know and do His will, +humbly believing that it is in accordance with His will that our place +should be maintained as a united people among the family of nations; to +implore Him to grant to our armed defenders and the masses of the people +that courage, power of resistance, and endurance necessary to secure +that result; to implore Him in His infinite goodness to soften the +hearts, enlighten the minds, and quicken the consciences of those in +rebellion, that they may lay down their arms and speedily return to +their allegiance to the United States, that they may not be utterly +destroyed, that the effusion of blood may be stayed, and that unity and +fraternity may be restored and peace established throughout all our +borders: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, +cordially concurring with the Congress of the United States in the +penitential and pious sentiments expressed in the aforesaid resolution +and heartily approving of the devotional design and purpose thereof, do +hereby appoint the first Thursday of August next to be observed by the +people of the United States as a day of national humiliation and prayer. + +I do hereby further invite and request the heads of the Executive +Departments of this Government, together with all legislators, all +judges and magistrates, and all other persons exercising authority in +the land, whether civil, military, or naval, and all soldiers, seamen, +and marines in the national service, and all the other loyal and +law-abiding people of the United States, to assemble in their preferred +places of public worship on that day, and there and then to render to +the almighty and merciful Ruler of the Universe such homages and such +confessions and to offer to Him such supplications as the Congress of +the United States have in their aforesaid resolution so solemnly, so +earnestly, and so reverently recommended. + +In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 7th day of July, A.D. 1864, and of +the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas at the late session Congress passed a bill "to guarantee to +certain States whose governments have been usurped or overthrown a +republican form of government," a copy of which is hereunto annexed; +and + +Whereas the said bill was presented to the President of the United +States for his approval less than one hour before the _sine die +_adjournment of said session, and was not signed by him; and + +Whereas the said bill contains, among other things, a plan for restoring +the States in rebellion to their proper practical relation in the Union, +which plan expresses the sense of Congress upon that subject, and which +plan it is now thought fit to lay before the people for their +consideration: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do +proclaim, declare, and make known that while I am (as I was in December +last, when, by proclamation, I propounded a plan for restoration) +unprepared by a formal approval of this bill to be inflexibly committed +to any single plan of restoration, and while I am also unprepared to +declare that the free State constitutions and governments already +adopted and installed in Arkansas and Louisiana shall be set aside and +held for naught, thereby repelling and discouraging the loyal citizens +who have set up the same as to further effort, or to declare a +constitutional competency in Congress to abolish slavery in States, but +am at the same time sincerely hoping and expecting that a constitutional +amendment abolishing slavery throughout the nation may be adopted, +nevertheless I am fully satisfied with the system for restoration +contained in the bill as one very proper plan for the loyal people of +any State choosing to adopt it, and that I am and at all times shall be +prepared to give the Executive aid and assistance to any such people so +soon as the military resistance to the United States shall have been +suppressed in any such State and the people thereof shall have +sufficiently returned to their obedience to the Constitution and the +laws of the United States, in which cases military governors will be +appointed with directions to proceed according to the bill. + +In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal +of the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 8th day of July, A.D. 1864, and of +the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +[H.R. 244, Thirty-eighth Congress, first session.] + +AN ACT to guarantee to certain States whose governments have been +usurped or overthrown a republican form of government. + + +_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United +States of America in Congress assembled_, That in the States declared +in rebellion against the United States the President shall, by and with +the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint for each a provisional +governor, whose pay and emoluments shall not exceed that of a +brigadier-general of volunteers, who shall be charged with the civil +administration of such State until a State government therein shall be +recognized as hereinafter provided. + +SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That so soon as the military +resistance to the United States shall have been suppressed in any such +State and the people thereof shall have sufficiently returned to their +obedience to the Constitution and the laws of the United States the +provisional governor shall direct the marshal of the United States, as +speedily as may be, to name a sufficient number of deputies, and to +enroll all white male citizens of the United States resident in the +State in their respective counties, and to request each one to take the +oath to support the Constitution of the United States, and in his +enrollment to designate those who take and those who refuse to take that +oath, which rolls shall be forthwith returned to the provisional +governor; and if the persons taking that oath shall amount to a majority +of the persons enrolled in the State, he shall, by proclamation, invite +the loyal people of the State to elect delegates to a convention charged +to declare the will of the people of the State relative to the +reestablishment of a State government, subject to and in conformity with +the Constitution of the United States. + +SEC. 3. _And be it further enacted_, That the convention shall consist +of as many members as both houses of the last constitutional State +legislature, apportioned by the provisional governor among the counties, +parishes, or districts of the State, in proportion to the white +population returned as electors by the marshal in compliance with the +provisions of this act. The provisional governor shall, by proclamation, +declare the number of delegates to be elected by each county, parish, or +election district; name a day of election not less than thirty days +thereafter; designate the places of voting in each county, parish, or +district, conforming as nearly as may be convenient to the places used +in the State elections next preceding the rebellion; appoint one or more +commissioners to hold the election at each place of voting, and provide +an adequate force to keep the peace during the election. + +SEC. 4. _And be it further enacted_, That the delegates shall be elected +by the loyal white male citizens of the United States of the age of 21 +years, and resident at the time in the county, parish, or district in +which they shall offer to vote, and enrolled as aforesaid, or absent +in the military service of the United States, and who shall take and +subscribe the oath of allegiance to the United States in the form +contained in the act of Congress of July 2, 1862; and all such citizens +of the United States who are in the military service of the United +States shall vote at the headquarters of their respective commands, +under such regulations as may be prescribed by the provisional governor +for the taking and return of their votes; but no person who has held or +exercised any office, civil or military, State or Confederate, under the +rebel usurpation, or who has voluntarily borne arms against the United +States, shall vote or be eligible to be elected as delegate at such +election. + +SEC. 5. _And be it further enacted_, That the said commissioners, or +either of them, shall hold the election in conformity with this act, +and, so far as may be consistent therewith, shall proceed in the manner +used in the State prior to the rebellion. The oath of allegiance +shall be taken and subscribed on the poll book by every voter in the +form above prescribed, but every person known by or proved to the +commissioners to have held or exercised any office, civil or military, +State or Confederate, under the rebel usurpation, or to have voluntarily +borne arms against the United States, shall be excluded though he offer +to take the oath; and in case any person who shall have borne arms +against the United States shall offer to vote, he shall be deemed to +have borne arms voluntarily unless he shall prove the contrary by the +testimony of a qualified voter. The poll book, showing the name and oath +of each voter, shall be returned to the provisional governor by the +commissioners of election, or the one acting, and the provisional +governor shall canvass such returns and declare the person having the +highest number of votes elected. + +SEC. 6. _And be it further enacted_, That the provisional governor +shall, by proclamation, convene the delegates elected as aforesaid at +the capital of the State on a day not more than three months after the +election, giving at least thirty days' notice of such day. In case +the said capital shall in his judgment be unfit, he shall in his +proclamation appoint another place. He shall preside over the +deliberations of the convention and administer to each delegate, before +taking his seat in the convention, the oath of allegiance to the United +States in the form above prescribed. + +SEC. 7. _And be it further enacted_, That the convention shall +declare on behalf of the people of the State their submission to +the Constitution and laws of the United States, and shall adopt the +following provisions, hereby prescribed by the United States in the +execution of the constitutional duty to guarantee a republican form of +government to every State, and incorporate them in the constitution of +the State; that is to say: + +First. No person who has held or exercised any office, civil or military +(except offices merely ministerial and military offices below the grade +of colonel), State or Confederate, under the usurping power, shall vote +for or be a member of the legislature or governor. + +Second. Involuntary servitude is forever prohibited, and the freedom of +all persons is guaranteed in said State. + +Third. No debt, State or Confederate, created by or under the sanction +of the usurping power shall be recognized or paid by the State. + +SEC. 8. _And be it further enacted_, That when the convention shall have +adopted those provisions it shall proceed to reestablish a republican +form of government and ordain a constitution containing those +provisions, which, when adopted, the convention shall by ordinance +provide for submitting to the people of the State entitled to vote under +this law, at an election to be held in the manner prescribed by the act +for the election of delegates, but at a time and place named by the +convention, at which election the said electors, and none others, shall +vote directly for or against such constitution and form of State +government. And the returns of said election shall be made to the +provisional governor, who shall canvass the same in the presence of the +electors, and if a majority of the votes cast shall be for the +constitution and form of government, he shall certify the same, with a +copy thereof, to the President of the United States, who, after +obtaining the assent of Congress, shall, by proclamation, recognize the +government so established, and none other, as the constitutional +government of the State; and from the date of such recognition, and not +before, Senators and Representatives and electors for President and +Vice-President may be elected in such State, according to the laws of +the State and of the United States. + +SEC. 9. _And be it further enacted_, That if the convention shall refuse +to reestablish the State government on the conditions aforesaid the +provisional governor shall declare it dissolved; but it shall be the +duty of the President, whenever he shall have reason to believe that a +sufficient number of the people of the State entitled to vote under this +act, in number not less than a majority of those enrolled as aforesaid, +are willing to reestablish a State government on the conditions +aforesaid, to direct the provisional governor to order another election +of delegates to a convention for the purpose and in the manner +prescribed in this act, and to proceed in all respects as hereinbefore +provided, either to dissolve the convention or to certify the State +government reestablished by it to the President. + +SEC. 10. _And be it further enacted_, That until the United States shall +have recognized a republican form of State government the provisional +governor in each of said States shall see that this act and the laws of +the United States and the laws of the State in force when the State +government was overthrown by the rebellion are faithfully executed +within the State; but no law or usage whereby any person was heretofore +held in involuntary servitude shall be recognized or enforced by any +court or officer in such State; and the laws for the trial and +punishment of white persons shall extend to all persons, and jurors +shall have the qualifications of voters under this law for delegates to +the convention. The President shall appoint such officer provided for by +the laws of the State when its government was overthrown as he may find +necessary to the civil administration of the State, all which officers +shall be entitled to receive the fees and emoluments provided by the +State laws for such officers. + +SEC. 11. _And be it further enacted_, That until the recognition of a +State government as aforesaid the provisional governor shall, under such +regulations as he may prescribe, cause to be assessed, levied, and +collected, for the year 1864 and every year thereafter, the taxes +provided by the laws of such State to be levied during the fiscal year +preceding the overthrow of the State government thereof, in the manner +prescribed by the laws of the State, as nearly as may be; and the +officers appointed as aforesaid are vested with all powers of levying +and collecting such taxes, by distress or sale, as were vested in any +officers or tribunal of the State government aforesaid for those +purposes. The proceeds of such taxes shall be accounted for to the +provisional governor and be by him applied to the expenses of the +administration of the laws in such State, subject to the direction of +the President, and the surplus shall be deposited in the Treasury of the +United States to the credit of such State, to be paid to the State upon +an appropriation therefor to be made when a republican form of +government shall be recognized therein by the United States. + +SEC. 12. _And be it further enacted_, That all persons held to +involuntary servitude or labor in the States aforesaid are hereby +emancipated and discharged therefrom, and they and their posterity shall +be forever free. And if any such persons or their posterity shall be +restrained of liberty under pretense of any claim to such service or +labor, the courts of the United States shall, on _habeas corpus_, +discharge them. + +SEC. 13. _And be it further enacted_, That if any person declared free +by this act, or any law of the United States or any proclamation of the +President, be restrained of liberty with intent to be held in or reduced +to involuntary servitude or labor, the person convicted before a court +of competent jurisdiction of such act shall be punished by fine of not +less than $1,500 and be imprisoned not less than five nor more than +twenty years. + +SEC. 14. _And be it further enacted_, That every person who shall +hereafter hold or exercise any office, civil or military (except offices +merely ministerial and military offices below the grade of colonel), in +the rebel service, State or Confederate, is hereby declared not to be a +citizen of the United States. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas by the act approved July 4, 1864, entitled "An act further to +regulate and provide for the enrolling and calling out the national +forces and for other purposes," it is provided that the President of the +United States may, "at his discretion, at any time hereafter, call for +any number of men, as volunteers for the respective terms of one, two, +and three years for military service," and "that in case the quota or +any part thereof of any town, township, ward of a city, precinct, or +election district, or of a county not so subdivided, shall not be filled +within the space of fifty days after such call, then the President shall +immediately order a draft for one year to fill such quota or any part +thereof which may be unfilled;" and + +Whereas the new enrollment heretofore ordered is so far completed as +that the aforementioned act of Congress may now be put in operation for +recruiting and keeping up the strength of the armies in the field, for +garrisons, and such military operations as may be required for the +purpose of suppressing the rebellion and restoring the authority of the +United States Government in the insurgent States: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do +issue this my call for 500,000 volunteers for the military service: +_Provided, nevertheless_, That this call shall be reduced by all credits +which may be established under section 8 of the aforesaid act on account +of persons who have entered the naval service during the present +rebellion and by credits for men furnished to the military service in +excess of calls heretofore made. Volunteers will be accepted under this +call for one, two, or three years, as they may elect, and will be +entitled to the bounty provided by the law for the period of service for +which they enlist. + +And I hereby proclaim, order, and direct that immediately after the 5th +day of September, 1864, being fifty days from the date of this call, +a draft for troops to serve for one year shall be had in every town, +township, ward of a city, precinct, or election district, or county not +so subdivided, to fill the quota which shall be assigned to it under +this call or any part thereof which may be unfilled by volunteers on the +said 5th day of September, 1864. + +In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 18th day of July, A.D. 1864, and of +the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas the act of Congress of the 28th of September, 1850, entitled "An +act to create additional collection districts in the State of +California, and to change the existing districts therein, and to modify +the existing collection districts in the United States," extends to +merchandise warehoused under bond the privilege of being exported to the +British North American Provinces adjoining the United States in the +manner prescribed in the act of Congress of the 3d of March, 1845, which +designates certain frontier ports through which merchandise may be +exported, and further provides "that such other ports, situated on the +frontiers of the United States adjoining the British North American +Provinces, as may hereafter be found expedient may have extended to them +the like privileges on the recommendation of the Secretary of the +Treasury and proclamation duly made by the President of the United +States specially designating the ports to which the aforesaid privileges +are to be extended:" + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of +America, in accordance with the recommendation of the Secretary of the +Treasury, do hereby declare and proclaim that the port of Newport, in +the State of Vermont, is and shall be entitled to all the privileges in +regard to the exportation of merchandise in bond to the British North +American Provinces adjoining the United States which are extended to the +ports enumerated in the seventh section of the act of Congress of the 3d +of March, 1845, aforesaid, from and after the date of this proclamation. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 18th day of August, A.D. 1864, and +of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +It has pleased Almighty God to prolong our national life another year, +defending us with His guardian care against unfriendly designs from +abroad and vouchsafing to us in His mercy many and signal victories over +the enemy, who is of our own household. It has also pleased our Heavenly +Father to favor as well our citizens in their homes as our soldiers in +their camps and our sailors on the rivers and seas with unusual health. +He has largely augmented our free population by emancipation and by +immigration, while He has opened to us new sources of wealth and has +crowned the labor of our workingmen in every department of industry with +abundant rewards. Moreover, He has been pleased to animate and inspire +our minds and hearts with fortitude, courage, and resolution sufficient +for the great trial of civil war into which we have been brought by our +adherence as a nation to the cause of freedom and humanity, and to +afford to us reasonable hopes of an ultimate and happy deliverance from +all our dangers and afflictions: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do +hereby appoint and set apart the last Thursday in November next as a day +which I desire to be observed by all my fellow-citizens, wherever they +may then be, as a day of thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, the +beneficent Creator and Ruler of the Universe. And I do further recommend +to my fellow-citizens aforesaid that on that occasion they do reverently +humble themselves in the dust and from thence offer up penitent and +fervent prayers and supplications to the Great Disposer of Events for +a return of the inestimable blessings of peace, union, and harmony +throughout the land which it has pleased Him to assign as a dwelling +place for ourselves and for our posterity throughout all generations. + +In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 20th day of October, A.D. 1864, and +of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas the Congress of the United States passed an act, which was +approved on the 21st day of March last, entitled "An act to enable the +people of Nevada 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 + +Whereas the said constitution and State government have been formed, +pursuant to the conditions prescribed by the fifth section of the act of +Congress aforesaid, and the certificate required by the said act and +also a copy of the constitution and ordinances have been submitted to +the President of the United States: + +Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the +United States, in accordance with the duty imposed upon me by the act of +Congress aforesaid, do hereby declare and proclaim that the said State +of Nevada is admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the +original States. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 31st day of October, A.D. 1864, +and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas by my proclamation of the 19th of April, 1861, it was declared +that the ports of certain States, including those of Norfolk, in the +State of Virginia, Fernandina and Pensacola, in the State of Florida, +were, for reasons therein set forth, intended to be placed under +blockade; and + +Whereas the said ports were subsequently blockaded accordingly, but +having for some time past been in the military possession of the United +States, it is deemed advisable that they should be opened to domestic +and foreign commerce: + +Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the +United States, pursuant to the authority in me vested by the fifth +section of the act of Congress approved on the 13th of July, 1861, +entitled "An act further to provide for the collection of duties on +imports, and for other purposes," do hereby declare that the blockade of +the said ports of Norfolk, Fernandina, and Pensacola shall so far cease +and determine, from and after the 1st day of December next, that +commercial intercourse with those ports, except as to persons, things, +and information contraband of war, may from that time be carried on, +subject to the laws of the United States, to the limitations and in +pursuance of the regulations which may be prescribed by the Secretary of +the Treasury, and to such military and naval regulations as are now in +force or may hereafter be found necessary. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 19th day of November, A.D. 1864, +and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + + +EXECUTIVE ORDERS. + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, D.C., December 7, 1863_. + +Reliable information being received that the insurgent force is +retreating from east Tennessee under circumstances rendering it probable +that the Union forces can not hereafter be dislodged from that important +position, and esteeming this to be of high national consequence, I +recommend that all loyal people do, on receipt of this information, +assemble at their places of worship and render special homage and +gratitude to Almighty God for this great advancement of the national +cause. + +A. LINCOLN. + + + +GENERAL ORDERS, No. 398. + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, December 21, 1863_. + +The following joint resolution by the Senate and House of +Representatives of the United States is published to the Army: + +JOINT RESOLUTION of thanks to Major-General Ulysses S. Grant and the +officers and soldiers who have fought under his command during this +rebellion, and providing that the President of the United States shall +cause a medal to be struck, to be presented to Major-General Grant in +the name of the people of the United States of America. + +_Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United +States of America in Congress assembled_, That the thanks of Congress +be, and they hereby are, presented to Major-General Ulysses S. Grant, +and through him to the officers and soldiers who have fought under his +command during this rebellion, for their gallantry and good conduct in +the battles in which they have been engaged; and that the President of +the United States be requested to cause a gold medal to be struck, with +suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be presented to +Major-General Grant. + +SEC. 2. _And be it further resolved_, That when the said medal shall +have been struck the President shall cause a copy of this joint +resolution to be engrossed on parchment, and shall transmit the same, +together with the said medal, to Major-General Grant, to be presented +to him in the name of the people of the United States of America. + +SEC. 3. _And be it further resolved_, That a sufficient sum of money +to carry this resolution into effect is hereby appropriated out of any +money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. + +SCHUYLER COLFAX, + +_Speaker of the House of Representatives_. + +H. HAMLIN, + +_Vice-president of the United States and President of the Senate_. + +Approved, December 17, 1863. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By order of the Secretary of War: + +E.D. TOWNSEND, + +_Assistant Adjutant-General_. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 9, 1864_. + +Information having been received that Caleb B. Smith, late Secretary of +the Interior, has departed this life at his residence in Indiana, it is +ordered that the executive buildings at the seat of the Government be +draped in mourning for the period of fourteen days in honor of his +memory as a prudent and loyal counselor and a faithful and effective +coadjutor of the Administration in a time of public difficulty and +peril. + +The Secretary of State will communicate a copy of this order to the +family of the deceased, together with proper expressions of the profound +sympathy of the President and the heads of Departments in their +irreparable bereavement. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington City, January 12._ + +_It is hereby ordered_, That all orders and records relating to the +Missouri troops, designated, respectively, as Missouri State Militia +(M.S.M.) and as Enrolled Missouri Militia (E.M.M.), and which are or +have been on file in the offices of the adjutant-generals or their +assistants at the different headquarters located in the State of +Missouri, shall be open to the inspection of the general assembly of +Missouri or of persons commissioned by it, and that copies of such +records be furnished them when called for. + +By order of the President: + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 1, 1864_. + +_Ordered_, That a draft for 500,000 men, to serve for three years or +during the war, be made on the 10th day of March next for the military +service of the United States, crediting and deducting therefrom so many +as may have been enlisted or drafted into the service prior to the 1st +day of March and not heretofore credited. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 1, 1864_. + +Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + +SIR: You are directed to have a transport (either a steam or sailing +vessel, as may be deemed proper by the Quartermaster-General) sent to +the colored colony established by the United States at the island of +Vache, on the coast of San Domingo, to bring back to this country such +of the colonists there as desire to return. You will have the transport +furnished with suitable supplies for that purpose, and detail an officer +of the Quartermaster's Department, who, under special instructions to be +given, shall have charge of the business. The colonists will be brought +to Washington, unless otherwise hereafter directed, and be employed and +provided for at the camps for colored persons around that city. Those +only will be brought from the island who desire to return, and their +effects will be brought with them. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +GENERAL ORDERS, No. 76. + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, February 26, 1864_. + +SENTENCE OF DESERTERS. + +The President directs that the sentences of all deserters who have been +condemned by court-martial to death, and that have not been otherwise +acted upon by him, be mitigated to imprisonment during the war at the +Dry Tortugas, Florida, where they will be sent under suitable guards by +orders from army commanders. + +The commanding generals, who have power to act on proceedings of +courts-martial in such cases, are authorized in special cases to restore +to duty deserters under sentence, when in their judgment the service +will be thereby benefited. + +Copies of all orders issued under the foregoing instructions will be +immediately forwarded to the Adjutant-General and to the +Judge-Advocate-General. + +By order of the Secretary of War: + +E.D. TOWNSEND, + +_Assistant Adjutant-General_. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, March 7, 1864_. + +Whereas by an Executive order of the 10th of November last permission +was given to export certain tobacco belonging to the French Government +from insurgent territory, which tobacco was supposed to have been +purchased and paid for prior to the 4th day of March, 1861; but whereas +it was subsequently ascertained that a part at least of the said tobacco +had been purchased subsequently to that date, which fact made it +necessary to suspend the carrying into effect of the said order; but +whereas, pursuant to mutual explanations, a satisfactory understanding +upon the subject has now been reached, it is directed that the order +aforesaid may be carried into effect, it being understood that the +quantity of French tobacco so to be exported shall not exceed 7,000 +hogsheads, and that it is the same tobacco respecting the exportation of +which application was originally made by the French Government. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +In pursuance of the provisions of section 14 of the act of Congress +entitled "An act to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph +line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, and to secure to +the Government the use of the same for postal, military, and other +purposes," approved July 1, 1862, authorizing and directing the +President of the United States to fix the point on the western boundary +of the State of Iowa from which the Union Pacific Railroad Company is +by said section authorized and required to construct a single line of +railroad and telegraph upon the most direct and practicable route, +subject to the approval of the President of the United States, so as to +form a connection with the lines of said company at some point on the +one hundredth meridian of longitude in said section named, I, Abraham +Lincoln, President of the United States, do, upon the application of the +said company, designate and establish such first above-named point on +the western boundary of the State of Iowa east of and opposite to the +east line of section 10, in township 15 north, of range 13 east, of the +sixth principal meridian, in the Territory of Nebraska. + +Done at the city of Washington, this 7th day of March, A.D. 1864. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, D.C., March 10, 1864_. + +Under the authority of an act of Congress to revive the grade of +lieutenant-general in the United States Army, approved February 29, +1864, Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant, United States Army, is +assigned to the command of the armies of the United States. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +GENERAL ORDERS, No. 98. + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, March 12, 1864_. + +The President of the United States orders as follows: + +I. Major-General H.W. Halleck is, at his own request, relieved from duty +as General in Chief of the Army, and Lieutenant-General U.S. Grant is +assigned to the command of the armies of the United States. The +headquarters of the Army will be in Washington and also with +Lieutenant-General Grant in the field. + +II. Major-General H.W. Halleck is assigned to duty in Washington as +chief of staff of the Army, under the direction of the Secretary of War +and the Lieutenant-General Commanding. His orders will be obeyed and +respected accordingly. + +III. Major-General W.T. Sherman is assigned to the command of the +Military Division of the Mississippi, composed of the departments of the +Ohio, the Cumberland, the Tennessee and the Arkansas. + +IV. Major-General J.B. McPherson is assigned to the command of the +Department and Army of the Tennessee. + +V. In relieving Major-General Halleck from duty as General in Chief, the +President desires to express his approbation and thanks for the able and +zealous manner in which the arduous and responsible duties of that +position have been performed. + +By order of the Secretary of War: + +E.D. TOWNSEND, + +_Assistant Adjutant-General_. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, March 14, 1864_. + +In order to supply the force required to be drafted for the Navy and to +provide an adequate reserve force for all contingencies, in addition to +the 500,000 men called for February 1, 1864, a call is hereby made and a +draft ordered for 200,000 men for the military service (Army, Navy, and +Marine Corps) of the United States. + +The proportional quotas for the different wards, towns, townships, +precincts, or election districts, or counties, will be made known +through the Provost-Marshal-General's Bureau, and account will be taken +of the credits and deficiencies on former quotas. + +The 15th day of April, 1864, is designated as the time up to which the +numbers required from each ward of a city, town, etc., may be raised by +voluntary enlistment, and drafts will be made in each ward of a city, +town, etc., which shall not have filled the quota assigned to it within +the time designated for the number required to fill said quotas. The +drafts will be commenced as soon after the 15th of April as practicable. + +The Government bounties as now paid continue until April 1, 1864, at +which time the additional bounties cease. On and after that date $100 +bounty only will be paid, as provided by the act approved July 22, 1861, + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 2, 1864_. + +_Ordered_, That the Executive order of September 4, 1863, in relation to +the exportation of live stock from the United States, be so extended as +to prohibit the exportation of all classes of salted provisions from any +part of the United States to any foreign port, except that meats cured, +salted, or packed in any State or Territory bordering on the Pacific +Ocean may be exported from any port of such State or Territory. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: + +I. The governors of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin offer +to the President infantry troops for the approaching campaign as +follows: + + Ohio 30,000 + Indiana 20,000 + Illinois 20,000 + Iowa 10,000 + Wisconsin 5,000 + + +II. The term of service to be one hundred days, reckoning from the date +of muster into the service of the United States, unless sooner +discharged. + +III. The troops to be mustered into the service of the United States by +regiments, when the regiments are rilled up, according to regulations, +to the minimum strength, the regiments to be organized according to the +regulations of the War Department. The whole number to be furnished +within twenty days from date of notice of the acceptance of this +proposition. + +IV. The troops to be clothed, armed, equipped, subsisted, transported, +and paid as other United States infantry volunteers, and to serve in +fortifications, or wherever their services may be required, within or +without their respective States. + +V. No bounty to be paid the troops, nor the service charged or credited +on any draft. + +VI. The draft for three years' service to go on in any State or district +where the quota is not filled up; but if any officer or soldier in this +special service should be drafted he shall be credited for the service +rendered. + +JOHN BROUGH, + _Governor of Ohio_. + +O.P. MORTON, + _Governor of Indiana_. + +RICHARD YATES, + _Governor of Illinois_. + +WM. M. STONE, + _Governor of Iowa_. + +JAMES T. LEWIS, + _Governor of Wisconsin_. + +APRIL 23, 1864. + +The foregoing proposition of the governors is accepted, and the +Secretary of War is directed to carry it into execution. + +A. LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, May 9, 1864_. + +_To the Friends of the Union and Liberty_: + +Enough is known of the army operations within the last five days to +claim our especial gratitude to God, while what remains undone demands +our most sincere prayers to and reliance upon Him, without whom all +human efforts are in vain. I recommend that all patriots, at their +homes, in their places of public worship, and wherever they may be, +unite in common thanksgiving and prayer to Almighty God. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, May 18, 1864_. + +Major-General JOHN A. DIX, + +_Commanding at New York_: + +Whereas there has been wickedly and traitorously printed and published +this morning in the New York World and New York Journal of Commerce, +newspapers printed and published in the city of New York, a false and +spurious proclamation purporting to be signed by the President and to be +countersigned by the Secretary of State, which publication is of a +treasonable nature, designed to give aid and comfort to the enemies of +the United States and to the rebels now at war against the Government +and their aiders and abettors, you are therefore hereby commanded +forthwith to arrest and imprison in any fort or military prison in your +command the editors, proprietors, and publishers of the aforesaid +newspapers, and all such persons as, after public notice has been given +of the falsehood of said publication, print and publish the same with +intent to give aid and comfort to the enemy; and you will hold the +persons so arrested in close custody until they can be brought to trial +before a military commission for their offense. You will also take +possession by military force of the printing establishments of the New +York World and Journal of Commerce, and hold the same until further +orders, and prohibit any further publication therefrom. + +A. LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, D.C._ + +The President of the United States directs that the four persons whose +names follow, to wit, Hon. Clement C. Clay, Hon. Jacob Thompson, +Professor James P. Holcombe, George N. Sanders, shall have safe conduct +to the city of Washington in company with the Hon. Horace Greeley, and +shall be exempt from arrest or annoyance of any kind from any officer of +the United States during their journey to the said city of Washington. + +By order of the President: + +JOHN HAY, + +_Major and Assistant Adjutant-General_. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, July 18, 1864_. + +_To whom it may concern_: + +Any proposition which embraces the restoration of peace, the integrity +of the whole Union, and the abandonment of slavery, and which comes by +and with an authority that can control the armies now at war against the +United States, will be received and considered by the executive +government of the United States, and will be met by liberal terms on +other substantial and collateral points; and the bearer or bearers +thereof shall have safe conduct both ways. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, August 31, 1864_. + +Any person or persons engaged in bringing out cotton, in strict +conformity with authority given by W. P. Fessenden, Secretary of the +United States Treasury, must not be hindered by the War, Navy, or any +other Department of the Government or any person engaged under any of +said Departments. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _September 3, 1864_. + +The national thanks are tendered by the President to Major-General +William T. Sherman and the gallant officers and soldiers of his command +before Atlanta for the distinguished ability, courage, and perseverance +displayed in the campaign in Georgia, which, under divine favor, has +resulted in the capture of the city of Atlanta. The marches, battles, +sieges, and other military operations that have signalized this campaign +must render it famous in the annals of war, and have entitled those who +have participated therein to the applause and thanks of the nation. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington City, September 3, 1864_. + +_Ordered_, first. That on Monday, the 5th day of September, commencing +at the hour of 12 o'clock noon, there shall be given a salute of 100 +guns at the arsenal and navy-yard at Washington, and on Tuesday, the 6th +of September, or on the day after the receipt of this order, at each +arsenal and navy-yard in the United States, for the recent brilliant +achievements of the fleet and land forces of the United States in the +harbor of Mobile and in the reduction of Fort Powell, Fort Gaines, and +Fort Morgan. The Secretary of War and Secretary of the Navy will issue +the necessary directions in their respective Departments for the +execution of this order. + +Second. That on Wednesday, the 7th day of September, commencing at the +hour of 12 o'clock noon, there shall be fired a salute of 100 guns at +the arsenal at Washington, and at New York, Boston, Philadelphia, +Baltimore, Pittsburg, Newport, Ky., and St. Louis, and at New Orleans, +Mobile, Pensacola, Hilton Head, and New Berne the day after the receipt +of this order, for the brilliant achievements of the army under command +of Major-General Sherman in the State of Georgia and the capture of +Atlanta. The Secretary of War will issue directions for the execution of +this order. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, September 3, 1864_. + +The signal success that Divine Providence has recently vouchsafed to the +operations of the United States fleet and army in the harbor of Mobile, +and the reduction of Fort Powell, Fort Gaines, and Fort Morgan, and the +glorious achievements of the army under Major-General Sherman in the +State of Georgia, resulting in the capture of the city of Atlanta, call +for devout acknowledgment to the Supreme Being, in whose hands are the +destinies of nations. It is therefore requested that on next Sunday, in +all places of public worship in the United States, thanksgiving be +offered to Him for His mercy in preserving our national existence +against the insurgent rebels who so long have been waging a cruel war +against the Government of the United States for its overthrow; and also +that prayer be made for the divine protection to our brave soldiers and +their leaders in the field, who have so often and so gallantly periled +their lives in battling with the enemy, and for blessing and comfort +from the Father of Mercies to the sick, wounded, and prisoners, and to +the orphans and widows of those who have fallen in the service of their +country; and that He will continue to uphold the Government of the +United States against all the efforts of public enemies and secret foes. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _September 3, 1864_. + +The national thanks are tendered by the President to Admiral Farragut +and Major-General Canby for the skill and harmony with which the recent +operations in Mobile Harbor and against Fort Powell, Fort Gaines, and +Fort Morgan were planned and carried into execution; also to Admiral +Farragut and Major-General Granger, under whose immediate command they +were conducted, and to the gallant commanders on sea and land, and to +the sailors and soldiers engaged in the operations, for their energy and +courage, which, under the blessing of Providence, have been crowned with +brilliant success and have won for them the applause and thanks of the +nation. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington City, September 10, 1864_. + +The term of one hundred days for which the National Guard of Ohio +volunteered having expired, the President directs an official +acknowledgment to be made of their patriotic and valuable services +during the recent campaigns. The term of service of their enlistment was +short, but distinguished by memorable events. In the Valley of the +Shenandoah, on the Peninsula, in the operations on the James River, +around Petersburg and Richmond, in the battle of Monocacy, and in the +intrenchments of Washington, and in other important service, the +National Guard of Ohio performed with alacrity the duty of patriotic +volunteers, for which they are entitled to and are hereby tendered, +through the governor of their State, the national thanks. + +The Secretary of War is directed to transmit a copy of this order to the +governor of Ohio and to cause a certificate of their honorable service +to be delivered to the officers and soldiers of the Ohio National Guard +who recently served in the military force of the United States as +volunteers for one hundred days. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _September 24, 1864_. + +I. Congress having authorized the purchase for the United States of the +product of States declared in insurrection, and the Secretary of the +Treasury having designated New Orleans, Memphis, Nashville, Pensacola, +Port Royal, Beaufort, N.C., and Norfolk as places of purchase, and with +my approval appointed agents and made regulations under which said +products may be purchased: Therefore, + +II. All persons, except such as may be in the civil, military, or naval +service of the Government, having in their possession any products of +States declared in insurrection which said agents are authorized to +purchase, and all persons owning or controlling such products therein, +are authorized to convey such products to either of the places which +have been hereby or may hereafter be designated as places of purchase, +and such products so destined shall not be liable to detention, seizure, +or forfeiture while _in transitu_ or in store awaiting transportation. + +III. Any person having the certificate of a purchasing agent, as +prescribed by Treasury Regulations, VIII, is authorized to pass, with +the necessary means of transportation, to the points named in said +certificate, and to return therefrom with the products required for the +fulfillment of the stipulations set forth in said certificate. + +IV. Any person having sold and delivered to a purchasing agent any +products of an insurrectionary State in accordance with the regulations +in relation thereto, and having in his possession a certificate setting +forth the fact of such purchase and sale, the character and quantity of +products, and the aggregate amount paid therefor, as prescribed by +Regulation IX, shall be permitted by the military authority commanding +at the place of sale to purchase from any authorized dealer at such +place, or any other place in a loyal State, merchandise and other +articles not contraband of war nor prohibited by the order of the War +Department, nor coin, bullion, or foreign exchange, to an amount not +exceeding in value one-third of the aggregate value of the products sold +by him, as certified by the agent purchasing; and the merchandise and +other articles so purchased may be transported by the same route and to +the same place from and by which the products sold and delivered reached +the purchasing agent, as set forth in the certificate; and such +merchandise and other articles shall have safe conduct, and shall not be +subject to detention, seizure, or forfeiture while being transported to +the places and by the route set forth in the said certificate. + +V. Generals commanding military districts and commandants of military +posts and detachments, and officers commanding fleets, flotillas, and +gunboats, will give safe conduct to persons and products, merchandise, +and other articles duly authorized as aforesaid, and not contraband of +war or prohibited by order of the War Department, or the orders of such +generals commanding, or other duly authorized military or naval officer, +made in pursuance thereof; and all persons hindering or preventing such +safe conduct of persons or property will be deemed guilty of a military +offense and punished accordingly. + +VI. Any person transporting or attempting to transport any merchandise +or other articles, except in pursuance of regulations of the Secretary +of the Treasury dated July 29, 1864, or in pursuance of this order, or +transporting or attempting to transport any merchandise or other +articles contraband of war or forbidden by any order of the War +Department, will be deemed guilty of a military offense and punished +accordingly; and all products of insurrectionary States found _in +transitu_ to any other person or place than a purchasing agent and a +designated place of purchase shall be seized and forfeited to the United +States, except such as may be moving to a loyal State under duly +authorized permits of a proper officer of the Treasury Department, as +prescribed by Regulation XXXVIII, concerning "commercial intercourse," +dated July 29, 1864, or such as may have been found abandoned or have +been captured and are moving in pursuance of the act of March 12, 1863. + +VII. No military or naval officer of the United States, or person in the +military or naval service, nor any civil officer, except such as are +appointed for that purpose, shall engage in trade or traffic in the +products of insurrectionary States, or furnish transportation therefor, +under pain of being deemed guilty of unlawful trading with the enemy and +punished accordingly. + +VIII. The Secretary of War will make such general orders or regulations +as will insure the proper observance and execution of this order, and +the Secretary of the Navy will give instructions to officers commanding +fleets, flotillas, and gunboats in conformity therewith. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, October 1, 1864_. + +SPECIAL EXECUTIVE ORDER RETURNING THANKS TO THE VOLUNTEERS FOR ONE +HUNDRED DAYS FROM THE STATES OF INDIANA, ILLINOIS, IOWA, AND WISCONSIN. + +The term of one hundred days for which volunteers from the States of +Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin volunteered, under the call of +their respective governors, in the months of May and June, to aid in the +campaign of General Sherman, having expired, the President directs an +official acknowledgment to be made of their patriotic service. It was +their good fortune to render efficient service in the brilliant +operations in the Southwest and to contribute to the victories of the +national arms over the rebel forces in Georgia under command of Johnston +and Hood. On all occasions and in every service to which they were +assigned their duty as patriotic volunteers was performed with alacrity +and courage, for which they are entitled to and are hereby tendered the +national thanks through the governors of their respective States. + +The Secretary of War is directed to transmit a copy of this order to the +governors of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin and to cause a +certificate of their honorable service to be delivered to the officers +and soldiers of the States above named who recently served in the +military force of the United States as volunteers for one hundred days. + +A. LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, October 12, 1864_. + +The Japanese Government having caused the construction at New York of a +vessel of war called the _Fusigama_, and application having been made +for the clearance of the same, in order that it may proceed to Japan, it +is ordered, in view of the state of affairs in that country and of its +relation with the United States, that a compliance with the application +be for the present suspended. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +GENERAL ORDERS, No. 282. + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, November 14, 1864_. + +_Ordered by the President_, I. That the resignation of George B. +McClellan as major-general in the United States Army, dated November 8 +and received by the Adjutant-General on the 10th instant, be accepted as +of the 8th of November. + +II. That for the personal gallantry, military skill, and just confidence +in the courage and patriotism of his troops displayed by Philip H. +Sheridan on the 19th day of October at Cedar Run, whereby, under the +blessing of Providence, his routed army was reorganized, a great +national disaster averted, and a brilliant victory achieved over the +rebels for the third time in pitched battle within thirty days, Philip +H. Sheridan is appointed major-general in the United States Army, to +rank as such from the 8th day of November, 1864. + +By order of the President of the United States: + +E.D. TOWNSEND, + +_Assistant Adjutant-General_ + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, December 3, 1864_. + +A war steamer, called the _Funayma Solace_, having been built in this +country for the Japanese Government and at the instance of that +Government, it is deemed to comport with the public interest, in view of +the unsettled condition of the relations of the United States with that +Empire, that the steamer should not be allowed to proceed to Japan. If, +however, the Secretary of the Navy should ascertain that the steamer is +adapted to our service, he is authorized to purchase her, but the +purchase money will be held in trust toward satisfying any valid claims +which may be presented by the Japanese on account of the construction of +the steamer and the failure to deliver the same, as above set forth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + +FOURTH ANNUAL MESSAGE. + +DECEMBER 6, 1864. + + +_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +Again the blessings of health and abundant harvests claim our +profoundest gratitude to Almighty God. + +The condition of our foreign affairs is reasonably satisfactory. + +Mexico continues to be a theater of civil war. While our political +relations with that country have undergone no change, we have at the +same time strictly maintained neutrality between the belligerents. + +At the request of the States of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, a competent +engineer has been authorized to make a survey of the river San Juan and +the port of San Juan. It is a source of much satisfaction that the +difficulties which for a moment excited some political apprehensions and +caused a closing of the interoceanic transit route have been amicably +adjusted, and that there is a good prospect that the route will soon be +reopened with an increase of capacity and adaptation. We could not +exaggerate either the commercial or the political importance of that +great improvement. + +It would be doing injustice to an important South American State not to +acknowledge the directness, frankness, and cordiality with which the +United States of Colombia have entered into intimate relations with this +Government. A claims convention has been constituted to complete the +unfinished work of the one which closed its session in 1861. + +The new liberal constitution of Venezuela having gone into effect with +the universal acquiescence of the people, the Government under it has +been recognized and diplomatic intercourse with it has opened in a +cordial and friendly spirit. The long-deferred Aves Island claim has +been satisfactorily paid and discharged. + +Mutual payments have been made of the claims awarded by the late joint +commission for the settlement of claims between the United States and +Peru. An earnest and cordial friendship continues to exist between the +two countries, and such efforts as were in my power have been used to +remove misunderstanding and avert a threatened war between Peru and +Spain. + +Our relations are of the most friendly nature with Chile, the Argentine +Republic, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Paraguay, San Salvador, and Hayti. + +During the past year no differences of any kind have arisen with any of +those Republics, and, on the other hand, their sympathies with the +United States are constantly expressed with cordiality and earnestness. + +The claim arising from the seizure of the cargo of the brig _Macedonian_ +in 1821 has been paid in full by the Government of Chile. + +Civil war continues in the Spanish part of San Domingo, apparently +without prospect of an early close. + +Official correspondence has been freely opened with Liberia, and it +gives us a pleasing view of social and political progress in that +Republic. It may be expected to derive new vigor from American +influence, improved by the rapid disappearance of slavery in the United +States. + +I solicit your authority to furnish to the Republic a gunboat at +moderate cost, to be reimbursed to the United States by installments. +Such a vessel is needed for the safety of that State against the native +African races, and in Liberian hands it would be more effective in +arresting the African slave trade than a squadron in our own hands. The +possession of the least organized naval force would stimulate a generous +ambition in the Republic, and the confidence which we should manifest by +furnishing it would win forbearance and favor toward the colony from all +civilized nations. + +The proposed overland telegraph between America and Europe, by the way +of Behrings Straits and Asiatic Russia, which was sanctioned by Congress +at the last session, has been undertaken, under very favorable +circumstances, by an association of American citizens, with the cordial +good will and support as well of this Government as of those of Great +Britain and Russia. Assurances have been received from most of the South +American States of their high appreciation of the enterprise and their +readiness to cooperate in constructing lines tributary to that +world-encircling communication. I learn with much satisfaction that the +noble design of a telegraphic communication between the eastern coast of +America and Great Britain has been renewed, with full expectation of its +early accomplishment. + +Thus it is hoped that with the return of domestic peace the country will +be able to resume with energy and advantage its former high career of +commerce and civilization. + +Our very popular and estimable representative in Egypt died in April +last. An unpleasant altercation which arose between the temporary +incumbent of the office and the Government of the Pasha resulted in a +suspension of intercourse. The evil was promptly corrected on the +arrival of the successor in the consulate, and our relations with Egypt, +as well as our relations with the Barbary Powers, are entirely +satisfactory. + +The rebellion which has so long been flagrant in China has at last been +suppressed, with the cooperating good offices of this Government and of +the other Western commercial States. The judicial consular establishment +there has become very difficult and onerous, and it will need +legislative revision to adapt it to the extension of our commerce and to +the more intimate intercourse which has been instituted with the +Government and people of that vast Empire. China seems to be accepting +with hearty good will the conventional laws which regulate commercial +and social intercourse among the Western nations. + +Owing to the peculiar situation of Japan and the anomalous form of its +Government, the action of that Empire in performing treaty stipulations +is inconstant and capricious. Nevertheless, good progress has been +effected by the Western powers, moving with enlightened concert. Our own +pecuniary claims have been allowed or put in course of settlement, and +the inland sea has been reopened to commerce. There is reason also to +believe that these proceedings have increased rather than diminished the +friendship of Japan toward the United States. + +The ports of Norfolk, Fernandina, and Pensacola have been opened by +proclamation. It is hoped that foreign merchants will now consider +whether it is not safer and more profitable to themselves, as well as +just to the United States, to resort to these and other open ports than +it is to pursue, through many hazards and at vast cost, a contraband +trade with other ports which are closed, if not by actual military +occupation, at least by a lawful and effective blockade. + +For myself, I have no doubt of the power and duty of the Executive, +under the law of nations, to exclude enemies of the human race from an +asylum in the United States. If Congress should think that proceedings +in such cases lack the authority of law, or ought to be further +regulated by it, I recommend that provision be made for effectually +preventing foreign slave traders from acquiring domicile and facilities +for their criminal occupation in our country. + +It is possible that if it were a new and open question the maritime +powers, with the lights they now enjoy, would not concede the privileges +of a naval belligerent to the insurgents of the United States, +destitute, as they are, and always have been, equally of ships of war +and of ports and harbors. Disloyal emissaries have been neither less +assiduous nor more successful during the last year than they were before +that time in their efforts, under favor of that privilege, to embroil +our country in foreign wars. The desire and determination of the +governments of the maritime states to defeat that design are believed to +be as sincere as and can not be more earnest than our own. Nevertheless, +unforeseen political difficulties have arisen, especially in Brazilian +and British ports and on the northern boundary of the United States, +which have required, and are likely to continue to require, the practice +of constant vigilance and a just and conciliatory spirit on the part of +the United States, as well as of the nations concerned and their +governments. + +Commissioners have been appointed under the treaty with Great Britain on +the adjustment of the claims of the Hudsons Bay and Pugets Sound +Agricultural Companies, in Oregon, and are now proceeding to the +execution of the trust assigned to them. + +In view of the insecurity of life and property in the region adjacent to +the Canadian border, by reason of recent assaults and depredations +committed by inimical and desperate persons who are harbored there, it +has been thought proper to give notice that after the expiration of six +months, the period conditionally stipulated in the existing arrangement +with Great Britain, the United States must hold themselves at liberty to +increase their naval armament upon the Lakes if they shall find that +proceeding necessary. The condition of the border will necessarily come +into consideration in connection with the question of continuing or +modifying the rights of transit from Canada through the United States, +as well as the regulation of imposts, which were temporarily established +by the reciprocity treaty of the 5th June, 1854. + +I desire, however, to be understood while making this statement that the +colonial authorities of Canada are not deemed to be intentionally unjust +or unfriendly toward the United States, but, on the contrary, there is +every reason to expect that, with the approval of the Imperial +Government, they will take the necessary measures to prevent new +incursions across the border. + +The act passed at the last session for the encouragement of immigration +has so far as was possible been put into operation. It seems to need +amendment which will enable the officers of the Government to prevent +the practice of frauds against the immigrants while on their way and on +their arrival in the ports, so as to secure them here a free choice of +avocations and places of settlement. A liberal disposition toward this +great national policy is manifested by most of the European States, and +ought to be reciprocated on our part by giving the immigrants effective +national protection. I regard our immigrants as one of the principal +replenishing streams which are appointed by Providence to repair the +ravages of internal war and its wastes of national strength and health. +All that is necessary is to secure the flow of that stream in its +present fullness, and to that end the Government must in every way make +it manifest that it neither needs nor designs to impose involuntary +military service upon those who come from other lands to cast their lot +in our country. + +The financial affairs of the Government have been successfully +administered during the last year. The legislation of the last session +of Congress has beneficially affected the revenues, although sufficient +time has not yet elapsed to experience the full effect of several of the +provisions of the acts of Congress imposing increased taxation. + +The receipts during the year from all sources, upon the basis of +warrants signed by the Secretary of the Treasury, including loans and +the balance in the Treasury on the 1st day of July, 1863, were +$1,394,796,007.62, and the aggregate disbursements, upon the same basis, +were $1,298,056,101.89, leaving a balance in the Treasury, as shown by +warrants, of $96,739,905.73. + +Deduct from these amounts the amount of the principal of the public debt +redeemed and the amount of issues in substitution therefor, and the +actual cash operations of the Treasury were: Receipts, $884,076,646.57; +disbursements, $865,234,087.86; which leaves a cash balance in the +Treasury of $18,842,558,71. + +Of the receipts there were derived from customs $102,316,152.99, from +lands $588,333.29, from direct taxes $475,648.96, from internal revenue +$109,741,134.10, from miscellaneous sources $47,511,448.10, and from +loans applied to actual expenditures, including former balance, +$623,443,929.13. + +There were disbursed for the civil service $27,505,599.46, for pensions +and Indians $7,517,930.97, for the War Department $690,791,842.97, for +the Navy Department $85,733,292.77, for interest on the public debt +$53,685,421.69, making an aggregate of $865,234,087.86 and leaving a +balance in the Treasury of $18,842,558.71, as before stated. + +For the actual receipts and disbursements for the first quarter and the +estimated receipts and disbursements for the three remaining quarters of +the current fiscal year, and the general operations of the Treasury in +detail, I refer you to the report of the Secretary of the Treasury. I +concur with him in the opinion that the proportion of moneys required to +meet the expenses consequent upon the war derived from taxation should +be still further increased; and I earnestly invite your attention to +this subject, to the end that there may be such additional legislation +as shall be required to meet the just expectations of the Secretary. + +The public debt on the 1st day of July last, as appears by the books of +the Treasury, amounted to $1,740,690,489.49. Probably, should the war +continue for another year, that amount may be increased by not far from +five hundred millions. Held, as it is, for the most part by our own +people, it has become a substantial branch of national, though private, +property. For obvious reasons the more nearly this property can be +distributed among all the people the better. To favor such general +distribution, greater inducements to become owners might, perhaps, with +good effect and without injury be presented to persons of limited means. +With this view I suggest whether it might not be both competent and +expedient for Congress to provide that a limited amount of some future +issue of public securities might be held by any _bona fide_ purchaser +exempt from taxation and from seizure for debt, under such restrictions +and limitations as might be necessary to guard against abuse of so +important a privilege. This would enable every prudent person to set +aside a small annuity against a possible day of want. + +Privileges like these would render the possession of such securities to +the amount limited most desirable to every person of small means who +might be able to save enough for the purpose. The great advantage of +citizens being creditors as well as debtors with relation to the public +debt is obvious. Men readily perceive that they can not be much +oppressed by a debt which they owe to themselves. + +The public debt on the 1st day of July last, although somewhat exceeding +the estimate of the Secretary of the Treasury made to Congress at the +commencement of the last session, falls short of the estimate of that +officer made in the preceding December as to its probable amount at the +beginning of this year by the sum of $3,995,097.31. This fact exhibits a +satisfactory condition and conduct of the operations of the Treasury. + +The national banking system is proving to be acceptable to capitalists +and to the people. On the 25th day of November 584 national banks had +been organized, a considerable number of which were conversions from +State banks. Changes from State systems to the national system are +rapidly taking place, and it is hoped that very soon there will be in +the United States no banks of issue not authorized by Congress and no +bank-note circulation not secured by the Government. That the Government +and the people will derive great benefit from this change in the banking +systems of the country can hardly be questioned. The national system +will create a reliable and permanent influence in support of the +national credit and protect the people against losses in the use of +paper money. Whether or not any further legislation is advisable for the +suppression of State-bank issues it will be for Congress to determine. +It seems quite clear that the Treasury can not be satisfactorily +conducted unless the Government can exercise a restraining power over +the bank-note circulation of the country. + +The report of the Secretary of War and the accompanying documents will +detail the campaigns of the armies in the field since the date of the +last annual message, and also the operations of the several +administrative bureaus of the War Department during the last year. It +will also specify the measures deemed essential for the national defense +and to keep up and supply the requisite military force. + +The report of the Secretary of the Navy presents a comprehensive and +satisfactory exhibit of the affairs of that Department and of the naval +service. It is a subject of congratulation and laudable pride to our +countrymen that a Navy of such vast proportions has been organized in so +brief a period and conducted with so much efficiency and success. + +The general exhibit of the Navy, including vessels under construction on +the 1st of December, 1864, shows a total of 671 vessels, carrying 4,610 +guns, and of 510,396 tons, being an actual increase during the year, +over and above all losses by shipwreck or in battle, of 83 vessels, 167 +guns, and 42,427 tons. + +The total number of men at this time in the naval service, including +officers, is about 51,000. + +There have been captured by the Navy during the year 324 vessels, and +the whole number of naval captures since hostilities commenced is 1,379, +of which 267 are steamers. + +The gross proceeds arising from the sale of condemned prize property +thus far reported amount to $14,396,250.51. A large amount of such +proceeds is still under adjudication and yet to be reported. + +The total expenditure of the Navy Department of every description, +including the cost of the immense squadrons that have been called into +existence from the 4th of March, 1861, to the 1st of November, 1864, is +$238,647,262.35. + +Your favorable consideration is invited to the various recommendations +of the Secretary of the Navy, especially in regard to a navy-yard and +suitable establishment for the construction and repair of iron vessels +and the machinery and armature for our ships, to which reference was +made in my last annual message. + +Your attention is also invited to the views expressed in the report in +relation to the legislation of Congress at its last session in respect +to prize on our inland waters. + +I cordially concur in the recommendation of the Secretary as to the +propriety of creating the new rank of vice-admiral in our naval service. + +Your attention is invited to the report of the Postmaster-General for a +detailed account of the operations and financial condition of the +Post-Office Department. + +The postal revenues for the year ending June 30, 1864, amounted to +$12,438,253.78 and the expenditures to $12,644,786.20, the excess of +expenditures over receipts being $206,652.42. + +The views presented by the Postmaster-General on the subject of special +grants by the Government in aid of the establishment of new lines of +ocean mail steamships and the policy he recommends for the development +of increased commercial intercourse with adjacent and neighboring +countries should receive the careful consideration of Congress. + +It is of noteworthy interest that the steady expansion of population, +improvement, and governmental institutions over the new and unoccupied +portions of our country have scarcely been checked, much less impeded or +destroyed, by our great civil war, which at first glance would seem to +have absorbed almost the entire energies of the nation. + +The organization and admission of the State of Nevada has been completed +in conformity with law, and thus our excellent system is firmly +established in the mountains, which once seemed a barren and +uninhabitable waste between the Atlantic States and those which have +grown up on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. + +The Territories of the Union are generally in a condition of prosperity +and rapid growth. Idaho and Montana, by reason of their great distance +and the interruption of communication with them by Indian hostilities, +have been only partially organized; but it is understood that these +difficulties are about to disappear, which will permit their +governments, like those of the others, to go into speedy and full +operation. + +As intimately connected with and promotive of this material growth of +the nation, I ask the attention of Congress to the valuable information +and important recommendations relating to the public lands, Indian +affairs, the Pacific Railroad, and mineral discoveries contained in the +report of the Secretary of the Interior which is herewith transmitted, +and which report also embraces the subjects of patents, pensions, and +other topics of public interest pertaining to his Department. + +The quantity of public land disposed of during the five quarters ending +on the 30th of September last was 4,221,342 acres, of which 1,538,614 +acres were entered under the homestead law. The remainder was located +with military land warrants, agricultural scrip certified to States for +railroads, and sold for cash. The cash received from sales and location +fees was $1,019,446. + +The income from sales during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1864, was +$678,007.21, against $136,077.95 received during the preceding year. The +aggregate number of acres surveyed during the year has been equal to the +quantity disposed of, and there is open to settlement about 133,000,000 +acres of surveyed land. + +The great enterprise of connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific States +by railways and telegraph lines has been entered upon with a vigor that +gives assurance of success, notwithstanding the embarrassments arising +from the prevailing high prices of materials and labor. The route of the +main line of the road has been definitely located for 100 miles westward +from the initial point at Omaha City, Nebr., and a preliminary location +of the Pacific Railroad of California has been made from Sacramento +eastward to the great bend of the Truckee River in Nevada. + +Numerous discoveries of gold, silver, and cinnabar mines have been added +to the many heretofore known, and the country occupied by the Sierra +Nevada and Rocky mountains and the subordinate ranges now teems with +enterprising labor, which is richly remunerative. It is believed that +the product of the mines of precious metals in that region has during +the year reached, if not exceeded, one hundred millions in value. + +It was recommended in my last annual message that our Indian system be +remodeled. Congress at its last session, acting upon the recommendation, +did provide for reorganizing the system in California, and it is +believed that under the present organization the management of the +Indians there will be attended with reasonable success. Much yet remains +to be done to provide for the proper government of the Indians in other +parts of the country, to render it secure for the advancing settler, and +to provide for the welfare of the Indian. The Secretary reiterates his +recommendations, and to them the attention of Congress is invited. + +The liberal provisions made by Congress for paying pensions to invalid +soldiers and sailors of the Republic and to the widows, orphans, and +dependent mothers of those who have fallen in battle or died of disease +contracted or of wounds received in the service of their country have +been diligently administered. There have been added to the pension rolls +during the year ending the 30th day of June last the names of 16,770 +invalid soldiers and of 271 disabled seamen, making the present number +of army invalid pensioners 22,767 and of navy invalid pensioners 712. + +Of widows, orphans, and mothers 22,198 have been placed on the army +pension rolls and 248 on the navy rolls. The present number of army +pensioners of this class is 25,433 and of navy pensioners 793. At the +beginning of the year the number of Revolutionary pensioners was 1,430. +Only 12 of them were soldiers, of whom 7 have since died. The remainder +are those who under the law receive pensions because of relationship to +Revolutionary soldiers. During the year ending the 30th of June, 1864, +$4,504,616.92 have been paid to pensioners of all classes. + +I cheerfully commend to your continued patronage the benevolent +institutions of the District of Columbia which have hitherto been +established or fostered by Congress, and respectfully refer for +information concerning them and in relation to the Washington Aqueduct, +the Capitol, and other matters of local interest to the report of the +Secretary. + +The Agricultural Department, under the supervision of its present +energetic and faithful head, is rapidly commending itself to the great +and vital interest it was created to advance. It is peculiarly the +people's Department, in which they feel more directly concerned than in +any other. I commend it to the continued attention and fostering care of +Congress. + +The war continues. Since the last annual message all the important lines +and positions then occupied by our forces have been maintained and our +arms have steadily advanced, thus liberating the regions left in rear, +so that Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and parts of other States have +again produced reasonably fair crops. + +The most remarkable feature in the military operations of the year is +General Sherman's attempted march of 300 miles directly through the +insurgent region. It tends to show a great increase of our relative +strength that our General in Chief should feel able to confront and hold +in check every active force of the enemy, and yet to detach a +well-appointed large army to move on such an expedition. The result not +yet being known, conjecture in regard to it is not here indulged. + +Important movements have also occurred during the year to the effect of +molding society for durability in the Union. Although short of complete +success, it is much in the right direction that 12,000 citizens in each +of the States of Arkansas and Louisiana have organized loyal State +governments, with free constitutions, and are earnestly struggling to +maintain and administer them. The movements in the same direction, more +extensive though less definite, in Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee +should not be overlooked. But Maryland presents the example of complete +success. Maryland is secure to liberty and union for all the future. +The genius of rebellion will no more claim Maryland. Like another foul +spirit being driven out, it may seek to tear her, but it will woo her +no more. + +At the last session of Congress a proposed amendment of the Constitution +abolishing slavery throughout the United States passed the Senate, but +failed for lack of the requisite two-thirds vote in the House of +Representatives. Although the present is the same Congress and nearly +the same members, and without questioning the wisdom or patriotism of +those who stood in opposition, I venture to recommend the +reconsideration and passage of the measure at the present session. Of +course the abstract question is not changed; but an intervening election +shows almost certainly that the next Congress will pass the measure if +this does not. Hence there is only a question of _time_ as to when the +proposed amendment will go to the States for their action. And as it is +to so go at all events, may we not agree that the sooner the better? It +is not claimed that the election has imposed a duty on members to change +their views or their votes any further than, as an additional element to +be considered, their judgment may be affected by it. It is the voice of +the people now for the first time heard upon the question. In a great +national crisis like ours unanimity of action among those seeking a +common end is very desirable--almost indispensable. And yet no approach +to such unanimity is attainable unless some deference shall be paid to +the will of the majority simply because it is the will of the majority. +In this case the common end is the maintenance of the Union, and among +the means to secure that end such will, through the election, is most +clearly declared in favor of such constitutional amendment. + +The most reliable indication of public purpose in this country is +derived through our popular elections. Judging by the recent canvass +and its result, the purpose of the people within the loyal States to +maintain the integrity of the Union was never more firm nor more nearly +unanimous than now. The extraordinary calmness and good order with which +the millions of voters met and mingled at the polls give strong +assurance of this. Not only all those who supported the Union ticket, so +called, but a great majority of the opposing party also may be fairly +claimed to entertain and to be actuated by the same purpose. It is an +unanswerable argument to this effect that no candidate for any office +whatever, high or low, has ventured to seek votes on the avowal that he +was for giving up the Union. There have been much impugning of motives +and much heated controversy as to the proper means and best mode of +advancing the Union cause, but on the distinct issue of Union or no +Union the politicians have shown their instinctive knowledge that there +is no diversity among the people. In affording the people the fair +opportunity of showing one to another and to the world this firmness +and unanimity of purpose, the election has been of vast value to the +national cause. + +The election has exhibited another fact not less valuable to be +known--the fact that we do not approach exhaustion in the most important +branch of national resources, that of living men. While it is melancholy +to reflect that the war has filled so many graves and carried mourning +to so many hearts, it is some relief to know that, compared with the +surviving, the fallen have been so few. While corps and divisions and +brigades and regiments have formed and fought and dwindled and gone out +of existence, a great majority of the men who composed them are still +living. The same is true of the naval service. The election returns +prove this. So many voters could not else be found. The States regularly +holding elections, both now and four years ago, to wit, California, +Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, +Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, +New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, +West Virginia, and Wisconsin, cast 3,982,011 votes now, against +3,870,222 cast then, showing an aggregate now of 3,982,011. To this is +to be added 33,762 cast now in the new States of Kansas and Nevada, +which States did not vote in 1860, thus swelling the aggregate to +4,015,773 and the net increase during the three years and a half +of war to 145,551. A table is appended showing particulars. To this +again should be added the number of all soldiers in the field from +Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Indiana, Illinois, +and California, who by the laws of those States could not vote away from +their homes, and which number can not be less than 90,000. Nor yet is +this all. The number in organized Territories is triple now what it +was four years ago, while thousands, white and black, join us as +the national arms press back the insurgent lines. So much is shown, +affirmatively and negatively, by the election. It is not material to +inquire _how_ the increase has been produced or to show that it would +have been _greater_ but for the war, which is probably true. The +important fact remains demonstrated that we have _more_ men _now_ than +we had when the war _began_; that we are not exhausted nor in process of +exhaustion; that we are _gaining_ strength and may if need be maintain +the contest indefinitely. This as to men. Material resources are now +more complete and abundant than ever. + +The national resources, then, are unexhausted, and, as we believe, +inexhaustible. The public purpose to reestablish and maintain the +national authority is unchanged, and, as we believe, unchangeable. +The manner of continuing the effort remains to choose. On careful +consideration of all the evidence accessible it seems to me that no +attempt at negotiation with the insurgent leader could result in any +good. He would accept nothing short of severance of the Union, precisely +what we will not and can not give. His declarations to this effect are +explicit and oft repeated. He does not attempt to deceive us. He affords +us no excuse to deceive ourselves. He can not voluntarily reaccept the +Union; we can not voluntarily yield it. Between him and us the issue is +distinct, simple, and inflexible. It is an issue which can only be tried +by war and decided by victory. If we yield, we are beaten; if the +Southern people fail him, he is beaten. Either way it would be the +victory and defeat following war. What is true, however, of him who +heads the insurgent cause is not necessarily true of those who follow. +Although he can not reaccept the Union, they can. Some of them, we know, +already desire peace and reunion. The number of such may increase. They +can at any moment have peace simply by laying down their arms and +submitting to the national authority under the Constitution. After so +much the Government could not, if it would, maintain war against them. +The loyal people would not sustain or allow it. If questions should +remain, we would adjust them by the peaceful means of legislation, +conference, courts, and votes, operating only in constitutional and +lawful channels. Some certain, and other possible, questions are and +would be beyond the Executive power to adjust; as, for instance, the +admission of members into Congress and whatever might require the +appropriation of money. The Executive power itself would be greatly +diminished by the cessation of actual war. Pardons and remissions of +forfeitures, however, would still be within Executive control. In what +spirit and temper this control would be exercised can be fairly judged +of by the past. + +A year ago general pardon and amnesty, upon specified terms, were +offered to all except certain designated classes, and it was at +the same time made known that the excepted classes were still within +contemplation of special clemency. During the year many availed +themselves of the general provision, and many more would, only that +the signs of bad faith in some led to such precautionary measures as +rendered the practical process less easy and certain. During the same +time also special pardons have been granted to individuals of the +excepted classes, and no voluntary application has been denied. Thus +practically the door has been for a full year open to all except such +as were not in condition to make free choice; that is, such as were in +custody or under constraint. It is still so open to all. But the time +may come, probably will come, when public duty shall demand that it be +closed and that in lieu more rigorous measures than heretofore shall +be adopted. + +In presenting the abandonment of armed resistance to the national +authority on the part of the insurgents as the only indispensable +condition to ending the war on the part of the Government, I retract +nothing heretofore said as to slavery. I repeat the declaration made +a year ago, that "while I remain in my present position I shall not +attempt to retract or modify the emancipation proclamation, nor shall +I return to slavery any person who is free by the terms of that +proclamation or by any of the acts of Congress." If the people should, +by whatever mode or means, make it an Executive duty to reenslave such +persons, another, and not I, must be their instrument to perform it. + +In stating a single condition of peace I mean simply to say that the war +will cease on the part of the Government whenever it shall have ceased +on the part of those who began it. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + _Table showing the aggregate votes in the States named at the + Presidential elections respectively, in 1860 and 1864_. + ============================================================= + State. 1860. 1864. + + California 118,840 110,000 [A] + Connecticut 77,246 86,616 + Delaware 16,039 16,924 + Illinois 339,693 348,235 + Indiana 272,143 280,645 + Iowa 128,331 143,331 + Kentucky 146,216 91,300 [A] + Maine 97,918 115,141 + Maryland 92,502 72,703 + Massachusetts 169,533 175,487 + Michigan 154,747 162,413 + Minnesota 34,799 42,534 + Missouri 165,538 90,000 [A] + New Hampshire 65,953 69,111 + New Jersey 121,125 128,680 + New York 675,156 730,664 + Ohio 442,441 470,745 + Oregon 14,410 14,410 [B] + Pennsylvania 476,442 572,697 + Rhode Island 19,931 22,187 + Vermont 42,844 55,811 + West Virginia 46,195 33,874 + Wisconsin 152,180 148,513 + --------- --------- + 3,870,222 3,982,011 + + Kansas 17,234 + Nevada 16,528 + ------ + 33,762 + 3,982,011 + --------- + Total 4,015,773 + 3,870,222 + --------- + Net Increase 145,551 + ============================================================= + [A: Nearly.] [B: Estimated.] + + + + + +SPECIAL MESSAGES. + +WASHINGTON CITY, _December 5, 1864_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +In conformity to the law of July 16, 1862, I most cordially recommend +that Captain John A. Winslow, United States Navy, receive a vote of +thanks from Congress for the skill and gallantry exhibited by him in the +brilliant action, while in command of the United States steamer +_Kearsarge_, which led to the total destruction of the piratical craft +_Alabama_ on the 19th of June, 1864--a vessel superior in tonnage, +superior in number of guns, and superior in number of crew. + +This recommendation is specially made in order to comply with the +requirements of the ninth section of the aforesaid act, which is in the +following words, namely: + +That any line officer of the Navy or Marine Corps may be advanced one +grade if upon recommendation of the President by name he receives the +thanks of Congress for highly distinguished conduct in conflict with the +enemy or for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON CITY, _December 5, 1864_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +In conformity to the law of July 16, 1862, I most cordially recommend +that Lieutenant William B. Cushing, United States Navy, receive a vote +of thanks from Congress for his important, gallant, and perilous +achievement in destroying the rebel ironclad steamer _Albemarle_ on the +night of the 27th of October, 1864, at Plymouth, N.C. + +The destruction of so formidable a vessel, which had resisted the +continued attacks of a number of our vessels on former occasions, is an +important event touching our future naval and military operations, and +would reflect honor on any officer, and redounds to the credit of this +young officer and the few brave comrades who assisted in this successful +and daring undertaking. + +This recommendation is specially made in order to comply with the +requirements of the ninth section of the aforesaid act, which is in the +following words, namely: + +That any line officer of the Navy or Marine Corps may be advanced one +grade if upon recommendation of the President by name he receives the +thanks of Congress for highly distinguished conduct in conflict with the +enemy or for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON CITY, _December 5, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +By virtue of the authority contained in the sixth section of the act of +21st April, 1864, which enacts "that any officer in the naval service, +by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, may be advanced not +exceeding thirty numbers in his own grade for distinguished conduct in +battle or extraordinary heroism," I recommend Commander William H. +Macomb, United States Navy, for advancement in his grade ten numbers, to +take rank next after Commander William Ronckendorff, for distinguished +conduct in the capture of the town of Plymouth, N.C., with its +batteries, ordnance stores, etc., on the 31st October, 1864, by a +portion of the naval division under his command. The affair was executed +in a most creditable manner. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON CITY, _December 5, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +By virtue of the authority contained in the sixth section of the act of +21st April, 1864, which enacts "that any officer in the naval service, +by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, may be advanced not +exceeding thirty numbers in his own grade for distinguished conduct in +battle or extraordinary heroism," I recommend Lieutenant-Commander James +S. Thornton, United States Navy, the executive officer of the United +States steamer _Kearsarge_, for advancement in his grade ten numbers, to +take rank next after lieutenant-Commander William D. Whiting, for his +good conduct and faithful discharge of his duties in the brilliant +action with the rebel steamer _Alabama_, which led to the destruction of +that vessel on the 19th June, 1864. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 7, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In answer to the Senate's resolution of yesterday, requesting +information in regard to aid furnished to the rebellion by British +subjects, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the +documents by which it was accompanied. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 13, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification, +"a treaty of friendship, commerce, and navigation between the United +States of America and the Republic of Honduras," signed by their +respective plenipotentiaries at Comayagua on the 4th of July (1864) +last. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _December 13, 1864_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification, +"a treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation, and for the extradition of +fugitive criminals, between the United States of America and the +Republic of Hayti, signed by their respective plenipotentiaries at Port +an Prince on the 3d of November" last. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 7, 1865_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a copy of two treaties between the United States +and Belgium, for the extinguishment of the Scheldt dues, etc., concluded +on the 20th of May, 1863, and 20th of July, 1863, respectively, the +ratifications of which were exchanged at Brussels on the 24th of June +last; and I recommend an appropriation to carry into effect the +provisions thereof relative to the payment of the proportion of the +United States toward the capitalization of the said dues. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, January 9, 1865_. + +Hon. SCHUYLER COLFAX, + +_Speaker House of Representatives_. + +SIR: I transmit herewith the letter of the Secretary of War, with +accompanying report of the Adjutant-General, in reply to the resolution +of the House of Representatives dated December 7, 1864, requesting me +"to communicate to the House the report made by Colonel Thomas M. Key of +an interview between himself and General Howell Cobb on the 14th day of +June, 1862, on the bank of the Chickahominy, on the subject of the +exchange of prisoners of war." + +I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _January 9, 1865_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + + +In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 15th ultimo, +requesting information concerning an arrangement limiting the naval +armament on the Lakes, I transmit a report of this date from the +Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, January 17, 1865_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, +a treaty concluded at the Isabella Indian Reservation, in the State of +Michigan, on the 18th day of October, 1864, between H.J. Alvord, special +commissioner, and D.C. Leach, United States Indian agent, acting as +commissioner on the part of the United States, and the chiefs and +headmen of the Chippewas of Saginaw, Swan Creek, and Black River, in the +State of Michigan, parties to the treaty of August 2, 1855, with +amendments. + +A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 12th instant and a copy +of a communication of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 22d +ultimo, with inclosure, accompany the treaty. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 31, 1865_. + +Hon. H. HAMLIN, + +_President of the Senate_: + +I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War, covering +papers bearing on the arrest and imprisonment of Colonel Richard T. +Jacobs, lieutenant-governor of the State of Kentucky, and Colonel Frank +Wolford, one of the Presidential electors of that State, requested by +resolution of the Senate dated December 20, 1864. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 4, 1865_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 13th ultimo, +requesting information upon the present condition of Mexico and the case +of the French war transport steamer _Rhine_, I transmit a report from +the Secretary of State and the papers by which it was accompanied. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 8, 1865_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a copy of a note of the 4th instant addressed by +J. Hume Burnley, esq., Her Britannic Majesty's charge d'affaires, to the +Secretary of State, relative to a sword which it is proposed to present +to Captain Henry S. Stellwagen, commanding the United States frigate +_Constitution_, as a mark of gratitude for his services to the British +brigantine _Mersey_. The expediency of sanctioning the acceptance of the +gift is submitted to your consideration. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 8, 1865_. + +_To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +The joint resolution entitled "Joint resolution declaring certain States +not entitled to representation in the electoral college" has been signed +by the Executive in deference to the view of Congress implied in its +passage and presentation to him. In his own view, however, the two +Houses of Congress, convened under the twelfth article of the +Constitution, have complete power to exclude from counting all electoral +votes deemed by them to be illegal, and it is not competent for the +Executive to defeat or obstruct that power by a veto, as would be the +case if his action were at all essential in the matter. He disclaims all +right of the Executive to interfere in any way in the matter of +canvassing or counting electoral votes, and he also disclaims that by +signing said resolution he has expressed any opinion on the recitals of +the preamble or any judgment of his own upon the subject of the +resolution. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 10, 1865_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 8th instant, requesting +information concerning recent conversations or communications with +insurgents under Executive sanction, I transmit a report from the +Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 10, 1865_. + +_To the Honorable the House of Representatives_: + +In response to your resolution of the 8th instant, requesting +information in relation to a conference recently held in Hampton Roads, +I have the honor to state that on the day of the date I gave Francis P. +Blair, sr., a card, written on as follows, to wit: + + December 28, 1864. + + Allow the bearer, F.P. Blair, sr., to pass our lines, go South, + and return. + + A. LINCOLN. + +That at the time I was informed that Mr. Blair sought the card as a +means of getting to Richmond, Va., but he was given no authority to +speak or act for the Government, nor was I informed of anything he would +say or do on his own account or otherwise. Afterwards Mr. Blair told me +that he had been to Richmond and had seen Mr. Jefferson Davis; and he +(Mr. B.) at the same time left with me a manuscript letter, as follows, +to wit: + + Richmond, Va., _January 12, 1865_. + + F.P. BLAIR, Esq. + + SIR: I have deemed it proper, and probably desirable to you, to give + you in this form the substance of remarks made by me, to be repeated + by you to President Lincoln, etc., etc. + + I have no disposition to find obstacles in forms, and am willing, now + as heretofore, to enter into negotiations for the restoration of peace, + and am ready to send a commission whenever I have reason to suppose it + will be received, or to receive a commission if the United States + Government shall choose to send one. That notwithstanding the rejection + of our former offers, I would, if you could promise that a commissioner, + minister, or other agent would be received, appoint one immediately, and + renew the effort to enter into conference with a view to secure peace to + the two countries. + + Yours, etc., + JEFFERSON DAVIS. + + +Afterwards, and with the view that it should be shown to Mr. Davis, I +wrote and delivered to Mr. Blair a letter, as follows, to wit: + + WASHINGTON, _January 18, 1865_. + + F.P. BLAIR, Esq. + + SIR: Your having shown me Mr. Davis's letter to you of the 12th instant, + you may say to him that I have constantly been, am now, and shall + continue ready to receive any agent whom he or any other influential + person now resisting the national authority may informally send to me + with the view of securing peace to the people of our one common country. + + Yours, etc., + A. LINCOLN. + + +Afterwards Mr. Blair dictated for and authorized me to make an entry on +the back of my retained copy of the letter last above recited, which +entry is as follows: + + JANUARY 28, 1865. + + Today Mr. Blair tells me that on the 21st instant he delivered to Mr. + Davis the original of which the within is a copy, and left it with him; + that at the time of delivering it Mr. Davis read it over twice in Mr. + Blair's presence, at the close of which he (Mr. Blair) remarked that the + part about "our one common country" related to the part of Mr. Davis's + letter about "the two countries," to which Mr. Davis replied that he so + understood it. + + A. LINCOLN. + + +Afterwards the Secretary of War placed in my hands the following +telegram, indorsed by him, as appears: + + OFFICE UNITED STATES MILITARY TELEGRAPH, + _War Department_. + + The following telegram received at Washington January 29, 1865, from + headquarters Army of James, 6.30 p.m., January 29, 1865: + + "Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, + "_Secretary of War_: + + "The following dispatch just received from Major-General Parke, who + refers it to me for my action. I refer it to you in Lieutenant-General + Grant's absence. + + "E.O.C. ORD, _Major-General, Commanding."_ + + + + 'HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF POTOMAC, + '_January 29, 1865-4 p.m._ + + 'Major-General E.O.C. ORD, + _'Headquarters Army of James_: + + 'The following dispatch is forwarded to you for your action. Since + I have no knowledge of General Grant's having had any understanding of + this kind, I refer the matter to you as the ranking officer present in + the two armies. + + 'JNO. G. PARKE, _Major-General, Commanding.'_ + + + 'FROM HEADQUARTERS NINTH ARMY CORPS, _29th._ + + 'Major-General JNO. G. PARKE, + '_Headquarters Army of Potomac_: + + 'Alexander H. Stephens, R.M.T. Hunter, and J.A. Campbell desire to + cross my lines, in accordance with an understanding claimed to exist + with lieutenant-General Grant, on their way to Washington as peace + commissioners. Shall they be admitted? They desire an early answer, to + come through immediately. Would like to reach City Point tonight if they + can. If they can not do this, they would like to come through at 10 a.m. + tomorrow morning. + + 'O.B. WILCOX, + '_Major-General, Commanding Ninth Corps._' + + + "January 29--8.30 p.m. + + "Respectfully referred to the President for such instructions as he + may be pleased to give. + + "EDWIN M. STANTON, + "_Secretary of War_." + + +It appears that about the time of placing the foregoing telegram in my +hands the Secretary of War dispatched General Ord as follows, to wit: + + WAR DEPARTMENT, + _Washington City, January 29, 1865--10 p.m._ + (Sent at 2 a.m. 30th.) + + Major-General ORD. + + SIR: This Department has no knowledge of any understanding by General + Grant to allow any person to come within his lines as commissioner of + any sort. You will therefore allow no one to come into your lines under + such character or profession until you receive the President's + instructions, to whom your telegram will be submitted for his + directions. + + EDWIN M. STANTON, + _Secretary of War_. + + +Afterwards, by my direction, the Secretary of War telegraphed General +Ord as follows, to wit: + + WAR DEPARTMENT, + _Washington, D.C., January 30, 1865--10.30 a.m._ + + Major-General E.O.C. ORD, + _Headquarters Army of the James_. + + SIR: By direction of the President, you are instructed to inform + the three gentlemen, Messrs. Stephens, Hunter, and Campbell, that a + messenger will be dispatched to them at or near where they now are + without unnecessary delay. + + EDWIN M. STANTON, + _Secretary of War_. + + +Afterwards I prepared and put into the hands of Major Thomas T. Eckert +the following instructions and message: + + EXECUTIVE MANSION, + _Washington, January 30, 1865_. + + Major T.T. ECKERT. + + SIR: You will proceed with the documents placed in your hands, and on + reaching General Ord will deliver him the letter addressed to him by + the Secretary of War; then, by General Ord's assistance, procure an + interview with Messrs. Stephens, Hunter, and Campbell, or any of them. + Deliver to him or them the paper on which your own letter is written. + Note on the copy which you retain the time of delivery and to whom + delivered. Receive their answer in writing, waiting a reasonable time + for it, and which, if it contain their decision to come through without + further condition, will be your warrant to ask General Ord to pass them + through, as directed in the letter of the Secretary of War to him. If by + their answer they decline to come, or propose other terms, do not have + them pass through. And this being your whole duty, return and report + to me. + + A. LINCOLN. + + + CITY POINT, VA., _February 1, 1865_. + + Messrs. ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS, J.A. CAMPBELL, and R.M.T. HUNTER. + + GENTLEMEN: I am instructed by the President of the United States to + place this paper in your hands, with the information that if you pass + through the United States military lines it will be understood that you + do so for the purpose of an informal conference on the basis of the + letter a copy of which is on the reverse side of this sheet, and that if + you choose to pass on such understanding, and so notify me in writing, I + will procure the commanding general to pass you through the lines and to + Fortress Monroe under such military precautions as he may deem prudent, + and at which place you will be met in due time by some person or persons + for the purpose of such informal conference; and, further, that you + shall have protection, safe conduct, and safe return in all events. + + THOMAS T. ECKERT, + _Major and Aid-de-Camp_. + + + WASHINGTON, _January 18, 1865_. + + F.P. BLAIR, Esq. + + SIR: Your having shown me Mr. Davis's letter to you of the 12th instant, + you may say to him that I have constantly been, am now, and shall + continue ready to receive any agent whom he or any other influential + person now resisting the national authority may informally send to me + with the view of securing peace to the people of our one common country. + + Yours, etc., + A. LINCOLN. + + +Afterwards, but before Major Eckert had departed, the following dispatch +was received from General Grant: + + OFFICE UNITED STATES MILITARY TELEGRAPH, + _War Department_. + + The following telegram received at Washington January 31, 1865, from + City Point, Va., 10.30 a.m., January 30, 1865: + + "His Excellency ABRAHAM LINCOLN, + "_President of the United States_: + + "The following communication was received here last evening: + + 'PETERSBURG, VA., _January 30, 1865_. + + 'Lieutenant-General U.S. GRANT, + '_Commanding Armies United States_. + + 'SIR: We desire to pass your lines under safe conduct, and to proceed to + Washington to hold a conference with President Lincoln upon the subject + of the existing war, and with a view of ascertaining upon what terms it + may be terminated, in pursuance of the course indicated by him in his + letter to Mr. Blair of January 18, 1865, of which we presume you have a + copy; and if not, we wish to see you in person, if convenient, and to + confer with you upon the subject. + + 'Very respectfully, yours, + 'ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS. + 'J.A. CAMPBELL. + 'R.M.T. HUNTER.' + + + "I have sent directions to receive these gentlemen, and expect to have + them at my quarters this evening, awaiting your instructions. + + "U.S. GRANT + "_Lieutenant-General, Commanding Armies United States _" + + +This, it will be perceived, transferred General Ord's agency in the +matter to General Grant. I resolved, however, to send Major Eckert +forward with his message, and accordingly telegraphed General Grant as +follows, to wit: + + EXECUTIVE MANSION, + _Washington, January 31, 1865_. + (Sent at 1.30 p.m.) + + Lieutenant-General GRANT, + _City Point, Va._: + + A messenger is coming to you on the business contained in your dispatch, + Detain the gentlemen in comfortable quarters until he arrives, and then + act upon the message he brings as far as applicable, it having been made + up to pass through General Ord's hands, and when the gentlemen were + supposed to be beyond our lines. + + A. LINCOLN. + +When Major Eckert departed, he bore with him a letter of the Secretary +of War to General Grant, as follows, to wit: + + WAR DEPARTMENT, + _Washington, D.C., January 30, 1865_. + + Lieutenant-General GRANT, + _Commanding, etc._ + + GENERAL: The President desires that you will please procure for the + bearer, Major Thomas T. Eckert, an interview with Messrs. Stephens, + Hunter, and Campbell, and if on his return to you he requests it pass + them through our lines to Fortress Monroe by such route and under such + military precautions as you may deem prudent, giving them protection and + comfortable quarters while there, and that you let none of this have any + effect upon your movements or plans. + + By order of the President: + + EDWIN M. STANTON, + _Secretary of War_. + + +Supposing the proper point to be then reached, I dispatched the +Secretary of State with the following instructions, Major Eckert, +however, going ahead of him: + + EXECUTIVE MANSION, + _Washington, January 31, 1865_. + + Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_: + + You will proceed to Fortress Monroe, Va., there to meet and informally + confer with Messrs. Stephens, Hunter, and Campbell on the basis of my + letter to F.P. Blair, esq., of January 18, 1865, a copy of which you + have. + + You will make known to them that three things are indispensable, to wit: + + 1. The restoration of the national authority throughout all the States. + + 2. No receding by the Executive of the United States on the slavery + question from the position assumed thereon in the late annual + message to Congress and in preceding documents. + + 3. No cessation of hostilities short of an end of the war and the + disbanding of all forces hostile to the Government. + + You will inform them that all propositions of theirs not inconsistent + with the above will be considered and passed upon in a spirit of + sincere liberality. You will hear all they may choose to say and report + it to me. + + You will not assume to definitely consummate anything. + + Yours, etc., + ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + +On the day of its date the following telegram was sent to General Grant: + + WAR DEPARTMENT, + _Washington, D.C., February 1, 1865_. + (Sent at 9.30 a.m.) + + Lieutenant-General GRANT, + _City Point, Va._: + + Let nothing which is transpiring change, hinder, or delay your military + movements or Plans. + + A. LINCOLN. + +Afterwards the following dispatch was received from General Grant: + + OFFICE UNITED STATES MILITARY TELEGRAPH, + _War Department_. + + The following telegram received at Washington 2.30 p.m. February 1, + 1865, from City Point, Va., February 1, 12.30 p.m., 1865: + + "His Excellency A. LINCOLN, + "_President United States_: + + "Your dispatch received. There will be no armistice in consequence of + the presence of Mr. Stephens and others within our lines. The troops + are kept in readiness to move at the shortest notice if occasion + should justify it. + + "U.S. GRANT, _Lieutenant-General."_ + + +To notify Major Eckert that the Secretary of State would be at Fortress +Monroe, and to put them in communication, the following dispatch was +sent: + + WAR DEPARTMENT, + _Washington, D.C., February 1, 1865_. + + Major T.T. ECKERT, + _Care of General Grant, City Point, Va._: + + Call at Fortress Monroe and put yourself under direction of Mr. S., + whom you will find there. + + A. LINCOLN. + + +On the morning of the 2d instant the following telegrams were received +by me respectively from the Secretary of State and Major Eckert: + + FORT MONROE, VA., _February 1, 1865--11.30 p.m._ + + The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: + + Arrived at 10 this evening. Richmond party not here. I remain here. + + WILLIAM H. SEWARD. + + + CITY POINT, VA., _February 1, 1865--10 p.m._ + + His Excellency A. LINCOLN, + _President of the United States_: + + I have the honor to report the delivery of your communication and my + letter at 4.15 this afternoon, to which I received a reply at 6 p.m., + but not satisfactory. + + +At 8 p.m. the following note, addressed to General Grant, was received: + + "CITY POINT, VA., _February 1, 1865_. + + "Lieutenant-General GRANT. + + "SIR: We desire to go to Washington City to confer informally with the + President personally in reference to the matters mentioned in his letter + to Mr. Blair of the 18th January ultimo, without any personal compromise + on any question in the letter. We have the permission to do so from the + authorities in Richmond. + + "Very respectfully, yours, + "ALEX. H. STEPHENS. + "R.M.T. HUNTER. + "J.A. CAMPBELL." + + +At 9.30 p.m. I notified them that they could not proceed further unless +they complied with the terms expressed in my letter. The point of +meeting designated in the above note would not, in my opinion, be +insisted upon. Think Fort Monroe would be acceptable. Having complied +with my instructions, I will return to Washington tomorrow unless +otherwise ordered. + +THOS. T. ECKERT, _Major, etc._ + + +On reading this dispatch of Major Eckert I was about to recall him and +the Secretary of State, when the following telegram of General Grant to +the Secretary of War was shown me: + + OFFICE UNITED STATES MILITARY TELEGRAPH, + _War Department_. + + The following telegram received at Washington 4.35 a.m. February 2, + 1865, from City Point, Va., February 1, 10.30 p.m., 1865: + + "Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, + "_Secretary of War_: + + "Now that the interview between Major Eckert, under his written + instructions, and Mr. Stephens and party has ended, I will state + confidentially, but not officially to become a matter of record, that + I am convinced upon conversation with Messrs. Stephens and Hunter that + their intentions are good and their desire sincere to restore peace and + union. I have not felt myself at liberty to express even views of my + own or to account for my reticency. This has placed me in an awkward + position, which I could have avoided by not seeing them in the first + instance. I fear now their going back without any expression from anyone + in authority will have a bad influence. At the same time, I recognize + the difficulties in the way of receiving these informal commissioners + at this time, and do not know what to recommend. I am sorry, however, + that Mr. Lincoln can not have an interview with the two named in this + dispatch, if not all three now within our lines. Their letter to me was + all that the President's instructions contemplated to secure their safe + conduct if they had used the same language to Major Eckert. + + "U.S. GRANT, _Lieutenant-General"_ + + +This dispatch of General Grant changed my purpose, and accordingly I +telegraphed him and the Secretary of State, respectively, as follows: + + WAR DEPARTMENT, + _Washington, D.C., February 2, 1865_. + (Sent at 9 a.m.) + + Lieutenant-General GRANT, + _City Point, Va._: + + Say to the gentlemen I will meet them personally at Fortress Monroe + as soon as I can get there. + + A. LINCOLN. + + + WAR DEPARTMENT, + _Washington, D.C., February 2, 1865_. + (Sent at 9 a.m.) + + Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Fortress Monroe, Va._: + + Induced by a dispatch from General Grant, I join you at Fort Monroe as + soon as I can come. + + A. LINCOLN. + +Before starting, the following dispatch was shown me. I proceeded, +nevertheless. + + OFFICE UNITED STATES MILITARY TELEGRAPH, + _War Department_. + + The following telegram received at Washington February 2, 1865, from + City Point, Va., 9 a.m., February 2, 1865: + + "Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + "_Secretary of State, Fort Monroe_: + + "The gentlemen here have accepted the proposed terms, and will leave + for Fort Monroe at 9.30 a.m. + + "U.S. GRANT, + "_Lieutenant-General."_ + + (Copy to Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War, Washington.) + + +On the night of the 2d I reached Hampton Roads, found the Secretary of +State and Major Eckert on a steamer anchored offshore, and learned of +them that the Richmond gentlemen were on another steamer also anchored +offshore, in the Roads, and that the Secretary of State had not yet seen +or communicated with them. I ascertained that Major Eckert had literally +complied with his instructions, and I saw for the first time the answer +of the Richmond gentlemen to him, which in his dispatch to me of the 1st +he characterizes as "not satisfactory." That answer is as follows, to +wit: + + CITY POINT, VA., _February 1, 1865_. + + THOMAS T. ECKERT, + _Major and Aid-de-Camp_. + + MAJOR: Your note, delivered by yourself this day, has been considered. + In reply we have to say that we were furnished with a copy of the letter + of President Lincoln to Francis P. Blair, esq., of the 18th of January + ultimo, another copy of which is appended to your note. + + Our instructions are contained in a letter of which the following is + a copy: + + "Richmond, _January 28, 1865_. + + "In conformity with the letter of Mr. Lincoln, of which the foregoing is + a copy, you are to proceed to Washington City for informal conference + with him upon the issues involved in the existing war, and for the + purpose of securing peace to the two countries. + + 'With great respect, your obedient servant, + "JEFFERSON DAVIS." + + +The substantial object to be obtained by the informal conference is to +ascertain upon what terms the existing war can be terminated honorably. + +Our instructions contemplate a personal interview between President +Lincoln and ourselves at Washington City, but with this explanation we +are ready to meet any person or persons that President Lincoln may +appoint at such place as he may designate. + +Our earnest desire is that a just and honorable peace may be agreed +upon, and we are prepared to receive or to submit propositions which may +possibly lead to the attainment of that end. + +Very respectfully, yours, + + ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS. + R.M.T. HUNTER. + JOHN A. CAMPBELL. + + +A note of these gentlemen, subsequently addressed to General Grant, has +already been given in Major Eckert's dispatch of the 1st instant. + +I also here saw, for the first time, the following note addressed by the +Richmond gentlemen to Major Eckert: + + CITY POINT, VA., _February 2, 1865_. + + THOMAS T. ECKERT, + _Major and Aid-de-Camp_. + + MAJOR: In reply to your verbal statement that your instructions did not + allow you to alter the conditions upon which a passport could be given + to us, we say that we are willing to proceed to Fortress Monroe and + there to have an informal conference with any person or persons that + President Lincoln may appoint on the basis of his letter to Francis P. + Blair of the 18th of January ultimo, or upon any other terms or + conditions that he may hereafter propose not inconsistent with the + essential principles of self-government and popular rights, upon which + our institutions are founded. + + It is our earnest wish to ascertain, after a free interchange of ideas + and information, upon what principles and terms, if any, a just and + honorable peace can be established without the further effusion of + blood, and to contribute our utmost efforts to accomplish such a result. + + We think it better to add that in accepting your passport we are not to + be understood as committing ourselves to anything but to carry to this + informal conference the views and feelings above expressed. + + Very respectfully, yours, etc., + + ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS. + J.A. CAMPBELL. + R.M.T. HUNTER. + +Note.--The above communication was delivered to me at Fort Monroe at +4.30 p.m. February 2 by Lieutenant-Colonel Babcock, of General Grant's +staff. + +THOMAS T. ECKERT, + +_Major and Aid-de-Camp_. + + + +On the morning of the 3d the three gentlemen, Messrs. Stephens, Hunter, +and Campbell, came aboard of our steamer and had an interview with the +Secretary of State and myself of several hours' duration. No question of +preliminaries to the meeting was then and there made or mentioned; no +other person was present; no papers were exchanged or produced; and it +was in advance agreed that the conversation was to be informal and +verbal merely. On our part the whole substance of the instructions to +the Secretary of State hereinbefore recited was stated and insisted +upon, and nothing was said inconsistent therewith; while by the other +party it was not said that in any event or on any condition they _ever_ +would consent to reunion, and yet they equally omitted to declare that +they _never_ would so consent. They seemed to desire a postponement of +that question and the adoption of some other course first, which, as +some of them seemed to argue, might or might not lead to reunion, but +which course we thought would amount to an indefinite postponement. The +conference ended without result. + +The foregoing, containing, as is believed, all the information sought, +is respectfully submitted. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 13, 1865_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a copy of a dispatch of the 12th ultimo, +addressed to the Secretary of State by the minister resident of the +United States at Stockholm, relating to an international exhibition to +be held at Bergen, in Norway, during the coming summer. The expediency +of any legislation upon the subject is submitted for your consideration. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 13, 1865_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I transmit to Congress a copy of a note of the 2d instant, addressed to +the Secretary of State by the Commander J.C. de Figaniere a Morao, envoy +extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of His Most Faithful Majesty +the King of Portugal, calling attention to a proposed international +exhibition at the city of Oporto, to be opened in August next, and +inviting contributions thereto of the products of American manufactures +and industry. The expediency of any legislation on the subject is +submitted for your consideration. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 25, 1865_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 23d instant, +I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, with the +accompanying General Orders, No. 23,[14] issued by Major-General Banks +at New Orleans, February 3, 1864. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +[Footnote 14: On the subject of compensated plantation labor, public or +private.] + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_WASHINGTON, February 27, 1865_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, +a treaty made and concluded with the Klamath and Modoc tribes of Indians +of Oregon, at Fort Klamath, on the 5th day of October, 1864. + +A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of this date, a copy of the +report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 24th instant, and +a communication of the superintendent of Indian affairs in Oregon +accompany the treaty. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington, D.C., February 28, 1865_. + +Hon. H. HAMLIN, + +_President United States Senate_. + +SIR: In reply to the resolution of the Senate dated February 14, 1865, I +transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War, forwarding +a copy of the report of the court of inquiry "in respect to the +explosion of the mine in front of Petersburg." + +I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 2, 1865_. + +Hon. SCHUYLER COLFAX, + +_Speaker of the House of Representatives_: + +I transmit herewith the report of the Secretary of War, which, with +my permission, has been delayed until the present time to enable the +Lieutenant-General to furnish his report. + +A. LINCOLN. + +[The same message was addressed to the President of the Senate.] + + + +WASHINGTON, _March 3, 1865_. + +_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: + +I herewith transmit to Congress a report, dated 1st instant, with the +accompanying papers, received from the Secretary of State in compliance +with the requirements of the eighteenth section of the act entitled "An +act to regulate the diplomatic and consular systems of the United +States," approved August 18, 1856. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + +VETO MESSAGE.[15] + +[Footnote 15: Pocket veto.] + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 5, 1865_. + +_To the House of Representatives of the United States_: + +I herewith return to your honorable body, in which it originated, +a "Joint resolution to correct certain clerical errors in the +internal-revenue act," without my approval. + +My reason for so doing is that I am informed that this joint resolution +was prepared during the last moments of the last session of Congress +for the purpose of correcting certain errors of reference in the +internal-revenue act which were discovered on an examination of an +official copy procured from the State Department a few hours only before +the adjournment. It passed the House and went to the Senate, where a +vote was taken upon it, but by some accident it was not presented to the +President of the Senate for his signature. + +Since the adjournment of the last session of Congress other errors of a +kind similar to those which this resolution was designed to correct have +been discovered in the law, and it is now thought most expedient to +include all the necessary corrections in one act or resolution. + +The attention of the proper committee of the House has, I am informed, +been already directed to the preparation of a bill for this purpose. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + + +PROCLAMATIONS. + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas by the act approved July 4, 1864, entitled "An act further to +regulate and provide for the enrolling and calling out the national +forces, and for other purposes," it is provided that the President of +the United States may, "at his discretion, at any time hereafter, call +for any number of men, as volunteers for the respective terms of one, +two, and three years for military service," and "that in case the quota +or any part thereof of any town, township, ward of a city, precinct, or +election district, or of any county not so subdivided, shall not be +filled within the space of fifty days after such call, then the +President shall immediately order a draft for one year to fill such +quota or any part thereof which may be unfilled;" and + +Whereas by the credits allowed in accordance with the act of Congress on +the call for 500,000 men, made July 18, 1864, the number of men to be +obtained under that call was reduced to 280,000; and + +Whereas the operations of the enemy in certain States have rendered it +impracticable to procure from them their full quotas of troops under +said call; and + +Whereas from the foregoing causes but 240,000 men have been put into +the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps under the said call of July 18, 1864, +leaving a deficiency on that call of two hundred and sixty thousand +(260,000): + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of +America, in order to supply the aforesaid deficiency and to provide for +casualties in the military and naval service of the United States, do +issue this my call for three hundred thousand (300,000) volunteers to +serve for one, two, or three years. The quotas of the States, districts, +and subdistricts under this call will be assigned by the War Department +through the bureau of the Provost-Marshal-General of the United States, +and "in case the quota or any part thereof of any town, township, ward +of a city, precinct, or election district, or of any county not so +subdivided, shall not be filled" before the 15th day of February, 1865, +then a draft shall be made to fill such quota or any part thereof under +this call which may be unfilled on said 15th day of February, 1865. + +In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal +of the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 19th day of December, A.D. 1864, +and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas the act of Congress of the 28th of September, 1850, entitled "An +act to create additional collection districts in the State of +California, and to change the existing districts therein, and to modify +the existing collection districts in the United States," extends to +merchandise warehoused under bond the privilege of being exported to the +British North American Provinces adjoining the United States in the +manner prescribed in the act of Congress of the 3d of March, 1845, which +designates certain frontier ports through which merchandise may be +exported, and further provides "that such other ports situated on the +frontiers of the United States adjoining the British North American +Provinces as may hereafter be found expedient may have extended to them +the like privileges on the recommendation of the Secretary of the +Treasury and proclamation duly made by the President of the United +States specially designating the ports to which the aforesaid privileges +are to be extended:" + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of +America, in accordance with the recommendation of the Secretary of the +Treasury, do hereby declare and proclaim that the port of St. Albans, in +the State of Vermont, is and shall be entitled to all the privileges in +regard to the exportation of merchandise in bond to the British North +American Provinces adjoining the United States which are extended to the +ports enumerated in the seventh section of the act of Congress of the 3d +of March, 1845, aforesaid, from and after the date of this proclamation. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 10th day of January, A.D. 1865, and +of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas objects of interest to the United States require that the Senate +should be convened at 12 o'clock on the 4th of March next to receive and +act upon such communications as may be made to it on the part of the +Executive: + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, have +considered it to be my duty to issue this my proclamation, declaring +that an extraordinary occasion requires the Senate of the United States +to convene for the transaction of business at the Capitol, in the city +of Washington, on the 4th day of March next, at 12 o'clock at noon on +that day, of which all who shall at that time be entitled to act as +members of that body are hereby required to take notice. + +Given under my hand and the seal of the United States at Washington, the +17th day of February, A.D. 1865, and of the Independence of the United +States of America the eighty-ninth. + +[SEAL.] + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + + +EXECUTIVE ORDERS. + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 10, 1864_. + +_Ordered_, first. That Major-General William F. Smith and the Hon. Henry +Stanbery be, and they are hereby, appointed special commissioners to +investigate and report, for the information of the President, upon the +civil and military administration in the military division bordering +upon and west of the Mississippi, under such instructions as shall be +issued by authority of the President and the War Department. + +Second. Said commissioners shall have power to examine witnesses upon +oath, and to take such proofs, orally or in writing, upon the +subject-matters of investigation as they may deem expedient, and return +the same together with their report. + +Third. All officers and persons in the military, naval, and revenue +services, or in any branch of the public service under the authority of +the United States Government, are required, upon subpoena issued by +direction of the said commissioners, to appear before them at such time +and place as may be designated in said subpoena and to give testimony on +oath touching such matters as may be inquired of by the commissioners, +and to produce such books, papers, writings, and documents as they may +be notified or required to produce by the commissioners, and as may be +in their possession. + +Fourth. Said special commissioners shall also investigate and report +upon any other matters that may hereafter be directed by the Secretary +of War, and shall with all convenient dispatch make report to him in +writing of their investigation, and shall also from time to time make +special reports to the Secretary of War upon such matters as they may +deem of importance to the public interests. + +Fifth. The Secretary of War shall assign to the said commissioners such +aid and assistance as may be required for the performance of their +duties, and make such just and reasonable allowances and compensation +for the said commissioners and for the persons employed by them as he +may deem proper. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +DEPARTMENT OF STATE, + +_Washington, December 17, 1864_. + +The President directs that, except immigrant passengers directly +entering an American port by sea, henceforth no traveler shall be +allowed to enter the United States from a foreign country without a +passport. If a citizen, the passport must be from this Department or +from some United States minister or consul abroad; and if an alien, from +the competent authority of his own country, the passport to be +countersigned by a diplomatic agent or consul of the United States. This +regulation is intended to apply especially to persons proposing to come +to the United States from the neighboring British Provinces. Its +observance will be strictly enforced by all officers, civil, military, +and naval, in the service of the United States, and the State and +municipal authorities are requested to aid in its execution. It is +expected, however, that no immigrant passenger coming in manner +aforesaid will be obstructed, or any other persons who may set out on +their way hither before intelligence of this regulation could reasonably +be expected to reach the country from which they may have started. + +WILLIAM H. SEWARD. + + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _December 31, 1864_. + +By the authority conferred upon the President of the United States by +the second section of the act of Congress approved July 2, 1864, +entitled "An act to amend an act to aid in the construction of a +railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific +Ocean," etc., I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do +hereby designate the Merchants' National Bank, Boston; the Chicago and +Rock Island Railroad Company's office, Chicago; the First National Bank +at Philadelphia; the First National Bank at Baltimore; the First +National Bank at Cincinnati, and the Third National Bank at St. Louis, +in addition to the general office of the Union Pacific Railroad Company +in the city of New York, as the places at which the said Union Pacific +Railroad Company shall cause books to be kept open to receive +subscriptions to the capital stock of said company. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington City, January 20, 1865_. + +_Ordered_, That no clearances for the exportation of hay from the United +States be granted until further orders, unless the same shall have been +placed on shipboard before the publication hereof. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +EXECUTIVE MANSION, + +_Washington City, February 6, 1865_. + +Whereas complaints are made in some localities respecting the +assignments of quotas and credits allowed for the pending call of troops +to fill up the armies: + +Now, in order to determine all controversies in respect thereto and +to avoid any delay in filling up the armies, it is ordered that the +Attorney-General, Brigadier-General Richard Delafield, and Colonel C. W. +Foster be, and they are hereby, constituted a board to examine into the +proper quotas and credits of the respective States and districts under +the call of December 19, 1864, with directions, if any errors be found +therein, to make such corrections as the law and facts may require and +report their determination to the Provost-Marshal-General. The +determination of said board to be final and conclusive, and the draft to +be made in conformity therewith. + +2. The Provost-Marshal-General is ordered to make the draft in the +respective districts as speedily as the same can be done after the 15th +of this month. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _February 13, 1865_. + +_To the Military Officers Commanding in West Tennessee_: + +While I can not order as within requested, allow me to say that it is +my wish for you to relieve the people from all burdens, harassments, +and oppressions so far as is possible consistently with your military +necessities; that the object of the war being to restore and maintain +the blessings of peace and good government, I desire you to help, and +not hinder, every advance in that direction. + +Of your military necessities you must judge and execute, but please do +so in the spirit and with the purpose above indicated. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +[From the Daily National Intelligencer, February 22, 1865.] + +DEPARTMENT OF STATE, + +_Washington, February 21, 1865_. + +The Department buildings will be illuminated on the night of +Washington's birthday, in honor of the recent triumphs of the Union. + +By order of the President: + +WILLIAM H. SEWARD. + + + + +SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS. + + +Fellow-Countrymen: At this second appearing to take the oath of the +Presidential office there is less occasion for an extended address than +there was at the first. Then a statement somewhat in detail of a course +to be pursued seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four +years, during which public declarations have been constantly called +forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs +the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is +new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all else +chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is, +I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope +for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured. + +On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago all thoughts were +anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought +to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from this +place, devoted altogether to _saving_ the Union without war, insurgent +agents were in the city seeking to _destroy_ it without war--seeking to +dissolve the Union and divide effects by negotiation. Both parties +deprecated war, but one of them would _make_ war rather than let the +nation survive, and the other would _accept_ war rather than let it +perish, and the war came. + +One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed +generally over the Union, but localized in the southern part of it. +These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew +that this interest was somehow the cause of the war. To strengthen, +perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the +insurgents would rend the Union even by war, while the Government +claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement +of it. Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration +which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the _cause_ of +the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should +cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental +and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and +each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men +should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from +the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not +judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has +been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the +world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but +woe to that man by whom the offense cometh." If we shall suppose that +American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of +God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed +time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South +this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, +shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes +which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we +hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily +pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled +by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall +be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid +by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, +so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and +righteous altogether." + +With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the +right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the +work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who +shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all +which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves +and with all nations. + +MARCH 4, 1865. + + + + +SPECIAL MESSAGES. + + +WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 8, 1865_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +The fourth section of the law of 16th January, 1857, provides that +reserved officers may be promoted on the reserved list, by and with the +advice and consent of the Senate, and under this authority various +officers of the Navy have been promoted one grade from time to time. + +I therefore nominate Commander John J. Young, now on the reserved list, +to be a captain in the Navy on the reserved list from the 12th August, +1854, the date when he was entitled to his regular promotion had he not +been overslaughed. It is due to this officer to state that he was passed +over in consequence of physical disability, this disability having +occurred in the discharge of his duties; and prior to his misfortune +he bore the reputation of an efficient and correct officer, and +subsequently has evinced a willingness to perform whatever duties were +assigned him. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + + +WASHINGTON, _March 8, 1865_. + +_To the Senate of the United States_: + +In answer to the Senate's resolution of the 6th instant, requesting the +return of a certain joint resolution,[16] I transmit a report from the +Secretary of State. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +[Footnote 16: Entitled "Joint resolution in relation to certain +railroads."] + + + + +PROCLAMATIONS. + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas the twenty-first section of the act of Congress approved on the +3d instant, entitled "An act to amend the several acts heretofore passed +to provide for the enrolling and calling out the national forces and +for other purposes," requires "that, in addition to the other lawful +penalties of the crime of desertion from the military or naval service, +all persons who have deserted the military or naval service of the +United States who shall not return to said service or report themselves +to a provost-marshal within sixty days after the proclamation +hereinafter mentioned shall be deemed and taken to have voluntarily +relinquished and forfeited their rights of citizenship and their rights +to become citizens, and such deserters shall be forever incapable of +holding any office of trust or profit under the United States or of +exercising any rights of citizens thereof; and all persons who shall +hereafter desert the military or naval service, and all persons who, +being duly enrolled, shall depart the jurisdiction of the district in +which he is enrolled or go beyond the limits of the United States with +intent to avoid any draft into the military or naval service duly +ordered, shall be liable to the penalties of this section. And the +President is hereby authorized and required, forthwith on the passage of +this act, to issue his proclamation setting forth the provisions of this +section, in which proclamation the President is requested to notify all +deserters returning within sixty days as aforesaid that they shall be +pardoned on condition of returning to their regiments and companies or +to such other organizations as they may be assigned to until they shall +have served for a period of time equal to their original term of +enlistment." + +Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the +United States, do issue this my proclamation, as required by said act, +ordering and requiring all deserters to return to their proper posts; +and I do hereby notify them that all deserters who shall, within sixty +days from the date of this proclamation, viz, on or before the 10th day +of May, 1865, return to service or report themselves to a +provost-marshal shall be pardoned, on condition that they return to +their regiments and companies or to such other organizations as they may +be assigned to and serve the remainder of their original terms of +enlistment and in addition thereto a period equal to the time lost by +desertion. + +In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 11th day of March, A.D. 1865, and +of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas reliable information has been received that hostile Indians +within the limits of the United States have been furnished with arms and +munitions of war by persons dwelling in conterminous foreign territory, +and are thereby enabled to prosecute their savage warfare upon the +exposed and sparse settlements of the frontier: + +Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the +United States of America, do hereby proclaim and direct that all persons +detected in that nefarious traffic shall be arrested and tried by +court-martial at the nearest military post, and if convicted shall +receive the punishment due to their deserts. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 17th day of March, A.D. 1865, and +of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas by my proclamations of the 19th and 27th days of April, A.D. +1861, the ports of the United States in the States of Virginia, North +Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, +Louisiana, and Texas were declared to be subject to blockade; but + +Whereas the said blockade has, in consequence of actual military +occupation by this Government, since been conditionally set aside or +relaxed in respect to the ports of Norfolk and Alexandria, in the State +of Virginia; Beaufort, in the State of North Carolina; Port Royal, in +the State of South Carolina; Pensacola and Fernandina, in the State of +Florida; and New Orleans, in the State of Louisiana; and + +Whereas by the fourth section of the act of Congress approved on the +13th of July, 1861, entitled "An act further to provide or the +collection of duties on imports, and for other purposes," the President, +for the reasons therein set forth, is authorized to close certain ports +of entry: + +Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of +the United States, do hereby proclaim that the ports of Richmond, +Tappahannock, Cherrystone, Yorktown, and Petersburg, in Virginia; +of Camden (Elizabeth City), Edenton, Plymouth, Washington, Newbern, +Ocracoke, and Wilmington, in North Carolina; of Charleston, Georgetown, +and Beaufort, in South Carolina; of Savannah, St. Marys, and Brunswick +(Darien), in Georgia; of Mobile, in Alabama; of Pearl River +(Shields-boro), Natchez, and Vicksburg, in Mississippi; of St. +Augustine, Key West, St. Marks (Port Leon), St. Johns (Jacksonville), +and Apalachicola, in Florida; of Teche (Franklin), in Louisiana; of +Galveston, La Salle, Brazos de Santiago (Point Isabel), and Brownsville, +in Texas, are hereby closed, and all right of importation, warehousing, +and other privileges shall, in respect to the ports aforesaid, cease +until they shall have again been opened by order of the President; and +if while said ports are so closed any ship or vessel from beyond the +United States or having on board any articles subject to duties shall +attempt to enter any such port, the same, together with its tackle, +apparel, furniture, and cargo, shall be forfeited to the United States. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 11th day of April, A.D. 1865, and +of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas by my proclamation of this date the port of Key West, in the +State of Florida, was inadvertently included among those which are not +open to commerce: + +Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the +United States, do hereby declare and make known that the said port of +Key West is and shall remain open to foreign and domestic commerce upon +the same conditions by which that commerce has there hitherto been +governed. + +In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 11th day of April, A.D. 1865, and +of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA + +A PROCLAMATION. + +Whereas for some time past vessels of war of the United States have been +refused in certain foreign ports privileges and immunities to which they +were entitled by treaty, public law, or the comity of nations, at the +same time that vessels of war of the country wherein the said privileges +and immunities have been withheld have enjoyed them fully and +uninterruptedly in ports of the United States, which condition of things +has not always been forcibly resisted by the United States, although, on +the other hand, they have not at any time failed to protest against and +declare their dissatisfaction with the same. In the view of the United +States, no condition any longer exists which can be claimed to justify +the denial to them by any one of such nations of customary naval rights +as has heretofore been so unnecessarily persisted in. + +Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do +hereby make known that if after a reasonable time shall have elapsed for +intelligence of this proclamation to have reached any foreign country in +whose ports the said privileges and immunities shall have been refused +as aforesaid they shall continue to be so refused, then and thenceforth +the same privileges and immunities shall be refused to the vessels of +war of that country in the ports of the United States; and this refusal +shall continue until war vessels of the United States shall have been +placed upon an entire equality in the foreign ports aforesaid with +similar vessels of other countries. The United States, whatever claim or +pretense may have existed heretofore, are now, at least, entitled to +claim and concede an entire and friendly equality of rights and +hospitalities with all maritime nations. + +In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of +the United States to be affixed. + +[SEAL.] + +Done at the city of Washington, this 11th day of April, A.D. 1865, and +of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +By the President: + WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + + +EXECUTIVE ORDERS. + +DEPARTMENT OF STATE, + +_Washington, March 8_. + +Whereas, pursuant to the order of the President of the United States, +directions were issued from this Department, under date of the 17th of +December, 1864, requiring passports from all travelers entering the +United States, except immigrant passengers directly entering an American +port from a foreign country; but whereas information has recently been +received which affords reasonable grounds to expect that Her Britannic +Majesty's Government and the executive and legislative branches of the +government of Canada have taken and will continue to take such steps as +may be looked for from a friendly neighbor and will be effectual toward +preventing hostile incursions from Canadian territory into the United +States, the President directs that from and after this date the order +above referred to requiring passports shall be modified, and so much +thereof as relates to persons entering this country from Canada shall be +rescinded, saving and reserving the order in all other respects in full +force. + +WILLIAM H. SEWARD. + + + +DEPARTMENT OF STATE, + +_Washington, March 14, 1865_. + +The President directs that all persons who now are or hereafter shall be +found within the United States who have been engaged in holding +intercourse or trade with the insurgents by sea, if they are citizens of +the United States or domiciled aliens, shall be arrested and held as +prisoners of war until the war shall close, subject, nevertheless, to +prosecution, trial, and conviction for any offense committed by them as +spies or otherwise against the laws of war. The President further +directs that all nonresident foreigners who now are or hereafter shall +be found in the United States, and who have been or shall have been +engaged in violating the blockade of the insurgent ports, shall leave +the United States within twelve days from the publication of this order, +or from their subsequent arrival in the United States, if on the +Atlantic side, and forty days if on the Pacific side, of the country; +and such persons shall not return to the United States during the +continuance of the war. Provost-marshals and marshals of the United +States will arrest and commit to military custody all such offenders as +shall disregard this order, whether they have passports or not, and they +will be detained in such custody until the end of the war, or until +discharged by subsequent orders of the President. + +W.H. SEWARD, + _Secretary of State_. + + + +GENERAL ORDERS, No. 50. + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, March 27, 1865_. + +_Ordered_, first. That at the hour of noon on the 14th day of April, +1865, Brevet Major-General Anderson will raise and plant upon the ruins +of Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor, the same United States flag which +floated over the battlements of that fort during the rebel assault, and +which was lowered and saluted by him and the small force of his command +when the works were evacuated on the 14th day of April, 1861. + +Second. That the flag, when raised, be saluted by one hundred guns from +Fort Sumter and by a national salute from every fort and rebel battery +that fired upon Fort Sumter. + +Third. That suitable ceremonies be had upon the occasion, under the +direction of Major-General William T. Sherman, whose military operations +compelled the rebels to evacuate Charleston, or, in his absence, under +the charge of Major-General Q.A. Gillmore, commanding the department. +Among the ceremonies will be the delivery of a public address by the +Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. + +Fourth. That the naval forces at Charleston and their commander on that +station be invited to participate in the ceremonies of the occasion. + +By order of the President of the United States: + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + +_To all whom these presents may concern_: + +Whereas for some time past evil-disposed persons have crossed the +borders of the United States or entered their ports by sea from +countries where they are tolerated, and have committed capital felonies +against the property and life of American citizens; as well in the +cities as in the rural districts of the country: + +Now, therefore, in the name and by the authority of the President of the +United States, I do hereby make known that a reward of $1,000 will be +paid at this Department for the capture of each of such offenders, upon +his conviction by a civil or military tribunal, to whomsoever shall +arrest and deliver such offenders into the custody of the civil or +military authorities of the United States. And the like reward will be +paid upon the same terms for the capture of any such persons so entering +the United States whose offenses shall be committed subsequently to the +publication of this notice. + +A reward of $500 will be paid upon conviction for the arrest of any +person who shall have aided and abetted offenders of the class before +named within the territory of the United States. + +Given under my hand and the seal of the Department of State, at +Washington, this 4th day of April, A.D. 1865. + +[SEAL.] + +WILLIAM H. SEWARD, + +_Secretary of State_. + + + + +DEATH OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. + + +ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE VICE-PRESIDENT. + +[From the original, Department of State.] + +WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., + +_April 15, 1865_. + +ANDREW JOHNSON, + +_Vice-President of the United States_. + +SIR: Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, was shot by an +assassin last evening at Ford's Theater, in this city, and died at the +hour of twenty-two minutes after 7 o'clock. + +About the same time at which the President was shot an assassin entered +the sick chamber of the Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, and +stabbed him in several places--in the throat, neck, and face--severely +if not mortally wounding him. Other members of the Secretary's family +were dangerously wounded by the assassin while making his escape. By the +death of President Lincoln the office of President has devolved, under +the Constitution, upon you. The emergency of the Government demands that +you should immediately qualify, according to the requirements of the +Constitution, and enter upon the duties of President of the United +States. If you will please make known your pleasure, such arrangements +as you deem proper will be made. + +Your obedient servants, + +HUGH McCULLOCH, + _Secretary of the Treasury_. + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + _Secretary of War_. + +GIDEON WELLES, + _Secretary of Navy_. + +W. DENNISON, + _Postmaster-General_. + +J.P. USHER, + _Secretary of the Interior_. + +JAMES SPEED, + _Attorney-General_. + + + +[From the Daily National Intelligencer, April 17, 1865.] + +The Vice-President responded that it would be agreeable to him to +qualify himself for the high office to which he had been so unexpectedly +called, under such melancholy circumstances, at his rooms at the +Kirkwood Hotel; and at 11 o'clock a.m. [15th] the oath of office was +administered to him by Chief Justice Chase, of the Supreme Court of the +United States, in the presence of nearly all the Cabinet officers; the +Hon. Solomon Foot, United States Senator from Vermont; the Hon. +Alexander Ramsey, United States Senator from Minnesota; the Hon. Richard +Yates, United States Senator from Illinois; the Hon. John. P. Hale, late +Senator from New Hampshire; General Farnsworth, of the House of +Representatives, from Illinois; F.P. Blair, sr.; Hon. Montgomery Blair, +late Post master-General, and some others. + +[For Inaugural Address of President Johnson, see pp. 305-306.] + + + +ANNOUNCEMENT TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES ABROAD. + +[From official records, Department of State.] + +CIRCULAR. + +DEPARTMENT OF STATE, + +_Washington, April 17, 1865_. + +SIR: The melancholy duty devolves upon me officially to apprise you of +the assassination of the President at Ford's Theater, in this city, in +the evening of the 14th instant. He died the next morning from the +effects of the wound. + +About the same time an attempt was made to assassinate the Secretary of +State in his own house, where he was in bed suffering from the effects +of the late accident. The attempt failed, but Mr. Seward was severely +cut, on the face especially, it is supposed with a bowie knife. Mr. F.W. +Seward was felled by a blow or blows on the head, and for some time +afterwards was apparently unconscious. Both the Secretary and Assistant +Secretary are better, especially the former. + +Andrew Johnson has formally entered upon the duties of President. I have +been authorized temporarily to act as Secretary of State. + +I am, sir, your obedient servant, + +W. HUNTER, + +_Acting Secretary_. + + + +ANNOUNCEMENT TO REPRESENTATIVES OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS IN THE UNITED +STATES. + +[From official records, Department of State.] + +DEPARTMENT OF STATE, + +_Washington, April 15, 1865_. + +SIR: It is my great misfortune to be obliged to inform you of events not +less afflicting to the people of the United States than distressing to +my own feelings and the feelings of all those connected with the +Government. + +The President of the United States was shot with a pistol last night, +while attending a theater in this city, and expired this morning from +the effects of the wound. At about the same time an attempt was made to +assassinate the Secretary of State, which, though it fortunately failed, +left him severely, but it is hoped not dangerously, wounded with a knife +or dagger. Mr. F.W. Seward was also struck on the head with a heavy +weapon, and is in a critical condition from the effect of the blows. + +Pursuant to the provision of the Constitution of the United States, +Andrew Johnson, the Vice-President, has formally assumed the functions +of President. I have by him been authorized to perform the duties of +Secretary of State until otherwise ordered. + +I avail myself of the occasion to offer to you the assurance of my +distinguished consideration. + +W. HUNTER, + +_Acting Secretary_. + + + +ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE ARMY. + +[From official records, War Department.] + +GENERAL ORDERS, No. 66. + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, April 16, 1865_. + +The following order of the Secretary of War announces to the armies of +the United States the untimely and lamentable death of the illustrious +Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United States: + +WAR DEPARTMENT, _Washington City, April 16, 1865_. + +The distressing duty has devolved upon the Secretary of War to announce +to the armies of the United States that at twenty-two minutes after +7 o'clock on the morning of Saturday, the 15th day of April, 1865, +Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, died of a mortal wound +inflicted upon him by an assassin. + +The armies of the United States will share with their fellow-citizens +the feelings of grief and horror inspired by this most atrocious murder +of their great and beloved President and Commander in Chief, and with +profound sorrow will mourn his death as a national calamity. + +The headquarters of every department, post, station, fort, and arsenal +will be draped in mourning for thirty days, and appropriate funeral +honors will be paid by every army, and in every department, and at every +military post, and at the Military Academy at West Point, to the memory +of the late illustrious Chief Magistrate of the nation and Commander in +Chief of its armies. + +Lieutenant-General Grant will give the necessary instructions for +carrying this order into effect. + +EDWIN M. STANTON, + +_Secretary of War_. + + +On the day after the receipt of this order at the headquarters of each +military division, department, army, post, station, fort, and arsenal +and at the Military Academy at West Point the troops and cadets will be +paraded at 10 o'clock a. m. and the order read to them, after which all +labors and operations for the day will cease and be suspended as far as +practicable in a state of war. + +The national flag will be displayed at half-staff. + +At dawn of day thirteen guns will be fired, and afterwards at intervals +of thirty minutes between the rising and setting sun a single gun, and +at the close of the day a national salute of thirty-six guns. + +The officers of the armies of the United States will wear the badge of +mourning on the left arm and on their swords and the colors of their +commands and regiments will be put in mourning for the period of six +months. + +By command of Lieutenant-General Grant: + +W.A. NICHOLS, + +_Assistant Adjutant-General_. + + + +ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE NAVY. + +[From General Orders and Circulars, Navy Department, 1863 to 1887.] + +GENERAL ORDER No. 51. + +NAVY DEPARTMENT, _Washington, April 15, 1865_. + +The Department announces with profound sorrow to the officers and men of +the Navy and Marine Corps the death of Abraham Lincoln, late President +of the United States. Stricken down by the hand of an assassin on the +evening of the 14th instant, when surrounded by his family and friends, +he lingered a few hours after receiving the fatal wound, and died at 7 +o'clock 22 minutes this morning. + +A grateful people had given their willing confidence to the patriot and +statesman under whose wise and successful administration the nation was +just emerging from the civil strife which for four years has afflicted +the land when this terrible calamity fell upon the country. To him our +gratitude was justly due, for to him, under God, more than to any other +person, are we indebted for the successful vindication of the integrity +of the Union and the maintenance of the power of the Republic. + +The officers of the Navy and of the Marine Corps will, as a +manifestation of their respect for the exalted character, eminent +position, and inestimable public services of the late President, and as +an indication of their sense of the calamity which the country has +sustained, wear the usual badge of mourning for six months. + +The Department further directs that upon the day following the receipt +of this order the commandants of squadrons, navy-yards, and stations +will cause the ensign of every vessel in their several commands to be +hoisted at half-mast, and a gun to be fired every half hour, beginning +at sunrise and ending at sunset. The flags of the several navy-yards and +marine barracks will also be hoisted at half-mast. + +GIDEON WELLES, + _Secretary of the Navy_. + + + +ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE REVENUE MARINE. + +[From the Daily National Intelligencer, April 18, 1865.] + +GENERAL ORDER. + +TREASURY DEPARTMENT, _April 17, 1865_. + +The Secretary of the Treasury with profound sorrow announces to the +Revenue Marine the death of Abraham Lincoln, late President of the +United States. He died in this city on the morning of the 15th instant, +at twenty-two minutes past 7 o'clock. + +The officers of the Revenue Marine will, as a manifestation of their +respect for the exalted character and eminent public services of the +illustrious dead and of their sense of the calamity the country has +sustained by this afflicting dispensation of Providence, wear crape on +the left arm and upon the hilt of the sword for six months. + +It is further directed that funeral honors be paid on board all revenue +vessels in commission by firing thirty-six minute guns, commencing at +meridian, on the day after the receipt of this order, and by wearing +their flags at half-mast. + +HUGH McCULLOCH, + +_Secretary of the Treasury_ + + + +ACTION OF SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN WASHINGTON. + +[From Appendix to Memorial Address on the Life and Character of Abraham +Lincoln.] + +The members of the Thirty-ninth Congress then in Washington met in the +Senate reception room, at the Capitol, on the 17th of April, 1865, at +noon. Hon. Lafayette S. Foster, of Connecticut, President _pro tempore_ +of the Senate, was called to the chair, and the Hon. Schuyler Colfax, of +Indiana, Speaker of the House in the Thirty-eighth Congress, was chosen +secretary. + +Senator Foot, of Vermont, who was visibly affected, stated that the +object of the meeting was to make arrangements relative to the funeral +of the deceased President of the United States. + +On motion of Senator Sumner, of Massachusetts, a committee of five +members from each House was ordered to report at 4 p.m. what action +would be fitting for the meeting to take. + +The chairman appointed Senators Sumner, of Massachusetts; Harris, of +New York; Johnson, of Maryland; Ramsey, of Minnesota, and Conness, of +California, and Representatives Washburne, of Illinois; Smith, of +Kentucky; Schenck, of Ohio; Pike, of Maine, and Coffroth, of +Pennsylvania; and on motion of Mr. Schenck the chairman and secretary of +the meeting were added to the committee, and then the meeting adjourned +until 4 p.m. + +The meeting reassembled at 4 p.m., pursuant to adjournment. + +Mr. Sumner, from the committee heretofore appointed, reported that they +had selected as pallbearers on the part of the Senate Mr. Foster, of +Connecticut; Mr. Morgan, of New York; Mr. Johnson, of Maryland; Mr. +Yates, of Illinois; Mr. Wade, of Ohio, and Mr. Conness, of California; +on the part of the House, Mr. Dawes, of Massachusetts; Mr. Coffroth, +of Pennsylvania; Mr. Smith, of Kentucky; Mr. Colfax, of Indiana; +Mr. Worthington, of Nevada, and Mr. Washburne, of Illinois. + +They also recommended the appointment of one member of Congress from +each State and Territory to act as a Congressional committee to +accompany the remains of the late President to Illinois, and presented +the following names as such committee, the chairman of the meeting +to have the authority of appointing hereafter for the States and +Territories not represented to-day from which members may be present +at the Capitol by the day of the funeral. + +Maine, Mr. Pike; New Hampshire, Mr. E.H. Rollins; Vermont, Mr. Foot; +Massachusetts, Mr. Sumner; Rhode Island, Mr. Anthony; Connecticut, Mr. +Dixon; New York, Mr. Harris; Pennsylvania, Mr. Cowan; Ohio, Mr. Schenck; +Kentucky, Mr. Smith; Indiana, Mr. Julian; Illinois, the delegation; +Michigan, Mr. Chandler; Iowa, Mr. Harlan; California, Mr. Shannon; +Minnesota, Mr. Ramsey; Oregon, Mr. Williams; Kansas, Mr. S. Clarke; +West Virginia, Mr. Whaley; Nevada, Mr. Nye; Nebraska, Mr. Hitchcock; +Colorado, Mr. Bradford; Dakota, Mr. Todd; Idaho, Mr. Wallace. + +The committee also recommended the adoption of the following resolution: + + _Resolved_, That the Sergeants-at-Arms of the Senate and House, with + their necessary assistants, be requested to attend the committee + accompanying the remains of the late President, and to make all the + necessary arrangements. + +All of which was concurred in unanimously. + +Mr. Sumner, from the same committee, also reported the following, which +was unanimously agreed to: + + The members of the Senate and House of Representatives now assembled in + Washington, humbly confessing their dependence upon Almighty God, who + rules all that is done for human good, make haste at this informal + meeting to express the emotions with which they have been filled by the + appalling tragedy which has deprived the nation of its head and covered + the land with mourning; and in further declaration of their sentiments + unanimously resolve: + + 1. That in testimony of their veneration and affection for the + illustrious dead, who has been permitted, under Providence, to do so + much for his country and for liberty, they will unite in the funeral + services and by an appropriate committee will accompany his remains to + their place of burial in the State from which he was taken for the + national service. + + 2. That in the life of Abraham Lincoln, who by the benignant favor of + republican institutions rose from humble beginnings to the heights of + power and fame, they recognize an example of purity, simplicity, and + virtue which should be a lesson to mankind, while in his death they + recognize a martyr whose memory will become more precious as men + learn to prize those principles of constitutional order and those + rights--civil, political, and human--for which he was made a sacrifice. + + 3. That they invite the President of the United States, by solemn + proclamation, to recommend to the people of the United States to + assemble on a day to be appointed by him, publicly to testify their + grief and to dwell on the good which has been done on earth by him whom + we now mourn. + + 4. That a copy of these resolutions be communicated to the President of + the United States, and also that a copy be communicated to the afflicted + widow of the late President as an expression of sympathy in her great + bereavement. + + +The meeting then adjourned. + + + +ORDERS OF THE HEADS OF THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. + +[From official records, Department of State.] + +DEPARTMENT OF STATE, + +_Washington, April 17, 1865_. + +It is hereby ordered that, in honor to the memory of our late +illustrious Chief Magistrate, all officers and others subject to the +orders of the Secretary of State wear crape upon the left arm for the +period of six months. + +W. HUNTER, + +_Acting Secretary_. + + + +[From official records, Treasury Department.] + +TREASURY DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington, April 17, 1865_. + +It is hereby ordered that, in honor to the memory of our late +illustrious Chief Magistrate, all officers and others subject to the +orders of the Secretary of the Treasury wear crape upon the left arm for +the period of six months. + +H. McCULLOCH, + +_Secretary of the Treasury_. + + + +[From official records, War Department.] + +GENERAL ORDERS, No. 69. + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, April 17, 1865_. + +By direction of the President of the United States the War Department +will be closed on Wednesday next, the day of the funeral of the late +President of the United States. + +Labor on that day will be suspended at all military posts and on all +public works under the direction of the War Department. The flags at all +military posts, stations, forts, and buildings will be kept at +half-staff during the day, and at 12 o'clock m. twenty-one minute guns +will be fired from all forts and at all military posts and at the +Military Academy. + +By order of the Secretary of War: + +W.A. NICHOLS, + +_Assistant Adjutant-General_. + + + +[From General Orders and Circulars, Navy Department, 1863 to 1887.] + +SPECIAL ORDER. + +APRIL 17, 1865. + +By order of the President of the United States the Navy Department will +be closed on Wednesday next, the day of the funeral solemnities of the +late President of the United States. Labor will also be suspended on +that day at each of the navy-yards and naval stations and upon all the +vessels of the United States. The flags of all vessels and at all the +navy yards and stations and marine barracks will be kept at half-mast +during the day, and at 12 o'clock m. twenty-one minute guns will be +fired by the senior officer of each squadron and the commandants of the +navy yards and stations. + +GIDEON WELLES, + +_Secretary of the Navy_. + + + +[From the Daily National Intelligencer, April 18, 1865.] + +POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington, April 17, 1865_. + +_To Deputy Postmasters_: + +Business in all the post-offices of the United States will be suspended +and the offices closed from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, the 19th +instant, during the funeral solemnities of Abraham Lincoln, late +President of the United States. + +W. DENNISON, + +_Postmaster-General_. + + + +[From official records, Post-Office Department.] + +SPECIAL ORDER. + +POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT, + +_Washington, April 18, 1865_. + +It is hereby ordered that, in honor of the memory of Abraham Lincoln, +our lamented Chief Magistrate, the officers and employees of this +Department wear crape upon the left arm for the period of six months. + +W. DENNISON, + _Postmaster-General_. + + + +[From official records, Department of the Interior.] + +DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, + +_Washington, April 18, 1865_. + +It is hereby ordered that, in honor of the memory of the late Chief +Magistrate of the nation, the officers and employees of this Department +wear crape upon the left arm for the period of six months. + +J.P. USHER, + +_Secretary_. + + + +FUNERAL ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE PUBLIC. + +[From the Daily National Intelligencer, April 17, 1865.] + +DEPARTMENT OF STATE, + +_Washington, April 17, 1865_. + +_To the People of the United States_: + +The undersigned is directed to announce that the funeral ceremonies of +the late lamented Chief Magistrate will take place at the Executive +Mansion, in this city, at 12 o'clock m. on Wednesday, the 19th instant. + +The various religious denominations throughout the country are invited +to meet in their respective places of worship at that hour for the +purpose of solemnizing the occasion with appropriate ceremonies. + +W. HUNTER, + +_Acting Secretary of State_. + + + +OFFICIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE FUNERAL. + +[From official records, War Department.] + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, April 17, 1865_. + +The following order of arrangement is directed: + + + ORDER OF THE PROCESSION. + + FUNERAL ESCORT. + (In column of march.) + + One regiment of cavalry. + Two batteries of artillery. + Battalion of marines. + Two regiments of infantry. + Commander of escort and staff. + Dismounted officers of Marine Corps, Navy, and Army, + in the order named. + Mounted officers of Marine Corps, Navy, and Army, in the order named. + (All military officers to be in uniform, with side arms.) + + CIVIC PROCESSION. + Marshal. + Clergy in attendance. + The Surgeon-General of the United States Army and physicians + to the deceased. + Hearse. + + _Pallbearers_. + + On the part of the Senate: Mr. Foster, of Connecticut; Mr. Morgan, of + New York; Mr. Johnson, of Maryland; Mr. Yates, of Illinois; Mr. Wade, + of Ohio; Mr. Conness, of California. + + On the part of the House: Mr. Dawes, of Massachusetts; Mr. Coffroth, + of Pennsylvania; Mr. Smith, of Kentucky; Mr. Colfax, of Indiana; Mr. + Worthington, of Nevada; Mr. Washburne, of Illinois. + + Army: Lieutenant-General U.S. Grant; Major-General H.W. Halleck; + Brevet Brigadier-General W.A. Nichols. + + Navy: Vice-Admiral D.G. Farragut; Rear-Admiral W.B. Shubrick; Colonel + Jacob Zelin, Marine Corps. + + Civilians: O.H. Browning, George Ashman, Thomas Corwin, Simon Cameron. + + Family. + Relatives. + The delegations of the States of Illinois and Kentucky, as mourners. + The President. + The Cabinet ministers. + The diplomatic corps. + Ex-Presidents. + The Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court. + The Senate of the United States. + Preceded by their officers. + Members of the House of Representatives of the United States. + Governors of the several States and Territories. + Legislatures of the several States and Territories. + The Federal judiciary and the judiciary of the several States and + Territories. + The Assistant Secretaries of State, Treasury, War, Navy, Interior, and + the Assistant Postmasters-General, and the Assistant Attorney-General. + Officers of the Smithsonian Institution. + The members and officers of the Sanitary and Christian Commissions. + Corporate authorities of Washington, Georgetown, and other cities. + Delegations of the several States. + The reverend the clergy of the various denominations. + The clerks and employees of the several Departments and bureaus, + preceded by the heads of such bureaus and their respective chief + clerks. + Such societies as may wish to join the procession. + Citizens and strangers. + + +The troops designated to form the escort will assemble in the Avenue, +north of the President's house, and form line precisely at 11 o'clock +a.m. on Wednesday, the 19th instant, with the left resting on Fifteenth +street. The procession will move precisely at 2 o'clock p.m., on the +conclusion of the religious services at the Executive Mansion (appointed +to commence at 12 o'clock m.), when minute guns will be fired by +detachments of artillery stationed near St. John's Church, the City +Hall, and at the Capitol. At the same hour the bells of the several +churches in Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria will be tolled. + +At sunrise on Wednesday, the 19th instant, a Federal salute will be +fired from the military stations in the vicinity of Washington, minute +guns between the hours of 12 and 3 o'clock, and a national salute at the +setting of the sun. + +The usual badge of mourning will be worn on the left arm and on the hilt +of the sword. + +By order of the Secretary of War: + +W.A. NICHOLS, + +_Assistant Adjutant-General_. + + + +The funeral ceremonies took place in the East Room of the Executive +Mansion at noon on the 19th of April, and the remains were then escorted +to the Capitol, where they lay in state in the Rotunda. + +On the morning of April 21 the remains were taken from the Capitol and +placed in a funeral car, in which they were taken to Springfield, Ill. +Halting at the principal cities along the route, that appropriate honors +might be paid to the deceased, the funeral cortege arrived on the 3d of +May at Springfield, Ill., and the next day the remains were deposited in +Oak Ridge Cemetery, near that city. + + + +GUARD OF HONOR. + +[From official records, War Department.] + +GENERAL ORDERS, No. 72. + +WAR DEPARTMENT, + +ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, + +_Washington, April 20, 1865_. + +The following general officers and guard of honor will accompany the +remains of the late President from the city of Washington to Springfield, +the capital of the State of Illinois, and continue with them until they are +consigned to their final resting place: + +Brevet Brigadier-General E.D. Townsend, Assistant Adjutant-General, +to represent the Secretary of War. + +Brevet Brigadier-General Charles Thomas, Assistant +Quartermaster-General.[17] + +[Footnote 17: Brevet Brigadier-General James A. Ekin, Quartermaster's +Department, United States Army, substituted.] + +Brigadier-General A.B. Eaton, Commissary-General of Subsistence. + +Brevet Major-General J.G. Barnard, Lieutenant-Colonel of Engineers. + +Brigadier-General G.D. Ramsay, Ordnance Department. + +Brigadier-General A.P. Howe, Chief of Artillery. + +Brevet Brigadier-General D.C. McCallum, Superintendent Military +Railroads. + +Major-General D. Hunter, United States Volunteers. + +Brigadier-General J.C. Caldwell, United States Volunteers. + +Twenty-five picked men, under a captain. + +By order of the Secretary of War: + +E.D. TOWNSEND, + +_Assistant Adjutant-General_. + + + +[From official records, Navy Department.] + +SPECIAL ORDER. + +APRIL 20, 1865. + +The following officers of the Navy and Marine Corps will accompany the +remains of the late President from the city of Washington to +Springfield, the capital of the State of Illinois, and continue with +them until they are consigned to their final resting place: + +Rear-Admiral Charles Henry Davis, Chief Bureau Navigation. + +Captain William Rogers Taylor, United States Navy. + +Major Thomas V. Field, United States Marine Corps. + +GIDEON WELLES, + _Secretary of the Navy_. + + + +ACTION OF CONGRESS. + +[From Appendix to Memorial Address on the Life and Character of Abraham +Lincoln.] + +President Johnson, in his annual message to Congress at the commencement +of the session of 1865-66, thus announced the death of his predecessor: + + To express gratitude to God in the name of the people for the + preservation of the United States is my first duty in addressing you. + Our thoughts next revert to the death of the late President by an act of + parricidal treason. The grief of the nation is still fresh. It finds + some solace in the consideration that he lived to enjoy the highest + proof of its confidence by entering on the renewed term of the Chief + Magistracy to which he had been elected; that he brought the civil war + substantially to a close; that his loss was deplored in all parts of the + Union, and that foreign nations have rendered justice to his memory. + +Hon. E.B. Washburne, of Illinois, immediately after the President's +message had been read in the House of Representatives, offered the +following joint resolution, which was unanimously adopted: + + _Resolved_, That a committee of one member from each State represented + in this House be appointed on the part of this House, to join such + committee as may be appointed on the part of the Senate, to consider and + report by what token of respect and affection it may be proper for the + Congress of the United States to express the deep sensibility of the + nation to the event of the decease of their late President, Abraham + Lincoln, and that so much of the message of the President as refers to + that melancholy event be referred to said committee. + +On motion of Hon. Solomon Foot, the Senate unanimously concurred in the +passage of the resolution, and the following joint committee was +appointed, thirteen on the part of the Senate and one for every State +represented (twenty-four) on the part of the House of Representatives: + +Senate: Hon. Solomon Foot, Vermont; Hon. Richard Yates, Illinois; Hon. +Benjamin F. Wade, Ohio; Hon. William Pitt Fessenden, Maine; Hon. Henry +Wilson, Massachusetts; Hon. James R. Doolittle, Wisconsin; Hon. James H. +Lane, Kansas; Hon. Ira Harris, New York; Hon. James W. Nesmith, Oregon; +Hon. Henry S. Lane, Indiana; Hon. Waitman T. Willey, West Virginia; Hon. +Charles R. Buckalew, Pennsylvania; Hon. John B. Henderson, Missouri. + +House of Representatives: Hon. Elihu B. Washburne, Illinois; Hon. James +G. Blaine, Maine; Hon. James W. Patterson, New Hampshire; Hon. Justin S. +Morrill, Vermont; Hon. Nathaniel P. Banks, Massachusetts; Hon. Thomas A. +Jenckes, Rhode Island; Hon. Henry C. Deming, Connecticut; Hon. John A. +Griswold, New York; Hon. Edwin R.V. Wright, New Jersey; Hon. Thaddeus +Stevens, Pennsylvania; Hon. John A. Nicholson, Delaware; Hon. Francis +Thomas, Maryland; Hon. Robert C. Schenck, Ohio; Hon. George S. Shanklin, +Kentucky; Hon. Godlove S. Orth, Indiana; Hon. Joseph W. McClurg, +Missouri; Hon. Fernando C. Beaman, Michigan; Hon. John A. Kasson, Iowa; +Hon. Ithamar C. Sloan, Wisconsin; Hon. William Higby, California; Hon. +William Windom, Minnesota; Hon. J.H.D. Henderson, Oregon; Hon. Sidney +Clarke, Kansas; Hon. Kellian V. Whaley, West Virginia. + +The joint committee, made the following report, which was concurred in +by both Houses _nem. con._: + + Whereas the melancholy event of the violent and tragic death of Abraham + Lincoln, late President of the United States, having occurred during the + recess of Congress, and the two Houses sharing in the general grief and + desiring to manifest their sensibility upon the occasion of the public + bereavement: Therefore, + + _Be it resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives + concurring)_, That the two Houses of Congress will assemble in the Hall + of the House of Representatives on Monday, the 12th day of February + next, that being his anniversary birthday, at the hour of 12 m., and + that, in the presence of the two Houses there assembled, an address upon + the life and character of Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United + States, be pronounced by Hon. Edwin M. Stanton,[18] and that the + President of the Senate _pro tempore_ and the Speaker of the House of + Representatives be requested to invite the President of the United + States, the heads of the several Departments, the judges of the Supreme + Court, the representatives of the foreign governments near this + Government, and such officers of the Army and Navy as have received the + thanks of Congress who may then be at the seat of Government to be + present on the occasion. + + _And be it further resolved_, That the President of the United States be + requested to transmit a copy of these resolutions to Mrs. Lincoln, and + to assure her of the profound sympathy of the two Houses of Congress for + her deep personal affliction and of their sincere condolence for the + late national bereavement. + +[Footnote 18: Mr. Stanton having declined, Hon. George Bancroft, of New +York, in response to an invitation from the joint committee, consented +to deliver the address.] + + +[For proclamations of President Johnson recommending, in consequence +of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United +States, a day for special humiliation and prayer, see pp, 306-307, and +for Executive order in connection therewith see p. 339. For Executive +order closing the Executive Office and the Departments on the day of +the funeral of the late President, at Springfield, Ill., see p. 335. +For Executive order closing the public offices April 14, 1866, in +commemoration of the assassination of the late President, see p. 440.] + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Compilation of the Messages and +Papers of the Presidents: Lincoln, by Compiled by James D. 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