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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of
+the Presidents, 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
+       Section 2 (of 2) of Volume 6: Andrew Johnson
+
+Author: James D. Richardson
+
+Release Date: June 28, 2004 [EBook #12755]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANDREW JOHNSON ***
+
+
+
+
+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
+
+
+
+
+Andrew Johnson
+
+April 15, 1865, to March 4, 1869
+
+
+
+
+Andrew Johnson
+
+Andrew Johnson was born in Raleigh, N.C., December 29, 1808. His parents
+were very poor. When he was 4 years old his father died of injuries
+received in rescuing a person from drowning. At the age of 10 years
+Andrew was apprenticed to a tailor. His early education was almost
+entirely neglected, and, notwithstanding his natural craving to learn,
+he never spent a day in school. Was taught the alphabet by a
+fellow-workman, borrowed a book, and learned to read. In 1824 removed to
+Laurens Court-House, S.C., where he worked as a journeyman tailor. In
+May, 1826, returned to Raleigh, and in September, with his mother and
+stepfather, set out for Greeneville, Tenn., in a two-wheeled cart drawn
+by a blind pony. Here he married Eliza McCardle, a woman of refinement,
+who taught him to write, and read to him while he was at work during the
+day. It was not until he had been in Congress that he learned to write
+with ease. From Greeneville went to the West, but returned after the
+lapse of a year. In 1828 was elected alderman; was reelected in 1829 and
+1830, and in 1830 was advanced to the mayoralty, which office he held
+for three years. In 1831 was appointed by the county court a trustee
+of Rhea Academy, and about this time participated in the debates of a
+society at Greeneville College. In 1834 advocated the adoption of a new
+State constitution, by which the influence of the large landholders was
+abridged. In 1835 represented Greene and Washington counties in the
+legislature. Was defeated for the legislature in 1837, but in 1839 was
+reelected. In 1836 supported Hugh L. White for the Presidency, and in
+the political altercations between John Bell and James K. Polk, which
+distracted Tennessee at the time, supported the former. Mr. Johnson was
+the only ardent follower of Bell that failed to go over to the Whig
+party. Was an elector for the State at large on the Van Buren ticket in
+1840, and made a State reputation by the force of his oratory. In 1841
+was elected to the State senate from Greene and Hawkins counties, and
+while in that body was one of the "immortal thirteen" Democrats who,
+having it in their power to prevent the election of a Whig Senator, did
+so by refusing to meet the house in joint convention; also proposed that
+the basis of representation should rest upon white votes, without regard
+to the ownership of slaves. Was elected to Congress in 1843 over John A.
+Asken, a United States Bank Democrat, who was supported by the Whigs.
+His first speech was in support of the resolution to restore to General
+Jackson the fine imposed upon him at New Orleans; also supported the
+annexation of Texas. In 1845 was reelected, and supported Polk's
+Administration. Was regularly reelected to Congress until 1853. During
+this period opposed all expenditures for internal improvements that were
+not general; resisted and defeated the proposed contingent tax of 10 per
+cent on tea and coffee; made his celebrated defense of the veto power;
+urged the adoption of the homestead law, which was obnoxious to the
+extreme Southern element of his party; supported the compromise measures
+of 1850 as a matter of expediency, but opposed compromises in general
+as a sacrifice of principle. Was elected governor of Tennessee in 1853
+over Gustavus A. Henry, the "Eagle Orator" of the State. In his message
+to the legislature he dwelt upon the homestead law and other measures
+for the benefit of the working classes, and earned the title of
+the "Mechanic Governor." Opposed the Know-nothing movement with
+characteristic vehemence. Was reelected governor in 1855, defeating
+Meredith P. Gentry, the Whig-American candidate, after a most remarkable
+canvass. The Kansas-Nebraska bill received his earnest support. In 1857
+was elected to the United States Senate, where he urged the passage of
+the homestead bill, and on May 20, 1858, made his greatest speech on
+this subject. Opposed the grant of aid for the construction of a Pacific
+railroad. Was prominent in debate, and frequently clashed with Southern
+supporters of the Administration. His pronounced Unionism estranged him
+from the extremists on the Southern side, while his acceptance of
+slavery as an institution guaranteed by the Constitution caused him
+to hold aloof from the Republicans on the other. At the Democratic
+convention at Charleston, S.C., in 1860 was a candidate for the
+Presidential nomination, but received only the vote of Tennessee, and
+when the convention reassembled in Baltimore withdrew his name. In the
+canvass that followed supported John C. Breckinridge. At the session
+of Congress beginning in December, 1860, took decided and unequivocal
+grounds in opposition to secession, and on December 13 introduced a
+joint resolution proposing to amend the Constitution so as to elect the
+President and Vice-President by district votes, Senators by a direct
+popular vote, and to limit the terms of Federal judges to twelve
+years, the judges to be equally divided between slaveholding and
+non-slaveholding States. In his speech on this resolution, December 18
+and 19, declared his unyielding opposition to secession and announced
+his intention to stand by and act under the Constitution. Retained
+his seat in the Senate until appointed by President Lincoln military
+governor of Tennessee, March 4, 1862. March 12 reached Nashville, and
+organized a provisional government for the State; March 18 issued a
+proclamation in which he appealed to the people to return to their
+allegiance, to uphold the law, and to accept "a full and complete
+amnesty for all past acts and declarations;" April 5 removed the mayor
+and other officials of Nashville for refusing to take the oath of
+allegiance to the United States, and appointed others; urged the holding
+of Union meetings throughout the State, and frequently attended them in
+person; completed the railroad from Nashville to the Tennessee River;
+raised twenty-five regiments for service in the State; December 8, 1862,
+issued a proclamation ordering Congressional elections, and on the 15th
+levied an assessment upon the richer Southern sympathizers "in behalf of
+the many helpless widows, wives, and children in the city of Nashville
+who have been reduced to poverty and wretchedness in consequence of
+their husbands, sons, and fathers having been forced into the armies of
+this unholy and nefarious rebellion." Was nominated for Vice-President
+of the United States at the national Republican convention at Baltimore
+June 8, 1864, and was elected on November 8. In his letter of acceptance
+of the nomination Mr. Johnson virtually disclaimed any departure from
+his principles as a Democrat, but placed his acceptance upon the ground
+of "the higher duty of first preserving the Government." On the night of
+the 14th of April, 1865, President Lincoln was shot by an assassin and
+died the next morning. At 11 o'clock a.m. April 15 Mr. Johnson was sworn
+in as President, at his rooms in the Kirkwood House, Washington, by
+Chief Justice Chase, in the presence of nearly all the Cabinet officers
+and others. April 29, 1865, issued a proclamation for the removal of
+trade restrictions in most of the insurrectionary States, which, being
+in contravention of an act of Congress, was subsequently modified.
+May 9 issued an Executive order restoring Virginia to the Union. May 22
+proclaimed all ports, except four in Texas, opened to foreign commerce
+on July 1, 1865. May 29 issued a general amnesty proclamation, after
+which the fundamental and irreconcilable differences between President
+Johnson and the party that had elevated him to power became more
+apparent. He exercised the veto power to a very great extent, but it was
+generally nullified by the two-thirds votes of both Houses. From May 29
+to July 13, 1865, proclaimed provisional governors for North Carolina,
+Mississippi, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, South Carolina, and Florida, whose
+duties were to reorganize the State governments. The State governments
+were reorganized, but the Republicans claimed that the laws passed were
+so stringent in reference to the negroes that it was a worse form of
+slavery than the old. The thirteenth amendment to the Constitution
+became a law December 18, 1865, with Mr. Johnson's concurrence. The first
+breach between the President and the party in power was the veto of the
+Freedmen's Bureau bill, in February, 1866, which was designed to protect
+the negroes. March 27 vetoed the civil-rights bill, but it was passed
+over his veto. In a message of June 22, 1866, opposed the joint
+resolution proposing the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution. In
+June, 1866, the Republicans in Congress brought forward their plan of
+reconstruction, called the "Congressional plan," in contradistinction
+to that of the President. The chief features of the Congressional plan
+were to give the negroes the right to vote, to protect them in this
+right, and to prevent Confederate leaders from voting. January 5, 1867,
+vetoed the act giving negroes the right of suffrage in the District
+of Columbia, but it was passed over his veto. An attempt was made to
+impeach the President, but it failed. In January, 1867, a bill was
+passed to deprive the President of the power to proclaim general
+amnesty, which he disregarded. Measures were adopted looking to the
+meeting of the Fortieth and all subsequent Congresses immediately after
+the adjournment of the preceding. The President was deprived of the
+command of the Army by a rider to the army appropriation bill, which
+provided that his orders should only be given through the General, who
+was not to be removed without the previous consent of the Senate. The
+bill admitting Nebraska, providing that no law should ever be passed in
+that State denying the right of suffrage to any person because of his
+color or race, was vetoed by the President, but passed over his veto.
+March 2, 1867, vetoed the act to provide for the more efficient
+government of the rebel States, but it was passed over his veto.
+It embodied the Congressional plan of reconstruction, and divided the
+Southern States into five military districts, each under an officer of
+the Army not under the rank of brigadier-general, who was to exercise
+all the functions of government until the citizens had "formed a
+constitution of government in conformity with the Constitution
+of the United States in all respects." On the same day vetoed the
+tenure-of-office act, which was also passed over his veto. It provided
+that civil officers should remain in office until the confirmation of
+their successors; that the members of the Cabinet should be removed
+only with the consent of the Senate, and that when Congress was not in
+session the President could suspend but not remove any official, and in
+case the Senate at the next session should not ratify the suspension the
+suspended official should be reinducted into his office. August 5, 1867,
+requested Edwin M. Stanton to resign his office as Secretary of War.
+Mr. Stanton refused, was suspended, and General Grant was appointed
+Secretary of War _ad interim_. When Congress met, the Senate
+refused to ratify the suspension. General Grant then resigned, and Mr.
+Stanton resumed the duties of his office. The President removed him and
+appointed Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant-General of the Army, Secretary of War
+_ad interim_. The Senate declared this act illegal, and Mr. Stanton
+refused to comply, and notified the Speaker of the House. On February
+24, 1868, the House of Representatives resolved to impeach the
+President, and on March 2 and 3 articles of impeachment were agreed upon
+by the House of Representatives, and on the 4th were presented to the
+Senate. The trial began on March 30. May 16 the test vote was had;
+thirty-five Senators voted for conviction and nineteen for acquittal. A
+change of one vote would have carried conviction. A verdict of acquittal
+was entered, and the Senate sitting as a court of impeachment adjourned
+_sine die_. After the expiration of his term the ex-President
+returned to Tennessee. Was a candidate for the United States Senate, but
+was defeated. In 1872 was an unsuccessful candidate for Congressman from
+the State at large. In January, 1875, was elected to the United States
+Senate, and took his seat at the extra session of that year. Shortly
+after the session began made a speech which was a skillful but bitter
+attack upon President Grant. While visiting his daughter near
+Elizabethton, in Carter County, Tenn., was stricken with paralysis July
+30, 1875, and died the following day. He was buried at Greeneville, Tenn.
+
+
+
+
+INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
+
+[From the Sunday Morning Chronicle, Washington, April 16, 1865, and
+The Sun, Baltimore, April 17, 1865.]
+
+GENTLEMEN: I must be permitted to say that I have been almost
+overwhelmed by the announcement of the sad event which has so recently
+occurred. I feel incompetent to perform duties so important and
+responsible as those which have been so unexpectedly thrown upon me.
+As to an indication of any policy which may be pursued by me in the
+administration of the Government, I have to say that that must be left
+for development as the Administration progresses. The message or
+declaration must be made by the acts as they transpire. The only
+assurance that I can now give of the future is reference to the past.
+The course which I have taken in the past in connection with this
+rebellion must be regarded as a guaranty of the future. My past public
+life, which has been long and laborious, has been founded, as I in good
+conscience believe, upon a great principle of right, which lies at the
+basis of all things. The best energies of my life have been spent in
+endeavoring to establish and perpetuate the principles of free
+government, and I believe that the Government in passing through its
+present perils will settle down upon principles consonant with popular
+rights more permanent and enduring than heretofore. I must be permitted
+to say, if I understand the feelings of my own heart, that I have long
+labored to ameliorate and elevate the condition of the great mass of the
+American people. Toil and an honest advocacy of the great principles of
+free government have been my lot. Duties have been mine; consequences
+are God's. This has been the foundation of my political creed, and I
+feel that in the end the Government will triumph and that these great
+principles will be permanently established.
+
+In conclusion, gentlemen, let me say that I want your encouragement and
+countenance. I shall ask and rely upon you and others in carrying the
+Government through its present perils. I feel in making this request
+that it will be heartily responded to by you and all other patriots
+and lovers of the rights and interests of a free people.
+
+APRIL 15, 1865.
+
+
+
+
+PROCLAMATIONS.
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas, by my direction, the Acting Secretary of State, in a notice to
+the public of the 17th, requested the various religious denominations
+to assemble on the 19th instant, on the occasion of the obsequies of
+Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United States, and to observe the
+same with appropriate ceremonies; but
+
+Whereas our country has become one great house of mourning, where the
+head of the family has been taken away, and believing that a special
+period should be assigned for again humbling ourselves before Almighty
+God, in order that the bereavement may be sanctified to the nation:
+
+Now, therefore, in order to mitigate that grief on earth which can
+only be assuaged by communion with the Father in heaven, and in
+compliance with the wishes of Senators and Representatives in Congress,
+communicated to me by resolutions adopted at the National Capitol,
+I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby appoint
+Thursday, the 25th day of May next, to be observed, wherever in the
+United States the flag of the country may be respected, as a day of
+humiliation and mourning, and I recommend my fellow citizens then to
+assemble in their respective places of worship, there to unite in solemn
+service to Almighty God in memory of the good man who has been removed,
+so that all shall be occupied at the same time in contemplation of his
+virtues and in sorrow for his sudden and violent end.
+
+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, the 25th day of April, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  W. HUNTER,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas by my proclamation of the 25th instant Thursday, the 25th day of
+next month, was recommended as a day for special humiliation and prayer
+in consequence of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, late President
+of the United States; but
+
+Whereas my attention has since been called to the fact that the day
+aforesaid is sacred to large numbers of Christians as one of rejoicing
+for the ascension of the Savior:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, do hereby suggest that the religious services recommended
+as aforesaid should be postponed until Thursday, the 1st day of June
+next.
+
+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 29th day of April, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  W. HUNTER,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas it appears from evidence in the Bureau of Military Justice that
+the atrocious murder of the late President, Abraham Lincoln, and the
+attempted assassination of the Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of
+State, were incited, concerted, and procured by and between Jefferson
+Davis, late of Richmond, Va., and Jacob Thompson, Clement C. Clay,
+Beverley Tucker, George N. Sanders, William C. Cleary, and other rebels
+and traitors against the Government of the United States harbored in
+Canada:
+
+Now, therefore, to the end that justice may be done, I, Andrew Johnson,
+President of the United States, do offer and promise for the arrest of
+said persons, or either of them, within the limits of the United States,
+so that they can be brought to trial, the following rewards:
+
+One hundred thousand dollars for the arrest of Jefferson Davis.
+
+Twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of Clement C. Clay.
+
+Twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of Jacob Thompson, late of
+Mississippi.
+
+Twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of George N. Sanders.
+
+Twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of Beverley Tucker.
+
+Ten thousand dollars for the arrest of William C. Cleary, late clerk of
+Clement C. Clay.
+
+The Provost-Marshal-General of the United States is directed to cause
+a description of said persons, with notice of the above rewards, to be
+published.
+
+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 2d day of May, A.D. 1865, and of
+the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  W. HUNTER,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the President of the United States, by his proclamation of the
+19th day of April, 1861, did declare certain States therein mentioned in
+insurrection against the Government of the United States; and
+
+Whereas armed resistance to the authority of this Government in the said
+insurrectionary States may be regarded as virtually at an end, and the
+persons by whom that resistance, as well as the operations of insurgent
+cruisers, was directed are fugitives or captives; and
+
+Whereas it is understood that some of those cruisers are still infesting
+the high seas and others are preparing to capture, burn, and destroy
+vessels of the United States:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, hereby enjoin all naval, military, and civil officers of
+the United States diligently to endeavor, by all lawful means, to arrest
+the said cruisers and to bring them into a port of the United States, in
+order that they may be prevented from committing further depredations on
+commerce and that the persons on board of them may no longer enjoy
+impunity for their crimes.
+
+And I do further proclaim and declare that if, after a reasonable time
+shall have elapsed for this proclamation to become known in the ports of
+nations claiming to have been neutrals, the said insurgent cruisers and
+the persons on board of them shall continue to receive hospitality in
+the said ports, this Government will deem itself justified in refusing
+hospitality to the public vessels of such nations in ports of the United
+States and in adopting such other measures as may be deemed advisable
+toward vindicating the national sovereignty.
+
+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. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  W. HUNTER,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas by the proclamation of the President of the 11th day of April
+last certain ports of the United States therein specified, which had
+previously been subject to blockade, were, for objects of public safety,
+declared, in conformity with previous special legislation of Congress,
+to be closed against foreign commerce during the national will, to be
+thereafter expressed and made known by the President; and
+
+Whereas events and circumstances have since occurred which, in my
+judgment, render it expedient to remove that restriction, except as to
+the ports of Galveston, La Salle, Brazos de Santiago (Point Isabel), and
+Brownsville, in the State of Texas:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, do hereby declare that the ports aforesaid, not excepted
+as above, shall be open to foreign commerce from and after the 1st day
+of July next; that commercial intercourse with the said ports may from
+that time be carried on, subject to the laws of the United States and in
+pursuance of such regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of
+the Treasury. If, however, any vessel from a foreign port shall enter
+any of the before-named excepted ports in the State of Texas, she will
+continue to be held liable to the penalties prescribed by the act of
+Congress approved on the 13th day of July, 1861, and the persons on
+board of her to such penalties as may be incurred, pursuant to the laws
+of war, for trading or attempting to trade with an enemy.
+
+And I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby declare
+and make known that the United States of America do henceforth disallow
+to all persons trading or attempting to trade in any ports of the United
+States in violation of the laws thereof all pretense of belligerent
+rights and privileges; and I give notice that from the date of this
+proclamation all such offenders will be held and dealt with as pirates.
+
+It is also ordered that all restrictions upon trade heretofore imposed
+in the territory of the United States east of the Mississippi River,
+save those relating to contraband of war, to the reservation of the
+rights of the United States to property purchased in the territory of an
+enemy, and to the 25 per cent upon purchases of cotton be removed. All
+provisions of the internal-revenue law will be carried into effect under
+the proper officers.
+
+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 May, A.D. 1865, and of
+the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  W. HUNTER,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the President of the United States, on the 8th day of December,
+A.D. 1863, and on the 26th day of March, A.D. 1864, did, with the object
+to suppress the existing rebellion, to induce all persons to return to
+their loyalty, and to restore the authority of the United States, issue
+proclamations offering amnesty and pardon to certain persons who had,
+directly or by implication, participated in the said rebellion; and
+
+Whereas many persons who had so engaged in said rebellion have, since
+the issuance of said proclamations, failed or neglected to take the
+benefits offered thereby; and
+
+Whereas many persons who have been justly deprived of all claim to
+amnesty and pardon thereunder by reason of their participation, directly
+or by implication, in said rebellion and continued hostility to the
+Government of the United States since the date of said proclamations now
+desire to apply for and obtain amnesty and pardon.
+
+To the end, therefore, that the authority of the Government of the
+United States may be restored and that peace, order, and freedom may
+be established, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+do proclaim and declare that I hereby grant to all persons who have,
+directly or indirectly, participated in the existing rebellion, except
+as hereinafter excepted, amnesty and pardon, with restoration of all
+rights of property, except as to slaves and except in cases where legal
+proceedings under the laws of the United States providing for the
+confiscation of property of persons engaged in rebellion have been
+instituted; but upon the condition, nevertheless, that every such person
+shall take and subscribe the following oath (or affirmation) 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 (or affirm), 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 laws and proclamations which have been made during the
+  existing rebellion with reference to the emancipation of slaves.
+  So help me God.
+
+
+The following classes of persons are excepted from the benefits of this
+proclamation:
+
+First. All who are or shall have been pretended civil or diplomatic
+officers or otherwise domestic or foreign agents of the pretended
+Confederate government.
+
+Second. All who left judicial stations under the United States to aid
+the rebellion.
+
+Third. All who shall have been military or naval officers of said
+pretended Confederate government above the rank of colonel in the army
+or lieutenant in the navy.
+
+Fourth. All who left seats in the Congress of the United States to aid
+the rebellion.
+
+Fifth. All who resigned or tendered resignations of their commissions in
+the Army or Navy of the United States to evade duty in resisting the
+rebellion.
+
+Sixth. All who have engaged in any way in treating otherwise than
+lawfully as prisoners of war persons found in the United States service
+as officers, soldiers, seamen, or in other capacities.
+
+Seventh. All persons who have been or are absentees from the United
+States for the purpose of aiding the rebellion.
+
+Eighth. All military and naval officers in the rebel service who were
+educated by the Government in the Military Academy at West Point or the
+United States Naval Academy.
+
+Ninth. All persons who held the pretended offices of governors of States
+in insurrection against the United States.
+
+Tenth. All persons who left their homes within the jurisdiction and
+protection of the United States and passed beyond the Federal military
+lines into the pretended Confederate States for the purpose of aiding
+the rebellion.
+
+Eleventh. All persons who have been engaged in the destruction of the
+commerce of the United States upon the high seas and all persons who
+have made raids into the United States from Canada or been engaged in
+destroying the commerce of the United States upon the lakes and rivers
+that separate the British Provinces from the United States.
+
+Twelfth. All persons who, at the time when they seek to obtain the
+benefits hereof by taking the oath herein prescribed, are in military,
+naval, or civil confinement or custody, or under bonds 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.
+
+Thirteenth. All persons who have voluntarily participated in said
+rebellion and the estimated value of whose taxable property is over
+$20,000.
+
+Fourteenth. All persons who have taken the oath of amnesty as prescribed
+in the President's proclamation of December 8, A.D. 1863, or an oath of
+allegiance to the Government of the United States since the date of said
+proclamation and who have not thenceforward kept and maintained the same
+inviolate.
+
+_Provided_, That special application may be made to the President
+for pardon by any person belonging to the excepted classes, and such
+clemency will be liberally extended as may be consistent with the facts
+of the case and the peace and dignity of the United States.
+
+The Secretary of State will establish rules and regulations for
+administering and recording the said amnesty oath, so as to insure its
+benefit to the people and guard the Government against fraud.
+
+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, the 29th day of May, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+the United States declares that the United States shall guarantee to
+every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution made
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+
+Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of North
+Carolina of all civil government; and
+
+Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+obligations of the United States to the people of North Carolina in
+securing them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+
+Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do hereby
+appoint William W. Holden provisional governor of the State of North
+Carolina, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest practicable period, to
+prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for
+convening a convention composed of delegates to be chosen by that
+portion of the people of said State who are loyal to the United States,
+and no others, for the purpose of altering or amending the constitution
+thereof, and with authority to exercise within the limits of said State
+all the powers necessary and proper to enable such loyal people of the
+State of North Carolina to restore said State to its constitutional
+relations to the Federal Government and to present such a republican
+form of State government as will entitle the State to the guaranty of
+the United States therefor and its people to protection by the United
+States against invasion, insurrection, and domestic violence:
+_Provided_, That in any election that may be hereafter held for
+choosing delegates to any State convention as aforesaid no person shall
+be qualified as an elector or shall be eligible as a member of such
+convention unless he shall have previously taken and subscribed the oath
+of amnesty as set forth in the President's proclamation of May 29, A.D.
+1865, and is a voter qualified as prescribed by the constitution and
+laws of the State of North Carolina in force immediately before the 20th
+day of May, A.D. 1861, the date of the so-called ordinance of secession;
+and the said convention, when convened, or the legislature that may be
+thereafter assembled, will prescribe the qualification of electors and
+the eligibility of persons to hold office under the constitution and
+laws of the State--a power the people of the several States composing
+the Federal Union have rightfully exercised from the origin of the
+Government to the present time.
+
+And I do hereby direct--
+
+First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+government as herein authorized.
+
+Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws
+of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+
+Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+
+Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+agents, etc., from other States.
+
+Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which North
+Carolina is included proceed to hold courts within said State in
+accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The
+Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to
+judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and
+enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters
+within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+
+Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+affairs having application to the said State.
+
+Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+limits aforesaid.
+
+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 29th day of May, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+the United States declares that the United States shall guarantee to
+every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution made
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+
+Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of
+Mississippi of all civil government; and
+
+Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+obligations of the United States to the people of Mississippi in
+securing them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+
+Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do
+hereby appoint William L. Sharkey, of Mississippi, provisional governor
+of the State of Mississippi, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest
+practicable period, to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be
+necessary and proper for convening a convention composed of delegates
+to be chosen by that portion of the people of said State who are loyal
+to the United States, and no others, for the purpose of altering or
+amending the constitution thereof, and with authority to exercise within
+the limits of said State all the powers necessary and proper to enable
+such loyal people of the State of Mississippi to restore said State to
+its constitutional relations to the Federal Government and to present
+such a republican form of State government as will entitle the State to
+the guaranty of the United States therefor and its people to protection
+by the United States against invasion, insurrection, and domestic
+violence: _Provided_, That in any election that may be hereafter
+held for choosing delegates to any State convention as aforesaid no
+person shall be qualified as an elector or shall be eligible as a member
+of such convention unless he shall have previously taken and subscribed
+the oath of amnesty as set forth in the President's proclamation of
+May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a voter qualified as prescribed by the
+constitution and laws of the State of Mississippi in force immediately
+before the 9th of January, A.D. 1861, the date of the so-called
+ordinance of secession; and the said convention, when convened, or
+the legislature that may be thereafter assembled, will prescribe the
+qualification of electors and the eligibility of persons to hold office
+under the constitution and laws of the State--a power the people of the
+several States composing the Federal Union have rightfully exercised
+from the origin of the Government to the present time.
+
+And I do hereby direct--
+
+First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+government as herein authorized.
+
+Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws
+of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+
+Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+
+Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+agents, etc., from other States.
+
+Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which
+Mississippi is included proceed to hold courts within said State
+in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The
+Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to
+judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and
+enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters
+within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+
+Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+affairs having application to the said State.
+
+Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+limits aforesaid.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+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, this 13th day of June, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas by my proclamation[1] of the 29th of April, 1865, all
+restrictions upon internal, domestic, and commercial intercourse,
+with certain exceptions therein specified and set forth, were removed
+"in such parts of the States of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina,
+South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and so much of
+Louisiana as lies east of the Mississippi River as shall be embraced
+within the lines of national military occupation;" and
+
+[Footnote 1: Executive order.]
+
+Whereas by my proclamation of the 22d of May, 1865, for reasons therein
+given, it was declared that certain ports of the United States which had
+been previously closed against foreign commerce should, with certain
+specified exceptions, be reopened to such commerce on and after the
+1st day of July next, subject to the laws of the United States, and in
+pursuance of such regulations as might be prescribed by the Secretary
+of the Treasury; and
+
+Whereas I am satisfactorily informed that dangerous combinations against
+the laws of the United States no longer exist within the State of
+Tennessee; that the insurrection heretofore existing within said State
+has been suppressed; that within the boundaries thereof the authority of
+the United States is undisputed, and that such officers of the United
+States as have been duly commissioned are in the undisturbed exercise of
+their official functions:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, do hereby declare that all restrictions upon internal,
+domestic, and coastwise intercourse and trade and upon the removal of
+products of States heretofore declared in insurrection, reserving and
+excepting only those relating to contraband of war, as hereinafter
+recited, and also those which relate to the reservation of the rights
+of the United States to property purchased in the territory of an enemy
+heretofore imposed in the territory of the United States east of the
+Mississippi River, are annulled, and I do hereby direct that they be
+forthwith removed; and that on and after the 1st day of July next all
+restrictions upon foreign commerce with said ports, with the exception
+and reservation aforesaid, be likewise removed; and that the commerce of
+said States shall be conducted under the supervision of the regularly
+appointed officers of the customs provided by law, and such officers of
+the customs shall receive any captured and abandoned property that may
+be turned over to them under the law by the military or naval forces of
+the United States and dispose of such property as shall be directed by
+the Secretary of the Treasury. The following articles, contraband of
+war, are excepted from the effect of this proclamation: Arms,
+ammunition, all articles from which ammunition is made, and gray
+uniforms and cloth.
+
+And I hereby also proclaim and declare that the insurrection, so far as
+it relates to and within the State of Tennessee and the inhabitants of
+the said State of Tennessee as reorganized and constituted under their
+recently adopted constitution and reorganization and accepted by them,
+is suppressed, and therefore, also, that all the disabilities and
+disqualifications attaching to said State and the inhabitants thereof
+consequent upon any proclamation issued by virtue of the fifth section
+of the act entitled "An act further to provide for the collection of
+duties on imports and for other purposes," approved the 13th day of
+July, 1861, are removed.
+
+But nothing herein contained shall be considered or construed as in any
+wise changing or impairing any of the penalties and forfeitures for
+treason heretofore incurred under the laws of the United States or any
+of the provisions, restrictions, or disabilities set forth in my
+proclamation bearing date the 29th day of May, 1865, or as impairing
+existing regulations for the suspension of the _habeas corpus_ and
+the exercise of military law in cases where it shall be necessary for
+the general public safety and welfare during the existing insurrection;
+nor shall this proclamation affect or in any way impair any laws
+heretofore passed by Congress and duly approved by the President or any
+proclamations or orders issued by him during the aforesaid insurrection
+abolishing slavery or in any way affecting the relations of slavery,
+whether of persons or property; but, on the contrary, all such laws and
+proclamations heretofore made or issued are expressly saved and declared
+to be in full force and virtue.
+
+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 13th day of June, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+the United States declares that the United States shall guarantee to
+every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution made
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+
+Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of
+Georgia of all civil government; and
+
+Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+obligations of the United States to the people of Georgia in securing
+them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+
+Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do hereby
+appoint James Johnson, of Georgia, provisional governor of the State of
+Georgia, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest practicable period,
+to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper
+for convening a convention composed of delegates to be chosen by that
+portion of the people of said State who are loyal to the United States,
+and no others, for the purpose of altering or amending the constitution
+thereof, and with authority to exercise within the limits of said State
+all the powers necessary and proper to enable such loyal people of the
+State of Georgia to restore said State to its constitutional relations
+to the Federal Government and to present such a republican form of State
+government as will entitle the State to the guaranty of the United
+States therefor and its people to protection by the United States
+against invasion, insurrection, and domestic violence: _Provided_,
+That in any election that may be hereafter held for choosing delegates
+to any State convention as aforesaid no person shall be qualified as an
+elector or shall be eligible as a member of such convention unless he
+shall have previously taken and subscribed the oath of amnesty as set
+forth in the President's proclamation of May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a
+voter qualified as prescribed by the constitution and laws of the State
+of Georgia in force immediately before the 19th of January, A.D. 1861,
+the date of the so-called ordinance of secession; and the said
+convention, when convened, or the legislature that may be thereafter
+assembled, will prescribe the qualification of electors and the
+eligibility of persons to hold office under the constitution and laws
+of the State--a power the people of the several States composing the
+Federal Union have rightfully exercised from the origin of the
+Government to the present time.
+
+And I do hereby direct--
+
+First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+government as herein authorized.
+
+Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws
+of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+
+Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+
+Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+agents, etc., from other States.
+
+Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which
+Georgia is included proceed to hold courts within said State in
+accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The
+Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to
+judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and
+enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters
+within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+
+Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+affairs having application to the said State.
+
+Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+limits aforesaid.
+
+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 17th day of June, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+the United States declares that the United States shall guarantee to
+every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution
+made Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+
+Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of Texas
+of all civil government; and
+
+Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+obligations of the United States to the people of the State of Texas in
+securing them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+
+Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do hereby
+appoint Andrew J. Hamilton, of Texas, provisional governor of the State
+of Texas, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest practicable period, to
+prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for
+convening a convention composed of delegates to be chosen by that
+portion of the people of said State who are loyal to the United States,
+and no others, for the purpose of altering or amending the constitution
+thereof, and with authority to exercise within the limits of said State
+all the powers necessary and proper to enable such loyal people of the
+State of Texas to restore said State to its constitutional relations to
+the Federal Government and to present such a republican form of State
+government as will entitle the State to the guaranty of the United
+States therefor and its people to protection by the United States
+against invasion, insurrection, and domestic violence: _Provided_,
+That in any election that may be hereafter held for choosing delegates
+to any State convention as aforesaid no person shall be qualified as an
+elector or shall be eligible as a member of such convention unless he
+shall have previously taken and subscribed the oath of amnesty as set
+forth in the President's proclamation of May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a
+voter qualified as prescribed by the constitution and laws of the State
+of Texas in force immediately before the 1st day of February, A.D. 1861,
+the date of the so-called ordinance of secession; and the said
+convention, when convened, or the legislature that may be thereafter
+assembled, will prescribe the qualification of electors and the
+eligibility of persons to hold office under the constitution and laws of
+the State--a power the people of the several States composing the
+Federal Union have rightfully exercised from the origin of the
+Government to the present time.
+
+And I do hereby direct--
+
+First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+government as herein authorized.
+
+Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws
+of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+
+Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+
+Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+agents, etc., from other States.
+
+Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which Texas
+is included proceed to hold courts within said State in accordance with
+the provisions of the act of Congress. The Attorney-General will
+instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to judgment,
+confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and enforce the
+administration of justice within said State in all matters within the
+cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+
+Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+affairs having application to the said State.
+
+Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+limits aforesaid.
+
+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 17th day of June, A.D. 1865, and of
+the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+the United States declares that the United States shall guarantee to
+every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution made
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+
+Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of
+Alabama of all civil government; and
+
+Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+obligations of the United States to the people of Alabama in securing
+them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+
+Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do hereby
+appoint Lewis E. Parsons, of Alabama, provisional governor of the State
+of Alabama, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest practicable period,
+to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper
+for convening a convention composed of delegates to be chosen by that
+portion of the people of said State who are loyal to the United States,
+and no others, for the purpose of altering or amending the constitution
+thereof, and with authority to exercise within the limits of said State
+all the powers necessary and proper to enable such loyal people of the
+State of Alabama to restore said State to its constitutional relations
+to the Federal Government and to present such a republican form of State
+government as will entitle the State to the guaranty of the United
+States therefor and its people to protection by the United States
+against invasion, insurrection, and domestic violence: _Provided_,
+That in any election that may be hereafter held for choosing delegates
+to any State convention as aforesaid no person shall be qualified as an
+elector or shall be eligible as a member of such convention unless he
+shall have previously taken and subscribed the oath of amnesty as set
+forth in the President's proclamation of May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a
+voter qualified as prescribed by the constitution and laws of the State
+of Alabama in force immediately before the 11th day of January, A.D.
+1861, the date of the so-called ordinance of secession; and the said
+convention, when convened, or the legislature that may be thereafter
+assembled, will prescribe the qualification of electors and the
+eligibility of persons to hold office under the constitution and laws of
+the State, a power the people of the several States composing the
+Federal Union have rightfully exercised from the origin of the
+Government to the present time.
+
+And I do hereby direct--
+
+First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+government as herein authorized.
+
+Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws
+of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+
+Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+
+Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+agents, etc., from other States.
+
+Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which
+Alabama is included proceed to hold courts within said State in
+accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The
+Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to
+judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and
+enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters
+within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+
+Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+affairs having application to the said State.
+
+Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+limits aforesaid.
+
+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 21st day of June, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas by the proclamations of the President of the 19th and 27th of
+April, 1861, a blockade of certain ports of the United States was set on
+foot; but
+
+Whereas the reasons for that measure have ceased to exist:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, do hereby declare and proclaim the blockade aforesaid to
+be rescinded as to all the ports aforesaid, including that of Galveston
+and other ports west of the Mississippi River, which ports will be open
+to foreign commerce on the 1st of July next on the terms and conditions
+set forth in my proclamation of the 22d of May last.
+
+It is to be understood, however, that the blockade thus rescinded was an
+international measure for the purpose of protecting the sovereign rights
+of the United States. The greater or less subversion of civil authority
+in the region to which it applied and the impracticability of at once
+restoring that in due efficiency may for a season make it advisable to
+employ the Army and Navy of the United States toward carrying the laws
+into effect wherever such employment may be necessary.
+
+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 23d day of June, A.D. 1865, and of
+the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  W. HUNTER,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas it has been the desire of the General Government of the United
+States to restore unrestricted commercial intercourse between and in the
+several States as soon as the same could be safely done in view of
+resistance to the authority of the United States by combinations of
+armed insurgents; and
+
+Whereas that desire has been shown in my proclamations of the 29th of
+April, 1865, the 13th of June, 1865, and the 23d of June, 1865; and
+
+Whereas it now seems expedient and proper to remove restrictions upon
+internal, domestic, and coastwise trade and commercial intercourse
+between and within the States and Territories west of the Mississippi
+River:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, do hereby declare that all restrictions upon internal,
+domestic, and coastwise intercourse and trade and upon the purchase and
+removal of products of States and parts of States and Territories
+heretofore declared in insurrection, lying west of the Mississippi River
+(excepting only those relating to property heretofore purchased by the
+agents or captured by or surrendered to the forces of the United States
+and to the transportation thereto or therein on private account of arms,
+ammunition, all articles from which ammunition is made, gray uniforms,
+and gray cloth), are annulled; and I do hereby direct that they be
+forthwith removed, and also that the commerce of such States and parts
+of States shall be conducted under the supervision of the regularly
+appointed officers of the customs, [who] shall receive any captured and
+abandoned property that may be turned over to them under the law by the
+military or naval forces of the United States and dispose of the same in
+accordance with instructions on the subject issued by the Secretary of
+the Treasury.
+
+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, this 24th day of June, A.D. 1865, and of
+the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  W. HUNTER,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+the United States declares that the United States shall guarantee to
+every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution made
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+
+Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of South
+Carolina of all civil government; and
+
+Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+obligations of the United States to the people of South Carolina in
+securing them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+
+Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do hereby
+appoint Benjamin F. Perry, of South Carolina, provisional governor of
+the State of South Carolina, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest
+practicable period, to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be
+necessary and proper for convening a convention composed of delegates
+to be chosen by that portion of the people of said State who are loyal
+to the United States, and no others, for the purpose of altering or
+amending the constitution thereof, and with authority to exercise within
+the limits of said State all the powers necessary and proper to enable
+such loyal people of the State of South Carolina to restore said State
+to its constitutional relations to the Federal Government and to present
+such a republican form of State government as will entitle the State to
+the guaranty of the United States therefor and its people to protection
+by the United States against invasion, insurrection, and domestic
+violence: _Provided_, That in any election that may be hereafter
+held for choosing delegates to any State convention as aforesaid no
+person shall be qualified as an elector or shall be eligible as a member
+of such convention unless he shall have previously taken and subscribed
+the oath of amnesty as set forth in the President's proclamation
+of May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a voter qualified as prescribed by
+the constitution and laws of the State of South Carolina in force
+immediately before the 17th day of November, A.D. 1860, the date of
+the so-called ordinance of secession; and the said convention, when
+convened, or the legislature that may be thereafter assembled, will
+prescribe the qualification of electors and the eligibility of persons
+to hold office under the constitution and laws of the State--a power the
+people of the several States composing the Federal Union have rightfully
+exercised from the origin of the Government to the present time.
+
+And I do hereby direct--
+
+First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+government as herein authorized.
+
+Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws
+of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+
+Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+
+Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+agents, etc., from other States.
+
+Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which
+South Carolina is included proceed to hold courts within said
+State in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The
+Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to
+judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and
+enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters
+within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+
+Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+affairs having application to the said State.
+
+Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+limits aforesaid.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+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, this 30th day of June, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+the United States declares that the United Stales shall guarantee to
+every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution made
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+
+Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of
+Florida of all civil government; and
+
+Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+obligations of the United States to the people of Florida in securing
+them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+
+Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do hereby
+appoint William Marvin provisional governor of the State of Florida,
+whose duty it shall be, at the earliest practicable period, to prescribe
+such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for convening
+a convention composed of delegates to be chosen by that portion of the
+people of said State who are loyal to the United States, and no others,
+for the purpose of altering or amending the constitution thereof, and
+with authority to exercise within the limits of said State all the
+powers necessary and proper to enable such loyal people of the State of
+Florida to restore said State to its constitutional relations to the
+Federal Government and to present such a republican form of State
+government as will entitle the State to the guaranty of the United
+States therefor and its people to protection by the United States
+against invasion, insurrection, and domestic violence: _Provided_,
+That in any election that may be hereafter held for choosing delegates
+to any State convention as aforesaid no person shall be qualified as an
+elector or shall be eligible as a member of such convention unless he
+shall have previously taken and subscribed the oath of amnesty as set
+forth in the President's proclamation of May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a
+voter qualified as prescribed by the constitution and laws of the State
+of Florida in force immediately before the 10th day of January, A.D.
+1861, the date of the so-called ordinance of secession; and the said
+convention, when convened, or the legislature that may be thereafter
+assembled, will prescribe the qualification of electors and the
+eligibility of persons to hold office under the constitution and laws of
+the State--a power the people of the several States composing the
+Federal Union have rightfully exercised from the origin of the
+Government to the present time.
+
+And I do hereby direct--
+
+First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+government as herein authorized.
+
+Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws of
+the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+
+Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+
+Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+agents, etc., from other States.
+
+Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which
+Florida is included proceed to hold courts within said State in
+accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The
+Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to
+judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and
+enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters
+within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+
+Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+affairs having application to the said State.
+
+Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+limits aforesaid.
+
+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 13th day of July, A.D. 1865, and of
+the Independence of the United States the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+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 13th and 24th of June, 1865, removing
+restrictions, in part, upon internal, domestic, and coastwise
+intercourse and trade with those States recently declared in
+insurrection, certain articles were excepted from the effect of said
+proclamations as contraband of war; and
+
+Whereas the necessity for restricting trade in said articles has now in
+a great measure ceased:
+
+It is hereby ordered that on and after the 1st day of September, 1865.
+all restrictions aforesaid be removed, so that the articles declared by
+the said proclamations to be contraband of war may be imported into and
+sold in said States, subject only to such regulations as the Secretary
+of the Treasury may prescribe.
+
+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 August, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas by a proclamation of the 5th day of July, 1864, the President of
+the United States, when the civil war was flagrant and when combinations
+were in progress in Kentucky for the purpose of inciting insurgent raids
+into that State, directed that the proclamation suspending the privilege
+of the writ of _habeas corpus_ should be made effectual in Kentucky
+and that martial law should be established there and continue until said
+proclamation should be revoked or modified; and
+
+Whereas since then the danger from insurgent raids into Kentucky has
+substantially passed away:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the
+Constitution, do hereby declare that the said proclamation of the 5th
+day of July, 1864, shall be, and is hereby, modified in so far that
+martial law shall be no longer in force in Kentucky from and after the
+date hereof.
+
+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 12th day of October, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  W. HUNTER,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas it has pleased Almighty God during the year which is now coming
+to an end to relieve our beloved country from the fearful scourge of
+civil war and to permit us to secure the blessings of peace, unity, and
+harmony, with a great enlargement of civil liberty; and
+
+Whereas our Heavenly Father has also during the year graciously averted
+from us the calamities of foreign war, pestilence, and famine, while our
+granaries are full of the fruits of an abundant season; and
+
+Whereas righteousness exalteth a nation, while sin is a reproach to any
+people:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, do hereby recommend to the people thereof that they do
+set apart and observe the first Thursday of December next as a day of
+national thanksgiving to the Creator of the Universe for these great
+deliverances and blessings.
+
+And I do further recommend that on that occasion the whole people make
+confession of our national sins against His infinite goodness, and with
+one heart and one mind implore the divine guidance in the ways of
+national virtue and holiness.
+
+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 28th day of October, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas by the proclamation of the President of the United States of the
+15th day of September, 1863, the privilege of the writ of _habeas
+corpus_ was, in certain cases therein set forth, suspended throughout
+the United States; and
+
+Whereas the reasons for that suspension may be regarded as having ceased
+in some of the States and Territories:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, do hereby proclaim and declare that the suspension
+aforesaid and all other proclamations and orders suspending the
+privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ in the States and
+Territories of the United States are revoked and annulled, excepting as
+to the States of Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South
+Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas,
+and Texas, the District of Columbia, and the Territories of New Mexico
+and Arizona.
+
+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 December, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
+
+
+EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,
+
+_Washington, April 29, 1865_.
+
+Being desirous to relieve all loyal citizens and well-disposed persons
+residing in insurrectionary States from unnecessary commercial
+restrictions and to encourage them to return to peaceful pursuits--
+
+_It is hereby ordered_, I. That all restrictions upon internal,
+domestic, and coastwise commercial intercourse be discontinued in such
+parts of the States of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, South
+Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and so much of
+Louisiana as lies east of the Mississippi River as shall be embraced
+within the lines of national military occupation, excepting only such
+restrictions as are imposed by acts of Congress and regulations in
+pursuance thereof prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury and
+approved by the President, and excepting also from the effect of this
+order the following articles contraband of war, to wit: Arms,
+ammunition, all articles from which ammunition is manufactured, gray
+uniforms and cloth, locomotives, cars, railroad iron, and machinery for
+operating railroads, telegraph wires, insulators, and instruments for
+operating telegraphic lines.
+
+II. That all existing military and naval orders in any manner
+restricting internal, domestic, and coastwise commercial intercourse and
+trade with or in the localities above named be, and the same are hereby,
+revoked, and that no military or naval officer in any manner interrupt
+or interfere with the same, or with any boats or other vessels engaged
+therein under proper authority, pursuant to the regulations of the
+Secretary of the Treasury.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+
+_Washington City, April 29, 1865_.
+
+The Executive order of January 20, 1865, prohibiting the exportation of
+hay, is rescinded from and after the 1st day of May, 1865.
+
+By order of the President:
+
+EDWIN M STANTON.
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,
+
+_Washington City, May 1, 1865_.
+
+Whereas the Attorney-General of the United States hath given his opinion
+that the persons implicated in the murder of the late President, Abraham
+Lincoln, and the attempted assassination of the Hon. William H. Seward,
+Secretary of State, and in an alleged conspiracy to assassinate other
+officers of the Federal Government at Washington City, and their aiders
+and abettors, are subject to the jurisdiction of and lawfully triable
+before a military commission--
+
+_It is ordered_:
+
+First. That the assistant adjutant-general detail nine competent
+military officers to serve as a commission for the trial of said
+parties, and that the Judge-Advocate-General proceed to prefer charges
+against said parties for their alleged offenses and bring them to trial
+before said military commission; that said trial or trials be conducted
+by the said Judge-Advocate-General, and as recorder thereof, in person,
+aided by such assistant or special judge-advocate as he may designate,
+and that said trials be conducted with all diligence consistent with the
+ends of justice; the said commission to sit without regard to hours.
+
+Second. That Brevet Major-General Hartranft be assigned to duty as
+special provost-marshal-general for the purpose of said trial, and
+attendance upon said commission, and the execution of its mandates.
+
+Third. That the said commission establish such order or rules of
+proceeding as may avoid unnecessary delay and conduce to the ends of
+public justice.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+Official copy:
+
+W.A. NICHOLS,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+
+_Washington, D.C., May 3, 1865_.
+
+Order Rescinding Regulations Prohibiting the Exportation of Arms,
+Ammunition, Horses, Mules, and Live Stock.
+
+The Executive order of November 21, 1862, prohibiting the exportation of
+arms and ammunition from the United States, and the Executive order of
+May 13, 1863,[2] prohibiting the exportation of horses, mules, and live
+stock, being no longer required by public necessities, the aforesaid
+orders are hereby rescinded and annulled.
+
+By order of the President of the United States:
+
+EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+[Footnote 2: Order of Secretary of War.]
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, May 4, 1865_.
+
+This being the day of the funeral of the late President, Abraham
+Lincoln, at Springfield, Ill., the Executive Office and the various
+Departments will be closed at 12 m. to-day.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON,
+
+_President of the United States_.
+
+
+
+SPECIAL ORDERS, No. 211.
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, May 6, 1865_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+4. A military commission is hereby appointed to meet at Washington,
+D.C., on Monday, the 8th day of May, 1865, at 9 o'clock a.m., or as soon
+thereafter as practicable, for the trial of David E. Herold, George A.
+Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward Spangler, Samuel
+Arnold, Mary E. Surratt, Samuel A. Mudd, and such other prisoners as may
+be brought before it, implicated in the murder of the late President,
+Abraham Lincoln, and the attempted assassination of the Hon. William H.
+Seward, Secretary of State, and in an alleged conspiracy to assassinate
+other officers of the Federal Government at Washington City, and their
+aiders and abettors.
+
+_Detail for the court_.
+
+  Major-General David Hunter, United States Volunteers.
+  Major-General Lewis Wallace, United States Volunteers.
+  Brevet Major-General August V. Kautz, United States Volunteers.
+  Brigadier-General Albion P. Howe, United States Volunteers.
+  Brigadier-General Robert S. Foster, United States Volunteers.
+  Brevet Brigadier-General Cyrus B. Comstock,[A] United States Volunteers.
+  Brigadier-General T.M. Harris, United States Volunteers.
+  Brevet Colonel Horace Porter,[B] aid-de-camp.
+  Lieutenant-Colonel David R. Clendenin, Eighth Illinois Cavalry.
+  Brigadier-General Joseph Holt, Judge-Advocate-General, United States
+    Army, is appointed the judge-advocate and recorder of the commission,
+    to be aided by such assistant or special judge-advocate as he may
+    designate.
+
+
+The commission will sit without regard to hours.
+
+By order of the President of the United States:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+[Footnote 3: Brevet Brigadier-General James A. Ekin substituted; see
+Special Orders, No. 216.]
+
+[Footnote 4: Brevet Colonel C. H. Tompkins substituted; see Special
+Orders, No. 216.]
+
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT, _Washington City, May 7, 1865_.
+
+Brigadier-General Holt, Judge-Advocate-General, having designated the
+Hon. John A. Bingham as a special judge-advocate, whose aid he requires
+in the prosecution of Herold and others before the military commission
+of which Major-General Hunter is presiding officer:
+
+_It is ordered_, That the said John A. Bingham be, and he is hereby,
+appointed special judge-advocate for the purpose aforesaid, to aid the
+Judge-Advocate-General, pursuant to the order of the President in
+respect to said military commission.
+
+By order of the President:
+
+EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+
+
+SPECIAL ORDERS. No. 216.
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, May 9, 1865_.
+
+       *       *       *      *       *
+
+91. Brevet Brigadier-General Cyrus B. Comstock, United States
+Volunteers, and Brevet Colonel Horace Porter, aid-de-camp, are hereby
+relieved from duty as members of the military commission appointed in
+Special Orders, No. 211, paragraph 4, dated "War Department,
+Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, May 6, 1865," and Brevet
+Brigadier-General James A. Ekin, United States Volunteers, and Brevet
+Colonel C.H. Tompkins, United States Army, are detailed in their
+places, respectively.
+
+The commission will be composed as follows:
+
+  Major-General David Hunter, United States Volunteers.
+  Major-General Lewis Wallace, United States Volunteers.
+  Brevet Major-General August V. Kautz, United States Volunteers.
+  Brigadier-General Albion P. Howe, United States Volunteers.
+  Brigadier-General Robert S. Poster, United States Volunteers.
+  Brevet Brigadier-General James A. Ekin, United States Volunteers.
+  Brigadier-General T.M. Harris, United States Volunteers.
+  Brevet Colonel C.H. Tompkins, United States Army.
+  Lieutenant-Colonel David R. Clendenin, Eighth Illinois Cavalry.
+  Brigadier-General Joseph Holt, judge-advocate and recorder.
+
+
+By order of the President of the United States:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,
+
+_Washington City, May 9, 1865_.
+
+Executive Order to Reestablish the Authority of the United States and
+Execute the Laws within the Geographical Limits Known as the State of
+Virginia.
+
+_Ordered_, first. That all acts and proceedings of the political,
+military, and civil organizations which have been in a state of
+insurrection and rebellion within the State of Virginia against the
+authority and laws of the United States, and of which Jefferson Davis,
+John Letcher, and William Smith were late the respective chiefs, are
+declared null and void. All persons who shall exercise, claim, pretend,
+or attempt to exercise any political, military, or civil power,
+authority, jurisdiction, or right by, through, or under Jefferson Davis,
+late of the city of Richmond, and his confederates, or under John
+Letcher or William Smith and their confederates, or under any pretended
+political, military, or civil commission or authority issued by them or
+either of them since the 17th day of April, 1861, shall be deemed and
+taken as in rebellion against the United States, and shall be dealt with
+accordingly.
+
+Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws of
+the United States the administration whereof belongs to the Department
+of State applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+
+Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed without delay to
+nominate for appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs
+and internal revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department
+as are authorized by law, and shall put in execution the revenue laws of
+the United States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making
+appointments the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons
+residing within the districts where their respective duties are to be
+performed; but if suitable persons shall not be found residents of the
+districts, then persons residing in other States or districts shall be
+appointed.
+
+Fourth. That the Postmaster-General shall proceed to establish
+post-offices and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of
+the United States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the
+preference of appointment; but if suitable persons are not found, then
+to appoint agents, etc., from other States.
+
+Fifth. That the district judge of said district proceed to hold courts
+within said State in accordance with the provisions of the act of
+Congress. The Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to
+libel and bring to judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to
+confiscation, and enforce the administration of justice within said
+State in all matters, civil and criminal, within the cognizance and
+jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+
+Sixth. That the Secretary of War assign such assistant
+provost-marshal-general and such provost-marshals in each district of
+said State as he may deem necessary.
+
+Seventh. The Secretary of the Navy will take possession of all public
+property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+affairs having application to the said State.
+
+Eighth. The Secretary of the Interior will also put in force the laws
+relating to the Department of the Interior.
+
+Ninth. That to carry into effect the guaranty by the Federal
+Constitution of a republican form of State government and afford the
+advantage and security of domestic laws, as well as to complete the
+reestablishment of the authority and laws of the United States and the
+full and complete restoration of peace within the limits aforesaid,
+Francis H. Peirpoint, governor of the State of Virginia, will be aided
+by the Federal Government so far as may be necessary in the lawful
+measures which he may take for the extension and administration of the
+State government throughout the geographical limits of said State.
+
+In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal
+of the United States to be affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  W. HUNTER,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+
+_Washington City, May 27, 1865_.
+
+_Ordered_, That in all cases of sentences by military tribunals of
+imprisonment during the war the sentence be remitted and that the
+prisoners be discharged. The Adjutant-General will issue immediately the
+necessary instructions to carry this order into effect.
+
+By order of the President of the United States:
+
+EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, D.C., May 31, 1865_.
+
+To-morrow, the 1st of June, being the day appointed for special
+humiliation and prayer in consequence of the assassination of Abraham
+Lincoln, late President of the United States, the Executive Office and
+the various Departments will be closed during the day.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON,
+
+_President of the United States_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 107.
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, June 2, 1865_.
+
+_Ordered_, That all military restrictions upon trade in any of the
+States or Territories of the United States, except in articles
+contraband of war--to wit, arms, ammunition, gray cloth, and all
+articles from which ammunition is manufactured; locomotives, cars,
+railroad iron, and machinery for operating railroads; telegraph wires,
+insulators, and instruments for operating telegraphic lines--shall cease
+from and after the present date.
+
+By order of the President of the United States:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
+
+_Washington, June 2, 1865_.
+
+Whereas, pursuant to the order of the President and as a means required
+by the public safety, 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; and
+
+Whereas the necessities which required the adoption of that measure are
+believed no longer to exist:
+
+Now, therefore, the President directs that from and after this date the
+order above referred to shall be, and the same is hereby, rescinded.
+
+Nothing in this regulation, however, will be construed to relieve from
+due accountability any enemies of the United States or offenders against
+their peace and dignity who may hereafter seek to enter the country or
+at any time be found within its lawful jurisdiction.
+
+WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., June 2, 1865_.
+
+Whereas by an act of Congress approved March 3, 1865, there was
+established in the War Department a Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and
+Abandoned Lands, and to which, in accordance with the said act of
+Congress, is committed the supervision and management of all abandoned
+lands and the control of all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen
+from rebel States, or from any district of country within the territory
+embraced in the operations of the Army, under such rules and regulations
+as may be prescribed by the head of the Bureau and approved by the
+President; and
+
+Whereas it appears that the management of abandoned lands and subjects
+relating to refugees and freedmen, as aforesaid, have been and still
+are, by orders based on military exigencies or legislation based on
+previous statutes, partly in the hands of military officers disconnected
+with said Bureau and partly in charge of officers of the Treasury
+Department: It is therefore
+
+_Ordered_, That all officers of the Treasury Department, all military
+officers, and all others in the service of the United States turn over
+to the authorized officers of said Bureau all abandoned lands and
+property contemplated in said act of Congress approved March 3, 1865,
+establishing the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, that
+may now be under or within their control. They will also turn over to
+such officers all funds collected by tax or otherwise for the benefit of
+refugees or freedmen or accruing from abandoned lands or property set
+apart for their use, and will transfer to them all official records
+connected with the administration of affairs which pertain to said
+Bureau.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 109.
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, June 6, 1865_.
+
+ORDER FOR THE DISCHARGE OF CERTAIN PRISONERS OF WAR.
+
+The prisoners of war at the several depots in the North will be
+discharged under the following regulations and restrictions:
+
+I. All enlisted men of the rebel army and petty officers and seamen of
+the rebel navy will be discharged upon taking the oath of allegiance.
+
+II. Officers of the rebel army not above the grade of captain and of
+the rebel navy not above the grade of lieutenant, except such as have
+graduated at the United States Military or Naval academies and such
+as held a commission in either the United States Army or Navy at the
+beginning of the rebellion, may be discharged upon taking the oath
+of allegiance.
+
+III. When the discharges hereby ordered are completed, regulations will
+be issued in respect to the discharge of officers having higher rank
+than captain in the army or lieutenant in the navy.
+
+IV. The several commanders of prison stations will discharge each day as
+many of the prisoners hereby authorized to be discharged as proper rolls
+can be prepared for, beginning with those who have been longest in
+prison and from the most remote points of the country; and certified
+rolls will be forwarded daily to the Commissary-General of Prisoners of
+those so discharged. The oath of allegiance only will be administered,
+but notice will be given that all who desire will be permitted to take
+the oath of amnesty after their release, in accordance with the
+regulations of the Department of State respecting the amnesty.
+
+V. The Quartermaster's Department will furnish transportation to all
+released prisoners to the nearest accessible point to their homes, by
+rail or by steamboat.
+
+By order of the President of the United States:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, June 6, 1865_.
+
+Whereas circumstances of recent occurrence have made it no longer
+necessary to continue the prohibition of the departure for her
+destination of the gunboat _Fusyama_, built at New York for the Japanese
+Government, it is consequently ordered that that prohibition be removed.
+The Secretary of the Treasury will therefore cause a clearance to be
+issued to the _Fusyama_, and the Secretary of the Navy will not allow
+any obstacle thereto.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+[From the Daily National Intelligencer, June 13, 1865.]
+
+CIRCULAR.
+
+ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, June 7, 1865_.
+
+By direction of the President, all persons belonging to the excepted
+classes enumerated in the President's amnesty proclamation of May 29,
+1865, who may make special applications to the President for pardon are
+hereby notified that before their respective applications will be
+considered it must be shown that they have respectively taken and
+subscribed the oath (or affirmation) in said proclamation prescribed.
+Every such person desiring a special pardon should make personal
+application in writing therefor, and should transmit with such
+application the original oath (or affirmation) as taken and subscribed
+before an officer authorized under the rules and regulations promulgated
+by the Secretary of State to administer the amnesty oath prescribed in
+the said proclamation of the President.
+
+JAMES SPEED,
+
+_Attorney-General_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, D.C., June 9, 1865_.
+
+It is represented to me in a communication from the Secretary of the
+Interior that Indians in New Mexico have been seized and reduced into
+slavery, and it is recommended that the authority of the executive
+branch of the Government should be exercised for the effectual
+suppression of a practice which is alike in violation of the rights
+of the Indians and of the provisions of the organic law of the said
+Territory.
+
+Concurring in this recommendation, I do hereby order that the heads
+of the several Executive Departments do enjoin upon the subordinates,
+agents, and employees under their respective orders or supervision in
+that Territory to discountenance the practice aforesaid and to take all
+lawful means to suppress the same.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+GENERAL COURT-MARTIAL ORDERS, No. 356.
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, July 5, 1865_.
+
+I. Before a military commission which convened at Washington, D.C.,
+May 9, 1865, pursuant to paragraph 4 of Special Orders, No. 211,
+dated May 6, 1865, and paragraph 91 of Special Orders, No. 216, dated
+May 9, 1865, War Department, Adjutant-General's Office, Washington,
+and of which Major-General David Hunter, United States Volunteers, is
+president, were arraigned and tried David E. Herold, G.A. Atzerodt,
+Lewis Payne, Mary E. Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward Spangler,
+Samuel Arnold, and Samuel A. Mudd.
+
+
+CHARGE I.
+
+For maliciously, unlawfully, and traitorously, and in aid of the
+existing armed rebellion against the United States of America, on or
+before the 6th day of March, A.D. 1865, and on divers other days between
+that day and the 15th day of April, A.D. 1865, combining, confederating,
+and conspiring together with one John H. Surratt, John Wilkes Booth,
+Jefferson Davis, George N. Sanders, Beverley Tucker, Jacob Thompson,
+William C. Cleary, Clement C. Clay, George Harper, George Young, and
+others unknown to kill and murder, within the Military Department of
+Washington, and within the fortified and intrenched lines thereof,
+Abraham Lincoln, late, and at the time of said combining, confederating,
+and conspiring, President of the United States of America and Commander
+in Chief of the Army and Navy thereof; Andrew Johnson, now
+Vice-President of the United States aforesaid; William H. Seward,
+Secretary of State of the United States aforesaid; and Ulysses S. Grant,
+Lieutenant-General of the Army of the United States aforesaid, then in
+command of the armies of the United States, under the direction of the
+said Abraham Lincoln; and in pursuance of and in prosecuting said
+malicious, unlawful, and traitorous conspiracy aforesaid, and in aid of
+said rebellion, afterwards, to wit, on the 14th day of April, A.D. 1865,
+within the Military Department of Washington aforesaid, and within the
+fortified and intrenched lines of said military department, together
+with said John Wilkes Booth and John H. Surratt, maliciously,
+unlawfully, and traitorously murdering the said Abraham Lincoln, then
+President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Army and
+Navy of the United States as aforesaid; and maliciously, unlawfully, and
+traitorously assaulting, with intent to kill and murder, the said
+William H. Seward, then Secretary of State of the United States as
+aforesaid; and lying in wait, with intent maliciously, unlawfully, and
+traitorously to kill and murder the said Andrew Johnson, then being
+Vice-President of the United States, and the said Ulysses S. Grant, then
+being Lieutenant-General and in command of the armies of the United
+States as aforesaid.
+
+
+SPECIFICATION FIRST.
+
+In this, that they, the said David E. Herold, Edward Spangler, Lewis
+Payne, Michael O'Laughlin, Samuel Arnold, Mary E. Surratt, George A.
+Atzerodt, and Samuel A. Mudd, together with the said John H. Surratt and
+John Wilkes Booth, incited and encouraged thereunto by Jefferson Davis,
+George N. Sanders, Beverley Tucker, Jacob Thompson, William C. Cleary,
+Clement C. Clay, George Harper, George Young, and, others unknown,
+citizens of the United States aforesaid, and who were then engaged In
+armed rebellion against the United States of America, within the limits
+thereof, did, in aid of said armed rebellion, on or before the 6th day
+of March, A.D. 1865, and on divers other days and times between that day
+and the 15th day of April, A.D. 1865, combine, confederate, and conspire
+together at Washington City, within the Military Department of
+Washington, and within the intrenched fortifications and military lines
+of the said United States there being, unlawfully, maliciously, and
+traitorously to kill and murder Abraham Lincoln, then President of the
+United States aforesaid and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy
+thereof; and unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously to kill and
+murder Andrew Johnson, now Vice-President of the said United States,
+upon whom, on the death of said Abraham Lincoln, after the 4th day of
+March, A.D. 1865, the office of President of the said United States and
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy thereof would devolve; and to
+unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously kill and murder Ulysses S.
+Grant, then Lieutenant-General, and, under the direction of the said
+Abraham Lincoln, in command of the armies of the United States
+aforesaid; and unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously to kill and
+murder William H. Seward, then Secretary of State of the United States
+aforesaid, whose duty it was by law, upon the death of said President
+and Vice-President of the United States aforesaid, to cause an election
+to be held for electors of President of the United States--the
+conspirators aforesaid designing and intending by the killing and murder
+of the said Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, and
+William H. Seward, as aforesaid, to deprive the Army and Navy of the
+said United States of a constitutional Commander in Chief, and to
+deprive the armies of the United States of their lawful commander, and
+to prevent a lawful election of President and Vice-President of the
+United States aforesaid, and by the means aforesaid to aid and comfort
+the insurgents engaged in armed rebellion against the said United States
+as aforesaid, and thereby to aid in the subversion and overthrow of the
+Constitution and laws of the said United States.
+
+And being so combined, confederated, and conspiring together in the
+prosecution of said unlawful and traitorous conspiracy, on the night of
+the 14th day of April, A.D. 1865, at the hour of about 10 o'clock and 15
+minutes p.m., at Ford's Theater, on Tenth street, in the city of
+Washington, and within the military department and military lines
+aforesaid, John Wilkes Booth, one of the conspirators aforesaid, in
+pursuance of said unlawful and traitorous conspiracy, did then and there
+unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously, and with intent to kill and
+murder the said Abraham Lincoln, discharge a pistol then held in the
+hands of him, the said Booth, the same being then loaded with powder and
+a leaden ball, against and upon the left and posterior side of the head
+of the said Abraham Lincoln, and did thereby then and there inflict upon
+him, the said Abraham Lincoln, then President of the said United States
+and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy thereof, a mortal wound,
+whereof afterwards, to wit, on the 15th day of April, A.D. 1865, at
+Washington City aforesaid, the said Abraham Lincoln died; and thereby
+then and there, and in pursuance of said conspiracy, the said defendants
+and the said John Wilkes Booth and John H. Surratt did unlawfully,
+traitorously, and maliciously, and with the intent to aid the rebellion
+as aforesaid, kill and murder the said Abraham Lincoln, President of the
+United States as aforesaid.
+
+And in further prosecution of the unlawful and traitorous conspiracy
+aforesaid and of the murderous and traitorous intent of said conspiracy,
+the said Edward Spangler, on said 14th day of April, A.D. 1865, at about
+the same hour of that day as aforesaid, within said military department
+and the military lines aforesaid, did aid and assist the said John
+Wilkes Booth to obtain entrance to the box in said theater in which said
+Abraham Lincoln was sitting at the time he was assaulted and shot, as
+aforesaid, by John Wilkes Booth; and also did then and there aid said
+Booth in barring and obstructing the door of the box of said theater, so
+as to hinder and prevent any assistance to or rescue of the said Abraham
+Lincoln against the murderous assault of the said John Wilkes Booth, and
+did aid and abet him in making his escape after the said Abraham Lincoln
+had been murdered in manner aforesaid.
+
+And in further prosecution of said unlawful, murderous, and traitorous
+conspiracy, and in pursuance thereof, and with the intent as aforesaid,
+the said David B. Herold did, on the night of the 14th of April, A.D.
+1865, within the military department and military lines aforesaid, aid,
+abet, and assist the said John Wilkes Booth in the killing and murder of
+the said Abraham Lincoln, and did then and there aid and abet and assist
+him, the said John Wilkes Booth, in attempting to escape through the
+military lines aforesaid, and did accompany and assist the said John
+Wilkes Booth in attempting to conceal himself and escape from justice
+after killing and murdering said Abraham Lincoln, as aforesaid.
+
+And in further prosecution of said unlawful and traitorous conspiracy
+and of the intent thereof as aforesaid, the said Lewis Payne did, on the
+same night of the 14th day of April, A.D. 1865, about the same hour of
+10 o'clock and 15 minutes p.m., at the city of Washington, and within
+the military department and the military lines aforesaid, unlawfully and
+maliciously make an assault upon the said William H. Seward, Secretary
+of State, as aforesaid, in the dwelling house and bedchamber of him, the
+said William H. Seward, and the said Payne did then and there, with a
+large knife held in his hand, unlawfully, traitorously, and in pursuance
+of said conspiracy, strike, stab, cut, and attempt to kill and murder
+the said William H. Seward, and did thereby then and there, and with the
+intent aforesaid, with said knife, inflict upon the face and throat of
+the said William H. Seward divers grievous wounds; and the said Lewis
+Payne, in further prosecution of said conspiracy, at the same time and
+place last aforesaid, did attempt, with the knife aforesaid and a pistol
+held in his hand, to kill and murder Frederick W. Seward, Augustus H.
+Seward, Emrick W. Hansell, and George F. Robinson, who were then
+striving to protect and rescue the said William H. Seward from murder by
+the said Lewis Payne, and did then and there, with said knife and pistol
+held in his hands, inflict upon the head of said Frederick W. Seward and
+upon the persons of said Augustus H. Seward, Emrick W. Hansell, and
+George F. Robinson divers grievous and dangerous wounds, with intent
+then and there to kill and murder the said Frederick W. Seward, Augustus
+H. Seward, Emrick W. Hansell, and George F. Robinson.
+
+And in further prosecution of said conspiracy and its traitorous and
+murderous designs, the said George A. Atzerodt did, on the night of the
+14th of April, A.D. 1865, and about the same hour of the night
+aforesaid, within the military department and the military lines
+aforesaid, lie in wait for Andrew Johnson, then Vice-President of the
+United States aforesaid, with the intent unlawfully and maliciously to
+kill and murder him, the said Andrew Johnson.
+
+And in the further prosecution of the conspiracy aforesaid and of its
+murderous and treasonable purposes aforesaid, on the nights of the 13th
+and 14th of April, A.D. 1865, at Washington City, and within the
+military department and military lines aforesaid, the said Michael
+O'Laughlin did then and there lie in wait for Ulysses S. Grant, then
+Lieutenant-General and commander of the armies of the United States as
+aforesaid, with intent then and there to kill and murder the said
+Ulysses S. Grant.
+
+And in further prosecution of said conspiracy, the said Samuel Arnold
+did, within the military department and military lines aforesaid, on or
+before the 6th day of March, A.D. 1865, and on divers other days and
+times between that day and the 15th day of April, A.D. 1865, combine,
+conspire with, and aid, counsel, abet, comfort, and support the said
+John Wilkes Booth, Lewis Payne, George A. Atzerodt, Michael O'Laughlin,
+and their confederates in said unlawful, murderous, and traitorous
+conspiracy and in the execution thereof, as aforesaid.
+
+And in further prosecution of the said conspiracy, Mary B. Surratt did,
+at Washington City, and within the military department and military
+lines aforesaid, on or before the 6th day of March, A.D. 1865, and on
+divers other days and times between that day and the 20th day of April,
+A.D. 1865, receive, entertain, harbor and conceal, aid and assist, the
+said John Wilkes Booth, David B. Herold, Lewis Payne, John H. Surratt,
+Michael O'Laughlin, George A. Atzerodt, Samuel Arnold, and their
+confederates, with knowledge of the murderous and traitorous conspiracy
+aforesaid, and with intent to aid, abet, and assist them in the
+execution thereof and in escaping from justice after the murder of the
+said Abraham Lincoln, as aforesaid.
+
+And in further prosecution of said conspiracy, the said Samuel A. Mudd
+did, at Washington City, and within the military department and military
+lines aforesaid, on or before the 6th day of March, A.D. 1865, and on
+divers other days and times between that day and the 20th day of April,
+A.D. 1865, advise, encourage, receive, entertain, harbor and conceal,
+aid and assist, the said John Wilkes Booth, David B. Herold, Lewis
+Payne, John H. Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, George A. Atzerodt, Mary B.
+Surratt, and Samuel Arnold, and their confederates, with knowledge of
+the murderous and traitorous conspiracy aforesaid, and with intent to
+aid, abet, and assist them in the execution thereof and in escaping from
+justice after the murder of the said Abraham Lincoln, in pursuance of
+said conspiracy, in manner aforesaid.
+
+To which charge and specification the accused, David B. Herold, G.A.
+Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Mary B. Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward
+Spangler, Samuel Arnold, and Samuel A. Mudd, pleaded "not guilty."
+
+
+FINDINGS AND SENTENCES.
+
+1. In the case of David B. Herold, the commission, having maturely
+considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+
+Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and
+conspiring with Edward Spangler; as to which part thereof, not guilty."
+
+Of the charge, "Guilty, except the words of the charge that he combined,
+confederated, and conspired with Edward Spangler; as to which part of
+said charge, not guilty."
+
+And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said David B.
+Herold, "To be hanged by the neck until he be dead, at such time and
+place as the President of the United States shall direct; two-thirds of
+the members of the commission concurring therein."
+
+2. In the case of George A. Atzerodt, the commission, having maturely
+considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+
+Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and
+conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring
+with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said George A.
+Atzerodt, "To be hung by the neck until he be dead, at such time and
+place as the President of the United States shall direct; two-thirds of
+the members of the commission concurring therein."
+
+3. In the case of Lewis Payne, the commission, having maturely
+considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+
+Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and
+conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring
+with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Lewis Payne,
+"To be hung by the neck until he be dead, at such time and place as the
+President of the United States shall direct; two-thirds of the members
+of the commission concurring therein."
+
+4. In the case of Mary B. Surratt, the commission, having maturely
+considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+
+Of the specification, "Guilty, except as to receiving, entertaining,
+harboring, and concealing Samuel Arnold and Michael O'Laughlin, and
+except as to combining, confederating, and conspiring with Edward
+Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+Of the charge, "Guilty, except as to combining, confederating, and
+conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+And the commission does therefore sentence her, the said Mary B.
+Surratt, "To be hung by the neck until she be dead, at such time and
+place as the President of the United States shall direct; two-thirds of
+the members of the commission concurring therein."
+
+5. In the case of Michael O'Laughlin, the commission, having maturely
+considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+
+Of the specification, "Guilty, except the words thereof as follows: 'And
+in the further prosecution of the conspiracy aforesaid and of its
+murderous and treasonable purposes aforesaid, on the nights of the 13th
+and 14th of April, A.D. 1865, at Washington City, and within the
+military department and military lines aforesaid, the said Michael
+O'Laughlin did then and there lie in wait for Ulysses S. Grant, then
+Lieutenant-General and commander of the armies of the United States,
+with intent then and there to kill and murder the said Ulysses S.
+Grant;' of said words, not guilty; and except combining, confederating,
+and conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring
+with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Michael
+O'Laughlin, "To be imprisoned at hard labor for life at such
+penitentiary as the President of the United States shall designate."
+
+6. In the case of Edward Spangler, the commission, having maturely
+considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+
+Of the specification, "Not guilty, except as to the words, 'The said
+Edward Spangler, on said 14th day of April, A.D. 1865, at about the same
+hour of that day as aforesaid, within said military department and the
+military lines aforesaid, did aid and abet him (meaning John Wilkes
+Booth) in making his escape after the said Abraham Lincoln had been
+murdered in manner aforesaid;' and of these words, guilty."
+
+Of the charge, "Not guilty, but guilty of having feloniously and
+traitorously aided and abetted John Wilkes Booth in making his escape
+after having killed and murdered Abraham Lincoln, President of the
+United States, he the said Edward Spangler, at the time of aiding and
+abetting as aforesaid, well knowing that the said Abraham Lincoln,
+President as aforesaid, had been murdered by the said John Wilkes Booth,
+as aforesaid."
+
+And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Edward
+Spangler, "To be confined at hard labor for the period of six years at
+such penitentiary as the President of the United States shall
+designate."
+
+7. In the case of Samuel Arnold, the commission, having maturely
+considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+
+Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and
+conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring
+with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Samuel Arnold,
+"To be imprisoned at hard labor for life at such penitentiary as the
+President of the United States shall designate."
+
+8. In the case of Samuel A. Mudd, the commission, having maturely
+considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+
+Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and
+conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty; and except
+receiving, entertaining, harboring, and concealing Lewis Payne, John H.
+Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, George A. Atzerodt, Mary E. Surratt, and
+Samuel Arnold; of this, not guilty."
+
+Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring
+with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Samuel A. Mudd,
+"To be imprisoned at hard labor for life at such penitentiary as the
+President of the United States shall designate."
+
+
+II. The proceedings, findings, and sentences in the foregoing cases
+having been submitted to the President of the United States, the
+following are his orders:
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _July 5, 1865_.
+
+The foregoing sentences in the cases of David E. Herold, George A.
+Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward Spangler, Samuel
+Arnold, Mary E. Surratt, and Samuel A. Mudd are hereby approved, and it
+is ordered that the sentences in the cases of David E. Herold, G.A.
+Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, and Mary E. Surratt be carried into execution by
+the proper military authority, under the direction of the Secretary of
+War, on the 7th day of July, 1865, between the hours of 10 o'clock a.m.
+and 2 o'clock p.m. of that day. It is further ordered that the prisoners
+Samuel Arnold, Samuel A. Mudd, Edward Spangler, and Michael O'Laughlin
+be confined at hard labor in the penitentiary at Albany, N.Y., during
+the period designated in their respective sentences.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON, _President_.
+
+
+III. Major-General W.S. Hancock, United States Volunteers, commanding
+Middle Military Division, is commanded to cause the foregoing sentences
+in the cases of David E. Herold, G.A. Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, and Mary E.
+Surratt to be duly executed in accordance with the President's order.
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _July 15, 1865_.
+
+IV. The Executive order dated July 5, 1865, approving the sentences in
+the cases of Samuel Arnold, Samuel A. Mudd, Edward Spangler, and Michael
+O'Laughlin, is hereby modified so as to direct that the said Arnold,
+Mudd, Spangler, and O'Laughlin be confined at hard labor in the military
+prison at Dry Tortugas, Florida, during the period designated in their
+respective sentences.
+
+The Adjutant-General of the Army is directed to issue orders for the
+said prisoners to be transported to the Dry Tortugas, and to be confined
+there accordingly.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON, _President_.
+
+
+V. Major-General W.S. Hancock, United States Volunteers, commanding
+Middle Military Division, is commanded to send the prisoners Samuel
+Arnold, Samuel A. Mudd, Edward Spangler, and Michael O'Laughlin, under
+charge of a commissioned officer, with a sufficient guard, to the Dry
+Tortugas, Florida, where they will be delivered to the commanding
+officer of the post, who is hereby ordered to confine the said Arnold,
+Mudd, Spangler, and O'Laughlin at hard labor during the periods
+designated in their respective sentences.
+
+VI. The military commission of which Major-General David Hunter is
+president is hereby dissolved.
+
+By command of the President of the United States:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND, _Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _August 7, 1865_.
+
+An impression seems to prevail that the interests of persons having
+business with the executive government require that they should have
+personal interviews with the President or heads of Departments. As this
+impression is believed to be entirely unfounded, it is expected that
+applications relating to such business will hereafter be made in writing
+to the head of that Department to which the business may have been
+assigned by law. Those applications will in their order be considered
+and disposed of by heads of Departments, subject to the approval of the
+President. This order is made necessary by the unusual numbers of
+persons visiting the seat of Government. It is impracticable to grant
+personal interviews to all of them, and desirable that there should be
+no invidious distinction in this respect. Similar business of persons
+who can not conveniently leave their homes must be neglected if the time
+of the executive officers here is engrossed by personal interviews with
+others.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+[From the Daily National Intelligencer, August 26, 1865.]
+
+DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
+
+_Washington, August 25, 1865_.
+
+Paroled prisoners asking passports as citizens of the United States, and
+against whom no special charges may be pending, will be furnished with
+passports upon application therefor to the Department of State in the
+usual form. Such passports will, however, be issued upon the condition
+that the applicants do not return to the United States without leave of
+the President. Other persons implicated in the rebellion who may wish to
+go abroad will apply to the Department of State for passports, and the
+applications will be disposed of according to the merits of the several
+cases.
+
+By the President of the United States:
+
+WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE OFFICE, _September 7, 1865_.
+
+_It is hereby ordered_, That so much of the Executive order bearing date
+the 7th [2d] day of June, 1865, as made it the duty of all officers
+of the Treasury Department, military officers, and all others in the
+service of the United States to turn over to the authorized officers
+of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands all funds
+collected by tax or otherwise for the benefit of refugees or freedmen,
+or accruing from abandoned lands or property set apart for their use,
+be, and the same is hereby, suspended.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON,
+
+_President_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 138.
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, September 16, 1865_.
+
+To provide for the transportation required by the Bureau of Refugees,
+Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands--
+
+_It is ordered_, That upon the requisition of the Commissioner or the
+assistant commissioners of the Bureau transportation be furnished such
+destitute refugees and freedmen as are dependent upon the Government for
+support to points where they can procure employment and subsistence and
+support themselves, and thus relieve the Government, provided such
+transportation be confined by assistant commissioners within the limits
+of their jurisdiction.
+
+Second. Free transportation on Government transports and United States
+military railroads will be furnished to such teachers only of refugees
+and freedmen, and persons laboring voluntarily in behalf of refugees and
+freedmen, as may be duly accredited by the Commissioner or assistant
+commissioners of the Bureau.
+
+All stores and schoolbooks necessary to the subsistence, comfort, and
+instruction of dependent refugees and freedmen may be transported at
+Government expense, when such stores and books shall be turned over to
+the officers of the Quartermaster's Department, with the approval of the
+assistant commissioners, Commissioner, or department commander, the same
+to be transported as public stores, consigned to the quartermaster of
+the post to which they are destined, who, after inspection, will turn
+them over to the assistant commissioners or Bureau agent for whom they
+are intended for distribution.
+
+All army officers traveling on public duty, under the orders of the
+commissioners, within the limits of their respective jurisdictions, will
+be entitled to mileage or actual cost of transportation, according to
+the revised Army Regulations, when transportation has not been furnished
+them by the Quartermaster's Department.
+
+By order of the President of the United States:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_
+
+
+
+SPECIAL ORDERS, NO. 503.
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, September 19, 1865_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It has been represented to the Department that commanders of
+military posts and districts in Georgia, and particularly Brevet
+Brigadier-General C.H. Grosvenor, provost-marshal-general, and Brevet
+Major-General King, commanding in the district of Augusta, have assumed
+to decide questions of contracts and conflicting claims of property
+between individuals, and to order the delivery, surrender, or transfer
+of property and documents of title as between private persons, in which
+the Government is not concerned.
+
+All such acts and proceedings on the part of military authorities in
+said State are declared by the President to be without authority and
+null and void.
+
+All military commanders and authorities within said State are strictly
+ordered to abstain from any such acts, and not in any way to interfere
+with or assume to adjudicate any right, title, or claim of property
+between private individuals, and to suspend all action upon any orders
+heretofore made in respect to the ownership or delivery of property and
+the validity of contracts between private persons.
+
+They are also forbidden from being directly or indirectly interested in
+any sales or contracts for cotton or other products of said State, and
+from using or suffering to be used any Government transportation for the
+transporting of cotton or other products of said State for or in behalf
+of private persons on any pretense whatever.
+
+Military officers have no authority to interfere in any way in questions
+of sale or contracts of any kind between individuals or to decide any
+question of property between them without special instructions from this
+Department authorizing their action, and the usurpation of such power
+will be treated as a grave military offense.
+
+Major-General Steedman, commanding the Department of Georgia,
+is specially charged with the enforcement of this order, and
+directed to make report as to any acts, proceedings, or orders
+of Brevet Major-General King and Brevet Brigadier-General Grosvenor,
+provost-marshal-general, in regard to contracts or conflicting claims
+of individuals in relation to cotton or other products, and to suspend
+all action upon any such orders until further instructions.
+
+By order of the President of the United States.
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 145.
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, October 9, 1865_.
+
+Whereas certain tracts of land, situated on the coast of South Carolina,
+Georgia, and Florida, at the time for the most part vacant, were set
+apart by Major-General W. T. Sherman's special field order No. 15 for
+the benefit of refugees and freedmen that had been congregated by the
+operations of war or had been left to take care of themselves by their
+former owners; and
+
+Whereas an expectation was thereby created that they would be able to
+retain possession of said lands; and
+
+Whereas a large number of the former owners are earnestly soliciting the
+restoration of the same and promising to absorb the labor and care for
+the freedmen:
+
+_It is ordered_, That Major-General Howard, Commissioner of the
+Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, proceed to the
+several above-named States and endeavor to effect an arrangement
+mutually satisfactory to the freedmen and the landowners, and make
+report. And in case a mutually satisfactory arrangement can be effected,
+he is duly empowered and directed to issue such orders as may become
+necessary, after a full and careful investigation of the interests of
+the parties concerned.
+
+By order of the President of the United States:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE OFFICE, _October 11, 1865_.
+
+Whereas the following-named persons, to wit, John A. Campbell, of
+Alabama; John H. Reagan, of Texas; Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia;
+George A. Trenholm, of South Carolina, and Charles Clark, of
+Mississippi, lately engaged in rebellion against the United States
+Government, who are now in close custody, have made their submission to
+the authority of the United States and applied to the President for
+pardon under his proclamation; and
+
+Whereas the authority of the Federal Government is sufficiently restored
+in the aforesaid States to admit of the enlargement of said persons from
+close custody:
+
+_It is ordered_, That they be released on giving their respective
+paroles to appear at such time and place as the President may designate
+to answer any charge that he may direct to be preferred against them,
+and also that they will respectively abide until further orders in the
+places herein designated, and not depart therefrom, to wit:
+
+John A. Campbell, in the State of Alabama; John H. Reagan, in the State
+of Texas; Alexander H. Stephens, in the State of Georgia; George A.
+Trenholm, in the State of South Carolina; and Charles Clark, in the
+State of Mississippi. And if the President should grant his pardon to
+any of said persons, such person's parole will be thereby discharged.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON,
+
+_President_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE OFFICE,
+
+_Washington City, November 11, 1865_.
+
+_Ordered_, That the civil and military agents of the Government transfer
+to the assistant commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and
+Abandoned Lands for Alabama the use and custody of all real estate,
+buildings, or other property, except cotton, seized or held by them in
+that State as belonging to the late rebel government, together with
+all such funds as may arise or have arisen from the rent, sale, or
+disposition of such property which have not been finally paid into
+the Treasury of the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON,
+
+_President_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, N0. 164.
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, November 24, 1865_.
+
+_Ordered_, That--
+
+I. All persons claiming reward for the apprehension of John Wilkes
+Booth, Lewis Payne, G.A. Atzerodt, and David E. Herold, and Jefferson
+Davis, or either of them, are notified to file their claims and their
+proofs with the Adjutant-General for final adjudication by the special
+commission appointed to award and determine upon the validity of such
+claims before the 1st day of January next, after which time no claims
+will be received.
+
+II. The rewards offered for the arrest of Jacob Thompson, Beverley
+Tucker, George N. Sanders, William G. Cleary, and John H. Surratt are
+revoked.
+
+By order of the President of the United States:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+
+FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE.
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 4, 1865_.
+
+_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+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.
+His removal cast upon me a heavier weight of cares than ever devolved
+upon any one of his predecessors. To fulfill my trust I need the support
+and confidence of all who are associated with me in the various
+departments of Government and the support and confidence of the people.
+There is but one way in which I can hope to gain their necessary aid.
+It is to state with frankness the principles which guide my conduct, and
+their application to the present state of affairs, well aware that the
+efficiency of my labors will in a great measure depend on your and their
+undivided approbation.
+
+The Union of the United States of America was intended by its authors to
+last as long as the States themselves shall last. "The Union shall be
+perpetual" are the words of the Confederation. "To form a more perfect
+Union," by an ordinance of the people of the United States, is the
+declared purpose of the Constitution. The hand of Divine Providence was
+never more plainly visible in the affairs of men than in the framing and
+the adopting of that instrument. It is beyond comparison the greatest
+event in American history, and, indeed, is it not of all events in
+modern times the most pregnant with consequences for every people of the
+earth? The members of the Convention which prepared it brought to their
+work the experience of the Confederation, of their several States, and
+of other republican governments, old and new; but they needed and they
+obtained a wisdom superior to experience. And when for its validity it
+required the approval of a people that occupied a large part of a
+continent and acted separately in many distinct conventions, what is
+more wonderful than that, after earnest contention and long discussion,
+all feelings and all opinions were ultimately drawn in one way to its
+support? The Constitution to which life was thus imparted contains
+within itself ample resources for its own preservation. It has power
+to enforce the laws, punish treason, and insure domestic tranquillity.
+In case of the usurpation of the government of a State by one man or
+an oligarchy, it becomes a duty of the United States to make good the
+guaranty to that State of a republican form of government, and so to
+maintain the homogeneousness of all. Does the lapse of time reveal
+defects? A simple mode of amendment is provided in the Constitution
+itself, so that its conditions can always be made to conform to the
+requirements of advancing civilization. No room is allowed even for the
+thought of a possibility of its coming to an end. And these powers of
+self-preservation have always been asserted in their complete integrity
+by every patriotic Chief Magistrate--by Jefferson and Jackson not less
+than by Washington and Madison. The parting advice of the Father of his
+Country, while yet President, to the people of the United States was
+that the free Constitution, which was the work of their hands, might be
+sacredly maintained; and the inaugural words of President Jefferson
+held up "the preservation of the General Government in its whole
+constitutional vigor as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety
+abroad." The Constitution is the work of "the people of the United
+States," and it should be as indestructible as the people.
+
+It is not strange that the framers of the Constitution, which had no
+model in the past, should not have fully comprehended the excellence of
+their own work. Fresh from a struggle against arbitrary power, many
+patriots suffered from harassing fears of an absorption of the State
+governments by the General Government, and many from a dread that the
+States would break away from their orbits. But the very greatness
+of our country should allay the apprehension of encroachments by the
+General Government, The subjects that come unquestionably within its
+jurisdiction are so numerous that it must ever naturally refuse to be
+embarrassed by questions that lie beyond it. Were it otherwise the
+Executive would sink beneath the burden, the channels of justice would
+be choked, legislation would be obstructed by excess, so that there is
+a greater temptation to exercise some of the functions of the General
+Government through the States than to trespass on their rightful sphere.
+The "absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority" was at the
+beginning of the century enforced by Jefferson as "the vital principle
+of republics;" and the events of the last four years have established,
+we will hope forever, that there lies no appeal to force.
+
+The maintenance of the Union brings with it "the support of the State
+governments in all their rights," but it is not one of the rights of any
+State government to renounce its own place in the Union or to nullify
+the laws of the Union. The largest liberty is to be maintained in the
+discussion of the acts of the Federal Government, but there is no appeal
+from its laws except to the various branches of that Government itself,
+or to the people, who grant to the members of the legislative and of the
+executive departments no tenure but a limited one, and in that manner
+always retain the powers of redress.
+
+"The sovereignty of the States" is the language of the Confederacy, and
+not the language of the Constitution. The latter contains the emphatic
+words--
+
+  This Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made
+  in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made or which shall be made under
+  the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the
+  land, and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in
+  the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.
+
+
+Certainly the Government of the United States is a limited government,
+and so is every State government a limited government. With us this idea
+of limitation spreads through every form of administration--general,
+State, and municipal--and rests on the great distinguishing principle of
+the recognition of the rights of man. The ancient republics absorbed
+the individual in the state--prescribed his religion and controlled
+his activity. The American system rests on the assertion of the equal
+right of every man to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, to
+freedom of conscience, to the culture and exercise of all his faculties.
+As a consequence the State government is limited--as to the General
+Government in the interest of union, as to the individual citizen in the
+interest of freedom.
+
+States, with proper limitations of power, are essential to the existence
+of the Constitution of the United States. At the very commencement, when
+we assumed a place among the powers of the earth, the Declaration of
+Independence was adopted by States; so also were the Articles of
+Confederation; and when "the people of the United States" ordained and
+established the Constitution it was the assent of the States, one by
+one, which gave it vitality. In the event, too, of any amendment to the
+Constitution, the proposition of Congress needs the confirmation of
+States. Without States one great branch of the legislative government
+would be wanting. And if we look beyond the letter of the Constitution
+to the character of our country, its capacity for comprehending within
+its jurisdiction a vast continental empire is due to the system of
+States. The best security for the perpetual existence of the States is
+the "supreme authority" of the Constitution of the United States. The
+perpetuity of the Constitution brings with it the perpetuity of the
+States; their mutual relation makes us what we are, and in our political
+system their connection is indissoluble. The whole can not exist without
+the parts, nor the parts without the whole. So long as the Constitution
+of the United States endures, the States will endure. The destruction of
+the one is the destruction of the other; the preservation of the one is
+the preservation of the other.
+
+I have thus explained my views of the mutual relations of the
+Constitution and the States, because they unfold the principles on
+which I have sought to solve the momentous questions and overcome the
+appalling difficulties that met me at the very commencement of my
+Administration. It has been my steadfast object to escape from the
+sway of momentary passions and to derive a healing policy from the
+fundamental and unchanging principles of the Constitution.
+
+I found the States suffering from the effects of a civil war. Resistance
+to the General Government appeared to have exhausted itself. The United
+States had recovered possession of their forts and arsenals, and their
+armies were in the occupation of every State which had attempted to
+secede. Whether the territory within the limits of those States should
+be held as conquered territory, under military authority emanating from
+the President as the head of the Army, was the first question that
+presented itself for decision.
+
+Now military governments, established for an indefinite period, would
+have offered no security for the early suppression of discontent, would
+have divided the people into the vanquishers and the vanquished, and
+would have envenomed hatred rather than have restored affection. Once
+established, no precise limit to their continuance was conceivable. They
+would have occasioned an incalculable and exhausting expense. Peaceful
+emigration to and from that portion of the country is one of the best
+means that can be thought of for the restoration of harmony, and that
+emigration would have been prevented; for what emigrant from abroad,
+what industrious citizen at home, would place himself willingly under
+military rule? The chief persons who would have followed in the train of
+the Army would have been dependents on the General Government or men who
+expected profit from the miseries of their erring fellow-citizens. The
+powers of patronage and rule which would have been exercised, under the
+President, over a vast and populous and naturally wealthy region are
+greater than, unless under extreme necessity, I should be willing to
+intrust to any one man. They are such as, for myself, I could never,
+unless on occasions of great emergency, consent to exercise. The willful
+use of such powers, if continued through a period of years, would have
+endangered the purity of the general administration and the liberties of
+the States which remained loyal.
+
+Besides, the policy of military rule over a conquered territory would
+have implied that the States whose inhabitants may have taken part in
+the rebellion had by the act of those inhabitants ceased to exist. But
+the true theory is that all pretended acts of secession were from the
+beginning null and void. The States can not commit treason nor screen
+the individual citizens who may have committed treason any more than
+they can make valid treaties or engage in lawful commerce with any
+foreign power. The States attempting to secede placed themselves in a
+condition where their vitality was impaired, but not extinguished; their
+functions suspended, but not destroyed.
+
+But if any State neglects or refuses to perform its offices there is the
+more need that the General Government should maintain all its authority
+and as soon as practicable resume the exercise of all its functions.
+On this principle I have acted, and have gradually and quietly, and by
+almost imperceptible steps, sought to restore the rightful energy of the
+General Government and of the States. To that end provisional governors
+have been appointed for the States, conventions called, governors
+elected, legislatures assembled, and Senators and Representatives chosen
+to the Congress of the United States. At the same time the courts of the
+United States, as far as could be done, have been reopened, so that the
+laws of the United States may be enforced through their agency. The
+blockade has been removed and the custom-houses reestablished in ports
+of entry, so that the revenue of the United States may be collected. The
+Post-Office Department renews its ceaseless activity, and the General
+Government is thereby enabled to communicate promptly with its officers
+and agents. The courts bring security to persons and property; the
+opening of the ports invites the restoration of industry and commerce;
+the post-office renews the facilities of social intercourse and of
+business. And is it not happy for us all that the restoration of each
+one of these functions of the General Government brings with it a
+blessing to the States over which they are extended? Is it not a sure
+promise of harmony and renewed attachment to the Union that after all
+that has happened the return of the General Government is known only as
+a beneficence?
+
+I know very well that this policy is attended with some risk; that for
+its success it requires at least the acquiescence of the States which it
+concerns; that it implies an invitation to those States, by renewing
+their allegiance to the United States, to resume their functions as
+States of the Union. But it is a risk that must be taken. In the choice
+of difficulties it is the smallest risk; and to diminish and if possible
+to remove all danger, I have felt it incumbent on me to assert one other
+power of the General Government--the power of pardon. As no State can
+throw a defense over the crime of treason, the power of pardon is
+exclusively vested in the executive government of the United States. In
+exercising that power I have taken every precaution to connect it with
+the clearest recognition of the binding force of the laws of the United
+States and an unqualified acknowledgment of the great social change of
+condition in regard to slavery which has grown out of the war.
+
+The next step which I have taken to restore the constitutional relations
+of the States has been an invitation to them to participate in the high
+office of amending the Constitution. Every patriot must wish for a
+general amnesty at the earliest epoch consistent with public safety. For
+this great end there is need of a concurrence of all opinions and the
+spirit of mutual conciliation. All parties in the late terrible conflict
+must work together in harmony. It is not too much to ask, in the name of
+the whole people, that on the one side the plan of restoration shall
+proceed in conformity with a willingness to cast the disorders of the
+past into oblivion, and that on the other the evidence of sincerity in
+the future maintenance of the Union shall be put beyond any doubt by the
+ratification of the proposed amendment to the Constitution, which
+provides for the abolition of slavery forever within the limits of our
+country. So long as the adoption of this amendment is delayed, so long
+will doubt and jealousy and uncertainty prevail. This is the measure
+which will efface the sad memory of the past: this is the measure which
+will most certainly call population and capital and security to those
+parts of the Union that need them most. Indeed, it is not too much to
+ask of the States which are now resuming their places in the family of
+the Union to give this pledge of perpetual loyalty and peace. Until it
+is done the past, however much we may desire it, will not be forgotten.
+The adoption of the amendment reunites us beyond all power of
+disruption; it heals the wound that is still imperfectly closed; it
+removes slavery, the element which has so long perplexed and divided the
+country; it makes of us once more a united people, renewed and
+strengthened, bound more than ever to mutual affection and support.
+
+The amendment to the Constitution being adopted, it would remain for the
+States whose powers have been so long in abeyance to resume their places
+in the two branches of the National Legislature, and thereby complete
+the work of restoration. Here it is for you, fellow-citizens of the
+Senate, and for you, fellow-citizens of the House of Representatives,
+to judge, each of you for yourselves, of the elections, returns, and
+qualifications of your own members.
+
+The full assertion of the powers of the General Government requires the
+holding of circuit courts of the United States within the districts
+where their authority has been interrupted. In the present posture of
+our public affairs strong objections have been urged to holding those
+courts in any of the States where the rebellion has existed; and it was
+ascertained by inquiry that the circuit court of the United States would
+not be held within the district of Virginia during the autumn or early
+winter, nor until Congress should have "an opportunity to consider and
+act on the whole subject." To your deliberations the restoration of
+this branch of the civil authority of the United States is therefore
+necessarily referred, with the hope that early provision will be made
+for the resumption of all its functions. It is manifest that treason,
+most flagrant in character, has been committed. Persons who are charged
+with its commission should have fair and impartial trials in the highest
+civil tribunals of the country, in order that the Constitution and the
+laws may be fully vindicated, the truth clearly established and affirmed
+that treason is a crime, that traitors should be punished and the
+offense made infamous, and, at the same time, that the question may be
+judicially settled, finally and forever, that no State of its own will
+has the right to renounce its place in the Union.
+
+The relations of the General Government toward the 4,000,000 inhabitants
+whom the war has called into freedom have engaged my most serious
+consideration. On the propriety of attempting to make the freed-men
+electors by the proclamation of the Executive I took for my counsel the
+Constitution itself, the interpretations of that instrument by its
+authors and their contemporaries, and recent legislation by Congress.
+When at the first movement toward independence, the Congress of the
+United States instructed the several States to institute governments of
+their own, they left each State to decide for itself the conditions for
+the enjoyment of the elective franchise. During the period of the
+Confederacy there continued to exist a very great diversity in the
+qualifications of electors in the several States, and even within a
+State a distinction of qualifications prevailed with regard to the
+officers who were to be chosen. The Constitution of the United States
+recognizes these diversities when it enjoins that in the choice of
+members of the House of Representatives of the United States "the
+electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for
+electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature." After
+the formation of the Constitution it remained, as before, the uniform
+usage for each State to enlarge the body of its electors according to
+its own judgment, and under this system one State after another has
+proceeded to increase the number of its electors, until now universal
+suffrage, or something very near it, is the general rule. So fixed was
+this reservation of power in the habits of the people and so
+unquestioned has been the interpretation of the Constitution that during
+the civil war the late President never harbored the purpose--certainly
+never avowed the purpose--of disregarding it; and in the acts of
+Congress during that period nothing can be found which, during the
+continuance of hostilities, much less after their close, would have
+sanctioned any departure by the Executive from a policy which has so
+uniformly obtained. Moreover, a concession of the elective franchise to
+the freedmen by act of the President of the United States must have been
+extended to all colored men, wherever found, and so must have
+established a change of suffrage in the Northern, Middle, and Western
+States, not less than in the Southern and Southwestern. Such an act
+would have created a new class of voters, and would have been an
+assumption of power by the President which nothing in the Constitution
+or laws of the United States would have warranted.
+
+On the other hand, every danger of conflict is avoided when the
+settlement of the question is referred to the several States. They can,
+each for itself, decide on the measure, and whether it is to be adopted
+at once and absolutely or introduced gradually and with conditions. In
+my judgment the freedmen, if they show patience and manly virtues, will
+sooner obtain a participation in the elective franchise through the
+States than through the General Government, even if it had power to
+intervene. When the tumult of emotions that have been raised by the
+suddenness of the social change shall have subsided, it may prove that
+they will receive the kindest usage from some of those on whom they have
+heretofore most closely depended.
+
+But while I have no doubt that now, after the close of the war, it
+is not competent for the General Government to extend the elective
+franchise in the several States, it is equally clear that good faith
+requires the security of the freedmen in their liberty and their
+property, their right to labor, and their right to claim the just return
+of their labor. I can not too strongly urge a dispassionate treatment
+of this subject, which should be carefully kept aloof from all party
+strife. We must equally avoid hasty assumptions of any natural
+impossibility for the two races to live side by side in a state of
+mutual benefit and good will. The experiment involves us in no
+inconsistency; let us, then, go on and make that experiment in good
+faith, and not be too easily disheartened. The country is in need of
+labor, and the freedmen are in need of employment, culture, and
+protection. While their right of voluntary migration and expatriation
+is not to be questioned, I would not advise their forced removal and
+colonization. Let us rather encourage them to honorable and useful
+industry, where it may be beneficial to themselves and to the country;
+and, instead of hasty anticipations of the certainty of failure,
+let there be nothing wanting to the fair trial of the experiment.
+The change in their condition is the substitution of labor by contract
+for the status of slavery. The freedman can not fairly be accused of
+unwillingness to work so long as a doubt remains about his freedom
+of choice in his pursuits and the certainty of his recovering his
+stipulated wages. In this the interests of the employer and the employed
+coincide. The employer desires in his workmen spirit and alacrity, and
+these can be permanently secured in no other way. And if the one ought
+to be able to enforce the contract, so ought the other. The public
+interest will be best promoted if the several States will provide
+adequate protection and remedies for the freedmen. Until this is in some
+way accomplished there is no chance for the advantageous use of their
+labor, and the blame of ill success will not rest on them.
+
+I know that sincere philanthropy is earnest for the immediate
+realization of its remotest aims; but time is always an element in
+reform. It is one of the greatest acts on record to have brought
+4,000,000 people into freedom. The career of free industry must be
+fairly opened to them, and then their future prosperity and condition
+must, after all, rest mainly on themselves. If they fail, and so perish
+away, let us be careful that the failure shall not be attributable to
+any denial of justice. In all that relates to the destiny of the
+freedmen we need not be too anxious to read the future; many incidents
+which, from a speculative point of view, might raise alarm will quietly
+settle themselves. Now that slavery is at an end, or near its end, the
+greatness of its evil in the point of view of public economy becomes
+more and more apparent. Slavery was essentially a monopoly of labor, and
+as such locked the States where it prevailed against the incoming of
+free industry. Where labor was the property of the capitalist, the white
+man was excluded from employment, or had but the second best chance of
+finding it; and the foreign emigrant turned away from the region where
+his condition would be so precarious. With the destruction of the
+monopoly free labor will hasten from all parts of the civilized world to
+assist in developing various and immeasurable resources which have
+hitherto lain dormant. The eight or nine States nearest the Gulf of
+Mexico have a soil of exuberant fertility, a climate friendly to long
+life, and can sustain a denser population than is found as yet in any
+part of our country. And the future influx of population to them will
+be mainly from the North or from the most cultivated nations in Europe.
+From the sufferings that have attended them during our late struggle let
+us look away to the future, which is sure to be laden for them with
+greater prosperity than has ever before been known. The removal of the
+monopoly of slave labor is a pledge that those regions will be peopled
+by a numerous and enterprising population, which will vie with any in
+the Union in compactness, inventive genius, wealth, and industry.
+
+Our Government springs from and was made for the people--not the people
+for the Government. To them it owes allegiance; from them it must derive
+its courage, strength, and wisdom. But while the Government is thus
+bound to defer to the people, from whom it derives its existence, it
+should, from the very consideration of its origin, be strong in its
+power of resistance to the establishment of inequalities. Monopolies,
+perpetuities, and class legislation are contrary to the genius of free
+government, and ought not to be allowed. Here there is no room for
+favored classes or monopolies; the principle of our Government is that
+of equal laws and freedom of industry. Wherever monopoly attains a
+foothold, it is sure to be a source of danger, discord, and trouble. We
+shall but fulfill our duties as legislators by according "equal and
+exact justice to all men," special privileges to none. The Government is
+subordinate to the people; but, as the agent and representative of the
+people, it must be held superior to monopolies, which in themselves
+ought never to be granted, and which, where they exist, must be
+subordinate and yield to the Government.
+
+The Constitution confers on Congress the right to regulate commerce
+among the several States. It is of the first necessity, for the
+maintenance of the Union, that that commerce should be free and
+unobstructed. No State can be justified in any device to tax the transit
+of travel and commerce between States. The position of many States is
+such that if they were allowed to take advantage of it for purposes of
+local revenue the commerce between States might be injuriously burdened,
+or even virtually prohibited. It is best, while the country is still
+young and while the tendency to dangerous monopolies of this kind is
+still feeble, to use the power of Congress so as to prevent any selfish
+impediment to the free circulation of men and merchandise. A tax on
+travel and merchandise in their transit constitutes one of the worst
+forms of monopoly, and the evil is increased if coupled with a denial of
+the choice of route. When the vast extent of our country is considered,
+it is plain that every obstacle to the free circulation of commerce
+between the States ought to be sternly guarded against by appropriate
+legislation within the limits of the Constitution.
+
+The report of the Secretary of the Interior explains the condition of
+the public lands, the transactions of the Patent Office and the Pension
+Bureau, the management of our Indian affairs, the progress made in the
+construction of the Pacific Railroad, and furnishes information in
+reference to matters of local interest in the District of Columbia. It
+also presents evidence of the successful operation of the homestead act,
+under the provisions of which 1,160,533 acres of the public lands were
+entered during the last fiscal year--more than one-fourth of the whole
+number of acres sold or otherwise disposed of during that period. It is
+estimated that the receipts derived from this source are sufficient to
+cover the expenses incident to the survey and disposal of the lands
+entered under this act, and that payments in cash to the extent of from
+40 to 50 per cent will be made by settlers who may thus at any time
+acquire title before the expiration of the period at which it would
+otherwise vest. The homestead policy was established only after long and
+earnest resistance; experience proves its wisdom. The lands in the hands
+of industrious settlers, whose labor creates wealth and contributes to
+the public resources, are worth more to the United States than if they
+had been reserved as a solitude for future purchasers.
+
+The lamentable events of the last four years and the sacrifices made by
+the gallant men of our Army and Navy have swelled the records of the
+Pension Bureau to an unprecedented extent. On the 30th day of June last
+the total number of pensioners was 85,986, requiring for their annual
+pay, exclusive of expenses, the sum of $8,023,445. The number of
+applications that have been allowed since that date will require a large
+increase of this amount for the next fiscal year, The means for the
+payment of the stipends due under existing laws to our disabled soldiers
+and sailors and to the families of such as have perished in the service
+of the country will no doubt be cheerfully and promptly granted.
+A grateful people will not hesitate to sanction any measures having
+for their object the relief of soldiers mutilated and families made
+fatherless in the efforts to preserve our national existence.
+
+The report of the Postmaster-General presents an encouraging exhibit
+of the operations of the Post-Office Department during the year. The
+revenues of the past year, from the loyal States alone, exceeded the
+maximum annual receipts from all the States previous to the rebellion
+in the sum of $6,038,091; and the annual average increase of revenue
+during the last four years, compared with the revenues of the four
+years immediately preceding the rebellion, was $3,533,845. The revenues
+of the last fiscal year amounted to $14,556,158 and the expenditures
+to $13,694,728, leaving a surplus of receipts over expenditures of
+$861,430. Progress has been made in restoring the postal service in the
+Southern States. The views presented by the Postmaster-General against
+the policy of granting subsidies to the ocean mail steamship lines upon
+established routes and in favor of continuing the present system, which
+limits the compensation for ocean service to the postage earnings, are
+recommended to the careful consideration of Congress.
+
+It appears from the report of the Secretary of the Navy that while at
+the commencement of the present year there were in commission 530
+vessels of all classes and descriptions, armed with 3,000 guns and
+manned by 51,000 men, the number of vessels at present in commission is
+117, with 830 guns and 12,128 men. By this prompt reduction of the naval
+forces the expenses of the Government have been largely diminished, and
+a number of vessels purchased for naval purposes from the merchant
+marine have been returned to the peaceful pursuits of commerce. Since
+the suppression of active hostilities our foreign squadrons have been
+reestablished, and consist of vessels much more efficient than those
+employed on similar service previous to the rebellion. The suggestion
+for the enlargement of the navy-yards, and especially for the
+establishment of one in fresh water for ironclad vessels, is deserving
+of consideration, as is also the recommendation for a different location
+and more ample grounds for the Naval Academy.
+
+In the report of the Secretary of War a general summary is given of the
+military campaigns of 1864 and 1865, ending in the suppression of armed
+resistance to the national authority in the insurgent States. The
+operations of the general administrative bureaus of the War Department
+during the past year are detailed and an estimate made of the
+appropriations that will be required for military purposes in the fiscal
+year commencing the 1st day of July, 1866. The national military force
+on the 1st of May, 1865, numbered 1,000,516 men. It is proposed to
+reduce the military establishment to a peace footing, comprehending
+50,000 troops of all arms, organized so as to admit of an enlargement
+by filling up the ranks to 82,600 if the circumstances of the country
+should require an augmentation of the Army. The volunteer force has
+already been reduced by the discharge from service of over 800,000
+troops, and the Department is proceeding rapidly in the work of further
+reduction. The war estimates are reduced from $516,240,131 to
+$33,814,461, which amount, in the opinion of the Department, is adequate
+for a peace establishment. The measures of retrenchment in each bureau
+and branch of the service exhibit a diligent economy worthy of
+commendation. Reference is also made in the report to the necessity of
+providing for a uniform militia system and to the propriety of making
+suitable provision for wounded and disabled officers and soldiers.
+
+The revenue system of the country is a subject of vital interest to its
+honor and prosperity, and should command the earnest consideration of
+Congress. The Secretary of the Treasury will lay before you a full and
+detailed report of the receipts and disbursements of the last fiscal
+year, of the first quarter of the present fiscal year, of the probable
+receipts and expenditures for the other three quarters, and the
+estimates for the year following the 30th of June, 1866. I might content
+myself with a reference to that report, in which you will find all the
+information required for your deliberations and decision, but the
+paramount importance of the subject so presses itself on my own mind
+that I can not but lay before you my views of the measures which are
+required for the good character, and I might almost say for the
+existence, of this people. The life of a republic lies certainly in the
+energy, virtue, and intelligence of its citizens; but it is equally true
+that a good revenue system is the life of an organized government. I
+meet you at a time when the nation has voluntarily burdened itself with
+a debt unprecedented in our annals. Vast as is its amount, it fades away
+into nothing when compared with the countless blessings that will be
+conferred upon our country and upon man by the preservation of the
+nation's life. Now, on the first occasion of the meeting of Congress
+since the return of peace, it is of the utmost importance to inaugurate
+a just policy, which shall at once be put in motion, and which shall
+commend itself to those who come after us for its continuance. We must
+aim at nothing less than the complete effacement of the financial evils
+that necessarily followed a state of civil war. We must endeavor to
+apply the earliest remedy to the deranged state of the currency, and not
+shrink from devising a policy which, without being oppressive to the
+people, shall immediately begin to effect a reduction of the debt, and,
+if persisted in, discharge it fully within a definitely fixed number of
+years.
+
+It is our first duty to prepare in earnest for our recovery from the
+ever-increasing evils of an irredeemable currency without a sudden
+revulsion, and yet without untimely procrastination. For that end we
+must each, in our respective positions, prepare the way. I hold it the
+duty of the Executive to insist upon frugality in the expenditures, and
+a sparing economy is itself a great national resource. Of the banks to
+which authority has been given to issue notes secured by bonds of the
+United States we may require the greatest moderation and prudence, and
+the law must be rigidly enforced when its limits are exceeded. We may
+each one of us counsel our active and enterprising countrymen to be
+constantly on their guard, to liquidate debts contracted in a paper
+currency, and by conducting business as nearly as possible on a system
+of cash payments or short credits to hold themselves prepared to return
+to the standard of gold and silver. To aid our fellow-citizens in the
+prudent management of their monetary affairs, the duty devolves on us to
+diminish by law the amount of paper money now in circulation. Five years
+ago the bank-note circulation of the country amounted to not much more
+than two hundred millions; now the circulation, bank and national,
+exceeds seven hundred millions. The simple statement of the fact
+recommends more strongly than any words of mine could do the necessity
+of our restraining this expansion. The gradual reduction of the currency
+is the only measure that can save the business of the country from
+disastrous calamities, and this can be almost imperceptibly accomplished
+by gradually funding the national circulation in securities that may be
+made redeemable at the pleasure of the Government.
+
+Our debt is doubly secure--first in the actual wealth and still greater
+undeveloped resources of the country, and next in the character of our
+institutions. The most intelligent observers among political economists
+have not failed to remark that the public debt of a country is safe in
+proportion as its people are free; that the debt of a republic is the
+safest of all. Our history confirms and establishes the theory, and is,
+I firmly believe, destined to give it a still more signal illustration.
+The secret of this superiority springs not merely from the fact that in
+a republic the national obligations are distributed more widely through
+countless numbers in all classes of society; it has its root in the
+character of our laws. Here all men contribute to the public welfare and
+bear their fair share of the public burdens. During the war, under the
+impulses of patriotism, the men of the great body of the people, without
+regard to their own comparative want of wealth, thronged to our armies
+and filled our fleets of war, and held themselves ready to offer their
+lives for the public good. Now, in their turn, the property and income
+of the country should bear their just proportion of the burden of
+taxation, while in our impost system, through means of which increased
+vitality is incidentally imparted to all the industrial interests of
+the nation, the duties should be so adjusted as to fall most heavily
+on articles of luxury, leaving the necessaries of life as free from
+taxation as the absolute wants of the Government economically
+administered will justify. No favored class should demand freedom from
+assessment, and the taxes should be so distributed as not to fall unduly
+on the poor, but rather on the accumulated wealth of the country. We
+should look at the national debt just as it is--not as a national
+blessing, but as a heavy burden on the industry of the country, to be
+discharged without unnecessary delay.
+
+It is estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury that the expenditures
+for the fiscal year ending the 30th of June, 1866, will exceed the
+receipts $112,194,947. It is gratifying, however, to state that it is
+also estimated that the revenue for the year ending the 30th of June,
+1867, will exceed the expenditures in the sum of $111,682,818. This
+amount, or so much as may be deemed sufficient for the purpose, may be
+applied to the reduction of the public debt, which on the 31st day of
+October, 1865, was $2,740,854,750. Every reduction will diminish the
+total amount of interest to be paid, and so enlarge the means of still
+further reductions, until the whole shall be liquidated; and this, as
+will be seen from the estimates of the Secretary of the Treasury, may be
+accomplished by annual payments even within a period not exceeding
+thirty years. I have faith that we shall do all this within a reasonable
+time; that as we have amazed the world by the suppression of a civil war
+which was thought to be beyond the control of any government, so we
+shall equally show the superiority of our institutions by the prompt and
+faithful discharge of our national obligations.
+
+The Department of Agriculture under its present direction is
+accomplishing much in developing and utilizing the vast agricultural
+capabilities of the country, and for information respecting the details
+of its management reference is made to the annual report of the
+Commissioner.
+
+I have dwelt thus fully on our domestic affairs because of their
+transcendent importance. Under any circumstances our great extent of
+territory and variety of climate, producing almost everything that is
+necessary for the wants and even the comforts of man, make us singularly
+independent of the varying policy of foreign powers and protect us
+against every temptation to "entangling alliances," while at the present
+moment the reestablishment of harmony and the strength that comes from
+harmony will be our best security against "nations who feel power and
+forget right." For myself, it has been and it will be my constant aim to
+promote peace and amity with all foreign nations and powers, and I have
+every reason to believe that they all, without exception, are animated
+by the same disposition. Our relations with the Emperor of China, so
+recent in their origin, are most friendly. Our commerce with his
+dominions is receiving new developments, and it is very pleasing to find
+that the Government of that great Empire manifests satisfaction with our
+policy and reposes just confidence in the fairness which marks our
+intercourse. The unbroken harmony between the United States and the
+Emperor of Russia is receiving a new support from an enterprise designed
+to carry telegraphic lines across the continent of Asia, through his
+dominions, and so to connect us with all Europe by a new channel of
+intercourse. Our commerce with South America is about to receive
+encouragement by a direct line of mail steamships to the rising Empire
+of Brazil. The distinguished party of men of science who have recently
+left our country to make a scientific exploration of the natural history
+and rivers and mountain ranges of that region have received from the
+Emperor that generous welcome which was to have been expected from his
+constant friendship for the United States and his well-known zeal in
+promoting the advancement of knowledge. A hope is entertained that our
+commerce with the rich and populous countries that border the
+Mediterranean Sea may be largely increased. Nothing will be wanting on
+the part of this Government to extend the protection of our flag over
+the enterprise of our fellow-citizens. We receive from the powers in
+that region assurances of good will; and it is worthy of note that a
+special envoy has brought us messages of condolence on the death of our
+late Chief Magistrate from the Bey of Tunis, whose rule includes the old
+dominions of Carthage, on the African coast.
+
+Our domestic contest, now happily ended, has left some traces in our
+relations with one at least of the great maritime powers. The formal
+accordance of belligerent rights to the insurgent States was
+unprecedented, and has not been justified by the issue. But in the
+systems of neutrality pursued by the powers which made that concession
+there was a marked difference. The materials of war for the insurgent
+States were furnished, in a great measure, from the workshops of Great
+Britain, and British ships, manned by British subjects and prepared for
+receiving British armaments, sallied from the ports of Great Britain to
+make war on American commerce under the shelter of a commission from the
+insurgent States. These ships, having once escaped from British ports,
+ever afterwards entered them in every part of the world to refit, and so
+to renew their depredations. The consequences of this conduct were most
+disastrous to the States then in rebellion, increasing their desolation
+and misery by the prolongation of our civil contest. It had, moreover,
+the effect, to a great extent, to drive the American flag from the sea,
+and to transfer much of our shipping and our commerce to the very power
+whose subjects had created the necessity for such a change. These events
+took place before I was called to the administration of the Government.
+The sincere desire for peace by which I am animated led me to approve
+the proposal, already made, to submit the question which had thus arisen
+between the countries to arbitration. These questions are of such moment
+that they must have commanded the attention of the great powers, and are
+so interwoven with the peace and interests of every one of them as to
+have insured an impartial decision. I regret to inform you that Great
+Britain declined the arbitrament, but, on the other hand, invited us to
+the formation of a joint commission to settle mutual claims between the
+two countries, from which those for the depredations before mentioned
+should be excluded. The proposition, in that very unsatisfactory form,
+has been declined.
+
+The United States did not present the subject as an impeachment of the
+good faith of a power which was professing the most friendly
+dispositions, but as involving questions of public law of which the
+settlement is essential to the peace of nations; and though pecuniary
+reparation to their injured citizens would have followed incidentally
+on a decision against Great Britain, such compensation was not their
+primary object. They had a higher motive, and it was in the interests of
+peace and justice to establish important principles of international
+law. The correspondence will be placed before you. The ground on which
+the British minister rests his justification is, substantially, that the
+municipal law of a nation and the domestic interpretations of that law
+are the measure of its duty as a neutral, and I feel bound to declare my
+opinion before you and before the world that that justification can not
+be sustained before the tribunal of nations. At the same time, I do not
+advise to any present attempt at redress by acts of legislation. For the
+future, friendship between the two countries must rest on the basis of
+mutual justice.
+
+From the moment of the establishment of our free Constitution the
+civilized world has been convulsed by revolutions in the interests of
+democracy or of monarchy, but through all those revolutions the United
+States have wisely and firmly refused to become propagandists of
+republicanism. It is the only government suited to our condition; but
+we have never sought to impose it on others, and we have consistently
+followed the advice of Washington to recommend it only by the careful
+preservation and prudent use of the blessing. During all the intervening
+period the policy of European powers and of the United States has, on
+the whole, been harmonious. Twice, indeed, rumors of the invasion of
+some parts of America in the interest of monarchy have prevailed; twice
+my predecessors have had occasion to announce the views of this nation
+in respect to such interference. On both occasions the remonstrance of
+the United States was respected from a deep conviction on the part of
+European Governments that the system of noninterference and mutual
+abstinence from propagandism was the true rule for the two hemispheres.
+Since those times we have advanced in wealth and power, but we retain
+the same purpose to leave the nations of Europe to choose their own
+dynasties and form their own systems of government. This consistent
+moderation may justly demand a corresponding moderation. We should
+regard it as a great calamity to ourselves, to the cause of good
+government, and to the peace of the world should any European power
+challenge the American people, as it were, to the defense of
+republicanism against foreign interference. We can not foresee and are
+unwilling to consider what opportunities might present themselves, what
+combinations might offer to protect ourselves against designs inimical
+to our form of government. The United States desire to act in the
+future as they have ever acted heretofore; they never will be driven
+from that course but by the aggression of European powers, and we
+rely on the wisdom and justice of those powers to respect the system of
+noninterference which has so long been sanctioned by time, and which by
+its good results has approved itself to both continents.
+
+The correspondence between the United States and France in reference to
+questions which have become subjects of discussion between the two
+Governments will at a proper time be laid before Congress.
+
+When, on the organization of our Government under the Constitution, the
+President of the United States delivered his inaugural address to the
+two Houses of Congress, he said to them, and through them to the country
+and to mankind, that--
+
+  The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the
+  republican model of government are justly considered, perhaps, as
+  _deeply_, as _finally_, staked on the experiment intrusted to the hands
+  of the American people.
+
+
+And the House of Representatives answered Washington by the voice of
+Madison:
+
+  We adore the Invisible Hand which has led the American people, through
+  so many difficulties, to cherish a conscious responsibility for the
+  destiny of republican liberty.
+
+
+More than seventy-six years have glided away since these words were
+spoken; the United States have passed through severer trials than were
+foreseen; and now, at this new epoch in our existence as one nation,
+with our Union purified by sorrows and strengthened by conflict and
+established by the virtue of the people, the greatness of the occasion
+invites us once more to repeat with solemnity the pledges of our fathers
+to hold ourselves answerable before our fellow-men for the success of
+the republican form of government. Experience has proved its sufficiency
+in peace and in war; it has vindicated its authority through dangers and
+afflictions, and sudden and terrible emergencies, which would have
+crushed any system that had been less firmly fixed in the hearts of the
+people. At the inauguration of Washington the foreign relations of the
+country were few and its trade was repressed by hostile regulations; now
+all the civilized nations of the globe welcome our commerce, and their
+governments profess toward us amity. Then our country felt its way
+hesitatingly along an untried path, with States so little bound together
+by rapid means of communication as to be hardly known to one another,
+and with historic traditions extending over very few years; now
+intercourse between the States is swift and intimate; the experience of
+centuries has been crowded into a few generations, and has created an
+intense, indestructible nationality. Then our jurisdiction did not reach
+beyond the inconvenient boundaries of the territory which had achieved
+independence; now, through cessions of lands, first colonized by Spain
+and France, the country has acquired a more complex character, and has
+for its natural limits the chain of lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, and on
+the east and the west the two great oceans. Other nations were wasted by
+civil wars for ages before they could establish for themselves the
+necessary degree of unity; the latent conviction that our form of
+government is the best ever known to the world has enabled us to emerge
+from civil war within four years with a complete vindication of the
+constitutional authority of the General Government and with our local
+liberties and State institutions unimpaired.
+
+The throngs of emigrants that crowd to our shores are witnesses of the
+confidence of all peoples in our permanence. Here is the great land of
+free labor, where industry is blessed with unexampled rewards and the
+bread of the workingman is sweetened by the consciousness that the cause
+of the country "is his own cause, his own safety, his own dignity." Here
+everyone enjoys the free use of his faculties and the choice of activity
+as a natural right. Here, under the combined influence of a fruitful
+soil, genial climes, and happy institutions, population has increased
+fifteen-fold within a century. Here, through the easy development of
+boundless resources, wealth has increased with twofold greater rapidity
+than numbers, so that we have become secure against the financial
+vicissitudes of other countries and, alike in business and in opinion,
+are self-centered and truly independent. Here more and more care is
+given to provide education for everyone born on our soil. Here religion,
+released from political connection with the civil government, refuses to
+subserve the craft of statesmen, and becomes in its independence the
+spiritual life of the people. Here toleration is extended to every
+opinion, in the quiet certainty that truth needs only a fair field to
+secure the victory. Here the human mind goes forth unshackled in the
+pursuit of science, to collect stores of knowledge and acquire an
+ever-increasing mastery over the forces of nature. Here the national
+domain is offered and held in millions of separate freeholds, so that
+our fellow-citizens, beyond the occupants of any other part of the
+earth, constitute in reality a people. Here exists the democratic form
+of government; and that form of government, by the confession of
+European statesmen, "gives a power of which no other form is capable,
+because it incorporates every man with the state and arouses everything
+that belongs to the soul."
+
+Where in past history does a parallel exist to the public happiness
+which is within the reach of the people of the United States? Where in
+any part of the globe can institutions be found so suited to their
+habits or so entitled to their love as their own free Constitution?
+Every one of them, then, in whatever part of the land he has his home,
+must wish its perpetuity. Who of them will not now acknowledge, in the
+words of Washington, that "every step by which the people of the United
+States have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to
+have been distinguished by some token of providential agency"? Who will
+not join with me in the prayer that the Invisible Hand which has led us
+through the clouds that gloomed around our path will so guide us onward
+to a perfect restoration of fraternal affection that we of this day may
+be able to transmit our great inheritance of State governments in all
+their rights, of the General Government in its whole constitutional
+vigor, to our posterity, and they to theirs through countless
+generations?
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+SPECIAL MESSAGES.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 11, 1865_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+I transmit a report of this date from the Secretary of State, and the
+papers referred to therein, concerning the Universal Exposition to be
+held at Paris in the year 1867, in which the United States have been
+invited by the Government of France to take part. I commend the subject
+to your early and favorable consideration.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 13, 1865_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 11th instant,
+requesting information on the subject of a decree of the so-called
+Emperor of Mexico of the 3d of October last, I transmit a report from
+the Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 14, 1865_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+11th instant, requesting information relative to a so-called decree
+concerning the reestablishment of slavery or peonage in the Republic
+of Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the
+documents by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _December 18, 1865_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the requirements of the third section of the act
+approved March 3, 1865, I transmit herewith a communication from the
+Secretary of War, with the accompanying report and estimates of the
+Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 18, 1865_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In reply to the resolution adopted by the Senate on the 12th instant,
+I have the honor to state that the rebellion waged by a portion of the
+people against the properly constituted authority of the Government of
+the United States has been suppressed; that the United States are in
+possession of every State in which the insurrection existed, and that,
+as far as it could be done, the courts of the United States have been
+restored, post-offices reestablished, and steps taken to put into
+effective operation the revenue laws of the country.
+
+As the result of the measures instituted by the Executive with the view
+of inducing a resumption of the functions of the States comprehended in
+the inquiry of the Senate, the people of North Carolina, South Carolina,
+Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee have
+reorganized their respective State governments, and "are yielding
+obedience to the laws and Government of the United States" with more
+willingness and greater promptitude than under the circumstances could
+reasonably have been anticipated. The proposed amendment to the
+Constitution, providing for the abolition of slavery forever within the
+limits of the country, has been ratified by each one of those States,
+with the exception of Mississippi, from which no official information
+has been received, and in nearly all of them measures have been adopted
+or are now pending to confer upon freedmen the privileges which are
+essential to their comfort, protection, and security. In Florida and
+Texas the people are making commendable progress in restoring their
+State governments, and no doubt is entertained that they will at an
+early period be in a condition to resume all of their practical
+relations with the General Government.
+
+In "that portion of the Union lately in rebellion" the aspect of affairs
+is more promising than, in view of all the circumstances, could well
+have been expected. The people throughout the entire South evince a
+laudable desire to renew their allegiance to the Government and to
+repair the devastations of war by a prompt and cheerful return to
+peaceful pursuits, and abiding faith is entertained that their actions
+will conform to their professions, and that in acknowledging the
+supremacy of the Constitution and laws of the United States their
+loyalty will be unreservedly given to the Government, whose leniency
+they can not fail to appreciate and whose fostering care will soon
+restore them to a condition of prosperity. It is true that in some of
+the States the demoralizing effects of the war are to be seen in
+occasional disorders; but these are local in character, not frequent in
+occurrence, and are rapidly disappearing as the authority of civil law
+is extended and sustained. Perplexing questions are naturally to be
+expected from the great and sudden change in the relations between the
+two races; but systems are gradually developing themselves under which
+the freedman will receive the protection to which he is justly entitled,
+and, by means of his labor, make himself a useful and independent member
+in the community in which he has a home.
+
+From all the information in my possession and from that which I have
+recently derived from the most reliable authority I am induced to
+cherish the belief that sectional animosity is surely and rapidly
+merging itself into a spirit of nationality, and that representation,
+connected with a properly adjusted system of taxation, will result in
+a harmonious restoration of the relation of the States to the National
+Union.
+
+The report of Carl Schurz is herewith transmitted, as requested by the
+Senate. No reports from the Hon. John Covode have been received by the
+President. The attention of the Senate is invited to the accompanying
+report from Lieutenant-General Grant, who recently made a tour of
+inspection through several of the States whose inhabitants participated
+in the rebellion.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 20, 1865_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In reply to the resolution of the Senate of the 19th instant, requesting
+that the President, if not inconsistent with the public service,
+communicate to the Senate the "report of General Howard of his
+observations of the condition of the seceded States and the operation of
+the Freedmen's Bureau therein," I have to state that the report of the
+Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands
+was yesterday transmitted to both Houses of Congress, as required by the
+third section of the act approved March 3, 1865.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 21, 1865_.
+
+_To the Senate_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 11th instant,
+respecting the occupation by the French troops of the Republic of Mexico
+and the establishment of a monarchy there, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 5, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 19th ultimo,
+requesting information in regard to any plans to induce the immigration
+of dissatisfied citizens of the United States into Mexico, their
+organization there with the view to create disturbances in the United
+States, and especially in regard to the plans of Dr. William M. Gwin and
+M.F. Maury, and to the action taken by the Government of the United
+States to prevent the success of such schemes, I transmit a report from
+the Acting Secretary of State and the papers by which it was
+accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 5, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I have received the following preamble and resolution, adopted by the
+Senate on the 21st ultimo:
+
+  Whereas the Constitution declares that "in all criminal prosecutions
+  the accused shall enjoy the right of a speedy and public trial by an
+  impartial jury of the State or district wherein the crime shall have
+  been committed;" and
+
+  Whereas several months have elapsed since Jefferson Davis, late
+  president of the so-called Confederate States, was captured and confined
+  for acts notoriously done by him as such, which acts, if duly proved,
+  render him guilty of treason against the United States and liable to the
+  penalties thereof; and
+
+  Whereas hostilities between the Government of the United States and the
+  insurgents have ceased, and not one of the latter, so far as is known to
+  the Senate, is now held in confinement for the part he may have acted in
+  the rebellion except said Jefferson Davis: Therefore,
+
+  _Resolved_, That the President be respectfully requested, if compatible
+  with the public safety, to inform the Senate upon what charges or for
+  what reasons said Jefferson Davis is still held in confinement, and why
+  he has not been put upon his trial.
+
+
+In reply to the resolution I transmit the accompanying reports from the
+Secretary of War and the Attorney-General, and at the same time invite
+the attention of the Senate to that portion of my message dated the 4th
+day of December last which refers to Congress the questions connected
+with the holding of circuit courts of the United States within the
+districts where their authority has been interrupted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 5, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of
+the 18th ultimo, requesting information in regard to steps taken by the
+so-called Emperor of Mexico or by any European power to obtain from the
+United States a recognition of the so-called Empire of Mexico, and what
+action has been taken in the premises by the Government of the United
+States, I transmit a report from the Acting Secretary of State and the
+papers by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 10, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 8th
+instant, asking for information in regard to the alleged kidnaping in
+Mexico of the child of an American lady, I transmit a report from the
+Acting Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 12, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a communication addressed to me by Messrs. John
+Evans and J.B. Chaífee as "United States Senators elect from the State
+of Colorado," together with the accompanying documents.
+
+Under authority of the act of Congress approved the 21st day of
+March, 1864, the people of Colorado, through a convention, formed a
+constitution making provision for a State government, which, when
+submitted to the qualified voters of the Territory, was rejected.
+
+In the summer of 1865 a second convention was called by the executive
+committees of the several political parties in the Territory, which
+assembled at Denver on the 8th of August, 1865. On the 12th of that
+month this convention adopted a State constitution, which was submitted
+to the people on the 5th of September, 1865, and ratified by a majority
+of 155 of the qualified voters. The proceedings in the second instance
+for the formation of a State government having differed in time and mode
+from those specified in the act of March 21, 1864, I have declined to
+issue the proclamation for which provision is made in the fifth section
+of the law, and therefore submit the question for the consideration and
+further action of Congress.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE OFFICE, _January 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I communicate to the Senate herewith, for its constitutional action
+thereon, the several treaties[5] with the Indians of the Southwest
+referred to in the accompanying communication from the Secretary of
+the Interior.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 5: With the confederated tribes of the Arapahoe and Cheyenne
+Indians, concluded October 14, 1865; with the Apache, Cheyenne, and
+Arapahoe tribes, respectively, concluded October 17, 1865; with the
+several bands of the Comanche tribe, concluded October 18, 1865.]
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE OFFICE, _January 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I communicate to the Senate herewith, for its constitutional action
+thereon, the several treaties with bands of the Sioux Nation of Indians
+which are referred to in the accompanying communication from the
+Secretary of the Interior.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I communicate to the Senate herewith, for its constitutional action
+thereon, the treaties with the Omaha and Winnebago Indians referred to
+in the accompanying communication from the Secretary of the Interior.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 26, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 11th instant,
+requesting information in regard to a negotiation for the transit of
+United States troops in 1861 through Mexican territory, I transmit a
+report from the Acting Secretary of State and the papers by which it
+was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 26, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention between the United States and the Empire of
+Japan for the reduction of import duties, which was signed at Yedo the
+28th of January, 1864.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 26, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention between the Empire of Japan and the
+Governments of the United States, Great Britain, France, and Holland,
+providing for the payment to said Governments of the sum of $3,000,000
+for indemnities and expenses, which was signed by the respective parties
+at Yokohama on the 22d of October, 1864.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 26, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 17th instant,
+requesting the President "to communicate to the Senate, if in his
+opinion not inconsistent with the public interest, any letters from
+Major-General Sheridan, commanding the Military Division of the Gulf,
+or from any other officer of the Department of Texas, in regard to the
+present condition of affairs on the southeastern frontier of the United
+States, and especially in regard to any violation of neutrality on the
+part of the army now occupying the right bank of the Rio Grande,"
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, bearing date
+the 24th instant.
+
+Concurring in his opinion that the publication of the correspondence
+at this time is not consistent with the public interest, the papers
+referred to in the accompanying report are for the present withheld.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 26, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+22d instant, requesting the communication of any correspondence or other
+information in regard to a demonstration by the Congress of the United
+States of Colombia, or any other country, in honor of President Juarez,
+of the Republic of Mexico, I transmit herewith a report from the Acting
+Secretary of State, with the papers by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 26, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 8th
+instant, asking for information in regard to the reported surrender of
+the rebel pirate vessel called the _Shenandoah_, I transmit a report
+from the Acting Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 30, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+Believing that the commercial interests of our country would be promoted
+by a formal recognition of the independence of the Dominican Republic,
+while such a recognition would be in entire conformity with the settled
+policy of the United States, I have with that view nominated to the
+Senate an officer of the same grade with the one now accredited to the
+Republic of Hayti; and I recommend that an appropriation be made by
+Congress toward providing for his compensation.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 1, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+10th ultimo, requesting information in regard to the organization in the
+city of New York of the "Imperial Mexican Express Company" under a grant
+from the so-called Emperor of Mexico, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State and the papers by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 2, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+The accompanying correspondence is transmitted to the Senate in
+compliance with its resolution of the 16th ultimo, requesting the
+President, "if not inconsistent with the public interest, to communicate
+to the Senate any correspondence which may have taken place between
+himself and any of the judges of the Supreme Court touching the holding
+of the civil courts of the United States in the insurrectionary States
+for the trial of crimes against the United States."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 2, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 30th ultimo, requesting
+the President, "if not incompatible with the public interests, to
+communicate to the Senate a copy of the late report of Major-General
+Sherman upon the condition of the States in his department, in which he
+has lately made a tour of inspection," I transmit herewith a copy of a
+communication, dated December 22, 1865, addressed to the Headquarters of
+the Army by Major-General Sherman, commanding the Military Division of
+the Mississippi.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 9, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+10th ultimo, requesting the President of the United States, "if not
+incompatible with the public interest, to communicate to the House
+any report or reports made by the Judge-Advocate-General or any other
+officer of the Government as to the grounds, facts, or accusations upon
+which Jefferson Davis, Clement C. Clay, jr., Stephen R. Mallory, and
+David L. Yulee, or either of them, are held in confinement," I transmit
+herewith reports from the Secretary of War and the Attorney-General,
+and concur in the opinion therein expressed that the publication of
+the papers called for by the resolution is not at the present time
+compatible with the public interest.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 10, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit, for the consideration of Congress, a correspondence between
+the Secretary of State and the minister of France accredited to this
+Government, and also other papers, relative to a proposed international
+conference at Constantinople upon the subject of cholera.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 5, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit the accompanying report from the Secretary of War, in answer
+to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 27th ultimo,
+requesting information in regard to the distribution of the rewards
+offered by the Government for the arrest of the assassins of the late
+President Lincoln.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 5, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 27th ultimo, I
+transmit, herewith a communication from the Secretary of War, together
+with the reports of the assistant commissioners of the Freedmen's Bureau
+made since December 1, 1865.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 6, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolutions of the Senate of the 5th of January and
+27th of February last, requesting information in regard to provisional
+governors of States, I transmit reports from the Secretary of State and
+the Secretary of War, to whom the resolutions were referred.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 6, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, a
+treaty with the Utah, Yampah-Ute, Pah-Vant, San-Pete-Ute, Tim-p-nogs,
+and Cum-um-bah bands of the Utah Indians, referred to in the
+accompanying papers from the Secretary of the Interior.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 6, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+12th of January last, requesting information in regard to provisional
+governments of certain States, I transmit a report from the Secretary
+of State, to whom the resolution was referred.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 6, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 27th
+ultimo, requesting certain information in relation to President Benito
+Juarez, of Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 8, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate, a copy of a letter of
+the 21st ultimo from the governor of the Territory of Colorado to the
+Secretary of State, with the memorial to which it refers, relative to
+the location of the Pacific Railroad.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 12, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit, for your consideration, a copy of two communications from
+the minister of the United States at Paris, in regard to a proposed
+exhibition of fishery and water culture, to be held at Arcachon, near
+Bordeaux, in France, in July next.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 15, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 5th instant, upon the
+subject of the supposed kidnaping of colored persons in the Southern
+States for the purpose of selling them as slaves in Cuba, I transmit a
+report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 19, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives dated
+January 5, 1866, requesting information as to the number of men and
+officers in the regular and volunteer service of the United States,
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, with the papers by which
+it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+11th of December last, requesting information upon the present condition
+of affairs in the Republic of Mexico, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State and the papers by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 21, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty made with the Great and Little Osage Indians on the 29th
+September, 1865, together with the accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 21, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, a
+treaty made with the Woll-pah-pe tribe of Snake Indians on the 12th of
+August, 1865, together with the accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 26, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate a memorial of the legislature of Alabama,
+asking an extension of time for the completion of certain railroads in
+said State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 30, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate,
+a treaty negotiated with the Shawnee Indians, dated March 1, 1866,
+with supplemental article, dated March 14, 1866, with accompanying
+communications from the honorable Secretary of the Interior and
+Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 3, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report by the Secretary of War, in compliance with
+the Senate resolution of the 7th March, 1866, respecting the improvement
+of the Washington City Canal, to promote the health of the metropolis.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _April 3, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, dated the
+22d ultimo, together with a letter addressed to him by the governor of
+Alabama, asking that the State of Alabama may be allowed to assume and
+pay in State bonds the direct tax now due from that State to the United
+States, or that delay of payment may be authorized until the State can
+by the sale of its bonds or by taxation make provision for the
+liquidation of the indebtedness.
+
+I concur in the opinion of the Secretary of the Treasury "that it is
+desirable that the State of Alabama and the other Southern States should
+be allowed to assume and pay their proportion of the direct taxes now
+due," and therefore recommend the necessary legislation by Congress.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 4, 1866_.
+
+_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 British vessel _Magicienne_, and recommend an
+appropriation for the satisfaction of the claim, pursuant to the award
+of the arbitrators.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 5, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I herewith transmit communications from the Secretary of the Treasury
+and the Postmaster-General, suggesting a modification of the oath of
+office prescribed by the act of Congress approved July 2, 1862. I fully
+concur in their recommendation, and as the subject pertains to the
+efficient administration of the revenue and postal laws in the Southern
+States I earnestly commend it to the early consideration of Congress.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 6, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a supplemental
+article to the Pottawatomie treaty of November 15, 1861, concluded on
+the 29th ultimo, together with the accompanying communications from the
+Secretary of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _April 7, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+I transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Interior, with the
+accompanying papers, in reference to grants of land made by acts of
+Congress passed in the years 1850, 1853, and 1856 to the States of
+Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Louisiana, to aid in
+the construction of certain railroads. As these acts will expire by
+limitation on the 11th day of August, 1866, leaving the roads for
+whose benefit they were conferred in an unfinished condition, it is
+recommended that the time within which they may be completed be extended
+for a period of five years.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 11, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 27th ultimo,
+in relation to the seizure and detention at New York of the steamship
+_Meteor_, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State and
+the papers by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 13, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a
+treaty concluded with the Bois Forte band of Chippewa Indians on the
+7th instant, together with the accompanying communications from the
+Secretary of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 13, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 10th
+instant, requesting information in regard to the rights and interests
+of American citizens in the fishing grounds adjacent to the British
+Provinces, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the
+resolution was referred.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the Senate's resolution of the 8th January, 1866, I
+transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War of the 19th
+instant, covering copies of the correspondence respecting General
+Orders, No. 17,[6] issued by the commander of the Department of
+California, and also the Attorney-General's opinion as to the question
+whether the order involves a breach of neutrality toward Mexico.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 6: Instructing commanders on the southern frontiers within the
+Department of California "to take the necessary measures to preserve the
+neutrality of the United States with respect to the parties engaged in
+the existing war in Mexico, and to suffer no armed parties to pass the
+frontier from the United States, nor suffer any arms or munitions of war
+to be sent over the frontier to either belligerent," etc.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _April 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 2d
+instant, requesting information respecting the collection of the remains
+of officers and soldiers killed and buried on the various battlefields
+about Atlanta, I transmit herewith a report on the subject from the
+Secretary of War.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 21, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a communication of this date from the Secretary
+of War, covering a copy of the proceedings of a board of officers in
+relation to brevet appointments in the Regular Army, requested in the
+Senate's resolution of the 18th April, 1866.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 23, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention which was signed at Tangier on the 31st of
+May last between the United States and other powers on the one part and
+the Sultan of Morocco on the other part, concerning the administration
+and maintenance of a light-house on Cape Spartel.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 23, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 16th
+instant, requesting information relative to the proposed evacuation of
+Mexico by French military forces, I transmit a report from the Secretary
+of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., April 24, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I submit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, the accompanying
+communication from the Secretary of the Interior, in relation to the
+Union Pacific Railroad Company, eastern division.
+
+It appears that the company were required to complete 100 miles of
+their road within three years after their acceptance of the conditions
+of the original act of Congress. This period expired December 22, 1865.
+Sixty-two miles had been previously accepted by the Government. Since
+that date an additional section of 23 miles has been completed.
+Commissioners appointed for that purpose have examined and reported
+upon it, and an application has been made for its acceptance.
+
+The failure to complete 100 miles of road within the period prescribed
+renders it questionable whether the executive officers of the Government
+are authorized to issue the bonds and patents to which the company would
+be entitled if this as well as the other requirements of the act had
+been faithfully observed.
+
+This failure may to some extent be ascribed to the financial condition
+of the country incident to the recent civil war. As the company appear
+to be engaged in the energetic prosecution of their work and manifest a
+disposition to comply with the conditions of the grant, I recommend that
+the time for the completion of this part of the road be extended and
+that authority be given for the issue of bonds and patents on account of
+the section now offered for acceptance notwithstanding such failure,
+should the company in other respects be thereunto entitled.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _April 28, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a
+treaty this day concluded with the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations of
+Indians.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 30, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 25th
+instant, requesting information in regard to the rebel debt known as the
+cotton loan, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom
+the resolution was referred.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 2, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 23d
+ultimo, I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, from which it
+will be perceived that it is not deemed compatible with the public
+interests to communicate to the House the report made by General Smith
+and the Hon. James T. Brady of their investigations at New Orleans, La.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 4, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 5th
+of March, 1866, requesting the names of persons worth more than $20,000
+to whom special pardons have been issued, and a statement of the amount
+of property which has been seized as belonging to the enemies of the
+Government, or as abandoned property, and returned to those who claimed
+to be the original owners, I transmit herewith reports from the
+Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of
+War, and the Attorney-General, together with a copy of the amnesty
+proclamation of the 29th of May, 1865, and a copy of the warrants issued
+in cases in which special pardons are granted. The second, third, and
+fourth conditions of the warrant prescribe the terms, so far as property
+is concerned, upon which all such pardons are granted and accepted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 4, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+Referring to my message of the 12th of March last, communicating
+information in regard to a proposed exposition of fishery and water
+culture at Arcachon, in France, I communicate a copy of another dispatch
+from the minister of the United States in Paris to the Secretary of
+State, and again invite the attention of Congress to the subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 7, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 19th ultimo,
+I transmit herewith a report from Benjamin C. Truman, relative to the
+condition of the Southern people and the States in which the rebellion
+existed.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 9, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a copy of a correspondence between the Secretary
+of State and the acting chargé d'affaires of the United States at
+Guayaquil, in the Republic of Ecuador, from which it appears that the
+Government of that Republic has failed to pay the first installment of
+the award of the commissioners under the convention between the United
+States and Ecuador of the 25th November, 1862, which installment was due
+on the 17th of February last.
+
+As debts of this character from one government to another are justly
+regarded as of a peculiarly sacred character, and as further diplomatic
+measures are not in this instance likely to be successful, the
+expediency of authorizing other proceedings in case they should
+ultimately prove to be indispensable is submitted to your consideration.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 10, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, in
+answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 3d
+instant, requesting information concerning discriminations made by the
+so-called Maximilian Government of Mexico against American commerce,
+or against commerce from particular American ports.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 11, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to that part
+of the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 7th instant
+which calls for information in regard to the clerks employed in the
+Department of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 16, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a copy of the correspondence between the
+Secretary of State and Cornelius Vanderbilt, of New York, relative to
+the joint resolution of the 28th of January, 1864, upon the subject of
+the gift of the steamer _Vanderbilt_ to the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, May 7, 1866_.
+
+Hon. SCHUYLER COLFAX,
+
+_Speaker of the House of Representatives_.
+
+SIR: I have the honor to submit herewith a communication of the
+Secretary of War, inclosing one from the Lieutenant-General, relative
+to the necessity for legislation upon the subject of the Army.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 17, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In further response to the resolution of the House of Representatives of
+the 7th instant, calling for information in regard to clerks employed in
+the several Executive Departments, I transmit herewith reports from the
+Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of the Interior and the
+Postmaster-General.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 22, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, made in
+compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+7th instant, calling for information in respect to clerks employed in
+the several Executive Departments of the Government.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 22, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 27th
+ultimo, requesting a collation of the provisions in reference to
+freedmen contained in the amended constitutions of the Southern States
+and in the laws of those States passed since the suppression of the
+rebellion, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the
+resolution was referred.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 24, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Postmaster-General, made in answer
+to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 14th instant,
+calling for information relative to the proposed mail steamship service
+between the United States and Brazil.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 25, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+21st instant, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War,
+with the accompanying papers, in reference to the operations of the
+Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 30, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+With sincere regret I announce to Congress that Winfield Scott, late
+Lieutenant-General in the Army of the United States, departed this life
+at West Point, in the State of New York, on the 29th day of May instant,
+at 11 o'clock in the forenoon. I feel well assured that Congress will
+share in the grief of the nation which must result from its bereavement
+of a citizen whose high fame is identified with the military history of
+the Republic.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 30, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a communication from the Secretary of War, covering a
+supplemental report to that already made to the House of
+Representatives, in answer to its resolution of the 21st instant,
+requesting the reports of General Steedman and others in reference to
+the operations of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 5, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention between the United States and the Republic of
+Venezuela on the subject of the claims of citizens of the United States
+upon the Government of that Republic, which convention was signed by the
+plenipotentiaries of the parties at the city of Caracas on the 25th of
+April last.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 9, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Acting Secretary of the Interior,
+communicating the information requested by a resolution of the House of
+Representatives of the 21st ultimo, in relation to the removal of the
+Sioux Indians of Minnesota and the provisions made for their
+accommodation in the Territory of Nebraska.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 9, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with a call of the Senate, as expressed in a resolution
+adopted on the 6th instant, I transmit a copy of the report of the Board
+of Visitors to the United States Naval Academy for the year 1866.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 11, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 10th
+ultimo, calling for information relative to the claims of citizens of
+the United States against the Republic of Venezuela, I transmit a report
+from the Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 11, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+It is proper that I should inform Congress that a copy of an act of the
+legislature of Georgia of the 10th of March last has been officially
+communicated to me, by which that State accepts the donation of lands
+for the benefit of colleges for agriculture and the mechanic arts, which
+donation was provided for by the acts of Congress of the 2d of July,
+1862, and 14th of April, 1864.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 11, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I communicate and invite the attention of Congress to a copy of joint
+resolutions of the senate and house of representatives of the State
+of Georgia, requesting a suspension of the collection of the
+internal-revenue tax due from that State pursuant to the act of Congress
+of the 5th of August, 1861.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 13, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 11th
+instant, requesting information concerning the provisions of the laws
+and ordinances of the late insurgent States on the subject of the rebel
+debt, so called, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the
+document by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 14, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 28th
+of May, requesting information as to what progress has been made in
+completing the maps connected with the boundary survey under the treaty
+of Washington, with copies of any correspondence on this subject not
+heretofore printed, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State
+and the documents which accompanied it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 15, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 13th instant,
+calling for information in regard to the departure of troops from
+Austria to Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and
+the documents by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 16, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I communicate herewith a report from the Acting Secretary of the
+Interior, furnishing, as requested by a resolution of the Senate of the
+25th ultimo, information touching the transactions of the executive
+branch of the Government respecting the transportation, settlement,
+and colonization of persons of the African race.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 18, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In reply to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 11th
+instant, requesting information in regard to the dispatch of military
+forces from Austria for service in Mexico, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State on the subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+21st ultimo, requesting information as to the collection of the direct
+tax in the States whose inhabitants participated in the rebellion, I
+transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, accompanied
+by a report from the Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 22, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I submit to Congress a report of the Secretary of State, to whom was
+referred the concurrent resolution of the 18th instant, respecting a
+submission to the legislatures of the States of an additional article to
+the Constitution of the United States. It will be seen from this report
+that the Secretary of State had, on the 16th instant, transmitted to the
+governors of the several States certified copies of the joint resolution
+passed on the 13th instant, proposing an amendment to the Constitution.
+
+Even in ordinary times any question of amending the Constitution must be
+justly regarded as of paramount importance. This importance is at the
+present time enhanced by the fact that the joint resolution was not
+submitted by the two Houses for the approval of the President and that
+of the thirty-six States which constitute the Union eleven are excluded
+from representation in either House of Congress, although, with the
+single exception of Texas, they have been entirely restored to all their
+functions as States in conformity with the organic law of the land, and
+have appeared at the national capital by Senators and Representatives,
+who have applied for and have been refused admission to the vacant
+seats. Nor have the sovereign people of the nation been afforded an
+opportunity of expressing their views upon the important questions which
+the amendment involves. Grave doubts, therefore, may naturally and
+justly arise as to whether the action of Congress is in harmony with
+the sentiments of the people, and whether State legislatures, elected
+without reference to such an issue, should be called upon by Congress
+to decide respecting the ratification of the proposed amendment.
+
+Waiving the question as to the constitutional validity of the
+proceedings of Congress upon the joint resolution proposing the
+amendment or as to the merits of the article which it submits through
+the executive department to the legislatures of the States, I deem it
+proper to observe that the steps taken by the Secretary of State, as
+detailed in the accompanying report, are to be considered as purely
+ministerial, and in no sense whatever committing the Executive to an
+approval or a recommendation of the amendment to the State legislatures
+or to the people. On the contrary, a proper appreciation of the letter
+and spirit of the Constitution, as well as of the interests of national
+order, harmony, and union, and a due deference for an enlightened public
+judgment may at this time well suggest a doubt whether any amendment to
+the Constitution ought to be proposed by Congress and pressed upon the
+legislatures of the several States for final decision until after the
+admission of such loyal Senators and Representatives of the now
+unrepresented States as have been or as may hereafter be chosen in
+conformity with the Constitution and laws of the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 22, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+In further answer to recent resolutions of the Senate and House of
+Representatives, requesting information in regard to the employment of
+European troops in Mexico, I transmit to Congress a copy of a dispatch
+of the 4th of this month addressed to the Secretary of State by the
+minister of the United States at Paris.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 22, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+18th instant, calling for information in regard to the arrest and
+imprisonment in Ireland of American citizens, I transmit herewith
+a report from the Secretary of State on the subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, _June 23, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Interior,
+communicating in part the information requested by a resolution of the
+House of Representatives of the 23d of April last, in relation to
+appropriations and expenditures connected with the Indian service.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 28, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Navy and the
+accompanying copy of a report and maps prepared by a board of examiners
+appointed under authority of the joint resolution approved June 1, 1866,
+"to examine a site for a fresh-water basin for ironclad vessels of the
+United States Navy."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 28, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith reports from the heads of the several Executive
+Departments, made in answer to the resolution of the House of
+Representatives of the 4th instant, requesting information as to whether
+any of the civil or military employees of the Government have assisted
+in the rendition of public honors to the rebel living or dead.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 7, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+The accompanying report of the Secretary of the Treasury is transmitted
+to the Senate in compliance with its resolution of the 20th ultimo,
+calling for a statement of the expenditures of the United States for the
+various public works of the Government in each State and Territory of
+the Union and in the District of Columbia from the year 1860 to the
+close of the year 1865.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 7, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a
+treaty concluded with the Seminole Nation of Indians on the 21st day of
+March, 1866, together with the accompanying communications from the
+Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 7, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a
+treaty concluded with the Creek Nation of Indians on the 14th day of
+June, 1866, together with the accompanying communications from the
+Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 17, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of yesterday,
+requesting information relative to proposed international movements in
+connection with the Paris Universal Exposition for the reform of systems
+of coinage, weights, and measures, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 17, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I herewith transmit to Congress a report, dated 12th 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.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for the constitutional action of the Senate, certain
+articles of agreement made at the Delaware Agency, Kans., on the 4th
+instant between the United States and the Delaware Indians.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate_:
+
+I herewith submit, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a treaty
+negotiated at the city of Washington, D.C., on the 19th instant, between
+the United States, represented by Dennis N. Cooley, Commissioner of
+Indian Affairs, and Elijah Sells, superintendent of Indian affairs for
+the southern superintendency, and the Cherokee Nation of Indians;
+represented by its delegates, James McDaniel, Smith Christie, White
+Catcher, L.H. Benge, J.B. Jones, and Daniel H. Ross.
+
+The distracted condition of the Cherokee Nation and the peculiar
+relation of many of its members to this Government during the rebellion
+presented almost insuperable difficulties to treating with them. The
+treaty now submitted is a result of protracted negotiations. Its
+stipulations are, it is believed, as satisfactory to the contracting
+parties and furnish as just provisions for the welfare of the Indians
+and as strong guaranties for the maintenance of peaceful relations with
+them as under the circumstances could be expected.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 24, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I hereby transmit, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a treaty
+concluded on the 15th of November, 1865, between the United States and
+the confederate tribes and bands of Indians of middle Oregon, the same
+being amendatory and supplemental to the treaty with said Indians of the
+25th of June, 1855.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 24, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+The following "Joint resolution, restoring Tennessee to her relations in
+the Union," was last evening presented for my approval:
+
+Whereas in the year 1861 the government of the State of Tennessee was
+seized upon and taken possession of by persons in hostility to the
+United States, and the inhabitants of said State, in pursuance of an act
+of Congress, were declared to be in a state of insurrection against the
+United States; and
+
+Whereas said State government can only be restored to its former
+political relations in the Union by the consent of the lawmaking power
+of the United States; and
+
+Whereas the people of said State did, on the 22d day of February, 1865,
+by a large popular vote, adopt and ratify a constitution of government
+whereby slavery was abolished and all ordinances and laws of secession
+and debts contracted under the same were declared void; and
+
+Whereas a State government has been organized under said constitution
+which has ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the United
+States abolishing slavery, also the amendment proposed by the
+Thirty-ninth Congress, and has done other acts proclaiming and denoting
+loyalty: Therefore,
+
+_Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
+States in Congress assembled_, That the State of Tennessee is hereby
+restored to her former proper practical relations to the Union, and is
+again entitled to be represented by Senators and Representatives in
+Congress.
+
+The preamble simply consists of statements, some of which are assumed,
+while the resolution is merely a declaration of opinion. It comprises no
+legislation, nor does it confer any power which is binding upon the
+respective Houses, the Executive, or the States. It does not admit to
+their seats in Congress the Senators and Representatives from the State
+of Tennessee, for, notwithstanding the passage of the resolution, each
+House, in the exercise of the constitutional right to judge for itself
+of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its members, may, at
+its discretion, admit them or continue to exclude them. If a joint
+resolution of this kind were necessary and binding as a condition
+precedent to the admission of members of Congress, it would happen, in
+the event of a veto by the Executive, that Senators and Representatives
+could only be admitted to the halls of legislation by a two-thirds vote
+of each of the Houses.
+
+Among other reasons recited in the preamble for the declaration
+contained in the resolution is the ratification by the State government
+of Tennessee of "the amendment to the Constitution of the United States
+abolishing slavery, also the amendment proposed by the Thirty-ninth
+Congress." If, as is also declared in the preamble, "said State
+government can only be restored to its former political relations in the
+Union by the consent of the lawmaking power of the United States," it
+would really seem to follow that the joint resolution which at this late
+day has received the sanction of Congress should have been passed,
+approved, and placed on the statute books before any amendment to the
+Constitution was submitted to the legislature of Tennessee for
+ratification. Otherwise the inference is plainly deducible that while,
+in the opinion of Congress, the people of a State may be too strongly
+disloyal to be entitled to representation, they may nevertheless, during
+the suspension of their "former proper practical relations to the
+Union," have an equally potent voice with other and loyal States in
+propositions to amend the Constitution, upon which so essentially depend
+the stability, prosperity, and very existence of the nation.
+
+A brief reference to my annual message of the 4th of December last will
+show the steps taken by the Executive for the restoration to their
+constitutional relations to the Union of the States that had been
+affected by the rebellion. Upon the cessation of active hostilities
+provisional governors were appointed, conventions called, governors
+elected by the people, legislatures assembled, and Senators and
+Representatives chosen to the Congress of the United States. At the same
+time the courts of the United States were reopened, the blockade
+removed, the custom-houses reestablished, and postal operations resumed.
+The amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery forever within the
+limits of the country was also submitted to the States, and they were
+thus invited to and did participate in its ratification, thus exercising
+the highest functions pertaining to a State. In addition nearly all of
+these States, through their conventions and legislatures, had adopted
+and ratified constitutions "of government whereby slavery was abolished
+and all ordinances and laws of secession and debts contracted under the
+same were declared void." So far, then, the political existence of the
+States and their relations to the Federal Government had been fully and
+completely recognized and acknowledged by the executive department of
+the Government; and the completion of the work of restoration, which had
+progressed so favorably, was submitted to Congress, upon which devolved
+all questions pertaining to the admission to their seats of the Senators
+and Representatives chosen from the States whose people had engaged in
+the rebellion.
+
+All these steps had been taken when, on the 4th day of December, 1865,
+the Thirty-ninth Congress assembled. Nearly eight months have elapsed
+since that time; and no other plan of restoration having been proposed
+by Congress for the measures instituted by the Executive, it is now
+declared, in the joint resolution submitted for my approval, "that the
+State of Tennessee is hereby restored to her former proper practical
+relations to the Union, and is again entitled to be represented by
+Senators and Representatives in Congress." Thus, after the lapse of
+nearly eight months, Congress proposes to pave the way to the admission
+to representation of one of the eleven States whose people arrayed
+themselves in rebellion against the constitutional authority of the
+Federal Government.
+
+Earnestly desiring to remove every cause of further delay, whether real
+or imaginary, on the part of Congress to the admission to seats of loyal
+Senators and Representatives from the State of Tennessee, I have,
+notwithstanding the anomalous character of this proceeding, affixed
+my signature to the resolution. My approval, however, is not to be
+construed as an acknowledgment of the right of Congress to pass laws
+preliminary to the admission of duly qualified Representatives from any
+of the States. Neither is it to be considered as committing me to all
+the statements made in the preamble, some of which are, in my opinion,
+without foundation in fact, especially the assertion that the State of
+Tennessee has ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the United
+States proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress. No official notice of such
+ratification has been received by the Executive or filed in the
+Department of State; on the contrary, unofficial information from the
+most reliable sources induces the belief that the amendment has not yet
+been constitutionally sanctioned by the legislature of Tennessee. The
+right of each House under the Constitution to judge of the elections,
+returns, and qualifications of its own members is undoubted, and my
+approval or disapproval of the resolution could not in the slightest
+degree increase or diminish the authority in this respect conferred
+upon the two branches of Congress.
+
+In conclusion I can not too earnestly repeat my recommendation for the
+admission of Tennessee, and all other States, to a fair and equal
+participation in national legislation when they present themselves in
+the persons of loyal Senators and Representatives who can comply with
+all the requirements of the Constitution and the laws. By this means
+harmony and reconciliation will be effected, the practical relations of
+all the States to the Federal Government reestablished, and the work of
+restoration, inaugurated upon the termination of the war, successfully
+completed.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 25, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I nominate Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant to be General of the Army
+of the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 26, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to two resolutions of the House of Representatives of the 23d
+instant, in the following words, respectively--
+
+  _Resolved_, That the House of Representatives respectfully request the
+  President of the United States to urge upon the Canadian authorities,
+  and also the British Government, the release of the Fenian prisoners
+  recently captured in Canada;
+
+  _Resolved_, That this House respectfully request the President to cause
+  the prosecutions instituted in the United States courts against the
+  Fenians to be discontinued, if compatible with the public interest--
+
+
+I transmit a report on the subject from the Secretary of State, together
+with the documents which accompany it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+VETO MESSAGES.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 19, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I have examined with care the bill, which originated in the Senate and
+has been passed by the two Houses of Congress, to amend an act entitled
+"An act to establish a bureau for the relief of freedmen and refugees,"
+and for other purposes. Having with much regret come to the conclusion
+that it would not be consistent with the public welfare to give my
+approval to the measure, I return the bill to the Senate with my
+objections to its becoming a law.
+
+I might call to mind in advance of these objections that there is no
+immediate necessity for the proposed measure. The act to establish a
+bureau for the relief of freedmen and refugees, which was approved in
+the month of March last, has not yet expired. It was thought stringent
+and extensive enough for the purpose in view in time of war. Before it
+ceases to have effect further experience may assist to guide us to a
+wise conclusion as to the policy to be adopted in time of peace.
+
+I share with Congress the strongest desire to secure to the freedmen
+the full enjoyment of their freedom and property and their entire
+independence and equality in making contracts for their labor, but the
+bill before me contains provisions which in my opinion are not warranted
+by the Constitution and are not well suited to accomplish the end in
+view.
+
+The bill proposes to establish by authority of Congress military
+jurisdiction over all parts of the United States containing refugees and
+freedmen. It would by its very nature apply with most force to those
+parts of the United States in which the freedmen most abound, and it
+expressly extends the existing temporary jurisdiction of the Freedmen's
+Bureau, with greatly enlarged powers, over those States "in which the
+ordinary course of judicial proceedings has been interrupted by the
+rebellion." The source from which this military jurisdiction is to
+emanate is none other than the President of the United States, acting
+through the War Department and the Commissioner of the Freedmen's
+Bureau. The agents to carry out this military jurisdiction are to be
+selected either from the Army or from civil life; the country is to be
+divided into districts and subdistricts, and the number of salaried
+agents to be employed may be equal to the number of counties or parishes
+in all the United States where freedmen and refugees are to be found.
+
+The subjects over which this military jurisdiction is to extend in every
+part of the United States include protection to "all employees, agents,
+and officers of this bureau in the exercise of the duties imposed" upon
+them by the bill. In eleven States it is further to extend over all
+cases affecting freedmen and refugees discriminated against "by local
+law, custom, or prejudice." In those eleven States the bill subjects any
+white person who may be charged with depriving a freedman of "any civil
+rights or immunities belonging to white persons" to imprisonment or
+fine, or both, without, however, defining the "civil rights and
+immunities" which are thus to be secured to the freedmen by military
+law. This military jurisdiction also extends to all questions that may
+arise respecting contracts. The agent who is thus to exercise the office
+of a military judge may be a stranger, entirely ignorant of the laws of
+the place, and exposed to the errors of judgment to which all men are
+liable. The exercise of power over which there is no legal supervision
+by so vast a number of agents as is contemplated by the bill must, by
+the very nature of man, be attended by acts of caprice, injustice, and
+passion.
+
+The trials having their origin under this bill are to take place without
+the intervention of a jury and without any fixed rules of law or
+evidence. The rules on which offenses are to be "heard and determined"
+by the numerous agents are such rules and regulations as the President,
+through the War Department, shall prescribe. No previous presentment is
+required nor any indictment charging the commission of a crime against
+the laws; but the trial must proceed on charges and specifications. The
+punishment will be, not what the law declares, but such as a
+court-martial may think proper; and from these arbitrary tribunals there
+lies no appeal, no writ of error to any of the courts in which the
+Constitution of the United States vests exclusively the judicial power
+of the country.
+
+While the territory and the classes of actions and offenses that are
+made subject to this measure are so extensive, the bill itself, should
+it become a law, will have no limitation in point of time, but will form
+a part of the permanent legislation of the country. I can not reconcile
+a system of military jurisdiction of this kind with the words of the
+Constitution which declare that "no person shall be held to answer
+for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or
+indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval
+forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or
+public danger," and that "in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall
+enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the
+State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed." The
+safeguards which the experience and wisdom of ages taught our fathers
+to establish as securities for the protection of the innocent, the
+punishment of the guilty, and the equal administration of justice are
+to be set aside, and for the sake of a more vigorous interposition in
+behalf of justice we are to take the risks of the many acts of injustice
+that would necessarily follow from an almost countless number of agents
+established in every parish or county in nearly a third of the States of
+the Union, over whose decisions there is to be no supervision or control
+by the Federal courts. The power that would be thus placed in the hands
+of the President is such as in time of peace certainly ought never to be
+intrusted to any one man.
+
+If it be asked whether the creation of such a tribunal within a State is
+warranted as a measure of war, the question immediately presents itself
+whether we are still engaged in war. Let us not unnecessarily disturb
+the commerce and credit and industry of the country by declaring to the
+American people and to the world that the United States are still in a
+condition of civil war. At present there is no part of our country in
+which the authority of the United States is disputed. Offenses that may
+be committed by individuals should not work a forfeiture of the rights
+of whole communities. The country has returned, or is returning, to a
+state of peace and industry, and the rebellion is in fact at an end.
+The measure, therefore, seems to be as inconsistent with the actual
+condition of the country as it is at variance with the Constitution of
+the United States.
+
+If, passing from general considerations, we examine the bill in detail,
+it is open to weighty objections.
+
+In time of war it was eminently proper that we should provide for
+those who were passing suddenly from a condition of bondage to a state
+of freedom. But this bill proposes to make the Freedmen's Bureau,
+established by the act of 1865 as one of many great and extraordinary
+military measures to suppress a formidable rebellion, a permanent branch
+of the public administration, with its powers greatly enlarged. I have
+no reason to suppose, and I do not understand it to be alleged, that
+the act of March, 1865, has proved deficient for the purpose for which
+it was passed, although at that time and for a considerable period
+thereafter the Government of the United States remained unacknowledged
+in most of the States whose inhabitants had been involved in the
+rebellion. The institution of slavery, for the military destruction of
+which the Freedmen's Bureau was called into existence as an auxiliary,
+has been already effectually and finally abrogated throughout the whole
+country by an amendment of the Constitution of the United States, and
+practically its eradication has received the assent and concurrence of
+most of those States in which it at any time had an existence. I am not,
+therefore, able to discern in the condition of the country anything to
+justify an apprehension that the powers and agencies of the Freedmen's
+Bureau, which were effective for the protection of freedmen and refugees
+during the actual continuance of hostilities and of African servitude,
+will now, in a time of peace and after the abolition of slavery, prove
+inadequate to the same proper ends. If I am correct in these views,
+there can be no necessity for the enlargement of the powers of the
+Bureau, for which provision is made in the bill.
+
+The third section of the bill authorizes a general and unlimited grant
+of support to the destitute and suffering refugees and freedmen, their
+wives and children. Succeeding sections make provision for the rent or
+purchase of landed estates for freedmen, and for the erection for their
+benefit of suitable buildings for asylums and schools, the expenses to
+be defrayed from the Treasury of the whole people. The Congress of the
+United States has never heretofore thought itself empowered to establish
+asylums beyond the limits of the District of Columbia, except for the
+benefit of our disabled soldiers and sailors. It has never founded
+schools for any class of our own people, not even for the orphans of
+those who have fallen in the defense of the Union, but has left the care
+of education to the much more competent and efficient control of the
+States, of communities, of private associations, and of individuals.
+It has never deemed itself authorized to expend the public money for
+the rent or purchase of homes for the thousands, not to say millions,
+of the white race who are honestly toiling from day to day for their
+subsistence. A system for the support of indigent persons in the United
+States was never contemplated by the authors of the Constitution; nor
+can any good reason be advanced why, as a permanent establishment,
+it should be founded for one class or color of our people more than
+another. Pending the war many refugees and freedmen received support
+from the Government, but it was never intended that they should
+thenceforth be fed, clothed, educated, and sheltered by the United
+States. The idea on which the slaves were assisted to freedom was that
+on becoming free they would be a self-sustaining population. Any
+legislation that shall imply that they are not expected to attain a
+self-sustaining condition must have a tendency injurious alike to their
+character and their prospects.
+
+The appointment of an agent for every county and parish will create an
+immense patronage, and the expense of the numerous officers and their
+clerks, to be appointed by the President, will be great in the
+beginning, with a tendency steadily to increase. The appropriations
+asked by the Freedmen's Bureau as now established, for the year 1866,
+amount to $11,745,000. It may be safely estimated that the cost to be
+incurred under the pending bill will require double that amount--more
+than the entire sum expended in any one year under the Administration of
+the second Adams. If the presence of agents in every parish and county
+is to be considered as a war measure, opposition, or even resistance,
+might be provoked; so that to give effect to their jurisdiction troops
+would have to be stationed within reach of every one of them, and thus a
+large standing force be rendered necessary. Large appropriations would
+therefore be required to sustain and enforce military jurisdiction in
+every county or parish from the Potomac to the Rio Grande. The condition
+of our fiscal affairs is encouraging, but in order to sustain the
+present measure of public confidence it is necessary that we practice
+not merely customary economy, but, as far as possible, severe
+retrenchment.
+
+In addition to the objections already stated, the fifth section of the
+bill proposes to take away land from its former owners without any
+legal proceedings being first had, contrary to that provision of the
+Constitution which declares that no person shall "be deprived of life,
+liberty, or property without due process of law." It does not appear
+that a part of the lands to which this section refers may not be owned
+by minors or persons of unsound mind, or by those who have been faithful
+to all their obligations as citizens of the United States. If any
+portion of the land is held by such persons, it is not competent for
+any authority to deprive them of it. If, on the other hand, it be found
+that the property is liable to confiscation, even then it can not be
+appropriated to public purposes until by due process of law it shall
+have been declared forfeited to the Government.
+
+There is still further objection to the bill, on grounds seriously
+affecting the class of persons to whom it is designed to bring relief.
+It will tend to keep the mind of the freedman in a state of uncertain
+expectation and restlessness, while to those among whom he lives it will
+be a source of constant and vague apprehension.
+
+Undoubtedly the freedman should be protected, but he should be protected
+by the civil authorities, especially by the exercise of all the
+constitutional powers of the courts of the United States and of the
+States. His condition is not so exposed as may at first be imagined.
+He is in a portion of the country where his labor can not well be
+spared. Competition for his services from planters, from those who
+are constructing or repairing railroads, and from capitalists in his
+vicinage or from other States will enable him to command almost his own
+terms. He also possesses a perfect right to change his place of abode,
+and if, therefore, he does not find in one community or State a mode of
+life suited to his desires or proper remuneration for his labor, he can
+move to another where that labor is more esteemed and better rewarded.
+In truth, however, each State, induced by its own wants and interests,
+will do what is necessary and proper to retain within its borders all
+the labor that is needed for the development of its resources. The laws
+that regulate supply and demand will maintain their force, and the wages
+of the laborer will be regulated thereby. There is no danger that the
+exceedingly great demand for labor will not operate in favor of the
+laborer.
+
+Neither is sufficient consideration given to the ability of the freedmen
+to protect and take care of themselves. It is no more than justice to
+them to believe that as they have received their freedom with moderation
+and forbearance, so they will distinguish themselves by their industry
+and thrift, and soon show the world that in a condition of freedom they
+are self-sustaining, capable of selecting their own employment and
+their own places of abode, of insisting for themselves on a proper
+remuneration, and of establishing and maintaining their own asylums and
+schools. It is earnestly hoped that instead of wasting away they will by
+their own efforts establish for themselves a condition of respectability
+and prosperity. It is certain that they can attain to that condition
+only through their own merits and exertions.
+
+In this connection the query presents itself whether the system proposed
+by the bill will not, when put into complete operation, practically
+transfer the entire care, support, and control of 4,000,000 emancipated
+slaves to agents, overseers, or taskmasters, who, appointed at
+Washington, are to be located in every county and parish throughout the
+United States containing freedmen and refugees. Such a system would
+inevitably tend to a concentration of power in the Executive which would
+enable him, if so disposed, to control the action of this numerous class
+and use them for the attainment of his own political ends.
+
+I can not but add another very grave objection to this bill. The
+Constitution imperatively declares, in connection with taxation, that
+each State _shall_ have at least one Representative, and fixes the rule
+for the number to which, in future times, each State shall be entitled.
+It also provides that the Senate of the United States _shall_ be
+composed of two Senators from each State, and adds with peculiar force
+"that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal
+suffrage in the Senate." The original act was necessarily passed in the
+absence of the States chiefly to be affected, because their people were
+then contumaciously engaged in the rebellion. Now the case is changed,
+and some, at least, of those States are attending Congress by loyal
+representatives, soliciting the allowance of the constitutional right
+for representation. At the time, however, of the consideration and the
+passing of this bill there was no Senator or Representative in Congress
+from the eleven States which are to be mainly affected by its
+provisions. The very fact that reports were and are made against the
+good disposition of the people of that portion of the country is an
+additional reason why they need and should have representatives of their
+own in Congress to explain their condition, reply to accusations,
+and assist by their local knowledge in the perfecting of measures
+immediately affecting themselves. While the liberty of deliberation
+would then be free and Congress would have full power to decide
+according to its judgment, there could be no objection urged that the
+States most interested had not been permitted to be heard. The principle
+is firmly fixed in the minds of the American people that there should be
+no taxation without representation. Great burdens have now to be borne
+by all the country, and we may best demand that they shall be borne
+without murmur when they are voted by a majority of the representatives
+of all the people. I would not interfere with the unquestionable right
+of Congress to judge, each House for itself, "of the elections, returns,
+and qualifications of its own members;" but that authority can not be
+construed as including the right to shut out in time of peace any State
+from the representation to which it is entitled by the Constitution.
+At present all the people of eleven States are excluded--those who
+were most faithful during the war not less than others. The State of
+Tennessee, for instance, whose authorities engaged in rebellion, was
+restored to all her constitutional relations to the Union by the
+patriotism and energy of her injured and betrayed people. Before the war
+was brought to a termination they had placed themselves in relations
+with the General Government, had established a State government of their
+own, and, as they were not included in the emancipation proclamation,
+they by their own act had amended their constitution so as to abolish
+slavery within the limits of their State. I know no reason why the State
+of Tennessee, for example, should not fully enjoy "all her
+constitutional relations to the United States."
+
+The President of the United States stands toward the country in
+a somewhat different attitude from that of any member of Congress.
+Each member of Congress is chosen from a single district or State;
+the President is chosen by the people of all the States. As eleven
+States are not at this time represented in either branch of Congress, it
+would seem to be his duty on all proper occasions to present their just
+claims to Congress. There always will be differences of opinion in the
+community, and individuals may be guilty of transgressions of the law,
+but these do not constitute valid objections against the right of a
+State to representation. I would in no wise interfere with the
+discretion of Congress with regard to the qualifications of members; but
+I hold it my duty to recommend to you, in the interests of peace and the
+interests of union, the admission of every State to its share in public
+legislation when, however insubordinate, insurgent, or rebellious its
+people may have been, it presents itself, not only in an attitude of
+loyalty and harmony, but in the persons of representatives whose loyalty
+can not be questioned under any existing constitutional or legal test.
+It is plain that an indefinite or permanent exclusion of any part of the
+country from representation must be attended by a spirit of disquiet and
+complaint. It is unwise and dangerous to pursue a course of measures
+which will unite a very large section of the country against another
+section of the country, however much the latter may preponderate. The
+course of emigration, the development of industry and business, and
+natural causes will raise up at the South men as devoted to the Union as
+those of any other part of the land; but if they are all excluded from
+Congress, if in a permanent statute they are declared not to be in full
+constitutional relations to the country, they may think they have cause
+to become a unit in feeling and sentiment against the Government. Under
+the political education of the American people the idea is inherent and
+ineradicable that the consent of the majority of the whole people is
+necessary to secure a willing acquiescence in legislation.
+
+The bill under consideration refers to certain of the States as though
+they had not "been fully restored in all their constitutional relations
+to the United States." If they have not, let us at once act together to
+secure that desirable end at the earliest possible moment. It is hardly
+necessary for me to inform Congress that in my own judgment most of
+those States, so far, at least, as depends upon their own action, have
+already been fully restored, and are to be deemed as entitled to enjoy
+their constitutional rights as members of the Union. Reasoning from the
+Constitution itself and from the actual situation of the country, I feel
+not only entitled but bound to assume that with the Federal courts
+restored and those of the several States in the full exercise of their
+functions the rights and interests of all classes of people will,
+with the aid of the military in cases of resistance to the laws,
+be essentially protected against unconstitutional infringement or
+violation. Should this expectation unhappily fail, which I do not
+anticipate, then the Executive is already fully armed with the powers
+conferred by the act of March, 1865, establishing the Freedmen's Bureau,
+and hereafter, as heretofore, he can employ the land and naval forces of
+the country to suppress insurrection or to overcome obstructions to the
+laws.
+
+In accordance with the Constitution, I return the bill to the Senate,
+in the earnest hope that a measure involving questions and interests so
+important to the country will not become a law, unless upon deliberate
+consideration by the people it shall receive the sanction of an
+enlightened public judgment.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 27, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I regret that the bill, which has passed both Houses of Congress,
+entitled "An act to protect all persons in the United States in their
+civil rights and furnish the means of their vindication," contains
+provisions which I can not approve consistently with my sense of duty to
+the whole people and my obligations to the Constitution of the United
+States. I am therefore constrained to return it to the Senate, the House
+in which it originated, with my objections to its becoming a law.
+
+By the first section of the bill all persons born in the United States
+and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are
+declared to be citizens of the United States. This provision comprehends
+the Chinese of the Pacific States, Indians subject to taxation, the
+people called gypsies, as well as the entire race designated as blacks,
+people of color, negroes, mulattoes, and persons of African blood. Every
+individual of these races born in the United States is by the bill made
+a citizen of the United States. It does not purport to declare or confer
+any other right of citizenship than Federal citizenship. It does not
+purport to give these classes of persons any status as citizens of
+States, except that which may result from their status as citizens of
+the United States. The power to confer the right of State citizenship is
+just as exclusively with the several States as the power to confer the
+right of Federal citizenship is with Congress.
+
+The right of Federal citizenship thus to be conferred on the several
+excepted races before mentioned is now for the first time proposed to be
+given by law. If, as is claimed by many, all persons who are native born
+already are, by virtue of the Constitution, citizens of the United
+States, the passage of the pending bill can not be necessary to make
+them such. If, on the other hand, such persons are not citizens, as may
+be assumed from the proposed legislation to make them such, the grave
+question presents itself whether, when eleven of the thirty-six States
+are unrepresented in Congress at the present time, it is sound policy
+to make our entire colored population and all other excepted classes
+citizens of the United States. Four millions of them have just emerged
+from slavery into freedom. Can it be reasonably supposed that they
+possess the requisite qualifications to entitle them to all the
+privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States? Have the
+people of the several States expressed such a conviction? It may also be
+asked whether it is necessary that they should be declared citizens in
+order that they may be secured in the enjoyment of the civil rights
+proposed to be conferred by the bill. Those rights are, by Federal as
+well as State laws, secured to all domiciled aliens and foreigners, even
+before the completion of the process of naturalization; and it may
+safely be assumed that the same enactments are sufficient to give like
+protection and benefits to those for whom this bill provides special
+legislation. Besides, the policy of the Government from its origin to
+the present time seems to have been that persons who are strangers to
+and unfamiliar with our institutions and our laws should pass through
+a certain probation, at the end of which, before attaining the coveted
+prize, they must give evidence of their fitness to receive and to
+exercise the rights of citizens as contemplated by the Constitution of
+the United States. The bill in effect proposes a discrimination against
+large numbers of intelligent, worthy, and patriotic foreigners, and in
+favor of the negro, to whom, after long years of bondage, the avenues to
+freedom and intelligence have just now been suddenly opened. He must of
+necessity, from his previous unfortunate condition of servitude, be less
+informed as to the nature and character of our institutions than he who,
+coming from abroad, has, to some extent at least, familiarized himself
+with the principles of a Government to which he voluntarily intrusts
+"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Yet it is now proposed,
+by a single legislative enactment, to confer the rights of citizens upon
+all persons of African descent born within the extended limits of the
+United States, while persons of foreign birth who make our land their
+home must undergo a probation of five years, and can only then become
+citizens upon proof that they are "of good moral character, attached to
+the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well
+disposed to the good order and happiness of the same."
+
+The first section of the bill also contains an enumeration of the rights
+to be enjoyed by these classes so made citizens "in every State and
+Territory in the United States." These rights are "to make and enforce
+contracts; to sue, be parties, and give evidence; to inherit, purchase,
+lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property," and to have
+"full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of
+person and property as is enjoyed by white citizens." So, too, they are
+made subject to the same punishment, pains, and penalties in common with
+white citizens, and to none other. Thus a perfect equality of the white
+and colored races is attempted to be fixed by Federal law in every State
+of the Union over the vast field of State jurisdiction covered by these
+enumerated rights. In no one of these can any State ever exercise any
+power of discrimination between the different races. In the exercise of
+State policy over matters exclusively affecting the people of each State
+it has frequently been thought expedient to discriminate between the
+two races. By the statutes of some of the States, Northern as well
+as Southern, it is enacted, for instance, that no white person shall
+intermarry with a negro or mulatto. Chancellor Kent says, speaking of
+the blacks, that--
+
+  Marriages between them and the whites are forbidden in some of the
+  States where slavery does not exist, and they are prohibited in all the
+  slaveholding States; and when not absolutely contrary to law, they are
+  revolting, and regarded as an offense against public decorum.
+
+I do not say that this bill repeals State laws on the subject of
+marriage between the two races, for as the whites are forbidden to
+intermarry with the blacks, the blacks can only make such contracts as
+the whites themselves are allowed to make, and therefore can not under
+this bill enter into the marriage contract with the whites. I cite this
+discrimination, however, as an instance of the State policy as to
+discrimination, and to inquire whether if Congress can abrogate all
+State laws of discrimination between the two races in the matter of real
+estate, of suits, and of contracts generally Congress may not also
+repeal the State laws as to the contract of marriage between the two
+races. Hitherto every subject embraced in the enumeration of rights
+contained in this bill has been considered as exclusively belonging to
+the States. They all relate to the internal police and economy of the
+respective States. They are matters which in each State concern the
+domestic condition of its people, varying in each according to its own
+peculiar circumstances and the safety and well-being of its own
+citizens. I do not mean to say that upon all these subjects there are
+not Federal restraints--as, for instance, in the State power of
+legislation over contracts there is a Federal limitation that no State
+shall pass a law impairing the obligations of contracts; and, as to
+crimes, that no State shall pass an _ex post facto_ law; and, as to
+money, that no State shall make anything but gold and silver a legal
+tender; but where can we find a Federal prohibition against the power
+of any State to discriminate, as do most of them, between aliens and
+citizens, between artificial persons, called corporations, and natural
+persons, in the right to hold real estate? If it be granted that
+Congress can repeal all State laws discriminating between whites and
+blacks in the subjects covered by this bill, why, it may be asked, may
+not Congress repeal in the same way all State laws discriminating
+between the two races on the subjects of suffrage and office? If
+Congress can declare by law who shall hold lands, who shall testify, who
+shall have capacity to make a contract in a State, then Congress can by
+law also declare who, without regard to color or race, shall have the
+right to sit as a juror or as a judge, to hold any office, and, finally,
+to vote "in every State and Territory of the United States." As respects
+the Territories, they come within the power of Congress, for as to them
+the lawmaking power is the Federal power; but as to the States no
+similar provision exists vesting in Congress the power "to make rules
+and regulations" for them.
+
+The object of the second section of the bill is to afford discriminating
+protection to colored persons in the full enjoyment of all the rights
+secured to them by the preceding section. It declares--
+
+  That any person who, under color of any law, statute, ordinance,
+  regulation, or custom, shall subject, or cause to be subjected, any
+  inhabitant of any State or Territory to the deprivation of any right
+  secured or protected by this act, or to different punishment, pains, or
+  penalties on account of such person having at any time been held in a
+  condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment
+  for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, or by reason
+  of his color or race, than is prescribed for the punishment of white
+  persons, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction
+  shall be punished by fine not exceeding $1,000, or imprisonment not
+  exceeding one year, or both, in the discretion of the court.
+
+
+This section seems to be designed to apply to some existing or future
+law of a State or Territory which may conflict with the provisions of
+the bill now under consideration. It provides for counteracting such
+forbidden legislation by imposing fine and imprisonment upon the
+legislators who may pass such conflicting laws, or upon the officers or
+agents who shall put or attempt to put them into execution. It means an
+official offense, not a common crime committed against law upon the
+persons or property of the black race. Such an act may deprive the black
+man of his property, but not of the _right_ to hold property. It means
+a deprivation of the right itself, either by the State judiciary or
+the State legislature. It is therefore assumed that under this section
+members of State legislatures who should vote for laws conflicting with
+the provisions of the bill, that judges of the State courts who should
+render judgments in antagonism with its terms, and that marshals and
+sheriffs who should, as ministerial officers, execute processes
+sanctioned by State laws and issued by State judges in execution of
+their judgments could be brought before other tribunals and there
+subjected to fine and imprisonment for the performance of the duties
+which such State laws might impose. The legislation thus proposed
+invades the judicial power of the State. It says to every State court or
+judge, If you decide that this act is unconstitutional; if you refuse,
+under the prohibition of a State law, to allow a negro to testify; if
+you hold that over such a subject-matter the State law is paramount, and
+"under color" of a State law refuse the exercise of the right to the
+negro, your error of judgment, however conscientious, shall subject
+you to fine and imprisonment. I do not apprehend that the conflicting
+legislation which the bill seems to contemplate is so likely to occur as
+to render it necessary at this time to adopt a measure of such doubtful
+constitutionality.
+
+In the next place, this provision of the bill seems to be unnecessary,
+as adequate judicial remedies could be adopted to secure the desired end
+without invading the immunities of legislators, always important to be
+preserved in the interest of public liberty; without assailing the
+independence of the judiciary, always essential to the preservation of
+individual rights; and without impairing the efficiency of ministerial
+officers, always necessary for the maintenance of public peace and
+order. The remedy proposed by this section seems to be in this respect
+not only anomalous, but unconstitutional; for the Constitution
+guarantees nothing with certainty if it does not insure to the several
+States the right of making and executing laws in regard to all matters
+arising within their jurisdiction, subject only to the restriction that
+in cases of conflict with the Constitution and constitutional laws of
+the United States the latter should be held to be the supreme law of the
+land.
+
+The third section gives the district courts of the United States
+exclusive "cognizance of all crimes and offenses committed against the
+provisions of this act," and concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit
+courts of the United States of all civil and criminal cases "affecting
+persons who are denied or can not enforce in the courts or judicial
+tribunals of the State or locality where they may be any of the rights
+secured to them by the first section." The construction which I have
+given to the second section is strengthened by this third section, for
+it makes clear what kind of denial or deprivation of the rights secured
+by the first section was in contemplation. It is a denial or deprivation
+of such rights "in the courts or judicial tribunals of the State." It
+stands, therefore, clear of doubt that the offense and the penalties
+provided in the second section are intended for the State judge who, in
+the clear exercise of his functions as a judge, not acting ministerially
+but judicially, shall decide contrary to this Federal law. In other
+words, when a State judge, acting upon a question involving a conflict
+between a State law and a Federal law, and bound, according to his own
+judgment and responsibility, to give an impartial decision between the
+two, comes to the conclusion that the State law is valid and the Federal
+law is invalid, he must not follow the dictates of his own judgment, at
+the peril of fine and imprisonment. The legislative department of the
+Government of the United States thus takes from the judicial department
+of the States the sacred and exclusive duty of judicial decision, and
+converts the State judge into a mere ministerial officer, bound to
+decide according to the will of Congress.
+
+It is clear that in States which deny to persons whose rights are
+secured by the first section of the bill any one of those rights all
+criminal and civil cases affecting them will, by the provisions of the
+third section, come under the exclusive cognizance of the Federal
+tribunals. It follows that if, in any State which denies to a colored
+person any one of all those rights, that person should commit a crime
+against the laws of a State--murder, arson, rape, or any other
+crime--all protection and punishment through the courts of the State are
+taken away, and he can only be tried and punished in the Federal courts.
+How is the criminal to be tried? If the offense is provided for and
+punished by Federal law, that law, and not the State law, is to govern.
+It is only when the offense does not happen to be within the purview of
+Federal law that the Federal courts are to try and punish him under any
+other law. Then resort is to be had to "the common law, as modified and
+changed" by State legislation, "so far as the same is not inconsistent
+with the Constitution and laws of the United States." So that over this
+vast domain of criminal jurisprudence provided by each State for the
+protection of its own citizens and for the punishment of all persons who
+violate its criminal laws, Federal law, whenever it can be made to
+apply, displaces State law. The question here naturally arises, from
+what source Congress derives the power to transfer to Federal tribunals
+certain classes of cases embraced in this section. The Constitution
+expressly declares that the judicial power of the United States "shall
+extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution,
+the laws of the United States, and treaties made or which shall be made
+under their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public
+ministers, and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime
+jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall be a
+party; to controversies between two or more States, between a State and
+citizens of another State, between citizens of different States, between
+citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of different
+States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign
+states, citizens, or subjects." Here the judicial power of the United
+States is expressly set forth and defined; and the act of September 24,
+1789, establishing the judicial courts of the United States, in
+conferring upon the Federal courts jurisdiction over cases originating
+in State tribunals, is careful to confine them to the classes enumerated
+in the above-recited clause of the Constitution. This section of the
+bill undoubtedly comprehends cases and authorizes the exercise of powers
+that are not, by the Constitution, within the jurisdiction of the courts
+of the United States. To transfer them to those courts would be an
+exercise of authority well calculated to excite distrust and alarm on
+the part of all the States, for the bill applies alike to all of
+them--as well to those that have as to those that have not been engaged
+in rebellion.
+
+It may be assumed that this authority is incident to the power granted
+to Congress by the Constitution, as recently amended, to enforce, by
+appropriate legislation, the article declaring that--
+
+  Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for
+  crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist
+  within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
+
+
+It can not, however, be justly claimed that, with a view to the
+enforcement of this article of the Constitution, there is at present any
+necessity for the exercise of all the powers which this bill confers.
+Slavery has been abolished, and at present nowhere exists within the
+jurisdiction of the United States; nor has there been, nor is it likely
+there will be, any attempt to revive it by the people or the States.
+If, however, any such attempt shall be made, it will then become the
+duty of the General Government to exercise any and all incidental powers
+necessary and proper to maintain inviolate this great constitutional law
+of freedom.
+
+The fourth section of the bill provides that officers and agents of the
+Freedmen's Bureau shall be empowered to make arrests, and also that
+other officers may be specially commissioned for that purpose by the
+President of the United States. It also authorizes circuit courts of the
+United States and the superior courts of the Territories to appoint,
+without limitation, commissioners, who are to be charged with the
+performance of _quasi_ judicial duties. The fifth section empowers the
+commissioners so to be selected by the courts to appoint in writing,
+under their hands, one or more suitable persons from time to time to
+execute warrants and other processes described by the bill. These
+numerous official agents are made to constitute a sort of police,
+in addition to the military, and are authorized to summon a _posse
+comitatus_, and even to call to their aid such portion of the land
+and naval forces of the United States, or of the militia, "as may be
+necessary to the performance of the duty with which they are charged."
+This extraordinary power is to be conferred upon agents irresponsible to
+the Government and to the people, to whose number the discretion of the
+commissioners is the only limit, and in whose hands such authority might
+be made a terrible engine of wrong, oppression, and fraud. The general
+statutes regulating the land and naval forces of the United States, the
+militia, and the execution of the laws are believed to be adequate for
+every emergency which can occur in time of peace. If it should prove
+otherwise, Congress can at any time amend those laws in such manner as,
+while subserving the public welfare, not to jeopard the rights,
+interests, and liberties of the people.
+
+The seventh section provides that a fee of $10 shall be paid to each
+commissioner in every case brought before him, and a fee of $5 to his
+deputy or deputies "for each person he or they may arrest and take
+before any such commissioner," "with such other fees as may be deemed
+reasonable by such commissioner," "in general for performing such other
+duties as may be required in the premises." All these fees are to be
+"paid out of the Treasury of the United States," whether there is a
+conviction or not; but in case of conviction they are to be recoverable
+from the defendant. It seems to me that under the influence of such
+temptations bad men might convert any law, however beneficent, into an
+instrument of persecution and fraud.
+
+By the eighth section of the bill the United States courts, which sit
+only in one place for white citizens, must migrate with the marshal and
+district attorney (and necessarily with the clerk, although he is not
+mentioned) to any part of the district upon the order of the President,
+and there hold a court, "for the purpose of the more speedy arrest and
+trial of persons charged with a violation of this act;" and there the
+judge and officers of the court must remain, upon the order of the
+President, "for the time therein designated."
+
+The ninth section authorizes the President, or such person as he may
+empower for that purpose, "to employ such part of the land or naval
+forces of the United States, or of the militia, as shall be necessary
+to prevent the violation and enforce the due execution of this act."
+This language seems to imply a permanent military force, that is to be
+always at hand, and whose only business is to be the enforcement of this
+measure over the vast region where it is intended to operate.
+
+I do not propose to consider the policy of this bill. To me the details
+of the bill seem fraught with evil. The white race and the black race of
+the South have hitherto lived together under the relation of master and
+slave--capital owning labor. Now, suddenly, that relation is changed,
+and as to ownership capital and labor are divorced. They stand now each
+master of itself. In this new relation, one being necessary to the
+other, there will be a new adjustment, which both are deeply interested
+in making harmonious. Each has equal power in settling the terms, and
+if left to the laws that regulate capital and labor it is confidently
+believed that they will satisfactorily work out the problem. Capital, it
+is true, has more intelligence, but labor is never so ignorant as not to
+understand its own interests, not to know its own value, and not to see
+that capital must pay that value.
+
+This bill frustrates this adjustment. It intervenes between capital and
+labor and attempts to settle questions of political economy through the
+agency of numerous officials whose interest it will be to foment discord
+between the two races, for as the breach widens their employment will
+continue, and when it is closed their occupation will terminate.
+
+In all our history, in all our experience as a people living under
+Federal and State law, no such system as that contemplated by the
+details of this bill has ever before been proposed or adopted. They
+establish for the security of the colored race safeguards which go
+infinitely beyond any that the General Government has ever provided for
+the white race. In fact, the distinction of race and color is by the
+bill made to operate in favor of the colored and against the white race.
+They interfere with the municipal legislation of the States, with the
+relations existing exclusively between a State and its citizens, or
+between inhabitants of the same State--an absorption and assumption of
+power by the General Government which, if acquiesced in, must sap and
+destroy our federative system of limited powers and break down the
+barriers which preserve the rights of the States. It is another step,
+or rather stride, toward centralization and the concentration of all
+legislative powers in the National Government. The tendency of the
+bill must be to resuscitate the spirit of rebellion and to arrest the
+progress of those influences which are more closely drawing around the
+States the bonds of union and peace.
+
+My lamented predecessor, in his proclamation of the 1st of January,
+1863, ordered and declared that all persons held as slaves within
+certain States and parts of States therein designated were and
+thenceforward should be free; and further, that the executive government
+of the United States, including the military and naval authorities
+thereof, would recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons.
+This guaranty has been rendered especially obligatory and sacred by the
+amendment of the Constitution abolishing slavery throughout the United
+States. I therefore fully recognize the obligation to protect and
+defend that class of our people whenever and wherever it shall become
+necessary, and to the full extent compatible with the Constitution of
+the United States.
+
+Entertaining these sentiments, it only remains for me to say that I will
+cheerfully cooperate with Congress in any measure that may be necessary
+for the protection of the civil rights of the freedmen, as well as those
+of all other classes of persons throughout the United States, by
+judicial process, under equal and impartial laws, in conformity with the
+provisions of the Federal Constitution.
+
+I now return the bill to the Senate, and regret that in considering the
+bills and joint resolutions--forty-two in number--which have been thus
+far submitted for my approval I am compelled to withhold my assent from
+a second measure that has received the sanction of both Houses of
+Congress.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 15, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I return to the Senate, in which House it originated, the bill, which
+has passed both Houses of Congress, entitled "An act for the admission
+of the State of Colorado into the Union," with my objections to its
+becoming a law at this time.
+
+First. From the best information which I have been able to obtain
+I do not consider the establishment of a State government at present
+necessary for the welfare of the people of Colorado. Under the existing
+Territorial government all the rights, privileges, and interests of the
+citizens are protected and secured. The qualified voters choose their
+own legislators and their own local officers, and are represented in
+Congress by a Delegate of their own selection. They make and execute
+their own municipal laws, subject only to revision by Congress--an
+authority not likely to be exercised unless in extreme or extraordinary
+cases. The population is small, some estimating it so low as 25,000,
+while advocates of the bill reckon the number at from 35,000 to 40,000
+souls. The people are principally recent settlers, many of whom are
+understood to be ready for removal to other mining districts beyond
+the limits of the Territory if circumstances shall render them more
+inviting. Such a population can not but find relief from excessive
+taxation if the Territorial system, which devolves the expenses of the
+executive, legislative, and judicial departments upon the United States,
+is for the present continued. They can not but find the security of
+person and property increased by their reliance upon the national
+executive power for the maintenance of law and order against the
+disturbances necessarily incident to all newly organized communities.
+
+Second. It is not satisfactorily established that a majority of the
+citizens of Colorado desire or are prepared for an exchange of a
+Territorial for a State government. In September, 1864, under the
+authority of Congress, an election was lawfully appointed and held for
+the purpose of ascertaining the views of the people upon this particular
+question. Six thousand one hundred and ninety-two votes were cast, and
+of this number a majority of 3,152 was given against the proposed
+change. In September, 1865, without any legal authority, the question
+was again presented to the people of the Territory, with the view of
+obtaining a reconsideration of the result of the election held in
+compliance with the act of Congress approved March 21, 1864. At this
+second election 5,905 votes were polled, and a majority of 155 was given
+in favor of a State organization. It does not seem to me entirely safe
+to receive this, the last-mentioned, result, so irregularly obtained, as
+sufficient to outweigh the one which had been legally obtained in the
+first election. Regularity and conformity to law are essential to the
+preservation of order and stable government, and should, as far as
+practicable, always be observed in the formation of new States.
+
+Third. The admission of Colorado at this time as a State into the
+Federal Union appears to me to be incompatible with the public interests
+of the country. While it is desirable that Territories, when
+sufficiently matured, should be organized as States, yet the spirit of
+the Constitution seems to require that there should be an approximation
+toward equality among the several States composing the Union. No State
+can have less or more than two Senators in Congress. The largest State
+has a population of 4,000,000; several of the States have a population
+exceeding 2,000,000, and many others have a population exceeding
+1,000,000. A population of 127,000 is the ratio of apportionment of
+Representatives among the several States.
+
+If this bill should become a law, the people of Colorado, 30,000 in
+number, would have in the House of Representatives one member, while New
+York, with a population of 4,000,000, has but thirty-one; Colorado would
+have in the electoral college three votes, while New York has only
+thirty-three; Colorado would have in the Senate two votes, while New
+York has no more.
+
+Inequalities of this character have already occurred, but it is believed
+that none have happened where the inequality was so great. When such
+inequality has been allowed, Congress is supposed to have permitted it
+on the ground of some high public necessity and under circumstances
+which promised that it would rapidly disappear through the growth and
+development of the newly admitted State. Thus, in regard to the several
+States in what was formerly called the "Northwest Territory," lying east
+of the Mississippi, their rapid advancement in population rendered it
+certain that States admitted with only one or two Representatives in
+Congress would in a very short period be entitled to a great increase
+of representation. So, when California was admitted, on the ground of
+commercial and political exigencies, it was well foreseen that that
+State was destined rapidly to become a great, prosperous, and important
+mining and commercial community. In the case of Colorado, I am not aware
+that any national exigency, either of a political or commercial nature,
+requires a departure from the law of equality which has been so
+generally adhered to in our history.
+
+If information submitted in connection with this bill is reliable,
+Colorado, instead of increasing, has declined in population. At an
+election for members of a Territorial legislature held in 1861, 10,580
+votes were cast; at the election before mentioned, in 1864, the number
+of votes cast was 6,192; while at the irregular election held in 1865,
+which is assumed as a basis for legislative action at this time, the
+aggregate of votes was 5,905. Sincerely anxious for the welfare and
+prosperity of every Territory and State, as well as for the prosperity
+and welfare of the whole Union, I regret this apparent decline of
+population in Colorado; but it is manifest that it is due to emigration
+which is going on from that Territory into other regions within the
+United States, which either are in fact or are believed by the
+inhabitants of Colorado to be richer in mineral wealth and agricultural
+resources. If, however, Colorado has not really declined in population,
+another census or another election under the authority of Congress would
+place the question beyond doubt, and cause but little delay in the
+ultimate admission of the Territory as a State if desired by the people.
+
+The tenor of these objections furnishes the reply which may be expected
+to an argument in favor of the measure derived from the enabling act
+which was passed by Congress on the 21st day of March, 1864. Although
+Congress then supposed that the condition of the Territory was such as
+to warrant its admission as a State, the result of two years' experience
+shows that every reason which existed for the institution of a
+Territorial instead of a State government in Colorado at its first
+organization still continues in force.
+
+The condition of the Union at the present moment is calculated to
+inspire caution in regard to the admission of new States. Eleven of the
+old States have been for some time, and still remain, unrepresented
+in Congress. It is a common interest of all the States, as well those
+represented as those unrepresented, that the integrity and harmony of
+the Union should be restored as completely as possible, so that all
+those who are expected to bear the burdens of the Federal Government
+shall be consulted concerning the admission of new States; and that
+in the meantime no new State shall be prematurely and unnecessarily
+admitted to a participation in the political power which the Federal
+Government wields, not for the benefit of any individual State or
+section, but for the common safety, welfare, and happiness of the whole
+country.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 15, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+The bill entitled "An act to enable the New York and Montana Iron Mining
+and Manufacturing Company to purchase a certain amount of the public
+lands not now in market" is herewith returned to the Senate, in which it
+originated, with the objections which induce me to withhold my approval.
+
+By the terms of this bill the New York and Montana Iron Mining and
+Manufacturing Company are authorized, at any time within one year after
+the date of approval, to _preempt_ two tracts of land in the Territory
+of Montana, not exceeding in the aggregate twenty sections, and not
+included in any Indian reservation or in any Government reservation for
+military or other purposes. Three of these sections may be selected from
+lands containing _iron ore and coal_, and the remainder from _timber_
+lands lying near thereto. These selections are to be made under
+regulations from the Secretary of the Interior and be subject to his
+approval. The company, on the selection of the lands, may acquire
+immediate possession by permanently marking their boundaries and
+publishing description thereof in any two newspapers of general
+circulation in the Territory of Montana. Patents are to be issued on
+the performance, within two years, of the following conditions:
+
+First. The lands to be surveyed at the expense of the company, and each
+tract to be "as nearly in a square form as may be practicable."
+
+Second. The company to furnish evidence satisfactory to the Secretary of
+the Interior that they have erected and have in operation in one or more
+places on said lands iron works capable of manufacturing at least 1,500
+tons of iron per annum.
+
+Third. The company to have paid for said lands the minimum price of
+$1.25 per acre.
+
+It is also provided that the "patents shall convey no title to any
+mineral lands except iron and coal, or to any lands held by right of
+possession, or by any other title, _except Indian title_, valid at
+the time of the selection of the said lands." The company are to have
+the privileges of _ordinary preemptors_ and be subject to the same
+restrictions as such preemptors with reference to wood and timber on the
+lands, with the exception of so much as may be necessarily used in the
+erection of buildings and in the legitimate business of manufacturing
+iron.
+
+The parties upon whom these privileges are conferred are designated in
+the bill as "The New York and Montana Iron Mining and Manufacturing
+Company." Their names and residence not being disclosed, it must be
+inferred that this company is a corporation, which, under color of
+corporate powers derived from some State or Territorial legislative
+authority, proposes to carry on the business of mining and manufacturing
+iron, and to accomplish these ends seeks this grant of public land in
+Montana. Two questions thus arise, viz, whether the privileges the bill
+would confer should be granted to any person or persons, and, secondly,
+whether, if unobjectionable in other respects, they should be conferred
+upon a corporation.
+
+The public domain is a national trust, set apart and held for the
+general welfare upon principles of equal justice, and not to be bestowed
+as a special privilege upon a favored class. The proper rules for the
+disposal of public land have from the earliest period been the subject
+of earnest inquiry, grave discussion, and deliberate judgment. The
+purpose of _direct_ revenue was the first object, and this was attained
+by public sale to the highest bidder, and subsequently by the right of
+private purchase at a fixed minimum. It was soon discovered that the
+surest and most speedy means of promoting the wealth and prosperity of
+the country was by encouraging actual settlement and occupation, and
+hence a system of preemption rights, resulting most beneficially, in all
+the Western Territories. By progressive steps it has advanced to the
+homestead principle, securing to every head of a family, widow, and
+single man 21 years of age and to every soldier who has borne arms for
+his country a landed estate sufficient, with industry, for the purpose
+of independent support.
+
+Without tracing the system of preemption laws through the several
+stages, it is sufficient to observe that it rests upon certain just
+and plain principles, firmly established in all our legislation. The
+object of these laws is to encourage the expansion of population and
+the development of agricultural interests, and hence they have been
+invariably restricted to settlers. Actual residence and cultivation are
+made indispensable conditions; and, to guard the privilege from abuses
+of speculation or monopoly, the law is rigid as to the mode of
+establishing claims by adequate testimony, with penalties for perjury.
+Mining, trading, or any pursuit other than culture of the soil is
+interdicted, mineral lands being expressly excluded from preemption
+privileges, excepting those containing coal, which, in quantities not
+exceeding 160 acres, are restricted to individuals in actual possession
+and commerce, with an enhanced minimum of $20 per acre.
+
+For a quarter of a century the quantity of land subject to agricultural
+preemption has been limited so as not to exceed a quarter section, or
+160 acres; and, still further to guard against monopoly, the privilege
+of preemption is not allowed to any person who owns 320 acres of land in
+any State or Territory of the United States, nor is any person entitled
+to more than one preemptive right, nor is it extended to lands to which
+the Indian usufruct has not been extinguished. To restrict the
+privilege within reasonable limits, credit to the ordinary preemptor on
+_offered_ land is not extended beyond twelve months, within which time
+the minimum price must be paid. Where the settlement is upon _unoffered_
+territory, the time for payment is limited to the day of public offering
+designated by proclamation of the President; while, to prevent
+depreciation of the land by waste or destruction of what may constitute
+its value, penal enactments have been made for the punishment of persons
+depredating upon public timber.
+
+Now, supposing the New York and Montana Iron Mining and Manufacturing
+Company to be entitled to all the preemption rights which it has been
+found just and expedient to bestow upon natural persons, it will be seen
+that the privileges conferred by the bill in question are in direct
+conflict with every principle heretofore observed in respect to the
+disposal of the public lands.
+
+The bill confers preemption right to _mineral lands_, which, excepting
+coal lands, at an enhanced minimum, have heretofore, as a general
+principle, been carefully excluded from preemption. The object of the
+company is not to cultivate the soil or to promote agriculture, but is
+for the sole purpose of mining and manufacturing iron. The company is
+not limited, like ordinary preemptors, to one preemptive claim of a
+quarter section, but may preempt two bodies of land, amounting in
+the aggregate to twenty sections, containing 12,800 acres, or eighty
+ordinary individual preemption rights. The timber is not protected, but,
+on the contrary, is devoted to speedy destruction; for even before the
+consummation of title the company are allowed to consume whatever may be
+necessary in the erection of buildings and the business of manufacturing
+iron. For these special privileges, in contravention of the land policy
+of so many years, the company are required to pay only the minimum price
+of $1.25 per acre, or one-sixteenth of the established minimum, and are
+granted a credit of two years, or twice the time allowed ordinary
+preemptors on offered lands.
+
+Nor is this all. The preemption right in question covers three sections
+of land containing iron ore and _coal_. The act passed on the 1st of
+July, 1864, made it lawful for the President to cause tracts embracing
+coal beds or coal fields to be offered at public sale in suitable legal
+subdivisions to the highest bidder, after public notice of not less than
+three months, at a minimum price of $20 per acre, and any lands not thus
+disposed of were thereafter to be liable to private entry at said
+minimum. By the act of March 3, 1865, the right of preemption to coal
+lands is granted to any citizen of the United States who at that date
+was engaged in the business of coal mining on the public domain for
+purposes of commerce; and he is authorized to enter, according to legal
+subdivisions, at the minimum price of $20 per acre, a quantity of land
+not exceeding 160 acres, to embrace his improvements and mining
+premises. Under these acts the minimum price of three sections of coal
+lands would be thirty-eight thousand four hundred dollars ($38,400).
+
+By the bill now in question these sections containing _coal and iron_
+are bestowed on this company at the nominal price of $1.25 per acre, or
+two thousand four hundred dollars ($2,400), thus making a gratuity or
+gift to the New York and Montana Iron Mining and Manufacturing Company
+of thirty-six thousand dollars ($36,000).
+
+On what ground can such a gratuity to this company be justified,
+especially at a time when the burdens of taxation bear so heavily upon
+all classes of the people?
+
+Less than two years ago it appears to have been the deliberate judgment
+of Congress that tracts of land containing coal beds or coal fields
+should be sold, after three months' notice, to the bidder at public
+auction who would give the highest price over $20 per acre, and that
+a citizen engaged in the business of actual coal mining on the public
+domain should only secure a tract of 160 acres, at private entry, upon
+payment of $20 per acre and formal and satisfactory proof that he in all
+respects came within the requirements of the statute. It can not be that
+the coal fields of Montana have depreciated nearly twenty fold in value
+since July, 1864. So complete a revolution in the land policy as is
+manifested by this act can only be ascribed, therefore, to an
+inadvertence, which Congress will, I trust, promptly correct.
+
+Believing that the preemption policy--so deliberately adopted, so long
+practiced, so carefully guarded with a view to the disposal of the
+public lands in a manner that would promote the population and
+prosperity of the country--should not be perverted to the purposes
+contemplated by this bill, I would be constrained to withhold my
+sanction even if this company were, as natural persons, entitled to the
+privileges of ordinary preemptors; for if a corporation, as the name and
+the absence of any designation of individuals would denote, the measure
+before me is liable to another fatal objection.
+
+Why should incorporated companies have the privileges of individual
+preemptors? What principle of justice requires such a policy? What
+motive of public welfare can fail to condemn it? Lands held by
+corporations were regarded by ancient laws as held in mortmain, or by
+"dead hand," and from the time of Magna Charta corporations required
+the royal license to hold land, because such holding was regarded as in
+derogation of public policy and common right. Preemption is itself a
+special privilege, only authorized by its supposed public benefit in
+promoting the settlement and cultivation of vacant territory and in
+rewarding the enterprise of the persons upon whom the privilege is
+bestowed. "Preemption rights," as declared by the Supreme Court of the
+United States, "are founded in an enlightened public policy, rendered
+necessary by the enterprise of our citizens. The adventurous pioneer,
+who is found in advance of our settlements, encounters many hardships,
+and not unfrequently dangers from savage incursions. He is generally
+poor, and it is fit that his enterprise should be rewarded by the
+privilege of purchasing the spot selected by him, not to exceed 160
+acres."
+
+It may be said that this company, before they obtain a patent, must
+prove that within two years they "have erected and have in operation
+in one or more places on the said lands iron works with a capacity for
+manufacturing at least 1,500 tons of iron per annum." On the other hand,
+they are to have possession for two years of more than 12,000 acres of
+the choice land of the Territory, of which nearly 2,000 acres are to
+contain _iron ore and coal_ and over 10,000 acres to be of _timber_
+land selected by themselves. They will thus have the first and exclusive
+choice. In fact, they are the only parties who at this time would have
+any privilege whatever in the way of obtaining titles in that Territory.
+Inasmuch as Montana has not yet been organized into a land district, the
+general preemption laws for the benefit of individual settlers have not
+yet been extended to that country, nor has a single acre of public
+land in the Territory yet been surveyed. With such exclusive and
+extraordinary privileges, how many companies would be willing to
+undertake furnaces that would produce 5 tons per day in much less time
+than two years?
+
+It is plain the pretended consideration on which the patent is to issue
+bears no just proportion to that of the ordinary preemptor, and that
+this bill is but the precursor of a system of land distribution to a
+privileged class, unequal, unjust, and which ought not to receive the
+sanction of the General Government. Many thousand pioneers have turned
+their steps to the Western Territories, seeking, with their wives and
+children, homesteads to be acquired by sturdy industry under the
+preemption laws. On their arrival they should not find the timbered
+lands and the tracts containing iron ore and coal already surveyed and
+claimed by corporate companies, favored by the special legislation of
+Congress, and with boundaries fixed even in advance of the public
+surveys--a departure from the salutary provision requiring a settler
+upon unsurveyed lands to limit the boundaries of his claim to the lines
+of the public survey after they shall have been established. He receives
+a title only to a legal subdivision, including his residence and
+improvements. The survey of the company may not accord with that which
+will hereafter be made by the Government, while the patent that issues
+will be descriptive of and confer a title to the tract as surveyed by
+the company.
+
+I am aware of no precedent for granting such exclusive rights to a
+manufacturing company for a nominal consideration. Congress have made
+concessions to railway companies of alternate sections within given
+limits of the lines of their roads. This policy originated in the belief
+that the facilities afforded by reaching the parts of the country remote
+from the great centers of population would expedite the settlement and
+sale of the public domain. These incidental advantages were secured
+without pecuniary loss to the Government, by reason of the enhanced
+value of the reserved sections, which are held at the double minimum.
+Mining and manufacturing companies, however, have always been
+distinguished from public-improvement corporations. The former are, in
+law and in fact, only private associations for trade and business on
+individual account and for personal benefit. Admitting the proposition
+that railroad grants can stand on sound principle, it is plain that such
+can not be the case with concessions to companies like that contemplated
+by this measure. In view of the strong temptation to monopolize the
+public lands, with the pernicious results, it would seem at least of
+doubtful expediency to lift corporations above all competition with
+actual settlers by authorizing them to become purchasers of public lands
+in the Territories for any purpose, and particularly when clothed with
+the special benefits of this bill. For myself, I am convinced that the
+privileges of ordinary preemptors ought not to be extended to
+incorporated companies.
+
+A third objection may be mentioned, as it exemplifies the spirit in
+which special privileges are sought by incorporated companies.
+
+Land subject to Indian occupancy has always been scrupulously guarded by
+law from preemption settlement or encroachment under any pretext until
+the Indian title should be extinguished. In the fourth section of this
+act, however, lands held by "Indian title" are excepted from prohibition
+against the patent to be issued to the New York and Montana Iron Mining
+and Manufacturing Company.
+
+The bill provides that the patent "shall convey no title to any mineral
+lands _except iron and coal_, or to any lands held by right of
+possession, or by any other title, _except Indian title_, valid at
+the time of the selection of the said lands." It will be seen that by
+the first section lands in "Indian reservations" are excluded from
+individual preemption right, but by the fourth section the patent may
+cover any Indian title except a _reservation_; so that no matter what
+may be the nature of the Indian title, unless it be in a reservation,
+it is unprotected from the privilege conceded by this bill.
+
+Without further pursuing the subject, I return the bill to the Senate
+without my signature, and with the following as prominent objections to
+its becoming a law:
+
+First. That it gives to the New York and Montana Iron Mining and
+Manufacturing Company preemption privileges to iron and coal lands on a
+large scale and at the ordinary minimum--a privilege denied to ordinary
+preemptors. It bestows upon the company large tracts of _coal_ lands at
+one-sixteenth of the minimum price required from ordinary preemptors.
+It also relieves the company from restrictions imposed upon ordinary
+preemptors in respect to _timber lands_; allows double the time for
+payment granted to preemptors on offered lands; and these privileges are
+for purposes not heretofore authorized by the preemption laws, but for
+trade and manufacturing.
+
+Second. Preemption rights on such a scale to private corporations are
+unequal and hostile to the policy and principles which sanction
+preemption laws.
+
+Third. The bill allows this company to take possession of land, use it,
+and acquire a patent thereto before the Indian title is extinguished,
+and thus violates the good faith of the Government toward the aboriginal
+tribes.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 16, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+A careful examination of the bill passed by the two Houses of Congress
+entitled "An act to continue in force and to amend 'An act to establish
+a bureau for the relief of freedmen and refugees, and for other
+purposes'" has convinced me that the legislation which it proposes would
+not be consistent with the welfare of the country, and that it falls
+clearly within the reasons assigned in my message of the 19th of
+February last, returning, without my signature, a similar measure which
+originated in the Senate. It is not my purpose to repeat the objections
+which I then urged. They are yet fresh in your recollection, and can be
+readily examined as a part of the records of one branch of the National
+Legislature. Adhering to the principles set forth in that message, I now
+reaffirm them and the line of policy therein indicated.
+
+The only ground upon which this kind of legislation can be justified is
+that of the war-making power. The act of which this bill is intended
+as amendatory was passed during the existence of the war. By its own
+provisions it is to terminate within one year from the cessation of
+hostilities and the declaration of peace. It is therefore yet in
+existence, and it is likely that it will continue in force as long
+as the freedmen may require the benefit of its provisions. It will
+certainly remain in operation as a law until some months subsequent to
+the meeting of the next session of Congress, when, if experience shall
+make evident the necessity of additional legislation, the two Houses
+will have ample time to mature and pass the requisite measures. In the
+meantime the questions arise, Why should this war measure be continued
+beyond the period designated in the original act, and why in time of
+peace should military tribunals be created to continue until each
+"State shall be fully restored in its constitutional relations to the
+Government and shall be duly represented in the Congress of the United
+States"?
+
+It was manifest, with respect to the act approved March 3, 1865, that
+prudence and wisdom alike required that jurisdiction over all cases
+concerning the free enjoyment of the immunities and rights of
+citizenship, as well as the protection of person and property, should
+be conferred upon some tribunal in every State or district where the
+ordinary course of judicial proceedings was interrupted by the
+rebellion, and until the same should be fully restored. At that time,
+therefore, an urgent necessity existed for the passage of some such
+law. Now, however, war has substantially ceased; the ordinary course of
+judicial proceedings is no longer interrupted; the courts, both State
+and Federal, are in full, complete, and successful operation, and
+through them every person, regardless of race and color, is entitled to
+and can be heard. The protection granted to the white citizen is already
+conferred by law upon the freedman; strong and stringent guards, by way
+of penalties and punishments, are thrown around his person and property,
+and it is believed that ample protection will be afforded him by due
+process of law, without resort to the dangerous expedient of "military
+tribunals," now that the war has been brought to a close. The necessity
+no longer existing for such tribunals, which had their origin in the
+war, grave objections to their continuance must present themselves to
+the minds of all reflecting and dispassionate men. Independently of the
+danger, in representative republics, of conferring upon the military,
+in time of peace, extraordinary powers--so carefully guarded against
+by the patriots and statesmen of the earlier days of the Republic,
+so frequently the ruin of governments founded upon the same free
+principles, and subversive of the rights and liberties of the
+citizen--the question of practical economy earnestly commends itself to
+the consideration of the lawmaking power. With an immense debt already
+burdening the incomes of the industrial and laboring classes, a due
+regard for their interests, so inseparably connected with the welfare of
+the country, should prompt us to rigid economy and retrenchment, and
+influence us to abstain from all legislation that would unnecessarily
+increase the public indebtedness. Tested by this rule of sound political
+wisdom, I can see no reason for the establishment of the "military
+jurisdiction" conferred upon the officials of the Bureau by the
+fourteenth section of the bill.
+
+By the laws of the United States and of the different States competent
+courts, Federal and State, have been established and are now in full
+practical operation. By means of these civil tribunals ample redress is
+afforded for all private wrongs, whether to the person or the property
+of the citizen, without denial or unnecessary delay. They are open to
+all, without regard to color or race. I feel well assured that it will
+be better to trust the rights, privileges, and immunities of the citizen
+to tribunals thus established, and presided over by competent and
+impartial judges, bound by fixed rules of law and evidence, and where
+the right of trial by jury is guaranteed and secured, than to the
+caprice or judgment of an officer of the Bureau, who it is possible
+may be entirely ignorant of the principles that underlie the just
+administration of the law. There is danger, too, that conflict of
+jurisdiction will frequently arise between the civil courts and these
+military tribunals, each having concurrent jurisdiction over the person
+and the cause of action--the one judicature administered and controlled
+by civil law, the other by the military. How is the conflict to be
+settled, and who is to determine between the two tribunals when it
+arises? In my opinion, it is wise to guard against such conflict by
+leaving to the courts and juries the protection of all civil rights
+and the redress of all civil grievances.
+
+The fact can not be denied that since the actual cessation of
+hostilities many acts of violence, such, perhaps, as had never been
+witnessed in their previous history, have occurred in the States
+involved in the recent rebellion. I believe, however, that public
+sentiment will sustain me in the assertion that such deeds of wrong are
+not confined to any particular State or section, but are manifested over
+the entire country, demonstrating that the cause that produced them
+does not depend upon any particular locality, but is the result of
+the agitation and derangement incident to a long and bloody civil war.
+While the prevalence of such disorders must be greatly deplored, their
+occasional and temporary occurrence would seem to furnish no necessity
+for the extension of the Bureau beyond the period fixed in the original
+act.
+
+Besides the objections which I have thus briefly stated, I may urge upon
+your consideration the additional reason that recent developments in
+regard to the practical operations of the Bureau in many of the States
+show that in numerous instances it is used by its agents as a means of
+promoting their individual advantage, and that the freedmen are employed
+for the advancement of the personal ends of the officers instead of
+their own improvement and welfare, thus confirming the fears originally
+entertained by many that the continuation of such a Bureau for any
+unnecessary length of time would inevitably result in fraud, corruption,
+and oppression. It is proper to state that in cases of this character
+investigations have been promptly ordered, and the offender punished
+whenever his guilt has been satisfactorily established.
+
+As another reason against the necessity of the legislation contemplated
+by this measure, reference may be had to the "civil-rights bill," now a
+law of the land, and which will be faithfully executed so long as it
+shall remain unrepealed and may not be declared unconstitutional by
+courts of competent jurisdiction. By that act it is enacted--
+
+  That all persons born in the United States and not subject to any
+  foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to
+  be citizens of the United States; and such citizens, of every race
+  and color, without regard to any previous condition of slavery or
+  involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the
+  party shall have been duly convicted, shall have the same right in every
+  State and Territory in the United States to make and enforce contracts;
+  to sue, be parties, and give evidence; to inherit, purchase, lease,
+  sell, hold, and convey real and personal property, and to full and equal
+  benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and
+  property, as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like
+  punishment, pains, and penalties, and to none other, any law, statute,
+  ordinance, regulation, or custom to the contrary notwithstanding.
+
+
+By the provisions of the act full protection is afforded through the
+district courts of the United States to all persons injured, and whose
+privileges, as thus declared, are in any way impaired; and heavy
+penalties are denounced against the person who willfully violates the
+law. I need not state that that law did not receive my approval; yet its
+remedies are far more preferable than those proposed in the present
+bill--the one being civil and the other military.
+
+By the sixth section of the bill herewith returned certain proceedings
+by which the lands in the "parishes of St. Helena and St. Luke, South
+Carolina," were sold and bid in, and afterwards disposed of by the tax
+commissioners, are ratified and confirmed. By the seventh, eighth,
+ninth, tenth, and eleventh sections provisions by law are made for the
+disposal of the lands thus acquired to a particular class of citizens.
+While the quieting of titles is deemed very important and desirable, the
+discrimination made in the bill seems objectionable, as does also the
+attempt to confer upon the commissioners judicial powers by which
+citizens of the United States are to be deprived of their property in a
+mode contrary to that provision of the Constitution which declares that
+no person shall "be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due
+process of law." As a general principle, such legislation is unsafe,
+unwise, partial, and unconstitutional. It may deprive persons of their
+property who are equally deserving objects of the nation's bounty as
+those whom by this legislation Congress seeks to benefit. The title to
+the land thus to be portioned out to a favored class of citizens must
+depend upon the regularity of the tax sales under the law as it existed
+at the time of the sale, and no subsequent legislation can give
+validity to the right thus acquired as against the original claimants.
+The attention of Congress is therefore invited to a more mature
+consideration of the measures proposed in these sections of the bill.
+
+In conclusion I again urge upon Congress the danger of class
+legislation, so well calculated to keep the public mind in a state of
+uncertain expectation, disquiet, and restlessness and to encourage
+interested hopes and fears that the National Government will continue to
+furnish to classes of citizens in the several States means for support
+and maintenance regardless of whether they pursue a life of indolence or
+of labor, and regardless also of the constitutional limitations of the
+national authority in times of peace and tranquillity.
+
+The bill is herewith returned to the House of Representatives, in which
+it originated, for its final action.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 28, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I herewith return, without my approval, the bill entitled "An act
+erecting the Territory of Montana into a surveying district, and for
+other purposes."
+
+The bill contains four sections, the first of which erects the Territory
+into a surveying district and authorizes the appointment of a
+surveyor-general; the second constitutes the Territory a land district;
+the third authorizes the appointment of a register and receiver for said
+district; and the fourth requires the surveyor-general to--
+
+  select and survey eighteen alternate odd sections of nonmineral timber
+  lands within said district for the New York and Montana Iron Mining and
+  Manufacturing Company, incorporated under the laws of the State of New
+  York, which lands the said company shall have immediate possession of on
+  the payment of _$1.25_ per acre, and shall have a patent for the same
+  whenever, within two years after their selection, they shall have
+  furnished evidence satisfactory to the Secretary of the Interior that
+  they have erected and have in operation on the said lands iron works
+  with a capacity for manufacturing 1,500 tons of iron per annum:
+  _Provided_, That the said lands shall revert to the United States in
+  case the above-mentioned iron works be not erected within the specified
+  time: _And provided_, That until the title to the said lands shall have
+  been perfected the timber shall not be cut off from more than one
+  section of the said lands.
+
+To confer the special privileges specified in this fourth section
+appears to be the chief object of the bill, the provisions of which are
+subject to some of the most important objections that induced me to
+return to the Senate with my disapproval the bill entitled "An act to
+enable the New York and Montana Iron Mining and Manufacturing Company
+to purchase a certain amount of the public lands not now in market."
+That bill authorized the same corporation to select and survey in the
+Territory of Montana, in square form, twenty-one sections of land, three
+of which might contain coal and iron ore, for which the minimum rate of
+$1.25 per acre was to be paid. The present bill omits these sections of
+mineral lands, and directs the surveyor-general to select and survey the
+timber lands; but it contains the objectionable feature of granting
+to a private mining and manufacturing corporation exclusive rights and
+privileges in the public domain which are by law denied to individuals.
+The first choice of timber land in the Territory is bestowed upon a
+corporation foreign to the Territory and over which Congress has no
+control. The surveyor-general of the district, a public officer who
+should have no connection with any purchase of public land, is made the
+agent of the corporation to select the land, the selections to be made
+in the absence of all competition; and over 11,000 acres are bestowed
+at the lowest price of public lands. It is by no means certain that
+the substitution of alternate sections for the compact body of lands
+contemplated by the other bill is any less injurious to the public
+interest, for alternate sections stripped of timber are not likely
+to enhance the value of those reserved by the Government. Be this as
+it may, this bill bestows a large monopoly of public lands without
+adequate consideration; confers a right and privilege in quantity
+equivalent to seventy-two preemption rights; introduces a dangerous
+system of privileges to private trading corporations; and is an unjust
+discrimination in favor of traders and speculators against individual
+settlers and pioneers who are seeking homes and improving our Western
+Territories. Such a departure from the long-established, wise, and just
+policy which has heretofore governed the disposition of the public funds
+[lands] can not receive my sanction. The objections enumerated apply to
+the fourth section of the bill. The first, second, and third sections,
+providing for the appointment of a surveyor-general, register, and
+receiver, are unobjectionable if any necessity requires the creation
+of these offices and the additional expenses of a new surveying land
+district. But they appear in this instance to be only needed as a part
+of the machinery to enable the "New York and Montana Iron Mining and
+Manufacturing Company" to secure these privileges; for I am informed by
+the proper Department, in a communication hereto annexed, that there is
+no public necessity for a surveyor-general, register, or receiver in
+Montana Territory, since it forms part of an existing surveying and land
+district, wherein the public business is, under present laws, transacted
+with adequate facility, so that the provisions of the first, second, and
+third sections would occasion needless expense to the General
+Government.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+PROCLAMATIONS.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+_To all whom it may concern_:
+
+An exequatur, bearing date the 13th day of October, 1864, having been
+issued to Esteban Rogers, recognizing him as consul _ad interim_ of the
+Republic of Chile for the port of New York and its dependencies and
+declaring him free to exercise and enjoy such functions, powers, and
+privileges as are allowed to consuls by the law of nations or by the
+laws of the United States and existing treaty stipulations between the
+Government of Chile and the United States; but as it is deemed advisable
+that the said Esteban Rogers 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
+Esteban Rogers as consul _ad interim_ of the Republic of Chile for
+the port of New York and its dependencies and will not permit him to
+exercise or enjoy any of the functions, powers, or privileges allowed to
+a consular officer 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 12th day of February, A.D.
+1866, and of the Independence of the United States of America the
+ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+_To all whom it may concern_:
+
+An exequatur, bearing date the 7th day of October, 1864, having been
+issued to Claudius Edward Habicht, recognizing him as consul of Sweden
+and Norway at New York and declaring him free to exercise and enjoy such
+functions, powers, and privileges as are allowed to consuls by the law
+of nations or by the laws of the United States and existing treaty
+stipulations between the Government of Sweden and Norway and the United
+States; but as it is deemed advisable that the said Claudius Edward
+Habicht 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
+Claudius Edward Habicht as consul of Sweden and Norway at New York and
+will not permit him to exercise or enjoy any of the functions, powers,
+or privileges allowed to a consular officer 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, the 26th day of March, A.D. 1866,
+and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+_To all whom it may concern_:
+
+An exequatur, bearing date the 1st day of July, 1865, having been issued
+to S.M. Svenson, recognizing him as vice-consul of Sweden and Norway at
+New Orleans and declaring him free to exercise and enjoy such functions,
+powers, and privileges as are allowed to vice-consuls by the law of
+nations or by the laws of the United States and existing treaty
+stipulations between the Government of Sweden and Norway and the United
+States; but as it is deemed advisable that the said S.M. Svenson 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 S.M.
+Svenson as vice-consul of Sweden and Norway at New Orleans and will
+not permit him to exercise or enjoy any of the functions, powers, or
+privileges allowed to a consular officer 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, the 26th day of March, A.D. 1866,
+and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas by proclamations of the 15th and 19th of April, 1861, the
+President of the United States, in virtue of the power vested in him by
+the Constitution and the laws, declared that the laws of the United
+States were 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; and
+
+Whereas by another proclamation, made on the 16th day of August, in the
+same year, in pursuance of an act of Congress approved July 13, 1861,
+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 the
+State of Virginia lying west of the Alleghany Mountains and of such
+other parts of that State and the other States before named as might
+maintain a loyal 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 insurgents) were declared to be in a state
+of insurrection against the United States; and
+
+Whereas by another proclamation, of the 1st day of July, 1862, issued in
+pursuance of an act of Congress approved June 7, in the same year, the
+insurrection was declared to be still existing in the States aforesaid,
+with the exception of certain specified counties in the State of
+Virginia; and
+
+Whereas by another proclamation, made on the 2d day of April, 1863, in
+pursuance of the act of Congress of July 13, 1861, the exceptions named
+in the proclamation of August 16, 1861, were revoked and 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 the ports of New Orleans, Key West, Port Royal, and Beaufort, in
+North Carolina) were declared to be still in a state of insurrection
+against the United States; and
+
+Whereas the House of Representatives, on the 22d day of July, 1861,
+adopted a resolution in the words following, namely:
+
+  _Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United
+  States_, That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon the
+  country by the disunionists of the Southern States now in revolt against
+  the constitutional Government and in arms around the capital; that in
+  this national emergency Congress, banishing all feelings of mere passion
+  or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole country; that
+  this war is not waged upon our part in any spirit of oppression, nor for
+  any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor purpose of overthrowing or
+  interfering with the rights or established institutions of those States,
+  but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution and to
+  preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the
+  several States unimpaired; and that as soon as these objects are
+  accomplished the war ought to cease.
+
+
+And whereas the Senate of the United States, on the 25th day of July,
+1861, adopted a resolution in the words following, to wit:
+
+  _Resolved_, That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon
+  the country by the disunionists of the Southern States now in revolt
+  against the constitutional Government and in arms around the capital;
+  that in this national emergency Congress, banishing all feeling of
+  mere passion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole
+  country; that this war is not prosecuted upon our part in any spirit
+  of oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor
+  purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established
+  institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy
+  of the Constitution and all laws made in pursuance thereof and to
+  preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality, and rights of
+  the several States unimpaired; that as soon as these objects are
+  accomplished the war ought to cease.
+
+
+And whereas these resolutions, though not joint or concurrent in form,
+are substantially identical, and as such may be regarded as having
+expressed the sense of Congress upon the subject to which they relate;
+and
+
+Whereas by my proclamation of the 13th day of June last the insurrection
+in the State of Tennessee was declared to have been suppressed, the
+authority of the United States therein to be undisputed, and such United
+States officers as had been duly commissioned to be in the undisturbed
+exercise of their official functions; and
+
+Whereas there now exists no organized armed resistance of misguided
+citizens or others to the authority of the United States in the States
+of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee,
+Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Florida, and the laws can
+be sustained and enforced therein by the proper civil authority, State
+or Federal, and the people of said States are well and loyally disposed
+and have conformed or will conform in their legislation to the condition
+of affairs growing out of the amendment to the Constitution of the
+United States prohibiting slavery within the limits and jurisdiction of
+the United States; and
+
+Whereas, in view of the before-recited premises, it is the manifest
+determination of the American people that no State of its own will has
+the right or the power to go out of, or separate itself from, or be
+separated from, the American Union, and that therefore each State ought
+to remain and constitute an integral part of the United States; and
+
+Whereas the people of the several before-mentioned States have, in the
+manner aforesaid, given satisfactory evidence that they acquiesce in
+this sovereign and important resolution of national unity; and
+
+Whereas it is believed to be a fundamental principle of government that
+people who have revolted and who have been overcome and subdued must
+either be dealt with so as to induce them voluntarily to become friends
+or else they must be held by absolute military power or devastated so as
+to prevent them from ever again doing harm as enemies, which last-named
+policy is abhorrent to humanity and to freedom; and
+
+Whereas the Constitution of the United States provides for constituent
+communities only as States, and not as Territories, dependencies,
+provinces, or protectorates; and
+
+Whereas such constituent States must necessarily be, and by the
+Constitution and laws of the United States are, made equals and placed
+upon a like footing as to political rights, immunities, dignity, and
+power with the several States with which they are united; and
+
+Whereas the observance of political equality, as a principle of right
+and justice, is well calculated to encourage the people of the aforesaid
+States to be and become more and more constant and persevering in their
+renewed allegiance; and
+
+Whereas standing armies, military occupation, martial law, military
+tribunals, and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of _habeas
+corpus_ are in time of peace dangerous to public liberty, incompatible
+with the individual rights of the citizen, contrary to the genius and
+spirit of our free institutions, and exhaustive of the national
+resources, and ought not, therefore, to be sanctioned or allowed except
+in cases of actual necessity for repelling invasion or suppressing
+insurrection or rebellion; and
+
+Whereas the policy of the Government of the United States from the
+beginning of the insurrection to its overthrow and final suppression has
+been in conformity with the principles herein set forth and enumerated:
+
+Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do
+hereby proclaim and declare that the insurrection which heretofore
+existed in the States of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, North
+Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and
+Florida is at an end and is henceforth to be so regarded.
+
+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 2d day of April, A.D. 1866, and of
+the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+_To all whom it may concern_:
+
+Whereas the exequatur of Claudius Edward Habicht, recognizing him as
+consul of Sweden and Norway at New York, and that of S.M. Svenson as
+vice-consul of Sweden and Norway at New Orleans were formally revoked on
+the 26th day of March last; and
+
+Whereas representations have been made to me since that date which have
+effectually relieved those gentlemen from the charges of unlawful and
+unfriendly conduct heretofore entertained against them:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of
+the United States of America, do hereby annul the revocation of the
+exequaturs of the said Claudius Edward Habicht and S.M. Svenson and
+restore to them the right to exercise the functions and privileges
+heretofore granted as consular officers of the Government of Sweden
+and Norway.
+
+In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name and caused the seal
+of the United States to be affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, this 30th day of May, A.D. 1866, and of
+the Independence of the United States the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas it has become known to me that certain evil-disposed persons
+have, within the territory and jurisdiction of the United States, begun
+and set on foot and have provided and prepared, and are still engaged in
+providing and preparing, means for a military expedition and enterprise,
+which expedition and enterprise is to be carried on from the territory
+and jurisdiction of the United States against colonies, districts, and
+people of British North America, within the dominions of the United
+Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with which said colonies,
+districts, and people and Kingdom the United States are at peace; and
+
+Whereas the proceedings aforesaid constitute a high misdemeanor,
+forbidden by the laws of the United States as well as by the law of
+nations:
+
+Now, therefore, for the purpose of preventing the carrying on of the
+unlawful expedition and enterprise aforesaid from the territory and
+jurisdiction of the United States and to maintain the public peace as
+well as the national honor and enforce obedience and respect to the laws
+of the United States, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+do admonish and warn all good citizens of the United States against
+taking part in or in any wise aiding, countenancing, or abetting said
+unlawful proceedings; and I do exhort all judges, magistrates, marshals,
+and officers in the service of the United States to employ all their
+lawful authority and power to prevent and defeat the aforesaid unlawful
+proceedings and to arrest and bring to justice all persons who may be
+engaged therein.
+
+And, pursuant to the act of Congress in such case made and provided,
+I do furthermore authorize and empower Major-General George G. Meade,
+commander of the Military Division of the Atlantic, to employ the land
+and naval forces of the United States and the militia thereof to arrest
+and prevent the setting on foot and carrying on the expedition and
+enterprise aforesaid.
+
+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 6th day of June, A.D. 1866, and of
+the Independence of the United States the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas a war is existing in the Republic of Mexico, aggravated by
+foreign military intervention; and
+
+Whereas the United States, in accordance with their settled habits and
+policy, are a neutral power in regard to the war which thus afflicts the
+Republic of Mexico; and
+
+Whereas it has become known that one of the belligerents in the said
+war, namely, the Prince Maximilian, who asserts himself to be Emperor in
+Mexico, has issued a decree in regard to the port of Matamoras and other
+Mexican ports which are in the occupation and possession of another of
+the said belligerents, namely, the United States of Mexico, which decree
+is in the following words:
+
+  The port of Matamoras and all those of the northern frontier which have
+  withdrawn from their obedience to the Government are closed to foreign
+  and coasting traffic during such time as the empire of the law shall not
+  be therein reinstated.
+
+  ART. 2. Merchandise proceeding from the said ports, on arriving at any
+  other where the excise of the Empire is collected, shall pay the duties
+  on importation, introduction, and consumption, and, on satisfactory
+  proof of contravention, shall be irremissibly confiscated. Our minister
+  of the treasury is charged with the punctual execution of this decree.
+
+  Given at Mexico, the 9th of July, 1866.
+
+
+And whereas the decree thus recited, by declaring a belligerent blockade
+unsupported by competent military or naval force, is in violation of the
+neutral rights of the United States as defined by the law of nations as
+well as of the treaties existing between the United States of America
+and the aforesaid United States of Mexico:
+
+Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do
+hereby proclaim and declare that the aforesaid decree is held and will
+be held by the United States to be absolutely null and void as against
+the Government and citizens of the United States, and that any attempt
+which shall be made to enforce the same against the Government or the
+citizens of the United States will be disallowed.
+
+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, the 17th day of August, A.D. 1866, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas by proclamations of the 15th and 19th of April, 1861, the
+President of the United States, in virtue of the power vested in him
+by the Constitution and the laws, declared that the laws of the United
+States were 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; and
+
+Whereas by another proclamation, made on the 16th day of August, in the
+same year, in pursuance of an act of Congress approved July 13, 1861,
+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 the
+State of Virginia lying west of the Alleghany Mountains, and except also
+the inhabitants of such other parts of that State and the other States
+before named as might maintain a loyal 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 insurgents)
+were declared to be in a state of insurrection against the United
+States; and
+
+Whereas by another proclamation, of the 1st day of July, 1862, issued in
+pursuance of an act of Congress approved June 7, in the same year, the
+insurrection was declared to be still existing in the States aforesaid,
+with the exception of certain specified counties in the State of
+Virginia; and
+
+Whereas by another proclamation, made on the 2d day of April, 1863, in
+pursuance of the act of Congress of July 13, 1861, the exceptions named
+in the proclamation of August 16, 1861, were revoked and 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 the ports of New Orleans, Key West, Port Royal, and Beaufort, in
+North Carolina) were declared to be still in a state of insurrection
+against the United States; and
+
+Whereas by another proclamation, of the 15th day of September, 1863,
+made in pursuance of the act of Congress approved March 3, 1863, the
+rebellion was declared to be still existing and the privilege of the
+writ of _habeas corpus_ was in certain specified cases suspended
+throughout the United States, said suspension to continue throughout
+the duration of the rebellion or until said proclamation should, by
+a subsequent one to be issued by the President of the United States,
+be modified or revoked; and
+
+Whereas the House of Representatives, on the 22d day of July, 1861,
+adopted a resolution in the words following, namely:
+
+  _Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United
+  States_, That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon
+  the country by the dis-unionists of the Southern States now in revolt
+  against the constitutional Government and in arms around the capital;
+  that in this national emergency Congress, banishing all feelings of
+  mere passion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole
+  country; that this war is not waged upon our part in any spirit of
+  oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor
+  purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established
+  institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy
+  of the Constitution and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity,
+  equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired; and that as
+  soon as these objects are accomplished the war ought to cease.
+
+
+And whereas the Senate of the United States, on the 25th day of July,
+1861, adopted a resolution in the words following, to wit:
+
+  _Resolved_, That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon
+  the country by the disunionists of the Southern States now in revolt
+  against the constitutional Government and in arms around the capital;
+  that in this national emergency Congress, banishing all feeling of
+  mere passion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole
+  country; that this war is not prosecuted upon our part in any spirit
+  of oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor
+  purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established
+  institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy
+  of the Constitution and all laws made in pursuance thereof and to
+  preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality, and rights of
+  the several States unimpaired; that as soon as these objects are
+  accomplished the war ought to cease.
+
+
+And whereas these resolutions, though not joint or concurrent in form,
+are substantially identical, and as such have hitherto been and yet are
+regarded as having expressed the sense of Congress upon the subject to
+which they relate; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States, by proclamation of the 13th
+of June, 1865, declared that the insurrection in the State of Tennessee
+had been suppressed, and that the authority of the United States therein
+was undisputed, and that such United States officers as had been duly
+commissioned were in the undisturbed exercise of their official
+functions; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States, by further proclamation,
+issued on the 2d day of April, 1866, did promulgate and declare that
+there no longer existed any armed resistance of misguided citizens or
+others to the authority of the United States in any or in all the States
+before mentioned, excepting only the State of Texas, and did further
+promulgate and declare that the laws could be sustained and enforced in
+the several States before mentioned, except Texas, by the proper civil
+authorities, State or Federal, and that the people of the said States,
+except Texas, are well and loyally disposed and have conformed or will
+conform in their legislation to the condition of affairs growing out of
+the amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibiting
+slavery within the limits and jurisdiction of the United States;
+
+And did further declare in the same proclamation that it is the manifest
+determination of the American people that no State, of its own will, has
+a right or power to go out of, or separate itself from, or be separated
+from, the American Union; and that, therefore, each State ought to
+remain and constitute an integral part of the United States;
+
+And did further declare in the same last-mentioned proclamation that
+the several aforementioned States, excepting Texas, had in the manner
+aforesaid given satisfactory evidence that they acquiesce in this
+sovereign and important resolution of national unity; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States in the same proclamation did
+further declare that it is believed to be a fundamental principle of
+government that the people who have revolted and who have been overcome
+and subdued must either be dealt with so as to induce them voluntarily
+to become friends or else they must be held by absolute military power
+or devastated so as to prevent them from ever again doing harm as
+enemies, which last-named policy is abhorrent to humanity and to
+freedom; and
+
+Whereas the President did in the same proclamation further declare
+that the Constitution of the United States provides for constituent
+communities only as States, and not as Territories, dependencies,
+provinces, or protectorates;
+
+And further, that such constituent States must necessarily be, and by
+the Constitution and laws of the United States are, made equals and
+placed upon a like footing as to political rights, immunities, dignity,
+and power with the several States with which they are united;
+
+And did further declare that the observance of political equality, as
+a principle of right and justice, is well calculated to encourage the
+people of the before named States, except Texas, to be and to become
+more and more constant and persevering in their renewed allegiance; and
+
+Whereas the President did further declare that standing armies,
+military occupation, martial law, military tribunals, and the suspension
+of the writ of _habeas corpus_ are in time of peace dangerous to public
+liberty, incompatible with the individual rights of the citizen,
+contrary to the genius and spirit of our free institutions, and
+exhaustive of the national resources, and ought not, therefore, to be
+sanctioned or allowed except in cases of actual necessity for repelling
+invasion or suppressing insurrection or rebellion;
+
+And the President did further, in the same proclamation, declare that
+the policy of the Government of the United States from the beginning
+of the insurrection to its overthrow and final suppression had been
+conducted in conformity with the principles in the last-named
+proclamation recited; and
+
+Whereas the President, in the said proclamation of the 13th of June,
+1865, upon the grounds therein stated and hereinbefore recited, did then
+and thereby proclaim and declare that the insurrection which heretofore
+existed in the several States before named, except in Texas, was at an
+end and was henceforth to be so regarded; and
+
+Whereas subsequently to the said 2d day of April, 1866, the insurrection
+in the State of Texas has been completely and everywhere suppressed and
+ended and the authority of the United States has been successfully and
+completely established in the said State of Texas and now remains
+therein unresisted and undisputed, and such of the proper United States
+officers as have been duly commissioned within the limits of the said
+State are now in the undisturbed exercise of their official functions;
+and
+
+Whereas the laws can now be sustained and enforced in the said State of
+Texas by the proper civil authority, State or Federal, and the people
+of the said State of Texas, like the people of the other States before
+named, are well and loyally disposed and have conformed or will conform
+in their legislation to the condition of affairs growing out of the
+amendment of the Constitution of the United States prohibiting slavery
+within the limits and jurisdiction of the United States; and
+
+Whereas all the reasons and conclusions set forth in regard to the
+several States therein specially named now apply equally and in all
+respects to the State of Texas, as well as to the other States which
+had been involved in insurrection; and
+
+Whereas adequate provision has been made by military orders to enforce
+the execution of the acts of Congress, aid the civil authorities, and
+secure obedience to the Constitution and laws of the United States
+within the State of Texas if a resort to military force for such purpose
+should at any time become necessary:
+
+Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do
+hereby proclaim and declare that the insurrection which heretofore
+existed in the State of Texas is at an end and is to be henceforth so
+regarded in that State as in the other States before named in which the
+said insurrection was proclaimed to be at an end by the aforesaid
+proclamation of the 2d day of April, 1866.
+
+And I do further proclaim that the said insurrection is at an end and
+that peace, order, tranquillity, and civil authority now exist in and
+throughout the whole of the United States of America.
+
+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 August, A.D. 1866, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, has been pleased to vouchsafe to us
+as a people another year of that national life which is an indispensable
+condition of peace, security, and progress. That year has, moreover,
+been crowned with many peculiar blessings.
+
+The civil war that so recently closed among us has not been anywhere
+reopened; foreign intervention has ceased to excite alarm or
+apprehension; intrusive pestilence has been benignly mitigated; domestic
+tranquillity has improved, sentiments of conciliation have largely
+prevailed, and affections of loyalty and patriotism have been widely
+renewed; our fields have yielded quite abundantly, our mining industry
+has been richly rewarded, and we have been allowed to extend our
+railroad system far into the interior recesses of the country, while
+our commerce has resumed its customary activity in foreign seas.
+
+These great national blessings demand a national acknowledgment.
+
+Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson. President of the United States, do
+hereby recommend that Thursday, the 29th day of November next, be set
+apart and be observed everywhere in the several States and Territories
+of the United States by the people thereof as a day of thanksgiving and
+praise to Almighty God, with due remembrance that "in His temple doth
+every man speak of His honor." I recommend also that on the same solemn
+occasion they do humbly and devoutly implore Him to grant to our
+national councils and to our whole people that divine wisdom which
+alone can lead any nation into the ways of all good.
+
+In offering these national thanksgivings, praises, and supplications we
+have the divine assurance that "the Lord remaineth a king forever; them
+that are meek shall He guide in judgment and such as are gentle shall He
+learn His way; the Lord shall give strength to His people, and the Lord
+shall give to His people the blessing of 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 8th day of October, A.D. 1866, and
+of the Independence of the United States the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
+
+
+[From the Daily National Intelligencer, April 9, 1866.]
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 7, 1866_.
+
+It is eminently right and proper that the Government of the United
+States should give earnest and substantial evidence of its just
+appreciation of the services of the patriotic men who when the life of
+the nation was imperiled entered the Army and Navy to preserve the
+integrity of the Union, defend the Government, and maintain and
+perpetuate unimpaired its free institutions.
+
+_It is therefore directed_--
+
+First. That in appointments to office in the several Executive
+Departments of the General Government and the various branches of
+the public service connected with said Departments preference shall
+be given to such meritorious and honorably discharged soldiers and
+sailors--particularly those who have been disabled by wounds received
+or diseases contracted in the line of duty--as may possess the proper
+qualifications.
+
+Second. That in all promotions in said Departments and the several
+branches of the public service connected therewith such persons shall
+have preference, when equally eligible and qualified, over those who
+have not faithfully and honorably served in the land or naval forces
+of the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
+
+_Washington, April 13, 1866_.
+
+On the 14th of April, 1865, great affliction was brought upon the
+American people by the assassination of the lamented Abraham Lincoln,
+then President of the United States. The undersigned is therefore
+directed by the President to announce that in commemoration of that
+event the public offices will be closed to-morrow, the 14th instant.
+
+WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 26.
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE.
+    _Washington, May 1, 1866_.
+
+ORDER IN RELATION TO TRIALS BY MILITARY COURTS AND COMMISSIONS.
+
+Whereas some military commanders are embarrassed by doubts as to the
+operation of the proclamation of the President dated the 2d day of
+April, 1866, upon trials by military courts-martial and military
+officers; to remove such doubts--
+
+_It is ordered by the President_, That hereafter, whenever offenses
+committed by civilians are to be tried where civil tribunals are in
+existence which can try them, their cases are not authorized to be, and
+will not be, brought before military courts-martial or commissions, but
+will be committed to the proper civil authorities. This order is not
+applicable to camp followers, as provided for under the sixtieth article
+of war, or to contractors and others specified in section 16, act of
+July 17, 1862, and sections 1 and 2, act of March 2, 1863. Persons and
+offenses cognizable by the Rules and Articles of War and by the acts of
+Congress above cited will continue to be tried and punished by military
+tribunals as prescribed by the Rules and Articles of War and acts of
+Congress hereinafter cited, to wit:
+
+  [Sixtieth of the Rules and Articles of War.]
+
+  60. All sutlers and retainers to the camp, and all persons whatsoever
+  serving with the armies of the United States in the field, though not
+  enlisted soldiers, are to be subject to orders, according to the rules
+  and discipline of war.
+
+
+  [Extract from "An act to define the pay and emoluments of certain
+  officers of the Army, and for other purposes," approved July 17, 1862.]
+
+  SEC. 16. _And be it further enacted_, That whenever any contractor for
+  subsistence, clothing, arms, ammunition, munitions of war, and for every
+  description of supplies for the Army or Navy of the United States, shall
+  be found guilty by a court-martial of fraud or willful neglect of duty,
+  he shall be punished by fine, imprisonment, or such other punishment as
+  the court-martial shall adjudge; and any person who shall contract to
+  furnish supplies of any kind or description for the Army or Navy, _he_
+  shall be deemed and taken as a part of the land or naval forces of the
+  United States for which he shall contract to furnish said supplies, and
+  be subject to the rules and regulations for the government of the land
+  and naval forces of the United States.
+
+
+  [Extract from "An act to prevent and punish frauds upon the Government
+  of the United States," approved March 2, 1863.]
+
+  _Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
+  States of America in Congress assembled_, That any person in the land or
+  naval forces of the United States, or in the militia in actual service
+  of the United States in time of war, who shall make or cause to be made,
+  or present or cause to be presented for payment or approval to or by any
+  person or officer in the civil or military service of the United States,
+  any claim upon or against the Government of the United States, or
+  any department or officer thereof, knowing such claim to be false,
+  fictitious, or fraudulent; any person in such forces or service who
+  shall, for the purpose of obtaining or aiding in obtaining the approval
+  or payment of such claim, make, use, or cause to be made or used, any
+  false bill, receipt, voucher, entry, roll, account, claim, statement,
+  certificate, affidavit, or deposition, knowing the same to contain any
+  false or fraudulent statement or entry; any person in said forces or
+  service who shall make or procure to be made, or knowingly advise the
+  making of, any false oath to any fact, statement, or certificate,
+  voucher or entry, for the purpose of obtaining or of aiding to obtain
+  any approval or payment of any claim against the United States, or any
+  department or officer thereof; any person in said forces or service who,
+  for the purpose of obtaining or enabling any other person to obtain
+  from the Government of the United States, or any department or officer
+  thereof, any payment or allowance, or the approval or signature of any
+  person in the military, naval, or civil service of the United States
+  of or to any false, fraudulent, or fictitious claim, shall forge or
+  counterfeit, or cause or procure to be forged or counterfeited, any
+  signature upon any bill, receipt, voucher, account, claim, roll,
+  statement, affidavit, or deposition; and any person in said forces or
+  service who shall utter or use the same as true or genuine, knowing the
+  same to have been forged or counterfeited; any person in said forces or
+  service who shall enter into any agreement, combination, or conspiracy
+  to cheat or defraud the Government of the United States, or any
+  department or officer thereof, by obtaining or aiding and assisting to
+  obtain the payment or allowance of any false or fraudulent claim; any
+  person in said forces or service who shall steal, embezzle, or knowingly
+  and willfully misappropriate or apply to his own use or benefit, or who
+  shall wrongfully and knowingly sell, convey, or dispose of any ordnance,
+  arms, ammunition, clothing, subsistence stores, money, or other property
+  of the United States, furnished or to be used for the military or naval
+  service of the United States; any contractor, agent, paymaster,
+  quartermaster, or other person whatsoever in said forces or service
+  having charge, possession, custody, or control of any money or other
+  public property used or to be used in the military or naval service of
+  the United States, who shall, with intent to defraud the United States,
+  or willfully to conceal such money or other property, deliver or cause
+  to be delivered to any other person having authority to receive the same
+  any amount of such money or other public property less than that for
+  which he shall receive a certificate or receipt; any person in said
+  forces or service who is or shall be authorized to make or deliver any
+  certificate, voucher, or receipt, or other paper certifying the receipt
+  of arms, ammunition, provisions, clothing, or other public property so
+  used or to be used, who shall make or deliver the same to any person
+  without having full knowledge of the truth of the facts stated therein,
+  and with intent to cheat, defraud, or injure the United States; any
+  person in said forces or service who shall knowingly purchase or
+  receive, in pledge for any obligation or indebtedness, from any soldier,
+  officer, or other person called into or employed in said forces or
+  service, any arms, equipments, ammunition, clothes, or military stores,
+  or other public property, such soldier, officer, or other person not
+  having the lawful right to pledge or sell the same, shall be deemed
+  guilty of a criminal offense, and shall be subject to the rules and
+  regulations made for the government of the military and naval forces of
+  the United States, and of the militia when called into and employed in
+  the actual service of the United States in time of war, and to the
+  provisions of this act. And every person so offending may be arrested
+  and held for trial by a court-martial, and if found guilty shall be
+  punished by fine and imprisonment, or such other punishment as the
+  court-martial may adjudge, save the punishment of death.
+
+  SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That any person heretofore called
+  or hereafter to be called into or employed in such forces or service who
+  shall commit any violation of this act, and shall afterwards receive his
+  discharge or be dismissed from the service, shall, notwithstanding such
+  discharge or dismissal, continue to be liable to be arrested and held
+  for trial and sentence by a court-martial in the same manner and to the
+  same extent as if he had not received such discharge or been dismissed.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+By order of the Secretary of War:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 29, 1866_.
+
+The President with profound sorrow announces to the people of the United
+States the death of Winfield Scott, the late Lieutenant-General of the
+Army. On the day which may be appointed for his funeral the several
+Executive Departments of the Government will be closed.
+
+The heads of the War and Navy Departments will respectively give orders
+for paying appropriate honors to the memory of the deceased.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+[From the Daily National Intelligencer, June 6, 1866.]
+
+ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, D.C., June 5, 1866_.
+
+By direction of the President, you[7] are hereby instructed to cause
+the arrest of all prominent, leading, or conspicuous persons called
+"Fenians" who you may have probable cause to believe have been or may
+be guilty of violations of the neutrality laws of the United States.
+
+JAMES SPEED,
+
+_Attorney-General_.
+
+[Footnote 7: Addressed to district attorneys and marshals of the United
+States.]
+
+
+
+DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
+
+_Washington, June 18, 1866_.
+
+The President directs the undersigned to perform the painful duty
+of announcing to the people of the United States that Lewis Cass,
+distinguished not more by faithful service in varied public trusts than
+by exalted patriotism at a recent period of political disorder, departed
+this life at 4 o'clock yesterday morning. The several Executive
+Departments of the Government will cause appropriate honors to be
+rendered to the memory of the deceased at home and abroad wherever the
+national name and authority are acknowledged.
+
+WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., October 26, 1866_.
+
+Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+SIR: Recent advices indicate an early evacuation of Mexico by the French
+expeditionary forces and that the time has arrived when our minister to
+Mexico should place himself in communication with that Republic.
+
+In furtherance of the objects of his mission and as evidence of the
+earnest desire felt by the United States for the proper adjustment of
+the questions involved, I deem it of great importance that General Grant
+should by his presence and advice cooperate with our minister.
+
+I have therefore to ask that you will request General Grant to proceed
+to some point on our Mexican frontier most suitable and convenient for
+communication with our minister, or (if General Grant deems it best) to
+accompany him to his destination in Mexico, and to give him the aid of
+his advice in carrying out the instructions of the Secretary of State,
+a copy of which is herewith sent for the General's information.
+
+General Grant will make report to the Secretary of War of such matters
+as, in his discretion, ought to be communicated to the Department.
+
+Very respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., October 30, 1866_.
+
+Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+SIR: General Ulysses S. Grant having found it inconvenient to assume
+the duties specified in my letter to you of the 26th instant, you will
+please relieve him from the same and assign them in all respects to
+William T. Sherman, Lieutenant-General of the Army of the United States.
+By way of guiding General Sherman in the performance of his duties, you
+will furnish him with a copy of your special orders to General Grant,
+made in compliance with my letter of the 26th instant, together with a
+copy of the instructions of the Secretary of State to Lewis D. Campbell,
+esq., therein mentioned. The Lieutenant-General will proceed to the
+execution of his duties without delay.
+
+Very respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., November 1, 1866_.
+
+Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+SIR: In the report of General Grant of the 27th ultimo, inclosed in your
+communication of that date, reference is made to the force at present
+stationed in the Military Department of Washington (which embraces the
+District of Columbia, the counties of Alexander and Fairfax, Va., and
+the States of Maryland and Delaware), and it is stated that the entire
+number of troops comprised in the command is 2,224, of which only 1,550
+are enumerated as "effective." In view of the prevalence in various
+portions of the country of a revolutionary and turbulent disposition,
+which might at any moment assume insurrectionary proportions and lead to
+serious disorders, and of the duty of the Government to be at all times
+prepared to act with decision and effect, this force is not deemed
+adequate for the protection and security of the seat of Government.
+
+I therefore request that you will at once take such measures as will
+insure its safety, and thus discourage any attempt for its possession
+by insurgent or other illegal combinations.
+
+Very respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., November 2, 1866_.
+
+Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+SIR: There is ground to apprehend danger of an insurrection in Baltimore
+against the constituted authorities of the State of Maryland on or about
+the day of the election soon to be held in that city, and that in such
+contingency the aid of the United States might be invoked under the acts
+of Congress which pertain to that subject. While I am averse to any
+military demonstration that would have a tendency to interfere with the
+free exercise of the elective franchise in Baltimore or be construed
+into any interference in local questions, I feel great solicitude that
+should an insurrection take place the Government should be prepared to
+meet and promptly put it down. I accordingly desire you to call General
+Grant's attention to the subject, leaving to his own discretion and
+judgment the measures of preparation and precaution that should be
+adopted.
+
+Very respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 3, 1866_.
+
+_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+After a brief interval the Congress of the United States resumes its
+annual legislative labors. An all-wise and merciful Providence has
+abated the pestilence which visited our shores, leaving its calamitous
+traces upon some portions of our country. Peace, order, tranquillity,
+and civil authority have been formally declared to exist throughout the
+whole of the United States. In all of the States civil authority has
+superseded the coercion of arms, and the people, by their voluntary
+action, are maintaining their governments in full activity and complete
+operation. The enforcement of the laws is no longer "obstructed in any
+State by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary
+course of judicial proceedings," and the animosities engendered by the
+war are rapidly yielding to the beneficent influences of our free
+institutions and to the kindly effects of unrestricted social and
+commercial intercourse. An entire restoration of fraternal feeling
+must be the earnest wish of every patriotic heart; and we will have
+accomplished our grandest national achievement when, forgetting the sad
+events of the past and remembering only their instructive lessons, we
+resume our onward career as a free, prosperous, and united people.
+
+In my message of the 4th of December, 1865, Congress was informed of the
+measures which had been instituted by the Executive with a view to the
+gradual restoration of the States in which the insurrection occurred to
+their relations with the General Government. Provisional governors had
+been appointed, conventions called, governors elected, legislatures
+assembled, and Senators and Representatives chosen to the Congress
+of the United States. Courts had been opened for the enforcement of
+laws long in abeyance. The blockade had been removed, custom-houses
+reestablished, and the internal-revenue laws put in force, in order that
+the people might contribute to the national income. Postal operations
+had been renewed, and efforts were being made to restore them to their
+former condition of efficiency. The States themselves had been asked to
+take part in the high function of amending the Constitution, and of thus
+sanctioning the extinction of African slavery as one of the legitimate
+results of our internecine struggle.
+
+Having progressed thus far, the executive department found that it had
+accomplished nearly all that was within the scope of its constitutional
+authority. One thing, however, yet remained to be done before the work
+of restoration could be completed, and that was the admission to
+Congress of loyal Senators and Representatives from the States whose
+people had rebelled against the lawful authority of the General
+Government. This question devolved upon the respective Houses, which
+by the Constitution are made the judges of the elections, returns, and
+qualifications of their own members, and its consideration at once
+engaged the attention of Congress.
+
+In the meantime the executive department--no other plan having been
+proposed by Congress--continued its efforts to perfect, as far as was
+practicable, the restoration of the proper relations between the
+citizens of the respective States, the States, and the Federal
+Government, extending from time to time, as the public interests seemed
+to require, the judicial, revenue, and postal systems of the country.
+With the advice and consent of the Senate, the necessary officers were
+appointed and appropriations made by Congress for the payment of their
+salaries. The proposition to amend the Federal Constitution, so as to
+prevent the existence of slavery within the United States or any place
+subject to their jurisdiction, was ratified by the requisite number
+of States, and on the 18th day of December, 1865, it was officially
+declared to have become valid as a part of the Constitution of the
+United States. All of the States in which the insurrection had existed
+promptly amended their constitutions so as to make them conform to the
+great change thus effected in the organic law of the land; declared null
+and void all ordinances and laws of secession; repudiated all pretended
+debts and obligations created for the revolutionary purposes of the
+insurrection, and proceeded in good faith to the enactment of measures
+for the protection and amelioration of the condition of the colored
+race. Congress, however, yet hesitated to admit any of these States to
+representation, and it was not until toward the close of the eighth
+month of the session that an exception was made in favor of Tennessee
+by the admission of her Senators and Representatives.
+
+I deem it a subject of profound regret that Congress has thus far
+failed to admit to seats loyal Senators and Representatives from the
+other States whose inhabitants, with those of Tennessee, had engaged
+in the rebellion. Ten States--more than one-fourth of the whole
+number--remain without representation; the seats of fifty members in the
+House of Representatives and of twenty members in the Senate are yet
+vacant, not by their own consent, not by a failure of election, but by
+the refusal of Congress to accept their credentials. Their admission,
+it is believed, would have accomplished much toward the renewal and
+strengthening of our relations as one people and removed serious cause
+for discontent on the part of the inhabitants of those States. It would
+have accorded with the great principle enunciated in the Declaration
+of American Independence that no people ought to bear the burden of
+taxation and yet be denied the right of representation. It would have
+been in consonance with the express provisions of the Constitution that
+"each State shall have at least one Representative" and "that no State,
+without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the
+Senate." These provisions were intended to secure to every State and
+to the people of every State the right of representation in each House
+of Congress; and so important was it deemed by the framers of the
+Constitution that the equality of the States in the Senate should be
+preserved that not even by an amendment of the Constitution can any
+State, without its consent, be denied a voice in that branch of the
+National Legislature.
+
+It is true it has been assumed that the existence of the States was
+terminated by the rebellious acts of their inhabitants, and that, the
+insurrection having been suppressed, they were thenceforward to be
+considered merely as conquered territories. The legislative, executive,
+and judicial departments of the Government have, however, with great
+distinctness and uniform consistency, refused to sanction an assumption
+so incompatible with the nature of our republican system and with the
+professed objects of the war. Throughout the recent legislation of
+Congress the undeniable fact makes itself apparent that these ten
+political communities are nothing less than States of this Union. At the
+very commencement of the rebellion each House declared, with a unanimity
+as remarkable as it was significant, that the war was not "waged upon
+our part in any spirit of oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or
+subjugation, nor purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights
+or established institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain
+the supremacy of the Constitution and all laws made in pursuance
+thereof, and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality,
+and rights of the several States unimpaired; and that as soon as these
+objects" were "accomplished the war ought to cease." In some instances
+Senators were permitted to continue their legislative functions, while
+in other instances Representatives were elected and admitted to seats
+after their States had formally declared their right to withdraw from
+the Union and were endeavoring to maintain that right by force of arms.
+All of the States whose people were in insurrection, as States, were
+included in the apportionment of the direct tax of $20,000,000 annually
+laid upon the United States by the act approved 5th August, 1861.
+Congress, by the act of March 4, 1862, and by the apportionment of
+representation thereunder also recognized their presence as States in
+the Union; and they have, for judicial purposes, been divided into
+districts, as States alone can be divided. The same recognition appears
+in the recent legislation in reference to Tennessee, which evidently
+rests upon the fact that the functions of the State were not destroyed
+by the rebellion, but merely suspended; and that principle is of course
+applicable to those States which, like Tennessee, attempted to renounce
+their places in the Union.
+
+The action of the executive department of the Government upon this
+subject has been equally definite and uniform, and the purpose of the
+war was specifically stated in the proclamation issued by my predecessor
+on the 22d day of September, 1862. It was then solemnly proclaimed and
+declared "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."
+
+The recognition of the States by the judicial department of the
+Government has also been clear and conclusive in all proceedings
+affecting them as States had in the Supreme, circuit, and district
+courts.
+
+In the admission of Senators and Representatives from any and all of the
+States there can be no just ground of apprehension that persons who are
+disloyal will be clothed with the powers of legislation, for this could
+not happen when the Constitution and the laws are enforced by a vigilant
+and faithful Congress. Each House is made the "judge of the elections,
+returns, and qualifications of its own members," and may, "with the
+concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member." When a Senator or
+Representative presents his certificate of election, he may at once
+be admitted or rejected; or, should there be any question as to his
+eligibility, his credentials may be referred for investigation to the
+appropriate committee. If admitted to a seat, it must be upon evidence
+satisfactory to the House of which he thus becomes a member that
+he possesses the requisite constitutional and legal qualifications.
+If refused admission as a member for want of due allegiance to the
+Government and returned to his constituents, they are admonished that
+none but persons loyal to the United States will be allowed a voice
+in the legislative councils of the nation, and the political power
+and moral influence of Congress are thus effectively exerted in the
+interests of loyalty to the Government and fidelity to the Union. Upon
+this question, so vitally affecting the restoration of the Union and the
+permanency of our present form of government, my convictions, heretofore
+expressed, have undergone no change, but, on the contrary, their
+correctness has been confirmed by reflection and time. If the admission
+of loyal members to seats in the respective Houses of Congress was wise
+and expedient a year ago, it is no less wise and expedient now. If this
+anomalous condition is right now--if in the exact condition of these
+States at the present time it is lawful to exclude them from
+representation--I do not see that the question will be changed by the
+efflux of time. Ten years hence, if these States remain as they are, the
+right of representation will be no stronger, the right of exclusion will
+be no weaker.
+
+The Constitution of the United States makes it the duty of the President
+to recommend to the consideration of Congress "such measures as he shall
+judge necessary and expedient." I know of no measure more imperatively
+demanded by every consideration of national interest, sound policy,
+and equal justice than the admission of loyal members from the now
+unrepresented States. This would consummate the work of restoration
+and exert a most salutary influence in the reestablishment of peace,
+harmony, and fraternal feeling. It would tend greatly to renew the
+confidence of the American people in the vigor and stability of their
+institutions. It would bind us more closely together as a nation and
+enable us to show to the world the inherent and recuperative power of a
+government founded upon the will of the people and established upon the
+principles of liberty, justice, and intelligence. Our increased strength
+and enhanced prosperity would irrefragably demonstrate the fallacy of
+the arguments against free institutions drawn from our recent national
+disorders by the enemies of republican government. The admission of
+loyal members from the States now excluded from Congress, by allaying
+doubt and apprehension, would turn capital now awaiting an opportunity
+for investment into the channels of trade and industry. It would
+alleviate the present troubled condition of those States, and by
+inducing emigration aid in the settlement of fertile regions now
+uncultivated and lead to an increased production of those staples which
+have added so greatly to the wealth of the nation and commerce of the
+world. New fields of enterprise would be opened to our progressive
+people, and soon the devastations of war would be repaired and all
+traces of our domestic differences effaced from the minds of our
+countrymen.
+
+In our efforts to preserve "the unity of government which constitutes
+us one people" by restoring the States to the condition which they held
+prior to the rebellion, we should be cautious, lest, having rescued
+our nation from perils of threatened disintegration, we resort to
+consolidation, and in the end absolute despotism, as a remedy for the
+recurrence of similar troubles. The war having terminated, and with it
+all occasion for the exercise of powers of doubtful constitutionality,
+we should hasten to bring legislation within the boundaries prescribed
+by the Constitution and to return to the ancient landmarks established
+by our fathers for the guidance of succeeding generations.
+
+  The constitution which at any time exists till changed by an explicit
+  and authentic act of the whole people is sacredly obligatory upon all.
+  * * * If in the opinion of the people the distribution or modification
+  of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be
+  corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates;
+  but let there be no change by usurpation, for * * * it is the customary
+  weapon by which free governments are destroyed.
+
+
+Washington spoke these words to his countrymen when, followed by their
+love and gratitude, he voluntarily retired from the cares of public
+life. "To keep in all things within the pale of our constitutional
+powers and cherish the Federal Union as the only rock of safety" were
+prescribed by Jefferson as rules of action to endear to his "countrymen
+the true principles of their Constitution and promote a union of
+sentiment and action, equally auspicious to their happiness and safety."
+Jackson held that the action of the General Government should always be
+strictly confined to the sphere of its appropriate duties, and justly
+and forcibly urged that our Government is not to be maintained nor our
+Union preserved "by invasions of the rights and powers of the several
+States. In thus attempting to make our General Government strong we make
+it weak. Its true strength consists in leaving individuals and States as
+much as possible to themselves; in making itself felt, not in its power,
+but in its beneficence; not in its control, but in its protection; not
+in binding the States more closely to the center, but leaving each to
+move unobstructed in its proper constitutional orbit." These are the
+teachings of men whose deeds and services have made them illustrious,
+and who, long since withdrawn from the scenes of life, have left to
+their country the rich legacy of their example, their wisdom, and their
+patriotism. Drawing fresh inspiration from their lessons, let us emulate
+them in love of country and respect for the Constitution and the laws.
+
+The report of the Secretary of the Treasury affords much information
+respecting the revenue and commerce of the country. His views upon
+the currency and with reference to a proper adjustment of our revenue
+system, internal as well as impost, are commended to the careful
+consideration of Congress. In my last annual message I expressed my
+general views upon these subjects. I need now only call attention to the
+necessity of carrying into every department of the Government a system
+of rigid accountability, thorough retrenchment, and wise economy.
+With no exceptional nor unusual expenditures, the oppressive burdens of
+taxation can be lessened by such a modification of our revenue laws as
+will be consistent with the public faith and the legitimate and
+necessary wants of the Government.
+
+The report presents a much more satisfactory condition of our finances
+than one year ago the most sanguine could have anticipated. During the
+fiscal year ending the 30th June, 1865 (the last year of the war), the
+public debt was increased $941,902,537, and on the 31st of October,
+1865, it amounted to $2,740,854,750. On the 31st day of October, 1866,
+it had been reduced to $2,551,310,006, the diminution during a period of
+fourteen months, commencing September 1, 1865, and ending October 31,
+1866, having been $206,379,565. In the last annual report on the state
+of the finances it was estimated that during the three quarters of the
+fiscal year ending the 30th of June last the debt would be increased
+$112,194,947. During that period, however, it was reduced $31,196,387,
+the receipts of the year having been $89,905,905 more and the
+expenditures $200,529,235 less than the estimates. Nothing could more
+clearly indicate than these statements the extent and availability of
+the national resources and the rapidity and safety with which, under
+our form of government, great military and naval establishments can be
+disbanded and expenses reduced from a war to a peace footing.
+
+During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1866, the receipts were
+$558,032,620 and the expenditures $520,750,940, leaving an available
+surplus of $37,281,680. It is estimated that the receipts for the fiscal
+year ending the 30th June, 1867, will be $475,061,386, and that the
+expenditures will reach the sum of $316,428,078, leaving in the Treasury
+a surplus of $158,633,308. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1886, it
+is estimated that the receipts will amount to $436,000,000 and that the
+expenditures will be $350,247,641, showing an excess of $85,752,359 in
+favor of the Government. These estimated receipts may be diminished
+by a reduction of excise and import duties, but after all necessary
+reductions shall have been made the revenue of the present and of
+following years will doubtless be sufficient to cover all legitimate
+charges upon the Treasury and leave a large annual surplus to be applied
+to the payment of the principal of the debt. There seems now to be no
+good reason why taxes may not be reduced as the country advances in
+population and wealth, and yet the debt be extinguished within the
+next quarter of a century.
+
+The report of the Secretary of War furnishes valuable and important
+information in reference to the operations of his Department during the
+past year. Few volunteers now remain in the service, and they are being
+discharged as rapidly as they can be replaced by regular troops. The
+Army has been promptly paid, carefully provided with medical treatment,
+well sheltered and subsisted, and is to be furnished with breech-loading
+small arms. The military strength of the nation has been unimpaired
+by the discharge of volunteers, the disposition of unserviceable or
+perishable stores, and the retrenchment of expenditure. Sufficient war
+material to meet any emergency has been retained, and from the disbanded
+volunteers standing ready to respond to the national call large armies
+can be rapidly organized, equipped, and concentrated. Fortifications on
+the coast and frontier have received or are being prepared for more
+powerful armaments; lake surveys and harbor and river improvements are
+in course of energetic prosecution. Preparations have been made for the
+payment of the additional bounties authorized during the recent session
+of Congress, under such regulations as will protect the Government from
+fraud and secure to the honorably discharged soldier the well-earned
+reward of his faithfulness and gallantry. More than 6,000 maimed
+soldiers have received artificial limbs or other surgical apparatus,
+and 41 national cemeteries, containing the remains of 104,526 Union
+soldiers, have already been established. The total estimate of military
+appropriations is $25,205,669.
+
+It is stated in the report of the Secretary of the Navy that the naval
+force at this time consists of 278 vessels, armed with 2,351 guns. Of
+these, 115 vessels, carrying 1,029 guns, are in commission, distributed
+chiefly among seven squadrons. The number of men in the service is
+13,600. Great activity and vigilance have been displayed by all the
+squadrons, and their movements have been judiciously and efficiently
+arranged in such manner as would best promote American commerce and
+protect the rights and interests of our countrymen abroad. The vessels
+unemployed are undergoing repairs or are laid up until their services
+may be required. Most of the ironclad fleet is at League Island, in the
+vicinity of Philadelphia, a place which, until decisive action should be
+taken by Congress, was selected by the Secretary of the Navy as the most
+eligible location for that class of vessels. It is important that a
+suitable public station should be provided for the ironclad fleet.
+It is intended that these vessels shall be in proper condition for any
+emergency, and it is desirable that the bill accepting League Island for
+naval purposes, which passed the House of Representatives at its last
+session, should receive final action at an early period, in order that
+there may be a suitable public station for this class of vessels, as
+well as a navy-yard of area sufficient for the wants of the service
+on the Delaware River. The naval pension fund amounts to $11,750,000,
+having been increased $2,750,000 during the year. The expenditures
+of the Department for the fiscal year ending 30th June last were
+$43,324,526, and the estimates for the coming year amount to
+$23,568,436. Attention is invited to the condition of our seamen and the
+importance of legislative measures for their relief and improvement. The
+suggestions in behalf of this deserving class of our fellow-citizens are
+earnestly recommended to the favorable attention of Congress.
+
+The report of the Postmaster-General presents a most satisfactory
+condition of the postal service and submits recommendations which
+deserve the consideration of Congress. The revenues of the Department
+for the year ending June 30, 1866, were $14,386,986 and the expenditures
+$15,352,079, showing an excess of the latter of $965,093. In
+anticipation of this deficiency, however, a special appropriation was
+made by Congress in the act approved July 28, 1866. Including the
+standing appropriation of $700,000 for free mail matter as a legitimate
+portion of the revenues, yet remaining unexpended, the actual deficiency
+for the past year is only $265,093--a sum within $51,141 of the amount
+estimated in the annual report of 1864. The decrease of revenue compared
+with the previous year was 1-1/5 per cent, and the increase of
+expenditures, owing principally to the enlargement of the mail service
+in the South, was 12 per cent. On the 30th of June last there were in
+operation 6,930 mail routes, with an aggregate length of 180,921 miles,
+an aggregate annual transportation of 71,837,914 miles, and an aggregate
+annual cost, including all expenditures, of $8,410,184. The length of
+railroad routes is 32,092 miles and the annual transportation 30,609,467
+miles. The length of steamboat routes is 14,346 miles and the annual
+transportation 3,411,962 miles. The mail service is rapidly increasing
+throughout the whole country, and its steady extension in the Southern
+States indicates their constantly improving condition. The growing
+importance of the foreign service also merits attention. The post-office
+department of Great Britain and our own have agreed upon a preliminary
+basis for a new postal convention, which it is believed will prove
+eminently beneficial to the commercial interests of the United States,
+inasmuch as it contemplates a reduction of the international letter
+postage to one-half the existing rates; a reduction of postage with
+all other countries to and from which correspondence is transmitted
+in the British mail, or in closed mails through the United Kingdom;
+the establishment of uniform and reasonable charges for the sea
+and territorial transit of correspondence in closed mails; and an
+allowance to each post-office department of the right to use all mail
+communications established under the authority of the other for the
+dispatch of correspondence, either in open or closed mails, on the same
+terms as those applicable to the inhabitants of the country providing
+the means of transmission.
+
+The report of the Secretary of the Interior exhibits the condition
+of those branches of the public service which are committed to his
+supervision. During the last fiscal year 4,629,312 acres of public
+land were disposed of, 1,892,516 acres of which were entered under the
+homestead act. The policy originally adopted relative to the public
+lands has undergone essential modifications. Immediate revenue, and not
+their rapid settlement, was the cardinal feature of our land system.
+Long experience and earnest discussion have resulted in the conviction
+that the early development of our agricultural resources and the
+diffusion of an energetic population over our vast territory are objects
+of far greater importance to the national growth and prosperity than the
+proceeds of the sale of the land to the highest bidder in open market.
+The preemption laws confer upon the pioneer who complies with the terms
+they impose the privilege of purchasing a limited portion of "unoffered
+lands" at the minimum price. The homestead enactments relieve the
+settler from the payment of purchase money, and secure him a permanent
+home upon the condition of residence for a term of years. This liberal
+policy invites emigration from the Old and from the more crowded
+portions of the New World. Its propitious results are undoubted, and
+will be more signally manifested when time shall have given to it a
+wider development.
+
+Congress has made liberal grants of public land to corporations in
+aid of the construction of railroads and other internal improvements.
+Should this policy hereafter prevail, more stringent provisions will
+be required to secure a faithful application of the fund. The title to
+the lands should not pass, by patent or otherwise, but remain in the
+Government and subject to its control until some portion of the road has
+been actually built. Portions of them might then from time to time be
+conveyed to the corporation, but never in a greater ratio to the whole
+quantity embraced by the grant than the completed parts bear to the
+entire length of the projected improvement. This restriction would not
+operate to the prejudice of any undertaking conceived in good faith
+and executed with reasonable energy, as it is the settled practice to
+withdraw from market the lands falling within the operation of such
+grants, and thus to exclude the inception of a subsequent adverse right.
+A breach of the conditions which Congress may deem proper to impose
+should work a forfeiture of claim to the lands so withdrawn but
+unconveyed, and of title to the lands conveyed which remain unsold.
+
+Operations on the several lines of the Pacific Railroad have been
+prosecuted with unexampled vigor and success. Should no unforeseen
+causes of delay occur, it is confidently anticipated that this great
+thoroughfare will be completed before the expiration of the period
+designated by Congress.
+
+During the last fiscal year the amount paid to pensioners, including the
+expenses of disbursement, was $13,459,996, and 50,177 names were added
+to the pension rolls. The entire number of pensioners June 30, 1866,
+was 126,722. This fact furnishes melancholy and striking proof of
+the sacrifices made to vindicate the constitutional authority of the
+Federal Government and to maintain inviolate the integrity of the Union.
+They impose upon us corresponding obligations. It is estimated that
+$33,000,000 will be required to meet the exigencies of this branch of
+the service during the next fiscal year.
+
+Treaties have been concluded with the Indians, who, enticed into armed
+opposition to our Government at the outbreak of the rebellion, have
+unconditionally submitted to our authority and manifested an earnest
+desire for a renewal of friendly relations.
+
+During the year ending September 30, 1866, 8,716 patents for useful
+inventions and designs were issued, and at that date the balance in
+the Treasury to the credit of the patent fund was $228,297.
+
+As a subject upon which depends an immense amount of the production and
+commerce of the country, I recommend to Congress such legislation as
+may be necessary for the preservation of the levees of the Mississippi
+River. It is a matter of national importance that early steps should
+be taken, not only to add to the efficiency of these barriers against
+destructive inundations, but for the removal of all obstructions to the
+free and safe navigation of that great channel of trade and commerce.
+
+The District of Columbia under existing laws is not entitled to that
+representation in the national councils which from our earliest history
+has been uniformly accorded to each Territory established from time to
+time within our limits. It maintains peculiar relations to Congress, to
+whom the Constitution has granted the power of exercising exclusive
+legislation over the seat of Government. Our fellow-citizens residing
+in the District, whose interests are thus confided to the special
+guardianship of Congress, exceed in number the population of several of
+our Territories, and no just reason is perceived why a Delegate of their
+choice should not be admitted to a seat in the House of Representatives.
+No mode seems so appropriate and effectual of enabling them to make
+known their peculiar condition and wants and of securing the local
+legislation adapted to them. I therefore recommend the passage of a
+law authorizing the electors of the District of Columbia to choose a
+Delegate, to be allowed the same rights and privileges as a Delegate
+representing a Territory. The increasing enterprise and rapid progress
+of improvement in the District are highly gratifying, and I trust that
+the efforts of the municipal authorities to promote the prosperity of
+the national metropolis will receive the efficient and generous
+cooperation of Congress.
+
+The report of the Commissioner of Agriculture reviews the operations of
+his Department during the past year, and asks the aid of Congress in
+its efforts to encourage those States which, scourged by war, are now
+earnestly engaged in the reorganization of domestic industry.
+
+It is a subject of congratulation that no foreign combinations
+against our domestic peace and safety or our legitimate influence
+among the nations have been formed or attempted. While sentiments of
+reconciliation, loyalty, and patriotism have increased at home, a more
+just consideration of our national character and rights has been
+manifested by foreign nations.
+
+The entire success of the Atlantic telegraph between the coast of
+Ireland and the Province of Newfoundland is an achievement which has
+been justly celebrated in both hemispheres as the opening of an era in
+the progress of civilization. There is reason to expect that equal
+success will attend and even greater results follow the enterprise for
+connecting the two continents through the Pacific Ocean by the projected
+line of telegraph between Kamchatka and the Russian possessions in
+America.
+
+The resolution of Congress protesting against pardons by foreign
+governments of persons convicted of infamous offenses on condition of
+emigration to our country has been communicated to the states with which
+we maintain intercourse, and the practice, so justly the subject of
+complaint on our part, has not been renewed.
+
+The congratulations of Congress to the Emperor of Russia upon his escape
+from attempted assassination have been presented to that humane and
+enlightened ruler and received by him with expressions of grateful
+appreciation.
+
+The Executive, warned of an attempt by Spanish American adventurers to
+induce the emigration of freedmen of the United States to a foreign
+country, protested against the project as one which, if consummated,
+would reduce them to a bondage even more oppressive than that from
+which they have just been relieved. Assurance has been received from
+the Government of the State in which the plan was matured that the
+proceeding will meet neither its encouragement nor approval. It is
+a question worthy of your consideration whether our laws upon this
+subject are adequate to the prevention or punishment of the crime
+thus meditated.
+
+In the month of April last, as Congress is aware, a friendly
+arrangement was made between the Emperor of France and the President
+of the United States for the withdrawal from Mexico of the French
+expeditionary military forces. This withdrawal was to be effected in
+three detachments, the first of which, it was understood, would leave
+Mexico in November, now past, the second in March next, and the third
+and last in November, 1867. Immediately upon the completion of the
+evacuation the French Government was to assume the same attitude of
+nonintervention in regard to Mexico as is held by the Government of the
+United States. Repeated assurances have been given by the Emperor since
+that agreement that he would complete the promised evacuation within
+the period mentioned, or sooner.
+
+It was reasonably expected that the proceedings thus contemplated would
+produce a crisis of great political interest in the Republic of Mexico.
+The newly appointed minister of the United States, Mr. Campbell, was
+therefore sent forward on the 9th day of November last to assume his
+proper functions as minister plenipotentiary of the United States to
+that Republic. It was also thought expedient that he should be attended
+in the vicinity of Mexico by the Lieutenant-General of the Army of the
+United States, with the view of obtaining such information as might be
+important to determine the course to be pursued by the United States in
+reestablishing and maintaining necessary and proper intercourse with the
+Republic of Mexico. Deeply interested in the cause of liberty and
+humanity, it seemed an obvious duty on our part to exercise whatever
+influence we possessed for the restoration and permanent establishment
+in that country of a domestic and republican form of government.
+
+Such was the condition of our affairs in regard to Mexico when, on the
+22d of November last, official information was received from Paris that
+the Emperor of France had some time before decided not to withdraw a
+detachment of his forces in the month of November past, according to
+engagement, but that this decision was made with the purpose of
+withdrawing the whole of those forces in the ensuing spring. Of this
+determination, however, the United States had not received any notice
+or intimation, and so soon as the information was received by the
+Government care was taken to make known its dissent to the Emperor of
+France.
+
+I can not forego the hope that France will reconsider the subject and
+adopt some resolution in regard to the evacuation of Mexico which will
+conform as nearly as practicable with the existing engagement, and thus
+meet the just expectations of the United States. The papers relating
+to the subject will be laid before you. It is believed that with the
+evacuation of Mexico by the expeditionary forces no subject for serious
+differences between France and the United States would remain. The
+expressions of the Emperor and people of France warrant a hope that the
+traditionary friendship between the two countries might in that case be
+renewed and permanently restored.
+
+A claim of a citizen of the United States for indemnity for spoliations
+committed on the high seas by the French authorities in the exercise of
+a belligerent power against Mexico has been met by the Government of
+France with a proposition to defer settlement until a mutual convention
+for the adjustment of all claims of citizens and subjects of both
+countries arising out of the recent wars on this continent shall
+be agreed upon by the two countries. The suggestion is not deemed
+unreasonable, but it belongs to Congress to direct the manner in which
+claims for indemnity by foreigners as well as by citizens of the United
+States arising out of the late civil war shall be adjudicated and
+determined. I have no doubt that the subject of all such claims will
+engage your attention at a convenient and proper time.
+
+It is a matter of regret that no considerable advance has been made
+toward an adjustment of the differences between the United States and
+Great Britain arising out of the depredations upon our national commerce
+and other trespasses committed during our civil war by British subjects,
+in violation of international law and treaty obligations. The delay,
+however, may be believed to have resulted in no small degree from the
+domestic situation of Great Britain. An entire change of ministry
+occurred in that country during the last session of Parliament. The
+attention of the new ministry was called to the subject at an early day,
+and there is some reason to expect that it will now be considered in a
+becoming and friendly spirit. The importance of an early disposition of
+the question can not be exaggerated. Whatever might be the wishes of the
+two Governments, it is manifest that good will and friendship between
+the two countries can not be established until a reciprocity in the
+practice of good faith and neutrality shall be restored between the
+respective nations.
+
+On the 6th of June last, in violation of our neutrality laws, a military
+expedition and enterprise against the British North American colonies
+was projected and attempted to be carried on within the territory and
+jurisdiction of the United States. In obedience to the obligation
+imposed upon the Executive by the Constitution to see that the laws are
+faithfully executed, all citizens were warned by proclamation against
+taking part in or aiding such unlawful proceedings, and the proper
+civil, military, and naval officers were directed to take all necessary
+measures for the enforcement of the laws. The expedition failed, but it
+has not been without its painful consequences. Some of our citizens who,
+it was alleged, were engaged in the expedition were captured, and have
+been brought to trial as for a capital offense in the Province of
+Canada. Judgment and sentence of death have been pronounced against
+some, while others have been acquitted. Fully believing in the maxim of
+government that severity of civil punishment for misguided persons who
+have engaged in revolutionary attempts which have disastrously failed is
+unsound and unwise, such representations have been made to the British
+Government in behalf of the convicted persons as, being sustained by
+an enlightened and humane judgment, will, it is hoped, induce in their
+cases an exercise of clemency and a judicious amnesty to all who were
+engaged in the movement. Counsel has been employed by the Government to
+defend citizens of the United States on trial for capital offenses in
+Canada, and a discontinuance of the prosecutions which were instituted
+in the courts of the United States against those who took part in the
+expedition has been directed.
+
+I have regarded the expedition as not only political in its nature, but
+as also in a great measure foreign from the United States in its causes,
+character, and objects. The attempt was understood to be made in
+sympathy with an insurgent party in Ireland, and by striking at a
+British Province on this continent was designed to aid in obtaining
+redress for political grievances which, it was assumed, the people of
+Ireland had suffered at the hands of the British Government during a
+period of several centuries. The persons engaged in it were chiefly
+natives of that country, some of whom had, while others had not, become
+citizens of the United States under our general laws of naturalization.
+Complaints of misgovernment in Ireland continually engage the attention
+of the British nation, and so great an agitation is now prevailing in
+Ireland that the British Government have deemed it necessary to suspend
+the writ of _habeas corpus_ in that country. These circumstances must
+necessarily modify the opinion which we might otherwise have entertained
+in regard to an expedition expressly prohibited by our neutrality laws.
+So long as those laws remain upon our statute books they should be
+faithfully executed, and if they operate harshly, unjustly, or
+oppressively Congress alone can apply the remedy by their modification
+or repeal.
+
+Political and commercial interests of the United States are not unlikely
+to be affected in some degree by events which are transpiring in the
+eastern regions of Europe, and the time seems to have come when our
+Government ought to have a proper diplomatic representation in Greece.
+
+This Government has claimed for all persons not convicted or accused or
+suspected of crime an absolute political right of self-expatriation and
+a choice of new national allegiance. Most of the European States have
+dissented from this principle, and have claimed a right to hold such of
+their subjects as have emigrated to and been naturalized in the United
+States and afterwards returned on transient visits to their native
+countries to the performance of military service in like manner as
+resident subjects. Complaints arising from the claim in this respect
+made by foreign states have heretofore been matters of controversy
+between the United States and some of the European powers, and the
+irritation consequent upon the failure to settle this question increased
+during the war in which Prussia, Italy, and Austria were recently
+engaged. While Great Britain has never acknowledged the right of
+expatriation, she has not for some years past practically insisted
+upon the opposite doctrine. France has been equally forbearing, and
+Prussia has proposed a compromise, which, although evincing increased
+liberality, has not been accepted by the United States. Peace is now
+prevailing everywhere in Europe, and the present seems to be a favorable
+time for an assertion by Congress of the principle so long maintained by
+the executive department that naturalization by one state fully exempts
+the native-born subject of any other state from the performance of
+military service under any foreign government, so long as he does not
+voluntarily renounce its rights and benefits.
+
+In the performance of a duty imposed upon me by the Constitution
+I have thus submitted to the representatives of the States and of the
+people such information of our domestic and foreign affairs as the
+public interests seem to require. Our Government is now undergoing its
+most trying ordeal, and my earnest prayer is that the peril may be
+successfully and finally passed without impairing its original strength
+and symmetry. The interests of the nation are best to be promoted by the
+revival of fraternal relations, the complete obliteration of our past
+differences, and the reinauguration of all the pursuits of peace.
+Directing our efforts to the early accomplishment of these great
+ends, let us endeavor to preserve harmony between the coordinate
+departments of the Government, that each in its proper sphere may
+cordially cooperate with the other in securing the maintenance of
+the Constitution, the preservation of the Union, and the perpetuity
+of our free institutions.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+SPECIAL MESSAGES.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 8, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In reply to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 5th
+instant, inquiring if any portion of Mexican territory has been occupied
+by United States troops, I transmit the accompanying report upon the
+subject from the Secretary of War.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 8, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I have the honor to communicate a report of the Secretary of State
+relating to the discovery and arrest of John H. Surratt.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _December 11, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith reports from the Secretary of War and the
+Attorney-General, in compliance with a resolution of the 3d instant,
+requesting the President to communicate to the House, "if not in his
+opinion incompatible with the public interests, the information asked
+for in a resolution of this House dated the 23d June last, and which
+resolution he has up to this time failed to answer, as to whether any
+application has been made to him for the pardon of G.E. Pickett, who
+acted as a major-general of the rebel forces in the late war for the
+suppression of insurrection, and, if so, what has been the action
+thereon; and also to communicate copies of all papers, entries,
+indorsements, and other documentary evidence in relation to any
+proceeding in connection with such application; and that he also inform
+this House whether, since the adjournment at Raleigh, N.C., on the
+30th of March last, of the last board or court of inquiry convened to
+investigate the facts attending the hanging of a number of United States
+soldiers for alleged desertion from the rebel army, any further measures
+have been taken to bring the said Pickett or other perpetrators of that
+crime to punishment."
+
+In transmitting the accompanying papers containing the information
+requested by the House of Representatives it is proper to state that,
+instead of bearing date the 23d of June last, the first resolution was
+dated the 23d of July, and was received by the Executive only four days
+before the termination of the session.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 14, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I communicate a translation of a letter of the 17th of August last
+addressed to me by His Majesty Alexander, Emperor of Russia, in reply to
+the joint resolution of Congress approved on the 16th day of May, 1866,
+relating to the attempted assassination of the Emperor, a certified copy
+of which was, in compliance with the request of Congress, forwarded to
+His Majesty by the hands of Gustavus V. Fox, late Assistant Secretary of
+the Navy of the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 15, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Interior, in
+answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 10th
+instant, in relation to the Atchison and Pikes Peak Railroad Company.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of
+December 4 last, requesting information "relating to the attempt of
+Santa Anna and Ortega to organize armed expeditions within the United
+States for the purpose of overthrowing the National Government of the
+Republic of Mexico," I transmit a report from the Secretary of State
+and the papers accompanying it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 21, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 19th
+instant, calling for a copy of certain correspondence relating to the
+joint occupancy of the island of San Juan, in Washington Territory,
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State on the subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 3, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I have the honor to communicate an additional report of the Secretary of
+State relating to the discovery and arrest of John H. Surratt.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 8, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War and the
+accompanying papers, in reply to the resolution of the House of
+Representatives of the 13th ultimo, requesting copies of all official
+documents, orders, letters, and papers of every description relative to
+the trial by a military commission and conviction of Crawford Keys and
+others for the murder of Emory Smith and others, and to the respite
+of the sentence in the case of said Crawford Keys or either of his
+associates, their transfer to Fort Delaware, and subsequent release
+upon a writ of _habeas corpus_.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 8, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit the accompanying report from the Attorney-General as a
+partial reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+10th ultimo, requesting a "list of names of all persons engaged in the
+late rebellion against the United States Government who have been
+pardoned by the President from April 15, 1865, to this date; that said
+list shall also state the rank of each person who has been so pardoned,
+if he has been engaged in the military service of the so-called
+Confederate government, and the position if he shall have held any civil
+office under said so-called Confederate government; and shall also
+further state whether such person has at any time prior to April 14,
+1861, held any office under the United States Government, and, if so,
+what office, together with the reasons for granting such pardons and
+also the names of the person or persons at whose solicitation such
+pardon was granted."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 9, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Navy, in
+answer to a resolution of the House of the 19th ultimo, requesting a
+statement of the amounts charged to the State Department since May 1,
+1865, for services rendered by naval vessels.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 9, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Navy,
+with the accompanying documents, in answer to a resolution of the Senate
+of the 5th ultimo, calling for copies of orders, instructions, and
+directions issued from that Department in relation to the employment of
+officers and others in the navy-yards of the United States, and all
+communications received in relation to employment at the Norfolk
+Navy-Yard.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 10, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to a resolution of
+the 17th ultimo, calling for information relative to the revolution in
+Candia, a report of the Secretary of State, with accompanying documents.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, January 14, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of the 19th ultimo,
+requesting information regarding the occupation of Mexican territory by
+the troops of the United States, I transmit a report of the Secretary of
+State and one of the Secretary of War, and the documents by which they
+were accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 18, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with a resolution of the 19th ultimo, requesting certain
+information in regard to the Universal Exposition to be held at Paris
+during the present year, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State
+and the documents to which it refers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 19, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I herewith communicate a report from the Secretary of the Interior,
+in answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 16th
+instant, in relation to the clerks of the Federal courts and the marshal
+of the United States for the district of North Carolina.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War and the
+accompanying papers, in compliance with the resolution of the House of
+Representatives of the 19th ultimo, requesting copies of all papers in
+possession of the President touching the case of George St. Leger
+Grenfel.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+JANUARY 21, 1867.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 23, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 21st
+instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+papers.[8]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 8: Correspondence with Mr. Motley, envoy extraordinary
+and minister plenipotentiary at Vienna, relative to his reported
+resignation.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 28, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report[9] from the Secretary of State, with
+accompanying papers, in answer to the Senate's resolution of the
+7th instant.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 9: Relating to an alleged emigration of citizens of the United
+States to the dominions of the Sublime Porte for the purpose of settling
+and acquiring landed property there.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 28, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+7th instant, in relation to the attempted compromise of certain suits
+instituted in the English courts in behalf of the United States against
+Fraser, Trenholm & Co., alleged agents of the so-called Confederate
+government, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the
+documents by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 29, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report[10] from the Secretary of State, in answer
+to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 24th instant.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 10: Stating that the Department of State has received no
+information concerning the removal of the Protestant Church or religious
+assembly meeting at the American embassy from the city of Rome by an
+order of that Government.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 29, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+12th ultimo and its request of the 28th instant for all correspondence,
+reports, and information in my possession in relation to the riot which
+occurred in the city of New Orleans on the 30th day of July last, I
+transmit herewith copies of telegraphic dispatches upon the subject,
+and reports from the Secretary of War, with the papers accompanying
+the same.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 29, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+4th of December last, requesting information upon the present condition
+of affairs in the Republic of Mexico, and of one of the 18th of the same
+month, desiring me to communicate to the House of Representatives copies
+of all correspondence on the subject of the evacuation of Mexico by the
+French troops not before officially published, I transmit a report from
+the Secretary of State and the papers accompanying it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 31, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith reports from the heads of the several Executive
+Departments, containing the information in reference to appointments
+to office requested in the resolution adopted by the House of
+Representatives on the 6th of December last.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 31, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report by the Secretary of War of January 30,
+containing the information asked for in a resolution of the House of
+Representatives of January 25, 1867, hereto annexed, respecting the
+execution of "An act providing for the appointment of a commissioner to
+examine and report upon certain claims of the State of Iowa," approved
+July 25, 1866.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 31, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+The accompanying reports from the heads of the several Executive
+Departments of the Government are submitted in compliance with a
+resolution of the Senate dated the 12th ultimo, inquiring whether any
+person appointed to an office required by law to be filled by and with
+the advice and consent of the Senate, and who was commissioned during
+the recess of the Senate, previous to the assembling of the present
+Congress, to fill a vacancy, has been continued in such office and
+permitted to discharge its functions, either by the granting of a new
+commission or otherwise, since the end of the session of the Senate on
+the 28th day of July last, without the submission of the name of such
+person to the Senate for its confirmation; and particularly whether a
+surveyor or naval officer of the port of Philadelphia has thus been
+continued in office without the consent of the Senate, and, if any such
+officer has performed the duties of that office, whether he has received
+any salary or compensation therefor.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 7, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded the 29th day of August, 1866, between Alexander
+Cummings, governor of Colorado Territory and _ex officio_ superintendent
+of Indian affairs, Hon. A.C. Hunt, and D.C. Oakes, United States Indian
+agent, duly authorized and appointed as commissioners for the purpose,
+and the chiefs and warriors of the Uintah Jampa, or Grand River, bands
+of Utah Indians.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 31st of January, with
+copy of letter from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 28th of
+January, 1867, together with a map showing the tract of country claimed
+by said Indians, accompany the treaty.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 4, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 2d instant, requesting
+the Secretary of State to report what steps have been taken him to
+secure to the United States the right to make the necessary surveys for
+an interoceanic ship canal through the territory of Colombia, I transmit
+herewith the report of the Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 4, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith communicate a report from the Secretary of the Interior of
+this date, in answer to a resolution of the Senate of the 31st ultimo,
+in relation to the deputy marshals, bailiffs, and criers in the District
+of Columbia who have received compensation for the year 1866.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 4, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit a report of the Secretary of the Treasury, in answer to a
+resolution of the Senate of the 31st ultimo, on the subject of a treaty
+of reciprocity with the Hawaiian Islands.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 5, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith, in answer to the Senate's resolution of the 2d
+instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with an accompanying
+document.[11]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 11: Copy of the letter on which the Secretary of State founded
+his inquiries addressed to Mr. Motley, United States minister at Vienna,
+with regard to his reported conversation and opinions.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 5, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to a
+resolution of the House of Representatives of yesterday, making inquiry
+as to the States which have ratified the amendment to the Constitution
+proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 7, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+4th instant, requesting me to communicate to that body any official
+correspondence which may have taken place with regard to the visit of
+Professor Agassiz to Brazil, I transmit herewith the report of the
+Secretary of State and the papers accompanying it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 7, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I herewith communicate a report of the Secretary of the Interior,
+in answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 22d
+ultimo, requesting information relative to the condition, occupancy,
+and area of the Hot Springs Reservation, in the State of Arkansas.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 9, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith, in answer to the Senate's resolution of the 7th
+instant, a report[12] from the Secretary of State, with an accompanying
+document.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 12: Relating to the reported transfer of the United States
+minister from Stockholm to Bogota.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 11, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 6th of February,
+1867, requesting me to transmit copies of all correspondence not
+heretofore communicated on the subject of grants to American citizens
+for railroad and telegraph lines across the territory of the Republic of
+Mexico, I submit herewith the report of the Secretary of State and the
+papers accompanying it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 16, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to a
+resolution of the House of Representatives of yesterday, making further
+inquiry as to the States which have ratified the amendment to the
+Constitution proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 16, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 27th of July last,
+relative to the practicability of establishing equal reciprocal
+relations between the United States and the British North American
+Provinces and to the actual condition of the question of the fisheries,
+I transmit a report on the subject from the Secretary of State, with
+the papers to which it refers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 18, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I have received a resolution of the Senate dated the 8th day of January
+last, requesting the President to inform the Senate if any violations of
+the act entitled "An act to protect all persons in the United States in
+their civil rights and furnish the means of their vindication" have come
+to his knowledge, and, if so, what steps, if any, have been taken by him
+to enforce the law and punish the offenders.
+
+Not being cognizant of any cases which came within the purview of the
+resolution, in order that the inquiry might have the fullest range I
+referred it to the heads of the several Executive Departments, whose
+reports are herewith communicated for the information of the Senate.
+
+With the exception of the cases mentioned in the reports of the
+Secretary of War and the Attorney-General, no violations, real or
+supposed, of the act to which the resolution refers have at any time
+come to the knowledge of the Executive. The steps taken in these cases
+to enforce the law appear in these reports.
+
+The Secretary of War, under date of the 15th instant, submitted a series
+of reports from the General Commanding the armies of the United States
+and other military officers as to supposed violations of the act alluded
+to in the resolution, with the request that they should be referred to
+the Attorney-General "for his investigation and report, to the end that
+the cases may be designated which are cognizant by the civil authorities
+and such as are cognizant by military tribunals." I have directed the
+reference so to be made.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 18, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a letter of the 26th ultimo, addressed to me by W.F.M. Arny,
+secretary and acting governor of the Territory of New Mexico, with the
+memorials to Congress by which it was accompanied, requesting certain
+appropriations for that Territory. The attention of the House of
+Representatives is invited to the subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 19, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit the accompanying reports from the Secretary of the Treasury
+and the Secretary of War, in answer to the resolution of the House of
+Representatives of the 28th May last, requesting certain information in
+regard to captured and forfeited cotton.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 20, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, giving information of
+States which have ratified the amendment to the Constitution proposed by
+the Thirty-ninth Congress in addition to those named in his report which
+was communicated in my message of the 16th instant, in answer to a
+resolution of the House of Representatives of the 15th instant.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 21, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 11th
+instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+documents.[13]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 13: Correspondence relative to the refusal of the United
+States consul at Cadiz, Spain, to certify invoices of wines shipped
+from that port, etc.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 21, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 31st ultimo,
+a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying documents.[14]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 14: Correspondence with foreign ministers of the United States
+relative to the policy of the President toward the States lately in
+rebellion.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 21, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 19th
+instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+documents.[15]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 15: Correspondence relative to the salary of the United States
+minister to Portugal.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 21, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their
+resolution of the 14th instant, a report[16] from the Secretary of
+State of this date.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 16: Stating that the correspondence relative to the refusal of
+the United States consul at Cadiz, Spain, to certify invoices of wines
+shipped from that port had been sent to the Senate.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 21, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+For the reasons stated[16] in the accompanying communication from the
+Secretary of the Interior, I withdraw the treaty concluded with the
+New York Indians in Kansas and submitted to the Senate in the month of
+December, 1863, but upon which I am informed no action has yet been
+taken.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 16: For the purpose of concluding a new treaty.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _February 23, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded in the city of Washington on the 19th of February,
+1867, between the United States and the Sac and Fox tribes of Indians
+of Missouri.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 23d and copy of a
+letter of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 19th of February,
+1867, accompany the treaty.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _February 23, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded in the city of Washington on the 18th February, 1867,
+between the United States and the Sac and Fox tribes of Indians of the
+Mississippi.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 23d and a copy of a
+letter of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 19th February, 1867,
+accompany the treaty.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _February 23, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded on the 19th February, 1867, between the United States
+and the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands of Indians.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 23d instant and
+accompanying copies of letters of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs
+and Major T.R. Brown, in relation to said treaty, are also herewith
+transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 23, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a copy of a letter of the 12th instant addressed to me by His
+Excellency Lucius Fairchild, governor of the State of Wisconsin, and of
+the memorial to Congress concerning the Paris Exposition adopted by the
+legislature of that State during its present session.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 25, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Interior, in
+reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 11th
+instant, calling for certain information relative to removals and
+appointments in his Department since the adjournment of the first
+session of the Thirty-ninth Congress.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 26, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a copy of a correspondence between the Secretary
+of State and G.V. Fox, esq., relative to the presentation by the latter
+to the Emperor of Russia of the resolution of Congress expressive of
+the feelings of the people of the United States in reference to the
+providential escape of that sovereign from an attempted assassination.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 26, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, with a view to ratification, a general
+convention of amity, commerce, and navigation and for the surrender of
+fugitive criminals between the United States and the Dominican Republic,
+signed by the plenipotentiaries of the parties at the city of St.
+Domingo on the 8th of this month.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 27, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Navy,
+in answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 21st
+instant, calling for a copy of a letter addressed by Richard M. Boynton
+and Harriet M. Fisher to the Secretary of the Navy in the month of
+February, 1863, together with the indorsement made thereon by the Chief
+of the Bureau of Ordnance.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 2, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report of the Attorney-General, additional to the
+one submitted by him December 13, 1866, in reply to the resolution of
+the House of Representatives of December 10, 1866, requesting "a list of
+names of all persons who have been engaged in the late rebellion against
+the United States Government who have been pardoned by the President
+from April 15, 1865, to this date; that said list shall also state the
+rank of each person who has been so pardoned, if he has been engaged
+in the military service of the so-called Confederate States, and the
+position if he shall have held any civil office under said so-called
+Confederate government; and shall also further state whether such person
+has at any time prior to April 14, 1861, held any office under the
+United States Government, and, if so, what office, together with the
+reasons for granting such pardons, and also the names of the person or
+persons at whose solicitation such pardon was granted."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+MARCH 2, 1867.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+The act entitled "An act making appropriations for the support of the
+Army for the year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes" contains
+provisions to which I must call attention. Those provisions are
+contained in the second section, which in certain cases virtually
+deprives the President of his constitutional functions as Commander in
+Chief of the Army, and in the sixth section, which denies to ten States
+of this Union their constitutional right to protect themselves in any
+emergency by means of their own militia. Those provisions are out of
+place in an appropriation act. I am compelled to defeat these necessary
+appropriations if I withhold my signature to the act. Pressed by these
+considerations, I feel constrained to return the bill with my signature,
+but to accompany it with my protest against the sections which I have
+indicated.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+VETO MESSAGES.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 5, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I have received and considered a bill entitled "An act to regulate the
+elective franchise in the District of Columbia," passed by the Senate
+on the 13th of December and by the House of Representatives on the
+succeeding day. It was presented for my approval on the 26th ultimo--six
+days after the adjournment of Congress--and is now returned with my
+objections to the Senate, in which House it originated.
+
+Measures having been introduced at the commencement of the first session
+of the present Congress for the extension of the elective franchise to
+persons of color in the District of Columbia, steps were taken by the
+corporate authorities of Washington and Georgetown to ascertain and make
+known the opinion of the people of the two cities upon a subject so
+immediately affecting their welfare as a community. The question was
+submitted to the people at special elections held in the month of
+December, 1865, when the qualified voters of Washington and Georgetown,
+with great unanimity of sentiment, expressed themselves opposed to
+the contemplated legislation. In Washington, in a vote of 6,556--the
+largest, with but two exceptions, ever polled in that city--only
+thirty-five ballots were cast for negro suffrage, while in Georgetown,
+in an aggregate of 813 votes--a number considerably in excess of the
+average vote at the four preceding annual elections--but one was given
+in favor of the proposed extension of the elective franchise. As these
+elections seem to have been conducted with entire fairness, the result
+must be accepted as a truthful expression of the opinion of the people
+of the District upon the question which evoked it. Possessing, as an
+organized community, the same popular right as the inhabitants of a
+State or Territory to make known their will upon matters which affect
+their social and political condition, they could have selected no more
+appropriate mode of memorializing Congress upon the subject of this
+bill than through the suffrages of their qualified voters.
+
+Entirely disregarding the wishes of the people of the District of
+Columbia, Congress has deemed it right and expedient to pass the measure
+now submitted for my signature. It therefore becomes the duty of the
+Executive, standing between the legislation of the one and the will of
+the other, fairly expressed, to determine whether he should approve the
+bill, and thus aid in placing upon the statute books of the nation a law
+against which the people to whom it is to apply have solemnly and with
+such unanimity protested, or whether he should return it with his
+objections in the hope that upon reconsideration Congress, acting as
+the representatives of the inhabitants of the seat of Government, will
+permit them to regulate a purely local question as to them may seem best
+suited to their interests and condition.
+
+The District of Columbia was ceded to the United States by Maryland and
+Virginia in order that it might become the permanent seat of Government
+of the United States. Accepted by Congress, it at once became subject to
+the "exclusive legislation" for which provision is made in the Federal
+Constitution. It should be borne in mind, however, that in exercising
+its functions as the lawmaking power of the District of Columbia the
+authority of the National Legislature is not without limit, but that
+Congress is bound to observe the letter and spirit of the Constitution
+as well in the enactment of local laws for the seat of Government as
+in legislation common to the entire Union. Were it to be admitted that
+the right "to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever"
+conferred upon Congress unlimited power within the District of Columbia,
+titles of nobility might be granted within its boundaries; laws might be
+made "respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free
+exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press,
+or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the
+Government for a redress of grievances." Despotism would thus reign at
+the seat of government of a free republic, and as a place of permanent
+residence it would be avoided by all who prefer the blessings of liberty
+to the mere emoluments of official position.
+
+It should also be remembered that in legislating for the District of
+Columbia under the Federal Constitution the relation of Congress to
+its inhabitants is analogous to that of a legislature to the people
+of a State under their own local constitution. It does not, therefore,
+seem to be asking too much that in matters pertaining to the District
+Congress should have a like respect for the will and interest of its
+inhabitants as is entertained by a State legislature for the wishes
+and prosperity of those for whom they legislate. The spirit of our
+Constitution and the genius of our Government require that in regard to
+any law which is to affect and have a permanent bearing upon a people
+their will should exert at least a reasonable influence upon those who
+are acting in the capacity of their legislators. Would, for instance,
+the legislature of the State of New York, or of Pennsylvania, or of
+Indiana, or of any State in the Union, in opposition to the expressed
+will of a large majority of the people whom they were chosen to
+represent, arbitrarily force upon them as voters all persons of the
+African or negro race and make them eligible for office without any
+other qualification than a certain term of residence within the State?
+In neither of the States named would the colored population, when acting
+together, be able to produce any great social or political result.
+Yet in New York, before he can vote, the man of color must fulfill
+conditions that are not required of the white citizen; in Pennsylvania
+the elective franchise is restricted to white freemen, while in Indiana
+negroes and mulattoes are expressly excluded from the right of suffrage.
+It hardly seems consistent with the principles of right and justice that
+representatives of States where suffrage is either denied the colored
+man or granted to him on qualifications requiring intelligence or
+property should compel the people of the District of Columbia to
+try an experiment which their own constituents have thus far shown
+an unwillingness to test for themselves. Nor does it accord with our
+republican ideas that the principle of self-government should lose its
+force when applied to the residents of the District merely because their
+legislators are not, like those of the States, responsible through the
+ballot to the people for whom they are the lawmaking power.
+
+The great object of placing the seat of Government under the exclusive
+legislation of Congress was to secure the entire independence of the
+General Government from undue State influence and to enable it to
+discharge without danger of interruption or infringement of its
+authority the high functions for which it was created by the people.
+For this important purpose it was ceded to the United States by Maryland
+and Virginia, and it certainly never could have been contemplated
+as one of the objects to be attained by placing it under the exclusive
+jurisdiction of Congress that it would afford to propagandists or
+political parties a place for an experimental test of their principles
+and theories. While, indeed, the residents of the seat of Government are
+not citizens of any State and are not, therefore, allowed a voice in the
+electoral college or representation in the councils of the nation, they
+are, nevertheless, American citizens, entitled as such to every guaranty
+of the Constitution, to every benefit of the laws, and to every right
+which pertains to citizens of our common country. In all matters, then,
+affecting their domestic affairs, the spirit of our democratic form of
+government demands that their wishes should be consulted and respected
+and they taught to feel that although not permitted practically to
+participate in national concerns, they are, nevertheless, under a
+paternal government regardful of their rights, mindful of their wants,
+and solicitous for their prosperity. It was evidently contemplated that
+all local questions would be left to their decision, at least to an
+extent that would not be incompatible with the object for which Congress
+was granted exclusive legislation over the seat of Government. When the
+Constitution was yet under consideration, it was assumed by Mr. Madison
+that its inhabitants would be allowed "a municipal legislature for local
+purposes, derived from their own suffrages." When for the first time
+Congress, in the year 1800, assembled at Washington, President Adams, in
+his speech at its opening, reminded the two Houses that it was for them
+to consider whether the local powers over the District of Columbia,
+vested by the Constitution in the Congress of the United States, should
+be immediately exercised, and he asked them to "consider it as the
+capital of a great nation, advancing with unexampled rapidity in arts,
+in commerce, in wealth, and in population, and possessing within itself
+those resources which, if not thrown away or lamentably misdirected,
+would secure to it a long course of prosperity and self-government."
+Three years had not elapsed when Congress was called upon to determine
+the propriety of retroceding to Maryland and Virginia the jurisdiction
+of the territory which they had respectively relinquished to the
+Government of the United States. It was urged on the one hand that
+exclusive jurisdiction was not necessary or useful to the Government;
+that it deprived the inhabitants of the District of their political
+rights; that much of the time of Congress was consumed in legislation
+pertaining to it; that its government was expensive; that Congress was
+not competent to legislate for the District, because the members were
+strangers to its local concerns; and that it was an example of a
+government without representation--an experiment dangerous to the
+liberties of the States. On the other hand it was held, among other
+reasons, and successfully, that the Constitution, the acts of cession
+of Virginia and Maryland, and the act of Congress accepting the grant
+all contemplated the exercise of exclusive legislation by Congress,
+and that its usefulness, if not its necessity, was inferred from the
+inconvenience which was felt for want of it by the Congress of the
+Confederation; that the people themselves, who, it was said, had been
+deprived of their political rights, had not complained and did not
+desire a retrocession; that the evil might be remedied by giving them a
+representation in Congress when the District should become sufficiently
+populous, and in the meantime a local legislature; that if the
+inhabitants had not political rights they had great political influence;
+that the trouble and expense of legislating for the District would not
+be great, but would diminish, and might in a great measure be avoided
+by a local legislature; and that Congress could not retrocede the
+inhabitants without their consent. Continuing to live substantially
+under the laws that existed at the time of the cession, and such changes
+only having been made as were suggested by themselves, the people of the
+District have not sought by a local legislature that which has generally
+been willingly conceded by the Congress of the nation.
+
+As a general rule sound policy requires that the legislature should
+yield to the wishes of a people, when not inconsistent with the
+constitution and the laws. The measures suited to one community might
+not be well adapted to the condition of another; and the persons best
+qualified to determine such questions are those whose interests are
+to be directly affected by any proposed law. In Massachusetts, for
+instance, male persons are allowed to vote without regard to color,
+provided they possess a certain degree of intelligence. In a population
+in that State of 1,231,066 there were, by the census of 1860, only 9,602
+persons of color, and of the males over 20 years of age there were
+339,086 white to 2,602 colored. By the same official enumeration there
+were in the District of Columbia 60,764 whites to 14,316 persons of the
+colored race. Since then, however, the population of the District has
+largely increased, and it is estimated that at the present time there
+are nearly 100,000 whites to 30,000 negroes. The cause of the augmented
+numbers of the latter class needs no explanation. Contiguous to Maryland
+and Virginia, the District during the war became a place of refuge for
+those who escaped from servitude, and it is yet the abiding place of a
+considerable proportion of those who sought within its limits a shelter
+from bondage. Until then held in slavery and denied all opportunities
+for mental culture, their first knowledge of the Government was acquired
+when, by conferring upon them freedom, it became the benefactor of their
+race. The test of their capability for improvement began when for the
+first time the career of free industry and the avenues to intelligence
+were opened to them. Possessing these advantages but a limited time--the
+greater number perhaps having entered the District of Columbia during
+the later years of the war, or since its termination--we may well
+pause to inquire whether, after so brief a probation, they are as a
+class capable of an intelligent exercise of the right of suffrage and
+qualified to discharge the duties of official position. The people
+who are daily witnesses of their mode of living, and who have become
+familiar with their habits of thought, have expressed the conviction
+that they are not yet competent to serve as electors, and thus become
+eligible for office in the local governments under which they live.
+Clothed with the elective franchise, their numbers, already largely in
+excess of the demand for labor, would be soon increased by an influx
+from the adjoining States. Drawn from fields where employment is
+abundant, they would in vain seek it here, and so add to the
+embarrassments already experienced from the large class of idle persons
+congregated in the District. Hardly yet capable of forming correct
+judgments upon the important questions that often make the issues
+of a political contest, they could readily be made subservient to the
+purposes of designing persons. While in Massachusetts, under the census
+of 1860, the proportion of white to colored males over 20 years of age
+was 130 to 1, here the black race constitutes nearly one-third of the
+entire population, whilst the same class surrounds the District on all
+sides, ready to change their residence at a moment's notice, and with
+all the facility of a nomadic people, in order to enjoy here, after a
+short residence, a privilege they find nowhere else. It is within their
+power in one year to come into the District in such numbers as to have
+the supreme control of the white race, and to govern them by their own
+officers and by the exercise of all the municipal authority--among
+the rest, of the power of taxation over property in which they have
+no interest. In Massachusetts, where they have enjoyed the benefits
+of a thorough educational system, a qualification of intelligence
+is required, while here suffrage is extended to all without
+discrimination--as well to the most incapable who can prove a
+residence in the District of one year as to those persons of color who,
+comparatively few in number, are permanent inhabitants, and, having
+given evidence of merit and qualification, are recognized as useful and
+responsible members of the community. Imposed upon an unwilling people
+placed by the Constitution under the exclusive legislation of Congress,
+it would be viewed as an arbitrary exercise of power and as an
+indication by the country of the purpose of Congress to compel the
+acceptance of negro suffrage by the States. It would engender a feeling
+of opposition and hatred between the two races, which, becoming deep
+rooted and ineradicable, would prevent them from living together in
+a state of mutual friendliness. Carefully avoiding every measure that
+might tend to produce such a result, and following the clear and
+well-ascertained popular will, we should assiduously endeavor to promote
+kindly relations between them, and thus, when that popular will leads
+the way, prepare for the gradual and harmonious introduction of this
+new element into the political power of the country.
+
+It can not be urged that the proposed extension of suffrage in the
+District of Columbia is necessary to enable persons of color to protect
+either their interests or their rights. They stand here precisely as
+they stand in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. Here as elsewhere, in all
+that pertains to civil rights, there is nothing to distinguish this
+class of persons from citizens of the United States, for they possess
+the "full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security
+of person and property as is enjoyed by white citizens," and are made
+"subject to like punishment, pains, and penalties, and to none other,
+any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom to the contrary
+notwithstanding." Nor, as has been assumed, are their suffrages
+necessary to aid a loyal sentiment here, for local governments already
+exist of undoubted fealty to the Government, and are sustained by
+communities which were among the first to testify their devotion to the
+Union, and which during the struggle furnished their full quotas of men
+to the military service of the country.
+
+The exercise of the elective franchise is the highest attribute of an
+American citizen, and when guided by virtue, intelligence, patriotism,
+and a proper appreciation of our institutions constitutes the true basis
+of a democratic form of government, in which the sovereign power is
+lodged in the body of the people. Its influence for good necessarily
+depends upon the elevated character and patriotism of the elector, for
+if exercised by persons who do not justly estimate its value and who are
+indifferent as to its results it will only serve as a means of placing
+power in the hands of the unprincipled and ambitious, and must eventuate
+in the complete destruction of that liberty of which it should be the
+most powerful conservator. Great danger is therefore to be apprehended
+from an untimely extension of the elective franchise to any new class
+in our country, especially when the large majority of that class, in
+wielding the power thus placed in their hands, can not be expected
+correctly to comprehend the duties and responsibilities which pertain
+to suffrage. Yesterday, as it were, 4,000,000 persons were held in a
+condition of slavery that had existed for generations; to-day they are
+freemen and are assumed by law to be citizens. It can not be presumed,
+from their previous condition of servitude, that as a class they are as
+well informed as to the nature of our Government as the intelligent
+foreigner who makes our land the home of his choice. In the case of
+the latter neither a residence of five years and the knowledge of our
+institutions which it gives nor attachment to the principles of the
+Constitution are the only conditions upon which he can be admitted to
+citizenship; he must prove in addition a good moral character, and thus
+give reasonable ground for the belief that he will be faithful to the
+obligations which he assumes as a citizen of the Republic. Where a
+people--the source of all political power--speak by their suffrages
+through the instrumentality of the ballot box, it must be carefully
+guarded against the control of those who are corrupt in principle and
+enemies of free institutions, for it can only become to our political
+and social system a safe conductor of healthy popular sentiment when
+kept free from demoralizing influences. Controlled through fraud and
+usurpation by the designing, anarchy and despotism must inevitably
+follow.
+
+In the hands of the patriotic and worthy our Government will be
+preserved upon the principles of the Constitution inherited from our
+fathers. It follows, therefore, that in admitting to the ballot box
+a new class of voters not qualified for the exercise of the elective
+franchise we weaken our system of government instead of adding to its
+strength and durability.
+
+In returning this bill to the Senate I deeply regret that there should
+be any conflict of opinion between the legislative and executive
+departments of the Government in regard to measures that vitally affect
+the prosperity and peace of the country. Sincerely desiring to reconcile
+the States with one another and the whole people to the Government of
+the United States, it has been my earnest wish to cooperate with
+Congress in all measures having for their object a proper and complete
+adjustment of the questions resulting from our late civil war. Harmony
+between the coordinate branches of the Government, always necessary for
+the public welfare, was never more demanded than at the present time,
+and it will therefore be my constant aim to promote as far as possible
+concert of action between them. The differences of opinion that have
+already occurred have rendered me only the more cautious, lest the
+Executive should encroach upon any of the prerogatives of Congress,
+or by exceeding in any manner the constitutional limit of his duties
+destroy the equilibrium which should exist between the several
+coordinate departments, and which is so essential to the harmonious
+working of the Government. I know it has been urged that the executive
+department is more likely to enlarge the sphere of its action than
+either of the other two branches of the Government, and especially in
+the exercise of the veto power conferred upon it by the Constitution. It
+should be remembered, however, that this power is wholly negative and
+conservative in its character, and was intended to operate as a check
+upon unconstitutional, hasty, and improvident legislation and as a means
+of protection against invasions of the just powers of the executive and
+judicial departments. It is remarked by Chancellor Kent that--
+
+  To enact laws is a transcendent power, and if the body that possesses
+  it be a full and equal representation of the people there is danger of
+  its pressing with destructive weight upon all the other parts of the
+  machinery of Government. It has therefore been thought necessary by the
+  most skillful and most experienced artists in the science of civil
+  polity that strong barriers should be erected for the protection and
+  security of the other necessary powers of the Government. Nothing has
+  been deemed more fit and expedient for the purpose than the provision
+  that the head of the executive department should be so constituted as
+  to secure a requisite share of independence and that he should have a
+  negative upon the passing of laws; and that the judiciary power, resting
+  on a still more permanent basis, should have the right of determining
+  upon the validity of laws by the standard of the Constitution.
+
+
+The necessity of some such check in the hands of the Executive is shown
+by reference to the most eminent writers upon our system of government,
+who seem to concur in the opinion that encroachments are most to be
+apprehended from the department in which all legislative powers are
+vested by the Constitution. Mr. Madison, in referring to the difficulty
+of providing some practical security for each against the invasion of
+the others, remarks that "the legislative department is everywhere
+extending the sphere of its activity and drawing all power into its
+impetuous vortex." "The founders of our Republic * * * seem never to
+have recollected the danger from legislative usurpations, which by
+assembling all power in the same hands must lead to the same tyranny as
+is threatened by Executive usurpations." "In a representative republic,
+where the executive magistracy is carefully limited both in the extent
+and the duration of its power, and where the legislative power is
+exercised by an assembly which is inspired, by a supposed influence over
+the people, with an intrepid confidence in its own strength, which
+is sufficiently numerous to feel all the passions which actuate a
+multitude, yet not so numerous as to be incapable of pursuing the
+objects of its passions by means which reason prescribes, it is against
+the enterprising ambition of this department that the people ought to
+indulge all their jealousy and exhaust all their precautions." "The
+legislative department derives a superiority in our governments from
+other circumstances. Its constitutional powers being at once more
+extensive and less susceptible of precise limits, it can with the
+greater facility mask, under complicated and indirect measures, the
+encroachments which it makes on the coordinate departments." "On the
+other side, the Executive power being restrained within a narrower
+compass and being more simple in its nature, and the judiciary being
+described by landmarks still less uncertain, projects of usurpation
+by either of these departments would immediately betray and defeat
+themselves. Nor is this all. As the legislative department alone has
+access to the pockets of the people and has in some constitutions full
+discretion and in all a prevailing influence over the pecuniary rewards
+of those who fill the other departments, a dependence is thus created in
+the latter which gives still greater facility to encroachments of the
+former." "We have seen that the tendency of republican governments is
+to an aggrandizement of the legislative at the expense of the other
+departments."
+
+Mr. Jefferson, in referring to the early constitution of
+Virginia, objected that by its provisions all the powers of
+government--legislative, executive, and judicial--resulted to the
+legislative body, holding that "the concentrating these in the same
+hands is precisely the definition of despotic government. It will be no
+alleviation that these powers will be exercised by a plurality of hands,
+and not by a single one. One hundred and seventy-three despots would
+surely be as oppressive as one." "As little will it avail us that they
+are chosen by ourselves. An elective despotism was not the government we
+fought for, but one which should not only be founded on free principles,
+but in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced
+among several bodies of magistracy as that no one could transcend their
+legal limits without being effectually checked and restrained by the
+others. For this reason that convention which passed the ordinance of
+government laid its foundation on this basis, that the legislative,
+executive, and judicial departments should be separate and distinct,
+so that no person should exercise the powers of more than one of them
+at the same time. But no barrier was provided between these several
+powers. The judiciary and executive members were left dependent on the
+legislative for their subsistence in office, and some of them for their
+continuance in it. If, therefore, the legislature assumes executive and
+judiciary powers, no opposition is likely to be made, nor, if made, can
+be effectual, because in that case they may put their proceedings into
+the form of an act of assembly, which will render them obligatory on the
+other branches. They have accordingly in many instances decided rights
+which should have been left to judiciary controversy; and the direction
+of the executive, during the whole time of their session, is becoming
+habitual and familiar."
+
+Mr. Justice Story, in his Commentaries on the Constitution, reviews the
+same subject, and says:
+
+  The truth is that the legislative power is the great and overruling
+  power in every free government. * * * The representatives of the people
+  will watch with jealousy every encroachment of the executive magistrate,
+  for it trenches upon their own authority. But who shall watch the
+  encroachment of these representatives themselves? Will they be as
+  jealous of the exercise of power by themselves as by others? * * *
+
+  There are many reasons which may be assigned for the engrossing
+  influence of the legislative department. In the first place, its
+  constitutional powers are more extensive, and less capable of being
+  brought within precise limits than those of either the other
+  departments. The bounds of the executive authority are easily marked
+  out and defined. It reaches few objects, and those are known. It can
+  not transcend them without being brought in contact with the other
+  departments. Laws may check and restrain and bound its exercise. The
+  same remarks apply with still greater force to the judiciary. The
+  jurisdiction is, or may be, bounded to a few objects or persons; or,
+  however general and unlimited, its operations are necessarily confined
+  to the mere administration of private and public justice. It can not
+  punish without law. It can not create controversies to act upon. It can
+  decide only upon rights and cases as they are brought by others before
+  it. It can do nothing for itself. It must do everything for others. It
+  must obey the laws, and if it corruptly administers them it is subjected
+  to the power of impeachment. On the other hand, the legislative power
+  except in the few cases of constitutional prohibition, is unlimited. It
+  is forever varying its means and its ends. It governs the institutions
+  and laws and public policy of the country. It regulates all its vast
+  interests. It disposes of all its property. Look but at the exercise
+  of two or three branches of its ordinary powers. It levies all taxes;
+  it directs and appropriates all supplies; it gives the rules for the
+  descent, distribution, and devises of all property held by individuals;
+  it controls the sources and the resources of wealth; it changes at its
+  will the whole fabric of the laws; it molds at its pleasure almost all
+  the institutions which give strength and comfort and dignity to society.
+
+  In the next place, it is the direct visible representative of the will
+  of the people in all the changes of times and circumstances. It has the
+  pride as well as the power of numbers. It is easily moved and steadily
+  moved by the strong impulses of popular feeling and popular odium. It
+  obeys without reluctance the wishes and the will of the majority for the
+  time being. The path to public favor lies open by such obedience, and it
+  finds not only support but impunity in whatever measures the majority
+  advises, even though they transcend the constitutional limits. It has no
+  motive, therefore, to be jealous or scrupulous in its own use of power;
+  and it finds its ambition stimulated and its arm strengthened by the
+  countenance and the courage of numbers. These views are not alone those
+  of men who look with apprehension upon the fate of republics, but they
+  are also freely admitted by some of the strongest advocates for popular
+  rights and the permanency of republican institutions. * * *
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+  * * * Each department should have a will of its own. * * * Each should
+  have its own independence secured beyond the power of being taken away
+  by either or both of the others. But at the same time the relations of
+  each to the other should be so strong that there should be a mutual
+  interest to sustain and protect each other. There should not only be
+  constitutional means, but personal motives to resist encroachments of
+  one or either of the others. Thus ambition would be made to counteract
+  ambition, the desire of power to check power, and the pressure of
+  interest to balance an opposing interest.
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+  * * * The judiciary is naturally and almost necessarily, as has been
+  already said, the weakest department. It can have no means of influence
+  by patronage. Its powers can never be wielded for itself. It has no
+  command over the purse or the sword of the nation. It can neither lay
+  taxes, nor appropriate money, nor command armies, nor appoint to office.
+  It is never brought into contact with the people by constant appeals and
+  solicitations and private intercourse, which belong to all the other
+  departments of Government. It is seen only in controversies or in trials
+  and punishments. Its rigid justice and impartiality give it no claims to
+  favor, however they may to respect. It stands solitary and unsupported,
+  except by that portion of public opinion which is interested only in the
+  strict administration of justice. It can rarely secure the sympathy or
+  zealous support either of the Executive or the Legislature. If they
+  are not, as is not unfrequently the case, jealous of its prerogatives,
+  the constant necessity of scrutinizing the acts of each, upon the
+  application of any private person, and the painful duty of pronouncing
+  judgment that these acts are a departure from the law or Constitution
+  can have no tendency to conciliate kindness or nourish influence. It
+  would seem, therefore, that some additional guards would, under the
+  circumstances, be necessary to protect this department from the absolute
+  dominion of the others. Yet rarely have any such guards been applied,
+  and every attempt to introduce them has been resisted with a pertinacity
+  which demonstrates how slow popular leaders are to introduce checks upon
+  their own power and how slow the people are to believe that the
+  judiciary is the real bulwark of their liberties. * * *
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+  * * * If any department of the Government has undue influence or
+  absorbing power, it certainly has not been the executive or judiciary.
+
+
+In addition to what has been said by these distinguished writers,
+it may also be urged that the dominant party in each House may, by the
+expulsion of a sufficient number of members or by the exclusion from
+representation of a requisite number of States, reduce the minority to
+less than one-third. Congress by these means might be enabled to pass a
+law, the objections of the President to the contrary notwithstanding,
+which would render impotent the other two departments of the Government
+and make inoperative the wholesome and restraining power which it was
+intended by the framers of the Constitution should be exerted by them.
+This would be a practical concentration of all power in the Congress
+of the United States; this, in the language of the author of the
+Declaration of Independence, would be "precisely the definition of
+despotic government."
+
+I have preferred to reproduce these teachings of the great statesmen
+and constitutional lawyers of the early and later days of the Republic
+rather than to rely simply upon an expression of my own opinions.
+We can not too often recur to them, especially at a conjuncture like
+the present. Their application to our actual condition is so apparent
+that they now come to us a living voice, to be listened to with more
+attention than at any previous period of our history. We have been and
+are yet in the midst of popular commotion. The passions aroused by a
+great civil war are still dominant. It is not a time favorable to that
+calm and deliberate judgment which is the only safe guide when radical
+changes in our institutions are to be made. The measure now before me is
+one of those changes. It initiates an untried experiment for a people
+who have said, with one voice, that it is not for their good. This alone
+should make us pause, but it is not all. The experiment has not been
+tried, or so much as demanded, by the people of the several States for
+themselves. In but few of the States has such an innovation been allowed
+as giving the ballot to the colored population without any other
+qualification than a residence of one year, and in most of them the
+denial of the ballot to this race is absolute and by fundamental law
+placed beyond the domain of ordinary legislation. In most of those
+States the evil of such suffrage would be partial, but, small as it
+would be, it is guarded by constitutional barriers. Here the innovation
+assumes formidable proportions, which may easily grow to such an extent
+as to make the white population a subordinate element in the body
+politic.
+
+After full deliberation upon this measure, I can not bring myself to
+approve it, even upon local considerations, nor yet as the beginning of
+an experiment on a larger scale. I yield to no one in attachment to that
+rule of general suffrage which distinguishes our policy as a nation.
+But there is a limit, wisely observed hitherto, which makes the ballot
+a privilege and a trust, and which requires of some classes a time
+suitable for probation and preparation. To give it indiscriminately to
+a new class, wholly unprepared by previous habits and opportunities to
+perform the trust which it demands, is to degrade it, and finally to
+destroy its power, for it may be safely assumed that no political truth
+is better established than that such indiscriminate and all-embracing
+extension of popular suffrage must end at last in its destruction.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 28, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I return to the Senate, in which House it originated, a bill entitled
+"An act to admit the State of Colorado into the Union," to which I can
+not, consistently with my sense of duty, give my approval. With the
+exception of an additional section, containing new provisions, it is
+substantially the same as the bill of a similar title passed by Congress
+during the last session, submitted to the President for his approval,
+returned with the objections contained in a message bearing date the
+15th of May last, and yet awaiting the reconsideration of the Senate.
+
+A second bill, having in view the same purpose, has now passed both
+Houses of Congress and been presented for my signature. Having again
+carefully considered the subject, I have been unable to perceive any
+reason for changing the opinions which have already been communicated to
+Congress. I find, on the contrary, that there are many objections to the
+proposed legislation of which I was not at that time aware, and that
+while several of those which I then assigned have in the interval gained
+in strength, yet others have been created by the altered character of
+the measures now submitted.
+
+The constitution under which the State government is proposed to be
+formed very properly contains a provision that all laws in force at the
+time of its adoption and the admission of the State into the Union shall
+continue as if the constitution had not been adopted. Among those laws
+is one absolutely prohibiting negroes and mulattoes from voting. At the
+recent session of the Territorial legislature a bill for the repeal of
+this law, introduced into the council, was almost unanimously rejected;
+and at the very time when Congress was engaged in enacting the bill now
+under consideration the legislature passed an act excluding negroes and
+mulattoes from the right to sit as jurors. This bill was vetoed by the
+governor of the Territory, who held that by the laws of the United
+States negroes and mulattoes are citizens, and subject to the duties, as
+well as entitled to the rights, of citizenship. The bill, however, was
+passed, the objections of the governor to the contrary notwithstanding,
+and is now a law of the Territory. Yet in the bill now before me, by
+which it is proposed to admit the Territory as a State, it is provided
+that "there shall be no denial of the elective franchise or any other
+rights to any person by reason of race or color, excepting Indians not
+taxed."
+
+The incongruity thus exhibited between the legislation of Congress and
+that of the Territory, taken in connection with the protest against the
+admission of the State hereinafter referred to, would seem clearly to
+indicate the impolicy and injustice of the proposed enactment.
+
+It might, indeed, be a subject of grave inquiry, and doubtless will
+result in such inquiry if this bill becomes a law, whether it does not
+attempt to exercise a power not conferred upon Congress by the Federal
+Constitution. That instrument simply declares that Congress may admit
+new States into the Union. It nowhere says that Congress may make new
+States for the purpose of admitting them into the Union or for any other
+purpose; and yet this bill is as clear an attempt to make the
+institutions as any in which the people themselves could engage.
+
+In view of this action of Congress, the house of representatives of the
+Territory have earnestly protested against being forced into the Union
+without first having the question submitted to the people. Nothing could
+be more reasonable than the position which they thus assume; and it
+certainly can not be the purpose of Congress to force upon a community
+against their will a government which they do not believe themselves
+capable of sustaining.
+
+The following is a copy of the protest alluded to as officially
+transmitted to me:
+
+  Whereas it is announced in the public prints that it is the intention
+  of Congress to admit Colorado as a State into the Union: Therefore,
+
+  _Resolved by the house of representatives of the Territory_, That,
+  representing, as we do, the last and only legal expression of public
+  opinion on this question, we earnestly protest against the passage of a
+  law admitting the State without first having the question submitted to
+  a vote of the people, for the reasons, first, that we have a right to a
+  voice in the selection of the character of our government; second, that
+  we have not a sufficient population to support the expenses of a State
+  government. For these reasons we trust that Congress will not force upon
+  us a government against our will.
+
+
+Upon information which I considered reliable, I assumed in my message of
+the 15th of May last that the population of Colorado was not more than
+30,000, and expressed the opinion that this number was entirely too
+small either to assume the responsibilities or to enjoy the privileges
+of a State.
+
+It appears that previous to that time the legislature, with a view
+to ascertain the exact condition of the Territory, had passed a law
+authorizing a census of the population to be taken. The law made it
+the duty of the assessors in the several counties to take the census
+in connection with the annual assessments, and, in order to secure
+a correct enumeration of the population, allowed them a liberal
+compensation for the service by paying them for every name returned,
+and added to their previous oath of office an oath to perform this
+duty with fidelity.
+
+From the accompanying official report it appears that returns have been
+received from fifteen of the eighteen counties into which the State is
+divided, and that their population amounts in the aggregate to 24,909.
+The three remaining counties are estimated to contain 3,000, making a
+total population of 27,909.
+
+This census was taken in the summer season, when it is claimed that the
+population is much larger than at any other period, as in the autumn
+miners in large numbers leave their work and return to the East with the
+results of their summer enterprise.
+
+The population, it will be observed, is but slightly in excess of
+one-fifth of the number required as the basis of representation for a
+single Congressional district in any of the States--the number being
+127,000.
+
+I am unable to perceive any good reason for such great disparity in the
+right of representation, giving, as it would, to the people of Colorado
+not only this vast advantage in the House of Representatives, but an
+equality in the Senate, where the other States are represented by
+millions. With perhaps a single exception, no such inequality as this
+has ever before been attempted. I know that it is claimed that the
+population of the different States at the time of their admission has
+varied at different periods, but it has not varied much more than the
+population of each decade and the corresponding basis of representation
+for the different periods.
+
+The obvious intent of the Constitution was that no State should be
+admitted with a less population than the ratio for a Representative at
+the time of application. The limitation in the second section of the
+first article of the Constitution, declaring that "each State shall have
+at least one Representative," was manifestly designed to protect the
+States which originally composed the Union from being deprived, in
+the event of a waning population, of a voice in the popular branch of
+Congress, and was never intended as a warrant to force a new State into
+the Union with a representative population far below that which might at
+the time be required of sister members of the Confederacy. This bill, in
+view of the prohibition of the same section, which declares that "the
+number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every 30,000," is at
+least a violation of the spirit if not the letter of the Constitution.
+
+It is respectfully submitted that however Congress, under the pressure
+of circumstances, may have admitted two or three States with less than
+a representative population at the time, there has been no instance in
+which an application for admission has ever been entertained when the
+population, as officially ascertained, was below 30,000.
+
+Were there any doubt of this being the true construction of the
+Constitution, it would be dispelled by the early and long-continued
+practice of the Federal Government. For nearly sixty years after the
+adoption of the Constitution no State was admitted with a population
+believed at the time to be less than the current ratio for a
+Representative, and the first instance in which there appears to have
+been a departure from the principle was in 1845, in the case of Florida.
+Obviously the result of sectional strife, we would do well to regard it
+as a warning of evil rather than as an example for imitation; and I
+think candid men of all parties will agree that the inspiring cause of
+the violation of this wholesome principle of restraint is to be found
+in a vain attempt to balance these antagonisms, which refused to be
+reconciled except through the bloody arbitrament of arms. The plain
+facts of our history will attest that the great and leading States
+admitted since 1845, viz, Iowa, Wisconsin, California, Minnesota, and
+Kansas, including Texas, which was admitted that year, have all come
+with an ample population for one Representative, and some of them with
+nearly or quite enough for two.
+
+To demonstrate the correctness of my views on this question, I subjoin
+a table containing a list of the States admitted since the adoption
+of the Federal Constitution, with the date of admission, the ratio of
+representation, and the representative population when admitted, deduced
+from the United States census tables, the calculation being made for the
+period of the decade corresponding with the date of admission.
+
+Colorado, which it is now proposed to admit as a State, contains, as has
+already been stated, a population less than 28,000, while the present
+ratio of representation is 127,000.
+
+There can be no reason that I can perceive for the admission of
+Colorado that would not apply with equal force to nearly every other
+Territory now organized; and I submit whether, if this bill become a
+law, it will be possible to resist the logical conclusion that such
+Territories as Dakota, Montana, and Idaho must be received as States
+whenever they present themselves, without regard to the number of
+inhabitants they may respectively contain. Eight or ten new Senators and
+four or five new members of the House of Representatives would thus be
+admitted to represent a population scarcely exceeding that which in any
+other portion of the nation is entitled to but a single member of the
+House of Representatives, while the average for two Senators in the
+Union, as now constituted, is at least 1,000,000 people. It would surely
+be unjust to all other sections of the Union to enter upon a policy with
+regard to the admission of new States which might result in conferring
+such a disproportionate share of influence in the National Legislature
+upon communities which, in pursuance of the wise policy of our fathers,
+should for some years to come be retained under the fostering care
+and protection of the National Government. If it is deemed just and
+expedient now to depart from the settled policy of the nation during
+all its history, and to admit all the Territories to the rights and
+privileges of States, irrespective of their population or fitness
+for such government, it is submitted whether it would not be well to
+devise such measures as will bring the subject before the country for
+consideration and decision. This would seem to be eminently wise,
+because, as has already been stated, if it is right to admit Colorado
+now there is no reason for the exclusion of the other Territories.
+
+It is no answer to these suggestions that an enabling act was passed
+authorizing the people of Colorado to take action on this subject. It is
+well known that that act was passed in consequence of representations
+that the population reached, according to some statements, as high as
+80,000, and to none less than 50,000, and was growing with a rapidity
+which by the time the admission could be consummated would secure a
+population of over 100,000. These representations proved to have been
+wholly fallacious, and in addition the people of the Territory by a
+deliberate vote decided that they would not assume the responsibilities
+of a State government. By that decision they utterly exhausted all power
+that was conferred by the enabling act, and there has been no step taken
+since in relation to the admission that has had the slightest sanction
+or warrant of law.
+
+The proceeding upon which the present application is based was in the
+utter absence of all law in relation to it, and there is no evidence
+that the votes on the question of the formation of a State government
+bear any relation whatever to the sentiment of the Territory. The
+protest of the house of representatives previously quoted is conclusive
+evidence to the contrary.
+
+But if none of these reasons existed against this proposed enactment,
+the bill itself, besides being inconsistent in its provisions in
+conferring power upon a person unknown to the laws and who may never
+have a legal existence, is so framed as to render its execution almost
+impossible. It is, indeed, a question whether it is not in itself a
+nullity. To say the least, it is of exceedingly doubtful propriety to
+confer the power proposed in this bill upon the "governor elect," for as
+by its own terms the constitution is not to take effect until after the
+admission of the State, he in the meantime has no more authority than
+any other private citizen. But even supposing him to be clothed with
+sufficient authority to convene the legislature, what constitutes the
+"State legislature" to which is to be referred the submission of the
+conditions imposed by Congress? Is it a new body to be elected and
+convened by proclamation of the "governor elect," or is it that body
+which met more than a year ago under the provisions of the State
+constitution? By reference to the second section of the schedule and to
+the eighteenth section of the fourth article of the State constitution
+it will be seen that the term of the members of the house of
+representatives and that of one-half of the members of the senate
+expired on the first Monday of the present month. It is clear that if
+there were no intrinsic objections to the bill itself in relation to
+purposes to be accomplished this objection would be fatal, as, it is
+apparent that the provisions of the third section of the bill to admit
+Colorado have reference to a period and a state of facts entirely
+different from the present and affairs as they now exist, and if carried
+into effect must necessarily lead to confusion.
+
+Even if it were settled that the old and not a new body were to act, it
+would be found impracticable to execute the law, because a considerable
+number of the members, as I am informed, have ceased to be residents of
+the Territory, and in the sixty days within which the legislature is to
+be convened after the passage of the act there would not be sufficient
+time to fill the vacancies by new elections, were there any authority
+under which they could be held.
+
+It may not be improper to add that if these proceedings were all regular
+and the result to be obtained were desirable, simple justice to the
+people of the Territory would require a longer period than sixty days
+within which to obtain action on the conditions proposed by the third
+section of the bill. There are, as is well known, large portions of the
+Territory with which there is and can be no general communication, there
+being several counties which from November to May can only be reached by
+persons traveling on foot, while with other regions of the Territory,
+occupied by a large portion of the population, there is very little more
+freedom of access. Thus, if this bill should become a law, it would be
+impracticable to obtain any expression of public sentiment in reference
+to its provisions, with a view to enlighten the legislature, if the old
+body were called together, and, of course, equally impracticable to
+procure the election of a new body. This defect might have been remedied
+by an extension of the time and a submission of the question to the
+people, with a fair opportunity to enable them to express their
+sentiments.
+
+The admission of a new State has generally been regarded as an epoch in
+our history marking the onward progress of the nation; but after the
+most careful and anxious inquiry on the subject I can not perceive that
+the proposed proceeding is in conformity with the policy which from the
+origin of the Government has uniformly prevailed in the admission of new
+States. I therefore return the bill to the Senate without my signature.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+  States                                 Admitted. Ratio. Population.
+  Vermont................................... 1791  33,000   92,320
+  Kentucky.................................. 1792  33,000   95,638
+  Tennessee................................. 1796  33,000   73,864
+  Ohio...................................... 1802  33,000   82,443
+  Louisiana................................. 1812  35,000   75,212
+  Indiana................................... 1816  35,000   98,110
+  Mississippi............................... 1817  35,000   53,677
+  Illinois.................................. 1818  35,000   46,274
+  Alabama................................... 1819  35,000  111,150
+  Maine..................................... 1820  35,000  298,335
+  Missouri.................................. 1821  35,000   69,260
+  Arkansas.................................. 1836  47,700   65,175
+  Michigan.................................. 1837  47,700  158,073
+  Florida................................... 1845  70,680   57,951
+  Texas..................................... 1845  70,680  189,327 [17]
+  Iowa...................................... 1846  70,680  132,527
+  Wisconsin................................. 1848  70,680  250,497
+  California................................ 1850  70,680   92,597
+  Oregon.................................... 1858  93,492   44,630
+  Minnesota................................. 1859  93,492  138,909
+  Kansas.................................... 1861  93,492  107,206
+  West Virginia............................. 1862  93,492  349,628
+  Nevada.................................... 1864 127,000  Not known.
+
+
+[Footnote 17: In 1850.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 29, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I return for reconsideration a bill entitled "An act for the admission
+of the State of Nebraska into the Union," which originated in the Senate
+and has received the assent of both Houses of Congress. A bill having in
+view the same object was presented for my approval a few hours prior to
+the adjournment of the last session, but, submitted at a time when there
+was no opportunity for a proper consideration of the subject, I withheld
+my signature and the measure failed to become a law.
+
+It appears by the preamble of this bill that the people of Nebraska,
+availing themselves of the authority conferred upon them by the act
+passed on the 19th day of April, 1864, "have adopted a constitution
+which, upon due examination, is found to conform to the provisions and
+comply with the conditions of said act, and to be republican in its form
+of government, and that they now ask for admission into the Union."
+This proposed law would therefore seem to be based upon the declaration
+contained in the enabling act that upon compliance with its terms the
+people of Nebraska should be admitted into the Union upon an equal
+footing with the original States. Reference to the bill, however, shows
+that while by the first section Congress distinctly accepts, ratifies,
+and confirms the Constitution and State government which the people of
+the Territory have formed for themselves, declares Nebraska to be one
+of the United States of America, and admits her into the Union upon an
+equal footing with the original States in all respects whatsoever, the
+third section provides that this measure "shall not take effect except
+upon the fundamental condition that within the State of Nebraska there
+shall be no denial of the elective franchise, or of any other right,
+to any person by reason of race or color, excepting Indians not
+taxed; and upon the further fundamental condition that the legislature
+of said State, by a solemn public act, shall declare the assent of
+said State to the said fundamental condition, and shall transmit to
+the President of the United States an authentic copy of said act, upon
+receipt whereof the President, by proclamation, shall forthwith announce
+the fact, whereupon said fundamental condition shall be held as a part
+of the organic law of the State; and thereupon, and without any further
+proceeding on the part of Congress, the admission of said State into the
+Union shall be considered as complete." This condition is not mentioned
+in the original enabling act; was not contemplated at the time of its
+passage; was not sought by the people themselves; has not heretofore
+been applied to the inhabitants of any State asking admission, and is in
+direct conflict with the constitution adopted by the people and declared
+in the preamble "to be republican in its form of government," for in
+that instrument the exercise of the elective franchise and the right
+to hold office are expressly limited to white citizens of the United
+States. Congress thus undertakes to authorize and compel the legislature
+to change a constitution which, it is declared in the preamble, has
+received the sanction of the people, and which by this bill is
+"accepted, ratified, and confirmed" by the Congress of the nation.
+
+The first and third sections of the bill exhibit yet further
+incongruity. By the one Nebraska is "admitted into the Union upon an
+equal footing with the original States in all respects whatsoever,"
+while by the other Congress demands as a condition precedent to her
+admission requirements which in our history have never been asked of
+any people when presenting a constitution and State government for the
+acceptance of the lawmaking power. It is expressly declared by the third
+section that the bill "shall not take effect except upon the fundamental
+condition that within the State of Nebraska there shall be no denial of
+the elective franchise, or of any other right, to any person by reason
+of race or color, excepting Indians not taxed." Neither more nor less
+than the assertion of the right of Congress to regulate the elective
+franchise of any State hereafter to be admitted, this condition is in
+clear violation of the Federal Constitution, under the provisions of
+which, from the very foundation of the Government, each State has been
+left free to determine for itself the qualifications necessary for
+the exercise of suffrage within its limits. Without precedent in our
+legislation, it is in marked contrast with those limitations which,
+imposed upon States that from time to time have become members of the
+Union, had for their object the single purpose of preventing any
+infringement of the Constitution of the country.
+
+If Congress is satisfied that Nebraska at the present time possesses
+sufficient population to entitle her to full representation in the
+councils of the nation, and that her people desire an exchange of a
+Territorial for a State government, good faith would seem to demand that
+she should be admitted without further requirements than those expressed
+in the enabling act, with all of which, it is asserted in the preamble,
+her inhabitants have complied. Congress may, under the Constitution,
+admit new States or reject them, but the people of a State can alone
+make or change their organic law and prescribe the qualifications
+requisite for electors. Congress, however, in passing the bill in the
+shape in which it has been submitted for my approval, does not merely
+reject the application of the people of Nebraska for present admission
+as a State into the Union, on the ground that the constitution which
+they have submitted restricts the exercise of the elective franchise to
+the white population, but imposes conditions which, if accepted by the
+legislature, may, without the consent of the people, so change the
+organic law as to make electors of all persons within the State without
+distinction of race or color. In view of this fact, I suggest for the
+consideration of Congress whether it would not be just, expedient, and
+in accordance with the principles of our Government to allow the people,
+by popular vote or through a convention chosen by themselves for that
+purpose, to declare whether or not they will accept the terms upon which
+it is now proposed to admit them into the Union. This course would
+not occasion much greater delay than that which the bill contemplates
+when it requires that the legislature shall be convened within thirty
+days after this measure shall have become a law for the purpose of
+considering and deciding the conditions which it imposes, and gains
+additional force when we consider that the proceedings attending the
+formation of the State constitution were not in conformity with the
+provisions of the enabling act; that in an aggregate vote of 7,776 the
+majority in favor of the constitution did not exceed 100; and that it is
+alleged that, in consequence of frauds, even this result can not be
+received as a fair expression of the wishes of the people. As upon them
+must fall the burdens of a State organization, it is but just that they
+should be permitted to determine for themselves a question which so
+materially affects their interests. Possessing a soil and a climate
+admirably adapted to those industrial pursuits which bring prosperity
+and greatness to a people, with the advantage of a central position
+on the great highway that will soon connect the Atlantic and Pacific
+States, Nebraska is rapidly gaining in numbers and wealth, and may
+within a very brief period claim admission on grounds which will
+challenge and secure universal assent. She can therefore wisely and
+patiently afford to wait. Her population is said to be steadily and
+even rapidly increasing, being now generally conceded as high as 40,000,
+and estimated by some whose judgment is entitled to respect at a still
+greater number. At her present rate of growth she will in a very short
+time have the requisite population for a Representative in Congress,
+and, what is far more important to her own citizens, will have realized
+such an advance in material wealth as will enable the expenses of a
+State government to be borne without oppression to the taxpayer. Of new
+communities it may be said with special force--and it is true of old
+ones--that the inducement to emigrants, other things being equal, is in
+almost the precise ratio of the rate of taxation. The great States of
+the Northwest owe their marvelous prosperity largely to the fact that
+they were continued as Territories until they had growth to be wealthy
+and populous communities.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 2, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I have carefully examined the bill "to regulate the tenure of certain
+civil offices." The material portion of the bill is contained in the
+first section, and is of the effect following, namely:
+
+  That every person holding any civil office to which he has been
+  appointed, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and every
+  person who shall hereafter be appointed to any such office and shall
+  become duly qualified to act therein, is and shall be entitled
+  to hold such office until a successor shall have been appointed
+  by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and duly
+  qualified; and that the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War,
+  of the Navy, and of the Interior, the Postmaster-General, and the
+  Attorney-General shall hold their offices respectively for and during
+  the term of the President by whom they may have been appointed and for
+  one month thereafter, subject to removal by and with the advice and
+  consent of the Senate.
+
+
+These provisions are qualified by a reservation in the fourth section,
+"that nothing contained in the bill shall be construed to extend the
+term of any office the duration of which is limited by law." In effect
+the bill provides that the President shall not remove from their places
+any of the civil officers whose terms of service are not limited by law
+without the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States. The
+bill in this respect conflicts, in my judgment, with the Constitution
+of the United States. The question, as Congress is well aware, is by no
+means a new one. That the power of removal is constitutionally vested
+in the President of the United States is a principle which has been not
+more distinctly declared by judicial authority and judicial commentators
+than it has been uniformly practiced upon by the legislative and
+executive departments of the Government. The question arose in the House
+of Representatives so early as the 16th of June, 1789, on the bill for
+establishing an Executive Department denominated "the Department of
+Foreign Affairs." The first clause of the bill, after recapitulating
+the functions of that officer and defining his duties, had these words:
+"To be removable from office by the President of the United States."
+It was moved to strike out these words and the motion was sustained
+with great ability and vigor. It was insisted that the President could
+not constitutionally exercise the power of removal exclusively of the
+Senate; that the Federalist so interpreted the Constitution when arguing
+for its adoption by the several States; that the Constitution had
+nowhere given the President power of removal, either expressly or by
+strong implication, but, on the contrary, had distinctly provided for
+removals from office by impeachment only.
+
+A construction which denied the power of removal by the President was
+further maintained by arguments drawn from the danger of the abuse of
+the power; from the supposed tendency of an exposure of public officers
+to capricious removal to impair the efficiency of the civil service;
+from the alleged injustice and hardship of displacing incumbents
+dependent upon their official stations without sufficient consideration;
+from a supposed want of responsibility on the part of the President, and
+from an imagined defect of guaranties against a vicious President who
+might incline to abuse the power. On the other hand, an exclusive power
+of removal by the President was defended as a true exposition of the
+text of the Constitution. It was maintained that there are certain
+causes for which persons ought to be removed from office without being
+guilty of treason, bribery, or malfeasance, and that the nature of
+things demands that it should be so. "Suppose," it was said, "a man
+becomes insane by the visitation of God and is likely to ruin our
+affairs; are the hands of the Government to be confined from warding off
+the evil? Suppose a person in office not possessing the talents he was
+judged to have at the time of the appointment; is the error not to be
+corrected? Suppose he acquires vicious habits and incurable indolence or
+total neglect of the duties of his office, which shall work mischief to
+the public welfare; is there no way to arrest the threatened danger?
+Suppose he becomes odious and unpopular by reason of the measures he
+pursues--and this he may do without committing any positive offense
+against the law; must he preserve his office in despite of the popular
+will? Suppose him grasping for his own aggrandizement and the elevation
+of his connections by every means short of the treason defined by the
+Constitution, hurrying your affairs to the precipice of destruction,
+endangering your domestic tranquillity, plundering you of the means of
+defense, alienating the affections of your allies and promoting the
+spirit of discord; must the tardy, tedious, desultory road by way of
+impeachment be traveled to overtake the man who, barely confining
+himself within the letter of the law, is employed in drawing off the
+vital principle of the Government? The nature of things, the great
+objects of society, the express objects of the Constitution itself,
+require that this thing should be otherwise. To unite the Senate with
+the President in the exercise of the power," it was said, "would involve
+us in the most serious difficulty. Suppose a discovery of any of those
+events should take place when the Senate is not in session; how is the
+remedy to be applied? The evil could be avoided in no other way than by
+the Senate sitting always." In regard to the danger of the power being
+abused if exercised by one man it was said "that the danger is as great
+with respect to the Senate, who are assembled from various parts of the
+continent, with different impressions and opinions;" "that such a body
+is more likely to misuse the power of removal than the man whom the
+united voice of America calls to the Presidential chair. As the nature
+of government requires the power of removal," it was maintained "that it
+should be exercised in this way by the hand capable of exerting itself
+with effect; and the power must be conferred on the President by the
+Constitution as the executive officer of the Government."
+
+Mr. Madison, whose adverse opinion in the Federalist had been relied
+upon by those who denied the exclusive power, now participated in the
+debate. He declared that he had reviewed his former opinions, and he
+summed up the whole case as follows:
+
+  The Constitution affirms that the executive power is vested in the
+  President. Are there exceptions to this proposition? Yes; there are.
+  The Constitution says that in appointing to office the Senate shall be
+  associated with the President, unless in the case of inferior officers,
+  when the law shall otherwise direct. Have we (that is, Congress) a
+  right to extend this exception? I believe not. If the Constitution has
+  invested all executive power in the President, I venture to assert
+  that the Legislature has no right to diminish or modify his executive
+  authority. The question now resolves itself into this: Is the power of
+  displacing an executive power? I conceive that if any power whatsoever
+  is in the Executive it is the power of appointing, overseeing, and
+  controlling those who execute the laws. If the Constitution had not
+  qualified the power of the President in appointing to office by
+  associating the Senate with him in that business, would it not be clear
+  that he would have the right by virtue of his executive power to make
+  such appointment? Should we be authorized in defiance of that clause
+  in the Constitution, "The executive power shall be vested in the
+  President," to unite the Senate with the President in the appointment
+  to office? I conceive not. If it is admitted that we should not be
+  authorized to do this, I think it may be disputed whether we have a
+  right to associate them in removing persons from office, the one power
+  being as much of an executive nature as the other; and the first one is
+  authorized by being excepted out of the general rule established by the
+  Constitution in these words: "The executive power shall be vested in the
+  President."
+
+
+The question, thus ably and exhaustively argued, was decided by the
+House of Representatives, by a vote of 34 to 20, in favor of the
+principle that the executive power of removal is vested by the
+Constitution in the Executive, and in the Senate by the casting vote
+of the Vice-President.
+
+The question has often been raised in subsequent times of high
+excitement, and the practice of the Government has, nevertheless,
+conformed in all cases to the decision thus early made.
+
+The question was revived during the Administration of President Jackson,
+who made, as is well recollected, a very large number of removals, which
+were made an occasion of close and rigorous scrutiny and remonstrance.
+The subject was long and earnestly debated in the Senate, and the early
+construction of the Constitution was, nevertheless, freely accepted as
+binding and conclusive upon Congress.
+
+The question came before the Supreme Court of the United States in
+January, 1839, _ex parte_ Hennen. It was declared by the court on that
+occasion that the power of removal from office was a subject much
+disputed, and upon which a great diversity of opinion was entertained in
+the early history of the Government. This related, however, to the power
+of the President to remove officers appointed with the concurrence of
+the Senate, and the great question was whether the removal was to be
+by the President alone or with the concurrence of the Senate, both
+constituting the appointing power. No one denied the power of the
+President and Senate jointly to remove where the tenure of the office
+was not fixed by the Constitution, which was a full recognition of the
+principle that the power of removal was incident to the power of
+appointment; but it was very early adopted as a practical construction
+of the Constitution that this power was vested in the President alone,
+and such would appear to have been the legislative construction of the
+Constitution, for in the organization of the three great Departments of
+State, War, and Treasury, in the year 1789, provision was made for the
+appointment of a subordinate officer by the head of the Department, who
+should have charge of the records, books, and papers appertaining to the
+office when the head of the Department should be removed from office
+by the President of the United States. When the Navy Department was
+established, in the year 1798, provision was made for the charge and
+custody of the books, records, and documents of the Department in case
+of vacancy in the office of Secretary by removal or otherwise. It is not
+here said "by removal of the President," as is done with respect to the
+heads of the other Departments, yet there can be no doubt that he holds
+his office with the same tenure as the other Secretaries and is
+removable by the President. The change of phraseology arose, probably,
+from its having become the settled and well-understood construction of
+the Constitution that the power of removal was vested in the President
+alone in such cases, although the appointment of the officer is by the
+President and Senate. (13 Peters, p. 139.)
+
+Our most distinguished and accepted commentators upon the Constitution
+concur in the construction thus early given by Congress, and thus
+sanctioned by the Supreme Court. After a full analysis of the
+Congressional debate to which I have referred, Mr. Justice Story comes
+to this conclusion:
+
+  After a most animated discussion, the vote finally taken in the House
+  of Representatives was affirmative of the power of removal in the
+  President, without any cooperation of the Senate, by the vote of 34
+  members against 20. In the Senate the clause in the bill affirming the
+  power was carried by the casting vote of the Vice-President. That the
+  final decision of this question so made was greatly influenced by the
+  exalted character of the President then in office was asserted at the
+  time and has always been believed; yet the doctrine was opposed as well
+  as supported by the highest talents and patriotism of the country. The
+  public have acquiesced in this decision, and it constitutes, perhaps,
+  the most extraordinary case in the history of the Government of a power
+  conferred by implication on the Executive by the assent of a bare
+  majority of Congress which has not been questioned on many other
+  occasions.
+
+
+The commentator adds:
+
+  Nor is this general acquiescence and silence without a satisfactory
+  explanation.
+
+
+Chancellor Kent's remarks on the subject are as follows:
+
+  On the first organization of the Government it was made a question
+  whether the power of removal in case of officers appointed to hold
+  at pleasure resided nowhere but in the body which appointed, and, of
+  course, whether the consent of the Senate was not requisite to remove.
+  This was the construction given to the Constitution, while it was
+  pending for ratification before the State conventions, by the author of
+  the Federalist. But the construction which was given to the Constitution
+  by Congress, after great consideration and discussion, was different.
+  The words of the act [establishing the Treasury Department] are: "And
+  whenever the same shall be removed from office by the President of
+  the United States, or in any other case of vacancy in the office, the
+  assistant shall act." This amounted to a legislative construction of the
+  Constitution, and it has ever since been acquiesced in and acted upon
+  as a decisive authority in the case. It applies equally to every other
+  officer of the Government appointed by the President, whose term of
+  duration is not specially declared. It is supported by the weighty
+  reason that the subordinate officers in the executive department ought
+  to hold at the pleasure of the head of the department, because he is
+  invested generally with the executive authority, and the participation
+  in that authority by the Senate was an exception to a general principle
+  and ought to be taken strictly. The President is the great responsible
+  officer for the faithful execution of the law, and the power of removal
+  was incidental to that duty, and might often be requisite to fulfill it.
+
+
+Thus has the important question presented by this bill been settled, in
+the language of the late Daniel Webster (who, while dissenting from it,
+admitted that it was settled), by construction, settled by precedent,
+settled by the practice of the Government, and settled by statute. The
+events of the last war furnished a practical confirmation of the wisdom
+of the Constitution as it has hitherto been maintained in many of its
+parts, including that which is now the subject of consideration. When
+the war broke out, rebel enemies, traitors, abettors, and sympathizers
+were found in every Department of the Government, as well in the civil
+service as in the land and naval military service. They were found in
+Congress and among the keepers of the Capitol; in foreign missions; in
+each and all the Executive Departments; in the judicial service; in the
+post-office, and among the agents for conducting Indian affairs. Upon
+probable suspicion they were promptly displaced by my predecessor, so
+far as they held their offices under executive authority, and their
+duties were confided to new and loyal successors. No complaints against
+that power or doubts of its wisdom were entertained in any quarter. I
+sincerely trust and believe that no such civil war is likely to occur
+again. I can not doubt, however, that in whatever form and on whatever
+occasion sedition can raise an effort to hinder or embarrass or defeat
+the legitimate action of this Government, whether by preventing the
+collection of revenue, or disturbing the public peace, or separating the
+States, or betraying the country to a foreign enemy, the power of
+removal from office by the Executive, as it has heretofore existed and
+been practiced, will be found indispensable.
+
+Under these circumstances, as a depositary of the executive authority of
+the nation, I do not feel at liberty to unite with Congress in reversing
+it by giving my approval to the bill. At the early day when this
+question was settled, and, indeed, at the several periods when it has
+subsequently been agitated, the success of the Constitution of the
+United States, as a new and peculiar system of free representative
+government, was held doubtful in other countries, and was even a subject
+of patriotic apprehension among the American people themselves. A trial
+of nearly eighty years, through the vicissitudes of foreign conflicts
+and of civil war, is confidently regarded as having extinguished all
+such doubts and apprehensions for the future. During that eighty years
+the people of the United States have enjoyed a measure of security,
+peace, prosperity, and happiness never surpassed by any nation. It can
+not be doubted that the triumphant success of the Constitution is due
+to the wonderful wisdom with which the functions of government were
+distributed between the three principal departments--the legislative,
+the executive, and the judicial--and to the fidelity with which each
+has confined itself or been confined by the general voice of the nation
+within its peculiar and proper sphere. While a just, proper, and
+watchful jealousy of executive power constantly prevails, as it ought
+ever to prevail, yet it is equally true that an efficient Executive,
+capable, in the language of the oath prescribed to the President, of
+executing the laws and, within the sphere of executive action, of
+preserving, protecting, and defending the Constitution of the United
+States, is an indispensable security for tranquillity at home and peace,
+honor, and safety abroad. Governments have been erected in many
+countries upon our model. If one or many of them have thus far failed in
+fully securing to their people the benefits which we have derived from
+our system, it may be confidently asserted that their misfortune has
+resulted from their unfortunate failure to maintain the integrity of
+each of the three great departments while preserving harmony among
+them all.
+
+Having at an early period accepted the Constitution in regard to the
+Executive office in the sense in which it was interpreted with the
+concurrence of its founders, I have found no sufficient grounds in the
+arguments now opposed to that construction or in any assumed necessity
+of the times for changing those opinions. For these reasons I return
+the bill to the Senate, in which House it originated, for the further
+consideration of Congress which the Constitution prescribes. Insomuch as
+the several parts of the bill which I have not considered are matters
+chiefly of detail and are based altogether upon the theory of the
+Constitution from which I am obliged to dissent, I have not thought
+it necessary to examine them with a view to make them an occasion of
+distinct and special objections.
+
+Experience, I think, has shown that it is the easiest, as it is
+also the most attractive, of studies to frame constitutions for the
+self-government of free states and nations. But I think experience has
+equally shown that it is the most difficult of all political labors to
+preserve and maintain such free constitutions of self-government when
+once happily established. I know no other way in which they can be
+preserved and maintained except by a constant adherence to them through
+the various vicissitudes of national existence, with such adaptations
+as may become necessary, always to be effected, however, through the
+agencies and in the forms prescribed in the original constitutions
+themselves.
+
+Whenever administration fails or seems to fail in securing any of the
+great ends for which republican government is established, the proper
+course seems to be to renew the original spirit and forms of the
+Constitution itself.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 2, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I have examined the bill "to provide for the more efficient government
+of the rebel States" with the care and anxiety which its transcendent
+importance is calculated to awaken. I am unable to give it my assent,
+for reasons so grave that I hope a statement of them may have some
+influence on the minds of the patriotic and enlightened men with whom
+the decision must ultimately rest.
+
+The bill places all the people of the ten States therein named under the
+absolute domination of military rulers; and the preamble undertakes to
+give the reason upon which the measure is based and the ground upon
+which it is justified. It declares that there exists in those States no
+legal governments and no adequate protection for life or property, and
+asserts the necessity of enforcing peace and good order within their
+limits. Is this true as matter of fact?
+
+It is not denied that the States in question have each of them
+an actual government, with all the powers--executive, judicial, and
+legislative--which properly belong to a free state. They are organized
+like the other States of the Union, and, like them, they make,
+administer, and execute the laws which concern their domestic affairs.
+An existing _de facto_ government, exercising such functions as these,
+is itself the law of the state upon all matters within its jurisdiction.
+To pronounce the supreme law-making power of an established state
+illegal is to say that law itself is unlawful.
+
+The provisions which these governments have made for the preservation
+of order, the suppression of crime, and the redress of private injuries
+are in substance and principle the same as those which prevail in the
+Northern States and in other civilized countries. They certainly have
+not succeeded in preventing the commission of all crime, nor has this
+been accomplished anywhere in the world. There, as well as elsewhere,
+offenders sometimes escape for want of vigorous prosecution, and
+occasionally, perhaps, by the inefficiency of courts or the prejudice of
+jurors. It is undoubtedly true that these evils have been much increased
+and aggravated, North and South, by the demoralizing influences of civil
+war and by the rancorous passions which the contest has engendered. But
+that these people are maintaining local governments for themselves which
+habitually defeat the object of all government and render their own
+lives and property insecure is in itself utterly improbable, and the
+averment of the bill to that effect is not supported by any evidence
+which has come to my knowledge. All the information I have on the
+subject convinces me that the masses of the Southern people and those
+who control their public acts, while they entertain diverse opinions
+on questions of Federal policy, are completely united in the effort to
+reorganize their society on the basis of peace and to restore their
+mutual prosperity as rapidly and as completely as their circumstances
+will permit.
+
+The bill, however, would seem to show upon its face that the
+establishment of peace and good order is not its real object. The fifth
+section declares that the preceding sections shall cease to operate in
+any State where certain events shall have happened. These events are,
+first, the selection of delegates to a State convention by an election
+at which negroes shall be allowed to vote; second, the formation of a
+State constitution by the convention so chosen; third, the insertion
+into the State constitution of a provision which will secure the right
+of voting at all elections to negroes and to such white men as may
+not be disfranchised for rebellion or felony; fourth, the submission
+of the constitution for ratification to negroes and white men not
+disfranchised, and its actual ratification by their vote; fifth, the
+submission of the State constitution to Congress for examination and
+approval, and the actual approval of it by that body; sixth, the
+adoption of a certain amendment to the Federal Constitution by a vote
+of the legislature elected under the new constitution; seventh, the
+adoption of said amendment by a sufficient number of other States to
+make it a part of the Constitution of the United States. All these
+conditions must be fulfilled before the people of any of these States
+can be relieved from the bondage of military domination; but when they
+are fulfilled, then immediately the pains and penalties of the bill are
+to cease, no matter whether there be peace and order or not, and without
+any reference to the security of life or property. The excuse given for
+the bill in the preamble is admitted by the bill itself not to be real.
+The military rule which it establishes is plainly to be used, not for
+any purpose of order or for the prevention of crime, but solely as
+a means of coercing the people into the adoption of principles and
+measures to which it is known that they are opposed, and upon which
+they have an undeniable right to exercise their own judgment.
+
+I submit to Congress whether this measure is not in its whole character,
+scope, and object without precedent and without authority, in palpable
+conflict with the plainest provisions of the Constitution, and utterly
+destructive to those great principles of liberty and humanity for which
+our ancestors on both sides of the Atlantic have shed so much blood and
+expended so much treasure.
+
+The ten States named in the bill are divided into five districts.
+For each district an officer of the Army, not below the rank of a
+brigadier-general, is to be appointed to rule over the people; and he
+is to be supported with an efficient military force to enable him to
+perform his duties and enforce his authority. Those duties and that
+authority, as defined by the third section of the bill, are "to protect
+all persons in their rights of person and property, to suppress
+insurrection, disorder, and violence, and to punish or cause to be
+punished all disturbers of the public peace or criminals." The power
+thus given to the commanding officer over all the people of each
+district is that of an absolute monarch. His mere will is to take the
+place of all law. The law of the States is now the only rule applicable
+to the subjects placed under his control, and that is completely
+displaced by the clause which declares all interference of State
+authority to be null and void. He alone is permitted to determine what
+are rights of person or property, and he may protect them in such way as
+in his discretion may seem proper. It places at his free disposal all
+the lands and goods in his district, and he may distribute them without
+let or hindrance to whom he pleases. Being bound by no State law, and
+there being no other law to regulate the subject, he may make a criminal
+code of his own; and he can make it as bloody as any recorded in
+history, or he can reserve the privilege of acting upon the impulse of
+his private passions in each case that arises. He is bound by no rules
+of evidence; there is, indeed, no provision by which he is authorized or
+required to take any evidence at all. Everything is a crime which he
+chooses to call so, and all persons are condemned whom he pronounces to
+be guilty. He is not bound to keep any record or make any report of his
+proceedings. He may arrest his victims wherever he finds them, without
+warrant, accusation, or proof of probable cause. If he gives them a
+trial before he inflicts the punishment, he gives it of his grace and
+mercy, not because he is commanded so to do.
+
+To a casual reader of the bill it might seem that some kind of trial was
+secured by it to persons accused of crime, but such is not the case.
+The officer "may allow local civil tribunals to try offenders," but
+of course this does not require that he shall do so. If any State or
+Federal court presumes to exercise its legal jurisdiction by the trial
+of a malefactor without his special permission, he can break it up and
+punish the judges and jurors as being themselves malefactors. He can
+save his friends from justice, and despoil his enemies contrary to
+justice.
+
+It is also provided that "he shall have power to organize military
+commissions or tribunals:" but this power he is not commanded to
+exercise. It is merely permissive, and is to be used only "when in his
+judgment it may be necessary for the trial of offenders." Even if the
+sentence of a commission were made a prerequisite to the punishment
+of a party, it would be scarcely the slightest check upon the officer,
+who has authority to organize it as he pleases, prescribe its mode of
+proceeding, appoint its members from his own subordinates, and revise
+all its decisions. Instead of mitigating the harshness of his single
+rule, such a tribunal would be used much more probably to divide the
+responsibility of making it more cruel and unjust.
+
+Several provisions dictated by the humanity of Congress have
+been inserted in the bill, apparently to restrain the power of the
+commanding officer; but it seems to me that they are of no avail for
+that purpose. The fourth section provides: First. That trials shall not
+be unnecessarily delayed; but I think I have shown that the power is
+given to punish without trial; and if so, this provision is practically
+inoperative. Second. Cruel or unusual punishment is not to be inflicted;
+but who is to decide what is cruel and what is unusual? The words have
+acquired a legal meaning by long use in the courts. Can it be expected
+that military officers will understand or follow a rule expressed in
+language so purely technical and not pertaining in the least degree
+to their profession? If not, then each officer may define cruelty
+according to his own temper, and if it is not usual he will make it
+usual. Corporal punishment, imprisonment, the gag, the ball and chain,
+and all the almost insupportable forms of torture invented for military
+punishment lie within the range of choice. Third. The sentence of
+a commission is not to be executed without being approved by the
+commander, if it affects life or liberty, and a sentence of death must
+be approved by the President. This applies to cases in which there has
+been a trial and sentence. I take it to be clear, under this bill, that
+the military commander may condemn to death without even the form of a
+trial by a military commission, so that the life of the condemned may
+depend upon the will of two men instead of one.
+
+It is plain that the authority here given to the military officer
+amounts to absolute despotism. But to make it still more unendurable,
+the bill provides that it may be delegated to as many subordinates as he
+chooses to appoint, for it declares that he shall "punish or cause to be
+punished." Such a power has not been wielded by any monarch in England
+for more than five hundred years. In all that time no people who speak
+the English language have borne such servitude. It reduces the whole
+population of the ten States--all persons, of every color, sex, and
+condition, and every stranger within their limits--to the most abject
+and degrading slavery. No master ever had a control so absolute over the
+slaves as this bill gives to the military officers over both white and
+colored persons.
+
+It may be answered to this that the officers of the Army are too
+magnanimous, just, and humane to oppress and trample upon a subjugated
+people. I do not doubt that army officers are as well entitled to this
+kind of confidence as any other class of men. But the history of the
+world has been written in vain if it does not teach us that unrestrained
+authority can never be safely trusted in human hands. It is almost sure
+to be more or less abused under any circumstances, and it has always
+resulted in gross tyranny where the rulers who exercise it are strangers
+to their subjects and come among them as the representatives of a
+distant power, and more especially when the power that sends them is
+unfriendly. Governments closely resembling that here proposed have been
+fairly tried in Hungary and Poland, and the suffering endured by those
+people roused the sympathies of the entire world. It was tried in
+Ireland, and, though tempered at first by principles of English law,
+it gave birth to cruelties so atrocious that they are never recounted
+without just indignation. The French Convention armed its deputies with
+this power and sent them to the southern departments of the Republic.
+The massacres, murders, and other atrocities which they committed show
+what the passions of the ablest men in the most civilized society will
+tempt them to do when wholly unrestrained by law.
+
+The men of our race in every age have struggled to tie up the hands
+of their governments and keep them within the law, because their own
+experience of all mankind taught them that rulers could not be relied
+on to concede those lights which they were not legally bound to respect.
+The head of a great empire has sometimes governed it with a mild and
+paternal sway, but the kindness of an irresponsible deputy never yields
+what the law does not extort from him. Between such a master and the
+people subjected to his domination there can be nothing but enmity; he
+punishes them if they resist his authority, and if they submit to it
+he hates them for their servility.
+
+I come now to a question which is, if possible, still more important.
+Have we the power to establish and carry into execution a measure like
+this? I answer, Certainly not, if we derive our authority from the
+Constitution and if we are bound by the limitations which it imposes.
+
+This proposition is perfectly clear, that no branch of the Federal
+Government--executive, legislative, or judicial--can have any just
+powers except those which it derives through and exercises under the
+organic law of the Union. Outside of the Constitution we have no legal
+authority more than private citizens, and within it we have only so
+much as that instrument gives us. This broad principle limits all our
+functions and applies to all subjects. It protects not only the citizens
+of States which are within the Union, but it shields every human being
+who comes or is brought under our jurisdiction. We have no right to do
+in one place more than in another that which the Constitution says we
+shall not do at all. If, therefore, the Southern States were in truth
+out of the Union, we could not treat their people in a way which the
+fundamental law forbids.
+
+Some persons assume that the success of our arms in crushing the
+opposition which was made in some of the States to the execution of the
+Federal laws reduced those States and all their people--the innocent as
+well as the guilty--to the condition of vassalage and gave us a power
+over them which the Constitution does not bestow or define or limit.
+No fallacy can be more transparent than this. Our victories subjected
+the insurgents to legal obedience, not to the yoke of an arbitrary
+despotism. When an absolute sovereign reduces his rebellious subjects,
+he may deal with them according to his pleasure, because he had that
+power before. But when a limited monarch puts down an insurrection, he
+must still govern according to law. If an insurrection should take place
+in one of our States against the authority of the State government and
+end in the overthrow of those who planned it, would that take away the
+rights of all the people of the counties where it was favored by a part
+or a majority of the population? Could they for such a reason be wholly
+outlawed and deprived of their representation in the legislature? I have
+always contended that the Government of the United States was sovereign
+within its constitutional sphere; that it executed its laws, like
+the States themselves, by applying its coercive power directly to
+individuals, and that it could put down insurrection with the same
+effect as a State and no other. The opposite doctrine is the worst
+heresy of those who advocated secession, and can not be agreed to
+without admitting that heresy to be right.
+
+Invasion, insurrection, rebellion, and domestic violence were
+anticipated when the Government was framed, and the means of repelling
+and suppressing them were wisely provided for in the Constitution; but
+it was not thought necessary to declare that the States in which they
+might occur should be expelled from the Union. Rebellions, which were
+invariably suppressed, occurred prior to that out of which these
+questions grow; but the States continued to exist and the Union remained
+unbroken. In Massachusetts, in Pennsylvania, in Rhode Island, and in New
+York, at different periods in our history, violent and armed opposition
+to the United States was carried on; but the relations of those States
+with the Federal Government were not supposed to be interrupted or
+changed thereby after the rebellious portions of their population were
+defeated and put down. It is true that in these earlier cases there was
+no formal expression of a determination to withdraw from the Union, but
+it is also true that in the Southern States the ordinances of secession
+were treated by all the friends of the Union as mere nullities and are
+now acknowledged to be so by the States themselves. If we admit that
+they had any force or validity or that they did in fact take the States
+in which they were passed out of the Union, we sweep from under our feet
+all the grounds upon which we stand in justifying the use of Federal
+force to maintain the integrity of the Government.
+
+This is a bill passed by Congress in time of peace. There is not
+in any one of the States brought under its operation either war or
+insurrection. The laws of the States and of the Federal Government are
+all in undisturbed and harmonious operation. The courts, State and
+Federal, are open and in the full exercise of their proper authority.
+Over every State comprised in these five military districts, life,
+liberty, and property are secured by State laws and Federal laws, and
+the National Constitution is everywhere in force and everywhere obeyed.
+What, then, is the ground on which this bill proceeds? The title of the
+bill announces that it is intended "for the more efficient government"
+of these ten States. It is recited by way of preamble that no legal
+State governments "nor adequate protection for life or property" exist
+in those States, and that peace and good order should be thus enforced.
+The first thing which arrests attention upon these recitals, which
+prepare the way for martial law, is this, that the only foundation
+upon which martial law can exist under our form of government is not
+stated or so much as pretended. Actual war, foreign invasion, domestic
+insurrection--none of these appear; and none of these, in fact, exist.
+It is not even recited that any sort of war or insurrection is
+threatened. Let us pause here to consider, upon this question of
+constitutional law and the power of Congress, a recent decision of
+the Supreme Court of the United States in _ex parte_ Milligan.
+
+I will first quote from the opinion of the majority of the court:
+
+  Martial law can not arise from a threatened invasion. The necessity
+  must be actual and present, the invasion real, such as effectually
+  closes the courts and deposes the civil administration.
+
+
+We see that martial law comes in only when actual war closes the courts
+and deposes the civil authority; but this bill, in time of peace, makes
+martial law operate as though we were in actual war, and becomes the
+_cause_ instead of the _consequence_ of the abrogation of civil
+authority. One more quotation:
+
+  It follows from what has been said on this subject that there are
+  occasions when martial law can be properly applied. If in foreign
+  invasion or civil war the courts are actually closed, and it is
+  impossible to administer criminal justice according to law, _then_, on
+  the theater of active military operations, where war really prevails,
+  there is a necessity to furnish a substitute for the civil authority
+  thus overthrown, to preserve the safety of the army and society; and as
+  no power is left but the military, it is allowed to govern by martial
+  rule until the laws can have their free course.
+
+
+I now quote from the opinion of the minority of the court, delivered by
+Chief Justice Chase:
+
+  We by no means assert that Congress can establish and apply the laws of
+  war where no war has been declared or exists. Where peace exists, the
+  laws of peace must prevail.
+
+
+This is sufficiently explicit. Peace exists in all the territory to
+which this bill applies. It asserts a power in Congress, in time of
+peace, to set aside the laws of peace and to substitute the laws of war.
+The minority, concurring with the majority, declares that Congress does
+not possess that power. Again, and, if possible, more emphatically, the
+Chief Justice, with remarkable clearness and condensation, sums up the
+whole matter as follows:
+
+  There are under the Constitution three kinds of military
+  jurisdiction--one to be exercised both in peace and war; another to be
+  exercised in time of foreign war without the boundaries of the United
+  States, or in time of rebellion and civil war within States or districts
+  occupied by rebels treated as belligerents; and a third to be exercised
+  in time of invasion or insurrection within the limits of the United
+  States, or during rebellion within the limits of the States maintaining
+  adhesion to the National Government, when the public danger requires its
+  exercise. The first of these may be called jurisdiction under military
+  law, and is found in acts of Congress prescribing rules and articles of
+  war or otherwise providing for the government of the national forces;
+  the second may be distinguished as military government, superseding
+  as far as may be deemed expedient the local law, and exercised by
+  the military commander under the direction of the President, with
+  the express or implied sanction of Congress; while the third may be
+  denominated martial law proper, and is called into action by Congress,
+  or temporarily, when the action of Congress can not be invited, and in
+  the case of justifying or excusing peril, by the President, in times of
+  insurrection or invasion or of civil or foreign war, within districts
+  or localities where ordinary law no longer adequately secures public
+  safety and private rights.
+
+
+It will be observed that of the three kinds of military jurisdiction
+which can be exercised or created under our Constitution there is but
+one that can prevail in time of peace, and that is the code of laws
+enacted by Congress for the government of the national forces. That body
+of military law has no application to the citizen, nor even to the
+citizen soldier enrolled in the militia in time of peace. But this bill
+is not a part of that sort of military law, for that applies only to the
+soldier and not to the citizen, whilst, contrariwise, the military law
+provided by this bill applies only to the citizen and not to the
+soldier.
+
+I need not say to the representatives of the American people that their
+Constitution forbids the exercise of judicial power in any way but
+one--that is, by the ordained and established courts. It is equally well
+known that in all criminal cases a trial by jury is made indispensable
+by the express words of that instrument. I will not enlarge on the
+inestimable value of the right thus secured to every freeman or speak
+of the danger to public liberty in all parts of the country which must
+ensue from a denial of it anywhere or upon any pretense. A very recent
+decision of the Supreme Court has traced the history, vindicated the
+dignity, and made known the value of this great privilege so clearly
+that nothing more is needed. To what extent a violation of it might be
+excused in time of war or public danger may admit of discussion, but we
+are providing now for a time of profound peace, when there is not an
+armed soldier within our borders except those who are in the service
+of the Government. It is in such a condition of things that an act of
+Congress is proposed which, if carried out, would deny a trial by the
+lawful courts and juries to 9,000,000 American citizens and to their
+posterity for an indefinite period. It seems to be scarcely possible
+that anyone should seriously believe this consistent with a Constitution
+which declares in simple, plain, and unambiguous language that all
+persons shall have that right and that no person shall ever in any case
+be deprived of it. The Constitution also forbids the arrest of the
+citizen without judicial warrant, founded on probable cause. This bill
+authorizes an arrest without warrant, at the pleasure of a military
+commander. The Constitution declares that "no person shall be held to
+answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on presentment
+by a grand jury." This bill holds every person not a soldier answerable
+for all crimes and all charges without any presentment. The Constitution
+declares that "no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property
+without due process of law." This bill sets aside all process of law,
+and makes the citizen answerable in his person and property to the
+will of one man, and as to his life to the will of two. Finally, the
+Constitution declares that "the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_
+shall not be suspended unless when, in case of rebellion or invasion,
+the public safety may require it;" whereas this bill declares martial
+law (which of itself suspends this great writ) in time of peace, and
+authorizes the military to make the arrest, and gives to the prisoner
+only one privilege, and that is a trial "without unnecessary delay."
+He has no hope of release from custody, except the hope, such as it is,
+of release by acquittal before a military commission.
+
+The United States are bound to guarantee to each State a republican form
+of government. Can it be pretended that this obligation is not palpably
+broken if we carry out a measure like this, which wipes away every
+vestige of republican government in ten States and puts the life,
+property, liberty, and honor of all the people in each of them under
+the domination of a single person clothed with unlimited authority?
+
+The Parliament of England, exercising the omnipotent power which it
+claimed, was accustomed to pass bills of attainder; that is to say, it
+would convict men of treason and other crimes by legislative enactment.
+The person accused had a hearing, sometimes a patient and fair one, but
+generally party prejudice prevailed instead of justice. It often became
+necessary for Parliament to acknowledge its error and reverse its own
+action. The fathers of our country determined that no such thing should
+occur here. They withheld the power from Congress, and thus forbade its
+exercise by that body, and they provided in the Constitution that no
+State should pass any bill of attainder. It is therefore impossible for
+any person in this country to be constitutionally convicted or punished
+for any crime by a legislative proceeding of any sort. Nevertheless,
+here is a bill of attainder against 9,000,000 people at once. It is
+based upon an accusation so vague as to be scarcely intelligible and
+found to be true upon no credible evidence. Not one of the 9,000,000 was
+heard in his own defense. The representatives of the doomed parties were
+excluded from all participation in the trial. The conviction is to be
+followed by the most ignominious punishment ever inflicted on large
+masses of men. It disfranchises them by hundreds of thousands and
+degrades them all, even those who are admitted to be guiltless, from
+the rank of freemen to the condition of slaves.
+
+The purpose and object of the bill--the general intent which pervades it
+from beginning to end--is to change the entire structure and character
+of the State governments and to compel them by force to the adoption of
+organic laws and regulations which they are unwilling to accept if left
+to themselves. The negroes have not asked for the privilege of voting;
+the vast majority of them have no idea what it means. This bill not only
+thrusts it into their hands, but compels them, as well as the whites, to
+use it in a particular way. If they do not form a constitution with
+prescribed articles in it and afterwards elect a legislature which will
+act upon certain measures in a prescribed way, neither blacks nor whites
+can be relieved from the slavery which the bill imposes upon them.
+Without pausing here to consider the policy or impolicy of Africanizing
+the southern part of our territory, I would simply ask the attention of
+Congress to that manifest, well-known, and universally acknowledged rule
+of constitutional law which declares that the Federal Government has no
+jurisdiction, authority, or power to regulate such subjects for any
+State. To force the right of suffrage out of the hands of the white
+people and into the hands of the negroes is an arbitrary violation of
+this principle.
+
+This bill imposes martial law at once, and its operations will begin
+so soon as the general and his troops can be put in place. The dread
+alternative between its harsh rule and compliance with the terms of this
+measure is not suspended, nor are the people afforded any time for free
+deliberation. The bill says to them, take martial law first, _then_
+deliberate. And when they have done all that this measure requires them
+to do other conditions and contingencies over which they have no control
+yet remain to be fulfilled before they can be relieved from martial law.
+Another Congress must first approve the Constitution made in conformity
+with the will of this Congress and must declare these States entitled to
+representation in both Houses. The whole question thus remains open and
+unsettled and must again occupy the attention of Congress; and in the
+meantime the agitation which now prevails will continue to disturb all
+portions of the people.
+
+The bill also denies the legality of the governments of ten of the
+States which participated in the ratification of the amendment to the
+Federal Constitution abolishing slavery forever within the jurisdiction
+of the United States and practically excludes them from the Union. If
+this assumption of the bill be correct, their concurrence can not be
+considered as having been legally given, and the important fact is made
+to appear that the consent of three-fourths of the States--the requisite
+number--has not been constitutionally obtained to the ratification of
+that amendment, thus leaving the question of slavery where it stood
+before the amendment was officially declared to have become a part of
+the Constitution.
+
+That the measure proposed by this bill does violate the Constitution
+in the particulars mentioned and in many other ways which I forbear
+to enumerate is too clear to admit of the least doubt. It only remains
+to consider whether the injunctions of that instrument ought to be
+obeyed or not. I think they ought to be obeyed, for reasons which I will
+proceed to give as briefly as possible.
+
+In the first place, it is the only system of free government which we
+can hope to have as a nation. When it ceases to be the rule of our
+conduct, we may perhaps take our choice between complete anarchy, a
+consolidated despotism, and a total dissolution of the Union; but
+national liberty regulated by law will have passed beyond our reach.
+
+It is the best frame of government the world ever saw. No other is or
+can be so well adapted to the genius, habits, or wants of the American
+people. Combining the strength of a great empire with unspeakable
+blessings of local self-government, having a central power to defend the
+general interests, and recognizing the authority of the States as the
+guardians of industrial rights, it is "the sheet anchor of our safety
+abroad and our peace at home." It was ordained "to form a more perfect
+union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, promote the
+general welfare, provide for the common defense, and secure the
+blessings of liberty to ourselves and to our posterity." These great
+ends have been attained heretofore, and will be again by faithful
+obedience to it; but they are certain to be lost if we treat with
+disregard its sacred obligations.
+
+It was to punish the gross crime of defying the Constitution and to
+vindicate its supreme authority that we carried on a bloody war of four
+years' duration. Shall we now acknowledge that we sacrificed a million
+of lives and expended billions of treasure to enforce a Constitution
+which is not worthy of respect and preservation?
+
+Those who advocated the right of secession alleged in their own
+justification that we had no regard for law and that their rights of
+property, life, and liberty would not be safe under the Constitution as
+administered by us. If we now verify their assertion, we prove that they
+were in truth and in fact fighting for their liberty, and instead of
+branding their leaders with the dishonoring name of traitors against a
+righteous and legal government we elevate them in history to the rank
+of self-sacrificing patriots, consecrate them to the admiration of the
+world, and place them by the side of Washington, Hampden, and Sidney.
+No; let us leave them to the infamy they deserve, punish them as they
+should be punished, according to law, and take upon ourselves no share
+of the odium which they should bear alone.
+
+It is a part of our public history which can never be forgotten that
+both Houses of Congress, in July, 1861, declared in the form of a solemn
+resolution that the war was and should be carried on for no purpose of
+subjugation, but solely to enforce the Constitution and laws, and that
+when this was yielded by the parties in rebellion the contest should
+cease, with the constitutional rights of the States and of individuals
+unimpaired. This resolution was adopted and sent forth to the world
+unanimously by the Senate and with only two dissenting voices in the
+House. It was accepted by the friends of the Union in the South as well
+as in the North as expressing honestly and truly the object of the war.
+On the faith of it many thousands of persons in both sections gave their
+lives and their fortunes to the cause. To repudiate it now by refusing
+to the States and to the individuals within them the rights which the
+Constitution and laws of the Union would secure to them is a breach of
+our plighted honor for which I can imagine no excuse and to which I
+cannot voluntarily become a party.
+
+The evils which spring from the unsettled state of our Government will
+be acknowledged by all. Commercial intercourse is impeded, capital is in
+constant peril, public securities fluctuate in value, peace itself is
+not secure, and the sense of moral and political duty is impaired. To
+avert these calamities from our country it is imperatively required that
+we should immediately decide upon some course of administration which
+can be steadfastly adhered to. I am thoroughly convinced that any
+settlement or compromise or plan of action which is inconsistent with
+the principles of the Constitution will not only be unavailing, but
+mischievous; that it will but multiply the present evils, instead of
+removing them. The Constitution, in its whole integrity and vigor,
+throughout the length and breadth of the land, is the best of all
+compromises. Besides, our duty does not, in my judgment, leave us a
+choice between that and any other. I believe that it contains the remedy
+that is so much needed, and that if the coordinate branches of the
+Government would unite upon its provisions they would be found broad
+enough and strong enough to sustain in time of peace the nation which
+they bore safely through the ordeal of a protracted civil war. Among the
+most sacred guaranties of that instrument are those which declare that
+"each State shall have at least one Representative," and that "no
+State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in
+the Senate." Each House is made the "judge of the elections, returns,
+and qualifications of its own members," and may, "with the concurrence
+of two-thirds, expel a member." Thus, as heretofore urged, "in the
+admission of Senators and Representatives from any and all of the
+States there can be no just ground of apprehension that persons who are
+disloyal will be clothed with the powers of legislation, for this could
+not happen when the Constitution and the laws are enforced by a vigilant
+and faithful Congress." "When a Senator or Representative presents his
+certificate of election, he may at once be admitted or rejected; or,
+should there be any question as to his eligibility, his credentials may
+be referred for investigation to the appropriate committee. If admitted
+to a seat, it must be upon evidence satisfactory to the House of which
+he thus becomes a member that he possesses the requisite constitutional
+and legal qualifications. If refused admission as a member for want of
+due allegiance to the Government, and returned to his constituents, they
+are admonished that none but persons loyal to the United States will be
+allowed a voice in the legislative councils of the nation, and the
+political power and moral influence of Congress are thus effectively
+exerted in the interests of loyalty to the Government and fidelity to
+the Union." And is it not far better that the work of restoration should
+be accomplished by simple compliance with the plain requirements of the
+Constitution than by a recourse to measures which in effect destroy the
+States and threaten the subversion of the General Government? All that
+is necessary to settle this simple but important question without
+further agitation or delay is a willingness on the part of all to
+sustain the Constitution and carry its provisions into practical
+operation. If to-morrow either branch of Congress would declare that
+upon the presentation of their credentials members constitutionally
+elected and loyal to the General Government would be admitted to seats
+in Congress, while all others would be excluded and their places remain
+vacant until the selection by the people of loyal and qualified persons,
+and if at the same time assurance were given that this policy would be
+continued until all the States were represented in Congress, it would
+send a thrill of joy throughout the entire land, as indicating the
+inauguration of a system which must speedily bring tranquillity to the
+public mind.
+
+While we are legislating upon subjects which are of great importance to
+the whole people, and which must affect all parts of the country, not
+only during the life of the present generation, but for ages to come, we
+should remember that all men are entitled at least to a hearing in the
+councils which decide upon the destiny of themselves and their children.
+At present ten States are denied representation, and when the Fortieth
+Congress assembles on the 4th day of the present month sixteen States
+will be without a voice in the House of Representatives. This grave
+fact, with the important questions before us, should induce us to pause
+in a course of legislation which, looking solely to the attainment of
+political ends, fails to consider the rights it transgresses, the law
+which it violates, or the institutions which it imperils.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+PROCLAMATIONS.
+
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+_To all whom it may concern_:
+
+Whereas exequaturs were heretofore issued to the following-named persons
+at the dates mentioned and for the places specified, recognizing them as
+consular officers, respectively, of the Kingdom of Hanover, of the
+Electorate of Hesse, of the Duchy of Nassau, and of the city of
+Frankfort, and declaring them free to exercise and enjoy functions,
+powers, and privileges under the said exequaturs, viz:
+
+  FOR THE KINGDOM OF HANOVER.
+
+  Julius Frederich, consul at Galveston, Tex., July 28, 1848.
+  Otto Frank, consul at San Francisco, Cal., July 9, 1850.
+  Augustus Reichard, consul at New Orleans, La., January 22, 1853.
+  Kauffmann H. Muller, consul at Savannah, Ga., June 28, 1854.
+  G.C. Baurmeister, consul at Charleston, S.C., April 21, 1856.
+  Adolph Gosling, consul-general at New York, November 7, 1859.
+  G.W. Hennings, vice-consul at New York, July 2, 1860.
+  George Papendiek, consul at Boston, November 3, 1863.
+  Francis A. Hoffmann, consul at Chicago, July 26, 1864.
+  Carl C. Schöttler, consul at Philadelphia, Pa., September 23, 1864.
+  A. Rettberg, consul at Cleveland, Ohio, September 27, 1864.
+  A.C. Wilmaus, consul at Milwaukee, Wis., October 7, 1864.
+  Adolph Meier, consul at St. Louis, Mo., October 7, 1864.
+  Theodor Schwartz, consul at Louisville, Ky., October 12, 1864.
+  Carl F. Adae, consul at Cincinnati, Ohio, October 20, 1864.
+  Werner Dresel, consul at Baltimore, Md., July 25, 1866.
+
+  FOR THE ELECTORATE OF HESSE.
+
+  Theodor Wagner, consul at Galveston, Tex., March 7, 1857.
+  Clamor Friedrich Hagedorn, consul at Philadelphia, February 14, 1862.
+  Werner Dresel, consul at Baltimore, Md., September 26, 1864.
+  Friedrich Kuhne, consul at New York, September 30, 1864.
+  Richard Thiele, consul at New Orleans, La., October 18, 1864.
+  Carl Adae, consul at Cincinnati, Ohio, October 20, 1864.
+  Robert Barth, consul at St. Louis, Mo., April 11, 1865.
+  C.F. Mebius, consul at San Francisco, Cal., May 3, 1865.
+
+  FOR THE DUCHY OF NASSAU.
+
+  Wilhelm A. Kobbe, consul-general for the United States at New York,
+    November 19, 1846.
+  Friedrich Wilhelm Freudenthal, consul for Louisiana at New Orleans,
+    January 22, 1852.
+  Franz Moureau, consul for the western half of Texas at New Braunfels,
+    April 6, 1857.
+  Carl C. Finkler, consul for California at San Francisco, May 21, 1864.
+  Ludwig von Baumbach, consul for Wisconsin, September 27, 1864.
+  Otto Cuntz, consul for Massachusetts at Boston, October 7, 1864.
+  Friedrich Kuhne, consul at New York, September 30, 1864.
+  Carl F. Adae, consul for the State of Ohio, October 20, 1864.
+  Robert Barth, consul for Missouri, April 18, 1865.
+
+
+  FOR THE CITY OF FRANKFORT.
+
+  John H. Harjes, consul at Philadelphia, Pa., September 27, 1864.
+  F.A. Reuss, consul at St. Louis, Mo., September 30, 1864.
+  A.C. Wilmanns, consul for Wisconsin at Milwaukee, October 7, 1864.
+  Francis A. Hoffmann, consul for Chicago, Ill., October 12, 1864.
+  Carl F. Adae, consul for Ohio and Indiana, October 20, 1864.
+  Jacob Julius de Neufville, consul in New York, July 3, 1866.
+
+
+And whereas the said countries, namely, the Kingdom of Hanover, the
+Electorate of Hesse, the Duchy of Nassau, and the city of Frankfort,
+have, in consequence of the late war between Prussia and Austria, been
+united to the Crown of Prussia; and
+
+Whereas His Majesty the King of Prussia has requested of the President
+of the United States that the aforesaid exequaturs may, in consequence
+of the before-recited premises, be revoked:
+
+Now, therefore, these presents do declare that the above-named consular
+officers are no longer recognized, and that the exequaturs heretofore
+granted to them are hereby declared 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 the city of Washington, this 19th day of
+December, A.D. 1866, and of the Independence of the United States
+of America the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+_To all whom it may concern_:
+
+An exequatur, bearing date the 22d day of March, 1866, having been
+issued to Gerhard Janssen, recognizing him as consul of Oldenburg for
+New York and declaring him free to exercise and enjoy such functions,
+powers, and privileges as are allowed to consuls by the law of nations
+or by the laws of the United States and existing treaty stipulations
+between the Government of Oldenburg and the United States, and the said
+Janssen having refused to appear in the supreme court of the State of
+New York to answer in a suit there pending against himself and others on
+the plea that he is a consular officer of Oldenburg, thus seeking to use
+his official position to defeat the ends of justice, it is deemed
+advisable that the said Gerhard Janssen 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
+Gerhard Janssen as consul of Oldenburg for New York 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 26th day of December, A.D. 1866,
+and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas satisfactory evidence has been received by me from His Imperial
+Majesty the Emperor of France, through the Marquis de Montholon, his
+envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, that vessels belonging
+to citizens of the United States entering any port of France or of its
+dependencies on or after the 1st day of January, 1867, will not be
+subjected to the payment of higher duties on tonnage than are levied
+upon vessels belonging to citizens of France entering the said ports:
+
+Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States
+of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by an act of
+Congress of the 7th day of January, 1824, entitled "An act concerning
+discriminating duties of tonnage and impost," and by an act in addition
+thereto of the 24th day of May, 1828, do hereby declare and proclaim
+that on and after the said 1st day of January, 1867, so long as vessels
+of the United States shall be admitted to French ports on the terms
+aforesaid, French vessels entering ports of the United States will be
+subject to no higher rates of duty on tonnage than are levied upon
+vessels of the United States in the ports thereof.
+
+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 28th day of December, A.D. 1866,
+and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+
+Whereas, in virtue of the power conferred by the act of Congress
+approved June 22, 1860, sections 15 and 24 of which act were designed by
+proper provisions to secure the strict neutrality of citizens of the
+United States residing in or visiting the Empires of China and Japan, a
+notification was issued on the 4th of August last by the legation of the
+United States in Japan, through the consulates of the open ports of that
+Empire, requesting American shipmasters not to approach the coasts of
+Suwo and Nagato pending the then contemplated hostilities between the
+Tycoon of Japan and the Daimio of the said Provinces; and
+
+Whereas authentic information having been received by the said legation
+that such hostilities had actually commenced, a regulation in
+furtherance of the aforesaid notification and pursuant to the act
+referred to was issued by the minister resident of the United States in
+Japan forbidding American merchant vessels from stopping or anchoring at
+any port or roadstead in that country except the three opened ports,
+viz, Kanagawa (Yokohama), Nagasaki, and Hakodate, unless in distress or
+forced by stress of weather, as provided by treaty, and giving notice
+that masters of vessels committing a breach of the regulation would
+thereby render themselves liable to prosecution and punishment and also
+to forfeiture of the protection of the United States if the visit to
+such nonopened port or roadstead should either involve a breach of
+treaty or be construed as an act in aid of insurrection or rebellion:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States of America, with a view to prevent acts which might
+injuriously affect the relations existing between the Government of the
+United States and that of Japan, do hereby call public attention to the
+aforesaid notification and regulation, which are hereby sanctioned and
+confirmed.
+
+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 12th day of January, A.D. 1867, and
+of the Independence of the United States the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+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 from
+His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands, through an official
+communication of His Majesty's minister of foreign relations under date
+of the 10th of December, 1866, that no other or higher duties of tonnage
+and impost are imposed or levied in the ports of the Hawaiian Islands
+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
+Hawaiian ships and their cargoes in the same ports under like
+circumstances:
+
+Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, 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 the Hawaiian Islands and the produce, manufactures,
+and merchandise imported into the United States in the same from the
+dominions of the Hawaiian Islands and from any other foreign country
+whatever, the said suspension to take effect from the said 10th day
+of December 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 the
+Hawaiian Islands in the same, as aforesaid, shall be continued on the
+part of the Government of His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands.
+
+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, the 29th day of January, A.D. 1867, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+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 did by an act approved on
+the 19th day of April, 1864, authorize the people of the Territory
+of Nebraska 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 upon certain conditions in said act specified; and
+
+Whereas said people did adopt a constitution conforming to the
+provisions and conditions of said act and ask admission into the Union;
+and
+
+Whereas the Congress of the United States did on the 8th and 9th days
+of February, 1867, in mode prescribed by the Constitution, pass a
+further act for the admission of the State of Nebraska into the Union,
+in which last-named act it was provided that it should not take effect
+except upon the fundamental condition that within the State of Nebraska
+there should be no denial of the elective franchise or of any other
+right to any person by reason of race or color, excepting Indians not
+taxed, and upon the further fundamental condition that the legislature
+of said State, by a solemn public act, should declare the assent of
+said State to the said fundamental condition and should transmit to
+the President of the United States an authenticated copy of said act
+of the legislature of said State, upon receipt whereof the President,
+by proclamation, should forthwith announce the fact, whereupon said
+fundamental condition should be held as a part of the organic law of
+the State, and thereupon, and without any further proceeding on the
+part of Congress, the admission of said State into the Union should
+be considered as complete; and
+
+Whereas within the time prescribed by said act of Congress of the 8th
+and 9th of February, 1867, the legislature of the State of Nebraska did
+pass an act ratifying the said act of Congress of the 8th and 9th of
+February, 1867, and declaring that the aforenamed provisions of the
+third section of said last-named act of Congress should be a part of
+the organic law of the State of Nebraska; and
+
+Whereas a duly authenticated copy of said act of the legislature of the
+State of Nebraska has been received by me:
+
+Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States of
+America, do, in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress
+last herein named, declare and proclaim the fact that the fundamental
+conditions imposed by Congress on the State of Nebraska to entitle that
+State to admission to the Union have been ratified and accepted and that
+the admission of the said State into the Union is now complete.
+
+In testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand and have caused the seal
+of the United States to be affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, this 1st day of March, A.D. 1867, and of
+the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+[Note.--The Fortieth Congress, first session, met March 4, 1867,
+in accordance with the act of January 22, 1867, and on March 30, in
+accordance with the concurrent resolution of March 29, adjourned to
+July 3. The Senate met in special session April 1, in conformity to the
+proclamation of the President of the United States of March 30, and on
+April 20 adjourned without day. The Fortieth Congress, first session,
+again met July 3, and on July 20, in accordance with the concurrent
+resolution of the latter date, adjourned to November 21; again met
+November 21, and on December 2, 1867, in accordance with the concurrent
+resolution of November 26, adjourned without day.]
+
+
+
+
+SPECIAL MESSAGES.
+
+
+MARCH 11, 1867.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 28th of
+July last, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+documents.[18]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 18: Correspondence since March 4, 1857, touching the claim to
+military service asserted by France and Prussia in reference to persons
+born in those countries, but who have since become citizens of the
+United States.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, _March 13, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded this day between the United States and the chiefs and
+headmen of the Kickapoo tribe of Indians.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior and a copy of a letter of the
+Commissioner of Indian Affairs, explanatory of said treaty, are also
+herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _March 13, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded in this city on the 15th instant [ultimo] between the
+United States and the Stockbridge and Munsee tribes of Indians.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 25th instant [ultimo]
+and a copy of a communication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of
+the 19th instant [ultimo], explanatory of the said treaty, are also
+herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _March 13, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded in this city on the 23d instant [ultimo] between the
+United States and the following tribes of Indians, viz: The Senecas,
+the confederated Senecas and Shawnees, the Quapaws, the Ottawas, the
+confederated Peorias, Kaskaskias, Weas and Piankeshaws, and the Miamis.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 26th instant [ultimo]
+and a copy of a letter of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 25th
+instant [ultimo], explanatory of said treaty, are also herewith
+transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _March 13, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded on the 2d March, 1866, between the United States and
+the Shawnee tribe of Indians of Kansas.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 6th instant and a copy
+of a communication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 2d
+instant, explanatory of the said treaty, are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _March 13, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded on the 27th instant [ultimo] between the United
+States and the Pottawatomie tribe of Indians.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 28th instant [ultimo]
+and a copy of a communication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of
+the 27th instant [ultimo], explanatory of the said treaty, are also
+herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _March 13, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon
+a treaty concluded in this city on the 13th instant [ultimo] between the
+United States and the Kansas or Kaw tribe of Indians.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 25th instant [ultimo]
+and a copy of a communication of the 19th instant [ultimo] from the
+Commissioner of Indian Affairs, explanatory of said treaty, are also
+herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, _March 13, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty this day concluded between the United States and the Cherokee
+Nation of Indians, providing for the sale of their lands in Kansas,
+known as the "Cherokee neutral lands."
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior and accompanying copy of a
+letter from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of this date, in relation
+to the treaty, are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 14, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, in further
+answer to the resolution[19] of the House of Representatives of the 24th
+of January last.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 19: Requesting information "in relation to a removal of the
+Protestant Church or religious assembly meeting at the American embassy
+from the city of Rome by an order of that Government."]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 15, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in further answer to their resolution of the
+31st of January last, a report from the Secretary of State, with
+accompanying documents.[20]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 20: Dispatch from the United States consul at Geneva, with an
+inclosure, refuting charges against his moral character, etc.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 20, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their resolution
+of the 18th instant, a report[21] from the Secretary of State, with its
+accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 21: Relating to trials in Canada of citizens of the United
+States for complicity in the Fenian invasion of that country.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 20, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their
+resolution of the 18th instant, a report[22]from the Secretary of State,
+with an accompanying paper.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 22: Relating to the withdrawal of French troops from the
+Mexican Republic.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 20, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 15th
+instant, reports[23] from the Secretary of State and the Secretary of
+the Treasury, with accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 23: Relating to the fees of consular agents within the
+districts of salaried consuls, etc.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 20, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 7th
+instant, relative to the arrest, imprisonment, and treatment of American
+citizens in Great Britain or its Provinces, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State on the subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 21, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded on the 19th of March, 1867, between the United States
+and the Chippewa tribe of Indians of the Mississippi.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior and a copy of a letter of Hon.
+Lewis V. Bogy, special commissioner, of the 20th instant, explanatory of
+the said treaty, are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 30, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In giving my approval to the joint resolution providing for the expenses
+of carrying into full effect an act entitled "An act to provide for the
+more efficient government of the rebel States," I am moved to do so for
+the following reason: The seventh section of the act supplementary to
+the act for the more efficient government of the rebel States provides
+that the expenses incurred under or by virtue of that act shall be paid
+out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. This
+provision is wholly unlimited as to the amount to be expended, whereas
+the resolution now before me limits the appropriation to $500,000. I
+consider this limitation as a very necessary check against unlimited
+expenditure and liabilities. Yielding to that consideration, I feel
+bound to approve this resolution, without modifying in any manner any
+objections heretofore stated against the original and supplemental acts.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 30, 1867_.
+
+_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 His Majesty the
+Emperor of all the Russias upon the subject of a cession of territory by
+the latter to the former, which treaty was this day signed in this city
+by the plenipotentiaries of the parties.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+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 Monday, the 1st day of April next,
+to receive and act upon such communications as may be made to it on the
+part of the Executive.
+
+Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, 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 Monday, the 1st day of April next, at 12 o'clock 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.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Given under my hand and the seal of the United States, at Washington,
+the 30th day of March, A.D. 1867, and of the Independence of the United
+States of America the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+
+SPECIAL MESSAGES.
+
+[The following messages were sent to the special session of the Senate.]
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 28, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 20th
+instant, a report[24] from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+documents.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 24: Relating to the exequatur of the consul of the Grand Duchy
+of Oldenburg residing at New York.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 12, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 10th
+instant, calling for information relative to prisoners of war taken by
+belligerents in the Mexican Republic, a report from the Secretary of
+State, with accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 13, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 28th of January
+last, requesting certain information in regard to governors,
+secretaries, and judges of Territories, I transmit herewith reports[25]
+from the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Interior, and the
+Attorney-General.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 25: Relating to the absence of Territorial officers from their
+posts of duty.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 15, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 13th
+instant, a report[26] from the Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 26: Relating to the absence of Governor Alexander Cumming from
+the Territory of Colorado since his appointment as governor.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 16, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith reports from the heads of the several Executive
+Departments, in answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 11th
+instant, requesting "copies of any official opinions which may have been
+given by the Attorney-General, the Solicitor of the Treasury, or by any
+other officer of the Government on the interpretation of the act of
+Congress regulating the tenure of office, and especially with regard to
+appointments by the President during the recess of Congress."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+[The following messages were sent to the Fortieth Congress, first session.]
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 5, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention for commercial reciprocity between the
+United States and His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands, which
+convention was signed by the plenipotentiaries of the parties in the
+city of San Francisco on the 21st day of May last.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 5, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a copy of a convention between the United States
+and the Republic of Venezuela for the adjustment of claims of citizens
+of the United States on the Government of that Republic. The
+ratifications of this convention were exchanged at Caracas on the 10th
+of April last. As its first article stipulates that the commissioners
+shall meet in that city within four months from that date, the
+expediency of passing the usual act for the purpose of carrying the
+convention into effect will, of course, engage the attention of
+Congress.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 6, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a copy of a treaty between the United States and
+His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, the ratifications of which
+were exchanged in this city on the 20th day of June last.
+
+This instrument provides for a cession of territory to the United States
+in consideration of the payment of $7,200,000 in gold. The attention of
+Congress is invited to the subject of an appropriation for this payment,
+and also to that of proper legislation for the occupation and government
+of the territory as a part of the dominion of the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 6, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention between the United States, Great Britain,
+France, the Netherlands, and Japan, concluded at Yedo on the 25th of
+June, 1866.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 8, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Attorney-General, additional to
+the reports submitted by him December 31, 1866, and March 2, 1867, in
+reply to a resolution of the House of Representatives of December 10,
+1866, requesting "a list of names of all persons engaged in the late
+rebellion against the United States Government who have been pardoned by
+the President from April 15, 1865, to this date; that said list shall
+also state the rank of each person who has been so pardoned, if he has
+been engaged in the military service of the so-called Confederate
+government, and the position if he shall have held any civil office
+under said so-called Confederate government; and shall also further
+state whether such person has at any time prior to April 14, 1861, held
+any office under the United States Government, and, if so, what office,
+together with the reasons for granting such pardon, and also the names
+of the person or persons at whose solicitation such pardon was granted."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 9, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+5th of July, requesting the President "to inform the House what States
+have ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the United States
+proposed by concurrent resolution of the two Houses of Congress, June
+16, 1866," I transmit a report from the Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 10, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with so much of the resolution of the House of
+Representatives of the 8th instant as requests information in regard to
+certain agreements said to have been entered into between the United
+States, European and West Virginia Land and Mining Company and certain
+reputed agents of the Republic of Mexico, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State and the papers accompanying it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 11, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+3d instant, requesting me to transmit all the official correspondence
+between the Department of State and the Hon. Lewis D. Campbell, late
+minister to Mexico, and also that with his successor, I communicate a
+report from the Secretary of State and the papers accompanying it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 12, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 8th instant,
+requesting me to transmit "all the official correspondence between the
+Department of State and the Hon. Lewis D. Campbell, late minister
+of the United States to the Republic of Mexico, from the time of his
+appointment, also the correspondence of the Department with his
+successor," I communicate herewith a report on the subject from the
+Secretary of State, from which it appears that the correspondence
+called for by the Senate has already been communicated to the House
+of Representatives.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 15, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith reports from the Secretary of War and the
+Attorney-General, containing the information called for by the
+resolution of the Senate of the 3d instant, requesting the President "to
+communicate to the Senate copies of all orders, instructions, circular
+letters, or letters of advice issued to the respective military officers
+assigned to the command of the several military districts under the act
+passed March 2, 1867, entitled 'An act to provide for the more efficient
+government of the rebel States,' and the act supplementary thereto,
+passed March 23, 1867; also copies of all opinions given to him by the
+Attorney-General of the United States touching the construction and
+interpretation of said acts, and of all correspondence relating to the
+operation, construction, or execution of said acts that may have taken
+place between himself and any of said commanders, or between him and the
+General of the Army, or between the latter and any of said commanders,
+touching the same subjects; also copies of all orders issued by any of
+said commanders in carrying out the provisions of said acts or either of
+them; also that he inform the Senate what progress has been made in the
+matter of registration under said acts, and whether the sum of money
+heretofore appropriated for carrying them out is probably sufficient."
+
+In answer to that portion of the resolution which inquires whether the
+sum of money heretofore appropriated for carrying these acts into effect
+is probably sufficient, reference is made to the accompanying report
+of the Secretary of War. It will be seen from that report that the
+appropriation of $500,000 made in the act approved March 30, 1867, for
+the purpose of carrying into effect the "Act to provide for the more
+efficient government of the rebel States," passed March 2, 1867, and the
+act supplementary thereto, passed March 23, 1867, has already been
+expended by the commanders of the several military districts, and that,
+in addition, the sum of $1,648,277 is required for present purposes.
+
+It is exceedingly difficult at the present time to estimate the probable
+expense of carrying into full effect the two acts of March last and the
+bill which passed the two Houses of Congress on the 13th instant. If the
+existing governments of ten States of the Union are to be deposed and
+their entire machinery is to be placed under the exclusive control and
+authority of the respective district commanders, all the expenditures
+incident to the administration of such governments must necessarily be
+incurred by the Federal Government. It is believed that, in addition to
+the $2,100,000 already expended or estimated for, the sum which would
+be required for this purpose would not be less than $14,000,000--the
+aggregate amount expended prior to the rebellion in the administration
+of their respective governments by the ten States embraced in the
+provisions of these acts. This sum would no doubt be considerably
+augmented if the machinery of these States is to be operated by the
+Federal Government, and would be largely increased if the United States,
+by abolishing the existing State governments, should become responsible
+for liabilities incurred by them before the rebellion in laudable
+efforts to develop their resources, and in no wise created for
+insurrectionary or revolutionary purposes. The debts of these States,
+thus legitimately incurred, when accurately ascertained will, it is
+believed, approximate $100,000,000; and they are held not only by our
+own citizens, among whom are residents of portions of the country which
+have ever remained loyal to the Union, but by persons who are the
+subjects of foreign governments. It is worthy the consideration of
+Congress and the country whether, if the Federal Government by its
+action were to assume such obligations, so large an addition to our
+public expenditures would not seriously impair the credit of the nation,
+or, on the other hand, whether the refusal of Congress to guarantee
+the payment of the debts of these States, after having displaced or
+abolished their State governments, would not be viewed as a violation of
+good faith and a repudiation by the national legislature of liabilities
+which these States had justly and legally incurred.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 18, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 8th instant,
+requesting me to furnish to that body copies of any correspondence on
+the files of the Department of State relating to any recent events in
+Mexico, I communicate a report from the Secretary of State, with the
+papers accompanying it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 18, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with that part of the resolution of the House of
+Representatives of the 8th instant which requests me to transmit to
+the House of Representatives any official correspondence or other
+information relating to the capture and execution of Maximilian and
+the arrest and reported execution of Santa Anna in Mexico, I inclose
+herewith a report from the Secretary of State, from which it appears
+that the correspondence called for by the House of Representatives has
+already been communicated to the Senate of the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 20, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I have received a resolution adopted by the House of Representatives
+on the 8th instant, inquiring "whether the publication which appeared
+in the National Intelligencer and other public prints on the 21st of
+June last, and which contained a statement of the proceedings of the
+President and Cabinet in respect to an interpretation of the acts of
+Congress commonly known as the reconstruction acts, was made by the
+authority of the President or with his knowledge and consent," and
+"whether the full and complete record or minute of all the proceedings,
+conclusions, and determinations of the President and Cabinet relating to
+said acts of Congress and their interpretation is embraced or given in
+said publication," and also requesting that "a true copy of the full
+and complete record or minute of such proceedings, conclusions, and
+determinations in regard to the interpretation of said reconstruction
+acts" be furnished to the House.
+
+In compliance with the request of the House of Representatives, I have
+to state that the publication to which the resolution refers was made
+by proper authority, and that it comprises the proceedings in Cabinet
+relating to the acts of Congress mentioned in the inquiry, upon which,
+after taking the opinions of the heads of the several Executive
+Departments of the Government, I had announced my own conclusions. Other
+questions arising from these acts have been under consideration, upon
+which, however, no final conclusion has been reached. No publication in
+reference to them has, therefore, been authorized by me; but should it
+at any time be deemed proper and advantageous to the interests of the
+country to make public those or any other proceedings of the Cabinet,
+authority for their promulgation will be given by the President.
+
+A correct copy of the record of the proceedings, published in the
+National Intelligencer and other newspapers on the 21st ultimo, is
+herewith transmitted, together with a copy of the instructions based
+upon the conclusions of the President and Cabinet and sent to the
+commanders of the several military districts created by act of Congress
+of March 2, 1867.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+  IN CABINET, _June 18, 1867_.
+
+  Present: The President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of
+  the Treasury, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, the
+  Postmaster-General, the Attorney-General, the Acting Secretary of
+  the Interior.
+
+  The President announced that he had under consideration the two opinions
+  from the Attorney-General as to the legal questions arising upon the
+  acts of Congress commonly known as the reconstruction acts, and that in
+  view of the great magnitude of the subject and of the various interests
+  involved he deemed it proper to have it considered fully in the Cabinet
+  and to avail himself of all the light which could be afforded by the
+  opinions and advice of the members of the Cabinet, to enable him to see
+  that these laws be faithfully executed and to decide what orders and
+  instructions are necessary and expedient to be given to the military
+  commanders.
+
+  The President said further that the branch of the subject that seemed to
+  him first in order for consideration was as to the instructions to be
+  sent to the military commanders for their guidance and for the guidance
+  of persons offering for registration. The instructions proposed by the
+  Attorney-General, as set forth in the summary contained in his last
+  opinion, will therefore be now considered.
+
+  The summary was then read at length.
+
+  The reading of the summary having been concluded, each section was then
+  considered, discussed, and voted upon as follows:
+
+  1. The oath prescribed in the supplemental act defines all the
+  qualifications required, and every person who can take that oath is
+  entitled to have his name entered upon the list of voters.
+
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who votes "nay."
+
+  2. The board of registration have no authority to administer any other
+  oath to the person applying for registration than this prescribed
+  oath, nor to administer any oath to any other person touching the
+  qualifications of the applicant or the falsity of the oath so taken
+  by him.
+
+  No provision is made for challenging the qualifications of the applicant
+  or entering upon any trial or investigation of his qualifications,
+  either by witnesses or any other form of proof.
+
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who votes "nay."
+
+  3. As to citizenship and residence:
+
+  The applicant for registration must be a citizen of the State and of the
+  United States, and must be a resident of a county or parish included in
+  the election district. He may be registered if he has been such citizen
+  for a period less than twelve months at the time he applies for
+  registration, but he can not vote at any election unless his citizenship
+  has then extended to the full term of one year. As to such a person, the
+  exact length of his citizenship should be noted opposite his name on the
+  list, so that it may appear on the day of election, upon reference to
+  the list, whether the full term has then been accomplished.
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+  4. An unnaturalized person can not take this oath, but an alien who has
+  been naturalized can take it, and no other proof of naturalization can
+  be required from him.
+
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who votes "nay."
+
+  5. No one who is not 21 years of age at the time of registration can
+  take the oath, for he must swear that he has then attained that age.
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+  6. No one who has been disfranchised for participation in any rebellion
+  against the United States or for felony committed against the laws of
+  any State or of the United States can take this oath.
+
+  The actual participation in a rebellion or the actual commission of a
+  felony does not amount to disfranchisement. The sort of disfranchisement
+  here meant is that which is declared by law passed by competent
+  authority, or which has been fixed upon the criminal by the sentence of
+  the court which tried him for the crime.
+
+  No law of the United States has declared the penalty of disfranchisement
+  for participation in rebellion alone; nor is it known that any such law
+  exists in either of these ten States, except, perhaps, Virginia, as to
+  which State special instructions will be given.
+
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who dissents as to the
+  second and third paragraphs.
+
+  7. As to disfranchisement arising from having held office followed by
+  participation in rebellion:
+
+  This is the most important part of the oath, and requires strict
+  attention to arrive at its meaning. The applicant must swear or affirm
+  as follows:
+
+  "That I have never been a member of any State legislature, nor held any
+  executive or judicial office in any State, and afterwards engaged in an
+  insurrection or rebellion against the United States or given aid or
+  comfort to the enemies thereof; that I have never taken an oath as a
+  member of Congress of the United States, or as an officer of the United
+  States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or
+  judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United
+  States, and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the
+  United States or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."
+
+  Two elements must concur in order to disqualify a person under these
+  clauses: First, the office and official oath to support the Constitution
+  of the United States; second, engaging afterwards in rebellion. Both
+  must exist to work disqualification, and must happen in the order of
+  time mentioned.
+
+  A person who has held an office and taken the oath to support the
+  Federal Constitution and has not afterwards engaged in rebellion is not
+  disqualified. So, too, a person who has engaged in rebellion, but has
+  not theretofore held an office and taken that oath, is not disqualified.
+
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who votes "nay."
+
+  8. Officers of the United States:
+
+  As to these the language is without limitation. The person who has at
+  any time prior to the rebellion held any office, civil or military,
+  under the United States, and has taken an official oath to support the
+  Constitution of the United States, is subject to disqualification.
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+  9. Militia officers of any State prior to the rebellion are not subject
+  to disqualification.
+
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who votes "nay."
+
+  10. Municipal officers--that is to say, officers of incorporated cities,
+  towns, and villages, such as mayors, aldermen, town council, police, and
+  other city or town officers--are not subject to disqualification.
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+  11. Persons who have prior to the rebellion been members of the Congress
+  of the United States or members of a State legislature are subject to
+  disqualification, but those who have been members of conventions framing
+  or amending the constitution of a State prior to the rebellion are not
+  subject to disqualification.
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+  12. All the executive or judicial officers of any State who took an
+  oath to support the Constitution of the United States are subject
+  to disqualification, including county officers. They are subject to
+  disqualification if they were required to take as a part of their
+  official oath the oath to support the Constitution of the United States.
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+  13. Persons who exercised mere employments under State authority are
+  not disqualified; such as commissioners to lay out roads, commissioners
+  of public works, visitors of State institutions, directors of State
+  institutions, examiners of banks, notaries public, commissioners to
+  take acknowledgments of deeds.
+
+  Concurred in unanimously; but the Secretary of State, the Secretary of
+  the Treasury, and the Secretary of War express the opinion that lawyers
+  are such officers as are disqualified if they participated in the
+  rebellion. Two things must exist as to any person to disqualify him from
+  voting: First, the office held prior to the rebellion, and, afterwards,
+  participation in the rebellion.
+
+  14. An act to fix upon a person the offense of engaging in rebellion
+  under this law must be an overt and voluntary act, done with the intent
+  of aiding or furthering the common unlawful purpose. A person forced
+  into the rebel service by conscription or under a paramount authority
+  which he could not safely disobey, and who would not have entered such
+  service if left to the free exercise of his own will, can not be held
+  to be disqualified from voting.
+
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who votes "nay" as the
+  proposition is stated.
+
+  15. Mere acts of charity, where the intent is to relieve the wants of
+  the object of such charity, and not done in aid of the cause in which he
+  may have been engaged, do not disqualify; but organized contributions
+  of food and clothing for the general relief of persons engaged in the
+  rebellion, and not of a merely sanitary character, but contributed to
+  enable them to perform their unlawful object, maybe classed with acts
+  which do disqualify. Forced contributions to the rebel cause in the form
+  of taxes or military assessments, which a person was compelled to pay or
+  contribute, do not disqualify; but voluntary contributions to the rebel
+  cause, even such indirect contributions as arise from the voluntary loan
+  of money to the rebel authorities or purchase of bonds or securities
+  created to afford the means of carrying on the rebellion, will work
+  disqualification.
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+  16. All those who in legislative or other official capacity were engaged
+  in the furtherance of the common unlawful purpose, where the duties of
+  the office necessarily had relation to the support of the rebellion,
+  such as members of the rebel conventions, congresses, and legislatures,
+  diplomatic agents of the rebel Confederacy, and other officials whose
+  offices were created for the purpose of more effectually carrying on
+  hostilities or whose duties appertained to the support of the rebel
+  cause, must be held to be disqualified; but officers who during the
+  rebellion discharged official duties not incident to war, but only such
+  duties as belong even to a state of peace and were necessary to the
+  preservation of order and the administration of law, are not to be
+  considered as thereby engaging in rebellion or as disqualified. Disloyal
+  sentiments, opinions, or sympathies would not disqualify, but where a
+  person has by speech or writing incited others to engage in rebellion he
+  must come under the disqualification.
+
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who dissents to the second
+  paragraph, with the exception of the words "where a person has by speech
+  or by writing incited others to engage in rebellion he must come under
+  the disqualification."
+
+  17. The duties of the board appointed to superintend the elections.
+
+  This board, having the custody of the list of registered voters in the
+  district for which it is constituted, must see that the name of the
+  person offering to vote is found upon the registration list, and if such
+  proves to be the fact it is the duty of the board to receive his vote if
+  then qualified by residence. They can not receive the vote of any person
+  whose name is not upon the list, though he may be ready to take the
+  registration oath, and although he may satisfy them that he was unable
+  to have his name registered at the proper time, in consequence of
+  absence, sickness, or other cause.
+
+  The board can not enter into any inquiry as to the qualifications of
+  any person whose name is not on the registration list, or as to the
+  qualifications of any person whose name is on that list..
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+  18. The mode of voting is provided in the act to be by ballot. The board
+  will keep a record and poll book of the election, showing the votes,
+  list of voters, and the persons elected by a plurality of the votes cast
+  at the election, and make returns of these to the commanding general of
+  the district.
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+  19. The board appointed for registration and for superintending the
+  elections must take the oath prescribed by the act of Congress approved
+  July 2, 1862, entitled "An act to prescribe an oath of office."
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+
+  IN CABINET, _June 20, 1867_.
+
+  Present: The same Cabinet officers as on the 18th, except the Acting
+  Secretary of the Interior.
+
+  The President announced to the Cabinet that after full deliberation he
+  concurred with the majority upon the sections of the summary upon which
+  the Secretary of War expressed his dissent, and that he concurred with
+  the Cabinet upon those sections approved by unanimous vote; that as it
+  appeared the military commanders entertained doubts upon the points
+  covered by the summary, and as their action hitherto had not been
+  uniform, he deemed it proper, without further delay, to communicate in
+  a general order[27] to the respective commanders the points set forth
+  in the summary.
+
+
+[Footnote 27: See Executive order of June 20, 1867, pp. 552-556.]
+
+
+
+
+VETO MESSAGES.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 23, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I have considered the bill entitled "An act supplementary to an act
+entitled 'An act to provide for the more efficient government of the
+rebel States,' passed March 2, 1867, and to facilitate restoration,"
+and now return it to the House of Representatives with my objections.
+
+This bill provides for elections in the ten States brought under the
+operation of the original act to which it is supplementary. Its details
+are principally directed to the elections for the formation of the State
+constitutions, but by the sixth section of the bill "all elections"
+in these States occurring while the original act remains in force are
+brought within its purview. Referring to these details, it will be found
+that, first of all, there is to be a registration of the voters. No one
+whose name has not been admitted on the list is to be allowed to vote at
+any of these elections. To ascertain who is entitled to registration,
+reference is made necessary, by the express language of the supplement,
+to the original act and to the pending bill. The fifth section of the
+original act provides, as to voters, that they shall be "male citizens
+of the State, 21 years old and upward, of whatever race, color, or
+previous condition, who have been residents of said State for one
+year." This is the general qualification, followed, however, by many
+exceptions. No one can be registered, according to the original act,
+"who may be disfranchised for participation in the rebellion"--a
+provision which left undetermined the question as to what amounted to
+disfranchisement, and whether without a judicial sentence the act
+itself produced that effect. This supplemental bill superadds an oath,
+to be taken by every person before his name can be admitted upon the
+registration, that he has "not been disfranchised for participation in
+any rebellion or civil war against the United States." It thus imposes
+upon every person the necessity and responsibility of deciding for
+himself, under the peril of punishment by a military commission if
+he makes a mistake, what works disfranchisement by participation in
+rebellion and what amounts to such participation. Almost every man--the
+negro as well as the white--above 21 years of age who was resident in
+these ten States during the rebellion, voluntarily or involuntarily, at
+some time and in some way did participate in resistance to the lawful
+authority of the General Government. The question with the citizen to
+whom this oath is to be proposed must be a fearful one, for while the
+bill does not declare that perjury may be assigned for such false
+swearing nor fix any penalty for the offense, we must not forget that
+martial law prevails; that every person is answerable to a military
+commission, without previous presentment by a grand jury, for any charge
+that may be made against him, and that the supreme authority of the
+military commander determines the question as to what is an offense
+and what is to be the measure of punishment.
+
+The fourth section of the bill provides "that the commanding general of
+each district shall appoint as many boards of registration as may be
+necessary, consisting of three loyal officers or persons." The only
+qualification stated for these officers is that they must be "loyal."
+They may be persons in the military service or civilians, residents of
+the State or strangers. Yet these persons are to exercise most important
+duties and are vested with unlimited discretion. They are to decide what
+names shall be placed upon the register and from their decision there is
+to be no appeal. They are to superintend the elections and to decide all
+questions which may arise. They are to have the custody of the ballots
+and to make return of the persons elected. Whatever frauds or errors
+they may commit must pass without redress. All that is left for the
+commanding general is to receive the returns of the elections, open the
+same, and ascertain who are chosen "according to the returns of the
+officers who conducted said elections." By such means and with this
+sort of agency are the conventions of delegates to be constituted.
+
+As the delegates are to speak for the people, common justice would seem
+to require that they should have authority from the people themselves.
+No convention so constituted will in any sense represent the wishes of
+the inhabitants of these States, for under the all-embracing exceptions
+of these laws, by a construction which the uncertainty of the clause as
+to disfranchisement leaves open to the board of officers, the great body
+of the people may be excluded from the polls and from all opportunity of
+expressing their own wishes or voting for delegates who will faithfully
+reflect their sentiments.
+
+I do not deem it necessary further to investigate the details of this
+bill. No consideration could induce me to give my approval to such an
+election law for any purpose, and especially for the great purpose of
+framing the constitution of a State. If ever the American citizen should
+be left to the free exercise of his own judgment it is when he is
+engaged in the work of forming the fundamental law under which he is to
+live. That work is his work, and it can not properly be taken out of his
+hands. All this legislation proceeds upon the contrary assumption that
+the people of each of these States shall have no constitution except
+such as may be arbitrarily dictated by Congress and formed under the
+restraint of military rule. A plain statement of facts makes this
+evident.
+
+In all these States there are existing constitutions, framed in the
+accustomed way by the people. Congress, however, declares that these
+constitutions are not "loyal and republican," and requires the people to
+form them anew. What, then, in the opinion of Congress, is necessary to
+make the constitution of a State "loyal and republican"? The original
+act answers the question: It is universal negro suffrage--a question
+which the Federal Constitution leaves exclusively to the States
+themselves. All this legislative machinery of martial law, military
+coercion, and political disfranchisement is avowedly for that purpose
+and none other. The existing constitutions of the ten States conform to
+the acknowledged standards of loyalty and republicanism. Indeed, if
+there are degrees in republican forms of government, their constitutions
+are more republican now than when these States, four of which were
+members of the original thirteen, first became members of the Union.
+
+Congress does not now demand that a single provision of their
+constitutions be changed except such as confine suffrage to the white
+population. It is apparent, therefore, that these provisions do not
+conform to the standard of republicanism which Congress seeks to
+establish. That there may be no mistake, it is only necessary that
+reference should be made to the original act, which declares "such
+constitution shall provide that the elective franchise shall be enjoyed
+by all such persons as have the qualifications herein stated for
+electors of delegates." What class of persons is here meant clearly
+appears in the same section; that is to say, "the male citizens of said
+State 21 years old and upward, of whatever race, color, or previous
+condition, who have been resident in said State for one year previous
+to the day of such election."
+
+Without these provisions no constitution which can be framed in any one
+of the ten States will be of any avail with Congress. This, then, is the
+test of what the constitution of a State of this Union must contain to
+make it republican. Measured by such a standard, how few of the States
+now composing the Union have republican constitutions! If in the
+exercise of the constitutional guaranty that Congress shall secure to
+every State a republican form of government universal suffrage for
+blacks as well as whites is a _sine qua non_, the work of reconstruction
+may as well begin in Ohio as in Virginia, in Pennsylvania as in North
+Carolina.
+
+When I contemplate the millions of our fellow-citizens of the South
+with no alternative left but to impose upon themselves this fearful
+and untried experiment of complete negro enfranchisement--and white
+disfranchisement, it may be, almost as complete--or submit indefinitely
+to the rigor of martial law, without a single attribute of freemen,
+deprived of all the sacred guaranties of our Federal Constitution, and
+threatened with even worse wrongs, if any worse are possible, it seems
+to me their condition is the most deplorable to which any people can be
+reduced. It is true that they have been engaged in rebellion and that
+their object being a separation of the States and a dissolution of the
+Union there was an obligation resting upon every loyal citizen to treat
+them as enemies and to wage war against their cause.
+
+Inflexibly opposed to any movement imperiling the integrity of the
+Government, I did not hesitate to urge the adoption of all measures
+necessary for the suppression of the insurrection. After a long and
+terrible struggle the efforts of the Government were triumphantly
+successful, and the people of the South, submitting to the stern
+arbitrament, yielded forever the issues of the contest. Hostilities
+terminated soon after it became my duty to assume the responsibilities
+of the chief executive officer of the Republic, and I at once endeavored
+to repress and control the passions which our civil strife had
+engendered, and, no longer regarding these erring millions as enemies,
+again acknowledged them as our friends and our countrymen. The war had
+accomplished its objects. The nation was saved and that seminal
+principle of mischief which from the birth of the Government had
+gradually but inevitably brought on the rebellion was totally
+eradicated. Then, it seemed to me, was the auspicious time to commence
+the work of reconciliation; then, when these people sought once more our
+friendship and protection, I considered it our duty generously to meet
+them in the spirit of charity and forgiveness and to conquer them even
+more effectually by the magnanimity of the nation than by the force of
+its arms. I yet believe that if the policy of reconciliation then
+inaugurated, and which contemplated an early restoration of these people
+to all their political rights, had received the support of Congress,
+every one of these ten States and all their people would at this moment
+be fast anchored in the Union and the great work which gave the war all
+its sanction and made it just and holy would have been accomplished.
+Then over all the vast and fruitful regions of the South peace and its
+blessings would have prevailed, while now millions are deprived of
+rights guaranteed by the Constitution to every citizen and after nearly
+two years of legislation find themselves placed under an absolute
+military despotism. "A military republic, a government founded on mock
+elections and supported only by the sword," was nearly a quarter of a
+century since pronounced by Daniel Webster, when speaking of the South
+American States, as "a movement, indeed, but a retrograde and disastrous
+movement, from the regular and old-fashioned monarchical systems;" and
+he added:
+
+  If men would enjoy the blessings of republican government, they must
+  govern themselves by reason, by mutual counsel and consultation, by a
+  sense and feeling of general interest, and by the acquiescence of the
+  minority in the will of the majority, properly expressed; and, above
+  all, the military must be kept, according to the language of our bill of
+  rights, in strict subordination to the civil authority. Wherever this
+  lesson is not both learned and practiced there can be no political
+  freedom. Absurd, preposterous is it, a scoff and a satire on free forms
+  of constitutional liberty, for frames of government to be prescribed by
+  military leaders and the right of suffrage to be exercised at the point
+  of the sword.
+
+I confidently believe that a time will come when these States will again
+occupy their true positions in the Union. The barriers which now seem so
+obstinate must yield to the force of an enlightened and just public
+opinion, and sooner or later unconstitutional and oppressive legislation
+will be effaced from our statute books. When this shall have been
+consummated, I pray God that the errors of the past may be forgotten and
+that once more we shall be a happy, united, and prosperous people, and
+that at last, after the bitter and eventful experience through which the
+nation has passed, we shall all come to know that our only safety is in
+the preservation of our Federal Constitution and in according to every
+American citizen and to every State the rights which that Constitution
+secures.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _April 10, 1867_.[28]
+
+The first session of the Fortieth Congress adjourned on the 30th day
+of March, 1867. This bill,[29] which was passed during that session,
+was not presented for my approval by the Hon. Edmund G. Ross, of the
+Senate of the United States, and a member of the Committee on Enrolled
+Bills, until Monday, the 1st day of April, 1867, two days after the
+adjournment. It is not believed that the approval of any bill after
+the adjournment of Congress, whether presented before or after such
+adjournment, is authorized by the Constitution of the United States,
+that instrument expressly declaring that no bill shall become a law the
+return of which may have been prevented by the adjournment of Congress.
+To concede that under the Constitution the President, after the
+adjournment of Congress, may, without limitation in respect to time,
+exercise the power of approval, and thus determine at his discretion
+whether or not bills shall become laws, might subject the executive and
+legislative departments of the Government to influences most pernicious
+to correct legislation and sound public morals, and--with a single
+exception, occurring during the prevalence of civil war--would be
+contrary to the established practice of the Government from its
+inauguration to the present time. This bill will therefore be filed
+in the office of the Secretary of State without my approval.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 28: Pocket veto. Was never sent to Congress, but was deposited
+in the Department of State.]
+
+[Footnote 29: Joint resolution placing certain troops of Missouri on an
+equal footing with others as to bounties.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 19, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+I return herewith the bill entitled "An act supplementary to an act
+entitled 'An act to provide for the more efficient government of the
+rebel States,' passed on the 2d day of March, 1867, and the act
+supplementary thereto, passed, on the 23d day of March, 1867," and will
+state as briefly as possible some of the reasons which prevent me from
+giving it my approval.
+
+This is one of a series of measures passed by Congress during the last
+four months on the subject of reconstruction. The message returning the
+act of the 2d of March last states at length my objections to the
+passage of that measure. They apply equally well to the bill now before
+me, and I am content merely to refer to them and to reiterate my
+conviction that they are sound and unanswerable.
+
+There are some points peculiar to this bill, which I will proceed at
+once to consider.
+
+The first section purports to declare "the true intent and meaning,"
+in some particulars, of the two prior acts upon this subject.
+
+It is declared that the intent of those acts was, first, that the
+existing governments in the ten "rebel States" "were not legal State
+governments," and, second, "that thereafter said governments, if
+continued, were to be continued subject in all respects to the military
+commanders of the respective districts and to the paramount authority
+of Congress."
+
+Congress may by a declaratory act fix upon a prior act a
+construction altogether at variance with its apparent meaning, and
+from the time, at least, when such a construction is fixed the original
+act will be construed to mean exactly what it is stated to mean by the
+declaratory statute. There will be, then, from the time this bill may
+become a law no doubt, no question, as to the relation in which the
+"existing governments" in those States, called in the original act "the
+provisional governments," stand toward the military authority. As those
+relations stood before the declaratory act, these "governments," it is
+true, were made subject to absolute military authority in many important
+respects, but not in all, the language of the act being "subject to the
+military authority of the United States, as hereinafter prescribed."
+By the sixth section of the original act these governments were made
+"in all respects subject to the paramount authority of the United
+States."
+
+Now by this declaratory act it appears that Congress did not by the
+original act intend to limit the military authority to any particulars
+or subjects therein "prescribed," but meant to make it universal. Thus
+over all of these ten States this military government is now declared to
+have unlimited authority. It is no longer confined to the preservation
+of the public peace, the administration of criminal law, the
+registration of voters, and the superintendence of elections, but
+"in all respects" is asserted to be paramount to the existing civil
+governments.
+
+It is impossible to conceive any state of society more intolerable than
+this; and yet it is to this condition that 12,000,000 American citizens
+are reduced by the Congress of the United States. Over every foot of the
+immense territory occupied by these American citizens the Constitution
+of the United States is theoretically in full operation. It binds all
+the people there and should protect them; yet they are denied every
+one of its sacred guaranties.
+
+Of what avail will it be to any one of these Southern people when
+seized by a file of soldiers to ask for the cause of arrest or for the
+production of the warrant? Of what avail to ask for the privilege of
+bail when in military custody, which knows no such thing as bail? Of
+what avail to demand a trial by jury, process for witnesses, a copy of
+the indictment, the privilege of counselor that greater privilege, the
+writ of _habeas corpus_?
+
+The veto of the original bill of the 2d of March was based on two
+distinct grounds--the interference of Congress in matters strictly
+appertaining to the reserved powers of the States and the establishment
+of military tribunals for the trial of citizens in time of peace.
+The impartial reader of that message will understand that all that
+it contains with respect to military despotism and martial law has
+reference especially to the fearful power conferred on the district
+commanders to displace the criminal courts and assume jurisdiction to
+try and to punish by military boards; that, potentially, the suspension
+of the _habeas corpus_ was martial law and military despotism. The act
+now before me not only declares that the intent was to confer such
+military authority, but also to confer unlimited military authority over
+all the other courts of the State and over all the officers of the
+State--legislative, executive, and judicial. Not content with the
+general grant of power, Congress, in the second section of this bill,
+specifically gives to each military commander the power "to suspend or
+remove from office, or from the performance of official duties and
+the exercise of official powers, any officer or person holding or
+exercising, or professing to hold or exercise, any civil or military
+office or duty in such district under any power, election, appointment,
+or authority derived from, or granted by, or claimed under any so-called
+State, or the government thereof, or any municipal or other division
+thereof."
+
+A power that hitherto all the departments of the Federal Government,
+acting in concert or separately, have not dared to exercise is here
+attempted to be conferred on a subordinate military officer. To him,
+as a military officer of the Federal Government, is given the power,
+supported by "a sufficient military force," to remove every civil
+officer of the State. What next? The district commander, who has thus
+displaced the civil officer, is authorized to fill the vacancy by the
+detail of an officer or soldier of the Army, or by the appointment of
+"some other person."
+
+This military appointee, whether an officer, a soldier, or "some
+other person," is to perform "the duties of such officer or person so
+suspended or removed." In other words, an officer or soldier of the Army
+is thus transformed into a civil officer. He may be made a governor,
+a legislator, or a judge. However unfit he may deem himself for such
+civil duties, he must obey the order. The officer of the Army must, if
+"detailed," go upon the supreme bench of the State with the same prompt
+obedience as if he were detailed to go upon a court-martial. The
+soldier, if detailed to act as a justice of the peace, must obey as
+quickly as if he were detailed for picket duty.
+
+What is the character of such a military civil officer? This bill
+declares that he shall perform the duties of the civil office to which
+he is detailed. It is clear, however, that he does not lose his position
+in the military service. He is still an officer or soldier of the Army;
+he is still subject to the rules and regulations which govern it, and
+must yield due deference, respect, and obedience toward his superiors.
+
+The clear intent of this section is that the officer or soldier
+detailed to fill a civil office must execute its duties according to the
+laws of the State. If he is appointed a governor of a State, he is to
+execute the duties as provided by the laws of that State, and for the
+time being his military character is to be suspended in his new civil
+capacity. If he is appointed a State treasurer, he must at once assume
+the custody and disbursement of the funds of the State, and must perform
+those duties precisely according to the laws of the State, for he is
+intrusted with no other official duty or other official power. Holding
+the office of treasurer and intrusted with funds, it happens that he is
+required by the State laws to enter into bond with security and to take
+an oath of office; yet from the beginning of the bill to the end there
+is no provision for any bond or oath of office, or for any single
+qualification required under the State law, such as residence,
+citizenship, or anything else. The only oath is that provided for in the
+ninth section, by the terms of which everyone detailed or appointed to
+any civil office in the State is required "to take and to subscribe the
+oath of office prescribed by law for officers of the United States."
+Thus an officer of the Army of the United States detailed to fill a
+civil office in one of these States gives no official bond and takes
+no official oath for the performance of his new duties, but as a civil
+officer of the State only takes the same oath which he had already taken
+as a military officer of the United States. He is, at last, a military
+officer performing civil duties, and the authority under which he acts
+is Federal authority only; and the inevitable result is that the Federal
+Government, by the agency of its own sworn officers, in effect assumes
+the civil government of the State.
+
+A singular contradiction is apparent here. Congress declares these local
+State governments to be illegal governments, and then provides that
+these illegal governments shall be carried on by Federal officers, who
+are to perform the very duties imposed on its own officers by this
+illegal State authority. It certainly would be a novel spectacle if
+Congress should attempt to carry on a _legal_ State government by the
+agency of its own officers. It is yet more strange that Congress
+attempts to sustain and carry on an _illegal_ State government by the
+same Federal agency.
+
+In this connection I must call attention to the tenth and eleventh
+sections of the bill, which provide that none of the officers or
+appointees of these military commanders "shall be bound in his action by
+any opinion of any civil officer of the United States," and that all the
+provisions of the act "shall be construed liberally, to the end that all
+the intents thereof may be fully and perfectly carried out."
+
+It seems Congress supposed that this bill might require construction,
+and they fix, therefore, the rule to be applied. But where is the
+construction to come from? Certainly no one can be more in want of
+instruction than a soldier or an officer of the Army detailed for a
+civil service, perhaps the most important in a State, with the duties of
+which he is altogether unfamiliar. This bill says he shall not be bound
+in his action by the opinion of any civil officer of the United States.
+The duties of the office are altogether civil, but when he asks for an
+opinion he can only ask the opinion of another military officer, who,
+perhaps, understands as little of his duties as he does himself; and as
+to his "action," he is answerable to the military authority, and to the
+military authority alone. Strictly, no opinion of any civil officer
+other than a judge has a binding force.
+
+But these military appointees would not be bound even by a judicial
+opinion. They might very well say, even when their action is in conflict
+with the Supreme Court of the United States, "That court is composed of
+civil officers of the United States, and we are not bound to conform our
+action to any opinion of any such authority."
+
+This bill and the acts to which it is supplementary are all founded upon
+the assumption that these ten communities are not States and that their
+existing governments are not legal. Throughout the legislation upon this
+subject they are called "rebel States," and in this particular bill they
+are denominated "so-called States," and the vice of illegality is
+declared to pervade all of them. The obligations of consistency bind a
+legislative body as well as the individuals who compose it. It is now
+too late to say that these ten political communities are not States of
+this Union. Declarations to the contrary made in these three acts are
+contradicted again and again by repeated acts of legislation enacted by
+Congress from the year 1861 to the year 1867.
+
+During that period, while these States were in actual rebellion, and
+after that rebellion was brought to a close, they have been again and
+again recognized as States of the Union. Representation has been
+apportioned to them as States. They have been divided into judicial
+districts for the holding of district and circuit courts of the United
+States, as States of the Union only can be districted. The last act on
+this subject was passed July 23, 1866, by which every one of these ten
+States was arranged into districts and circuits.
+
+They have been called upon by Congress to act through their legislatures
+upon at least two amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
+As States they have ratified one amendment, which required the vote
+of twenty-seven States of the thirty-six then composing the Union.
+When the requisite twenty-seven votes were given in favor of that
+amendment--seven of which votes were given by seven of these ten
+States--it was proclaimed to be a part of the Constitution of the United
+States, and slavery was declared no longer to exist within the United
+States or any place subject to their jurisdiction. If these seven States
+were not legal States of the Union, it follows as an inevitable
+consequence that in some of the States slavery yet exists. It does not
+exist in these seven States, for they have abolished it also in their
+State constitutions; but Kentucky not having done so, it would still
+remain in that State. But, in truth, if this assumption that these
+States have no legal State governments be true, then the abolition of
+slavery by these illegal governments binds no one, for Congress now
+denies to these States the power to abolish slavery by denying to them
+the power to elect a legal State legislature, or to frame a constitution
+for any purpose, even for such a purpose as the abolition of slavery.
+
+As to the other constitutional amendment, having reference to suffrage,
+it happens that these States have not accepted it. The consequence is
+that it has never been proclaimed or understood, even by Congress, to be
+a part of the Constitution of the United States. The Senate of the
+United States has repeatedly given its sanction to the appointment of
+judges, district attorneys, and marshals for every one of these States;
+yet, if they are not legal States, not one of these judges is authorized
+to hold a court. So, too, both Houses of Congress have passed
+appropriation bills to pay all these judges, attorneys, and officers of
+the United States for exercising their functions in these States. Again,
+in the machinery of the internal-revenue laws all these States are
+districted, not as "Territories," but as "States."
+
+So much for continuous legislative recognition. The instances cited,
+however, fall far short of all that might be enumerated. Executive
+recognition, as is well known, has been frequent and unwavering. The
+same maybe said as to judicial recognition through the Supreme Court of
+the United States. That august tribunal, from first to last, in the
+administration of its duties _in banc_ and upon the circuit, has never
+failed to recognize these ten communities as legal States of the Union.
+The cases depending in that court upon appeal and writ of error from
+these States when the rebellion began have not been dismissed upon any
+idea of the cessation of jurisdiction. They were carefully continued
+from term to term until the rebellion was entirely subdued and peace
+reestablished, and then they were called for argument and consideration
+as if no insurrection had intervened. New cases, occurring since the
+rebellion, have come from these States before that court by writ of
+error and appeal, and even by original suit, where only "a State" can
+bring such a suit. These cases are entertained by that tribunal in the
+exercise of its acknowledged jurisdiction, which could not attach to
+them if they had come from any political body other than a State of the
+Union. Finally, in the allotment of their circuits made by the judges at
+the December term, 1865, every one of these States is put on the same
+footing of legality with all the other States of the Union. Virginia
+and North Carolina, being a part of the fourth circuit, are allotted to
+the Chief Justice. South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and
+Florida constitute the fifth circuit, and are allotted to the late Mr.
+Justice Wayne. Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas are allotted to the sixth
+judicial circuit, as to which there is a vacancy on the bench.
+
+The Chief Justice, in the exercise of his circuit duties, has recently
+held a circuit court in the State of North Carolina. If North Carolina
+is not a State of this Union, the Chief Justice had no authority to hold
+a court there, and every order, judgment, and decree rendered by him in
+that court were _coram non judice_ and void.
+
+Another ground on which these reconstruction acts are attempted to be
+sustained is this: That these ten States are conquered territory; that
+the constitutional relation in which they stood as States toward the
+Federal Government prior to the rebellion has given place to a new
+relation; that their territory is a conquered country and their citizens
+a conquered people, and that in this new relation Congress can govern
+them by military power.
+
+A title by conquest stands on clear ground; it is a new title acquired
+by war; it applies only to territory; for goods or movable things
+regularly captured in war are called "booty," or, if taken by individual
+soldiers, "plunder."
+
+There is not a foot of the land in any one of these ten States which
+the United States holds by conquest, save only such land as did not
+belong to either of these States or to any individual owner. I mean such
+lands as did belong to the pretended government called the Confederate
+States. These lands we may claim to hold by conquest. As to all other
+land or territory, whether belonging to the States or to individuals,
+the Federal Government has now no more title or right to it than
+it had before the rebellion. Our own forts, arsenals, navy-yards,
+custom-houses, and other Federal property situate in those States we
+now hold, not by the title of conquest, but by our old title, acquired
+by purchase or condemnation for public use, with compensation to
+former owners. We have not conquered these places, but have simply
+"repossessed" them.
+
+If we require more sites for forts, custom-houses, or other public use,
+we must acquire the title to them by purchase or appropriation in the
+regular mode. At this moment the United States, in the acquisition of
+sites for national cemeteries in these States, acquires title in the
+same way. The Federal courts sit in court-houses owned or leased by the
+United States, not in the court-houses of the States. The United States
+pays each of these States for the use of its jails. Finally, the United
+States levies its direct taxes and its internal revenue upon the
+property in these States, including the productions of the lands within
+their territorial limits, not by way of levy and contribution in the
+character of a conqueror, but in the regular way of taxation, under the
+same laws which apply to all the other States of the Union.
+
+From first to last, during the rebellion and since, the title of each of
+these States to the lands and public buildings owned by them has never
+been disturbed, and not a foot of it has ever been acquired by the
+United States, even under a title by confiscation, and not a foot of
+it has ever been taxed under Federal law.
+
+In conclusion I must respectfully ask the attention of Congress to the
+consideration of one more question arising under this bill. It vests in
+the military commander, subject only to the approval of the General of
+the Army of the United States, an unlimited power to remove from office
+any civil or military officer in each of these ten States, and the
+further power, subject to the same approval, to detail or appoint any
+military officer or soldier of the United States to perform the duties
+of the officer so removed, and to fill all vacancies occurring in those
+States by death, resignation, or otherwise.
+
+The military appointee thus required to perform the duties of a
+civil office according to the laws of the State, and, as such, required
+to take an oath, is for the time being a civil officer. What is his
+character? Is he a civil officer of the State or a civil officer of the
+United States? If he is a civil officer of the State, where is the
+Federal power under our Constitution which authorizes his appointment by
+any Federal officer? If, however, he is to be considered a civil officer
+of the United States, as his appointment and oath would seem to
+indicate, where is the authority for his appointment vested by the
+Constitution? The power of appointment of all officers of the United
+States, civil or military, where not provided for in the Constitution,
+is vested in the President, by and with the advice and consent of the
+Senate, with this exception, that Congress "may by law vest the
+appointment of such inferior officers as they think proper in the
+President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of Departments."
+But this bill, if these are to be considered inferior officers within
+the meaning of the Constitution, does not provide for their appointment
+by the President alone, or by the courts of law, or by the heads of
+Departments, but vests the appointment in one subordinate executive
+officer, subject to the approval of another subordinate executive
+officer. So that, if we put this question and fix the character of this
+military appointee either way, this provision of the bill is equally
+opposed to the Constitution.
+
+Take the case of a soldier or officer appointed to perform the office
+of judge in one of these States, and, as such, to administer the
+proper laws of the State. Where is the authority to be found in the
+Constitution for vesting in a military or an executive officer strict
+judicial functions to be exercised under State law? It has been again
+and again decided by the Supreme Court of the United States that acts
+of Congress which have attempted to vest _executive_ powers in the
+_judicial_ courts or judges of the United States are not warranted by
+the Constitution. If Congress can not clothe _a judge_ with merely
+_executive_ duties, how can they clothe _an officer_ or _soldier_ of the
+Army with _judicial_ duties over citizens of the United States who are
+not in the military or naval service? So, too, it has been repeatedly
+decided that Congress can not require a State officer, executive or
+judicial, to perform any duty enjoined upon him by a law of the United
+States. How, then, can Congress confer power upon an executive officer
+of the United States to perform such duties in a State? If Congress
+could not vest in a judge of one of these States any judicial authority
+under the United States by direct enactment, how can it accomplish the
+same thing indirectly, by removing the State judge and putting an
+officer of the United States in his place?
+
+To me these considerations are conclusive of the unconstitutionality
+of this part of the bill now before me, and I earnestly commend their
+consideration to the deliberate judgment of Congress.
+
+Within a period less than a year the legislation of Congress has
+attempted to strip the executive department of the Government of some
+of its essential powers. The Constitution and the oath provided in it
+devolve upon the President the power and duty to see that the laws are
+faithfully executed. The Constitution, in order to carry out this power,
+gives him the choice of the agents, and makes them subject to his
+control and supervision. But in the execution of these laws the
+constitutional obligation upon the President remains, but the power
+to exercise that constitutional duty is effectually taken away. The
+military commander is as to the power of appointment made to take the
+place of the President, and the General of the Army the place of the
+Senate; and any attempt on the part of the President to assert his own
+constitutional power may, under pretense of law, be met by official
+insubordination. It is to be feared that these military officers,
+looking to the authority given by these laws rather than to the letter
+of the Constitution, will recognize no authority but the commander of
+the district and the General of the Army.
+
+If there were no other objection than this to this proposed legislation,
+it would be sufficient. Whilst I hold the chief executive authority of
+the United States, whilst the obligation rests upon me to see that all
+the laws are faithfully executed, I can never willingly surrender that
+trust or the powers given for its execution. I can never give my assent
+to be made responsible for the faithful execution of laws, and at the
+same time surrender that trust and the powers which accompany it to any
+other executive officer, high or low, or to any number of executive
+officers. If this executive trust, vested by the Constitution in the
+President, is to be taken from him and vested in a subordinate officer,
+the responsibility will be with Congress in clothing the subordinate
+with unconstitutional power and with the officer who assumes its
+exercise.
+
+This interference with the constitutional authority of the executive
+department is an evil that will inevitably sap the foundations of our
+federal system; but it is not the worst evil of this legislation. It is
+a great public wrong to take from the President powers conferred on him
+alone by the Constitution, but the wrong is more flagrant and more
+dangerous when the powers so taken from the President are conferred upon
+subordinate executive officers, and especially upon military officers.
+Over nearly one-third of the States of the Union military power,
+regulated by no fixed law, rules supreme. Each one of the five district
+commanders, though not chosen by the people or responsible to them,
+exercises at this hour more executive power, military and civil, than
+the people have ever been willing to confer upon the head of the
+executive department, though chosen by and responsible to themselves.
+The remedy must come from the people themselves. They know what it is
+and how it is to be applied. At the present time they can not, according
+to the forms of the Constitution, repeal these laws; they can not remove
+or control this military despotism. The remedy is, nevertheless, in
+their hands; it is to be found in the ballot, and is a sure one if
+not controlled by fraud, overawed by arbitrary power, or, from apathy
+on their part, too long delayed. With abiding confidence in their
+patriotism, wisdom, and integrity, I am still hopeful of the future, and
+that in the end the rod of despotism will be broken, the armed heel of
+power lifted from the necks of the people, and the principles of a
+violated Constitution preserved.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 19, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+For reasons heretofore stated in my several veto messages to Congress
+upon the subject of reconstruction, I return without my approval the
+"Joint resolution to carry into effect the several acts providing for
+the more efficient government of the rebel States," and appropriating
+for that purpose the sum of $1,000,000.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+PROCLAMATIONS.
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas by the Constitution of the United States the executive power is
+vested in a President of the United States of America, who is bound by
+solemn oath faithfully to execute the office of President and to the
+best of his ability to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of
+the United States, and is by the same instrument made Commander in Chief
+of the Army and Navy of the United States and is required to take care
+that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+
+Whereas by the same Constitution it is provided that the said
+Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made in
+pursuance thereof shall be the supreme law of the land, and the judges
+in every State shall be bound thereby; and
+
+Whereas in and by the same Constitution the judicial power of the United
+States is vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as
+Congress may from time to time ordain and establish, and the aforesaid
+judicial power is declared to extend to all cases in law and equity
+arising under the Constitution, the laws of the United States, and the
+treaties which shall be made under their authority; and
+
+Whereas all officers, civil and military, are bound by oath that they
+will support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign
+and domestic, and will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and
+
+Whereas all officers of the Army and Navy of the United States, in
+accepting their commissions under the laws of Congress and the Rules and
+Articles of War, incur an obligation to observe, obey, and follow such
+directions as they shall from time to time receive from the President or
+the General or other superior officers set over them according to the
+rules and discipline of war; and
+
+Whereas it is provided by law that whenever, by reason of unlawful
+obstructions, combinations, or assemblages of persons or rebellion
+against the authority of the Government of the United States, it shall
+become impracticable, in the judgment of the President of the United
+States, to enforce by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings the
+laws of the United States within any State or Territory, the Executive
+in that case is authorized and required to secure their faithful
+execution by the employment of the land and naval forces; and
+
+Whereas impediments and obstructions, serious in their character, have
+recently been interposed in the States of North Carolina and South
+Carolina, hindering and preventing for a time a proper enforcement there
+of the laws of the United States and of the judgments and decrees of a
+lawful court thereof, in disregard of the command of the President of
+the United States; and
+
+Whereas reasonable and well-founded apprehensions exist that such
+ill-advised and unlawful proceedings may be again attempted there or
+elsewhere:
+
+Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do
+hereby warn all persons against obstructing or hindering in any manner
+whatsoever the faithful execution of the Constitution and the laws; and
+I do solemnly enjoin and command all officers of the Government, civil
+and military, to render due submission and obedience to said laws and to
+the judgments and decrees of the courts of the United States, and to
+give all the aid in their power necessary to the prompt enforcement and
+execution of such laws, decrees, judgments, and processes.
+
+And I do hereby enjoin upon the officers of the Army and Navy to assist
+and sustain the courts and other civil authorities of the United States
+in a faithful administration of the laws thereof and in the judgments,
+decrees, mandates, and processes of the courts of the United States; and
+I call upon all good and well-disposed citizens of the United States
+to remember that upon the said Constitution and laws, and upon the
+judgments, decrees, and processes of the courts made in accordance with
+the same, depend the protection of the lives, liberty, property, and
+happiness of the people. And I exhort them everywhere to testify their
+devotion to their country, their pride in its prosperity and greatness,
+and their determination to uphold its free institutions by a hearty
+cooperation in the efforts of the Government to sustain the authority of
+the law, to maintain the supremacy of the Federal Constitution, and to
+preserve unimpaired the integrity of the National Union.
+
+In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be
+affixed to these presents and sign the same with my hand.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, the 3d day of September, in the year
+1867.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas in the month of July, A.D. 1861, the two Houses of Congress,
+with extraordinary unanimity, solemnly declared that the war then
+existing was not waged on the part of the Government in any spirit of
+oppression nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor purpose
+of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established
+institutions of the States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy
+of the Constitution and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity,
+equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired, and that as soon
+as these objects should be accomplished the war ought to cease; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States, on the 8th day of December,
+A.D. 1863, and on the 26th day of March, A.D. 1864, did, with the
+objects of suppressing the then existing rebellion, of inducing all
+persons to return to their loyalty, and of restoring the authority of
+the United States, issue proclamations offering amnesty and pardon to
+all persons who had, directly or indirectly, participated in the then
+existing rebellion, except as in those proclamations was specified and
+reserved; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States did on the 29th day of May,
+A.D. 1865, issue a further proclamation, with the same objects before
+mentioned, and to the end that the authority of the Government of the
+United States might be restored and that peace, order, and freedom might
+be established, and the President did by the said last-mentioned
+proclamation proclaim and declare that he thereby granted to all persons
+who had, directly or indirectly, participated in the then existing
+rebellion, except as therein excepted, amnesty and pardon, with
+restoration of all rights of property, except as to slaves, and except
+in certain cases where legal proceedings had been instituted, but upon
+condition that such persons should take and subscribe an oath therein
+prescribed, which oath should be registered for permanent preservation;
+and
+
+Whereas in and by the said last-mentioned proclamation of the 29th
+day of May, A.D. 1865, fourteen extensive classes of persons therein
+specially described were altogether excepted and excluded from the
+benefits thereof; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States did, on the 2d day of April,
+A.D. 1866, issue a proclamation declaring that the insurrection was at
+an end and was thenceforth to be so regarded; and
+
+Whereas there now exists no organized armed resistance of misguided
+citizens or others to the authority of the United States in the
+States of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee,
+Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Florida, and Texas, and the
+laws can be sustained and enforced therein by the proper civil
+authority, State or Federal, and the people of said States are well and
+loyally disposed, and have conformed, or, if permitted to do so, will
+conform in their legislation to the condition of affairs growing out
+of the amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibiting
+slavery within the limits and jurisdiction of the United States; and
+
+Whereas there no longer exists any reasonable ground to apprehend within
+the States which were involved in the late rebellion any renewal thereof
+or any unlawful resistance by the people of said States to the
+Constitution and laws of the United States; and
+
+Whereas large standing armies, military occupation, martial law,
+military tribunals, and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of
+_habeas corpus_ and the right of trial by jury are in time of peace
+dangerous to public liberty, incompatible with the individual rights of
+the citizen, contrary to the genius and spirit of our free institutions,
+and exhaustive of the national resources, and ought not, therefore,
+to be sanctioned or allowed except in cases of actual necessity for
+repelling invasion or suppressing insurrection or rebellion; and
+
+Whereas a retaliatory or vindictive policy, attended by unnecessary
+disqualifications, pains, penalties, confiscations, and disfranchisements,
+now, as always, could only tend to hinder reconciliation among the people
+and national restoration, while it must seriously embarrass, obstruct,
+and repress popular energies and national industry and enterprise; and
+
+Whereas for these reasons it is now deemed essential to the public
+welfare and to the more perfect restoration of constitutional law and
+order that the said last-mentioned proclamation so as aforesaid issued
+on the 29th day of May, A.D. 1865, should be modified, and that the full
+and beneficent pardon conceded thereby should be opened and further
+extended to a large number of the persons who by its aforesaid
+exceptions have been hitherto excluded from Executive clemency:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, do hereby proclaim and declare that the full pardon
+described in the said proclamation of the 29th day of May, A.D. 1865,
+shall henceforth be opened and extended to all persons who, directly or
+indirectly, participated in the late rebellion, with the restoration
+of all privileges, immunities, and rights of property, except as to
+property with regard to slaves, and except in cases of legal proceedings
+under the laws of the United States; but upon this condition,
+nevertheless, that every such person who shall seek to avail himself of
+this proclamation shall take and subscribe the following oath and shall
+cause the same to be registered for permanent preservation in the same
+manner and with the same effect as with the oath prescribed in the said
+proclamation of the 29th day of May, 1865, namely:
+
+  I, ---- ----, do solemnly swear (or affirm), 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 laws and proclamations which have been made during the late
+  rebellion with reference to the emancipation of slaves. So help me God.
+
+
+The following persons, and no others, are excluded from the benefits of
+this proclamation and of the said proclamation of the 29th day of May,
+1865, namely:
+
+First. The chief or pretended chief executive officers, including the
+President, the Vice-President, and all heads of departments of the
+pretended Confederate or rebel government, and all who were agents
+thereof in foreign states and countries, and all who held or pretended
+to hold in the service of the said pretended Confederate government a
+military rank or title above the grade of brigadier-general or naval
+rank or title above that of captain, and all who were or pretended to be
+governors of States while maintaining, aiding, abetting, or submitting
+to and acquiescing in the rebellion.
+
+Second. All persons who in any way treated otherwise than as lawful
+prisoners of war persons who in any capacity were employed or engaged in
+the military or naval service of the United States.
+
+Third. All persons who at the time they may seek to obtain the benefits
+of this proclamation are actually in civil, military, or naval
+confinement or custody, or legally held to bail, either before or after
+conviction, and all persons who were engaged, directly or indirectly, in
+the assassination of the late President of the United States or in any
+plot or conspiracy in any manner therewith connected.
+
+In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, the 7th day of September, A.D. 1867, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-second.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+
+Whereas it has been ascertained that in the nineteenth paragraph of
+the proclamation of the President of the United States of the 20th of
+August, 1866, declaring the insurrection at an end which had theretofore
+existed in the State of Texas, the previous proclamation of the 13th of
+June, 1865, instead of that of the 2d day of April, 1866, was referred
+to:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, do hereby declare and proclaim that the said words
+"13th of June, 1865," are to be regarded as erroneous in the paragraph
+adverted to, and that the words "2d day of April, 1866," are to be
+considered as substituted therefor.
+
+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 October, A.D. 1867, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-second.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+In conformity with a recent custom that may now be regarded as
+established on national consent and approval, I, Andrew Johnson,
+President of the United States, do hereby recommend to my
+fellow-citizens that Thursday, the 28th day of November next, be set
+apart and observed throughout the Republic as a day of national
+thanksgiving and praise to the Almighty Ruler of Nations, with whom are
+dominion and fear, who maketh peace in His high places.
+
+Resting and refraining from secular labors on that day, let us
+reverently and devoutly give thanks to our Heavenly Father for the
+mercies and blessings with which He has crowned the now closing year.
+Especially let us remember that He has covered our land through all
+its extent with greatly needed and very abundant harvests; that He has
+caused industry to prosper, not only in our fields, but also in our
+workshops, in our mines, and in our forests. He has permitted us to
+multiply ships upon our lakes and rivers and upon the high seas, and at
+the same time to extend our iron roads so far into the secluded places
+of the continent as to guarantee speedy overland intercourse between
+the two oceans. He has inclined our hearts to turn away from domestic
+contentions and commotions consequent upon a distracting and desolating
+civil war, and to walk more and more in the ancient ways of loyalty,
+conciliation, and brotherly love. He has blessed the peaceful efforts
+with which we have established new and important commercial treaties
+with foreign nations, while we have at the same time strengthened our
+national defenses and greatly enlarged our national borders.
+
+While thus rendering the unanimous and heartfelt tribute of national
+praise and thanksgiving which is so justly due to Almighty God, let us
+not fail to implore Him that the same divine protection and care which
+we have hitherto so undeservedly and yet so constantly enjoyed may be
+continued to our country and our people throughout all their generations
+forever.
+
+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 26th day of October, A.D. 1867, and
+of the Independence of the United States the ninety-second.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 10.
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, March 11, 1867_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+II. In pursuance of the act of Congress entitled "An act to provide for
+the more efficient government of the rebel States," the President
+directs the following assignments to be made:
+
+First District, State of Virginia, to be commanded by Brevet
+Major-General J.M. Schofield. Headquarters, Richmond, Va.
+
+Second District, consisting of North Carolina and South Carolina, to be
+commanded by Major-General D.E. Sickles. Headquarters, Columbia, S.C.
+
+Third District, consisting of the States of Georgia, Florida, and
+Alabama, to be commanded by Major-General G.H. Thomas. Headquarters,
+Montgomery, Ala.
+
+Fourth District, consisting of the States of Mississippi and Arkansas,
+to be commanded by Brevet Major-General E.O.C. Ord. Headquarters,
+Vicksburg, Miss.
+
+Fifth District, consisting of the States of Louisiana and Texas, to be
+commanded by Major-General P.H. Sheridan. Headquarters, New Orleans, La.
+
+The powers of departmental commanders are hereby delegated to the
+above-named district commanders.
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 18.
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, March 15, 1867_.
+
+The President directs that the following change be made, at the request
+of Major-General Thomas, in the assignment announced in General Orders,
+No. 10, of March 11, 1867, of commanders of districts, under the act of
+Congress entitled "An act to provide for the more efficient government
+of the rebel States," and of the Department of the Cumberland, created
+in General Orders, No. 14, of March 12, 1867:
+
+Brevet Major-General John Pope to command the Third District, consisting
+of the States of Georgia, Florida, and Alabama; and Major-General George
+H. Thomas to command the Department of the Cumberland
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, June 20, 1867_.
+
+Whereas several commanders of military districts created by the acts of
+Congress known as the reconstruction acts have expressed doubts as to
+the proper construction thereof and in respect to some of their powers
+and duties under said acts, and have applied to the Executive for
+information in relation thereto; and
+
+Whereas the said acts of Congress have been referred to the
+Attorney-General for his opinion thereon, and the said acts and the
+opinion of the Attorney-General have been fully and carefully considered
+by the President in conference with the heads of the respective
+Departments:
+
+The President accepts the following as a practical interpretation of the
+aforesaid acts of Congress on the points therein presented, and directs
+the same to be transmitted to the respective military commanders for
+their information, in order that there may be uniformity in the
+execution of said acts:
+
+1. The oath prescribed in the supplemental act defines all the
+qualifications required, and every person who can take that oath is
+entitled to have his name entered upon the list of voters.
+
+2. The board of registration have no authority to administer any other
+oath to the person applying for registration than this prescribed oath,
+nor to administer an oath to any other person touching the
+qualifications of the applicant or the falsity of the oath so taken by
+him. The act, to guard against falsity in the oath, provides that if
+false the person taking it shall be tried and punished for perjury.
+
+No provision is made for challenging the qualifications of the applicant
+or entering upon any trial or investigation of his qualifications,
+either by witnesses or any other form of proof.
+
+3. _As to citizenship and residence_:
+
+The applicant for registration must be a citizen of the State and of the
+United States, and must be a resident of a county or parish included in
+the election district. He may be registered if he has been such citizen
+for a period less than twelve months at the time he applies for
+registration, but he can not vote at any election unless his citizenship
+has _then_ extended to the full term of one year. As to such a person,
+the exact length of his citizenship should be noted opposite his name on
+the list, so that it may appear on the day of election, upon reference
+to the list, whether the full term has then been accomplished.
+
+4. An unnaturalized person can not take this oath, but an alien who has
+been naturalized can take it, and no other proof of naturalization can
+be required from him.
+
+5. No one who is not 21 years of age at the time of registration can
+take the oath, for he must swear that he has then attained that age.
+
+6. No one who has been disfranchised for participation in any rebellion
+against the United States or for felony committed against the laws of
+any State or of the United States can take this oath.
+
+The actual participation in a rebellion or the actual commission of a
+felony does not amount to disfranchisement. The sort of disfranchisement
+here meant is that which is declared by law passed by competent
+authority, or which has been fixed upon the criminal by the sentence of
+the court which tried him for the crime.
+
+No law of the United States has declared the penalty of disfranchisement
+for participation in rebellion alone; nor is it known that any such law
+exists in either of these ten States, except, perhaps, Virginia, as to
+which State special instructions will be given.
+
+7. _As to disfranchisement arising from having held office followed by
+participation in rebellion_:
+
+This is the most important part of the oath, and requires strict
+attention to arrive at its meaning. The applicant must swear or affirm
+as follows:
+
+  That I have never been a member of any State legislature, nor held any
+  executive or judicial office in any State, and afterwards engaged in
+  an insurrection or rebellion against the United States or given aid or
+  comfort to the enemies thereof; that I have never taken an oath as a
+  member of Congress of the United States, or as an officer of the United
+  States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive
+  or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the
+  United States, and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion
+  against the United States or given aid or comfort to the enemies
+  thereof.
+
+
+Two elements must concur in order to disqualify a person under these
+clauses: First, the office and official oath to support the Constitution
+of the United States; second, engaging afterwards in rebellion. Both
+must exist to work disqualification, and must happen in the order of
+time mentioned.
+
+A person who has held an office and taken the oath to support the
+Federal Constitution and has not afterwards engaged in rebellion is not
+disqualified. So, too, a person who has engaged in rebellion, but has
+not theretofore held an office and taken that oath, is not disqualified.
+
+8. _Officers of the United States_:
+
+As to these the language is without limitation. The person who has at
+any time prior to the rebellion held an office, civil or military, under
+the United States, and has taken an official oath to support the
+Constitution of the United States, is subject to disqualification.
+
+9. _Militia officers_ of any State prior to the rebellion are not
+subject to disqualification.
+
+10. _Municipal officers_--that is to say, officers of incorporated
+cities, towns, and villages, such as mayors, aldermen, town council,
+police, and other city or town officers--are not subject to
+disqualification.
+
+11. Persons who have prior to the rebellion been members of the Congress
+of the United States or members of a State legislature are subject to
+disqualification, but those who have been members of conventions framing
+or amending the Constitution of a State prior to the rebellion are not
+subject to disqualification.
+
+12. All the executive or judicial officers of any State who took an oath
+to support the Constitution of the United States are subject to
+disqualification, including county officers. They are subject to
+disqualification if they were required to take as a part of their
+official oath _the oath to support the Constitution of the United
+States_.
+
+13. Persons who exercised mere employment under State authority are not
+disqualified; such as commissioners to lay out roads, commissioners of
+public works, visitors of State institutions, directors of State
+institutions, examiners of banks, notaries public, and commissioners to
+take acknowledgments of deeds.
+
+
+ENGAGING IN REBELLION.
+
+Having specified what offices held by anyone prior to the rebellion come
+within the meaning of the law, it is necessary next to set forth what
+subsequent conduct fixes upon such person the offense of engaging in
+rebellion. Two things must exist as to any person to disqualify him from
+voting: First, the office held prior to the rebellion, and, afterwards,
+participation in the rebellion.
+
+14. An act to fix upon a person the offense of engaging in the rebellion
+under this law must be an overt and voluntary act, done with the intent
+of aiding or furthering the common unlawful purpose. A person forced
+into the rebel service by conscription or under a paramount authority
+which he could not safely disobey, and who would not have entered such
+service if left to the free exercise of his own will, can not be held
+to be disqualified from voting.
+
+15. Mere acts of charity, where the intent is to relieve the wants of
+the object of such charity, and not done in aid of the cause in which he
+may have been engaged, do not disqualify; but organized contributions
+of food and clothing for the general relief of persons engaged in the
+rebellion, and not of a merely sanitary character, but contributed to
+enable them to perform their unlawful object, may be classed with acts
+which do disqualify.
+
+Forced contributions to the rebel cause in the form of taxes or military
+assessments, which a person was compelled to pay or contribute, do not
+disqualify; but voluntary contributions to the rebel cause, even such
+indirect contributions as arise from the voluntary loan of money to
+rebel authorities or purchase of bonds or securities created to afford
+the means of carrying on the rebellion, will work disqualification.
+
+16. All those who in legislative or other official capacity were engaged
+in the furtherance of the common unlawful purpose, where the duties of
+the office necessarily had relation to the support of the rebellion,
+such as members of the rebel conventions, congresses, and legislatures,
+diplomatic agents of the rebel Confederacy, and other officials whose
+offices were created for the purpose of more effectually carrying on
+hostilities or whose duties appertained to the support of the rebel
+cause, must be held to be disqualified.
+
+But officers who during the rebellion discharged official duties not
+incident to war, but only such duties as belong even to a state of peace
+and were necessary to the preservation of order and the administration
+of law, are not to be considered as thereby engaging in rebellion or as
+disqualified. Disloyal sentiments, opinions, or sympathies would not
+disqualify, but where a person has by speech or by writing incited
+others to engage in rebellion he must come under the disqualification.
+
+17. _The duties of the board appointed to superintend the elections_:
+
+This board, having the custody of the list of registered voters in the
+district for which it is constituted, must see that the name of the
+person offering to vote is found upon the registration list, and if such
+proves to be the fact it is the duty of the board to receive his vote if
+then qualified by residence. They can not receive the vote of any person
+whose name is not upon the list, though he may be ready to take the
+registration oath, and although he may satisfy them that he was unable
+to have his name registered at the proper time, in consequence of
+absence, sickness, or other cause.
+
+The board can not enter into any inquiry as to the qualifications of any
+person whose name is not on the registration list, or as to the
+qualifications of any person whose name is on the list.
+
+18. _The mode of voting_ is provided in the act to be _by ballot_. The
+board will keep a record and poll book of the election, showing the
+votes, list of voters, and the persons elected by a plurality of the
+votes cast at the election, and make returns of these to the commanding
+general of the district.
+
+19. The board appointed for registration and for superintending the
+elections must take the oath prescribed by the act of Congress approved
+July 2, 1862, entitled "An act to prescribe an oath of office."
+
+By order of the President:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, August 12, 1867_,
+
+Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by
+the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby suspended
+from office as Secretary of War, and will cease to exercise any and all
+functions pertaining to the same.
+
+You will at once transfer to General Ulysses S. Grant, who has this day
+been authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_,
+all records, books, and other property now in your custody and charge.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., August 12, 1867_.
+
+General ULYSSES S. GRANT,
+
+_Washington, D.C._
+
+SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day suspended as
+Secretary of War, you are hereby authorized and empowered to act as
+Secretary of War _ad interim_, and will at once enter upon the discharge
+of the duties of the office.
+
+The Secretary of War has been instructed to transfer to you all the
+records, books, papers, and other public property now in his custody
+and charge.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., August 17, 1867_.
+
+Major-General George H. Thomas is hereby assigned to the command of the
+Fifth Military District, created by the act of Congress passed on the 2d
+day of March, 1867.
+
+Major-General P.H. Sheridan is hereby assigned to the command of the
+Department of the Missouri.
+
+Major-General Winfield S. Hancock is hereby assigned to the command of
+the Department of the Cumberland.
+
+The Secretary of War _ad interim_ will give the necessary instructions
+to carry this order into effect.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., August 26, 1867_.
+
+General U.S. GRANT,
+
+_Secretary of War ad interim_.
+
+SIR: In consequence of the unfavorable condition of the health of
+Major-General George H. Thomas, as reported to you in Surgeon Hasson's
+dispatch of the 21st instant, my order dated August 17, 1867, is hereby
+modified so as to assign Major-General Winfield S. Hancock to the
+command of the Fifth Military District, created by the act of Congress
+passed March 2, 1867, and of the military department comprising the
+States of Louisiana and Texas. On being relieved from the command
+of the Department of the Missouri by Major-General P. H. Sheridan,
+Major-General Hancock will proceed directly to New Orleans, La.,
+and, assuming the command to which he is hereby assigned, will, when
+necessary to a faithful execution of the laws, exercise any and all
+powers conferred by acts of Congress upon district commanders and any
+and all authority pertaining to officers in command of military
+departments.
+
+Major-General P.H. Sheridan will at once turn over his present command
+to the officer next in rank to himself, and, proceeding without delay
+to Fort Leavenworth, Kans., will relieve Major-General Hancock of the
+command of the Department of the Missouri.
+
+Major-General George H. Thomas will until further orders remain in
+command of the Department of the Cumberland.
+
+Very respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., August 26, 1867_.
+
+Brevet Major-General Edward R.S. Canby is hereby assigned to the command
+of the Second Military District, created by the act of Congress of March
+2, 1867, and of the Military Department of the South, embracing the
+States of North Carolina and South Carolina. He will, as soon as
+practicable, relieve Major-General Daniel E. Sickles, and, on assuming
+the command to which he is hereby assigned, will, when necessary to a
+faithful execution of the laws, exercise any and all powers conferred by
+acts of Congress upon district commanders and any and all authority
+pertaining to officers in command of military departments.
+
+Major-General Daniel E. Sickles is hereby relieved from the command of
+the Second Military District.
+
+The Secretary of War _ad interim_ will give the necessary instructions
+to carry this order into effect.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., September 4, 1867_.
+
+The heads of the several Executive Departments of the Government are
+instructed to furnish each person holding an appointment in their
+respective Departments with an official copy of the proclamation of the
+President bearing date the 3d instant, with directions strictly to
+observe its requirements for an earnest support of the Constitution of
+the United States and a faithful execution of the laws which have been
+made in pursuance thereof.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+[Note.--The Fortieth Congress, second session, met December 2, 1867, in
+conformity to the Constitution of the United States, and on July 27,
+1868, in accordance with the concurrent resolution of July 24, adjourned
+to September 21; again met September 21, and adjourned to October 16;
+again met October 16, and adjourned to November 10; again met November
+10 and adjourned to December 7, 1868; the latter meetings and
+adjournments being in accordance with the concurrent resolution of
+September 21.]
+
+
+
+
+THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 3, 1867_.
+
+_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+The continued disorganization of the Union, to which the President has
+so often called the attention of Congress, is yet a subject of profound
+and patriotic concern. We may, however, find some relief from that
+anxiety in the reflection that the painful political situation, although
+before untried by ourselves, is not new in the experience of nations.
+Political science, perhaps as highly perfected in our own time and
+country as in any other, has not yet disclosed any means by which civil
+wars can be absolutely prevented. An enlightened nation, however, with a
+wise and beneficent constitution of free government, may diminish their
+frequency and mitigate their severity by directing all its proceedings
+in accordance with its fundamental law.
+
+When a civil war has been brought to a close, it is manifestly the first
+interest and duty of the state to repair the injuries which the war has
+inflicted, and to secure the benefit of the lessons it teaches as fully
+and as speedily as possible. This duty was, upon the termination of the
+rebellion, promptly accepted, not only by the executive department, but
+by the insurrectionary States themselves, and restoration in the first
+moment of peace was believed to be as easy and certain as it was
+indispensable. The expectations, however, then so reasonably and
+confidently entertained were disappointed by legislation from which
+I felt constrained by my obligations to the Constitution to withhold
+my assent.
+
+It is therefore a source of profound regret that in complying with the
+obligation imposed upon the President by the Constitution to give to
+Congress from time to time information of the state of the Union I am
+unable to communicate any definitive adjustment, satisfactory to the
+American people, of the questions which since the close of the rebellion
+have agitated the public mind. On the contrary, candor compels me to
+declare that at this time there is no Union as our fathers understood
+the term, and as they meant it to be understood by us. The Union which
+they established can exist only where all the States are represented in
+both Houses of Congress; where one State is as free as another to
+regulate its internal concerns according to its own will, and where the
+laws of the central Government, strictly confined to matters of national
+jurisdiction, apply with equal force to all the people of every section.
+That such is not the present "state of the Union" is a melancholy fact,
+and we must all acknowledge that the restoration of the States to their
+proper legal relations with the Federal Government and with one another,
+according to the terms of the original compact, would be the greatest
+temporal blessing which God, in His kindest providence, could bestow
+upon this nation. It becomes our imperative duty to consider whether
+or not it is impossible to effect this most desirable consummation.
+
+The Union and the Constitution are inseparable. As long as one is obeyed
+by all parties, the other will be preserved; and if one is destroyed,
+both must perish together. The destruction of the Constitution will be
+followed by other and still greater calamities. It was ordained not only
+to form a more perfect union between the States, but to "establish
+justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense,
+promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to
+ourselves and our posterity." Nothing but implicit obedience to its
+requirements in all parts of the country will accomplish these great
+ends. Without that obedience we can look forward only to continual
+outrages upon individual rights, incessant breaches of the public peace,
+national weakness, financial dishonor, the total loss of our prosperity,
+the general corruption of morals, and the final extinction of popular
+freedom. To save our country from evils so appalling as these, we should
+renew our efforts again and again.
+
+To me the process of restoration seems perfectly plain and simple. It
+consists merely in a faithful application of the Constitution and laws.
+The execution of the laws is not now obstructed or opposed by physical
+force. There is no military or other necessity, real or pretended, which
+can prevent obedience to the Constitution, either North or South.
+All the rights and all the obligations of States and individuals
+can be protected and enforced by means perfectly consistent with the
+fundamental law. The courts may be everywhere open, and if open their
+process would be unimpeded. Crimes against the United States can be
+prevented or punished by the proper judicial authorities in a manner
+entirely practicable and legal. There is therefore no reason why the
+Constitution should not be obeyed, unless those who exercise its powers
+have determined that it shall be disregarded and violated. The mere
+naked will of this Government, or of some one or more of its branches,
+is the only obstacle that can exist to a perfect union of all the
+States.
+
+On this momentous question and some of the measures growing out of it
+I have had the misfortune to differ from Congress, and have expressed
+my convictions without reserve, though with becoming deference to the
+opinion of the legislative department. Those convictions are not only
+unchanged, but strengthened by subsequent events and further reflection.
+The transcendent importance of the subject will be a sufficient excuse
+for calling your attention to some of the reasons which have so strongly
+influenced my own judgment. The hope that we may all finally concur in a
+mode of settlement consistent at once with our true interests and with
+our sworn duties to the Constitution is too natural and too just to be
+easily relinquished.
+
+It is clear to my apprehension that the States lately in rebellion are
+still members of the National Union. When did they cease to be so? The
+"ordinances of secession" adopted by a portion (in most of them a very
+small portion) of their citizens were mere nullities. If we admit now
+that they were valid and effectual for the purpose intended by their
+authors, we sweep from under our feet the whole ground upon which we
+justified the war. Were those States afterwards expelled from the Union
+by the war? The direct contrary was averred by this Government to be its
+purpose, and was so understood by all those who gave their blood and
+treasure to aid in its prosecution. It can not be that a successful
+war, waged for the preservation of the Union, had the legal effect of
+dissolving it. The victory of the nation's arms was not the disgrace
+of her policy; the defeat of secession on the battlefield was not the
+triumph of its lawless principle. Nor could Congress, with or without
+the consent of the Executive, do anything which would have the effect,
+directly or indirectly, of separating the States from each other.
+To dissolve the Union is to repeal the Constitution which holds it
+together, and that is a power which does not belong to any department
+of this Government, or to all of them united.
+
+This is so plain that it has been acknowledged by all branches of the
+Federal Government. The Executive (my predecessor as well as myself) and
+the heads of all the Departments have uniformly acted upon the principle
+that the Union is not only undissolved, but indissoluble. Congress
+submitted an amendment of the Constitution to be ratified by the
+Southern States, and accepted their acts of ratification as a necessary
+and lawful exercise of their highest function. If they were not States,
+or were States out of the Union, their consent to a change in the
+fundamental law of the Union would have been nugatory, and Congress in
+asking it committed a political absurdity. The judiciary has also given
+the solemn sanction of its authority to the same view of the case. The
+judges of the Supreme Court have included the Southern States in their
+circuits, and they are constantly, _in banc_ and elsewhere, exercising
+jurisdiction which does not belong to them unless those States are
+States of the Union.
+
+If the Southern States are component parts of the Union, the
+Constitution is the supreme law for them, as it is for all the other
+States. They are bound to obey it, and so are we. The right of the
+Federal Government, which is clear and unquestionable, to enforce the
+Constitution upon them implies the correlative obligation on our part
+to observe its limitations and execute its guaranties. Without the
+Constitution we are nothing; by, through, and under the Constitution we
+are what it makes us. We may doubt the wisdom of the law, we may not
+approve of its provisions, but we can not violate it merely because it
+seems to confine our powers within limits narrower than we could wish.
+It is not a question of individual or class or sectional interest, much
+less of party predominance, but of duty--of high and sacred duty--which
+we are all sworn to perform. If we can not support the Constitution with
+the cheerful alacrity of those who love and believe in it, we must give
+to it at least the fidelity of public servants who act under solemn
+obligations and commands which they dare not disregard.
+
+The constitutional duty is not the only one which requires the States
+to be restored. There is another consideration which, though of minor
+importance, is yet of great weight. On the 22d day of July, 1861,
+Congress declared by an almost unanimous vote of both Houses that the
+war should be conducted solely for the purpose of preserving the Union
+and maintaining the supremacy of the Federal Constitution and laws,
+without impairing the dignity, equality, and rights of the States or of
+individuals, and that when this was done the war should cease. I do not
+say that this declaration is personally binding on those who joined in
+making it; any more than individual members of Congress are personally
+bound to pay a public debt created under a law for which they voted.
+But it was a solemn, public, official pledge of the national honor,
+and I can not imagine upon what grounds the repudiation of it is to
+be justified. If it be said that we are not bound to keep faith with
+rebels, let it be remembered that this promise was not made to rebels
+only. Thousands of true men in the South were drawn to our standard by
+it, and hundreds of thousands in the North gave their lives in the
+belief that it would be carried out. It was made on the day after the
+first great battle of the war had been fought and lost. All patriotic
+and intelligent men then saw the necessity of giving such an assurance,
+and believed that without it the war would end in disaster to our cause.
+Having given that assurance in the extremity of our peril, the violation
+of it now, in the day of our power, would be a rude rending of that good
+faith which holds the moral world together; our country would cease to
+have any claim upon the confidence of men; it would make the war not
+only a failure, but a fraud.
+
+Being sincerely convinced that these views are correct, I would be
+unfaithful to my duty if I did not recommend the repeal of the acts of
+Congress which place ten of the Southern States under the domination of
+military masters. If calm reflection shall satisfy a majority of your
+honorable bodies that the acts referred to are not only a violation of
+the national faith, but in direct conflict with the Constitution, I dare
+not permit myself to doubt that you will immediately strike them from
+the statute book.
+
+To demonstrate the unconstitutional character of those acts I need do no
+more than refer to their general provisions. It must be seen at once
+that they are not authorized. To dictate what alterations shall be made
+in the constitutions of the several States; to control the elections of
+State legislators and State officers, members of Congress and electors
+of President and Vice-President, by arbitrarily declaring who shall
+vote and who shall be excluded from that privilege; to dissolve State
+legislatures or prevent them from assembling; to dismiss judges and
+other civil functionaries of the State and appoint others without regard
+to State law; to organize and operate all the political machinery of the
+States; to regulate the whole administration of their domestic and local
+affairs according to the mere will of strange and irresponsible agents,
+sent among them for that purpose--these are powers not granted to the
+Federal Government or to any one of its branches. Not being granted, we
+violate our trust by assuming them as palpably as we would by acting in
+the face of a positive interdict; for the Constitution forbids us to do
+whatever it does not affirmatively authorize, either by express words or
+by clear implication. If the authority we desire to use does not come to
+us through the Constitution, we can exercise it only by usurpation, and
+usurpation is the most dangerous of political crimes. By that crime the
+enemies of free government in all ages have worked out their designs
+against public liberty and private right. It leads directly and
+immediately to the establishment of absolute rule, for undelegated
+power is always unlimited and unrestrained.
+
+The acts of Congress in question are not only objectionable for their
+assumption of ungranted power, but many of their provisions are in
+conflict with the direct prohibitions of the Constitution. The
+Constitution commands that a republican form of government shall be
+guaranteed to all the States; that no person shall be deprived of life,
+liberty, or property without due process of law, arrested without a
+judicial warrant, or punished without a fair trial before an impartial
+jury; that the privilege of _habeas corpus_ shall not be denied in time
+of peace, and that no bill of attainder shall be passed even against a
+single individual. Yet the system of measures established by these acts
+of Congress does totally subvert and destroy the form as well as the
+substance of republican government in the ten States to which they
+apply. It binds them hand and foot in absolute slavery, and subjects
+them to a strange and hostile power, more unlimited and more likely to
+be abused than any other now known among civilized men. It tramples down
+all those rights in which the essence of liberty consists, and which a
+free government is always most careful to protect. It denies the _habeas
+corpus_ and the trial by jury. Personal freedom, property, and life, if
+assailed by the passion, the prejudice, or the rapacity of the ruler,
+have no security whatever. It has the effect of a bill of attainder or
+bill of pains and penalties, not upon a few individuals, but upon whole
+masses, including the millions who inhabit the subject States, and even
+their unborn children. These wrongs, being expressly forbidden, can not
+be constitutionally inflicted upon any portion of our people, no matter
+how they may have come within our jurisdiction, and no matter whether
+they live in States, Territories, or districts.
+
+I have no desire to save from the proper and just consequences of their
+great crime those who engaged in rebellion against the Government, but
+as a mode of punishment the measures under consideration are the most
+unreasonable that could be invented. Many of those people are perfectly
+innocent; many kept their fidelity to the Union untainted to the last;
+many were incapable of any legal offense; a large proportion even of the
+persons able to bear arms were forced into rebellion against their will,
+and of those who are guilty with their own consent the degrees of guilt
+are as various as the shades of their character and temper. But these
+acts of Congress confound them all together in one common doom.
+Indiscriminate vengeance upon classes, sects, and parties, or upon whole
+communities, for offenses committed by a portion of them against the
+governments to which they owed obedience was common in the barbarous
+ages of the world; but Christianity and civilization have made such
+progress that recourse to a punishment so cruel and unjust would meet
+with the condemnation of all unprejudiced and right-minded men. The
+punitive justice of this age, and especially of this country, does not
+consist in stripping whole States of their liberties and reducing all
+their people, without distinction, to the condition of slavery. It deals
+separately with each individual, confines itself to the forms of law,
+and vindicates its own purity by an impartial examination of every case
+before a competent judicial tribunal. If this does not satisfy all our
+desires with regard to Southern rebels, let us console ourselves by
+reflecting that a free Constitution, triumphant in war and unbroken in
+peace, is worth far more to us and our children than the gratification
+of any present feeling.
+
+I am aware it is assumed that this system of government for the
+Southern States is not to be perpetual. It is true this military
+government is to be only provisional, but it is through this temporary
+evil that a greater evil is to be made perpetual. If the guaranties
+of the Constitution can be broken provisionally to serve a temporary
+purpose, and in a part only of the country, we can destroy them
+everywhere and for all time. Arbitrary measures often change, but they
+generally change for the worse. It is the curse of despotism that it has
+no halting place. The intermitted exercise of its power brings no sense
+of security to its subjects, for they can never know what more they will
+be called to endure when its red right hand is armed to plague them
+again. Nor is it possible to conjecture how or where power, unrestrained
+by law, may seek its next victims. The States that are still free may be
+enslaved at any moment; for if the Constitution does not protect all, it
+protects none.
+
+It is manifestly and avowedly the object of these laws to confer upon
+negroes the privilege of voting and to disfranchise such a number of
+white citizens as will give the former a clear majority at all elections
+in the Southern States. This, to the minds of some persons, is so
+important that a violation of the Constitution is justified as a means
+of bringing it about. The morality is always false which excuses a wrong
+because it proposes to accomplish a desirable end. We are not permitted
+to do evil that good may come. But in this case the end itself is evil,
+as well as the means. The subjugation of the States to negro domination
+would be worse than the military despotism under which they are now
+suffering. It was believed beforehand that the people would endure any
+amount of military oppression for any length of time rather than degrade
+themselves by subjection to the negro race. Therefore they have been
+left without a choice. Negro suffrage was established by act of
+Congress, and the military officers were commanded to superintend the
+process of clothing the negro race with the political privileges torn
+from white men.
+
+The blacks in the South are entitled to be well and humanely governed,
+and to have the protection of just laws for all their rights of person
+and property. If it were practicable at this time to give them a
+Government exclusively their own, under which they might manage their
+own affairs in their own way, it would become a grave question whether
+we ought to do so, or whether common humanity would not require us to
+save them from themselves. But under the circumstances this is only a
+speculative point. It is not proposed merely that they shall govern
+themselves, but that they shall rule the white race, make and administer
+State laws, elect Presidents and members of Congress, and shape to a
+greater or less extent the future destiny of the whole country. Would
+such a trust and power be safe in such hands?
+
+The peculiar qualities which should characterize any people who are fit
+to decide upon the management of public affairs for a great state have
+seldom been combined. It is the glory of white men to know that they
+have had these qualities in sufficient measure to build upon this
+continent a great political fabric and to preserve its stability for
+more than ninety years, while in every other part of the world all
+similar experiments have failed. But if anything can be proved by known
+facts, if all reasoning upon evidence is not abandoned, it must be
+acknowledged that in the progress of nations negroes have shown less
+capacity for government than any other race of people. No independent
+government of any form has ever been successful in their hands. On the
+contrary, wherever they have been left to their own devices they have
+shown a constant tendency to relapse into barbarism. In the Southern
+States, however, Congress has undertaken to confer upon them the
+privilege of the ballot. Just released from slavery, it may be doubted
+whether as a class they know more than their ancestors how to organize
+and regulate civil society. Indeed, it is admitted that the blacks of
+the South are not only regardless of the rights of property, but so
+utterly ignorant of public affairs that their voting can consist in
+nothing more than carrying a ballot to the place where they are directed
+to deposit it. I need not remind you that the exercise of the elective
+franchise is the highest attribute of an American citizen, and that when
+guided by virtue, intelligence, patriotism, and a proper appreciation of
+our free institutions it constitutes the true basis of a democratic form
+of government, in which the sovereign power is lodged in the body of the
+people. A trust artificially created, not for its own sake, but solely
+as a means of promoting the general welfare, its influence for good must
+necessarily depend upon the elevated character and true allegiance of
+the elector. It ought, therefore, to be reposed in none except those who
+are fitted morally and mentally to administer it well; for if conferred
+upon persons who do not justly estimate its value and who are
+indifferent as to its results, it will only serve as a means of placing
+power in the hands of the unprincipled and ambitious, and must eventuate
+in the complete destruction of that liberty of which it should be the
+most powerful conservator. I have therefore heretofore urged upon your
+attention the great danger--
+
+  to be apprehended from an untimely extension of the elective franchise
+  to any new class in our country, especially when the large majority of
+  that class, in wielding the power thus placed in their hands, can not be
+  expected correctly to comprehend the duties and responsibilities which
+  pertain to suffrage. Yesterday, as it were, 4,000,000 persons were held
+  in a condition of slavery that had existed for generations; to-day they
+  are freemen and are assumed by law to be citizens. It can not be
+  presumed, from their previous condition of servitude, that as a class
+  they are as well informed as to the nature of our Government as the
+  intelligent foreigner who makes our land the home of his choice. In the
+  case of the latter neither a residence of five years and the knowledge
+  of our institutions which it gives nor attachment to the principles of
+  the Constitution are the only conditions upon which he can be admitted
+  to citizenship; he must prove in addition a good moral character, and
+  thus give reasonable ground for the belief that he will be faithful to
+  the obligations which he assumes as a citizen of the Republic. Where
+  a people--the source of all political power--speak by their suffrages
+  through the instrumentality of the ballot box, it must be carefully
+  guarded against the control of those who are corrupt in principle and
+  enemies of free institutions, for it can only become to our political
+  and social system a safe conductor of healthy popular sentiment when
+  kept free from demoralizing influences. Controlled through fraud and
+  usurpation by the designing, anarchy and despotism must inevitably
+  follow. In the hands of the patriotic and worthy our Government will be
+  preserved upon the principles of the Constitution inherited from our
+  fathers. It follows, therefore, that in admitting to the ballot box
+  a new class of voters not qualified for the exercise of the elective
+  franchise we weaken our system of government instead of adding to its
+  strength and durability.
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+  I yield to no one in attachment to that rule of general suffrage which
+  distinguishes our policy as a nation. But there is a limit, wisely
+  observed hitherto, which makes the ballot a privilege and a trust,
+  and which requires of some classes a time suitable for probation
+  and preparation. To give it indiscriminately to a new class, wholly
+  unprepared by previous habits and opportunities to perform the trust
+  which it demands, is to degrade it, and finally to destroy its power,
+  for it may be safely assumed that no political truth is better
+  established than that such indiscriminate and all-embracing extension
+  of popular suffrage must end at last in its destruction.
+
+
+I repeat the expression of my willingness to join in any plan within
+the scope of our constitutional authority which promises to better the
+condition of the negroes in the South, by encouraging them in industry,
+enlightening their minds, improving their morals, and giving protection
+to all their just rights as freedmen. But the transfer of our political
+inheritance to them would, in my opinion, be an abandonment of a duty
+which we owe alike to the memory of our fathers and the rights of our
+children.
+
+The plan of putting the Southern States wholly and the General
+Government partially into the hands of negroes is proposed at a time
+peculiarly unpropitious. The foundations of society have been broken
+up by civil war. Industry must be reorganized, justice reestablished,
+public credit maintained, and order brought out of confusion. To
+accomplish these ends would require all the wisdom and virtue of the
+great men who formed our institutions originally. I confidently believe
+that their descendants will be equal to the arduous task before them,
+but it is worse than madness to expect that negroes will perform it for
+us. Certainly we ought not to ask their assistance till we despair of
+our own competency.
+
+The great difference between the two races in physical, mental,
+and moral characteristics will prevent an amalgamation or fusion
+of them together in one homogeneous mass. If the inferior obtains the
+ascendency over the other, it will govern with reference only to its own
+interests--for it will recognize no common interest--and create such a
+tyranny as this continent has never yet witnessed. Already the negroes
+are influenced by promises of confiscation and plunder. They are taught
+to regard as an enemy every white man who has any respect for the rights
+of his own race. If this continues it must become worse and worse, until
+all order will be subverted, all industry cease, and the fertile fields
+of the South grow up into a wilderness. Of all the dangers which our
+nation has yet encountered, none are equal to those which must result
+from the success of the effort now making to Africanize the half of
+our country.
+
+I would not put considerations of money in competition with justice and
+right; but the expenses incident to "reconstruction" under the system
+adopted by Congress aggravate what I regard as the intrinsic wrong of
+the measure itself. It has cost uncounted millions already, and if
+persisted in will add largely to the weight of taxation, already too
+oppressive to be borne without just complaint, and may finally reduce
+the Treasury of the nation to a condition of bankruptcy. We must not
+delude ourselves. It will require a strong standing army and probably
+more than $200,000,000 per annum to maintain the supremacy of negro
+governments after they are established. The sum thus thrown away would,
+if properly used, form a sinking fund large enough to pay the whole
+national debt in less than fifteen years. It is vain to hope that
+negroes will maintain their ascendency themselves. Without military
+power they are wholly incapable of holding in subjection the white
+people of the South.
+
+I submit to the judgment of Congress whether the public credit may not
+be injuriously affected by a system of measures like this. With our debt
+and the vast private interests which are complicated with it, we can not
+be too cautious of a policy which might by possibility impair the
+confidence of the world in our Government. That confidence can only be
+retained by carefully inculcating the principles of justice and honor
+on the popular mind and by the most scrupulous fidelity to all our
+engagements of every sort. Any serious breach of the organic law,
+persisted in for a considerable time, can not but create fears for the
+stability of our institutions. Habitual violation of prescribed rules,
+which we bind ourselves to observe, must demoralize the people. Our only
+standard of civil duty being set at naught, the sheet anchor of our
+political morality is lost, the public conscience swings from its
+moorings and yields to every impulse of passion and interest. If we
+repudiate the Constitution, we will not be expected to care much for
+mere pecuniary obligations. The violation of such a pledge as we made on
+the 22d day of July, 1861, will assuredly diminish the market value of
+our other promises. Besides, if we acknowledge that the national debt
+was created, not to hold the States in the Union, as the taxpayers were
+led to suppose, but to expel them from it and hand them over to be
+governed by negroes, the moral duty to pay it may seem much less clear.
+I say it may _seem_ so, for I do not admit that this or any other
+argument in favor of repudiation can be entertained as sound; but
+its influence on some classes of minds may well be apprehended. The
+financial honor of a great commercial nation, largely indebted and with
+a republican form of government administered by agents of the popular
+choice, is a thing of such delicate texture and the destruction of it
+would be followed by such unspeakable calamity that every true patriot
+must desire to avoid whatever might expose it to the slightest danger.
+
+The great interests of the country require immediate relief from these
+enactments. Business in the South is paralyzed by a sense of general
+insecurity, by the terror of confiscation, and the dread of negro
+supremacy. The Southern trade, from which the North would have derived
+so great a profit under a government of law, still languishes, and can
+never be revived until it ceases to be fettered by the arbitrary power
+which makes all its operations unsafe. That rich country--the richest in
+natural resources the world ever saw--is worse than lost if it be not
+soon placed under the protection of a free constitution. Instead of
+being, as it ought to be, a source of wealth and power, it will become
+an intolerable burden upon the rest of the nation.
+
+Another reason for retracing our steps will doubtless be seen by
+Congress in the late manifestations of public opinion upon this subject.
+We live in a country where the popular will always enforces obedience
+to itself, sooner or later. It is vain to think of opposing it with
+anything short of legal authority backed by overwhelming force. It can
+not have escaped your attention that from the day on which Congress
+fairly and formally presented the proposition to govern the Southern
+States by military force, with a view to the ultimate establishment of
+negro supremacy, every expression of the general sentiment has been more
+or less adverse to it. The affections of this generation can not be
+detached from the institutions of their ancestors. Their determination
+to preserve the inheritance of free government in their own hands and
+transmit it undivided and unimpaired to their own posterity is too
+strong to be successfully opposed. Every weaker passion will disappear
+before that love of liberty and law for which the American people are
+distinguished above all others in the world.
+
+How far the duty of the President "to preserve, protect, and defend
+the Constitution" requires him to go in opposing an unconstitutional
+act of Congress is a very serious and important question, on which
+I have deliberated much and felt extremely anxious to reach a proper
+conclusion. Where an act has been passed according to the forms of the
+Constitution by the supreme legislative authority, and is regularly
+enrolled among the public statutes of the country, Executive resistance
+to it, especially in times of high party excitement, would be likely to
+produce violent collision between the respective adherents of the two
+branches of the Government. This would be simply civil war, and civil
+war must be resorted to only as the last remedy for the worst of evils.
+Whatever might tend to provoke it should be most carefully avoided.
+A faithful and conscientious magistrate will concede very much to honest
+error, and something even to perverse malice, before he will endanger
+the public peace; and he will not adopt forcible measures, or such as
+might lead to force, as long as those which are peaceable remain open to
+him or to his constituents. It is true that cases may occur in which the
+Executive would be compelled to stand on its rights, and maintain them
+regardless of all consequences. If Congress should pass an act which is
+not only in palpable conflict with the Constitution, but will certainly,
+if carried out, produce immediate and irreparable injury to the organic
+structure of the Government, and if there be, neither judicial remedy
+for the wrongs it inflicts nor power in the people to protect themselves
+without the official aid of their elected defender--if, for instance,
+the legislative department should pass an act even through all the forms
+of law to abolish a coordinate department of the Government--in such a
+case the President must take the high responsibilities of his office and
+save the life of the nation at all hazards. The so-called reconstruction
+acts, though as plainly unconstitutional as any that can be imagined,
+were not believed to be within the class last mentioned. The people were
+not wholly disarmed of the power of self-defense. In all the Northern
+States they still held in their hands the sacred right of the ballot,
+and it was safe to believe that in due time they would come to the
+rescue of their own institutions. It gives me pleasure to add that the
+appeal to our common constituents was not taken in vain, and that my
+confidence in their wisdom and virtue seems not to have been misplaced.
+
+It is well and publicly known that enormous frauds have been perpetrated
+on the Treasury and that colossal fortunes have been made at the public
+expense. This species of corruption has increased, is increasing, and
+if not diminished will soon bring us into total ruin and disgrace. The
+public creditors and the taxpayers are alike interested in an honest
+administration of the finances, and neither class will long endure the
+large-handed robberies of the recent past. For this discreditable state
+of things there are several causes. Some of the taxes are so laid as
+to present an irresistible temptation to evade payment. The great sums
+which officers may win by connivance at fraud create a pressure which is
+more than the virtue of many can withstand, and there can be no doubt
+that the open disregard of constitutional obligations avowed by some of
+the highest and most influential men in the country has greatly weakened
+the moral sense of those who serve in subordinate places. The expenses
+of the United States, including interest on the public debt, are more
+than six times as much as they were seven years ago. To collect and
+disburse this vast amount requires careful supervision as well as
+systematic vigilance. The system, never perfected, was much disorganized
+by the "tenure-of-office bill," which has almost destroyed official
+accountability. The President may be thoroughly convinced that an
+officer is incapable, dishonest, or unfaithful to the Constitution, but
+under the law which I have named the utmost he can do is to complain to
+the Senate and ask the privilege of supplying his place with a better
+man. If the Senate be regarded as personally or politically hostile to
+the President, it is natural, and not altogether unreasonable, for the
+officer to expect that it will take his part as far as possible, restore
+him to his place, and give him a triumph over his Executive superior.
+The officer has other chances of impunity arising from accidental
+defects of evidence, the mode of investigating it, and the secrecy of
+the hearing. It is not wonderful that official malfeasance should become
+bold in proportion as the delinquents learn to think themselves safe.
+I am entirely persuaded that under such a rule the President can not
+perform the great duty assigned to him of seeing the laws faithfully
+executed, and that it disables him most especially from enforcing that
+rigid accountability which is necessary to the due execution of the
+revenue laws.
+
+The Constitution invests the President with authority to _decide_
+whether a removal should be made in any given case; the act of Congress
+declares in substance that he shall only _accuse_ such as he supposes to
+be unworthy of their trust. The Constitution makes him _sole judge_ in
+the premises, but the statute takes away his jurisdiction, transfers
+it to the Senate, and leaves him nothing but the odious and sometimes
+impracticable duty of becoming a _prosecutor_. The prosecution is to be
+conducted before a tribunal whose members are not, like him, responsible
+to the whole people, but to separate constituent bodies, and who may
+hear his accusation with great disfavor. The Senate is absolutely
+without any known standard of decision applicable to such a case. Its
+judgment can not be anticipated, for it is not governed by any rule.
+The law does not define what shall be deemed good cause for removal.
+It is impossible even to conjecture what may or may not be so considered
+by the Senate. The nature of the subject forbids clear proof. If the
+charge be incapacity, what evidence will support it? Fidelity to the
+Constitution may be understood or misunderstood in a thousand different
+ways, and by violent party men, in violent party times, unfaithfulness
+to the Constitution may even come to be considered meritorious. If the
+officer be accused of dishonesty, how shall it be made out? Will it be
+inferred from acts unconnected with public duty, from private history,
+or from general reputation, or must the President await the commission
+of an actual misdemeanor in office? Shall he in the meantime risk the
+character and interest of the nation in the hands of men to whom he
+can not give his confidence? Must he forbear his complaint until the
+mischief is done and can not be prevented? If his zeal in the public
+service should impel him to anticipate the overt act, must he move at
+the peril of being tried himself for the offense of slandering his
+subordinate? In the present circumstances of the country someone must be
+held responsible for official delinquency of every kind. It is extremely
+difficult to say where that responsibility should be thrown if it be
+not left where it has been placed by the Constitution. But all just men
+will admit that the President ought to be entirely relieved from such
+responsibility if he can not meet it by reason of restrictions placed
+by law upon his action.
+
+The unrestricted power of removal from office is a very great one to be
+trusted even to a magistrate chosen by the general suffrage of the whole
+people and accountable directly to them for his acts. It is undoubtedly
+liable to abuse, and at some periods of our history perhaps has been
+abused. If it be thought desirable and constitutional that it should be
+so limited as to make the President merely a common informer against
+other public agents, he should at least be permitted to act in that
+capacity before some open tribunal, independent of party politics, ready
+to investigate the merits of every case, furnished with the means of
+taking evidence, and bound to decide according to established rules.
+This would guarantee the safety of the accuser when he acts in good
+faith, and at the same time secure the rights of the other party. I
+speak, of course, with all proper respect for the present Senate, but it
+does not seem to me that any legislative body can be so constituted as
+to insure its fitness for these functions.
+
+It is not the theory of this Government that public offices are the
+property of those who hold them. They are given merely as a trust for
+the public benefit, sometimes for a fixed period, sometimes during good
+behavior, but generally they are liable to be terminated at the pleasure
+of the appointing power, which represents the collective majesty and
+speaks the will of the people. The forced retention in office of a
+single dishonest person may work great injury to the public interests.
+The danger to the public service comes not from the power to remove,
+but from the power to appoint. Therefore it was that the framers of the
+Constitution left the power of removal unrestricted, while they gave
+the Senate a right to reject all appointments which in its opinion were
+not fit to be made. A little reflection on this subject will probably
+satisfy all who have the good of the country at heart that our best
+course is to take the Constitution for our guide, walk in the path
+marked out by the founders of the Republic, and obey the rules made
+sacred by the observance of our great predecessors.
+
+The present condition of our finances and circulating medium is one to
+which your early consideration is invited.
+
+The proportion which the currency of any country should bear to
+the whole value of the annual produce circulated by its means is a
+question upon which political economists have not agreed. Nor can it
+be controlled by legislation, but must be left to the irrevocable laws
+which everywhere regulate commerce and trade. The circulating medium
+will ever irresistibly flow to those points where it is in greatest
+demand. The law of demand and supply is as unerring as that which
+regulates the tides of the ocean; and, indeed, currency, like the
+tides, has its ebbs and flows throughout the commercial world.
+
+At the beginning of the rebellion the bank-note circulation of the
+country amounted to not much more than $200,000,000; now the circulation
+of national-bank notes and those known as "legal-tenders" is nearly
+seven hundred millions. While it is urged by some that this amount
+should be increased, others contend that a decided reduction is
+absolutely essential to the best interests of the country. In view of
+these diverse opinions, it may be well to ascertain the real value of
+our paper issues when compared with a metallic or convertible currency.
+For this purpose let us inquire how much gold and silver could be
+purchased by the seven hundred millions of paper money now in
+circulation. Probably not more than half the amount of the latter,
+showing that when our paper currency is compared with gold and silver
+its commercial value is compressed into three hundred and fifty
+millions. This striking fact makes it the obvious duty of the
+Government, as early as may be consistent with the principles of sound
+political economy, to take such measures as will enable the holder of
+its notes and those of the national banks to convert them without loss
+into specie or its equivalent. A reduction of our paper circulating
+medium need not necessarily follow. This, however, would depend upon
+the law of demand and supply, though it should be borne in mind that
+by making legal-tender and bank notes convertible into coin or its
+equivalent their present specie value in the hands of their holders
+would be enhanced 100 per cent.
+
+Legislation for the accomplishment of a result so desirable is demanded
+by the highest public considerations. The Constitution contemplates that
+the circulating medium of the country shall be uniform in quality and
+value. At the time of the formation of that instrument the country had
+just emerged from the War of the Revolution, and was suffering from the
+effects of a redundant and worthless paper currency. The sages of that
+period were anxious to protect their posterity from the evils that they
+themselves had experienced. Hence in providing a circulating medium they
+conferred upon Congress the power to coin money and regulate the value
+thereof, at the same time prohibiting the States from making anything
+but gold and silver a tender in payment of debts.
+
+The anomalous condition of our currency is in striking contrast with
+that which was originally designed. Our circulation now embraces, first,
+notes of the national banks, which are made receivable for all dues to
+the Government, excluding imposts, and by all its creditors, excepting
+in payment of interest upon its bonds and the securities themselves;
+second, legal-tender notes, issued by the United States, and which the
+law requires shall be received as well in payment of all debts between
+citizens as of all Government dues, excepting imposts; and, third, gold
+and silver coin. By the operation of our present system of finance,
+however, the metallic currency, when collected, is reserved only for one
+class of Government creditors, who, holding its bonds, semiannually
+receive their interest in coin from the National Treasury. They are thus
+made to occupy an invidious position, which may be used to strengthen
+the arguments of those who would bring into disrepute the obligations
+of the nation. In the payment of all its debts the plighted faith of
+the Government should be inviolably maintained. But while it acts with
+fidelity toward the bondholder who loaned his money that the integrity
+of the Union might be preserved, it should at the same time observe good
+faith with the great masses of the people, who, having rescued the Union
+from the perils of rebellion, now bear the burdens of taxation, that the
+Government may be able to fulfill its engagements. There is no reason
+which will be accepted as satisfactory by the people why those who
+defend us on the land and protect us on the sea; the pensioner upon the
+gratitude of the nation, bearing the scars and wounds received while
+in its service; the public servants in the various Departments of the
+Government; the farmer who supplies the soldiers of the Army and the
+sailors of the Navy; the artisan who toils in the nation's workshops,
+or the mechanics and laborers who build its edifices and construct
+its forts and vessels of war, should, in payment of their just and
+hard-earned dues, receive depreciated paper, while another class of
+their countrymen, no more deserving, are paid in coin of gold and
+silver. Equal and exact justice requires that all the creditors of the
+Government should be paid in a currency possessing a uniform value.
+This can only be accomplished by the restoration of the currency to the
+standard established by the Constitution; and by this means we would
+remove a discrimination which may, if it has not already done so, create
+a prejudice that may become deep rooted and widespread and imperil the
+national credit.
+
+The feasibility of making our currency correspond with the
+constitutional standard may be seen by reference to a few facts derived
+from our commercial statistics.
+
+The production of precious metals in the United States from 1849
+to 1857, inclusive, amounted to $579,000,000; from 1858 to 1860,
+inclusive, to $137,500,000, and from 1861 to 1867, inclusive, to
+$457,500,000--making the grand aggregate of products since 1849
+$1,174,000,000. The amount of specie coined from 1849 to 1857 inclusive,
+was $439,000,000; from 1858 to 1860, inclusive, $125,000,000, and from
+1861 to 1867, inclusive, $310,000,000--making the total coinage since
+1849 $874,000,000. From 1849 to 1857, inclusive, the net exports of
+specie amounted to $271,000,000; from 1858 to 1860, inclusive, to
+$148,000,000, and from 1861 to 1867, inclusive, $322,000,000--making the
+aggregate of net exports since 1849 $741,000,000. These figures show an
+excess of product over net exports of $433,000,000. There are in the
+Treasury $111,000,000 in coin, something more than $40,000,000 in
+circulation on the Pacific Coast, and a few millions in the national
+and other banks--in all about $160,000,000. This, however, taking into
+account the specie in the country prior to 1849, leaves more than
+$300,000,000 which have not been accounted for by exportation, and
+therefore may yet remain in the country.
+
+These are important facts and show how completely the inferior currency
+will supersede the better, forcing it from circulation among the masses
+and causing it to be exported as a mere article of trade, to add to the
+money capital of foreign lands. They show the necessity of retiring our
+paper money, that the return of gold and silver to the avenues of trade
+may be invited and a demand created which will cause the retention
+at home of at least so much of the productions of our rich and
+inexhaustible gold-bearing fields as may be sufficient for purposes
+of circulation. It is unreasonable to expect a return to a sound
+currency so long as the Government by continuing to issue irredeemable
+notes fills the channels of circulation with depreciated paper.
+Notwithstanding a coinage by our mints, since 1849, of $874,000,000,
+the people are now strangers to the currency which was designed for
+their use and benefit, and specimens of the precious metals bearing
+the national device are seldom seen, except when produced to gratify
+the interest excited by their novelty. If depreciated paper is to be
+continued as the permanent currency of the country, and all our coin is
+to become a mere article of traffic and speculation, to the enhancement
+in price of all that is indispensable to the comfort of the people, it
+would be wise economy to abolish our mints, thus saving the nation the
+care and expense incident to such establishments, and let all our
+precious metals be exported in bullion. The time has come, however, when
+the Government and national banks should be required to take the most
+efficient steps and make all necessary arrangements for a resumption
+of specie payments at the earliest practicable period. Specie payments
+having been once resumed by the Government and banks, all notes or bills
+of paper issued by either of a less denomination than $20 should by law
+be excluded from circulation, so that the people may have the benefit
+and convenience of a gold and silver currency which in all their
+business transactions will be uniform in value at home and abroad.
+
+  Every man of property or industry, every man who desires to preserve
+  what he honestly possesses or to obtain what he can honestly earn, has a
+  direct interest in maintaining a safe circulating medium--such a medium
+  as shall be real and substantial, not liable to vibrate with opinions,
+  not subject to be blown up or blown down by the breath of speculation,
+  but to be made stable and secure. A disordered currency is one of the
+  greatest political evils. It undermines the virtues necessary for the
+  support of the social system and encourages propensities destructive of
+  its happiness; it wars against industry, frugality, and economy, and it
+  fosters the evil spirits of extravagance and speculation.
+
+
+It has been asserted by one of our profound and most gifted statesmen
+that--
+
+  Of all the contrivances for cheating the laboring classes of mankind,
+  none has been more effectual than that which deludes them with paper
+  money. This is the most effectual of inventions to fertilize the rich
+  man's fields by the sweat of the poor man's brow. Ordinary tyranny,
+  oppression, excessive taxation--these bear lightly on the happiness of
+  the mass of the community compared with a fraudulent currency and the
+  robberies committed by depreciated paper. Our own history has recorded
+  for our instruction enough, and more than enough, of the demoralizing
+  tendency, the injustice, and the intolerable oppression on the virtuous
+  and well disposed of a degraded paper currency authorized by law or in
+  any way countenanced by government.
+
+
+It is one of the most successful devices, in times of peace or war,
+expansions or revulsions, to accomplish the transfer of all the precious
+metals from the great mass of the people into the hands of the few,
+where they are hoarded in secret places or deposited in strong boxes
+under bolts and bars, while the people are left to ensure all the
+inconvenience, sacrifice, and demoralization resulting from the use
+of a depreciated and worthless paper money.
+
+The condition of our finances and the operations of our revenue
+system are set forth and fully explained in the able and instructive
+report of the Secretary of the Treasury. On the 30th of June, 1866,
+the public debt amounted to $2,783,425,879; on the 30th of June last
+it was $2,692,199,215, showing a reduction during the fiscal year of
+$91,226,664. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1867, the receipts
+were $490,634,010 and the expenditures $346,729,129, leaving an
+available surplus of $143,904,880. It is estimated that the receipts for
+the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, will be $417,161,928 and that the
+expenditures will reach the sum of $393,269,226, leaving in the Treasury
+a surplus of $23,892,702. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1869, it
+is estimated that the receipts will amount to $381,000,000 and that the
+expenditures will be $372,000,000, showing an excess of $9,000,000 in
+favor of the Government.
+
+The attention of Congress is earnestly invited to the necessity of a
+thorough revision of our revenue system. Our internal-revenue laws and
+impost system should be so adjusted as to bear most heavily on articles
+of luxury, leaving the necessaries of life as free from taxation as
+may be consistent with the real wants of the Government, economically
+administered. Taxation would not then fall unduly on the man of moderate
+means; and while none would be entirely exempt from assessment, all, in
+proportion to their pecuniary abilities, would contribute toward the
+support of the State. A modification of the internal-revenue system, by
+a large reduction in the number of articles now subject to tax, would
+be followed by results equally advantageous to the citizen and the
+Government. It would render the execution of the law less expensive and
+more certain, remove obstructions to industry, lessen the temptations to
+evade the law, diminish the violations and frauds perpetrated upon its
+provisions, make its operations less inquisitorial, and greatly reduce
+in numbers the army of taxgatherers created by the system, who "take
+from the mouth of honest labor the bread it has earned." Retrenchment,
+reform, and economy should be carried into every branch of the public
+service, that the expenditures of the Government may be reduced and the
+people relieved from oppressive taxation; a sound currency should be
+restored, and the public faith in regard to the national debt sacredly
+observed. The accomplishment of these important results, together with
+the restoration of the Union of the States upon the principles of
+the Constitution, would inspire confidence at home and abroad in the
+stability of our institutions and bring to the nation prosperity,
+peace, and good will.
+
+The report of the Secretary of War _ad interim_ exhibits the operations
+of the Army and of the several bureaus of the War Department. The
+aggregate strength of our military force on the 30th of September
+last was 56,315. The total estimate for military appropriations is
+$77,124,707, including a deficiency in last year's appropriation of
+$13,600,000. The payments at the Treasury on account of the service
+of the War Department from January 1 to October 29, 1867--a period of
+ten months--amounted to $109,807,000. The expenses of the military
+establishment, as well as the numbers of the Army, are now three
+times as great as they have ever been in time of peace, while the
+discretionary power is vested in the Executive to add millions to this
+expenditure by an increase of the Army to the maximum strength allowed
+by the law.
+
+The comprehensive report of the Secretary of the Interior furnishes
+interesting information in reference to the important branches of the
+public service connected with his Department. The menacing attitude of
+some of the warlike bands of Indians inhabiting the district of country
+between the Arkansas and Platte rivers and portions of Dakota Territory
+required the presence of a large military force in that region.
+Instigated by real or imaginary grievances, the Indians occasionally
+committed acts of barbarous violence upon emigrants and our frontier
+settlements; but a general Indian war has been providentially averted.
+The commissioners under the act of 20th July, 1867, were invested with
+full power to adjust existing difficulties, negotiate treaties with the
+disaffected bands, and select for them reservations remote from the
+traveled routes between the Mississippi and the Pacific. They entered
+without delay upon the execution of their trust, but have not yet made
+any official report of their proceedings. It is of vital importance that
+our distant Territories should be exempt from Indian outbreaks, and
+that the construction of the Pacific Railroad, an object of national
+importance, should not be interrupted by hostile tribes. These objects,
+as well as the material interests and the moral and intellectual
+improvement of the Indians, can be most effectually secured by
+concentrating them upon portions of country set apart for their
+exclusive use and located at points remote from our highways and
+encroaching white settlements.
+
+Since the commencement of the second session of the Thirty-ninth
+Congress 510 miles of road have been constructed on the main line
+and branches of the Pacific Railway. The line from Omaha is rapidly
+approaching the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, while the terminus
+of the last section of constructed road in California, accepted by the
+Government on the 24th day of October last, was but 11 miles distant
+from the summit of the Sierra Nevada. The remarkable energy evinced by
+the companies offers the strongest assurance that the completion of the
+road from Sacramento to Omaha will not be long deferred.
+
+During the last fiscal year 7,041,114 acres of public land were
+disposed of, and the cash receipts from sales and fees exceeded by
+one-half million dollars the sum realized from those sources during the
+preceding year. The amount paid to pensioners, including expenses of
+disbursements, was $18,619,956, and 36,482 names were added to the
+rolls. The entire number of pensioners on the 30th of June last was
+155,474. Eleven thousand six hundred and fifty-five patents and designs
+were issued during the year ending September 30, 1867, and at that
+date the balance in the Treasury to the credit of the patent fund
+was $286,607.
+
+The report of the Secretary of the Navy states that we have seven
+squadrons actively and judiciously employed, under efficient and able
+commanders, in protecting the persons and property of American citizens,
+maintaining the dignity and power of the Government, and promoting the
+commerce and business interests of our countrymen in every part of the
+world. Of the 238 vessels composing the present Navy of the United
+States, 56, carrying 507 guns, are in squadron service. During the year
+the number of vessels in commission has been reduced 12, and there
+are 13 less on squadron duty than there were at the date of the last
+report. A large number of vessels were commenced and in the course of
+construction when the war terminated, and although Congress had made the
+necessary appropriations for their completion, the Department has either
+suspended work upon them or limited the slow completion of the steam
+vessels, so as to meet the contracts for machinery made with private
+establishments. The total expenditures of the Navy Department for the
+fiscal year ending June 30, 1867, were $31,034,011. No appropriations
+have been made or required since the close of the war for the
+construction and repair of vessels, for steam machinery, ordnance,
+provisions and clothing, fuel, hemp, etc., the balances under these
+several heads having been more than sufficient for current expenditures.
+It should also be stated to the credit of the Department that, besides
+asking no appropriations for the above objects for the last two years,
+the Secretary of the Navy, on the 30th of September last, in accordance
+with the act of May 1, 1820, requested the Secretary of the Treasury to
+carry to the surplus fund the sum of $65,000,000, being the amount
+received from the sales of vessels and other war property and the
+remnants of former appropriations.
+
+The report of the Postmaster-General shows the business of the
+Post-Office Department and the condition of the postal service in a
+very favorable light, and the attention of Congress is called to its
+practical recommendations. The receipts of the Department for the
+year ending June 30, 1867, including all special appropriations for
+sea and land service and for free mail matter, were $19,978,693. The
+expenditures for all purposes were $19,235,483, leaving an unexpended
+balance in favor of the Department of $743,210, which can be applied
+toward the expenses of the Department for the current year. The increase
+of postal revenue, independent of specific appropriations, for the year
+1867 over that of 1866 was $850,040. The increase of revenue from the
+sale of stamps and stamped envelopes was $783,404. The increase of
+expenditures for 1867 over those of the previous year was owing chiefly
+to the extension of the land and ocean mail service. During the past
+year new postal conventions have been ratified and exchanged with the
+United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands,
+Switzerland, the North German Union, Italy, and the colonial government
+at Hong Kong, reducing very largely the rates of ocean and land postages
+to and from and within those countries.
+
+The report of the Acting Commissioner of Agriculture concisely presents
+the condition, wants, and progress of an interest eminently worthy the
+fostering care of Congress, and exhibits a large measure of useful
+results achieved during the year to which it refers.
+
+The reestablishment of peace at home and the resumption of extended
+trade, travel, and commerce abroad have served to increase the number
+and variety of questions in the Department for Foreign Affairs. None of
+these questions, however, have seriously disturbed our relations with
+other states.
+
+The Republic of Mexico, having been relieved from foreign intervention,
+is earnestly engaged in efforts to reestablish her constitutional system
+of government. A good understanding continues to exist between our
+Government and the Republics of Hayti and San Domingo, and our cordial
+relations with the Central and South American States remain unchanged.
+The tender, made in conformity with a resolution of Congress, of the
+good offices of the Government with a view to an amicable adjustment
+of peace between Brazil and her allies on one side and Paraguay on the
+other, and between Chile and her allies on the one side and Spain on the
+other, though kindly received, has in neither case been fully accepted
+by the belligerents. The war in the valley of the Parana is still
+vigorously maintained. On the other hand, actual hostilities between
+the Pacific States and Spain have been more than a year suspended.
+I shall, on any proper occasion that may occur, renew the conciliatory
+recommendations which have been already made. Brazil, with enlightened
+sagacity and comprehensive statesmanship, has opened the great channels
+of the Amazon and its tributaries to universal commerce. One thing more
+seems needful to assure a rapid and cheering progress in South America.
+I refer to those peaceful habits without which states and nations can
+not in this age well expect material prosperity or social advancement.
+
+The Exposition of Universal Industry at Paris has passed, and seems to
+have fully realized the high expectations of the French Government. If
+due allowance be made for the recent political derangement of industry
+here, the part which the United States has borne in this exhibition of
+invention and art may be regarded with very high satisfaction. During
+the exposition a conference was held of delegates from several nations,
+the United States being one, in which the inconveniences of commerce and
+social intercourse resulting from the diverse standards of money value
+were very fully discussed, and plans were developed for establishing
+by universal consent a common principle for the coinage of gold. These
+conferences are expected to be renewed, with the attendance of many
+foreign states not hitherto represented. A report of these interesting
+proceedings will be submitted to Congress, which will, no doubt, justly
+appreciate the great object and be ready to adopt any measure which may
+tend to facilitate its ultimate accomplishment.
+
+On the 25th of February, 1862, Congress declared by law that Treasury
+notes, without interest, authorized by that act should be legal tender
+in payment of all debts, public and private, within the United States.
+An annual remittance of $30,000, less stipulated expenses, accrues
+to claimants under the convention made with Spain in 1834. These
+remittances, since the passage of that act, have been paid in such
+notes. The claimants insist that the Government ought to require
+payment in coin. The subject may be deemed worthy of your attention.
+
+No arrangement has yet been reached for the settlement of our claims
+for British depredations upon the commerce of the United States. I have
+felt it my duty to decline the proposition of arbitration made by
+Her Majesty's Government, because it has hitherto been accompanied by
+reservations and limitations incompatible with the rights, interest, and
+honor of our country. It is not to be apprehended that Great Britain
+will persist in her refusal to satisfy these just and reasonable claims,
+which involve the sacred principle of nonintervention--a principle
+henceforth not more important to the United States than to all other
+commercial nations.
+
+The West India islands were settled and colonized by European States
+simultaneously with the settlement and colonization of the American
+continent. Most of the colonies planted here became independent nations
+in the close of the last and the beginning of the present century. Our
+own country embraces communities which at one period were colonies of
+Great Britain, France, Spain, Holland, Sweden, and Russia. The people
+in the West Indies, with the exception of those of the island of Hayti,
+have neither attained nor aspired to independence, nor have they become
+prepared for self-defense. Although possessing considerable commercial
+value, they have been held by the several European States which
+colonized or at some time conquered them, chiefly for purposes of
+military and naval strategy in carrying out European policy and designs
+in regard to this continent. In our Revolutionary War ports and harbors
+in the West India islands were used by our enemy, to the great injury
+and embarrassment of the United States. We had the same experience in
+our second war with Great Britain. The same European policy for a long
+time excluded us even from trade with the West Indies, while we were at
+peace with all nations. In our recent civil war the rebels and their
+piratical and blockade-breaking allies found facilities in the same
+ports for the work, which they too successfully accomplished, of
+injuring and devastating the commerce which we are now engaged in
+rebuilding. We labored especially under this disadvantage, that
+European steam vessels employed by our enemies found friendly shelter,
+protection, and supplies in West Indian ports, while our naval
+operations were necessarily carried on from our own distant shores.
+There was then a universal feeling of the want of an advanced naval
+outpost between the Atlantic coast and Europe. The duty of obtaining
+such an outpost peacefully and lawfully, while neither doing nor
+menacing injury to other states, earnestly engaged the attention of the
+executive department before the close of the war, and it has not been
+lost sight of since that time. A not entirely dissimilar naval want
+revealed itself during the same period on the Pacific coast. The
+required foothold there was fortunately secured by our late treaty with
+the Emperor of Russia, and it now seems imperative that the more obvious
+necessities of the Atlantic coast should not be less carefully provided
+for. A good and convenient port and harbor, capable of easy defense,
+will supply that want. With the possession of such a station by the
+United States, neither we nor any other American nation need longer
+apprehend injury or offense from any transatlantic enemy. I agree with
+our early statesmen that the West Indies naturally gravitate to, and
+may be expected ultimately to be absorbed by, the continental States,
+including our own. I agree with them also that it is wise to leave the
+question of such absorption to this process of natural political
+gravitation. The islands of St. Thomas and St. John, which constitute
+a part of the group called the Virgin Islands, seemed to offer us
+advantages immediately desirable, while their acquisition could be
+secured in harmony with the principles to which I have alluded. A treaty
+has therefore been concluded with the King of Denmark for the cession of
+those islands, and will be submitted to the Senate for consideration.
+
+It will hardly be necessary to call the attention of Congress to the
+subject of providing for the payment to Russia of the sum stipulated in
+the treaty for the cession of Alaska. Possession having been formally
+delivered to our commissioner, the territory remains for the present in
+care of a military force, awaiting such civil organization as shall be
+directed by Congress.
+
+The annexation of many small German States to Prussia and the
+reorganization of that country under a new and liberal constitution have
+induced me to renew the effort to obtain a just and prompt settlement of
+the long-vexed question concerning the claims of foreign states for
+military service from their subjects naturalized in the United States.
+
+In connection with this subject the attention of Congress is
+respectfully called to a singular and embarrassing conflict of laws.
+The executive department of this Government has hitherto uniformly held,
+as it now holds, that naturalization in conformity with the Constitution
+and laws of the United States absolves the recipient from his native
+allegiance. The courts of Great Britain hold that allegiance to the
+British Crown is indefeasible, and is not absolved by our laws of
+naturalization. British judges cite courts and law authorities of the
+United States in support of that theory against the position held by the
+executive authority of the United States. This conflict perplexes the
+public mind concerning the rights of naturalized citizens and impairs
+the national authority abroad. I called attention to this subject in my
+last annual message, and now again respectfully appeal to Congress to
+declare the national will unmistakably upon this important question.
+
+The abuse of our laws by the clandestine prosecution of the African
+slave trade from American ports or by American citizens has altogether
+ceased, and under existing circumstances no apprehensions of its renewal
+in this part of the world are entertained. Under these circumstances
+it becomes a question whether we shall not propose to Her Majesty's
+Government a suspension or discontinuance of the stipulations for
+maintaining a naval force for the suppression of that trade.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+SPECIAL MESSAGES.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 3, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for consideration with a view to ratification, a treaty
+between the United States and His Majesty the King of Denmark,
+stipulating for the cession of the islands of St. Thomas and St. John,
+in the West Indies.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 3, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for consideration with a view to ratification, a treaty of
+friendship, commerce, and navigation between the United States and the
+Republic of Nicaragua, signed at the city of Managua on the 21st day of
+June last. This instrument has been framed pursuant to the amendments
+of the Senate of the United States to the previous treaty between the
+parties of the 16th of March, 1859.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 4, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a final report from the Attorney-General, additional
+to the reports submitted by him December 31, 1866, March 2, 1867, and
+July 8, 1867, in reply to a resolution of the House of Representatives
+December 10, 1866, requesting "a list of the names of all persons
+engaged in the late rebellion against the United States Government who
+have been pardoned by the President from April 15, 1865, to this date;
+that said list shall also state the rank of each person who has been
+so pardoned, if he has been engaged in the military service of the
+so-called Confederate government, and the position if he shall have held
+any civil office under said so-called Confederate government; and shall
+also state whether such person has at anytime prior to April 14, 1861,
+held any office under the United States Government, and, if so, what
+office, together with the reason for granting such pardon, and also the
+names of the person or persons at whose solicitation such pardon was
+granted."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 4, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 26th
+ultimo, a report[30] from the Secretary of State, with accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 30: Relating to the removal of J. Lothrop Motley from his post
+as minister of the United States at Vienna.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 5, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+17th July last, requesting me to communicate all information received
+at the several Departments of the Government touching the organization
+within or near the territory of the United States of armed bodies of men
+for the purpose of avenging the death of the Archduke Maximilian or of
+intervening in Mexican affairs, and what measures have been taken to
+prevent the organization or departure of such organized bodies for the
+purpose of carrying out such objects, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State and the papers accompanying it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 5, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I submit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a commercial treaty between the United States of America
+and Her Majesty the Queen of Madagascar, signed at Antananarivo on the
+14th of February last.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 10, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 25th
+ultimo, a report[31] from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 31: Relating to the formation and the functions of the
+Government of the united States of North Germany.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 10, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit a copy of a dispatch of the 17th of July last, addressed to
+the Secretary of State, and of the papers which accompanied it, from
+Anson Burlingame, esq., minister of the United States to China, relating
+to a proposed modification of the existing treaty between this
+Government and that of China.
+
+The Senate is aware that the original treaty is chiefly _ex parte_
+in its character. The proposed modification, though not of sufficient
+importance to warrant all the usual forms, does not seem to be
+objectionable; but it can not be legally accepted by the executive
+government without the advice and consent of the Senate. If this
+should be given, it may be indicated by a resolution, upon the adoption
+of which the United States minister to China will be instructed to
+inform the Government of that country that the modification has been
+assented to.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 12, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+On the 12th of August last I suspended Mr. Stanton from the exercise of
+the office of Secretary of War, and on the same day designated General
+Grant to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_.
+
+The following are copies of the Executive orders:
+
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+    _Washington, August 12, 1867_.
+
+  Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+    _Secretary of War_.
+
+  SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by
+  the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby suspended
+  from office as Secretary of War, and will cease to exercise any and all
+  functions pertaining to the same.
+
+  You will at once transfer to General Ulysses S. Grant, who has this day
+  been authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_,
+  all records, books, and other property now in your custody and charge.
+
+
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+    _Washington, D.C., August 12, 1867_.
+
+  General ULYSSES S. GRANT,
+    _Washington, D.C._
+
+  SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day suspended as
+  Secretary of War, you are hereby authorized and empowered to act as
+  Secretary of War _ad interim_, and will at once enter upon the discharge
+  of the duties of the office.
+
+  The Secretary of War has been instructed to transfer to you all the
+  records, books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and
+  charge.
+
+
+The following communication was received from Mr. Stanton:
+
+
+  WAR DEPARTMENT,
+    _Washington City, August 12, 1867_.
+
+  The PRESIDENT.
+
+  SIR: Your note of this date has been received, informing me that by
+  virtue of the powers and authority vested in you as President by the
+  Constitution and laws of the United States I am suspended from office
+  as Secretary of War, and will cease to exercise any and all functions
+  pertaining to the same, and also directing me at once to transfer to
+  General Ulysses S. Grant, who has this day been authorized and empowered
+  to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, all records, books, papers, and
+  other public property now in my custody and charge.
+
+  Under a sense of public duty I am compelled to deny your right under
+  the Constitution and laws of the United States, without the advice and
+  consent of the Senate and without any legal cause, to suspend me from
+  office as Secretary of War or the exercise of any or all functions
+  pertaining to the same, or without such advice and consent to compel
+  me to transfer to any person the records, books, papers, and public
+  property in my custody as Secretary.
+
+  But inasmuch as the General Commanding the armies of the United States
+  has been appointed _ad interim_, and has notified me that he has
+  accepted the appointment, I have no alternative but to submit, under
+  protest, to superior force.
+
+
+The suspension has not been revoked, and the business of the War
+Department is conducted by the Secretary _ad interim_.
+
+Prior to the date of this suspension I had come to the conclusion that
+the time had arrived when it was proper Mr. Stanton should retire from
+my Cabinet. The mutual confidence and general accord which should exist
+in such a relation had ceased. I supposed that Mr. Stanton was well
+advised that his continuance in the Cabinet was contrary to my wishes,
+for I had repeatedly given him so to understand by every mode short of
+an express request that he should resign. Having waited full time for
+the voluntary action of Mr. Stanton, and seeing no manifestation on his
+part of an intention to resign, I addressed him the following note on
+the 5th of August:
+
+
+  SIR: Public considerations of a high character constrain me to say
+  that your resignation as Secretary of War will be accepted.
+
+
+To this note I received the following reply:
+
+
+  WAR DEPARTMENT,
+    _Washington, August 5, 1867_.
+
+  SIR: Your note of this day has been received, stating that public
+  considerations of a high character constrain you to say that my
+  resignation as Secretary of War will be accepted.
+
+  In reply I have the honor to say that public considerations of a high
+  character, which alone have induced me to continue at the head of this
+  Department, constrain me not to resign the office of Secretary of War
+  before the next meeting of Congress.
+
+
+This reply of Mr. Stanton was not merely a disinclination of compliance
+with the request for his resignation; it was a defiance, and something
+more. Mr. Stanton does not content himself with assuming that public
+considerations bearing upon his continuance in office form as fully
+a rule of action for himself as for the President, and that upon so
+delicate a question as the fitness of an officer for continuance in his
+office the officer is as competent and as impartial to decide as his
+superior, who is responsible for his conduct. But he goes further, and
+plainly intimates what he means by "public considerations of a high
+character," and this is nothing else than his loss of confidence in his
+superior. He says that these public considerations have "alone induced
+me to continue at the head of this Department," and that they "constrain
+me not to resign the office of Secretary of War before the next meeting
+of Congress."
+
+This language is very significant. Mr. Stanton holds the position
+unwillingly. He continues in office only under a sense of high public
+duty. He is ready to leave when it is safe to leave, and as the danger
+he apprehends from his removal then will not exist when Congress is
+here, he is constrained to remain during the interim. What, then, is
+that danger which can only be averted by the presence of Mr. Stanton or
+of Congress? Mr. Stanton does not say that "public considerations of a
+high character" constrain him to hold on to the office indefinitely. He
+does not say that no one other than himself can at any time be found to
+take his place and perform its duties. On the contrary, he expresses a
+desire to leave the office at the earliest moment consistent with these
+high public considerations. He says, in effect, that while Congress is
+away he must remain, but that when Congress is here he can go. In other
+words, he has lost confidence in the President. He is unwilling to leave
+the War Department in his hands or in the hands of anyone the President
+may appoint or designate to perform its duties. If he resigns, the
+President may appoint a Secretary of War that Mr. Stanton does not
+approve; therefore he will not resign. But when Congress is in session
+the President can not appoint a Secretary of War which the Senate does
+not approve; consequently when Congress meets Mr. Stanton is ready to
+resign.
+
+Whatever cogency these "considerations" may have had on Mr. Stanton,
+whatever right he may have had to entertain such considerations,
+whatever propriety there might be in the expression of them to others,
+one thing is certain, it was official misconduct, to say the least of
+it, to parade them before his superior officer.
+
+Upon the receipt of this extraordinary note I only delayed the order of
+suspension long enough to make the necessary arrangements to fill the
+office. If this were the only cause for his suspension, it would be
+ample. Necessarily it must end our most important official relations,
+for I can not imagine a degree of effrontery which would embolden the
+head of a Department to take his seat at the council table in the
+Executive Mansion after such an act; nor can I imagine a President so
+forgetful of the proper respect and dignity which belong to his office
+as to submit to such intrusion. I will not do Mr. Stanton the wrong to
+suppose that he entertained any idea of offering to act as one of my
+constitutional advisers after that note was written. There was an
+interval of a week between that date and the order of suspension, during
+which two Cabinet meetings were held. Mr. Stanton did not present
+himself at either, nor was he expected.
+
+On the 12th of August Mr. Stanton was notified of his suspension and
+that General Grant had been authorized to take charge of the Department.
+In his answer to this notification, of the same date, Mr. Stanton
+expresses himself as follows:
+
+  Under a sense of public duty I am compelled to deny your right under
+  the Constitution and laws of the United States, without the advice and
+  consent of the Senate and without any legal cause, to suspend me from
+  office as Secretary of War or the exercise of any or all functions
+  pertaining to the same, or without such advice and consent to compel
+  me to transfer to any person the records, books, papers, and public
+  property in my custody as Secretary.
+
+  But inasmuch as the General Commanding the armies of the United States
+  has been appointed _ad interim_, and has notified me that he has
+  accepted the appointment, I have no alternative but to submit, under
+  protest, to superior force.
+
+
+It will not escape attention that in his note of August 5 Mr. Stanton
+stated that he had been constrained to continue in the office, even
+before he was requested to resign, by considerations of a high public
+character. In this note of August 12 a new and different sense of public
+duty compels him to deny the President's right to suspend him from
+office without the consent of the Senate. This last is the public duty
+of resisting an act contrary to law, and he charges the President with
+violation of the law in ordering his suspension.
+
+Mr. Stanton refers generally to the Constitution and laws of the "United
+States," and says that a sense of public duty "under" these compels him
+to deny the right of the President to suspend him from office. As to his
+sense of duty under the Constitution, that will be considered in the
+sequel. As to his sense of duty under "the laws of the United States,"
+he certainly can not refer to the law which creates the War Department,
+for that expressly confers upon the President the unlimited right to
+remove the head of the Department. The only other law bearing upon
+the question is the tenure-of-office act, passed by Congress over the
+Presidential veto March 2, 1867. This is the law which, under a sense
+of public duty, Mr. Stanton volunteers to defend.
+
+There is no provision in this law which compels any officer coming
+within its provisions to remain in office. It forbids removals--not
+resignations. Mr. Stanton was perfectly free to resign at any moment,
+either upon his own motion or in compliance with a request or an order.
+It was a matter of choice or of taste. There was nothing compulsory in
+the nature of legal obligation. Nor does he put his action upon that
+imperative ground. He says he acts under a "sense of public duty," not
+of legal obligation, compelling him to hold on and leaving him no
+choice. The public duty which is upon him arises from the respect which
+he owes to the Constitution and the laws, violated in his own case.
+He is therefore compelled by this sense of public duty to vindicate
+violated law and to stand as its champion.
+
+This was not the first occasion in which Mr. Stanton, in discharge of
+a public duty, was called upon to consider the provisions of that law.
+That tenure-of-office law did not pass without notice. Like other acts,
+it was sent to the President for approval. As is my custom, I submitted
+its consideration to my Cabinet for their advice upon the question
+whether I should approve it or not. It was a grave question of
+constitutional law, in which I would, of course, rely most upon the
+opinion of the Attorney-General and of Mr. Stanton, who had once been
+Attorney-General.
+
+Every member of my Cabinet advised me that the proposed law was
+unconstitutional. All spoke without doubt or reservation, but Mr.
+Stanton's condemnation of the law was the most elaborate and emphatic.
+He referred to the constitutional provisions, the debates in Congress,
+especially to the speech of Mr. Buchanan when a Senator, to the
+decisions of the Supreme Court, and to the usage from the beginning of
+the Government through every successive Administration, all concurring
+to establish the right of removal as vested by the Constitution in the
+President. To all these he added the weight of his own deliberate
+judgment, and advised me that it was my duty to defend the power of
+the President from usurpation and to veto the law.
+
+I do not know when a sense of public duty is more imperative upon a head
+of Department than upon such an occasion as this. He acts then under the
+gravest obligations of law, for when he is called upon by the President
+for advice it is the Constitution which speaks to him. All his other
+duties are left by the Constitution to be regulated by statute, but this
+duty was deemed so momentous that it is imposed by the Constitution
+itself.
+
+After all this I was not prepared for the ground taken by Mr. Stanton in
+his note of August 12. I was not prepared to find him compelled by a new
+and indefinite sense of public duty, under "the Constitution," to assume
+the vindication of a law which, under the solemn obligations of public
+duty imposed by the Constitution itself, he advised me was a violation
+of that Constitution. I make great allowance for a change of opinion,
+but such a change as this hardly falls within the limits of greatest
+indulgence.
+
+Where our opinions take the shape of advice, and influence the action
+of others, the utmost stretch of charity will scarcely justify us in
+repudiating them when they come to be applied to ourselves.
+
+But to proceed with the narrative. I was so much struck with the full
+mastery of the question manifested by Mr. Stanton, and was at the time
+so fully occupied with the preparation of another veto upon the pending
+reconstruction act, that I requested him to prepare the veto upon this
+tenure-of-office bill. This he declined, on the ground of physical
+disability to undergo at the time the labor of writing, but stated his
+readiness to furnish what aid might be required in the preparation of
+materials for the paper.
+
+At the time this subject was before the Cabinet it seemed to be taken
+for granted that as to those members of the Cabinet who had been
+appointed by Mr. Lincoln their tenure of office was not fixed by the
+provisions of the act. I do not remember that the point was distinctly
+decided, but I well recollect that it was suggested by one member of the
+Cabinet who was appointed by Mr. Lincoln, and that no dissent was
+expressed.
+
+Whether the point was well taken or not did not seem to me of any
+consequence, for the unanimous expression of opinion against the
+constitutionality and policy of the act was so decided that I felt no
+concern, so far as the act had reference to the gentlemen then present,
+that I would be embarrassed in the future. The bill had not then become
+a law. The limitation upon the power of removal was not yet imposed, and
+there was yet time to make any changes. If any one of these gentlemen
+had then said to me that he would avail himself of the provisions of
+that bill in case it became a law, I should not have hesitated a moment
+as to his removal. No pledge was then expressly given or required.
+But there are circumstances when to give an expressed pledge is not
+necessary, and when to require it is an imputation of possible bad
+faith. I felt that if these gentlemen came within the purview of the
+bill it was as to them a dead letter, and that none of them would ever
+take refuge under its provisions.
+
+I now pass to another subject. When, on the 15th of April, 1865, the
+duties of the Presidential office devolved upon me, I found a full
+Cabinet of seven members, all of them selected by Mr. Lincoln.
+I made no change. On the contrary, I shortly afterwards ratified a
+change determined upon by Mr. Lincoln, but not perfected at his death,
+and admitted his appointee, Mr. Harlan, in the place of Mr. Usher, who
+was in office at the time.
+
+The great duty of the time was to reestablish government, law, and order
+in the insurrectionary States. Congress was then in recess, and the
+sudden overthrow of the rebellion required speedy action. This grave
+subject had engaged the attention of Mr. Lincoln in the last days of his
+life, and the plan according to which it was to be managed had been
+prepared and was ready for adoption. A leading feature of that plan was
+that it should be carried out by the Executive authority, for, so far as
+I have been informed, neither Mr. Lincoln nor any member of his Cabinet
+doubted his authority to act or proposed to call an extra session of
+Congress to do the work. The first business transacted in Cabinet after
+I became President was this unfinished business of my predecessor.
+A plan or scheme of reconstruction was produced which had been prepared
+for Mr. Lincoln by Mr. Stanton, his Secretary of War. It was approved,
+and at the earliest moment practicable was applied in the form of a
+proclamation to the State of North Carolina, and afterwards became the
+basis of action in turn for the other States.
+
+Upon the examination of Mr. Stanton before the Impeachment Committee he
+was asked the following question:
+
+  Did any one of the Cabinet express a doubt of the power of the executive
+  branch of the Government to reorganize State governments which had been
+  in rebellion without the aid of Congress?
+
+
+He answered:
+
+  None whatever. I had myself entertained no doubt of the authority of the
+  President to take measures for the organization of the rebel States on
+  the plan proposed during the vacation of Congress and agreed in the plan
+  specified in the proclamation in the case of North Carolina.
+
+
+There is perhaps no act of my Administration for which I have been more
+denounced than this. It was not originated by me, but I shrink from no
+responsibility on that account, for the plan approved itself to my own
+judgment, and I did not hesitate to carry it into execution.
+
+Thus far and upon this vital policy there was perfect accord between the
+Cabinet and myself, and I saw no necessity for a change. As time passed
+on there was developed an unfortunate difference of opinion and of
+policy between Congress and the President upon this same subject and
+upon the ultimate basis upon which the reconstruction of these States
+should proceed, especially upon the question of negro suffrage. Upon
+this point three members of the Cabinet found themselves to be in
+sympathy with Congress. They remained only long enough to see that the
+difference of policy could not be reconciled. They felt that they should
+remain no longer, and a high sense of duty and propriety constrained
+them to resign their positions. We parted with mutual respect for the
+sincerity of each other in opposite opinions, and mutual regret that the
+difference was on points so vital as to require a severance of official
+relations. This was in the summer of 1866. The subsequent sessions of
+Congress developed new complications, when the suffrage bill for the
+District of Columbia and the reconstruction acts of March 2 and March
+23, 1867, all passed over the veto. It was in Cabinet consultations upon
+these bills that a difference of opinion upon the most vital points was
+developed. Upon these questions there was perfect accord between all the
+members of the Cabinet and myself, except Mr. Stanton. He stood alone,
+and the difference of opinion could not be reconciled. That unity of
+opinion which, upon great questions of public policy or administration,
+is so essential to the Executive was gone.
+
+I do not claim that a head of Department should have no other opinions
+than those of the President. He has the same right, in the conscientious
+discharge of duty, to entertain and express his own opinions as has the
+President. What I do claim is that the President is the responsible head
+of the Administration, and when the opinions of a head of Department are
+irreconcilably opposed to those of the President in grave matters of
+policy and administration there is but one result which can solve the
+difficulty, and that is a severance of the official relation. This in
+the past history of the Government has always been the rule, and it is a
+wise one, for such differences of opinion among its members must impair
+the efficiency of any Administration.
+
+I have now referred to the general grounds upon which the withdrawal
+or Mr. Stanton from my Administration seemed to me to be proper and
+necessary, but I can not omit to state a special ground, which, if it
+stood alone, would vindicate my action.
+
+The sanguinary riot which occurred in the city of New Orleans on the
+30th of August, 1866, justly aroused public indignation and public
+inquiry, not only as to those who were engaged in it, but as to those
+who, more or less remotely, might be held to responsibility for its
+occurrence. I need not remind the Senate of the effort made to fix that
+responsibility on the President. The charge was openly made, and again
+and again reiterated all through the land, that the President was warned
+in time, but refused to interfere.
+
+By telegrams from the lieutenant-governor and attorney-general of
+Louisiana, dated the 27th and 28th of August, I was advised that a body
+of delegates claiming to be a constitutional convention were about to
+assemble in New Orleans; that the matter was before the grand jury, but
+that it would be impossible to execute civil process without a riot; and
+this question was asked:
+
+  Is the military to interfere to prevent process of court?
+
+
+This question was asked at a time when the civil courts were in the full
+exercise of their authority, and the answer sent by telegraph on the
+same 28th of August was this:
+
+  The military will be expected to sustain, and not to interfere with,
+  the proceedings of the courts.
+
+
+On the same 28th of August the following telegram was sent to Mr.
+Stanton by Major-General Baird, then (owing to the absence of General
+Sheridan) in command of the military at New Orleans:
+
+
+  Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+    _Secretary of War_:
+
+  A convention has been called, with the sanction of Governor Wells, to
+  meet here on Monday. The lieutenant-governor and city authorities think
+  it unlawful, and propose to break it up by arresting the delegates.
+  I have given no orders on the subject, but have warned the parties that
+  I could not countenance or permit such action without instructions to
+  that effect from the President. Please instruct me at once by telegraph.
+
+
+The 28th of August was on Saturday. The next morning, the 29th, this
+dispatch was received by Mr. Stanton at his residence in this city. He
+took no action upon it, and neither sent instructions to General Baird
+himself nor presented it to me for such instructions. On the next day
+(Monday) the riot occurred. I never saw this dispatch from General Baird
+until some ten days or two weeks after the riot, when, upon my call for
+all the dispatches, with a view to their publication, Mr. Stanton sent
+it to me.
+
+These facts all appear in the testimony of Mr. Stanton before the
+Judiciary Committee in the impeachment investigation.
+
+On the 30th, the day of the riot, and after it was suppressed, General
+Baird wrote to Mr. Stanton a long letter, from which I make the
+following extract:
+
+  SIR: I have the honor to inform you that a very serious riot has
+  occurred here to-day. I had not been applied to by the convention
+  for protection, but the lieutenant-governor and the mayor had freely
+  consulted with me, and I was so fully convinced that it was so strongly
+  the intent of the city authorities to preserve the peace, in order to
+  prevent military interference, that I did not regard an outbreak as a
+  thing to be apprehended. The lieutenant-governor had assured me that
+  even if a writ of arrest was issued by the court the sheriff would not
+  attempt to serve it without my permission, and for to-day they designed
+  to suspend it. I inclose herewith copies of my correspondence with the
+  mayor and of a dispatch which the lieutenant-governor claims to have
+  received from the President. I regret that no reply to my dispatch to
+  you of Saturday has yet reached me. General Sheridan is still absent
+  in Texas.
+
+
+The dispatch of General Baird of the 28th asks for immediate
+instructions, and his letter of the 30th, after detailing the terrible
+riot which had just happened, ends with the expression of regret that
+the instructions which he asked for were not sent. It is not the fault
+or the error or the omission of the President that this military
+commander was left without instructions; but for all omissions, for
+all errors, for all failures to instruct when instruction might have
+averted this calamity, the President was openly and persistently held
+responsible. Instantly, without waiting for proof, the delinquency of
+the President was heralded in every form of utterance. Mr. Stanton knew
+then that the President was not responsible for this delinquency. The
+exculpation was in his power, but it was not given by him to the public,
+and only to the President in obedience to a requisition for all the
+dispatches.
+
+No one regrets more than myself that General Baird's request was not
+brought to my notice. It is clear from his dispatch and letter that if
+the Secretary of War had given him proper instructions the riot which
+arose on the assembling of the convention would have been averted.
+
+There may be those ready to say that I would have given no instructions
+even if the dispatch had reached me in time, but all must admit that
+I ought to have had the opportunity.
+
+The following is the testimony given by Mr. Stanton before the
+impeachment investigation committee as to this dispatch:
+
+
+  Q. Referring to the dispatch of the 28th of July by General Baird, I ask
+  you whether that dispatch on its receipt was communicated?
+
+  A. I received that dispatch on Sunday forenoon. I examined it carefully,
+  and considered the question presented. I did not see that I could give
+  any instructions different from the line of action which General Baird
+  proposed, and made no answer to the dispatch.
+
+  Q. I see it stated that this was received at 10.20 p.m. Was that the
+  hour at which it was received by you?
+
+  A. That is the date of its reception in the telegraph office Saturday
+  night. I received it on Sunday forenoon at my residence. A copy of the
+  dispatch was furnished to the President several days afterwards, along
+  with all the other dispatches and communications on that subject, but it
+  was not furnished by me before that time. I suppose it may have been ten
+  or fifteen days afterwards.
+
+  Q. The President himself being in correspondence with those parties upon
+  the same subject, would it not have been proper to have advised him of
+  the reception of that dispatch?
+
+  A. I know nothing about his correspondence, and know nothing about any
+  correspondence except this one dispatch. We had intelligence of the riot
+  on Thursday morning. The riot had taken place on Monday.
+
+
+It is a difficult matter to define all the relations which exist between
+the heads of Departments and the President. The legal relations are well
+enough defined. The Constitution places these officers in the relation
+of his advisers when he calls upon them for advice. The acts of Congress
+go further. Take, for example, the act of 1789 creating the War
+Department. It provides that--
+
+  There shall be a principal officer therein to be called the Secretary
+  for the Department of War, who shall perform and execute such duties
+  as shall from time to time be enjoined on or intrusted to him by the
+  President of the United States; and, furthermore, the said principal
+  officer shall conduct the business of the said Department in such manner
+  as the President of the United States shall from time to time order and
+  instruct.
+
+
+Provision is also made for the appointment of an inferior officer by the
+head of the Department, to be called the chief clerk, "who, whenever
+said principal officer shall be removed from office by the President
+of the United States," shall have the charge and custody of the books,
+records, and papers of the Department.
+
+The legal relation is analogous to that of principal and agent. It is
+the President upon whom the Constitution devolves, as head of the
+executive department, the duty to see that the laws are faithfully
+executed; but as he can not execute them in person, he is allowed to
+select his agents, and is made responsible for their acts within just
+limits. So complete is this presumed delegation of authority in the
+relation of a head of Department to the President that the Supreme Court
+of the United States have decided that an order made by a head of
+Department is presumed to be made by the President himself.
+
+The principal, upon whom such responsibility is placed for the acts
+of a subordinate, ought to be left as free as possible in the matter
+of selection and of dismissal. To hold him to responsibility for an
+officer beyond his control; to leave the question of the fitness of
+such an agent to be decided _for_ him and not _by_ him; to allow such
+a subordinate, when the President, moved by "public considerations of
+a high character," requests his resignation, to assume for himself an
+equal right to act upon his own views of "public considerations" and to
+make his own conclusions paramount to those of the President--to allow
+all this is to reverse the just order of administration and to place
+the subordinate above the superior.
+
+There are, however, other relations between the President and
+a head of Department beyond these defined legal relations, which
+necessarily attend them, though not expressed. Chief among these is
+mutual confidence. This relation is so delicate that it is sometimes
+hard to say when or how it ceases. A single flagrant act may end
+it at once, and then there is no difficulty. But confidence may be
+just as effectually destroyed by a series of causes too subtle for
+demonstration. As it is a plant of slow growth, so, too, it may be
+slow in decay. Such has been the process here. I will not pretend to say
+what acts or omissions have broken up this relation. They are hardly
+susceptible of statement, and still less of formal proof. Nevertheless,
+no one can read the correspondence of the 5th of August without being
+convinced that this relation was effectually gone on both sides, and
+that while the President was unwilling to allow Mr. Stanton to remain
+in his Administration, Mr. Stanton was equally unwilling to allow the
+President to carry on his Administration without his presence.
+
+In the great debate which took place in the House of Representatives
+in 1789, in the first organization of the principal Departments, Mr.
+Madison spoke as follows:
+
+  It is evidently the intention of the Constitution that the first
+  magistrate should be responsible for the executive department. So far,
+  therefore, as we do not make the officers who are to aid him in the
+  duties of that department responsible to him, he is not responsible
+  to the country. Again: Is there no danger that an officer, when he is
+  appointed by the concurrence of the Senate and has friends in that body,
+  may choose rather to risk his establishment on the favor of that branch
+  than rest it upon the discharge of his duties to the satisfaction of the
+  executive branch, which is constitutionally authorized to inspect and
+  control his conduct? And if it should happen that the officers connect
+  themselves with the Senate, they may mutually support each other, and
+  for want of efficacy reduce the power of the President to a mere
+  vapor, in which case his responsibility would be annihilated, and the
+  expectation of it is unjust. The high executive officers, joined in
+  cabal with the Senate, would lay the foundation of discord, and end in
+  an assumption of the executive power only to be removed by a revolution
+  in the Government.
+
+
+Mr. Sedgwick, in the same debate, referring to the proposition that
+a head of Department should only be removed or suspended by the
+concurrence of the Senate, used this language:
+
+  But if proof be necessary, what is then the consequence? Why, in nine
+  cases out of ten, where the case is very clear to the mind of the
+  President that the man ought to be removed, the effect can not be
+  produced, because it is absolutely impossible to produce the necessary
+  evidence. Are the Senate to proceed without evidence? Some gentlemen
+  contend not. Then the object will be lost. Shall a man under these
+  circumstances be saddled upon the President who has been appointed for
+  no other purpose but to aid the President in performing certain duties?
+  Shall he be continued, I ask again, against the will of the President?
+  If he is, where is the responsibility? Are you to look for it in the
+  President, who has no control over the officer, no power to remove him
+  if he acts unfeelingly or unfaithfully? Without you make him responsible
+  you weaken and destroy the strength and beauty of your system. What is
+  to be done in cases which can only be known from a long acquaintance
+  with the conduct of an officer?
+
+
+I had indulged the hope that upon the assembling of Congress
+Mr. Stanton would have ended this unpleasant complication according
+to his intimation given in his note of August 12. The duty which I have
+felt myself called upon to perform was by no means agreeable, but I feel
+that I am not responsible for the controversy or for the consequences.
+
+Unpleasant as this necessary change in my Cabinet has been to me upon
+personal considerations, I have the consolation to be assured that so
+far as the public interests are involved there is no cause for regret.
+
+Salutary reforms have been introduced by the Secretary _ad interim_, and
+great reductions of expenses have been effected under his administration
+of the War Department, to the saving of millions to the Treasury.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 14, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+9th instant, I transmit herewith a copy of the papers relating to the
+trial by a military commission of Albert M.D.C. Lusk, of Louisiana.
+No action in the case has yet been taken by the President.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 17, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit for the information of the House of Representatives a report
+from the Secretary of State, with an accompanying paper.[32]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 32: Report of George H. Sharpe relative to the assassination
+of President Lincoln and the attempted assassination of Secretary
+Seward.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 17, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 6th instant,
+concerning the International Monetary Conference held at Paris in
+June last, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, which
+is accompanied by the papers called for by the resolution.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 17, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate, an agreement between
+the diplomatic representatives of certain foreign powers in Japan,
+including the minister of the United States, on the one part, and
+plenipotentiaries on the part of the Japanese Government, relative
+to the settlement of Yokohama.
+
+This instrument can not be legally binding upon the United States unless
+sanctioned by the Senate. There appears to be no objection to its
+approval.
+
+A copy of General Van Valkenburgh's dispatch to the Secretary of State,
+by which the agreement was accompanied, and of the map to which it
+refers, are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _December 18, 1867_.
+
+_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
+
+An official copy of the order issued by Major-General Winfield S.
+Hancock, commander of the Fifth Military District, dated headquarters in
+New Orleans, La., on the 29th day of November, has reached me through
+the regular channels of the War Department, and I herewith communicate
+it to Congress for such action as may seem to be proper in view of all
+the circumstances.
+
+It will be perceived that General Hancock announces that he will make
+the law the rule of his conduct; that he will uphold the courts and
+other civil authorities in the performance of their proper duties, and
+that he will use his military power only to preserve the peace and
+enforce the law. He declares very explicitly that the sacred right of
+the trial by jury and the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ shall
+not be crushed out or trodden under foot. He goes further, and in one
+comprehensive sentence asserts that the principles of American liberty
+are still the inheritance of this people and ever should be.
+
+When a great soldier, with unrestricted power in his hands to oppress
+his fellow-men, voluntarily foregoes the chance of gratifying his
+selfish ambition and devotes himself to the duty of building up the
+liberties and strengthening the laws of his country, he presents an
+example of the highest public virtue that human nature is capable of
+practicing. The strongest claim of Washington to be "first in war,
+first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen" is founded
+on the great fact that in all his illustrious career he scrupulously
+abstained from violating the legal and constitutional rights of his
+fellow-citizens. When he surrendered his commission to Congress, the
+President of that body spoke his highest praise in saying that he had
+"always regarded the rights of the civil authorities through all dangers
+and disasters." Whenever power above the law courted his acceptance, he
+calmly put the temptation aside. By such magnanimous acts of forbearance
+he won the universal admiration of mankind and left a name which has no
+rival in the history of the world.
+
+I am far from saying that General Hancock is the only officer of the
+American Army who is influenced by the example of Washington. Doubtless
+thousands of them are faithfully devoted to the principles for which the
+men of the Revolution laid down their lives. But the distinguished honor
+belongs to him of being the first officer in high command south of the
+Potomac, since the close of the civil war, who has given utterance to
+these noble sentiments in the form of a military order.
+
+I respectfully suggest to Congress that some public recognition of
+General Hancock's patriotic conduct is due, if not to him, to the friends
+of law and justice throughout the country. Of such an act as his at such
+a time it is but fit that the dignity should be vindicated and the virtue
+proclaimed, so that its value as an example may not be lost to the nation.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 19, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to a resolution of that body
+of the 16th instant, a report[33] from the Secretary of State, with
+accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 33: Relating to the removal of Governor Ballard, of the
+Territory of Idaho.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 20, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I herewith transmit to Congress a report, dated the 20th 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.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 31, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+18th instant, requesting information concerning alleged interference
+by Russian naval vessels with whaling vessels of the United States,
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the papers referred
+to therein.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 6, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith transmit to the Senate a report from the Secretary of the
+Treasury, containing the information requested in their resolution of
+the 16th ultimo, relative to the amount of United States bonds issued to
+the Union Pacific Railroad Company and each of its branches, including
+the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 7, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to a
+resolution of the House of Representatives of yesterday, making inquiry
+how many and what State legislatures have ratified the proposed
+amendment to the Constitution of the United States known as the
+fourteenth article.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 7, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+A Spanish steamer named _Nuestra Señora_ being in the harbor of Port
+Royal, S.C., on the 1st of December, 1861, Brigadier General T.W.
+Sherman, who was in command of the United States forces there, received
+information which he supposed justified him in seizing her, as she was
+on her way from Charleston to Havana with insurgent correspondence on
+board. The seizure was made accordingly, and during the ensuing spring
+the vessel was sent to New York, in order that the legality of the
+seizure might be tried.
+
+By a decree of June 20, 1863, Judge Betts ordered the vessel to be
+restored, and by a subsequent decree, of October 15, 1863, he referred
+the adjustment of damages to amicable negotiations between the two
+Governments.
+
+While the proceeding in admiralty was pending, the vessel was appraised
+and taken by the Navy Department at the valuation of $28,000, which sum
+that Department paid into the Treasury.
+
+As the amount of this valuation can not legally be drawn from the
+Treasury without authority from Congress, I recommend an appropriation
+for that purpose.
+
+It is proposed to appoint a commissioner on the part of this Government
+to adjust, informally in this case, with a similar commissioner on the
+part of Spain, the question of damages, the commissioners to name an
+arbiter for points upon which they may disagree. When the amount of the
+damages shall thus have been ascertained, application will be made to
+Congress for a further appropriation toward paying them.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 14, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War _ad
+interim_, with the accompanying papers, prepared in compliance with a
+resolution of the House of Representatives of March 15, 1867, requesting
+information in reference to contracts for ordnance projectiles and small
+arms.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 14, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith the report made by the commissioners appointed under
+the act of Congress approved on the 20th day of July, 1867, entitled
+"An act to establish peace with certain hostile Indian tribes," together
+with the accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 14, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of yesterday, calling for
+information relating to the appointment of the American minister at
+Pekin to a diplomatic or other mission on behalf of the Chinese
+Government by the Emperor of China, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State upon the subject, together with the accompanying
+papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, _January 14, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+the following treaties, concluded at "Medicine Lodge Creek," Kansas,
+between the Indian tribes therein named and the United States, by their
+commissioners appointed by the act of Congress approved July 20, 1867,
+entitled "An act to establish peace with certain hostile Indian tribes,"
+viz:
+
+A treaty with the Kiowa and Comanche tribes, concluded October 21, 1867.
+
+A treaty with the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes, concluded October
+28, 1867.
+
+A treaty with the Arapahoe and Cheyenne tribes, dated October 28, 1867.
+
+A letter of this date from the Secretary of the Interior, transmitting
+said treaties, is herewith inclosed.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 17, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+With reference to the convention between the United States and Denmark
+for the cession of the islands of St. Thomas and St. John, in the West
+Indies, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State on the subject
+of the vote of St. Thomas on the question of accepting the cession.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 23, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the request of the Senate of yesterday, I return
+herewith their resolution of the 21st instant, calling for information
+in reference to James A. Seddon, late Secretary of War of the so-called
+Confederate States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 23, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I have received the following preamble and resolution, adopted by the
+Senate on the 8th instant:
+
+
+  Whereas Senate bill No. 141, and entitled "An act for the further
+  security of equal rights in the District of Columbia," having at this
+  present session passed both Houses of Congress, was afterwards, on the
+  11th day of December, 1867, duly presented to the President of the
+  United States for his approval and signature; and
+
+  Whereas more than ten days, exclusive of Sundays, have since elapsed in
+  this session without said bill having been returned, either approved or
+  disapproved: Therefore,
+
+  _Resolved_, That the President of the United States be requested to
+  inform the Senate whether said bill has been delivered to and received
+  by the Secretary of State, as provided by the second section of the act
+  of the 27th day of July, 1789.
+
+
+As the act which the resolution mentions has no relevancy to the subject
+under inquiry, it is presumed that it was the intention of the Senate to
+refer to the law of the 15th September, 1789, the second section of
+which prescribes--
+
+  That whenever a bill, order, resolution, or vote of the Senate and
+  House of Representatives, having been approved and signed by the
+  President of the United States, or not having been returned by him with
+  his objections, shall become a law or take effect, it shall forthwith
+  thereafter be received by the said Secretary from the President; and
+  whenever a bill, order, resolution, or vote shall be returned by the
+  President with his objections, and shall, on being reconsidered, be
+  agreed to be passed, and be approved by two-thirds of both Houses of
+  Congress, and thereby become a law or take effect, it shall in such
+  case be received by the said Secretary from the President of the Senate
+  or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in whichsoever House it
+  shall last have been so approved.
+
+
+Inasmuch as the bill "for the further security of equal rights in the
+District of Columbia" has not become a law in either of the modes
+designated in the section above quoted, it has not been delivered to
+the Secretary of State for record and promulgation. The Constitution
+expressly declares that--
+
+  If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days
+  (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the
+  same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless
+  the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case
+  it shall not be a law.
+
+
+As stated in the preamble to the resolution, the bill to which it refers
+was presented for my approval on the 11th day of December, 1867. On the
+20th of same month, and before the expiration of the ten days after the
+presentation of the bill to the President, the two Houses, in accordance
+with a concurrent resolution adopted on the 3d [13th] of December,
+adjourned until the 6th of January, 1868. Congress by their adjournment
+thus prevented the return of the bill within the time prescribed by the
+Constitution, and it was therefore left in the precise condition in
+which that instrument positively declares a bill "shall not be a law."
+
+If the adjournment in December did not cause the failure of this bill,
+because not such an adjournment as is contemplated by the Constitution
+in the clause which I have cited, it must follow that such was the
+nature of the adjournments during the past year, on the 30th day of
+March until the first Wednesday of July and from the 20th of July until
+the 21st of November. Other bills will therefore be affected by the
+decision which may be rendered in this case, among them one having the
+same title as that named in the resolution, and containing similar
+provisions, which, passed by both Houses in the month of July last,
+failed to become a law by reason of the adjournment of Congress before
+ten days for its consideration had been allowed the Executive.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 27, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+22d instant, calling for a copy of the report of Abram S. Hewitt,
+commissioner of the United States to the Paris Universal Exhibition of
+1867, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the papers
+which accompany it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 27, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the documents to
+which it refers, in relation to the formal transfer of territory from
+Russia to the United States in accordance with the treaty of the 30th
+of March last.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 28, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to its
+ratification, an additional article to the treaty of navigation and
+commerce with Russia of the 18th of December, 1832, which additional
+article was concluded and signed between the plenipotentiaries of the
+two Governments at Washington on the 27th instant.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 3, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of State, suggesting
+the necessity for a further appropriation toward defraying the expense
+of employing copying clerks, with a view to enable his Department
+seasonably to answer certain calls for information.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 3, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 27th
+ultimo, directing the Secretary of State to furnish information in
+regard to the trial of John H. Surratt, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 3, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report[34]  from the Secretary of State, in answer
+to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 28th of January.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 34: Relating to the famine in Sweden and Norway.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Navy,
+relative to depredations upon and the future care of the reservations
+of lands for the "purpose of supplying timber for the Navy of the
+United States."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 1st
+instant, I transmit herewith a report from the Postmaster-General, in
+reference to the appointment of a special agent to take charge of the
+post-office at Penn Yan, in the State of New York.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, with the accompanying
+papers, on the subject of a transfer of the Peninsula and Bay of Samana
+to the United States. The advice and consent of the Senate to the
+transfer, upon the terms proposed in the draft of a convention with the
+Dominican Republic, are requested.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I submit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, the accompanying consular convention between the
+United States and the Government of His Majesty the King of Italy.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Attorney-General, prepared
+in compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 30th ultimo,
+requesting information as to the number of justices of the peace now
+in commission in each ward, respectively, of the city of Washington.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 25th
+of November, 1867, calling for information in relation to the trial and
+conviction of American citizens in Great Britain and Ireland for the
+two years last past, I transmit a partial report from the Secretary of
+State, which is accompanied by a portion of the papers called for by
+the resolution.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 11, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution adopted yesterday by the House of
+Representatives, requesting any further correspondence the President
+"may have had with General U.S. Grant, in addition to that heretofore
+submitted, on the subject of the recent vacation by the latter of the
+War Office," I transmit herewith a copy of a communication addressed
+to General Grant on the 10th instant, together with a copy of the
+accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 10, 1868_.
+
+General U.S. GRANT,
+
+_Commanding Armies of the United States, Washington, D.C._
+
+GENERAL: The extraordinary character of your letter of the 3d instant[35]
+would seem to preclude any reply on my part; but the manner in which
+publicity has been given to the correspondence of which that letter
+forms a part and the grave questions which are involved induce me to
+take this mode of giving, as a proper sequel to the communications which
+have passed between us, the statements of the five members of the
+Cabinet who were present on the occasion of our conversation on the 14th
+ultimo. Copies of the letters which they have addressed to me upon the
+subject are accordingly herewith inclosed.
+
+You speak of my letter of the 31st ultimo[36] as a reiteration of the
+"many and gross misrepresentations" contained in certain newspaper
+articles, and reassert the correctness of the statements contained in
+your communication of the 28th ultimo,[37] adding--and here I give your
+own words--"anything in yours in reply to it to the contrary
+notwithstanding."
+
+When a controversy upon matters of fact reaches the point to which this
+has been brought, further assertion or denial between the immediate
+parties should cease, especially where upon either side it loses
+the character of the respectful discussion which is required by the
+relations in which the parties stand to each other and degenerates in
+tone and temper. In such a case, if there is nothing to rely upon but
+the opposing statements, conclusions must be drawn from those statements
+alone and from whatever intrinsic probabilities they afford in favor of
+or against either of the parties. I should not shrink from this test in
+this controversy; but, fortunately, it is not left to this test alone.
+There were five Cabinet officers present at the conversation the detail
+of which in my letter of the 28th [31st[37]] ultimo you allow yourself
+to say contains "many and gross misrepresentations." These gentlemen
+heard that conversation and have read my statement. They speak for
+themselves, and I leave the proof without a word of comment.
+
+I deem it proper before concluding this communication to notice some of
+the statements contained in your letter.
+
+You say that a performance of the promises alleged to have been made by
+you to the President "would have involved a resistance to law and an
+inconsistency with the whole history of my connection with the
+suspension of Mr. Stanton." You then state that you had fears the
+President would, on the removal of Mr. Stanton, appoint someone in his
+place who would embarrass the Army in carrying out the reconstruction
+acts, and add:
+
+"It was to prevent such an appointment that I accepted the office of
+Secretary of War _ad interim_, and not for the purpose of enabling you
+to get rid of Mr. Stanton by withholding it from him in opposition to
+law, or, not doing so myself, surrendering it to one who would, as the
+statements and assumptions in your communication plainly indicate was
+sought."
+
+First of all, you here admit that from the very beginning of what
+you term "the whole history" of your connection with Mr. Stanton's
+suspension you intended to circumvent the President. It was to carry out
+that intent that you accepted the appointment. This was in your mind at
+the time of your acceptance. It was not, then, in obedience to the order
+of your superior, as has heretofore been supposed, that you assumed the
+duties of the office. You knew it was the President's purpose to prevent
+Mr. Stanton from resuming the office of Secretary of War, and you
+intended to defeat that purpose. You accepted the office, not in the
+interest of the President but of Mr. Stanton. If this purpose, so
+entertained by you, had been confined to yourself; if when accepting
+the office you had done so with a mental reservation to frustrate the
+President, it would have been a tacit deception. In the ethics of some
+persons such a course is allowable. But you can not stand even upon
+that questionable ground. The "history" of your connection with this
+transaction, as written by yourself, places you in a different
+predicament, and shows that you not only concealed your design from
+the President, but induced him to suppose that you would carry out his
+purpose to keep Mr. Stanton out of office by retaining it yourself after
+an attempted restoration by the Senate, so as to require Mr. Stanton to
+establish his right by judicial decision.
+
+I now give that part of this "history" as written by yourself in your
+letter of the 28th ultimo:[38]
+
+"Some time after I assumed the duties of Secretary of War _ad interim_
+the President asked me my views as to the course Mr. Stanton would have
+to pursue, in case the Senate should not concur in his suspension, to
+obtain possession of his office. My reply was, in substance, that
+Mr. Stanton would have to appeal to the courts to reinstate him,
+illustrating my position by citing the ground I had taken in the case
+of the Baltimore police commissioners."
+
+Now, at that time, as you admit in your letter of the 3d instant,[39]
+you held the office for the very object of defeating an appeal to the
+courts. In that letter you say that in accepting the office one motive
+was to prevent the President from appointing some other person who would
+retain possession, and thus make judicial proceedings necessary. You
+knew the President was unwilling to trust the office with anyone who
+would not by holding it compel Mr. Stanton to resort to the courts.
+You perfectly understood that in this interview, "some time" after
+you accepted the office, the President, not content with your silence,
+desired an expression of your views, and you answered him that Mr.
+Stanton "would have to appeal to the courts." If the President reposed
+confidence _before_ he knew your views, and that confidence had been
+violated, it might have been said he made a mistake; but a violation of
+confidence reposed _after_ that conversation was no mistake of his nor
+of yours. It is the fact only that needs be stated, that at the date of
+this conversation you did not intend to hold the office with the purpose
+of forcing Mr. Stanton into court, but did hold it then and had accepted
+it to prevent that course from being carried out. In other words, you
+said to the President, "That is the proper course," and you said to
+yourself, "I have accepted this office, and now hold it to defeat that
+course." The excuse you make in a subsequent paragraph of that letter
+of the 28th ultimo,[38] that afterwards you changed your views as to
+what would be a proper course, has nothing to do with the point now
+under consideration. The point is that _before_ you changed your views
+you had secretly determined to do the very thing which at last you
+did--surrender the office to Mr. Stanton. You may have changed your
+views as to the law, but you certainly did not change your views as
+to the course you had marked out for yourself from the beginning.
+
+I will only notice one more statement in your letter of the 3d
+instant[39]--that the performance of the promises which it is alleged
+were made by you would have involved you in the resistance of law. I
+know of no statute that would have been violated had you, carrying out
+your promises in good faith, tendered your resignation when you
+concluded not to be made a party in any legal proceedings. You add:
+
+"I am in a measure confirmed in this conclusion by your recent orders
+directing me to disobey orders from the Secretary of War, _my superior_
+and your subordinate, without having countermanded his authority to
+issue the orders I am to disobey."
+
+On the 24th[39] ultimo you addressed a note to the President requesting
+in writing an order given to you verbally five days before to disregard
+orders from Mr. Stanton as Secretary of War until you "knew from the
+President himself that they were his orders."
+
+On the 29th,[40] in compliance with your request, I did give you
+instructions in writing "not to obey any order from the War Department
+assumed to be issued by the direction of the President unless such order
+is known by the General Commanding the armies of the United States to
+have been authorized by the Executive."
+
+There are some orders which a Secretary of War may issue without the
+authority of the President; there are others which he issues simply as
+the agent of the President, and which purport to be "by direction" of
+the President. For such orders the President is responsible, and he
+should therefore know and understand what they are before giving such
+"direction." Mr. Stanton states in his letter of the 4th instant,[41]
+which accompanies the published correspondence, that he "has had no
+correspondence with the President since the 12th of August last;" and
+he further says that since he resumed the duties of the office he has
+continued to discharge them "without any personal or written
+communication with the President;" and he adds, "No orders have been
+issued from this Department in the name of the President with my
+knowledge, and I have received no orders from him."
+
+It thus seems that Mr. Stanton now discharges the duties of the War
+Department without any reference to the President and without using his
+name.
+
+My order to you had only reference to orders "assumed to be issued by
+the direction of the President." It would appear from Mr. Stanton's
+letter that you have received no such orders from him. However, in your
+note to the President of the 30th ultimo,[42] in which you acknowledge
+the receipt of the written order of the 29th,[43] you say that you have
+been informed by Mr. Stanton that he has not received any order limiting
+his authority to issue orders to the Army, according to the practice
+of the Department, and state that "while this authority to the War
+Department is not countermanded it will be satisfactory evidence to
+me that any orders issued from the War Department by direction of the
+President are authorized by the Executive."
+
+The President issues an order to you to obey no order from the War
+Department purporting to be made "by the direction of the President"
+until you have referred it to him for his approval. You reply that you
+have received the President's order and will not obey it, but will obey
+an order purporting to be given by his direction _if it comes from the
+War Department_. You will not obey the direct order of the President,
+but will obey his indirect order. If, as you say, there has been a
+practice in the War Department to issue orders in the name of the
+President without his direction, does not the precise order you have
+requested and have received change the practice as to the General of
+the Army? Could not the President countermand any such order issued to
+you from the War Department? If you should receive an order from that
+Department, issued in the name of the President, to do a special act,
+and an order directly from the President himself not to do the act, is
+there a doubt which you are to obey? You answer the question when you
+say to the President, in your letter of the 3d instant,[44] the Secretary
+of War is "my superior and your subordinate," and yet you refuse
+obedience to the superior out of a deference to the subordinate.
+
+Without further comment upon the insubordinate attitude which you
+have assumed, I am at a loss to know how you can relieve yourself
+from obedience to the orders of the President, who is made by the
+Constitution the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, and is
+therefore the official superior as well of the General of the Army
+as of the Secretary of War.
+
+Respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+[Footnote 35: See pp. 618-620.]
+
+[Footnote 36: See pp. 615-618.]
+
+[Footnote 37: See pp. 613-615.]
+
+[Footnote 38: See pp. 613-615.]
+
+[Footnote 39: See pp. 618-620.]
+
+[Footnote 40: See p. 613.]
+
+[Footnote 41: See p. 615.]
+
+[Footnote 42: See pp. 612-613.]
+
+[Footnote 43: See p. 615.]
+
+[Footnote 44: See pp. 618-620.]
+
+
+
+[Letter addressed to each of the members of the Cabinet present at the
+conversation between the President and General Grant on the 14th of
+January, 1868, and answers thereto.]
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, D.C., February 5, 1868_.
+
+SIR: The Chronicle of this morning contains a correspondence between the
+President and General Grant reported from the War Department in answer
+to a resolution of the House of Representatives.
+
+I beg to call your attention to that correspondence, and especially to
+that part of it which refers to the conversation between the President
+and General Grant at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the 14th of
+January, and to request you to state what was said in that conversation.
+
+Very respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 5, 1868_.
+
+The PRESIDENT.
+
+SIR: Your note of this date was handed to me this evening. My
+recollection of the conversation at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the
+14th of January, corresponds with your statement of it in the letter of
+the 31st ultimo[45] in the published correspondence.
+
+The three points specified in that letter, giving your recollection of
+the conversation, are correctly stated.
+
+Very respectfully,
+
+GIDEON WELLES.
+
+[Footnote 45: See pp. 615-618.]
+
+
+
+TREASURY DEPARTMENT, _February 6, 1868_.
+
+The PRESIDENT.
+
+SIR: I have received your note of the 5th instant, calling my attention
+to the correspondence between yourself and General Grant as published in
+the Chronicle of yesterday, especially to that part of it which relates
+to what occurred at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the 14th ultimo, and
+requesting me to state what was said in the conversation referred to.
+
+I can not undertake to state the precise language used, but I have no
+hesitation in saying that your account of that conversation as given in
+your letter to General Grant under date of the 31st ultimo[45]
+substantially and in all important particulars accords with my
+recollection of it.
+
+With great respect, your obedient servant,
+
+HUGH McCULLOCH.
+
+[Footnote 45: See pp. 615-618.]
+
+
+
+POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT,
+
+_Washington, February 6, 1868_.
+
+The PRESIDENT.
+
+SIR: I am in receipt of your letter of the 5th of February, calling my
+attention to the correspondence published in the Chronicle between the
+President and General Grant, and especially to that part of it which
+refers to the conversation between the President and General Grant at
+the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the 14th of January, with a request that
+I state what was said in that conversation.
+
+In reply I have the honor to state that I have read carefully the
+correspondence in question, and particularly the letter of the President
+to General Grant dated January 31, 1868.[45] The following extract from
+your letter of the 31st January to General Grant is, according to my
+recollection, a correct statement of the conversation that took place
+between the President and General Grant at the Cabinet meeting on the
+14th of January last. In the presence of the Cabinet the President
+asked General Grant whether, "in conversation which took place after his
+appointment as Secretary of War _ad interim_, he did not agree either
+to remain at the head of the War Department and abide any judicial
+proceedings that might follow the nonconcurrence by the Senate in Mr.
+Stanton's suspension, or, should he wish not to become involved in such
+a controversy, to put the President in the same position with respect to
+the office as he occupied previous to General Grant's appointment, by
+returning it to the President in time to anticipate such action by the
+Senate." This General Grant admitted.
+
+The President then asked General Grant if at the conference on the
+preceding Saturday he had not, to avoid misunderstanding, requested
+General Grant to state what he intended to do, and, further, if in reply
+to that inquiry he (General Grant) had not referred to their former
+conversations, saying that from them the President understood his
+position, and that his (General Grant's) action would be consistent with
+the understanding which had been reached.
+
+To these questions General Grant replied in the affirmative.
+
+The President asked General Grant if at the conclusion of their
+interview on Saturday it was not understood that they were to have
+another conference on Monday before final action by the Senate in the
+case of Mr. Stanton.
+
+General Grant replied that such was the understanding, but that he did
+not suppose the Senate would act so soon; that on Monday he had been
+engaged in a conference with General Sherman, and was occupied with
+"many little matters," and asked if General Sherman had not called on
+that day.
+
+I take this mode of complying with the request contained in the
+President's letter to me, because my attention had been called to the
+subject before, when the conversation between the President and General
+Grant was under consideration.
+
+Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+
+ALEX W. RANDALL,
+
+_Postmaster-General_.
+
+[Footnote 45: See pp. 615-618.]
+
+
+
+DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
+
+_Washington, D.C., February 6, 1868_.
+
+The PRESIDENT.
+
+SIR: I am in receipt of yours of yesterday, calling my attention to
+a correspondance between yourself and General Grant published in the
+Chronicle newspaper, and especially to that part of said correspondence
+"which refers to the conversation between the President and General
+Grant at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the 14th of January," and
+requesting me "to state what was said in that conversation."
+
+In reply I submit the following statement: At the Cabinet meeting on
+Tuesday, the 14th of January, 1868, General Grant appeared and took his
+accustomed seat at the board. When he had been reached in the order of
+business, the President asked him, as usual, if he had anything to
+present.
+
+In reply the General, after referring to a note which he had that
+morning addressed to the President, inclosing a copy of the resolution
+of the Senate refusing to concur in the reasons for the suspension of
+Mr. Stanton, proceeded to say that he regarded his duties as Secretary
+of War _ad interim_ terminated by that resolution, and that he could not
+lawfully exercise such duties for a moment after the adoption of the
+resolution by the Senate; that the resolution reached him last night,
+and that this morning he had gone to the War Department, entered the
+Secretary's room, bolted one door on the inside, locked the other on the
+outside, delivered the key to the Adjutant-General, and proceeded to the
+Headquarters of the Army and addressed the note above mentioned to the
+President, informing him that he (General Grant) was no longer Secretary
+of War _ad interim_.
+
+The President expressed great surprise at the course which General
+Grant had thought proper to pursue, and, addressing himself to the
+General, proceeded to say, in substance, that he had anticipated such
+action on the part of the Senate, and, being very desirous to have the
+constitutionality of the tenure-of-office bill tested and his right
+to suspend or remove a member of the Cabinet decided by the judicial
+tribunals of the country, he had some time ago, and shortly after
+General Grant's appointment as Secretary of War _ad interim_, asked the
+General what his action would be in the event that the Senate should
+refuse to concur in the suspension of Mr. Stanton, and that the General
+had then agreed either to remain at the head of the War Department till
+a decision could be obtained from the court or resign the office into
+the hands of the President before the case was acted upon by the Senate,
+so as to place the President in the same situation he occupied at the
+time of his (Grant's) appointment.
+
+The President further said that the conversation was renewed on the
+preceding Saturday, at which time he asked the General what he intended
+to do if the Senate should undertake to reinstate Mr. Stanton, in reply
+to which the General referred to their former conversation upon the same
+subject and said: "You understand my position, and my conduct will be
+conformable to that understanding;" that he (the General) then expressed
+a repugnance to being made a party to a judicial proceeding, saying that
+he would expose himself to fine and imprisonment by doing so, as his
+continuing to discharge the duties of Secretary of War _ad interim_
+after the Senate should have refused to concur in the suspension of Mr.
+Stanton would be a violation of the tenure-of-office bill; that in reply
+to this he (the President) informed General Grant he had not suspended
+Mr. Stanton under the tenure-of-office bill, but by virtue of the powers
+conferred on him by the Constitution; and that, as to the fine and
+imprisonment, he (the President) would pay whatever fine was imposed
+and submit to whatever imprisonment might be adjudged against him (the
+General); that they continued the conversation for some time, discussing
+the law at length, and that they finally separated without having
+reached a definite conclusion, and with the understanding that the
+General would see the President again on Monday.
+
+In reply General Grant admitted that the conversations had occurred, and
+said that at the first conversation he had given it as his opinion to
+the President that in the event of nonconcurrence by the Senate in the
+action of the President in respect to the Secretary of War the question
+would have to be decided by the court--that Mr. Stanton would have to
+appeal to the court to reinstate him in office; that the _ins_ would
+remain in till they could be displaced and the _outs_ put in by legal
+proceedings; and that he _then_ thought so, and had agreed that if he
+should change his mind he would notify the President in time to enable
+him to make another appointment, but that at the time of the first
+conversation he had not looked very closely into the law; that it had
+recently been discussed by the newspapers, and that this had induced him
+to examine it more carefully, and that he had come to the conclusion
+that if the Senate should refuse to concur in the suspension Mr. Stanton
+would thereby be reinstated, and that he (Grant) could not continue
+thereafter to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_ without subjecting
+himself to fine and imprisonment, and that he came over on Saturday to
+inform the President of this change in his views, and did so inform him;
+that the President replied that he had not suspended Mr. Stanton under
+the tenure-of-office bill, but under the Constitution, and had appointed
+him (Grant) by virtue of the authority derived from the Constitution,
+etc.; that they continued to discuss the matter some time, and finally
+he left, without any conclusion having been reached, expecting to see
+the President again on Monday.
+
+He then proceeded to explain why he had not called on the President on
+Monday, saying that he had had a long interview with General Sherman,
+that various little matters had occupied his time till it was late, and
+that he did not think the Senate would act so soon, and asked: "Did not
+General Sherman call on you on Monday?"
+
+I do not know what passed between the President and General Grant on
+Saturday, except as I learned it from the conversation between them at
+the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, and the foregoing is substantially what
+then occurred. The precise words used on the occasion are not, of
+course, given exactly in the order in which they were spoken, but the
+ideas expressed and the facts stated are faithfully preserved and
+presented.
+
+I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant,
+
+O.H. BROWNING.
+
+
+
+DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
+
+_Washington, February 6, 1868_.
+
+The PRESIDENT.
+
+SIR: The meeting to which you refer in your letter was a regular Cabinet
+meeting. While the members were assembling, and before the President had
+entered the council chamber, General Grant on coming in said to me that
+he was in attendance there, not as a member of the Cabinet, but upon
+invitation, and I replied by the inquiry whether there was a change in
+the War Department. After the President had taken his seat, business
+went on in the usual way of hearing matters submitted by the several
+Secretaries. When the time came for the Secretary of War, General Grant
+said that he was now there, not as Secretary of War, but upon the
+President's invitation; that he had retired from the War Department. A
+slight difference then appeared about the supposed invitation, General
+Grant saying that the officer who had borne his letter to the President
+that morning announcing his retirement from the War Department had told
+him that the President desired to see him at the Cabinet, to which the
+President answered that when General Grant's communication was delivered
+to him the President simply replied that he supposed General Grant would
+be very soon at the Cabinet meeting. I regarded the conversation thus
+begun as an incidental one. It went on quite informally, and consisted
+of a statement on your part of your views in regard to the understanding
+of the tenure upon which General Grant had assented to hold the War
+Department _ad interim_ and of his replies by way of answer and
+explanation. It was respectful and courteous on both sides. Being in
+this conversational form, its details could only have been preserved by
+verbatim report. So far as I know, no such report was made at the time.
+I can give only the general effect of the conversation. Certainly you
+stated that, although you had reported the reasons for Mr. Stanton's
+suspension to the Senate, you nevertheless held that he would not be
+entitled to resume the office of Secretary of War even if the Senate
+should disapprove of his suspension, and that you had proposed to have
+the question tested by judicial process, to be applied to the person who
+should be the incumbent of the Department under your designation of
+Secretary of War _ad interim_ in the place of Mr. Stanton. You contended
+that this was well understood between yourself and General Grant;
+that when he entered the War Department as Secretary _ad interim_ he
+expressed his concurrence in a belief that the question of Mr. Stanton's
+restoration would be a question for the courts; that in a subsequent
+conversation with General Grant you had adverted to the understanding
+thus had, and that General Grant expressed his concurrence in it; that
+at some conversation which had been previously held General Grant said
+he still adhered to the same construction of the law, but said if he
+should change his opinion he would give you seasonable notice of it,
+so that you should in any case be placed in the same position in
+regard to the War Department that you were while General Grant held
+it _ad interim_. I did not understand General Grant as denying nor as
+explicitly admitting these statements in the form and full extent to
+which you made them. His admission of them was rather indirect and
+circumstantial, though I did not understand it to be an evasive one.
+He said that, reasoning from what occurred in the case of the police in
+Maryland, which he regarded as a parallel one, he was of opinion, and so
+assured you, that it would be his right and duty under your instructions
+to hold the War Office after the Senate should disapprove of Mr.
+Stanton's suspension until the question should be decided upon by the
+courts; that he remained until very recently of that opinion, and that
+on the Saturday before the Cabinet meeting a conversation was held
+between yourself and him in which the subject was generally discussed.
+
+General Grant's statement was that in that conversation he had stated
+to you the legal difficulties which might arise, involving fine and
+imprisonment, under the civil-tenure bill, and that he did not care to
+subject himself to those penalties; that you replied to this remark that
+you regarded the civil-tenure bill as unconstitutional and did not think
+its penalties were to be feared, or that you would voluntarily assume
+them; and you insisted that General Grant should either retain the
+office until relieved by yourself, according to what you claimed was
+the original understanding between yourself and him, or, by seasonable
+notice of change of purpose on his part, put you in the same situation
+which you would be if he adhered. You claimed that General Grant finally
+said in that Saturday's conversation that you understood his views, and
+his proceedings thereafter would be consistent with what had been so
+understood. General Grant did not controvert, nor can I say that he
+admitted, this last statement. Certainly General Grant did not at
+any time in the Cabinet meeting insist that he had in the Saturday's
+conversation, either distinctly or finally, advised you of his
+determination to retire from the charge of the War Department otherwise
+than under your own subsequent direction. He acquiesced in your
+statement that the Saturday's conversation ended with an expectation
+that there would be a subsequent conference on the subject, which he,
+as well as yourself, supposed could seasonably take place on Monday.
+You then alluded to the fact that General Grant did not call upon you
+on Monday, as you had expected from that conversation. General Grant
+admitted that it was his expectation or purpose to call upon you on
+Monday. General Grant assigned reasons for the omission. He said he was
+in conference with General Sherman; that there were many little matters
+to be attended to; he had conversed upon the matter of the incumbency of
+the War Department with General Sherman, and he expected that General
+Sherman would call upon you on Monday. My own mind suggested a further
+explanation, but I do not remember whether it was mentioned or not,
+namely, that it was not supposed by General Grant on Monday that the
+Senate would decide the question so promptly as to anticipate further
+explanation between yourself and him if delayed beyond that day. General
+Grant made another explanation--that he was engaged on Sunday with
+General Sherman, and I think, also, on Monday, in regard to the War
+Department matter, with a hope, though he did not say in an effort,
+to procure an amicable settlement of the affair of Mr. Stanton, and
+he still hoped that it would be brought about.
+
+I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant,
+
+WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 11, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+The accompanying letter from General Grant, received since the
+transmission to the House of Representatives of my communication of this
+date, is submitted to the House as a part of the correspondence referred
+to in the resolution of the 10th instant.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+_Washington, D.C., February 11, 1868_.
+
+His Excellency A. JOHNSON,
+
+_President of the United States_.
+
+SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication
+of the 10th instant,[46] accompanied by statements of five Cabinet
+ministers of their recollection of what occurred in Cabinet meeting on
+the 14th of January. Without admitting anything in these statements
+where they differ from anything heretofore stated by me, I propose to
+notice only that portion of your communication wherein I am charged with
+insubordination. I think it will be plain to the reader of my letter of
+the 30th of January[47] that I did not propose to disobey any legal
+order of the President distinctly given, but only gave an interpretation
+of what would be regarded as satisfactory evidence of the President's
+sanction to orders communicated by the Secretary of War. I will say here
+that your letter of the 10th instant[48] contains the first intimation
+I have had that you did not accept that interpretation.
+
+Now for reasons for giving that interpretation. It was clear to me
+before my letter of January 30[47] was written that I, the person having
+more public business to transact with the Secretary of War than any
+other of the President's subordinates, was the only one who had been
+instructed to disregard the authority of Mr. Stanton where his authority
+was derived as agent of the President.
+
+On the 27th of January I received a letter from the Secretary of War
+(copy herewith) directing me to furnish escort to public treasure from
+the Rio Grande to New Orleans, etc., at the request of the Secretary
+of the Treasury to him. I also send two other inclosures, showing
+recognition of Mr. Stanton as Secretary of War by both the Secretary
+of the Treasury and the Postmaster-General, in all of which cases the
+Secretary of War had to call upon me to make the orders requested or
+give the information desired, and where his authority to do so is
+derived, in my view, as agent of the President.
+
+With an order so clearly ambiguous as that of the President here
+referred to, it was my duty to inform the President of my interpretation
+of it and to abide by that interpretation until I received other orders.
+
+Disclaiming any intention, now or heretofore, of disobeying any legal
+order of the President distinctly communicated,
+
+I remain, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+
+U.S. GRANT, _General_.
+
+[Footnote 46: See pp. 603-610.]
+
+[Footnote 47: See p. 615.]
+
+[Footnote 48: See pp. 603-605.]
+
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+
+_Washington City, January 27, 1868_.
+
+General U.S. GRANT,
+
+_Commanding Army United States_.
+
+GENERAL: The Secretary of the Treasury has requested this Department
+to afford A.F. Randall, special agent of the Treasury Department, such
+military aid as may be necessary to secure and forward for deposit
+from Brownsville, Tex., to New Orleans public moneys in possession of
+custom-house officers at Brownsville, and which are deemed insecure
+at that place.
+
+You will please give such directions as you may deem proper to the
+officer commanding at Brownsville to carry into effect the request of
+the Treasury Department, the instructions to be sent by telegraph to
+Galveston, to the care of A.F. Randall, special agent, who is at
+Galveston waiting telegraphic orders, there being no telegraphic
+communication with Brownsville, and the necessity for military
+protection to the public moneys represented as urgent.
+
+Please favor me with a copy of such instructions as you may give, in
+order that they may be communicated to the Secretary of the Treasury.
+
+Yours, truly,
+
+EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+
+
+POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT, CONTRACT OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, February 3, 1868_.
+
+The Honorable the SECRETARY OF WAR.
+
+SIR: It has been represented to this Department that in October last a
+military commission was appointed to settle upon some general plan of
+defense for the Texas frontiers, and that the said commission has made
+a report recommending a line of posts from the Rio Grande to the Red
+River.
+
+An application is now pending in this Department for a change in the
+course of the San Antonio and El Paso mail, so as to send it by way
+of Forts Mason, Griffin, and Stockton instead of Camps Hudson and
+Lancaster. This application requires immediate decision, but before
+final action can be had thereon it is desired to have some official
+information as to the report of the commission above referred to.
+
+Accordingly, I have the honor to request that you will cause this
+Department to be furnished as early as possible with the information
+desired in the premises, and also with a copy of the report, if any has
+been made by the commission.
+
+Very respectfully, etc.,
+
+GEO. W. McCLELLAN,
+
+_Second Assistant Postmaster-General_.
+
+FEBRUARY 3, 1868.
+
+
+Referred to the General of the Army for report.
+
+EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+
+
+
+TREASURY DEPARTMENT, _January 29, 1868_.
+
+The Honorable SECRETARY OF WAR.
+
+SIR: It is represented to this Department that a band of robbers has
+obtained such a foothold in the section of country between Humboldt and
+Lawrence, Kans., committing depredations upon travelers, both by public
+and private conveyance, that the safety of the public money collected by
+the receiver of the land office at Humboldt requires that it should be
+guarded during its transit from Humboldt to Lawrence. I have therefore
+the honor to request that the proper commanding officer of the district
+may be instructed by the War Department, if in the opinion of the
+honorable Secretary of War it can be done without prejudice to the
+public interests, to furnish a sufficient military guard to protect such
+moneys as may be _in transitu_ from the above office for the purpose of
+being deposited to the credit of the Treasurer of the United States. As
+far as we are now advised, such service will not be necessary oftener
+than once a month. Will you please advise me of the action taken, that
+I may instruct the receiver and the Commissioner of the General Land
+Office in the matter?
+
+Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+
+H. McCULLOCH,
+
+_Secretary of the Treasury_.
+
+
+Respectfully referred to the General of the Army to give the necessary
+orders in this case and to furnish this Department a copy for the
+information of the Secretary of the Treasury.
+
+By order of the Secretary of War:
+
+ED. SCHRIVER,
+
+_Inspector-General_.
+
+
+
+[The following are inserted because they have direct bearing on the two
+messages from the President of February 11, 1868, and their inclosures.]
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+
+_Washington City, February 4, 1868_.
+
+Hon. SCHUYLER COLFAX,
+
+_Speaker of the House of Representatives_.
+
+SIR: In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+3d instant, I transmit herewith copies furnished me by General Grant of
+correspondence between him and the President relating to the Secretary
+of War, and which he reports to be all the correspondence he has had
+with the President on the subject.
+
+I have had no correspondence with the President since the 12th of August
+last. After the action of the Senate on his alleged reason for my
+suspension from the office of Secretary of War, I resumed the duties of
+that office, as required by the act of Congress, and have continued to
+discharge them without any personal or written communication with the
+President. No orders have been issued from this Department in the name
+of the President with my knowledge, and I have received no orders from
+him.
+
+The correspondence sent herewith embraces all the correspondence known
+to me on the subject referred to in the resolution of the House of
+Representatives.
+
+I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant,
+
+EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+
+
+_General Grant to the President_.
+
+HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES,
+
+_Washington, January 24, 1868_.
+
+His Excellency A. JOHNSON,
+
+_President of the United States_.
+
+SIR: I have the honor very respectfully to request to have in writing
+the order which the President gave me verbally on Sunday, the 19th
+instant, to disregard the orders of the Hon. E.M. Stanton as Secretary
+of War until I knew from the President himself that they were his
+orders.
+
+I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+
+U.S. GRANT, _General_.
+
+
+
+_General Grant to the President_.
+
+HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES,
+
+_Washington, D.C., January 28, 1868_.
+
+His Excellency A. JOHNSON,
+
+_President of the United States_.
+
+SIR: On the 24th instant I requested you to give me in writing the
+instructions which you had previously given me verbally not to obey any
+order from Hon. E.M. Stanton, Secretary of War, unless I knew that it
+came from yourself. To this written request I received a message that
+has left doubt in my mind of your intentions. To prevent any possible
+misunderstanding, therefore, I renew the request that you will give me
+written instructions, and till they are received will suspend action on
+your verbal ones.
+
+I am compelled to ask these instructions in writing in consequence
+of the many and gross misrepresentations affecting my personal honor
+circulated through the press for the last fortnight, purporting to come
+from the President, of conversations which occurred either with the
+President privately in his office or in Cabinet meeting. What is written
+admits of no misunderstanding.
+
+In view of the misrepresentations referred to, it will be well to state
+the facts in the case.
+
+Some time after I assumed the duties of Secretary of War _ad interim_
+the President asked me my views as to the course Mr. Stanton would have
+to pursue, in case the Senate should not concur in his suspension,
+to obtain possession of his office. My reply was, in substance, that
+Mr. Stanton would have to appeal to the courts to reinstate him,
+illustrating my position by citing the ground I had taken in the case
+of the Baltimore police commissioners.
+
+In that case I did not doubt the technical right of Governor Swann to
+remove the old commissioners and to appoint their successors. As the old
+commissioners refused to give up, however, I contended that no resource
+was left but to appeal to the courts.
+
+Finding that the President was desirous of keeping Mr. Stanton out of
+office, whether sustained in the suspension or not, I stated that I had
+not looked particularly into the tenure-of-office bill, but that what
+I had stated was a general principle, and if I should change my mind in
+this particular case I would inform him of the fact.
+
+Subsequently, on reading the tenure-of-office bill closely, I found that
+I could not, without violation of the law, refuse to vacate the office
+of Secretary of War the moment Mr. Stanton was reinstated by the Senate,
+even though the President should order me to retain it, which he never
+did.
+
+Taking this view of the subject, and learning on Saturday, the 11th
+instant, that the Senate had taken up the subject of Mr. Stanton's
+suspension, after some conversation with Lieutenant General Sherman and
+some members of my staff, in which I stated that the law left me no
+discretion as to my action should Mr. Stanton be reinstated, and that I
+intended to inform the President, I went to the President for the sole
+purpose of making this decision known, and did so make it known.
+
+In doing this I fulfilled the promise made in our last preceding
+conversation on the subject.
+
+The President, however, instead of accepting my view of the requirements
+of the tenure-of-office bill, contended that he had suspended Mr.
+Stanton under the authority given by the Constitution, and that the same
+authority did not preclude him from reporting, as an act of courtesy,
+his reasons for the suspension to the Senate; that, having appointed me
+under the authority given by the Constitution, and not under any act of
+Congress, I could not be governed by the act. I stated that the law was
+binding on me, constitutional or not, until set aside by the proper
+tribunal. An hour or more was consumed, each reiterating his views on
+this subject, until, getting late, the President said he would see me
+again.
+
+I did not agree to call again on Monday, nor at any other definite time,
+nor was I sent for by the President until the following Tuesday.
+
+From the 11th to the Cabinet meeting on the 14th instant a doubt never
+entered my mind about the President's fully understanding my position,
+namely, that if the Senate refused to concur in the suspension of Mr.
+Stanton my powers as Secretary of War _ad interim_ would cease and Mr.
+Stanton's right to resume at once the functions of his office would
+under the law be indisputable, and I acted accordingly. With Mr. Stanton
+I had no communication, direct nor indirect, on the subject of his
+reinstatement during his suspension.
+
+I knew it had been recommended to the President to send in the
+name of Governor Cox, of Ohio, for Secretary of War, and thus save all
+embarrassment--a proposition that I sincerely hoped he would entertain
+favorably; General Sherman seeing the President at my particular request
+to urge this on the 13th instant.
+
+On Tuesday (the day Mr. Stanton reentered the office of the Secretary of
+War) General Comstock, who had carried my official letter announcing
+that with Mr. Stanton's reinstatement by the Senate I had ceased to be
+Secretary of War _ad interim_, and who saw the President open and read
+the communication, brought back to me from the President a message that
+he wanted to see me that day at the Cabinet meeting, after I had made
+known the fact that I was no longer Secretary of War _ad interim_.
+
+At this meeting, after opening it as though I were a member of the
+Cabinet, when reminded of the notification already given him that I was
+no longer Secretary of War _ad interim_, the President gave a version of
+the conversations alluded to already. In this statement it was asserted
+that in both conversations I had agreed to hold on to the office of
+Secretary of War until displaced by the courts, or resign, so as to
+place the President where he would have been had I never accepted the
+office. After hearing the President through, I stated our conversations
+substantially as given in this letter. I will add that my conversation
+before the Cabinet embraced other matter not pertinent here, and is
+therefore left out.
+
+I in no wise admitted the correctness of the President's statement of
+our conversations, though, to soften the evident contradiction my
+statement gave, I said (alluding to our first conversation on the
+subject) the President might have understood me the way he said, namely,
+that I had promised to resign if I did not resist the reinstatement.
+I made no such promise.
+
+I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+
+U.S. GRANT, _General_.
+
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES,
+
+_January 30, 1868_.
+
+Respectfully forwarded to the Secretary of War for his information.
+
+U.S. GRANT, _General_.
+
+[Indorsement of the President on General Grant's note of January 24,
+1868.[49]]
+
+JANUARY 29, 1868.
+
+As requested in this communication, General Grant is instructed in
+writing not to obey any order from the War Department assumed to be
+issued by the direction of the President unless such order is known by
+the General Commanding the armies of the United States to have been
+authorized by the Executive.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 49: See p. 613.]
+
+
+
+_General Grant to the President_.
+
+HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES,
+
+_Washington, January 30, 1868_.
+
+His Excellency A. JOHNSON,
+
+_President of the United States_.
+
+SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the return of my note of the 24th
+instant,[49] with your indorsement thereon, that I am not to obey any
+order from the War Department assumed to be issued by the direction of
+the President unless such order is known by me to have been authorized
+by the Executive, and in reply thereto to say that I am informed by the
+Secretary of War that he has not received from the Executive any order
+or instructions limiting or impairing his authority to issue orders to
+the Army, as has heretofore been his practice under the law and the
+customs of the Department. While this authority to the War Department is
+not countermanded it will be satisfactory evidence to me that any orders
+issued from the War Department by direction of the President are
+authorized by the Executive.
+
+I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+
+U.S. GRANT, _General_.
+
+[Footnote 49: See p. 613.]
+
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS ARMY UNITED STATES,
+
+_January 30, 1868_.
+
+Respectfully forwarded to the Secretary of War for his information.
+
+U.S. GRANT, _General_.
+
+
+_The President to General Grant_.
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 31, 1868_.
+
+General U.S. GRANT,
+
+_Commanding United States Armies_.
+
+GENERAL: I have received your communication of the 28th instant,[50]
+renewing your request of the 24th,[49] that I should repeat in a written
+form my verbal instructions of the 19th instant, viz, that you obey no
+order from the Hon. Edwin M. Stanton as Secretary of War unless you have
+information that it was issued by the President's directions.
+
+In submitting this request (with which I complied on the 29th
+instant[51]) you take occasion to allude to recent publications in
+reference to the circumstances connected with the vacation by yourself
+of the office of Secretary of War _ad interim_, and with the view of
+correcting statements which you term "gross misrepresentations" give
+at length your own recollection of the facts under which, without the
+sanction of the President, from whom you had received and accepted the
+appointment, you yielded the Department of War to the present incumbent.
+
+As stated in your communication, some time after you had assumed the
+duties of Secretary of War _ad interim_ we interchanged views respecting
+the course that should be pursued in the event of nonconcurrence by the
+Senate in the suspension from office of Mr. Stanton. I sought that
+interview, calling myself at the War Department. My sole object in then
+bringing the subject to your attention was to ascertain definitely
+what would be your own action should such an attempt be made for his
+restoration to the War Department. That object was accomplished, for
+the interview terminated with the distinct understanding that if upon
+reflection you should prefer not to become a party to the controversy or
+should conclude that it would be your duty to surrender the Department
+to Mr. Stanton upon action in his favor by the Senate you were to return
+the office to me prior to a decision by the Senate, in order that if I
+desired to do so I might designate someone to succeed you. It must have
+been apparent to you that had not this understanding been reached it was
+my purpose to relieve you from the further discharge of the duties of
+Secretary of War _ad interim_ and to appoint some other person in that
+capacity.
+
+Other conversations upon this subject ensued, all of them having on my
+part the same object and leading to the same conclusion as the first.
+It is not necessary, however, to refer to any of them excepting that of
+Saturday, the 11th instant, mentioned in your communication. As it was
+then known that the Senate had proceeded to consider the case of Mr.
+Stanton, I was anxious to learn your determination. After a protracted
+interview, during which the provisions of the tenure-of-office bill were
+freely discussed, you said that, as had been agreed upon in our first
+conference, you would either return the office to my possession in time
+to enable me to appoint a successor before final action by the Senate
+upon Mr. Stanton's suspension, or would remain as its head, awaiting a
+decision of the question by judicial proceedings. It was then understood
+that there would be a further conference on Monday, by which time I
+supposed you would be prepared to inform me of your final decision. You
+failed, however, to fulfill the engagement, and on Tuesday notified me
+in writing of the receipt by you of official notification of the action
+of the Senate in the case of Mr. Stanton, and at the same time informed
+me that according to the act regulating the tenure of certain civil
+offices your functions as Secretary of War _ad interim_ ceased from
+the moment of the receipt of the notice. You thus, in disregard of the
+understanding between us, vacated the office without having given me
+notice of your intention to do so. It is but just, however, to say that
+in your communication you claim that you did inform me of your purpose,
+and thus "fulfilled the promise made in our last preceding conversation
+on this subject." The fact that such a promise existed is evidence of
+an arrangement of the kind I have mentioned. You had found in our first
+conference "that the President was desirous of keeping Mr. Stanton out
+of office whether sustained in the suspension or not." You knew what
+reasons had induced the President to ask from you a promise; you
+also knew that in case your views of duty did not accord with his
+own convictions it was his purpose to fill your place by another
+appointment. Even ignoring the existence of a positive understanding
+between us, these conclusions were plainly deducible from our various
+conversations. It is certain, however, that even under these
+circumstances you did not offer to return the place to my possession,
+but, according to your own statement, placed yourself in a position
+where, could I have anticipated your action, I would have been compelled
+to ask of you, as I was compelled to ask of your predecessor in the War
+Department, a letter of resignation, or else to resort to the more
+disagreeable expedient of suspending you by a successor.
+
+As stated in your letter, the nomination of Governor Cox, of Ohio, for
+the office of Secretary of War was suggested to me. His appointment as
+Mr. Stanton's successor was urged in your name, and it was said that
+his selection would save further embarrassment. I did not think that
+in the selection of a Cabinet officer I should be trammeled by such
+considerations. I was prepared to take the responsibility of deciding
+the question in accordance with my ideas of constitutional duty, and,
+having determined upon a course which I deemed right and proper, was
+anxious to learn the steps you would take should the possession of the
+War Department be demanded by Mr. Stanton. Had your action been in
+conformity to the understanding between us, I do not believe that the
+embarrassment would have attained its present proportions or that the
+probability of its repetition would have been so great.
+
+I know that, with a view to an early termination of a state of affairs
+so detrimental to the public interests, you voluntarily offered, both on
+Wednesday, the 15th instant, and on the succeeding Sunday, to call upon
+Mr. Stanton and urge upon him that the good of the service required his
+resignation. I confess that I considered your proposal as a sort of
+reparation for the failure on your part to act in accordance with an
+understanding more than once repeated, which I thought had received your
+full assent, and under which you could have returned to me the office
+which I had conferred upon you, thus saving yourself from embarrassment
+and leaving the responsibility where it properly belonged--with the
+President, who is accountable for the faithful execution of the laws.
+
+I have not yet been informed by you whether, as twice proposed by
+yourself, you have called upon Mr. Stanton and made an effort to induce
+him voluntarily to retire from the War Department.
+
+You conclude your communication with a reference to our conversation at
+the meeting of the Cabinet held on Tuesday, the 14th instant. In your
+account of what then occurred you say that after the President had given
+his version of our previous conversations you stated them substantially
+as given in your letter; that you in no wise admitted the correctness of
+his statement of them, "though, to soften the evident contradiction my
+statement gave, I said (alluding to our first conversation on the
+subject) the President might have understood me the way he said, namely,
+that I had promised to resign if I did not resist the reinstatement.
+I made no such promise."
+
+My recollection of what then transpired is diametrically the reverse of
+your narration. In the presence of the Cabinet I asked you--
+
+First. If, in a conversation which took place shortly after your
+appointment as Secretary of War _ad interim_, you did not agree either
+to remain at the head of the War Department and abide any judicial
+proceedings that might follow nonconcurrence by the Senate in Mr.
+Stanton's suspension, or, should you wish not to become involved in such
+a controversy, to put me in the same position with respect to the office
+as I occupied previous to your appointment, by returning it to me in
+time to anticipate such action by the Senate. This you admitted.
+
+Second. I then asked you if, at our conference on the preceding
+Saturday, I had not, to avoid misunderstanding, requested you to state
+what you intended to do, and, further, if in reply to that inquiry you
+had not referred to our former conversations, saying that from them I
+understood your position, and that your action would be consistent with
+the understanding which had been reached. To these questions you also
+replied in the affirmative.
+
+Third. I next asked if at the conclusion of our interview on Saturday
+it was not understood that we were to have another conference on Monday
+before final action by the Senate in the case of Mr. Stanton. You
+replied that such was the understanding, but that you did not suppose
+the Senate would act so soon; that on Monday you had been engaged in a
+conference with General Sherman and were occupied with "many little
+matters," and asked if General Sherman had not called on that day. What
+relevancy General Sherman's visit to me on Monday had with the purpose
+for which you were then to have called I am at a loss to perceive,
+as he certainly did not inform me whether you had determined to retain
+possession of the office or to afford me an opportunity to appoint a
+successor in advance of any attempted reinstatement of Mr. Stanton.
+
+This account of what passed between us at the Cabinet meeting on the
+14th instant widely differs from that contained in your communication,
+for it shows that instead of having "stated our conversations as given
+in the letter" which has made this reply necessary you admitted that my
+recital of them was entirely accurate. Sincerely anxious, however, to
+be correct in my statements, I have to-day read this narration of what
+occurred on the 14th instant to the members of the Cabinet who were then
+present. They, without exception, agree in its accuracy.
+
+It is only necessary to add that on Wednesday morning, the 15th instant,
+you called on me, in company with Lieutenant-General Sherman. After some
+preliminary conversation, you remarked that an article in the National
+Intelligencer of that date did you much injustice. I replied that I had
+not read the Intelligencer of that morning. You then first told me that
+it was your intention to urge Mr. Stanton to resign his office.
+
+After you had withdrawn I carefully read the article of which you had
+spoken, and found that its statements of the understanding between us
+were substantially correct. On the 17th I caused it to be read to four
+of the five members of the Cabinet who were present at our conference on
+the 14th, and they concurred in the general accuracy of its statements
+respecting our conversation upon that occasion.
+
+In reply to your communication, I have deemed it proper, in order to
+prevent further misunderstanding, to make this simple recital of facts.
+
+Very respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 49: See p. 613.]
+
+[Footnote 50: See pp. 613-615.]
+
+[Footnote 51: See p. 615.]
+
+
+
+_General Grant to the President_.
+
+HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES,
+
+_Washington, D.C., February 3, 1868_.
+
+His Excellency A. JOHNSON,
+
+_President of the United States_.
+
+
+SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication
+of the 31st ultimo,[52] in answer to mine of the 28th ultimo[53]. After
+a careful reading and comparison of it with the article in the National
+Intelligencer of the 15th ultimo and the article over the initials
+J.B.S. in the New York World of the 27th ultimo, purporting to be based
+upon your statement and that of the members of your Cabinet therein
+named, I find it to be but a reiteration, only somewhat more in detail,
+of the "many and gross misrepresentations" contained in these articles,
+and which my statement of the facts set forth in my letter of the 28th
+ultimo[53] was intended to correct; and I here reassert the correctness
+of my statements in that letter, anything in yours in reply to it to the
+contrary notwithstanding.
+
+I confess my surprise that the Cabinet officers referred to should so
+greatly misapprehend the facts in the matter of admissions alleged to
+have been made by me at the Cabinet meeting of the 14th ultimo as to
+suffer their names to be made the basis of the charges in the newspaper
+article referred to, or agree in the accuracy, as you affirm they do,
+of your account of what occurred at that meeting.
+
+You know that we parted on Saturday, the 11th ultimo, without any
+promise on my part, either express or implied, to the effect that I
+would hold on to the office of Secretary of War _ad interim_ against the
+action of the Senate, or, declining to do so myself, would surrender it
+to you before such action was had, or that I would see you again at any
+fixed time on the subject.
+
+The performance of the promises alleged by you to have been made by me
+would have involved a resistance to law and an inconsistency with the
+whole history of my connection with the suspension of Mr. Stanton.
+
+From our conversations and my written protest of August 1, 1867,
+against the removal of Mr. Stanton, you must have known that my greatest
+objection to his removal or suspension was the fear that someone would
+be appointed in his stead who would, by opposition to the laws relating
+to the restoration of the Southern States to their proper relations
+to the Government, embarrass the Army in the performance of duties
+especially imposed upon it by these laws; and it was to prevent such an
+appointment that I accepted the office of Secretary of War _ad interim_,
+and not for the purpose of enabling you to get rid of Mr. Stanton by my
+withholding it from him in opposition to law, or, not doing so myself,
+surrendering it to one who would, as the statement and assumptions in
+your communication plainly indicate was sought. And it was to avoid this
+same danger, as well as to relieve you from the personal embarrassment
+in which Mr. Stanton's reinstatement would place you, that I urged the
+appointment of Governor Cox, believing that it would be agreeable to you
+and also to Mr. Stanton, satisfied as I was that it was the good of the
+country, and not the office, the latter desired.
+
+On the 15th ultimo, in presence of General Sherman, I stated to you that
+I thought Mr. Stanton would resign, but did not say that I would advise
+him to do so. On the 18th I did agree with General Sherman to go and
+advise him to that course, and on the 19th I had an interview alone with
+Mr. Stanton, which led me to the conclusion that any advice to him of
+the kind would be useless, and I so informed General Sherman.
+
+Before I consented to advise Mr. Stanton to resign, I understood
+from him, in a conversation on the subject immediately after his
+reinstatement, that it was his opinion that the act of Congress entitled
+"An act temporarily to supply vacancies in the Executive Departments in
+certain cases," approved February 20, 1863, was repealed by subsequent
+legislation, which materially influenced my action. Previous to this
+time I had had no doubt that the law of 1863 was still in force, and,
+notwithstanding my action, a fuller examination of the law leaves a
+question in my mind whether it is or is not repealed. This being the
+case, I could not now advise his resignation, lest the same danger
+I apprehended on his first removal might follow.
+
+The course you would have it understood I agreed to pursue was in
+violation of law and without orders from you, while the course I did
+pursue, and which I never doubted you fully understood, was in
+accordance with law and not in disobedience of any orders of my
+superior.
+
+And now, Mr. President, when my honor as a soldier and integrity as a
+man have been so violently assailed, pardon me for saying that I can but
+regard this whole matter, from the beginning to the end, as an attempt
+to involve me in the resistance of law, for which you hesitated to
+assume the responsibility in orders, and thus to destroy my character
+before the country. I am in a measure confirmed in this conclusion by
+your recent orders directing me to disobey orders from the Secretary of
+War, my superior and your subordinate, without having countermanded his
+authority to issue the orders I am to disobey.
+
+With the assurance, Mr. President, that nothing less than a vindication
+of my personal honor and character could have induced this
+correspondence on my part,
+
+I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+
+U.S. GRANT, _General_.
+
+
+Respectfully forwarded to the Secretary of War for his information, and
+to be made a part of correspondence previously furnished on same subject.
+
+U.S. GRANT, _General_.
+
+[Footnote 52: See pp. 615-618.]
+
+[Footnote 53: See pp. 613-615.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 17, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+In reply to the resolution adopted by the House of Representatives on
+the 19th of December last, calling for correspondence and information
+in relation to Russian America, I transmit reports and accompanying
+documents from the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury,
+respectively.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 18, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 17th of
+January last, calling for information in regard to the execution of the
+treaty of 1858 with China, for the settlement of claims, I transmit a
+report of the Secretary of State and the papers which accompany it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 19, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Attorney-General, prepared in
+compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+26th November, 1867, requesting a list of all pardons "granted since
+the 14th day of April, 1865, to any person or persons charged with or
+convicted of making or passing counterfeit money, or having counterfeit
+money or tools or instruments for making the same in his or their
+possession, or charged with or convicted of the crime of forgery or
+criminal alteration of papers, accounts, or other documents, or of the
+crime of perjury, and that such list be accompanied by a particular
+statement in each case of the reasons or grounds of the pardon, with a
+disclosure of the names of persons, if any, who recommended or advised
+the same."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 19, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Attorney-General, prepared in
+compliance with a resolution adopted by the Senate on the 2d day of
+December last, requesting "a full list of the names of all persons
+pardoned by the President since May 1, 1865, who have been convicted of
+counterfeiting United States bonds, greenbacks, national-bank currency,
+fractional currency, or the coin of the United States, with the date of
+issuing each pardon, reasons for issuing it, and by whom recommended."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 20, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the Senate of the 18th of December last,
+requesting information in regard to the island of San Juan, on Puget
+Sound, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the papers
+which accompanied it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 20, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+With reference to the convention between Denmark and the United States
+concluded on the 24th of October last, I transmit to the Senate a copy
+in translation of a note of the 19th instant addressed to the Secretary
+of State by His Danish Majesty's chargé d'affaires, announcing the
+ratification of the convention by the Government of Denmark and stating
+his readiness to proceed with the customary exchange of ratifications.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 21, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a communication from the Chief of the Engineer Corps
+of the Army, accompanied by a report, in reference to ship canals around
+the Falls of the Ohio River, called for by the resolution of the House
+of Representatives of the 18th instant.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 21, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+On the 12th day of August, 1867, by virtue of the power and authority
+vested in the President by the Constitution and laws of the United
+States, I suspended Edwin M. Stanton from the office of Secretary of
+War.
+
+In further exercise of the power and authority so vested in the
+President, I have this day removed Mr. Stanton from office and
+designated the Adjutant-General of the Army to act as Secretary
+of War _ad interim_.
+
+Copies of the communications upon this subject addressed to Mr. Stanton
+and the Adjutant-General are herewith transmitted for the information of
+the Senate.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 22, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I have received a copy of the resolution adopted by the Senate on the
+21st instant, as follows:
+
+  Whereas the Senate have received and considered the communication of
+  the President stating that he had removed Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary
+  of War, and had designated the Adjutant-General of the Army to act as
+  Secretary of War _ad interim_: Therefore,
+
+  _Resolved by the Senate of the United States_, That under the
+  Constitution and laws of the United States the President has no power
+  to remove the Secretary of War and designate any other officer to
+  perform the duties of that office _ad interim_.
+
+
+This resolution is confined to the power of the President to remove the
+Secretary of War and to designate another officer to perform the duties
+of the office _ad interim_, and by its preamble is made expressly
+applicable to the removal of Mr. Stanton and the designation to act
+_ad interim_ of the Adjutant-General of the Army. Without, therefore,
+attempting to discuss the general power of removal as to all officers,
+upon which subject no expression of opinion is contained in the
+resolution, I shall confine myself to the question as thus limited--the
+power to remove the Secretary of War.
+
+It is declared in the resolution--
+
+  That under the Constitution and laws of the United States the President
+  has no power to remove the Secretary of War and designate any other
+  officer to perform the duties of that office _ad interim_.
+
+
+As to the question of power under the Constitution, I do not propose at
+present to enter upon its discussion.
+
+The uniform practice from the beginning of the Government, as
+established by every President who has exercised the office, and the
+decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States have settled the
+question in favor of the power of the President to remove all officers
+excepting a class holding appointments of a judicial character. No
+practice nor any decision has ever excepted a Secretary of War from this
+general power of the President to make removals from office.
+
+It is only necessary, then, that I should refer to the power of the
+Executive, under the laws of the United States, to remove from office a
+Secretary of War. The resolution denies that under these laws this power
+has any existence. In other words, it affirms that no such authority is
+recognized or given by the statutes of the country.
+
+What, then, are the laws of the United States which deny the President
+the power to remove that officer? I know but two laws which bear upon
+this question. The first in order of time is the act of August 7, 1789,
+creating the Department of War, which, after providing for a Secretary
+as its principal officer, proceeds as follows:
+
+  SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That there shall be in the said
+  Department an inferior officer, to be appointed by the said principal
+  officer, to be employed therein as he shall deem proper, and to be
+  called the chief clerk in the Department of War, and who, whenever the
+  said principal officer shall be removed from office by the President of
+  the United States, or in any other case of vacancy, shall during such
+  vacancy have the charge and custody of all records, books, and papers
+  appertaining to the said Department.
+
+
+It is clear that this act, passed by a Congress many of whose members
+participated in the formation of the Constitution, so far from denying
+the power of the President to remove the Secretary of War, recognizes
+it as existing in the Executive alone, without the concurrence of the
+Senate or of any other department of the Government. Furthermore, this
+act does not purport to confer the power by legislative authority, nor
+in fact was there any other existing legislation through which it was
+bestowed upon the Executive. The recognition of the power by this act is
+therefore complete as a recognition under the Constitution itself, for
+there was no other source or authority from which it could be derived.
+
+The other act which refers to this question is that regulating the
+tenure of certain civil offices, passed by Congress on the 2d day of
+March, 1867. The first section of that act is in the following words:
+
+  That every person holding any civil office to which he has been
+  appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and every
+  person who shall hereafter be appointed to any such office, and shall
+  become duly qualified to act therein, is and shall be entitled to hold
+  such office until a successor shall have been in like manner appointed
+  and duly qualified, except as herein otherwise provided: _Provided_,
+  That the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, of the Navy,
+  and of the Interior, the Postmaster-General, and the Attorney-General
+  shall hold their offices, respectively, for and during the term of
+  the President by whom they may have been appointed and for one month
+  thereafter, subject to removal by and with the advice and consent of
+  the Senate.
+
+
+The fourth section of the same act restricts the term of offices to the
+limit prescribed by the law creating them.
+
+That part of the first section which precedes the proviso declares that
+every person holding a civil office to which he has been or may be
+appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate shall hold
+such office until a successor shall have been in like manner appointed.
+It purports to take from the Executive, during the fixed time
+established for the tenure of the office, the independent power of
+removal, and to require for such removal the concurrent action of the
+President and the Senate.
+
+The proviso that follows proceeds to fix the term of office of the seven
+heads of Departments, whose tenure never had been defined before, by
+prescribing that they "shall hold their offices, respectively, for and
+during the term of the President by whom they may have been appointed
+and for one month thereafter, subject to removal by and with the advice
+and consent of the Senate."
+
+Thus, as to these enumerated officers, the proviso takes from the
+President the power of removal except with the advice and consent of the
+Senate. By its terms, however, before he can be deprived of the power to
+displace them it must appear that he himself has appointed them. It is
+only in that case that they have any tenure of office or any independent
+right to hold during the term of the President and for one month after
+the cessation of his official functions. The proviso, therefore, gives
+no tenure of office to any one of these officers who has been appointed
+by a former President beyond one month after the accession of his
+successor.
+
+In the case of Mr. Stanton, the only appointment under which he
+held the office of Secretary of War was that conferred upon him by my
+immediate predecessor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. He has
+never held from me any appointment as the head of the War Department.
+Whatever right he had to hold the office was derived from that original
+appointment and my own sufferance. The law was not intended to protect
+such an incumbent of the War Department by taking from the President the
+power to remove him. This, in my judgment, is perfectly clear, and the
+law itself admits of no other just construction. We find in all that
+portion of the first section which precedes the proviso that as to civil
+officers generally the President is deprived of the power of removal,
+and it is plain that if there had been no proviso that power would just
+as clearly have been taken from him so far as it applies to the seven
+heads of Departments. But for reasons which were no doubt satisfactory
+to Congress these principal officers were specially provided for, and as
+to them the express and only requirement is that the President who has
+appointed them shall not without the advice and consent of the Senate
+remove them from office. The consequence is that as to my Cabinet,
+embracing the seven officers designated in the first section, the act
+takes from me the power, without the concurrence of the Senate, to
+remove any one of them that I have appointed, but it does not protect
+such of them as I did not appoint, nor give to them any tenure of office
+beyond my pleasure.
+
+An examination of this act, then, shows that while in one part of the
+section provision is made for officers generally, in another clause
+there is a class of officers, designated by their official titles, who
+are excepted from the general terms of the law, and in reference to whom
+a clear distinction is made as to the general power of removal limited
+in the first clause of the section.
+
+This distinction is that as to such of these enumerated officers as hold
+under the appointment of the President the power of removal can only be
+exercised by him with the consent of the Senate, while as to those who
+have not been appointed by him there is no like denial of his power to
+displace them. It would be a violation of the plain meaning of this
+enactment to place Mr. Stanton upon the same footing as those heads of
+Departments who have been appointed by myself. As to him, this law gives
+him no tenure of office. The members of my Cabinet who have been
+appointed by me are by this act entitled to hold for one month after the
+term of my office shall cease; but Mr. Stanton could not, against the
+wishes of my successor, hold a moment thereafter. If he were permitted
+by that successor to hold for the first two weeks, would that successor
+have no power to remove him? But the power of my successor over him
+could be no greater than my own. If my successor would have the power to
+remove Mr. Stanton after permitting him to remain a period of two weeks,
+because he was not appointed by him, but by his predecessor, I, who have
+tolerated Mr. Stanton for more than two years, certainly have the same
+right to remove him, and upon the same ground, namely, that he was not
+appointed by me, but by my predecessor.
+
+Under this construction of the tenure-of-office act, I have never
+doubted my power to remove Mr. Stanton.
+
+Whether the act were constitutional or not, it was always my opinion
+that it did not secure him from removal. I was, however, aware that
+there were doubts as to the construction of the law, and from the first
+I deemed it desirable that at the earliest possible moment those doubts
+should be settled and the true construction of the act fixed by decision
+of the Supreme Court of the United States. My order of suspension in
+August last was intended to place the case in such a position as would
+make a resort to a judicial decision both necessary and proper. My
+understanding and wishes, however, under that order of suspension were
+frustrated, and the late order for Mr. Stanton's removal was a further
+step toward the accomplishment of that purpose.
+
+I repeat that my own convictions as to the true construction of the law
+and as to its constitutionality were well settled and were sustained
+by every member of my Cabinet, including Mr. Stanton himself. Upon the
+question of constitutionality, each one in turn deliberately advised me
+that the tenure-of-office act was unconstitutional. Upon the question
+whether, as to those members who were appointed by my predecessor,
+that act took from me the power to remove them, one of those members
+emphatically stated in the presence of the others sitting in Cabinet
+that they did not come within the provisions of the act, and it was
+no protection to them. No one dissented from this construction, and
+I understood them all to acquiesce in its correctness. In a matter of
+such grave consequence I was not disposed to rest upon my own opinions,
+though fortified by my constitutional advisers. I have therefore sought
+to bring the question at as early a day as possible before the Supreme
+Court of the United States for final and authoritative decision.
+
+In respect to so much of the resolution as relates to the designation
+of an officer to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, I have only to
+say that I have exercised this power under the provisions of the first
+section of the act of February 13, 1795, which, so far as they are
+applicable to vacancies caused by removals, I understand to be still
+in force.
+
+The legislation upon the subject of _ad interim_ appointments in the
+Executive Departments stands, as to the War Office, as follows:
+
+The second section of the act of the 7th of August, 1789, makes
+provision for a vacancy in the very case of a removal of the head of the
+War Department, and upon such a vacancy gives the charge and custody
+of the records, books, and papers to the chief clerk. Next, by the act
+of the 8th of May, 1792, section 8, it is provided that in case of a
+vacancy occasioned by death, absence from the seat of Government, or
+sickness of the head of the War Department the President may authorize
+a person to perform the duties of the office until a successor is
+appointed or the disability removed. The act, it will be observed, does
+not provide for the case of a vacancy caused by removal. Then, by the
+first section of the act of February 13, 1795, it is provided that in
+case of any vacancy the President may appoint a person to perform the
+duties while the vacancy exists.
+
+These acts are followed by that of the 20th of February, 1863, by the
+first section of which provision is again made for a vacancy caused by
+death, resignation, absence from the seat of Government, or sickness of
+the head of any Executive Department of the Government, and upon the
+occurrence of such a vacancy power is given to the President--
+
+  to authorize the head of any other Executive Department, or other
+  officer in either of said Departments whose appointment is vested in
+  the President, at his discretion, to perform the duties of the said
+  respective offices until a successor be appointed or until such absence
+  or inability by sickness shall cease: _Provided_, That no one vacancy
+  shall be supplied in manner aforesaid for a longer term than six months.
+
+
+This law, with some modifications, reenacts the act of 1792, and
+provides, as did that act, for the sort of vacancies so to be filled;
+but, like the act of 1792, it makes no provision for a vacancy
+occasioned by removal. It has reference altogether to vacancies arising
+from other causes.
+
+According to my construction of the act of 1863, while it impliedly
+repeals the act of 1792 regulating the vacancies therein described, it
+has no bearing whatever upon so much of the act of 1795 as applies to a
+vacancy caused by removal. The act of 1795 therefore furnishes the rule
+for a vacancy occasioned by removal--one of the vacancies expressly
+referred to in the act of the 7th of August, 1789, creating the
+Department of War. Certainly there is no express repeal by the act of
+1863 of the act of 1795. The repeal, if there is any, is by implication,
+and can only be admitted so far as there is a clear inconsistency
+between the two acts. The act of 1795 is inconsistent with that of 1863
+as to a vacancy occasioned by death, resignation, absence, or sickness,
+but not at all inconsistent as to a vacancy caused by removal.
+
+It is assuredly proper that the President should have the same power to
+fill temporarily a vacancy occasioned by removal as he has to supply
+a place made vacant by death or the expiration of a term. If, for
+instance, the incumbent of an office should be found to be wholly unfit
+to exercise its functions, and the public service should require his
+immediate expulsion, a remedy should exist and be at once applied, and
+time be allowed the President to select and appoint a successor, as is
+permitted him in case of a vacancy caused by death or the termination of
+an official term.
+
+The necessity, therefore, for an _ad interim_ appointment is just as
+great, and, indeed, may be greater in cases of removal than in any
+others. Before it be held, therefore, that the power given by the act
+of 1795 in cases of removal is abrogated by succeeding legislation an
+express repeal ought to appear. So wholesome a power should certainly
+not be taken away by loose implication.
+
+It may be, however, that in this, as in other cases of implied repeal,
+doubts may arise. It is confessedly one of the most subtle and debatable
+questions which arise in the construction of statutes. If upon such a
+question I have fallen into an erroneous construction, I submit whether
+it should be characterized as a violation of official duty and of law.
+
+I have deemed it proper, in vindication of the course which I have
+considered it my duty to take, to place before the Senate the reasons
+upon which I have based my action. Although I have been advised by
+every member of my Cabinet that the entire tenure-of-office act is
+unconstitutional, and therefore void, and although I have expressly
+concurred in that opinion in the veto message which I had the honor
+to submit to Congress when I returned the bill for reconsideration,
+I have refrained from making a removal of any officer contrary to the
+provisions of the law, and have only exercised that power in the case of
+Mr. Stanton, which, in my judgment, did not come within its provisions.
+I have endeavored to proceed with the greatest circumspection, and have
+acted only in an extreme and exceptional case, carefully following the
+course which I have marked out for myself as a general rule, faithfully
+to execute all laws, though passed over my objections on the score of
+constitutionality. In the present instance I have appealed, or sought
+to appeal, to that final arbiter fixed by the Constitution for the
+determination of all such questions. To this course I have been impelled
+by the solemn obligations which rest upon me to sustain inviolate the
+powers of the high office committed to my hands.
+
+Whatever may be the consequences merely personal to myself, I could not
+allow them to prevail against a public duty so clear to my own mind, and
+so imperative. If what was possible had been certain, if I had been
+fully advised when I removed Mr. Stanton that in thus defending the
+trust committed to my hands my own removal was sure to follow, I could
+not have hesitated. Actuated by public considerations of the highest
+character, I earnestly protest against the resolution of the Senate
+which charges me in what I have done with a violation of the
+Constitution and laws of the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 25, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In further answer of the resolution of the Senate of the 13th of January
+last, relative to the appointment of the Hon. Anson Burlingame to a
+diplomatic or other mission by the Emperor of China, I transmit a report
+from the Secretary of State and the communication which accompanied it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 26, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the General Commanding the Army of the
+United States, prepared in compliance with the resolution of the Senate
+of the 4th instant, requesting copies of all instructions relating to
+the Third Military District issued to General Pope and General Meade.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 4, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 17th February ultimo,
+concerning the alleged interference of the United States consul at Rome
+in the late difficulty in Italy, I transmit a report from the Secretary
+of State, containing the information called for by the resolution.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 5, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit a report of this date from the Secretary of State, and the
+accompanying papers, in regard to the revolution in the Dominican
+Republic.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 5, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 21st of February last,
+in relation to the abduction of one Allan Macdonald from Canada, I
+transmit a communication from the Secretary of State, accompanied by the
+papers relating to that subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 5, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+7th of January last, in relation to the claim of the late Benjamin W.
+Perkins against the Russian Government, I transmit a communication from
+the Secretary of State, which is accompanied by the papers called for
+by the resolution.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 6, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate the accompanying report[54] of the Secretary of
+State, in answer to their resolution of the 13th January,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 54: Relating to a claim, under the act of Congress of August
+18, 1856, of citizens of the United States to guano on Alta Vela, an
+island in the vicinity of Santo Domingo.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to
+ratification, a treaty between the United States and His Majesty the
+King of Prussia, in the name of the North German Confederation, for the
+purpose of regulating the citizenship of those persons who emigrate from
+the Confederation to this country and from the United States to the
+North German Confederation.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 11, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In further answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of
+the 25th of November, 1867, calling for information in relation to the
+trial and conviction of American citizens in Great Britain and Ireland
+for the last two years, I transmit a continuation of the report from the
+Secretary of State upon the subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 14, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 27th of January
+last, in relation to the arrest and trial of the Rev. John McMahon,
+Robert B. Lynch, and John Warren by the Government of Great Britain, and
+requesting to be informed what action has been taken by this Government
+in maintaining the rights of American citizens abroad, I transmit a
+report of the Secretary of State, which is accompanied by a copy of
+the papers called for by that resolution.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 18, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty made on the 2d day of March, 1868, by and between Nathaniel G.
+Taylor, Commissioner of Indian Affairs; Alexander C. Hunt, governor and
+_ex officio_ superintendent of Indian affairs of Colorado Territory, and
+Kit Carson, on the part of the United States, and the representatives
+of the Tabeguache, Muache, Capote, Weeminuche, Yampa, Grand River, and
+Uintah bands of Ute Indians.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 17th instant and the
+papers therein referred to are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 24, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention, signed on the 23d instant, for the surrender
+of criminals, between the United States and the Government of Italy.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 24, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report[55] and accompanying documents, in answer
+to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 18th ultimo.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 55: Relating to unexpended appropriations for contingent
+expenses of foreign intercourse; amount remaining on deposit with
+Baring Brothers & Co. September 30, 1867, etc.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 25, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to a resolution
+of the 9th instant, the accompanying report[56] from the Secretary of
+State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 56: Declining to transmit copies of correspondence,
+negotiations, and treaties with German States since January 1, 1868,
+relative to the rights of naturalized citizens.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 25, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report and accompanying document,[57] in answer
+to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 18th ultimo.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 57: Statement of amounts paid for legal services by the
+Department of State during each year since 1860, with names of persons
+to whom paid.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 25, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 18th
+ultimo, relating to the report of Mr. Cowdin, I transmit a report of
+the Secretary of State and the document[58] to which it refers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 58: Report of Elliot C. Cowdin, United States commissioner
+to the Paris Exposition of 1867, on silk and silk manufactures.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 2, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in further answer to their
+resolution of the 9th ultimo, the accompanying report[59] from the
+Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 59: Transmitting correspondence pertaining to the convention
+of February 22, 1868, with the North German Confederation, relative to
+naturalization.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 2, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In further reply to the resolution adopted by the House of Representatives
+on the 19th of December, 1867, calling for correspondence and information
+in relation to Russian America, I transmit a report from the Secretary of
+State and the papers which accompanied it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 3, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the papers
+accompanying it, in answer to a resolution of the House of
+Representatives of the 10th of February last, requesting information
+relative to the imprisonment and destruction of the property of Antonio
+Pelletier by the people and authorities of Hayti.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 13, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 5th of February last,
+calling for the correspondence upon the subject of the murder by the
+inhabitants of the island of Formosa of the ship's company of the
+American bark _Rover_, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State
+and a report from the Secretary of the Navy, with accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 18, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 14th of April instant,
+calling for information relative to any application by any party for
+exclusive privileges in connection with hunting, trading, and the
+fisheries in Alaska, I transmit herewith the report of the Secretary
+of State on the subject, with its accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _April 22, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 28th ultimo,
+requesting information as to the number and designations of military
+departments formed since the 1st day of August, 1867, and as to the
+statute or other authority under which they have been established,
+I transmit a report from the Adjutant-General's Office showing the
+organization since that date of the Department of Alaska and the
+Military Division of the Atlantic.
+
+The orders issued by me upon this subject are in accordance with
+long-established usage and hitherto unquestioned authority. This will be
+readily seen from the accompanying report, which shows that, employing
+the authority vested by the Constitution in the President as Commander
+in Chief of the Army, it has been customary for my predecessors to
+create such military divisions and departments as from time to time
+they deemed advisable.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 27, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I submit a report of the Secretary of State, concerning the
+naturalization treaty recently negotiated between the United States
+and North Germany.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 5, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress the accompanying documents, which I deem it
+proper to state are all the papers[60] that have been submitted to the
+President relating to the proceedings to which they refer in the States
+of South Carolina and Arkansas.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 60: Constitutions of South Carolina and Arkansas.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 6, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in further answer to their resolution of the
+14th of April last, the accompanying report[61] from the Secretary of
+State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 61: Relating to application for exclusive privileges in
+connection with hunting, trading, and the fisheries in Alaska.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 8, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith reports from the Secretary of the Treasury and the
+Secretary of the Navy, prepared in compliance with a resolution of the
+House of Representatives of the 12th of December last, requesting
+information respecting the sale of public vessels since the close of the
+rebellion. No report upon the subject has yet been received from the
+Department of War.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 9, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their resolution
+of the 14th ultimo, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+papers.[62]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 62: Report of Freeman H. Morse, United States consul at
+Condon, on "The Foreign Maritime Commerce of the United States: Its
+Past, Present, and Future," etc.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 9, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith reports from the Secretary of the Treasury and the
+Attorney-General, prepared in compliance with the resolution of the
+Senate of the 17th December last, requesting information in reference to
+the seizure and confiscation of property. No report upon this subject
+has yet been received by me from the War Department.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 11, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress the accompanying documents,[63] which embrace
+all the papers that have been submitted to me relating to the proceedings
+to which they refer in the States of North Carolina and Louisiana.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 63: Constitutions of North Carolina and Louisiana.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 15, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their
+resolution of the 8th instant, a report[64] from the Secretary of State,
+with accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 64: Relating to the detention, at the request of the House
+of Representatives, of the ironclad monitors _Oneoto_ and _Catawba_,
+purchased from the United States by Swift & Co., and supposed to be
+intended for the Government of Peru, then at war with a power friendly
+to the United States.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 18, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress the accompanying document,[65] which is the
+only paper which has been submitted to me relating to the proceedings
+to which it refers in the State of Georgia.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 65: Constitution of Georgia.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 23, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate a report from the Secretary of State, with
+accompaniments, in relation to recent events in the Empire of Japan.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 27, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress the accompanying documents,[66] which are the
+only papers which have been submitted to me relating to the proceedings
+to which they refer in the State of Florida.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 66: Letter from the president of the constitutional convention
+of Florida, transmitting a copy of the constitution of that State.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 29, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of the Navy, in reply
+to the resolution of the House of Representatives adopted on the 26th
+instant, making inquiries relative to a naval force at Hayti.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 2, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I communicate, for the information of the Senate, in confidence, a
+report of the Secretary of State, accompanied by a copy of a dispatch
+recently received from the acting consul of the United States at San
+Jose, Costa Rica.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 2, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I communicate, for the consideration of the Senate, a report from
+the Secretary of State, accompanied by a copy of a dispatch recently
+received from the acting United States consul in charge of the legation
+at San Jose, Costa Rica.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 5, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In further answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of
+the 25th of November, 1867, calling for information in relation to the
+trial and conviction of American citizens in Great Britain and Ireland
+for the last two years, I transmit the accompanying report from the
+Secretary of State upon the subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 8, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 28th ultimo, I
+transmit herewith a communication from the Postmaster-General, with a
+copy of the correspondence recently had with the authorities of Great
+Britain in relation to a new postal treaty.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C. _June 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+1st instant, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the
+Interior, in reference to a treaty now being negotiated between the
+Great and Little Osage Indians and the special Indian commissioners
+acting on the part of the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C. _June 13, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith submit to the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded on the 27th ultimo between commissioners on the part
+of the United States and the Great and Little Osage tribe of Indians of
+Kansas, together with a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
+suggesting an amendment to the fourteenth article, and a copy of the
+report of the commissioners.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 15, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Interior, made in
+reply to the resolution adopted by the House of Representatives on the
+13th instant.
+
+The treaty recently concluded with the Great and Little Osage Indians,
+to which the accompanying report refers, was submitted to the Senate
+prior to the receipt of the resolution of the House upon the subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to its
+ratification, a treaty between the United States and His Majesty the
+King of Bavaria, signed at Munich on the 26th ultimo, concerning the
+citizenship of persons emigrating from Bavaria to the United States and
+from the United States to the Kingdom of Bavaria. I transmit also a copy
+of the letter of the United States minister communicating the treaty, of
+the protocol which accompanied it, and a translation of the Bavarian
+military law referred to in the latter paper.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 20, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action
+thereon, a treaty concluded at Fort Sumner, N. Mex., on the 1st instant,
+between Lieutenant-General W. T. Sherman and Colonel Samuel F. Tappan,
+on the part of the United States, and the chiefs and headmen of the
+Navajo Indians, on the part of the latter. I also transmit a communication
+upon the subject from the Secretary of the Interior, with the accompanying
+papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 22, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 28th
+ultimo, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+papers.[67]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 67: Correspondence relative to the act of Congress of March
+27, 1867, prohibiting persons in the diplomatic service of the United
+States from wearing any uniform or official costume not previously
+authorized by Congress.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 23, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to a
+resolution of the House of Representatives of the 15th instant, upon the
+subject of Messrs. Warren and Costello, who have been convicted and
+sentenced to penal imprisonment in Great Britain.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 23, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate a copy of a dispatch addressed to the
+Department of State by the consul of the United States at Bangkok,
+Siam, dated December 31, 1867, with a view to its consideration and
+the ratification thereof, of the modification proposed by the royal
+counselors of the Kingdom of Siam in Article I of the general
+regulations which form a part of the treaty between the United States
+and that Kingdom concluded May 29, 1856, of which a printed copy is
+also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 29, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a copy of a dispatch from the United States
+consul at Elsinore, and of an instruction from the Secretary of State
+to the United States minister at Copenhagen, relative to an alleged
+practice of the Danish authorities to banish convicts to this country.
+The expediency of making it a penal offense to bring such persons to
+the United States is submitted to your consideration.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 2, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State of the 2d
+instant, together with accompanying papers.[68]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 68: Petitions of merchants and shipowners of New York and
+Boston relative to the detention, at the request of the House of
+Representatives, of the ironclad monitors _Oneoto_ and _Calawba_,
+purchased from the United States by Swift & Co., and supposed to be
+intended for the Government of Peru, then at war with a power friendly
+to the United States.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 7, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded at Fort Laramie, Dakota Territory, on the 7th of May,
+1868, between the United States and the chiefs and headmen of the Crow
+Indians of Montana, and a treaty concluded at Fort Lyaramie, Dakota
+Territory, on the 10th of May, 1868, between the United States and the
+chiefs and headmen of the Northern Cheyenne and Northern Arapahoe tribes
+of Indians.
+
+A letter from the Secretary of the Interior suggesting amendments to
+said treaties, and the papers to which he refers in his communication,
+are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 7, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty made and concluded at Ottawa, Kans., on the 1st day of June,
+1868, between the United States and the Swan Creek and Black River
+Chippewas and the Munsee or Christian Indians of the State of Kansas.
+
+Accompanying the treaty is a letter from the Secretary of the Interior,
+dated the 30th ultimo, together with the papers therein designated.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 9, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification,
+additional articles to the treaty between the United States and His
+Majesty the Emperor of China of the 18th June, 1858, signed in this city
+on the 4th instant by the plenipotentiaries of the parties.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification,
+a convention between the United States and the Mexican Republic, signed
+in this city by the plenipotentiaries of the parties on the 4th instant,
+providing for an adjustment of claims of citizens of the United States
+on the Mexican Government and of Mexican citizens on the Government of
+the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+Referring to my message to the Senate of the 23d of May last, I herewith
+transmit a further report from the Secretary of State, with an
+accompanying document, relative to late occurrences in Japan.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 14, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate a report from the Secretary of State, inclosing
+a list of the States of the Union whose legislatures have ratified the
+proposed fourteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the
+United States, and also a copy of the resolutions of ratification, as
+called for in the Senate's resolution of the 9th instant, together with
+a copy of the respective resolutions of the legislatures of Ohio and New
+Jersey purporting to rescind the resolutions of ratification of said
+amendment which had previously been adopted by the legislatures of these
+two States, respectively, or to withdraw their consent to the same.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 15, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I hereby transmit to Congress a report, 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.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 15, 1868_.
+
+_To the Congress of the United States_:
+
+I submit herewith a correspondence between the Secretary of State and
+Mr. Robert B. Van Valkenburgh, minister resident of the United States
+in Japan. It seems to show the importance of an amendment of the law
+of the United States prohibiting the cooly trade.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 17, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in compliance with its resolution of the 9th
+instant, a report from the Secretary of State, communicating a copy of a
+paper received by him to-day, purporting to be a resolution ratifying on
+the part of the State of Louisiana the proposed amendment to the
+Constitution of the United States known as Article XIV.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 18, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in compliance with its resolution of the 9th
+instant, a report from the Secretary of State, communicating a copy of a
+paper received by me on the 18th instant, purporting to be a resolution
+of the senate and house of representatives of the State of South
+Carolina, ratifying the proposed amendment to the Constitution of the
+United States known as Article XIV.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 18, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+Experience has fully demonstrated the wisdom of the framers of the
+Federal Constitution. Under all circumstances the result of their
+labors was as near an approximation to perfection as was compatible
+with the fallibility of man. Such being the estimation in which the
+Constitution is and has ever been held by our countrymen, it is not
+surprising that any proposition for its alteration or amendment should
+be received with reluctance and distrust. While this sentiment deserves
+commendation and encouragement as a useful preventive of unnecessary
+attempt to change its provisions, it must be conceded that time has
+developed imperfections and omissions in the Constitution, the
+reformation of which has been demanded by the best interests of the
+country. Some of these have been remedied in the manner provided in
+the Constitution itself. There are others which, although heretofore
+brought to the attention of the people, have never been so presented
+as to enable the popular judgment to determine whether they should
+be corrected by means of additional amendments. My object in this
+communication is to suggest certain defects in the Constitution which
+seem to me to require correction, and to recommend that the judgment
+of the people be taken on the amendments proposed.
+
+The first of the defects to which I desire to direct attention is in
+that clause of the Constitution which provides for the election of
+President and Vice-President through the intervention of electors, and
+not by an immediate vote of the people. The importance of so amending
+this clause as to secure to the people the election of President and
+Vice-President by their direct votes was urged with great earnestness
+and ability by President Jackson in his first annual message, and the
+recommendation was repeated in five of his subsequent communications to
+Congress, extending through the eight years of his Administration. In
+his message of 1829 he said:
+
+  To the people belongs the right of electing their Chief Magistrate; it
+  was never designed that their choice should in any case be defeated,
+  either by the intervention of electoral colleges or by the agency
+  confided, under certain contingencies, to the House of Representatives.
+
+
+He then proceeded to state the objections to an election of President
+by the House of Representatives, the most important of which was that
+the choice of a clear majority of the people might be easily defeated.
+He then closed the argument with the following communication:
+
+  I would therefore recommend such an amendment of the Constitution as
+  may remove all intermediate agency in the election of the President and
+  Vice-President. The mode may be so regulated as to preserve to each
+  State its present relative weight in the election, and a failure in the
+  first attempt may be provided for by confining the second to a choice
+  between the two highest candidates. In connection with such an amendment
+  it would seem advisable to limit the service of the Chief Magistrate to
+  a single term of either four or six years. If, however, it should not be
+  adopted, it is worthy of consideration whether a provision disqualifying
+  for office the Representatives in Congress on whom such an election may
+  have devolved would not be proper.
+
+
+Although this recommendation was repeated with undiminished
+earnestness in several of his succeeding messages, yet the proposed
+amendment was never adopted and submitted to the people by Congress. The
+danger of a defeat of the people's choice in an election by the House of
+Representatives remains unprovided for in the Constitution, and would
+be greatly increased if the House of Representatives should assume the
+power arbitrarily to reject the votes of a State which might not be
+cast in conformity with the wishes of the majority in that body.
+
+But if President Jackson failed to secure the amendment to the
+Constitution which he urged so persistently, his arguments contributed
+largely to the formation of party organizations, which have effectually
+avoided the contingency of an election by the House of Representatives.
+These organizations, first by a resort to the caucus system of
+nominating candidates, and afterwards to State and national conventions,
+have been successful in so limiting the number of candidates as to
+escape the danger of an election by the House of Representatives.
+
+It is clear, however, that in thus limiting the number of candidates
+the true object and spirit of the Constitution have been evaded and
+defeated. It is an essential feature in our republican system of
+government that every citizen possessing the constitutional
+qualifications has a right to become a candidate for the office of
+President and Vice-President, and that every qualified elector has a
+right to cast his vote for any citizen whom he may regard as worthy of
+these offices. But under the party organizations which have prevailed
+for years these asserted rights of the people have been as effectually
+cut off and destroyed as if the Constitution itself had inhibited their
+exercise.
+
+The danger of a defeat of the popular choice in an election by the House
+of Representatives is no greater than in an election made nominally by
+the people themselves, when by the laws of party organizations and by
+the constitutional provisions requiring the people to vote for electors
+instead of for the President or Vice-President it is made impracticable
+for any citizen to be a candidate except through the process of a party
+nomination, and for any voter to cast his suffrage for any other person
+than one thus brought forward through the manipulations of a nominating
+convention. It is thus apparent that by means of party organizations
+that provision of the Constitution which requires the election of
+President and Vice-President to be made through the electoral colleges
+has been made instrumental and potential in defeating the great object
+of conferring the choice of these officers upon the people. It may be
+conceded that party organizations are inseparable from republican
+government, and that when formed and managed in subordination to the
+Constitution they may be valuable safeguards of popular liberty; but
+when they are perverted to purposes of bad ambition they are liable
+to become the dangerous instruments of overthrowing the Constitution
+itself. Strongly impressed with the truth of these views, I feel
+called upon by an imperative sense of duty to revive substantially the
+recommendation so often and so earnestly made by President Jackson,
+and to urge that the amendment to the Constitution herewith presented,
+or some similar proposition, may be submitted to the people for their
+ratification or rejection.
+
+Recent events have shown the necessity of an amendment to the
+Constitution distinctly defining the persons who shall discharge the
+duties of President of the United States in the event of a vacancy in
+that office by the death, resignation, or removal of both the President
+and Vice-President. It is clear that this should be fixed by the
+Constitution, and not be left to repealable enactments of doubtful
+constitutionality. It occurs to me that in the event of a vacancy in the
+office of President by the death, resignation, disability, or removal of
+both the President and Vice-President the duties of the office should
+devolve upon an officer of the executive department of the Government,
+rather than one connected with the legislative or judicial departments.
+The objections to designating either the President _pro tempore_ of
+the Senate or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, especially
+in the event of a vacancy produced by removal, are so obvious and so
+unanswerable that they need not be stated in detail. It is enough
+to state that they are both interested in producing a vacancy, and,
+according to the provisions of the Constitution, are members of the
+tribunal by whose decree a vacancy may be produced.
+
+Under such circumstances the impropriety of designating either
+of these officers to succeed the President so removed is palpable.
+The framers of the Constitution, when they referred to Congress the
+settlement of the succession to the office of President in the event of
+a vacancy in the offices of both President and Vice-President, did not,
+in my opinion, contemplate the designation of any other than an officer
+of the executive department, on whom, in such a contingency, the powers
+and duties of the President should devolve. Until recently the
+contingency has been remote, and serious attention has not been called
+to the manifest incongruity between the provisions of the Constitution
+on this subject and the act of Congress of 1792. Having, however, been
+brought almost face to face with this important question, it seems an
+eminently proper time for us to make the legislation conform to the
+language, intent, and theory of the Constitution, and thus place the
+executive department beyond the reach of usurpation, and remove from the
+legislative and judicial departments every temptation to combine for the
+absorption of all the powers of government.
+
+It has occurred to me that in the event of such a vacancy the duties of
+President would devolve most appropriately upon some one of the heads of
+the several Executive Departments, and under this conviction I present
+for your consideration an amendment to the Constitution on this subject,
+with the recommendation that it be submitted to the people for their
+action.
+
+Experience seems to have established the necessity of an amendment
+of that clause of the Constitution which provides for the election of
+Senators to Congress by the legislatures of the several States. It would
+be more consistent with the genius of our form of government if the
+Senators were chosen directly by the people of the several States.
+The objections to the election of Senators by the legislatures are
+so palpable that I deem it unnecessary to do more than submit the
+proposition for such an amendment, with the recommendation that it
+be opened to the people for their judgment.
+
+It is strongly impressed on my mind that the tenure of office by
+the judiciary of the United States during good behavior for life is
+incompatible with the spirit of republican government, and in this
+opinion I am fully sustained by the evidence of popular judgment upon
+this subject in the different States of the Union.
+
+I therefore deem it my duty to recommend an amendment to the
+Constitution by which the terms of the judicial officers would be
+limited to a period of years, and I herewith present it in the hope that
+Congress will submit it to the people for their decision.
+
+The foregoing views have long been entertained by me. In 1845, in the
+House of Representatives, and afterwards, in 1860, in the Senate of the
+United States, I submitted substantially the same propositions as those
+to which the attention of Congress is herein invited. Time, observation,
+and experience have confirmed these convictions; and, as a matter of
+public duty and a deep sense of my constitutional obligation "to
+recommend to the consideration of Congress such measures as I deem
+necessary and expedient," I submit the accompanying propositions, and
+urge their adoption and submission to the judgment of the people.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+  JOINT RESOLUTION proposing amendments to the Constitution of the
+  United States.
+
+  Whereas the fifth article of the Constitution of the United States
+  provides for amendments thereto in the manner following, viz:
+
+  "The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it
+  necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the
+  application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several States,
+  shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which in either case
+  shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of this Constitution
+  when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States
+  or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode
+  of ratification may be proposed by the Congress: _Provided_, That no
+  amendment which may be made prior to the year 1808 shall in any manner
+  affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first
+  article, and that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of
+  its equal suffrage in the Senate:"
+
+  Therefore,
+
+  _Be it 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 amendments to the Constitution of the
+  United States be proposed to the legislatures of the several States,
+  which, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the States,
+  shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution:
+
+  "That hereafter the President and Vice-President of the United States
+  shall be chosen for the term of six years, by the people of the
+  respective States, in the manner following: Each State shall be divided
+  by the legislature thereof in districts, equal in number to the whole
+  number of Senators and Representatives to which such State may be
+  entitled in the Congress of the United States; the said districts to
+  be composed of contiguous territory, and to contain, as nearly as may
+  be, an equal number of persons entitled to be represented under the
+  Constitution, and to be laid off for the first time immediately after
+  the ratification of this amendment; that on the first Thursday in August
+  in the year 18--, and on the same day every sixth year thereafter, the
+  citizens of each State who possess the qualifications requisite for
+  electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures shall
+  meet within their respective districts and vote for a President and
+  Vice-President of the United States; and the person receiving the
+  greatest number of votes for President and the one receiving the
+  greatest number of votes for Vice-President in each district shall
+  be holden to have received one vote, which fact shall be immediately
+  certified by the governor of the State to each of the Senators in
+  Congress from such State and to the President of the Senate and the
+  Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Congress of the United
+  States shall be in session on the second Monday in October in the year
+  18--, and on the same day in every sixth year thereafter; and the
+  President of the Senate, in the presence of the Senate and House of
+  Representatives, shall open all the certificates, and the votes shall
+  then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes for
+  President shall be President, if such number be equal to a majority of
+  the whole number of votes given; but if no person have such majority,
+  then a second election shall be held on the first Thursday in the month
+  of December then next ensuing between the persons having the two highest
+  numbers for the office of President, which second election shall be
+  conducted, the result certified, and the votes counted in the same
+  manner as in the first, and the person having the greatest number of
+  votes for President shall be President. But if two or more persons shall
+  have received the greatest and an equal number of votes at the second
+  election, then the person who shall have received the greatest number of
+  votes in the greatest number of States shall be President. The person
+  having the greatest number of votes for Vice-President at the first
+  election shall be Vice-President, if such number be equal to a majority
+  of the whole number of votes given; and if no person have such majority,
+  then a second election shall take place between the persons having the
+  two highest numbers on the same day that the second election is held for
+  President, and the person having the highest number of the votes for
+  Vice-President shall be Vice-President. But if there should happen to
+  be an equality of votes between the persons so voted for at the second
+  election, then the person having the greatest number of votes in the
+  greatest number of States shall be Vice-President. But when a second
+  election shall be necessary in the case of Vice-President and not
+  necessary in the case of President, then the Senate shall choose a
+  Vice-President from the persons having the two highest numbers in the
+  first election, as now prescribed in the Constitution: _Provided_,
+  That after the ratification of this amendment to the Constitution the
+  President and Vice-President shall hold their offices, respectively, for
+  the term of six years, and that no President or Vice-President shall be
+  eligible for reelection to a second term."
+
+  Sec. 2. _And be it further resolved_, That Article II, section I,
+  paragraph 6, of the Constitution of the United States shall be amended
+  so as to read as follows:
+
+  "In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death,
+  resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of said
+  office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President; and in the case of
+  the removal, death, resignation, or inability both of the President and
+  Vice-President, the powers and duties of said office shall devolve on
+  the Secretary of State for the time being, and after this officer, in
+  case of vacancy in that or other Department, and in the order in which
+  they are named, on the Secretary of the Treasury, on the Secretary of
+  War, on the Secretary of the Navy, on the Secretary of the Interior, on
+  the Postmaster-General, and on the Attorney-General; and such officer,
+  on whom the powers and duties of President shall devolve in accordance
+  with the foregoing provisions, shall then act as President until the
+  disability shall be removed or a President shall be elected, as is or
+  may be provided for by law."
+
+  Sec. 3. _And be it further resolved_, That Article I, section 3, be
+  amended by striking out the word "legislature," and inserting in lieu
+  thereof the following words, viz: "Persons qualified to vote for members
+  of the most numerous branch of the legislature," so as to make the third
+  section of said article, when ratified by three-fourths of the States,
+  read as follows, to wit:
+
+  "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from
+  each State, chosen by the persons qualified to vote for the members of
+  the most numerous branch of the legislature thereof, for six years, and
+  each Senator shall have one vote."
+
+  Sec. 4. _And be it further resolved_, That Article III, section I, be
+  amended by striking out the words "good behavior," and inserting the
+  following words, viz: "the term of twelve years." And further, that said
+  article and section be amended by adding the following thereto, viz:
+  "And it shall be the duty of the President of the United States, within
+  twelve months after the ratification of this amendment by three-fourths
+  of all the States, as provided by the Constitution of the United States,
+  to divide the whole number of judges, as near as may be practicable,
+  into three classes. The seats of the judges of the first class shall be
+  vacated at the expiration of the fourth year from such classification,
+  of the second class at the expiration of the eighth year, and of the
+  third class at the expiration of the twelfth year, so that one-third may
+  be chosen every fourth year thereafter."
+
+  The article as amended will read as follows:
+
+  Article III.
+
+  Sec. I. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one
+  Supreme Court and such inferior courts as the Congress from time to time
+  may ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior
+  courts, shall hold their offices during the term of twelve years, and
+  shall at stated times receive for their services a compensation which
+  shall not be diminished during their continuance in office; and it shall
+  be the duty of the President of the United States, within twelve months
+  after the ratification of this amendment by three-fourths of all the
+  States, as provided by the Constitution of the United States, to divide
+  the whole number of judges, as near as may be practicable, into three
+  classes. The seats of the judges of the first class shall be vacated at
+  the expiration of the fourth year from such classification; of the
+  second class, at the expiration of the eighth year; and of the third
+  class, at the expiration of the twelfth year, so that one-third may be
+  chosen every fourth year thereafter.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 18, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution adopted by the House of Representatives
+on the 13th instant, requesting "copies of all instructions, records,
+and correspondence connected with the commission authorized to negotiate
+the late treaty with the Great and Little Osage Indians, and copies of
+all propositions made to said commission from railroad corporations or
+by individuals," I transmit the accompanying communications from the
+Secretary of the Interior, together with the papers to which they have
+reference.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 20, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in compliance with its resolution of the 9th
+instant, a report from the Secretary of State, communicating a copy of
+a paper received by me this day, purporting to be a resolution of the
+senate and house of representatives of the State of Alabama ratifying
+the proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States known
+as Article XIV.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 24, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of the Navy, inclosing a
+report of a board of naval officers appointed in pursuance of an act of
+Congress approved May 19, 1868, to select suitable locations for powder
+magazines.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 27, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their
+resolution of the 24th instant, the accompanying report[69] from the
+Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 69: Relating to absence from his post of the consul at Panama.]
+
+
+
+
+VETO MESSAGES.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 25, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I have considered, with such care as the pressure of other duties has
+permitted, a bill entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to
+amend the judiciary act, passed the 24th of September, 1789.'" Not being
+able to approve all of its provisions, I herewith return it to the
+Senate, in which House it originated, with a brief statement of my
+objections.
+
+The first section of the bill meets my approbation, as, for the purpose
+of protecting the rights of property from the erroneous decision of
+inferior judicial tribunals, it provides means for obtaining uniformity,
+by appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, in cases which have
+now become very numerous and of much public interest, and in which such
+remedy is not now allowed. The second section, however, takes away the
+right of appeal to that court in cases which involve the life and
+liberty of the citizen, and leaves them exposed to the judgment of
+numerous inferior tribunals. It is apparent that the two sections were
+conceived in a very different spirit, and I regret that my objections
+to one impose upon me the necessity of withholding my sanction from the
+other.
+
+I can not give my assent to a measure which proposes to deprive
+any person "restrained of his or her liberty in violation of the
+Constitution or of any treaty or law of the United States" from
+the right of appeal to the highest judicial authority known to our
+Government. To "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our
+posterity" is one of the declared objects of the Federal Constitution.
+To assure these, guaranties are provided in the same instrument, as well
+against "unreasonable searches and seizures" as against the suspensions
+of "the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_, * * * unless when, in
+cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it." It
+was doubtless to afford the people the means of protecting and enforcing
+these inestimable privileges that the jurisdiction which this bill
+proposes to take away was conferred upon the Supreme Court of the
+nation. The act conferring that jurisdiction was approved on the 5th day
+of February, 1867, with a full knowledge of the motives that prompted its
+passage, and because it was believed to be necessary and right. Nothing
+has since occurred to disprove the wisdom and justness of the measures,
+and to modify it as now proposed would be to lessen the protection of
+the citizen from the exercise of arbitrary power and to weaken the
+safeguards of life and liberty, which can never be made too secure
+against illegal encroachments.
+
+The bill not only prohibits the adjudication by the Supreme Court
+of cases in which appeals may hereafter be taken, but interdicts its
+jurisdiction on appeals which have already been made to that high
+judicial body. If, therefore, it should become a law, it will by its
+retroactive operation wrest from the citizen a remedy which he enjoyed
+at the time of his appeal. It will thus operate most harshly upon those
+who believe that justice has been denied them in the inferior courts.
+
+The legislation proposed in the second section, it seems to me, is not
+in harmony with the spirit and intention of the Constitution. It can
+not fail to affect most injuriously the just equipoise of our system
+of Government, for it establishes a precedent which, if followed, may
+eventually sweep away every check on arbitrary and unconstitutional
+legislation. Thus far during the existence of the Government the Supreme
+Court of the United States has been viewed by the people as the true
+expounder of their Constitution, and in the most violent party conflicts
+its judgments and decrees have always been sought and deferred to with
+confidence and respect. In public estimation it combines judicial wisdom
+and impartiality in a greater degree than any other authority known to
+the Constitution, and any act which may be construed into or mistaken
+for an attempt to prevent or evade its decision on a question which
+affects the liberty of the citizens and agitates the country can
+not fail to be attended with unpropitious consequences. It will be
+justly held by a large portion of the people as an admission of the
+unconstitutionally of the act on which its judgment may be forbidden or
+forestalled, and may interfere with that willing acquiescence in its
+provisions which is necessary for the harmonious and efficient execution
+of any law.
+
+For these reasons, thus briefly and imperfectly stated, and for others,
+of which want of time forbids the enumeration, I deem it my duty to
+withhold my assent from this bill, and to return it for the
+reconsideration of Congress.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 20, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I return without my signature a bill entitled "An act to admit the State
+of Arkansas to representation in Congress."
+
+The approval of this bill would be an admission on the part of the
+Executive that the "Act for the more efficient government of the rebel
+States," passed March 2, 1867, and the acts supplementary thereto were
+proper and constitutional. My opinion, however, in reference to those
+measures has undergone no change, but, on the contrary, has been
+strengthened by the results which have attended their execution. Even
+were this not the case, I could not consent to a bill which is based
+upon the assumption either that by an act of rebellion of a portion
+of its people the State of Arkansas seceded from the Union, or that
+Congress may at its pleasure expel or exclude a State from the Union,
+or interrupt its relations with the Government by arbitrarily depriving
+it of representation in the Senate and House of Representatives. If
+Arkansas is a State not in the Union, this bill does not admit it as
+a State into the Union. If, on the other hand, Arkansas is a State
+in the Union, no legislation is necessary to declare it entitled
+"to representation in Congress as one of the States of the Union." The
+Constitution already declares that "each State shall have at least one
+Representative;" that the Senate "shall be composed of two Senators from
+each State," and "that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived
+of its equal suffrage in the Senate."
+
+That instrument also makes each House "the judge of the elections,
+returns, and qualifications of its own members," and therefore all that
+is now necessary to restore Arkansas in all its constitutional relations
+to the Government is a decision by each House upon the eligibility of
+those who, presenting their credentials, claim seats in the respective
+Houses of Congress. This is the plain and simple plan of the
+Constitution; and believing that had it been pursued when Congress
+assembled in the month of December, 1865, the restoration of the States
+would long since have been completed, I once again earnestly recommend
+that it be adopted by each House in preference to legislation, which I
+respectfully submit is not only of at least doubtful constitutionality,
+and therefore unwise and dangerous as a precedent, but is unnecessary,
+not so effective in its operation as the mode prescribed by the
+Constitution, involves additional delay, and from its terms may be taken
+rather as applicable to a Territory about to be admitted as one of the
+United States than to a State which has occupied a place in the Union
+for upward of a quarter of a century.
+
+The bill declares the State of Arkansas entitled and admitted to
+representation in Congress as one of the States of the Union upon the
+following fundamental condition:
+
+  That the constitution of Arkansas shall never be so amended or changed
+  as to deprive any citizen or class of citizens of the United States of
+  the right to vote who are entitled to vote by the constitution herein
+  recognized, except as a punishment for such crimes as are now felonies
+  at common law, whereof they shall have been duly convicted under laws
+  equally applicable to all the inhabitants of said State: _Provided_,
+  That any alteration of said constitution, prospective in its effect,
+  may be made in regard to the time and place of residence of voters.
+
+I have been unable to find in the Constitution of the United States any
+warrant for the exercise of the authority thus claimed by Congress.
+In assuming the power to impose a "fundamental condition" upon a State
+which has been duly "admitted into the Union upon an equal footing with
+the original States in all respects whatever," Congress asserts a right
+to enter a State as it may a Territory, and to regulate the highest
+prerogative of a free people--the elective franchise. This question is
+reserved by the Constitution to the States themselves, and to concede
+to Congress the power to regulate the subject would be to reverse the
+fundamental principle of the Republic and to place in the hands of the
+Federal Government, which is the creature of the States, the sovereignty
+which justly belongs to the States or the people--the true source of all
+political power, by whom our Federal system was created and to whose
+will it is subordinate.
+
+The bill fails to provide in what manner the State of Arkansas is to
+signify its acceptance of the "fundamental condition" which Congress
+endeavors to make unalterable and irrevocable. Nor does it prescribe the
+penalty to be imposed should the people of the State amend or change the
+particular portions of the constitution which it is one of the purposes
+of the bill to perpetuate, but as to the consequences of such action
+leaves them in uncertainty and doubt. When the circumstances under which
+this constitution has been brought to the attention of Congress are
+considered, it is not unreasonable to suppose that efforts will be made
+to modify its provisions, and especially those in respect to which this
+measure prohibits any alteration. It is seriously questioned whether the
+constitution has been ratified by a majority of the persons who, under
+the act of March 2, 1867, and the acts supplementary thereto, were
+entitled to registration and to vote upon that issue. Section 10 of
+the schedule provides that--
+
+  No person disqualified from voting or registering under this
+  constitution shall vote for candidates for any office, nor shall be
+  permitted to vote for the ratification or rejection of the constitution
+  at the polls herein authorized.
+
+
+Assumed to be in force before its adoption, in disregard of the law of
+Congress, the constitution undertakes to impose upon the elector other
+and further conditions. The fifth section of the eighth article provides
+that "all persons, before registering or voting," must take and
+subscribe an oath which, among others, contains the following clause:
+
+  That I accept the civil and political equality of all men, and agree
+  not to attempt to deprive any person or persons, on account of race,
+  color, or previous condition, of any political or civil right,
+  privilege, or immunity enjoyed by any other class of men.
+
+
+It is well known that a very large portion of the electors in all the
+States, if not a large majority of all of them, do not believe in or
+accept the political equality of Indians, Mongolians, or negroes with
+the race to which they belong. If the voters in many of the States of
+the North and West were required to take such an oath as a test of their
+qualification, there is reason to believe that a majority of them would
+remain from the polls rather than comply with its degrading conditions.
+How far and to what extent this test oath prevented the registration of
+those who were qualified under the laws of Congress it is not possible
+to know, but that such was its effect, at least sufficient to overcome
+the small and doubtful majority in favor of this constitution, there
+can be no reasonable doubt. Should the people of Arkansas, therefore,
+desiring to regulate the elective franchise so as to make it conform to
+the constitutions of a large proportion of the States of the North and
+West, modify the provisions referred to in the "fundamental condition,"
+what is to be the consequence? Is it intended that a denial of
+representation shall follow? And if so, may we not dread, at some future
+day, a recurrence of the troubles which have so long agitated the
+country? Would it not be the part of wisdom to take for our guide the
+Federal Constitution, rather than resort to measures which, looking only
+to the present, may in a few years renew, in an aggravated form, the
+strife and bitterness caused by legislation which has proved to be
+so ill timed and unfortunate?
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 25, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In returning to the House of Representatives, in which it originated,
+a bill entitled "An act to admit the States of North Carolina, South
+Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida to representation
+in Congress," I do not deem it necessary to state at length the reasons
+which constrain me to withhold my approval. I will not, therefore,
+undertake at this time to reopen the discussion upon the grave
+constitutional questions involved in the act of March 2, 1867, and
+the acts supplementary thereto, in pursuance of which it is claimed,
+in the preamble to this bill, these States have framed and adopted
+constitutions of State government. Nor will I repeat the objections
+contained in my message of the 20th instant, returning without my
+signature the bill to admit to representation the State of Arkansas,
+and which are equally applicable to the pending measure.
+
+Like the act recently passed in reference to Arkansas, this bill
+supersedes the plain and simple mode prescribed by the Constitution
+for the admission to seats in the respective Houses of Senators and
+Representatives from the several States. It assumes authority over six
+States of the Union which has never been delegated to Congress, or is
+even warranted by previous unconstitutional legislation upon the subject
+of restoration. It imposes conditions which are in derogation of the
+equal rights of the States, and is founded upon a theory which is
+subversive of the fundamental principles of the Government. In the case
+of Alabama it violates the plighted faith of Congress by forcing upon
+that State a constitution which was rejected by the people, according to
+the express terms of an act of Congress requiring that a majority of the
+registered electors should vote upon the question of its ratification.
+
+For these objections, and many others that might be presented, I can not
+approve this bill, and therefore return it for the action of Congress
+required in such cases by the Federal Constitution.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 20, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I have given to the joint resolution entitled "A resolution excluding
+from the electoral college the votes of States lately in rebellion which
+shall not have been reorganized" as careful examination as I have been
+able to bestow upon the subject during the few days that have intervened
+since the measure was submitted for my approval.
+
+Feeling constrained to withhold my consent, I herewith return the
+resolution to the Senate, in which House it originated, with a brief
+statement of the reasons which have induced my action. This joint
+resolution is based upon the assumption that some of the States whose
+inhabitants were lately in rebellion are not now entitled to
+representation in Congress and participation in the election of
+President and Vice-President of the United States.
+
+Having heretofore had occasion to give in detail my reasons for
+dissenting from this view, it is not necessary at this time to repeat
+them. It is sufficient to state that I continue strong in my conviction
+that the acts of secession, by which a number of the States sought to
+dissolve their connection with the other States and to subvert the
+Union, being unauthorized by the Constitution and in direct violation
+thereof, were from the beginning absolutely null and void. It follows
+necessarily that when the rebellion terminated the several States which
+had attempted to secede continued to be States in the Union, and all
+that was required to enable them to resume their relations to the Union
+was that they should adopt the measures necessary to their practical
+restoration as States. Such measures were adopted, and the legitimate
+result was that those States, having conformed to all the requirements
+of the Constitution, resumed their former relations, and became entitled
+to the exercise of all the rights guaranteed to them by its provisions.
+
+The joint resolution under consideration, however, seems to assume that
+by the insurrectionary acts of their respective inhabitants those States
+forfeited their rights as such, and can never again exercise them except
+upon readmission into the Union on the terms prescribed by Congress.
+If this position be correct, it follows that they were taken out of the
+Union by virtue of their acts of secession, and hence that the war waged
+upon them was illegal and unconstitutional. We would thus be placed in
+this inconsistent attitude, that while the war was commenced and carried
+on upon the distinct ground that the Southern States, being component
+parts of the Union, were in rebellion against the lawful authority of
+the United States, upon its termination we resort to a policy of
+reconstruction which assumes that it was not in fact a rebellion, but
+that the war was waged for the conquest of territories assumed to be
+outside of the constitutional Union.
+
+The mode and manner of receiving and counting the electoral votes
+for President and Vice-President of the United States are in plain
+and simple terms prescribed by the Constitution. That instrument
+imperatively requires that "the President of the Senate shall, in the
+presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the
+certificates, and the votes shall then be counted." Congress has,
+therefore, no power, under the Constitution, to receive the electoral
+votes or reject them. The whole power is exhausted when, in the presence
+of the two Houses, the votes are counted and the result declared.
+In this respect the power and duty of the President of the Senate are,
+under the Constitution, purely ministerial. When, therefore, the joint
+resolution declares that no electoral votes shall be received or counted
+from States that since the 4th of March, 1867, have not "adopted a
+constitution of State government under which a State government shall
+have organized," a power is assumed which is nowhere delegated to
+Congress, unless upon the assumption that the State governments
+organized prior to the 4th of March, 1867, were illegal and void.
+
+The joint resolution, by implication at least, concedes that these
+States were States by virtue of their organization prior to the 4th of
+March, 1867, but denies to them the right to vote in the election of
+President and Vice-President of the United States. It follows either
+that this assumption of power is wholly unauthorized by the Constitution
+or that the States so excluded from voting were out of the Union by
+reason of the rebellion, and have never been legitimately restored.
+Being fully satisfied that they were never out of the Union, and that
+their relations thereto have been legally and constitutionally restored,
+I am forced to the conclusion that the joint resolution, which deprives
+them of the right to have their votes for President and Vice-President
+received and counted, is in conflict with the Constitution, and that
+Congress has no more power to reject their votes than those of the
+States which have been uniformly loyal to the Federal Union.
+
+It is worthy of remark that if the States whose inhabitants were
+recently in rebellion were legally and constitutionally organized and
+restored to their rights prior to the 4th of March, 1867, as I am
+satisfied they were, the only legitimate authority under which the
+election for President and Vice-President can be held therein must be
+derived from the governments instituted before that period. It clearly
+follows that all the State governments organized in those States under
+act of Congress for that purpose, and under military control, are
+illegitimate and of no validity whatever; and in that view the votes
+cast in those States for President and Vice-President, in pursuance
+of acts passed since the 4th of March, 1867, and in obedience to the
+so-called reconstruction acts of Congress, can not be legally received
+and counted, while the only votes in those States that can be legally
+cast and counted will be those cast in pursuance of the laws in force in
+the several States prior to the legislation by Congress upon the subject
+of reconstruction.
+
+I can not refrain from directing your special attention to the
+declaration contained in the joint resolution, that "none of the
+States whose inhabitants were lately in rebellion shall be entitled to
+representation in the electoral college," etc. If it is meant by this
+declaration that no State is to be allowed to vote for President and
+Vice-President _all_ of whose inhabitants were engaged in the late
+rebellion, it is apparent that no one of the States will be excluded
+from voting, since it is well known that in every Southern State there
+were many inhabitants who not only did not participate in the rebellion,
+but who actually took part in the suppression, or refrained from giving
+it any aid or countenance. I therefore conclude that the true meaning of
+the joint resolution is that no State a _portion_ of whose inhabitants
+were engaged in the rebellion shall be permitted to participate in the
+Presidential election, except upon the terms and conditions therein
+prescribed.
+
+Assuming this to be the true construction of the resolution, the
+inquiry becomes pertinent, May those Northern States a portion of
+whose inhabitants were actually in the rebellion be prevented, at the
+discretion of Congress, from having their electoral votes counted? It is
+well known that a portion of the inhabitants of New York and a portion
+of the inhabitants of Virginia were alike engaged in the rebellion; yet
+it is equally well known that Virginia, as well as New York, was at all
+times during the war recognized by the Federal Government as a State
+in the Union--so clearly that upon the termination of hostilities it
+was not even deemed necessary for her restoration that a provisional
+governor should be appointed; yet, according to this joint resolution,
+the people of Virginia, unless they comply with the terms it prescribes,
+are denied the right of voting for President, while the people of
+New York, a portion of the inhabitants of which State were also in
+rebellion, are permitted to have their electoral votes counted without
+undergoing the process of reconstruction prescribed for Virginia. New
+York is no more a State than Virginia; the one is as much entitled to
+representation in the electoral college as the other. If Congress has
+the power to deprive Virginia of this right, it can exercise the same
+authority with respect to New York or any other of the States. Thus the
+result of the Presidential election may be controlled and determined
+by Congress, and the people be deprived of their right under the
+Constitution to choose a President and Vice-President of the United
+States.
+
+If Congress were to provide by law that the votes of none of the States
+should be received and counted if cast for a candidate who differed in
+political sentiment with a majority of the two Houses, such legislation
+would at once be condemned by the country as an unconstitutional and
+revolutionary usurpation of power. It would, however, be exceedingly
+difficult to find in the Constitution any more authority for the passage
+of the joint resolution under consideration than for an enactment
+looking directly to the rejection of all votes not in accordance with
+the political preferences of a majority of Congress. No power exists
+in the Constitution authorizing the joint resolution or the supposed
+law--the only difference being that one would be more palpably
+unconstitutional and revolutionary than the other. Both would rest upon
+the radical error that Congress has the power to prescribe terms and
+conditions to the right of the people of the States to cast their votes
+for President and Vice-President.
+
+For the reasons thus indicated I am constrained to return the joint
+resolution to the Senate for such further action thereon as Congress
+may deem necessary.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 25, 1868_
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+Believing that a bill entitled "An act relating to the Freedmen's
+Bureau, and providing for its discontinuance," interferes with the
+appointing power conferred by the Constitution upon the Executive, and
+for other reasons, which at this late period of the session time will
+not permit me to state, I herewith return it to the Senate, in which
+House it originated, without my approval.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+PROCLAMATIONS.
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas in the month of July, A.D. 1861, in accepting the condition
+of civil war which was brought about by insurrection and rebellion in
+several of the States which constitute the United States, the two Houses
+of Congress did solemnly declare that that war was not waged on the
+part of the Government in any spirit of oppression, nor for any purpose
+of conquest or subjugation, nor for any purpose of overthrowing or
+interfering with the rights or established institutions of the States,
+but only to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution of the
+United States and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality,
+and rights of the several States unimpaired, and that so soon as those
+objects should be accomplished the war on the part of the Government
+should cease; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States has heretofore, in the spirit
+of that declaration and with the view of securing for it ultimate and
+complete effect, set forth several proclamations offering amnesty and
+pardon to persons who had been or were concerned in the aforenamed
+rebellion, which proclamations, however, were attended with prudential
+reservations and exceptions then deemed necessary and proper, and which
+proclamations were respectively issued on the 8th day of December, 1863,
+on the 26th day of March, 1864, on the 29th day of May, 1865, and on the
+7th day of September, 1867; and
+
+Whereas the said lamentable civil war has long since altogether ceased,
+with an acknowledgment by all the States of the supremacy of the Federal
+Constitution and of the Government thereunder, and there no longer
+exists any reasonable ground to apprehend a renewal of the said civil
+war, or any foreign interference, or any unlawful resistance by any
+portion of the people of any of the States to the Constitution and laws
+of the United States; and
+
+Whereas it is desirable to reduce the standing army and to bring to a
+speedy termination military occupation, martial law, military tribunals,
+abridgment of the freedom of speech and of the press, and suspension
+of the privilege of _habeas corpus_ and of the right of trial by jury,
+such encroachments upon our free institutions in time of peace being
+dangerous to public liberty, incompatible with the individual rights of
+the citizen, contrary to the genius and spirit of our republican form
+of government, and exhaustive of the national resources; and
+
+Whereas it is believed that amnesty and pardon will tend to secure a
+complete and universal establishment and prevalence of municipal law
+and order in conformity with the Constitution of the United States,
+and to remove all appearances or presumptions of a retaliatory or
+vindictive policy on the part of the Government attended by unnecessary
+disqualifications, pains, penalties, confiscations, and
+disfranchisements, and, on the contrary, to promote and procure complete
+fraternal reconciliation among the whole people, with due submission to
+the Constitution and laws:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of
+the United States, do, by virtue of the Constitution and in the
+name of the people of the United States, hereby proclaim and declare,
+unconditionally and without reservation, to all and to every person
+who, directly or indirectly, participated in the late insurrection or
+rebellion, excepting such person or persons as may be under presentment
+or indictment in any court of the United States having competent
+jurisdiction upon a charge of treason or other felony, a full pardon
+and amnesty for the offense of treason against the United States or of
+adhering to their enemies during the late civil war, with restoration of
+all rights of property, except as to slaves, and except also as to any
+property of which any person may have been legally divested under the
+laws of the United States.
+
+In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, the 4th day of July, A.D. 1868, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+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 Congress entitled "An act to admit the States of
+North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida
+to representation in Congress," passed on the 25th day of June, 1868,
+it is declared that it is made the duty of the President, within ten
+days after receiving official information of the ratification by the
+legislature of either of said States of a proposed amendment to the
+Constitution known as article fourteen, to issue a proclamation
+announcing that fact; and
+
+Whereas the said act seems to be prospective; and
+
+Whereas a paper purporting to be a resolution of the legislature of
+Florida adopting the amendment of the thirteenth and fourteenth articles
+of the Constitution of the United States was received at the Department
+of State on the 16th of June, 1868, prior to the passage of the act of
+Congress referred to, which paper is attested by the names of Horatio
+Jenkins, jr., as president _pro tempore_ of the senate, and W.W. Moore
+as speaker of the assembly, and of William L. Apthoop, as secretary of
+the senate, and William Forsyth Bynum, as clerk of the assembly, and
+which paper was transmitted to the Secretary of State in a letter dated
+Executive Office, Tallahassee, Fla., June 10, 1868, from Harrison Reed,
+who therein signs himself governor; and
+
+Whereas on the 6th day of July, 1868, a paper was received by the
+President, which paper, being addressed to the President, bears date of
+the 4th day of July, 1868, and was transmitted by and under the name of
+W.W. Holden, who therein writes himself governor of the State of North
+Carolina, which paper certifies that the said proposed amendment, known
+as article fourteen, did pass the senate and house of representatives of
+the general assembly of North Carolina on the 2d day of July instant,
+and is attested by the names of John H. Boner, or Bower, as secretary
+of the house of representatives, and T.A. Byrnes, as secretary of the
+senate; and its ratification on the 4th of July, 1868, is attested by
+Tod R. Caldwell, as lieutenant-governor, president of the senate, and
+Jo. W. Holden, as speaker house of representatives:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States of America, in compliance with and execution of the act of
+Congress aforesaid, do issue this proclamation, announcing the fact of
+the ratification of the said amendment by the legislature of the State
+of North Carolina in the manner hereinbefore set forth.
+
+In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+caused the seal of the United States to be hereto affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, this 11th day of July, A.D. 1868, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+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 Congress entitled "An act to admit the States of
+North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida
+to representation in Congress," passed the 25th day of June, 1868,
+it is declared that it is made the duty of the President, within ten
+days after receiving official information of the ratification by the
+legislature of either of said States of a proposed amendment to the
+Constitution known as article fourteen, to issue a proclamation
+announcing that fact; and
+
+Whereas on the 18th day of July, 1868, a letter was received by the
+President, which letter, being addressed to the President, bears date of
+July 15, 1868, and was transmitted by and under the name of R.K. Scott,
+who therein writes himself governor of South Carolina, in which letter
+was inclosed and received at the same time by the President a paper
+purporting to be a resolution of the senate and house of representatives
+of the general assembly of the State of South Carolina ratifying the
+said proposed amendment, and also purporting to have passed the two said
+houses, respectively, on the 7th and 9th of July, 1868, and to have been
+approved by the said R.K. Scott, as governor of said State, on the 15th
+of July, 1868, which circumstances are attested by the signatures of
+D.T. Corbin, as president _pro tempore_ of the senate, and of F.J.
+Moses, jr., as speaker of the house of representatives of said State,
+and of the said R.K. Scott, as governor:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States of America, in compliance with and execution of the act of
+Congress aforesaid, do issue this my proclamation, announcing the fact
+of the ratification of the said amendment by the legislature of the
+State of South Carolina in the manner hereinbefore set forth.
+
+In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+caused the seal of the United States to be hereto affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, this 18th day of July, A.D. 1868, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+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 Congress entitled "An act to admit the States of
+North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida
+to representation in Congress," passed on the 25th day of June, 1868,
+it is declared that it is made the duty of the President, within ten
+days after receiving official information of the ratification by the
+legislature of either of said States of a proposed amendment to the
+Constitution known as article fourteen, to issue a proclamation
+announcing that fact; and
+
+Whereas a paper was received at the Department of State on the 17th day
+of July, 1868, which paper, bearing date of the 9th day of July, 1868,
+purports to be a resolution of the senate and house of representatives
+of the State of Louisiana in general assembly convened ratifying the
+aforesaid amendment, and is attested by the signature of George E.
+Bovee, as secretary of state, under a seal purporting to be the seal
+of the State of Louisiana:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States of America, in compliance with and execution of the act of
+Congress before mentioned, do issue this my proclamation, announcing the
+fact of the ratification of the said amendment by the legislature of the
+State of Louisiana in the manner hereinbefore set forth.
+
+In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+caused the seal of the United States to be hereto affixed,
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, this 18th day of July, A.D. 1868, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+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 Congress entitled "An act to admit the States of
+North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida
+to representation in Congress," passed the 25th day of June, 1868,
+it is declared that it is made the duty of the President, within ten
+days after receiving official information of the ratification by the
+legislature of either of said States of a proposed amendment to the
+Constitution known as article fourteen, to issue a proclamation
+announcing that fact; and
+
+Whereas a letter was received this day by the President, which letter,
+being addressed to the President, bears date of July 16, 1868, and was
+transmitted by and under the name of William H. Smith, who therein
+writes himself governor of Alabama, in which letter was inclosed and
+received at the same time by the President a paper purporting to be a
+resolution of the senate and house of representatives of the general
+assembly of the State of Alabama ratifying the said proposed amendment,
+which paper is attested by the signature of Charles A. Miller, as
+secretary of state, under a seal purporting to be the seal of the State
+of Alabama, and bears the date of approval of July 13, 1868, by William
+H. Smith, as governor of said State:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States of America, in compliance with and execution of the act of
+Congress before mentioned, do issue this my proclamation, announcing the
+fact of the ratification of the said amendment by the legislature of the
+State of Alabama in the manner hereinbefore set forth.
+
+In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+caused the seal of the United States to be hereto affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, this 20th day of July, A.D. 1868, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+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 Congress entitled "An act to admit the States of
+North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida
+to representation in Congress," passed the 25th day of June, 1868,
+it is declared that it is made the duty of the President, within ten
+days after receiving official information of the ratification by the
+legislature of either of said States of a proposed amendment to the
+Constitution known as article fourteen, to issue a proclamation
+announcing that fact; and
+
+Whereas a paper was received at the Department of State this 27th day of
+July, 1868, purporting to be a joint resolution of the senate and house
+of representatives of the general assembly of the State of Georgia,
+ratifying the said proposed amendment and also purporting to have passed
+the two said houses, respectively, on the 21st of July, 1868, and to
+have been approved by Rufus B. Bullock, who therein signs himself
+governor of Georgia, which paper is also attested by the signatures of
+Benjamin Conley, as president of the senate, and R.L. McWhorters, as
+speaker of the house of representatives, and is further attested by the
+signatures of A.E. Marshall, as secretary of the senate, and M.A.
+Hardin, as clerk of the house of representatives:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States of America, in compliance with and execution of the act of
+Congress before mentioned, do issue this my proclamation, announcing the
+fact of the ratification of the said amendment by the legislature of the
+State of Georgia in the manner hereinbefore set forth.
+
+In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+caused the seal of the United States to be hereto affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, this 27th day of July, A.D. 1868, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+In the year which is now drawing to its end the art, the skill, and the
+labor of the people of the United States have been employed with greater
+diligence and vigor and on broader fields than ever before, and the
+fruits of the earth have been gathered into the granary and the
+storehouse in marvelous abundance. Our highways have been lengthened,
+and new and prolific regions have been occupied. We are permitted to
+hope that long-protracted political and sectional dissensions are at no
+distant day to give place to returning harmony and fraternal affection
+throughout the Republic. Many foreign states have entered into liberal
+agreements with us, while nations which are far off and which heretofore
+have been unsocial and exclusive have become our friends.
+
+The annual period of rest, which we have reached in health and
+tranquillity, and which is crowned with so many blessings, is by
+universal consent a convenient and suitable one for cultivating personal
+piety and practicing public devotion.
+
+I therefore recommend that Thursday, the 26th day of November next, be
+set apart and observed by all the people of the United States as a day
+for public praise, thanksgiving, and prayer to the Almighty Creator and
+Divine Ruler of the Universe, by whose ever-watchful, merciful, and
+gracious providence alone states and nations, no less than families and
+individual men, do live and move and have their being.
+
+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 October, A.D. 1868,
+and of the Independence of the United States the ninety-third.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+EXECUTIVE ORDER.
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 17, 1867_.
+
+It is desired and advised that all communications in writing intended
+for the executive department of this Government and relating to public
+business of whatever kind, including suggestions for legislation,
+claims, contracts, employment, appointments, and removals from office,
+and pardons, be transmitted directly in the first instance to the head
+of the Department to which the care of the subject-matter of the
+communication properly belongs. This regulation has become necessary
+for the more convenient, punctual, and regular dispatch of the public
+business.
+
+By order of the President:
+
+WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+
+_Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 104.
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, December 28, 1867_.
+
+By direction of the President of the United States, the following orders
+are made:
+
+I. Brevet Major-General E.O.C. Ord will turn over the command of the
+Fourth Military District to Brevet Major-General A.C. Gillem, and
+proceed to San Francisco, Cal., to take command of the Department of
+California.
+
+II. On being relieved by Brevet Major-General Ord, Brevet Major-General
+Irvin McDowell will proceed to Vicksburg, Miss., and relieve General
+Gillem in command of the Fourth Military District.
+
+III. Brevet Major-General John Pope is hereby relieved of the command
+of the Third Military District, and will report without delay at the
+Headquarters of the Army for further orders, turning over his command
+to the next senior officer until the arrival of his successor.
+
+IV. Major-General George G. Meade is assigned to the command of
+the Third Military District, and will assume it without delay. The
+Department of the East will be commanded by the senior officer now
+on duty in it until a commander is named by the President.
+
+V. The officers assigned in the foregoing orders to command of military
+districts will exercise therein any and all powers conferred by acts of
+Congress upon district commanders, and also any and all powers
+pertaining to military-department commanders.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 10.
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, February 12, 1868_.
+
+The following orders are published for the information and guidance of
+all concerned:
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., February 12, 1868_.
+
+General U.S. GRANT,
+
+_Commanding Armies of the United States, Washington, D.C._
+
+GENERAL: You will please issue an order creating a military division, to
+be called the Military Division of the Atlantic, to be composed of the
+Department of the Lakes, the Department of the East, and the Department
+of Washington, and to be commanded by Lieutenant-General William T.
+Sherman, with his headquarters at Washington.
+
+Until further orders from the President, you will assign no officer to
+the permanent command of the Military Division of the Missouri.
+
+Respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+Major-General P.H. Sheridan, the senior officer in the Military Division
+of the Missouri, will temporarily perform the duties of commander of the
+Military Division of the Missouri, in addition to his duties of department
+commander.
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868_.
+
+Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Washington, D.C._
+
+SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by
+the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby removed
+from office as Secretary for the Department of War, and your functions
+as such will terminate upon the receipt of this communication.
+
+You will transfer to Brevet Major-General Lorenzo Thomas,
+Adjutant-General of the Army, who has this day been authorized and
+empowered to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, all records, books,
+papers, and other public property now in your custody and charge.
+
+Respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868_.
+
+Brevet Major-General LORENZO THOMAS,
+
+_Adjutant-General United States Army, Washington, D.C._
+
+SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day removed from office
+as Secretary for the Department of War, you are hereby authorized and
+empowered to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, and will immediately
+enter upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office.
+
+Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all the records,
+books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and charge.
+
+Respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 17.
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, March 28, 1868_.
+
+By direction of the President of the United States, Major-General W.S.
+Hancock is relieved from command of the Fifth Military District and
+assigned to command of the Military Division of the Atlantic, created
+by General Orders, No. 10, of February 12, 1868.
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., May 28, 1868_.
+
+The chairman of the committee of arrangements having requested that
+an opportunity may be given to those employed in the several Executive
+Departments of the Government to unite with their fellow-citizens in
+paying a fitting tribute to the memory of the brave men whose remains
+repose in the national cemeteries, the President directs that as far as
+may be consistent with law and the public interests persons who desire
+to participate in the ceremonies be permitted to absent themselves from
+their duties on Saturday, the 30th instant.
+
+By order of the President:
+
+WM. G. MOORE,
+
+_Secretary_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., June 1, 1868_.
+
+Major-General John M. Schofield having been appointed, by and with the
+advice and consent of the Senate, Secretary for the Department of War,
+is hereby relieved from the command of the First Military District,
+created by the act of Congress passed March 2, 1867.
+
+Brevet Major-General George Stoneman is hereby assigned, according
+to his brevet rank of major-general, to the command of the said First
+District and of the Military Department of Virginia.
+
+The Secretary of War will please give the necessary instructions to
+carry this order into effect.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 25.
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, June 1, 1868_.
+
+I. The following order of the President has been received from the War
+Department:
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 2, 1868_.
+
+The President with deep regret announces to the people of the United
+States the decease, at Wheatland, Pa., on the 1st instant, of his
+honored predecessor James Buchanan.
+
+This event will occasion mourning in the nation for the loss of an
+eminent citizen and honored public servant.
+
+As a mark of respect for his memory, it is ordered that the Executive
+Departments be immediately placed in mourning and all business be
+suspended on the day of the funeral.
+
+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.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+II. In compliance with the instructions of the President and of the
+Secretary of War, on the day after the receipt of this order at each
+military post the troops will be paraded at 10 o'clock a.m. and the
+order read to them, after which all labors, for the day will cease.
+
+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-seven 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 command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+
+SPECIAL ORDER.
+
+
+NAVY DEPARTMENT,
+
+_Washington, June 3, 1868_.
+
+The death of ex-President James Buchanan 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 be fired at each of the navy-yards and naval stations on
+Thursday, the 4th instant, the day designated for the funeral of the
+late ex-President Buchanan, commencing at noon, and on board the
+flagships in each squadron upon the day after the receipt of this order.
+The flags at the several navy-yards, naval stations, and marine barracks
+will be placed at half-mast until after the funeral, and on board all
+naval vessels in commission upon the day after this order is received.
+
+GIDEON WELLES,
+
+_Secretary of the Navy_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 33.
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, June 30, 1868_.
+
+By direction of the President of the United States, the following orders
+are made:
+
+I. Brevet Major-General Irvin McDowell is relieved from the command of
+the Fourth Military District, and will report in person, without delay,
+at the War Department.
+
+II. Brevet Major-General Alvan C. Gillem is assigned to the command of
+the Fourth Military District, and will assume it without delay.
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No 44.
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, July 13, 1868_.
+
+By direction of the President, Brigadier and Brevet Major-General Irvin
+McDowell is assigned to the command of the Department of the East.
+
+The headquarters of the department will be transferred from Philadelphia
+to New York City.
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 55.
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, July 28, 1868_.
+
+The following orders from the War Department, which have been approved
+by the President, are published for the information and government of
+the Army and of all concerned:
+
+The commanding generals of the Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Military
+Districts having officially reported that the States of Arkansas, North
+Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida have
+fully complied with the acts of Congress known as the reconstruction
+acts, including the act passed June 22, 1868, entitled "An act to admit
+the State of Arkansas to representation in Congress," and the act passed
+June 25, 1868, entitled "An act to admit the States of North Carolina,
+South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida to
+representation in Congress," and that, consequently, so much of the act
+of March 2, 1867, and the acts supplementary thereto as provides for the
+organization of military districts, subject to the military authority of
+the United States, as therein provided, has become inoperative in said
+States, and that the commanding generals have ceased to exercise in said
+States the military powers conferred by said acts of Congress: Therefore
+the following changes will be made in the organization and command of
+military districts and geographical departments:
+
+I. The Second and Third Military Districts having ceased to exist, the
+States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida
+will constitute the Department of the South, Major-General George G.
+Meade to command. Headquarters at Atlanta, Ga.
+
+II. The Fourth Military District will now consist only of the State of
+Mississippi, and will continue to be commanded by Brevet Major-General
+A.C. Gillem.
+
+III. The Fifth Military District will now consist of the State of Texas,
+and will be commanded by Brevet Major-General J.J. Reynolds.
+Headquarters at Austin, Tex.
+
+IV. The States of Louisiana and Arkansas will constitute the Department
+of Louisiana, Brevet Major-General L.H. Rousseau is assigned to the
+command. Headquarters at New Orleans, La. Until the arrival of General
+Rousseau at New Orleans, Brevet Major-General Buchanan will command the
+Department.
+
+V. Brevet Major-General George Crook is assigned, according to his
+brevet of major-general, to command the Department of the Columbia,
+in place of Rousseau, relieved.
+
+VI. Brevet Major-General E.R.S. Canby is reassigned to command the
+Department of Washington.
+
+       *        *        *        *        *
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+Under and in pursuance of the authority vested in the President of the
+United States by the provisions of the second section of the act of
+Congress approved on the 27th day of July, 1868, entitled "An act to
+extend the laws of the United States relating to customs, commerce, and
+navigation over the territory ceded to the United States by Russia, to
+establish a collection district therein, and for other purposes," the
+port of Sitka, in said Territory, is hereby constituted and established
+as the port of entry for the collection district of Alaska provided for
+by said act; and under and in pursuance of the authority vested in him
+by the fourth section of said act the importation and use of firearms,
+ammunition, and distilled spirits into and within the said Territory,
+or any portion thereof, except as hereinafter provided, is entirely
+prohibited, under the pains and penalties specified in said last-named
+section; _Provided, however_, That under such regulations as the
+Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe, in accordance with law, such
+articles may, in limited quantities, be shipped coastwise from United
+States ports on the Pacific coast to said port of Sitka, and to that
+port only in said Territory, on the shipper giving bonds to the
+collector of customs at the port of shipment, conditioned that such
+articles will on their arrival at Sitka be delivered to the collector of
+customs, or the person there acting as such, to remain in his possession
+and under his control until sold or disposed of to such persons as
+the military or other chief authority in said Territory may specially
+designate in permits for that purpose signed by himself or a subordinate
+duly authorized by him.
+
+Done at the city of Washington, this 22d day of August, A.D. 1868,
+and of the Independence of the United States the ninety-third.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON,
+
+_President_.
+
+
+
+SPECIAL ORDERS, ORDERS, No. 219.
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, September 12, 1868_.
+
+       *        *        *        *        *
+
+18. By direction of the President, Brevet Major-General L.H. Rousseau,
+brigadier-general, commanding Department of Louisiana, is hereby
+assigned to duty according to his brevet rank of major-general. This
+order to take effect when General Rousseau assumes command.
+
+19. By direction of the President, paragraph 12 of Special Orders, No.
+70, May 23, 1868, from this office, assigning Brevet Major-General R.C.
+Buchanan, colonel First United States Infantry, to duty according to
+his brevet rank of major-general, is hereby revoked, and he is hereby
+assigned to duty according to his brevet rank of brigadier-general,
+in order that he may command the District of Louisiana. This order to
+take effect when General Rousseau assumes command of the Department of
+Louisiana.
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+J.C. KELTON,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 82.
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, October 10, 1868_.
+
+The following order has been received from the President, and by his
+direction is published to the Army:
+
+The following provisions from the Constitution and laws of the United
+States in relation to the election of a President and Vice-President
+of the United States, together with an act of Congress prohibiting all
+persons engaged in the military and naval service from interfering in
+any general or special election in any State, are published for the
+information and government of all concerned:
+
+[Extract from Article II, section 1, Constitution of the United States.]
+
+  The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States
+  of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years,
+  and, together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be
+  elected as follows:
+
+  Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may
+  direct, a number of electors equal to the whole number of Senators and
+  Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress; but
+  no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or
+  profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector.
+
+
+[Extract from Article XII, amendment to the Constitution of the United
+States.]
+
+  The electors shall meet in their respective States and vote by ballot
+  for President and Vice-President, one of whom at least shall not be an
+  inhabitant of the same State with themselves. They shall name in their
+  ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the
+  person voted for as Vice-President; and they shall make distinct lists
+  of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as
+  Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they
+  shall sign and certify and transmit sealed to the seat of the Government
+  of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The
+  President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House
+  of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then
+  be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes for President
+  shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number
+  of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from
+  the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three, on the list
+  of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall
+  choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the
+  President the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from
+  each State having one vote. A quorum for this purpose shall consist of
+  a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of
+  all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of
+  Representatives shall not choose a President, whenever the right of
+  choice shall devolve upon them, before the 4th day of March next
+  following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the
+  case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.
+
+[Extract from "An act relative to the election of a President and
+Vice-President of the United States, and declaring the officer who shall
+act as President in case of vacancies in the offices both of President
+and Vice-President," approved March 1, 1792.]
+
+  Sec. 1. _Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
+  of the United States of America in Congress assembled_, That * * *
+  electors shall be appointed in each State for the election of a
+  President and Vice-President of the United States * * * in every
+  fourth year succeeding the last election, which electors shall be
+  equal to the number of Senators and Representatives to which the
+  several States may by law be entitled at the time when the President
+  and Vice-President thus to be chosen should come into office:
+  _Provided always_, That where no apportionment of Representatives
+  shall have been made after any enumeration at the time of choosing
+  electors, then the number of electors shall be according to the
+  existing apportionment of Senators and Representatives.
+
+["An act to establish a uniform time for holding elections for electors
+of President and Vice-President in all the States of the Union,"
+approved January 23, 1845.]
+
+  _Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
+  States of America in Congress assembled_, That the electors of President
+  and Vice-President shall be appointed in each State on the Tuesday next
+  after the first Monday in the month of November of the year in which
+  they are to be appointed: _Provided_, That each State may by law provide
+  for the filling of any vacancy or vacancies which may occur in its
+  college of electors when such college meets to give its electoral vote:
+  _And provided also_, When any State shall have held an election for the
+  purpose of choosing electors, and shall fail to make a choice on the day
+  aforesaid, then the electors may be appointed on a subsequent day in
+  such manner as the State shall by law provide.
+
+[Extracts from "An act relative to the election of a President and
+Vice-President of the United States, and declaring the officer who shall
+act as President in case of vacancies in the offices both of President
+and Vice-President," approved March 1, 1792.]
+
+  Sec. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That the electors shall meet and
+  give their votes on the said first Wednesday in December, at such place
+  in each State as shall be directed by the legislature thereof; and the
+  electors in each State shall make and sign three certificates of all the
+  votes by them given, and shall seal up the same, certifying on each that
+  a list of the votes of such State for President and Vice-President is
+  contained therein, and shall, by writing under their hands or under the
+  hands of a majority of them, appoint a person to take charge of and
+  deliver to the President of the Senate, at the seat of Government,
+  before the first Wednesday in January then next ensuing, one of the said
+  certificates; and the said electors shall forthwith forward by the
+  post-office to the President of the Senate, at the seat of Government,
+  one other of the said certificates, and shall forthwith cause the other
+  of the said certificates to be delivered to the judge of that district
+  in which the said electors shall assemble.
+
+  Sec. 3. _And be it further enacted_, That the executive authority of
+  each State shall cause three lists of the names of the electors of such
+  State to be made and certified, and to be delivered to the electors on
+  or before the said first Wednesday in December, and the said electors
+  shall annex one of the said lists to each of the lists of their votes.
+
+  Sec. 4. _And be it further enacted_, That if a list of votes from any
+  State shall not have been received at the seat of Government on the said
+  first Wednesday in January, that then the Secretary of State shall send
+  a special messenger to the district judge in whose custody such list
+  shall have been lodged, who shall forthwith transmit the same to the
+  seat of Government.
+
+  Sec. 5. _And be it further enacted_, That Congress shall be in session
+  on the second Wednesday in February, 1793, and on the second Wednesday
+  in February succeeding every meeting of the electors, and the said
+  certificates, or so many of them as shall have been received, shall then
+  be opened, the votes counted, and the persons who shall fill the offices
+  of President and Vice-President ascertained and declared agreeably to
+  the Constitution.
+
+  Sec. 6. _And be it further enacted_, That in case there shall be no
+  President of the Senate at the seat of Government on the arrival of the
+  persons intrusted with the list of the votes of the electors, then such
+  persons shall deliver the lists of votes in their custody into the
+  office of the Secretary of State, to be safely kept and delivered over
+  as soon as may be to the President of the Senate.
+
+       *        *        *        *        *
+
+  Sec. 8. _And be it further enacted_, That if any person appointed to
+  deliver the votes of the electors to the President of the Senate shall,
+  after accepting of his appointment, neglect to perform the services
+  required of him by this act, he shall forfeit the sum of $1,000.
+
+[Extract from "An act making compensation to the persons appointed by
+the electors to deliver the votes for President and Vice-President,"
+approved February 11, 1825.]
+
+  _Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
+  States of America in Congress assembled_, That the person appointed by
+  the electors to deliver to the President of the Senate a list of the
+  votes for President and Vice-President shall be allowed, on delivery of
+  said list, 25 cents for every mile of the estimated distance by the most
+  usual route from the place of meeting of the electors to the seat of
+  Government of the United States, going and returning.
+
+[Extract from "An act relative to the election of a President and
+Vice-President of the United States, and declaring the officer who shall
+act as President in case of vacancies in the offices both of President
+and Vice-President," approved March 1, 1792.]
+
+  Sec. 12. _And be it further enacted_, That the term of four years for
+  which a President and Vice-President shall be elected shall in all cases
+  commence on the 4th day of March next succeeding the day on which the
+  votes of the electors shall have been given.
+
+["An act to prevent officers of the Army and Navy, and other persons
+engaged in the military and naval service of the United States, from
+interfering in elections in the States," approved February 25, 1865.]
+
+  _Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
+  States of America in Congress assembled_, That it shall not be lawful
+  for any military or naval officer of the United States, or other person
+  engaged in the civil, military, or naval service of the United States,
+  to order, bring, keep, or have under his authority or control any troops
+  or armed men at the place where any general or special election is
+  held in any State of the United States of America, unless it shall be
+  necessary to repel the armed enemies of the United States or to keep the
+  peace at the polls. And that it shall not be lawful for any officer of
+  the Army or Navy of the United States to prescribe or fix, or attempt
+  to prescribe or fix, by proclamation, order, or otherwise, the
+  qualifications of voters in any State of the United States of America,
+  or in any manner to interfere with the freedom of any election in any
+  State or with the exercise of the free right of suffrage in any State of
+  the United States. Any officer of the Army or Navy of the United States,
+  or other person engaged in the civil, military, or naval service of the
+  United States, who violates this section of this act shall for every
+  such offense be liable to indictment as for a misdemeanor in any court
+  of the United States having jurisdiction to hear, try, and determine
+  cases of misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall pay a fine not
+  exceeding $5,000 and suffer imprisonment in the penitentiary not less
+  than three months nor more than five years, at the discretion of the
+  court trying the same; and any person convicted as aforesaid shall,
+  moreover, be disqualified from holding any office of honor, profit,
+  or trust under the Government of the United States: _Provided_, That
+  nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent any
+  officers, soldiers, sailors, or marines from exercising the right of
+  suffrage in any election district to which he may belong, if otherwise
+  qualified according to the laws of the State in which he shall offer
+  to vote.
+
+  Sec. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That any officer or person in
+  the military or naval service of the United States who shall order or
+  advise, or who shall, directly or indirectly, by force, threat, menace,
+  intimidation, or otherwise, prevent or attempt to prevent any qualified
+  voter of any State of the United States of America from freely
+  exercising the right of suffrage at any general or special election
+  in any State of the United States, or who shall in like manner compel
+  or attempt to compel any officer of an election in any such State to
+  receive a vote from a person not legally qualified to vote, or who shall
+  impose or attempt to impose any rules or regulations for conducting such
+  election different from those prescribed by law, or interfere in any
+  manner with any officer of said election in the discharge of his duties,
+  shall for any such offense be liable to indictment as for a misdemeanor
+  in any court of the United States having jurisdiction to hear, try, and
+  determine cases of misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall pay a
+  fine of not exceeding $5,000 and suffer imprisonment in the penitentiary
+  not exceeding five years, at the discretion of the court trying the
+  same; and any person convicted as aforesaid shall, moreover, be
+  disqualified from holding any office of honor, profit, or trust under
+  the Government of the United States.
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+_Washington City, November 4, 1868_.
+
+By direction of the President, Brevet Major-General E.R.S. Canby is
+hereby assigned to the command of the Fifth Military District, created
+by the act of Congress of March 2, 1867, and of the Military Department
+of Texas, consisting of the State of Texas. He will, without unnecessary
+delay, turn over his present command to the next officer in rank and
+proceed to the command to which he is hereby assigned, and on assuming
+the same will, when necessary to a faithful execution of the laws,
+exercise any and all powers conferred by acts of Congress upon district
+commanders and any and all authority pertaining to officers in command
+of military departments.
+
+Brevet Major-General J.J. Reynolds is hereby relieved from the command
+of the Fifth Military District.
+
+J.M. SCHOFIELD,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+
+
+
+FOURTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 9, 1868_.
+
+_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+Upon the reassembling of Congress it again becomes my duty to call your
+attention to the state of the Union and to its continued disorganized
+condition under the various laws which have been passed upon the subject
+of reconstruction.
+
+It may be safely assumed as an axiom in the government of states that
+the greatest wrongs inflicted upon a people are caused by unjust and
+arbitrary legislation, or by the unrelenting decrees of despotic rulers,
+and that the timely revocation of injurious and oppressive measures is
+the greatest good that can be conferred upon a nation. The legislator or
+ruler who has the wisdom and magnanimity to retrace his steps when
+convinced of error will sooner or later be rewarded with the respect and
+gratitude of an intelligent and patriotic people.
+
+Our own history, although embracing a period less than a century,
+affords abundant proof that most, if not all, of our domestic troubles
+are directly traceable to violations of the organic law and excessive
+legislation. The most striking illustrations of this fact are furnished
+by the enactments of the past three years upon the question of
+reconstruction. After a fair trial they have substantially failed and
+proved pernicious in their results, and there seems to be no good reason
+why they should longer remain upon the statute book. States to which the
+Constitution guarantees a republican form of government have been
+reduced to military dependencies, in each of which the people have been
+made subject to the arbitrary will of the commanding general. Although
+the Constitution requires that each State shall be represented in
+Congress, Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas are yet excluded from the
+two Houses, and, contrary to the express provisions of that instrument,
+were denied participation in the recent election for a President and
+Vice-President of the United States. The attempt to place the white
+population under the domination of persons of color in the South has
+impaired, if not destroyed, the kindly relations that had previously
+existed between them; and mutual distrust has engendered a feeling of
+animosity which, leading in some instances to collision and bloodshed,
+has prevented that cooperation between the two races so essential to the
+success of industrial enterprise in the Southern States. Nor have the
+inhabitants of those States alone suffered from the disturbed condition
+of affairs growing out of these Congressional enactments. The entire
+Union has been agitated by grave apprehensions of troubles which might
+again involve the peace of the nation; its interests have been
+injuriously affected by the derangement of business and labor, and the
+consequent want of prosperity throughout that portion of the country.
+
+The Federal Constitution--the _magna charta_ of American rights, under
+whose wise and salutary provisions we have successfully conducted all
+our domestic and foreign affairs, sustained ourselves in peace and in
+war, and become a great nation among the powers of the earth--must
+assuredly be now adequate to the settlement of questions growing out of
+the civil war, waged alone for its vindication. This great fact is made
+most manifest by the condition of the country when Congress assembled in
+the month of December, 1865. Civil strife had ceased, the spirit of
+rebellion had spent its entire force, in the Southern States the people
+had warmed into national life, and throughout the whole country a
+healthy reaction in public sentiment had taken place. By the application
+of the simple yet effective provisions of the Constitution the executive
+department, with the voluntary aid of the States, had brought the work
+of restoration as near completion as was within the scope of its
+authority, and the nation was encouraged by the prospect of an early
+and satisfactory adjustment of all its difficulties. Congress, however,
+intervened, and, refusing to perfect the work so nearly consummated,
+declined to admit members from the unrepresented States, adopted
+a series of measures which arrested the progress of restoration,
+frustrated all that had been so successfully accomplished, and, after
+three years of agitation and strife, has left the country further from
+the attainment of union and fraternal feeling than at the inception of
+the Congressional plan of reconstruction. It needs no argument to show
+that legislation which has produced such baneful consequences should
+be abrogated, or else made to conform to the genuine principles of
+republican government.
+
+Under the influence of party passion and sectional prejudice, other acts
+have been passed not warranted by the Constitution. Congress has already
+been made familiar with my views respecting the "tenure-of-office bill."
+Experience has proved that its repeal is demanded by the best interests
+of the country, and that while it remains in force the President can not
+enjoin that rigid accountability of public officers so essential to an
+honest and efficient execution of the laws. Its revocation would enable
+the executive department to exercise the power of appointment and
+removal in accordance with the original design of the Federal
+Constitution.
+
+The act of March 2, 1867, making appropriations for the support of the
+Army for the year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes, contains
+provisions which interfere with the President's constitutional functions
+as Commander in Chief of the Army and deny to States of the Union
+the right to protect themselves by means of their own militia. These
+provisions should be at once annulled; for while the first might, in
+times of great emergency, seriously embarrass the Executive in efforts
+to employ and direct the common strength of the nation for its
+protection and preservation, the other is contrary to the express
+declaration of the Constitution that "a well-regulated militia being
+necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to
+keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
+
+It is believed that the repeal of all such laws would be accepted by
+the American people as at least a partial return to the fundamental
+principles of the Government, and an indication that hereafter the
+Constitution is to be made the nation's safe and unerring guide. They
+can be productive of no permanent benefit to the country, and should not
+be permitted to stand as so many monuments of the deficient wisdom which
+has characterized our recent legislation.
+
+The condition of our finances demands the early and earnest
+consideration of Congress. Compared with the growth of our population,
+the public expenditures have reached an amount unprecedented in our
+history.
+
+The population of the United States in 1790 was nearly 4,000,000 people.
+Increasing each decade about 33 per cent, it reached in 1860 31,000,000,
+an increase of 700 per cent on the population in 1790. In 1869 it is
+estimated that it will reach 38,000,000, or an increase of 868 per cent
+in seventy-nine years.
+
+The annual expenditures of the Federal Government in 1791 were
+$4,200,000; in 1820, $13,200,000; in 1850, forty-one millions; in 1860,
+sixty-three millions; in 1865, nearly thirteen hundred millions; and
+in 1869 it is estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury, in his last
+annual report, that they will be three hundred and seventy-two millions.
+
+By comparing the public disbursements of 1869, as estimated, with those
+of 1791, it will be seen that the increase of expenditure since the
+beginning of the Government has been 8,618 per cent, while the increase
+of the population for the same period was only 868 per cent. Again,
+the expenses of the Government in 1860, the year of peace immediately
+preceding the war, were only sixty-three millions, while in 1869, the
+year of peace three years after the war, it is estimated they will be
+three hundred and seventy-two millions, an increase of 489 per cent,
+while the increase of population was only 21 per cent for the same
+period.
+
+These statistics further show that in 1791 the annual national expenses,
+compared with the population, were little more than $1 per capita, and
+in 1860 but $2 per capita; while in 1869 they will reach the extravagant
+sum of $9.78 per capita.
+
+It will be observed that all these statements refer to and exhibit the
+disbursements of peace periods. It may, therefore, be of interest to
+compare the expenditures of the three war periods--the war with Great
+Britain, the Mexican War, and the War of the Rebellion.
+
+In 1814 the annual expenses incident to the War of 1812 reached their
+highest amount--about thirty-one millions--while our population slightly
+exceeded 8,000,000, showing an expenditure of only $3.80 per capita.
+In 1847 the expenditures growing out of the war with Mexico reached
+fifty-five millions, and the population about 21,000,000, giving only
+$2.60 per capita for the war expenses of that year. In 1865 the
+expenditures called for by the rebellion reached the vast amount of
+twelve hundred and ninety millions, which, compared with a population
+of 34,000,000, gives $38.20 per capita.
+
+From the 4th day of March, 1789, to the 30th of June, 1861, the entire
+expenditures of the Government were $1,700,000,000. During that period
+we were engaged in wars with Great Britain and Mexico, and were involved
+in hostilities with powerful Indian tribes; Louisiana was purchased from
+France at a cost of $15,000,000; Florida was ceded to us by Spain for
+five millions; California was acquired from Mexico for fifteen millions,
+and the territory of New Mexico was obtained from Texas for the sum of
+ten millions. Early in 1861 the War of the Rebellion commenced; and
+from the 1st of July of that year to the 30th of June, 1865, the public
+expenditures reached the enormous aggregate of thirty-three hundred
+millions. Three years of peace have intervened, and during that time the
+disbursements of the Government have successively been five hundred and
+twenty millions, three hundred and forty-six millions, and three hundred
+and ninety-three millions. Adding to these amounts three hundred and
+seventy-two millions, estimated as necessary for the fiscal year ending
+the 30th of June, 1869, we obtain a total expenditure of $1,600,000,000
+during the four years immediately succeeding the war, or nearly as much
+as was expended during the seventy-two years that preceded the rebellion
+and embraced the extraordinary expenditures already named.
+
+These startling facts clearly illustrate the necessity of
+retrenchment in all branches of the public service. Abuses which were
+tolerated during the war for the preservation of the nation will not be
+endured by the people, now that profound peace prevails. The receipts
+from internal revenues and customs have during the past three years
+gradually diminished, and the continuance of useless and extravagant
+expenditures will involve us in national bankruptcy, or else make
+inevitable an increase of taxes, already too onerous and in many
+respects obnoxious on account of their inquisitorial character. One
+hundred millions annually are expended for the military force, a large
+portion of which is employed in the execution of laws both unnecessary
+and unconstitutional; one hundred and fifty millions are required each
+year to pay the interest on the public debt; an army of taxgatherers
+impoverishes the nation, and public agents, placed by Congress beyond
+the control of the Executive, divert from their legitimate purposes
+large sums of money which they collect from the people in the name of
+the Government. Judicious legislation and prudent economy can alone
+remedy defects and avert evils which, if suffered to exist, can not fail
+to diminish confidence in the public councils and weaken the attachment
+and respect of the people toward their political institutions. Without
+proper care the small balance which it is estimated will remain in the
+Treasury at the close of the present fiscal year will not be realized,
+and additional millions be added to a debt which is now enumerated by
+billions.
+
+It is shown by the able and comprehensive report of the Secretary of
+the Treasury that the receipts for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868,
+were $405,638,083, and that the expenditures for the same period were
+$377,340,284, leaving in the Treasury a surplus of $28,297,798. It is
+estimated that the receipts during the present fiscal year, ending June
+30, 1869, will be $341,392,868 and the expenditures $336,152,470,
+showing a small balance of $5,240,398 in favor of the Government. For
+the fiscal year ending June 30, 1870, it is estimated that the receipts
+will amount to $327,000,000 and the expenditures to $303,000,000,
+leaving an estimated surplus of $24,000,000.
+
+It becomes proper in this connection to make a brief reference to our
+public indebtedness, which has accumulated with such alarming rapidity
+and assumed such colossal proportions.
+
+In 1789, when the Government commenced operations under the Federal
+Constitution, it was burdened with an indebtedness of $75,000,000,
+created during the War of the Revolution. This amount had been reduced
+to $45,000,000 when, in 1812, war was declared against Great Britain.
+The three years' struggle that followed largely increased the national
+obligations, and in 1816 they had attained the sum of $127,000,000. Wise
+and economical legislation, however, enabled the Government to pay the
+entire amount within a period of twenty years, and the extinguishment
+of the national debt filled the land with rejoicing and was one of the
+great events of President Jackson's Administration. After its redemption
+a large fund remained in the Treasury, which was deposited for
+safe-keeping with the several States, on condition that it should be
+returned when required by the public wants. In 1849--the year after the
+termination of an expensive war with Mexico--we found ourselves involved
+in a debt of $64,000,000; and this was the amount owed by the Government
+in 1860, just prior to the outbreak of the rebellion. In the spring of
+1861 our civil war commenced. Each year of its continuance made an
+enormous addition to the debt; and when, in the spring of 1865, the
+nation successfully emerged from the conflict, the obligations of the
+Government had reached the immense sum of $2,873,992,909. The Secretary
+of the Treasury shows that on the 1st day of November, 1867, this amount
+had been reduced to $2,491,504,450; but at the same time his report
+exhibits an increase during the past year of $35,625,102, for the debt
+on the 1st day of November last is stated to have been $2,527,129,552.
+It is estimated by the Secretary that the returns for the past month
+will add to our liabilities the further sum of $11,000,000, making a
+total increase during thirteen months of $46,500,000.
+
+In my message to Congress December 4, 1865, it was suggested that a
+policy should be devised which, without being oppressive to the people,
+would at once begin to effect a reduction of the debt, and, if persisted
+in, discharge it fully within a definite number of years. The Secretary
+of the Treasury forcibly recommends legislation of this character,
+and justly urges that the longer it is deferred the more difficult
+must become its accomplishment. We should follow the wise precedents
+established in 1789 and 1816, and without further delay make provision
+for the payment of our obligations at as early a period as may be
+practicable. The fruits of their labors should be enjoyed by our
+citizens rather than used to build up and sustain moneyed monopolies in
+our own and other lands. Our foreign debt is already computed by the
+Secretary of the Treasury at $850,000,000; citizens of foreign countries
+receive interest upon a large portion of our securities, and American
+taxpayers are made to contribute large sums for their support. The idea
+that such a debt is to become permanent should be at all times discarded
+as involving taxation too heavy to be borne, and payment once in every
+sixteen years, at the present rate of interest, of an amount equal to
+the original sum. This vast debt, if permitted to become permanent and
+increasing, must eventually be gathered into the hands of a few, and
+enable them to exert a dangerous and controlling power in the affairs of
+the Government. The borrowers would become servants to the lenders, the
+lenders the masters of the people. We now pride ourselves upon having
+given freedom to 4,000,000 of the colored race; it will then be our
+shame that 40,000,000 of people, by their own toleration of usurpation
+and profligacy, have suffered themselves to become enslaved, and merely
+exchanged slave owners for new taskmasters in the shape of bondholders
+and taxgatherers. Besides, permanent debts pertain to monarchical
+governments, and, tending to monopolies, perpetuities, and class
+legislation, are totally irreconcilable with free institutions.
+Introduced into our republican system, they would gradually but surely
+sap its foundations, eventually subvert our governmental fabric, and
+erect upon its ruins a moneyed aristocracy. It is our sacred duty to
+transmit unimpaired to our posterity the blessings of liberty which were
+bequeathed to us by the founders of the Republic, and by our example
+teach those who are to follow us carefully to avoid the dangers which
+threaten a free and independent people.
+
+Various plans have been proposed for the payment of the public debt.
+However they may have varied as to the time and mode in which it should
+be redeemed, there seems to be a general concurrence as to the propriety
+and justness of a reduction in the present rate of interest. The
+Secretary of the Treasury in his report recommends 5 per cent; Congress,
+in a bill passed prior to adjournment on the 27th of July last, agreed
+upon 4 and 4-1/2 per cent; while by many 3 per cent has been held to be
+an amply sufficient return for the investment. The general impression as
+to the exorbitancy of the existing rate of interest has led to an
+inquiry in the public mind respecting the consideration which the
+Government has actually received for its bonds, and the conclusion is
+becoming prevalent that the amount which it obtained was in real money
+three or four hundred per cent less than the obligations which it issued
+in return. It can not be denied that we are paying an extravagant
+percentage for the use of the money borrowed, which was paper currency,
+greatly depreciated below the value of coin. This fact is made apparent
+when we consider that bondholders receive from the Treasury upon each
+dollar they own in Government securities 6 per cent in gold, which is
+nearly or quite equal to 9 per cent in currency; that the bonds are
+then converted into capital for the national banks, upon which those
+institutions issue their circulation, bearing 6 per cent interest; and
+that they are exempt from taxation by the Government and the States, and
+thereby enhanced 2 per cent in the hands of the holders. We thus have an
+aggregate of 17 per cent which may be received upon each dollar by the
+owners of Government securities. A system that produces such results is
+justly regarded as favoring a few at the expense of the many, and has
+led to the further inquiry whether our bondholders, in view of the
+large profits which they have enjoyed, would themselves be averse to
+a settlement of our indebtedness upon a plan which would yield them a
+fair remuneration and at the same time be just to the taxpayers of the
+nation. Our national credit should be sacredly observed, but in making
+provision for our creditors we should not forget what is due to the
+masses of the people. It may be assumed that the holders of our
+securities have already received upon their bonds a larger amount than
+their original investment, measured by a gold standard. Upon this
+statement of facts it would seem but just and equitable that the 6 per
+cent interest now paid by the Government should be applied to the
+reduction of the principal in semiannual installments, which in sixteen
+years and eight months would liquidate the entire national debt. Six per
+cent in gold would at present rates be equal to 9 per cent in currency,
+and equivalent to the payment of the debt one and a half times in a
+fraction less than seventeen years. This, in connection with all the
+other advantages derived from their investment, would afford to the
+public creditors a fair and liberal compensation for the use of their
+capital, and with this they should be satisfied. The lessons of the past
+admonish the lender that it is not well to be overanxious in exacting
+from the borrower rigid compliance with the letter of the bond.
+
+If provision be made for the payment of the indebtedness of the
+Government in the manner suggested, our nation will rapidly recover its
+wonted prosperity. Its interests require that some measure should be
+taken to release the large amount of capital invested in the securities
+of the Government. It is not now merely unproductive, but in taxation
+annually consumes $150,000,000, which would otherwise be used by our
+enterprising people in adding to the wealth of the nation. Our commerce,
+which at one time successfully rivaled that of the great maritime
+powers, has, rapidly diminished, and our industrial interests are
+in a depressed and languishing condition. The development of our
+inexhaustible resources is checked, and the fertile fields of the South
+are becoming waste for want of means to till them. With the release of
+capital, new life would be infused into the paralyzed energies of our
+people and activity and vigor imparted to every branch of industry. Our
+people need encouragement in their efforts to recover from the effects
+of the rebellion and of injudicious legislation, and it should be the
+aim of the Government to stimulate them by the prospect of an early
+release from the burdens which impede their prosperity. If we can not
+take the burdens from their shoulders, we should at least manifest
+a willingness to help to bear them.
+
+In referring to the condition of the circulating medium, I shall merely
+reiterate substantially that portion of my last annual message which
+relates to that subject.
+
+The proportion which the currency of any country should bear to
+the whole value of the annual produce circulated by its means is a
+question upon which political economists have not agreed. Nor can it
+be controlled by legislation, but must be left to the irrevocable laws
+which everywhere regulate commerce and trade. The circulating medium
+will ever irresistibly flow to those points where it is in greatest
+demand. The law of demand and supply is as unerring as that which
+regulates the tides of the ocean; and, indeed, currency, like the tides,
+has its ebbs and flows throughout the commercial world.
+
+At the beginning of the rebellion the bank-note circulation of the
+country amounted to not much more than $200,000,000; now the circulation
+of national-bank notes and those known as "legal-tenders" is nearly
+seven hundred millions. While it is urged by some that this amount
+should be increased, others contend that a decided reduction is
+absolutely essential to the best interests of the country. In view of
+these diverse opinions, it may be well to ascertain the real value of
+our paper issues when compared with a metallic or convertible currency.
+For this purpose let us inquire how much gold and silver could be
+purchased by the seven hundred millions of paper money now in
+circulation. Probably not more than half the amount of the latter;
+showing that when our paper currency is compared with gold and silver
+its commercial value is compressed into three hundred and fifty
+millions. This striking fact makes it the obvious duty of the
+Government, as early as may be consistent with the principles of sound
+political economy, to take such measures as will enable the holders of
+its notes and those of the national banks to convert them, without loss,
+into specie or its equivalent. A reduction of our paper circulating
+medium need not necessarily follow. This, however, would depend upon the
+law of demand and supply, though it should be borne in mind that by
+making legal-tender and bank notes convertible into coin or its
+equivalent their present specie value in the hands of their holders
+would be enhanced 100 per cent.
+
+Legislation for the accomplishment of a result so desirable is demanded
+by the highest public considerations. The Constitution contemplates that
+the circulating medium of the country shall be uniform in quality and
+value. At the time of the formation of that instrument the country had
+just emerged from the War of the Revolution, and was suffering from the
+effects of a redundant and worthless paper currency. The sages of that
+period were anxious to protect their posterity from the evils which they
+themselves had experienced. Hence in providing a circulating medium they
+conferred upon Congress the power to coin money and regulate the value
+thereof, at the same time prohibiting the States from making anything
+but gold and silver a tender in payment of debts.
+
+The anomalous condition of our currency is in striking contrast with
+that which was originally designed. Our circulation now embraces, first,
+notes of the national banks, which are made receivable for all dues to
+the Government, excluding imposts, and by all its creditors, excepting
+in payment of interest upon its bonds and the securities themselves;
+second, legal tender, issued by the United States, and which the law
+requires shall be received as well in payment of all debts between
+citizens as of all Government dues, excepting imposts; and, third, gold
+and silver coin. By the operation of our present system of finance,
+however, the metallic currency, when collected, is reserved only for one
+class of Government creditors, who, holding its bonds, semiannually
+receive their interest in coin from the National Treasury. There is no
+reason which will be accepted as satisfactory by the people why those
+who defend us on the land and protect us on the sea; the pensioner upon
+the gratitude of the nation, bearing the scars and wounds received while
+in its service; the public servants in the various departments of the
+Government; the farmer who supplies the soldiers of the Army and the
+sailors of the Navy; the artisan who toils in the nation's workshops,
+or the mechanics and laborers who build its edifices and construct
+its forts and vessels of war, should, in payment of their just and
+hard-earned dues, receive depreciated paper, while another class of
+their countrymen, no more deserving, are paid in coin of gold and
+silver. Equal and exact justice requires that all the creditors of the
+Government should be paid in a currency possessing a uniform value.
+This can only be accomplished by the restoration of the currency to the
+standard established by the Constitution, and by this means we would
+remove a discrimination which may, if it has not already done so, create
+a prejudice that may become deep-rooted and widespread and imperil the
+national credit.
+
+The feasibility of making our currency correspond with the
+constitutional standard may be seen by reference to a few facts derived
+from our commercial statistics.
+
+The aggregate product of precious metals in the United States from 1849
+to 1867 amounted to $1,174,000,000, while for the same period the net
+exports of specie were $741,000,000. This shows an excess of product
+over net exports of $433,000,000. There are in the Treasury $103,407,985
+in coin; in circulation in the States on the Pacific Coast about
+$40,000,000, and a few millions in the national and other banks--in all
+less than $160,000,000. Taking into consideration the specie in the
+country prior to 1849 and that produced since 1867, and we have more
+than $300,000,000 not accounted for by exportation or by returns of the
+Treasury, and therefore most probably remaining in the country.
+
+These are important facts, and show how completely the inferior
+currency will supersede the better, forcing it from circulation among
+the masses and causing it to be exported as a mere article of trade, to
+add to the money capital of foreign lands. They show the necessity of
+retiring our paper money, that the return of gold and silver to the
+avenues of trade may be invited and a demand created which will cause
+the retention at home of at least so much of the productions of our
+rich and inexhaustible gold-bearing fields as may be sufficient for
+purposes of circulation. It is unreasonable to expect a return to a
+sound currency so long as the Government and banks, by continuing to
+issue irredeemable notes, fill the channels of circulation with
+depreciated paper. Notwithstanding a coinage by our mints since 1849 of
+$874,000,000, the people are now strangers to the currency which was
+designed for their use and benefit, and specimens of the precious metals
+bearing the national device are seldom seen, except when produced to
+gratify the interest excited by their novelty. If depreciated paper is
+to be continued as the permanent currency of the country, and all our
+coin is to become a mere article of traffic and speculation, to the
+enhancement in price of all that is indispensable to the comfort of the
+people, it would be wise economy to abolish our mints, thus saving the
+nation the care and expense incident to such establishments, and let our
+precious metals be exported in bullion. The time has come, however, when
+the Government and national banks should be required to take the most
+efficient steps and make all necessary arrangements for a resumption of
+specie payments. Let specie payments once be earnestly inaugurated by
+the Government and banks, and the value of the paper circulation would
+directly approximate a specie standard.
+
+Specie payments having been resumed by the Government and banks, all
+notes or bills of paper issued by either of a less denomination than $20
+should by law be excluded from circulation, so that the people may have
+the benefit and convenience of a gold and silver currency which in all
+their business transactions will be uniform in value at home and abroad.
+Every man of property or industry, every man who desires to preserve
+what he honestly possesses or to obtain what he can honestly earn, has a
+direct interest in maintaining a safe circulating medium--such a medium
+as shall be real and substantial, not liable to vibrate with opinions,
+not subject to be blown up or blown down by the breath of speculation,
+but to be made stable and secure. A disordered currency is one of the
+greatest political evils. It undermines the virtues necessary for the
+support of the social system and encourages propensities destructive of
+its happiness; it wars against industry, frugality, and economy, and it
+fosters the evil spirits of extravagance and speculation.
+
+It has been asserted by one of our profound and most gifted statesmen
+that--
+
+  Of all the contrivances for cheating the laboring classes of mankind,
+  none has been more effectual than that which deludes them with paper
+  money. This is the most effectual of inventions to fertilize the rich
+  man's fields by the sweat of the poor man's brow. Ordinary tyranny,
+  oppression, excessive taxation--these bear lightly on the happiness of
+  the mass of the community compared with a fraudulent currency and the
+  robberies committed by depreciated paper. Our own history has recorded
+  for our instruction enough, and more than enough, of the demoralizing
+  tendency, the injustice, and the intolerable oppression on the virtuous
+  and well-disposed of a degraded paper currency authorized by law or in
+  any way countenanced by government.
+
+
+It is one of the most successful devices, in times of peace or war,
+of expansions or revulsions, to accomplish the transfer of all the
+precious metals from the great mass of the people into the hands of the
+few, where they are hoarded in secret places or deposited under bolts
+and bars, while the people are left to endure all the inconvenience,
+sacrifice, and demoralization resulting from the use of depreciated and
+worthless paper.
+
+The Secretary of the Interior in his report gives valuable information
+in reference to the interests confided to the supervision of his
+Department, and reviews the operations of the Land Office, Pension
+Office, Patent Office, and Indian Bureau.
+
+During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, 6,655,700 acres of public
+land were disposed of. The entire cash receipts of the General Land
+Office for the same period were $1,632,745, being greater by $284,883
+than the amount realized from the same sources during the previous year.
+The entries under the homestead law cover 2,328,923 acres, nearly
+one-fourth of which was taken under the act of June 21, 1866, which
+applies only to the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas,
+and Florida.
+
+On the 30th of June, 1868, 169,643 names were borne on the pension
+rolls, and during the year ending on that day the total amount paid for
+pensions, including the expenses of disbursement, was $24,010,982, being
+$5,391,025 greater than that expended for like purposes during the
+preceding year.
+
+During the year ending the 30th of September last the expenses of the
+Patent Office exceeded the receipts by $171, and, including reissues
+and designs, 14,153 patents were issued.
+
+Treaties with various Indian tribes have been concluded, and will be
+submitted to the Senate for its constitutional action. I cordially
+sanction the stipulations which provide for reserving lands for the
+various tribes, where they may be encouraged to abandon their nomadic
+habits and engage in agricultural and industrial pursuits. This policy,
+inaugurated many years since, has met with signal success whenever it
+has been pursued in good faith and with becoming liberality by the
+United States. The necessity for extending it as far as practicable in
+our relations with the aboriginal population is greater now than at any
+preceding period. Whilst we furnish subsistence and instruction to the
+Indians and guarantee the undisturbed enjoyment of their treaty rights,
+we should habitually insist upon the faithful observance of their
+agreement to remain within their respective reservations. This is the
+only mode by which collisions with other tribes and with the whites can
+be avoided and the safety of our frontier settlements secured.
+
+The companies constructing the railway from Omaha to Sacramento have
+been most energetically engaged in prosecuting the work, and it is
+believed that the line will be completed before the expiration of
+the next fiscal year. The 6 per cent bonds issued to these companies
+amounted on the 5th instant to $44,337,000, and additional work had
+been performed to the extent of $3,200,000.
+
+The Secretary of the Interior in August last invited my attention
+to the report of a Government director of the Union Pacific Railroad
+Company who had been specially instructed to examine the location,
+construction, and equipment of their road. I submitted for the opinion
+of the Attorney-General certain questions in regard to the authority of
+the Executive which arose upon this report and those which had from time
+to time been presented by the commissioners appointed to inspect each
+successive section of the work. After carefully considering the law of
+the case, he affirmed the right of the Executive to order, if necessary,
+a thorough revision of the entire road. Commissioners were thereupon
+appointed to examine this and other lines, and have recently submitted a
+statement of their investigations, of which the report of the Secretary
+of the Interior furnishes specific information.
+
+The report of the Secretary of War contains information of interest and
+importance respecting the several bureaus of the War Department and the
+operations of the Army. The strength of our military force on the 30th
+of September last was 48,000 men, and it is computed that by the 1st of
+January next this number will be decreased to 43,000. It is the opinion
+of the Secretary of War that within the next year a considerable
+diminution of the infantry force may be made without detriment to the
+interests of the country; and in view of the great expense attending the
+military peace establishment and the absolute necessity of retrenchment
+wherever it can be applied, it is hoped that Congress will sanction the
+reduction which his report recommends. While in 1860 sixteen thousand
+three hundred men cost the nation $16,472,000, the sum of $65,682,000
+is estimated as necessary for the support of the Army during the fiscal
+year ending June 30, 1870. The estimates of the War Department for
+the last two fiscal years were, for 1867, $33,814,461, and for 1868
+$25,205,669. The actual expenditures during the same periods were,
+respectively, $95,224,415 and $123,246,648. The estimate submitted in
+December last for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1869, was $77,124,707;
+the expenditures for the first quarter, ending the 30th of September
+last, were $27,219,117, and the Secretary of the Treasury gives
+$66,000,000 as the amount which will probably be required during the
+remaining three quarters, if there should be no reduction of the
+Army--making its aggregate cost for the year considerably in excess
+of ninety-three millions. The difference between the estimates and
+expenditures for the three fiscal years which have been named is thus
+shown to be $175,545,343 for this single branch of the public service.
+
+The report of the Secretary of the Navy exhibits the operations of that
+Department and of the Navy during the year. A considerable reduction of
+the force has been effected. There are 42 vessels, carrying 411 guns, in
+the six squadrons which are established in different parts of the world.
+Three of these vessels are returning to the United States and 4 are used
+as storeslips, leaving the actual cruising force 35 vessels, carrying
+356 guns. The total number of vessels in the Navy is 206, mounting 1,743
+guns. Eighty-one vessels of every description are in use, armed with 696
+guns. The number of enlisted men in the service, including apprentices,
+has been reduced to 8,500. An increase of navy-yard facilities is
+recommended as a measure which will in the event of war be promotive
+of economy and security. A more thorough and systematic survey of the
+North Pacific Ocean is advised in view of our recent acquisitions, our
+expanding commerce, and the increasing intercourse between the Pacific
+States and Asia. The naval pension fund, which consists of a moiety of
+the avails of prizes captured during the war, amounts to $14,000,000.
+Exception is taken to the act of 23d July last, which reduces the
+interest on the fund loaned to the Government by the Secretary, as
+trustee, to 3 per cent instead of 6 per cent, which was originally
+stipulated when the investment was made. An amendment of the pension
+laws is suggested to remedy omissions and defects in existing
+enactments. The expenditures of the Department during the last fiscal
+year were $20,120,394, and the estimates for the coming year amount
+to $20,993,414.
+
+The Postmaster-General's report furnishes a full and clear exhibit of
+the operations and condition of the postal service. The ordinary postal
+revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, was $16,292,600,
+the total expenditures, embracing all the service for which special
+appropriations have been made by Congress, amounted to $22,730,592,
+showing an excess of expenditures of $6,437,991. Deducting from the
+expenditures the sum of $1,896,525, the amount of appropriations for
+ocean-steamship and other special service, the excess of expenditures
+was $4,541,466. By using an unexpended balance in the Treasury of
+$3,800,000 the actual sum for which a special appropriation is required
+to meet the deficiency is $741,466. The causes which produced this large
+excess of expenditure over revenue were the restoration of service in
+the late insurgent States and the putting into operation of new service
+established by acts of Congress, which amounted within the last two
+years and a half to about 48,700 miles--equal to more than one-third
+of the whole amount of the service at the close of the war. New postal
+conventions with Great Britain, North Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands,
+Switzerland, and Italy, respectively, have been carried into effect.
+Under their provisions important improvements have resulted in reduced
+rates of international postage and enlarged mail facilities with
+European countries. The cost of the United States transatlantic ocean
+mail service since January 1, 1868, has been largely lessened under the
+operation of these new conventions, a reduction of over one-half having
+been effected under the new arrangements for ocean mail steamship
+service which went into effect on that date. The attention of Congress
+is invited to the practical suggestions and recommendations made in his
+report by the Postmaster-General.
+
+No important question has occurred during the last year in our
+accustomed cordial and friendly intercourse with Costa Rica, Guatemala,
+Honduras, San Salvador, France, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal,
+the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, Rome, Greece, Turkey,
+Persia, Egypt, Liberia, Morocco, Tripoli, Tunis, Muscat, Siam, Borneo,
+and Madagascar.
+
+Cordial relations have also been maintained with the Argentine and the
+Oriental Republics. The expressed wish of Congress that our national
+good offices might be tendered to those Republics, and also to Brazil
+and Paraguay, for bringing to an end the calamitous war which has so
+long been raging in the valley of the La Plata, has been assiduously
+complied with and kindly acknowledged by all the belligerents. That
+important negotiation, however, has thus far been without result.
+
+Charles A. Washburn, late United States minister to Paraguay, having
+resigned, and being desirous to return to the United States, the
+rear-admiral commanding the South Atlantic Squadron was early directed
+to send a ship of war to Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, to receive
+Mr. Washburn and his family and remove them from a situation which was
+represented to be endangered by faction and foreign war. The Brazilian
+commander of the allied invading forces refused permission to the _Wasp_
+to pass through the blockading forces, and that vessel returned to
+its accustomed anchorage. Remonstrance having been made against this
+refusal, it was promptly overruled, and the _Wasp_ therefore resumed
+her errand, received Mr. Washburn and his family, and conveyed them to
+a safe and convenient seaport. In the meantime an excited controversy
+had arisen between the President of Paraguay and the late United States
+minister, which, it is understood, grew out of his proceedings in
+giving asylum in the United States legation to alleged enemies of
+that Republic. The question of the right to give asylum is one always
+difficult and often productive of great embarrassment. In states well
+organized and established, foreign powers refuse either to concede or
+exercise that right, except as to persons actually belonging to the
+diplomatic service. On the other hand, all such powers insist upon
+exercising the right of asylum in states where the law of nations is
+not fully acknowledged, respected, and obeyed.
+
+The President of Paraguay is understood to have opposed to Mr.
+Washburn's proceedings the injurious and very improbable charge of
+personal complicity in insurrection and treason. The correspondence,
+however, has not yet reached the United States.
+
+Mr. Washburn, in connection with this controversy, represents that two
+United States citizens attached to the legation were arbitrarily seized
+at his Side, when leaving the capital of Paraguay, committed to prison,
+and there subjected to torture for the purpose of procuring confessions
+of their own criminality and testimony to support the President's
+allegations against the United States minister. Mr. McMahon, the newly
+appointed minister to Paraguay, having reached the La Plata, has been
+instructed to proceed without delay to Asuncion, there to investigate
+the whole subject. The rear-admiral commanding the United States South
+Atlantic Squadron has been directed to attend the new minister with a
+proper naval force to sustain such just demands as the occasion may
+require, and to vindicate the rights of the United States citizens
+referred to and of any others who may be exposed to danger in the
+theater of war. With these exceptions, friendly relations have been
+maintained between the United States and Brazil and Paraguay.
+
+Our relations during the past year with Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru,
+and Chile have become especially friendly and cordial. Spain and the
+Republics of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador have expressed their willingness
+to accept the mediation of the United States for terminating the war
+upon the South Pacific coast. Chile has not finally declared upon the
+question. In the meantime the conflict has practically exhausted itself,
+since no belligerent or hostile movement has been made by either party
+during the last two years, and there are no indications of a present
+purpose to resume hostilities on either side. Great Britain and France
+have cordially seconded our proposition of mediation, and I do not
+forego the hope that it may soon be accepted by all the belligerents and
+lead to a secure establishment of peace and friendly relations between
+the Spanish American Republics of the Pacific and Spain--a result
+which would be attended with common benefits to the belligerents
+and much advantage to all commercial nations. I communicate, for
+the consideration of Congress, a correspondence which shows that the
+Bolivian Republic has established the extremely liberal principle of
+receiving into its citizenship any citizen of the United States, or
+of any other of the American Republics, upon the simple condition of
+voluntary registry.
+
+The correspondence herewith submitted wall be found painfully
+replete with accounts of the ruin and wretchedness produced by recent
+earthquakes, of unparalleled severity, in the Republics of Peru,
+Ecuador, and Bolivia. The diplomatic agents and naval officers of the
+United States who were present in those countries at the time of those
+disasters furnished all the relief in their power to the sufferers, and
+were promptly rewarded with grateful and touching acknowledgments by
+the Congress of Peru. An appeal to the charity of our fellow-citizens
+has been answered by much liberality. In this connection I submit an
+appeal which has been made by the Swiss Republic, whose Government and
+institutions are kindred to our own, in behalf of its inhabitants, who
+are suffering extreme destitution, produced by recent devastating
+inundations.
+
+Our relations with Mexico during the year have been marked by an
+increasing growth of mutual confidence. The Mexican Government has
+not yet acted upon the three treaties celebrated here last summer for
+establishing the rights of naturalized citizens upon a liberal and just
+basis, for regulating consular powers, and for the adjustment of mutual
+claims.
+
+All commercial nations, as well as all friends of republican
+institutions, have occasion to regret the frequent local disturbances
+which occur in some of the constituent States of Colombia. Nothing has
+occurred, however, to affect the harmony and cordial friendship which
+have for several years existed between that youthful and vigorous
+Republic and our own.
+
+Negotiations are pending with a view to the survey and construction
+of a ship canal across the Isthmus of Darien, under the auspices of
+the United States. I hope to be able to submit the results of that
+negotiation to the Senate during its present session.
+
+The very liberal treaty which was entered into last year by the United
+States and Nicaragua has been ratified by the latter Republic.
+
+Costa Rica, with the earnestness of a sincerely friendly neighbor,
+solicits a reciprocity of trade, which I commend to the consideration
+of Congress.
+
+The convention created by treaty between the United States and Venezuela
+in July, 1865, for the mutual adjustment of claims, has been held,
+and its decisions have been received at the Department of State. The
+heretofore-recognized Government of the United States of Venezuela has
+been subverted. A provisional government having been instituted under
+circumstances which promise durability, it has been formally recognized.
+
+I have been reluctantly obliged to ask explanation and satisfaction
+for national injuries committed by the President of Hayti. The political
+and social condition of the Republics of Hayti and St. Domingo is very
+unsatisfactory and painful. The abolition of slavery, which has been
+carried into effect throughout the island of St. Domingo and the entire
+West Indies, except the Spanish islands of Cuba and Porto Rico, has
+been followed by a profound popular conviction of the rightfulness
+of republican institutions and an intense desire to secure them.
+The attempt, however, to establish republics there encounters many
+obstacles, most of which may be supposed to result from long-indulged
+habits of colonial supineness and dependence upon European monarchical
+powers. While the United States have on all occasions professed a
+decided unwillingness that any part of this continent or of its adjacent
+islands shall be made a theater for a new establishment of monarchical
+power, too little has been done by us, on the other hand, to attach the
+communities by which we are surrounded to our own country, or to lend
+even a moral support to the efforts they are so resolutely and so
+constantly making to secure republican institutions for themselves.
+It is indeed a question of grave consideration whether our recent and
+present example is not calculated to check the growth and expansion of
+free principles, and make those communities distrust, if not dread,
+a government which at will consigns to military domination States that
+are integral parts of our Federal Union, and, while ready to resist any
+attempts by other nations to extend to this hemisphere the monarchical
+institutions of Europe, assumes to establish over a large portion of
+its people a rule more absolute, harsh, and tyrannical than any known
+to civilized powers.
+
+The acquisition of Alaska was made with the view of extending national
+jurisdiction and republican principles in the American hemisphere.
+Believing that a further step could be taken in the same direction,
+I last year entered into a treaty with the King of Denmark for the
+purchase of the islands of St. Thomas and St. John, on the best terms
+then attainable, and with the express consent of the people of those
+islands. This treaty still remains under consideration in the Senate.
+A new convention has been entered into with Denmark, enlarging the time
+fixed for final ratification of the original treaty.
+
+Comprehensive national policy would seem to sanction the acquisition and
+incorporation into our Federal Union of the several adjacent continental
+and insular communities as speedily as it can be done peacefully,
+lawfully, and without any violation of national justice, faith, or
+honor. Foreign possession or control of those communities has hitherto
+hindered the growth and impaired the influence of the United States.
+Chronic revolution and anarchy there would be equally injurious. Each
+one of them, when firmly established as an independent republic, or when
+incorporated into the United States, would be a new source of strength
+and power. Conforming my Administration to these principles, I have on
+no occasion lent support or toleration to unlawful expeditions set on
+foot upon the plea of republican propagandism or of national extension
+or aggrandizement. The necessity, however, of repressing such unlawful
+movements clearly indicates the duty which rests upon us of adapting our
+legislative action to the new circumstances of a decline of European
+monarchical power and influence and the increase of American republican
+ideas, interests, and sympathies.
+
+It can not be long before it will become necessary for this Government
+to lend some effective aid to the solution of the political and social
+problems which are continually kept before the world by the two
+Republics of the island of St. Domingo, and which are now disclosing
+themselves more distinctly than heretofore in the island of Cuba. The
+subject is commended to your consideration with all the more earnestness
+because I am satisfied that the time has arrived when even so direct a
+proceeding as a proposition for an annexation of the two Republics of
+the island of St. Domingo would not only receive the consent of the
+people interested, but would also give satisfaction to all other foreign
+nations.
+
+I am aware that upon the question of further extending our
+possessions it is apprehended by some that our political system can not
+successfully be applied to an area more extended than our continent; but
+the conviction is rapidly gaining ground in the American mind that with
+the increased facilities for intercommunication between all portions
+of the earth the principles of free government, as embraced in our
+Constitution, if faithfully maintained and carried out, would prove of
+sufficient strength and breadth to comprehend within their sphere and
+influence the civilized nations of the world.
+
+The attention of the Senate and of Congress is again respectfully
+invited to the treaty for the establishment of commercial reciprocity
+with the Hawaiian Kingdom entered into last year, and already ratified
+by that Government. The attitude of the United States toward these
+islands is not very different from that in which they stand toward the
+West Indies. It is known and felt by the Hawaiian Government and people
+that their Government and institutions are feeble and precarious; that
+the United States, being so near a neighbor, would be unwilling to see
+the islands pass under foreign control. Their prosperity is continually
+disturbed by expectations and alarms of unfriendly political
+proceedings, as well from the United States as from other foreign
+powers. A reciprocity treaty, while it could not materially diminish
+the revenues of the United States, would be a guaranty of the good will
+and forbearance of all nations until the people of the islands shall of
+themselves, at no distant day, voluntarily apply for admission into the
+Union.
+
+The Emperor of Russia has acceded to the treaty negotiated here
+in January last for the security of trade-marks in the interest
+of manufacturers and commerce. I have invited his attention to the
+importance of establishing, now while it seems easy and practicable,
+a fair and equal regulation of the vast fisheries belonging to the
+two nations in the waters of the North Pacific Ocean.
+
+The two treaties between the United States and Italy for the regulation
+of consular powers and the extradition of criminals, negotiated and
+ratified here during the last session of Congress, have been accepted
+and confirmed by the Italian Government. A liberal consular convention
+which has been negotiated with Belgium will be submitted to the Senate.
+The very important treaties which were negotiated between the United
+States and North Germany and Bavaria for the regulation of the rights of
+naturalized citizens have been duly ratified and exchanged, and similar
+treaties have been entered into with the Kingdoms of Belgium and
+Wurtemberg and with the Grand Duchies of Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt.
+I hope soon to be able to submit equally satisfactory conventions of
+the same character now in the course of negotiation with the respective
+Governments of Spain, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire.
+
+Examination of claims against the United States by the Hudsons Bay
+Company and the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, on account of certain
+possessory rights in the State of Oregon and Territory of Washington,
+alleged by those companies in virtue of provisions of the treaty
+between the United States and Great Britain of June 15, 1846, has been
+diligently prosecuted, under the direction of the joint international
+commission to which they were submitted for adjudication by treaty
+between the two Governments of July 1, 1863, and will, it is expected,
+be concluded at an early day.
+
+No practical regulation concerning colonial trade and the fisheries can
+be accomplished by treaty between the United States and Great Britain
+until Congress shall have expressed their judgment concerning the
+principles involved. Three other questions, however, between the United
+States and Great Britain remain open for adjustment. These are the
+mutual rights of naturalized citizens, the boundary question involving
+the title to the island of San Juan, on the Pacific coast, and mutual
+claims arising since the year 1853 of the citizens and subjects of the
+two countries for injuries and depredations committed under the
+authority of their respective Governments. Negotiations upon these
+subjects are pending, and I am not without hope of being able to lay
+before the Senate, for its consideration during the present session,
+protocols calculated to bring to an end these justly exciting and
+long-existing controversies.
+
+We are not advised of the action of the Chinese Government upon the
+liberal and auspicious treaty which was recently celebrated with its
+plenipotentiaries at this capital.
+
+Japan remains a theater of civil war, marked by religious incidents
+and political severities peculiar to that long-isolated Empire. The
+Executive has hitherto maintained strict neutrality among the
+belligerents, and acknowledges with pleasure that it has been frankly
+and fully sustained in that course by the enlightened concurrence and
+cooperation of the other treaty powers, namely, Great Britain, France,
+the Netherlands, North Germany, and Italy.
+
+Spain having recently undergone a revolution marked by extraordinary
+unanimity and preservation of order, the provisional government
+established at Madrid has been recognized, and the friendly intercourse
+which has so long happily existed between the two countries remains
+unchanged.
+
+I renew the recommendation contained in my communication to Congress
+dated the 18th July last--a copy of which accompanies this message--that
+the judgment of the people should be taken on the propriety of so
+amending the Federal Constitution that it shall provide--
+
+First. For an election of President and Vice-President by a direct vote
+of the people, instead of through the agency of electors, and making
+them ineligible for reelection to a second term.
+
+Second. For a distinct designation of the person who shall discharge
+the duties of President in the event of a vacancy in that office by the
+death, resignation, or removal of both the President and Vice-President.
+
+Third. For the election of Senators of the United States directly by
+the people of the several States, instead of by the legislatures; and
+
+Fourth. For the limitation to a period of years of the terms of Federal
+judges.
+
+Profoundly impressed with the propriety of making these important
+modifications in the Constitution, I respectfully submit them for
+the early and mature consideration of Congress. We should, as far
+as possible, remove all pretext for violations of the organic law,
+by remedying such imperfections as time and experience may develop,
+ever remembering that "the constitution which at any time exists until
+changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people is sacredly
+obligatory upon all."
+
+In the performance of a duty imposed upon me by the Constitution, I have
+thus communicated to Congress information of the state of the Union and
+recommended for their consideration such measures as have seemed to me
+necessary and expedient. If carried into effect, they will hasten the
+accomplishment of the great and beneficent purposes for which the
+Constitution was ordained, and which it comprehensively states were
+"to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic
+tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general
+welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our
+posterity." In Congress are vested all legislative powers, and upon them
+devolves the responsibility as well for framing unwise and excessive
+laws as for neglecting to devise and adopt measures absolutely demanded
+by the wants of the country. Let us earnestly hope that before the
+expiration of our respective terms of service, now rapidly drawing
+to a close, an all-wise Providence will so guide our counsels as to
+strengthen and preserve the Federal Union, inspire reverence for the
+Constitution, restore prosperity and happiness to our whole people,
+and promote "on earth peace, good will toward men."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+SPECIAL MESSAGES.
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 8, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a copy of a note of the 24th of November last addressed to
+the Secretary of State by the minister of Great Britain, communicating
+a decree of the district court of the United States for the southern
+district of New York ordering the payment of certain sums to the
+defendants in a suit against the English schooner _Sibyl_, libeled as a
+prize of war. It is requisite for the fulfillment of the decree that an
+appropriation of the sums specified therein should be made by Congress.
+The appropriation is recommended accordingly.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 11, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 7th
+instant, relating to the correspondence with the American minister at
+London concerning the so-called _Alabama_ claims, I transmit a report
+on the subject from the Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 16, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 14th
+December instant, I transmit the accompanying report[70] of the Secretary
+of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 70: Relating to the sending of a commissioner from the United
+States to Spain.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 16, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 14th
+instant, requesting the correspondence which has taken place between the
+United States minister at Brazil and Rear-Admiral Davis touching the
+disposition of the American squadron at Rio Janeiro and the Paraguay
+difficulties, I transmit a report of the Secretary of State upon that
+subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 16, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 8th instant, concerning
+recent transactions in the region of the La Plata affecting the
+political relations of the United States with Paraguay, the Argentine
+Republic, Uruguay, and Brazil, I transmit a report of the Secretary of
+State, which is accompanied by a copy of the papers called for by the
+resolution.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 18, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I herewith communicate a report of the Secretary of the Interior, in
+answer to a resolution adopted by the House of Representatives on the
+16th instant, making inquiries in reference to the Union Pacific
+Railroad and requesting the transmission of the report of the special
+commissioners appointed to examine the construction and equipment of
+the road.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 4, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in compliance with the request contained
+in its resolution of the 15th ultimo, a report from the Secretary of
+State, communicating information in regard to the action of the mixed
+commission for the adjustment of claims by citizens of the United
+States against the Government of Venezuela.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 4, 1869_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives a report from the Secretary
+of State, with accompanying papers, in relation to the resolution of
+Congress approved July 20, 1867, "declaring sympathy with the suffering
+people of Crete."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[The same message was sent to the Senate.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 4, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, an additional article to the convention of the 24th of
+October, 1867, between the United States and His Majesty the King of
+Denmark.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 5, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention between the United States and His Hawaiian
+Majesty, signed in this city on the 28th day of July last, stipulating
+for an extension of the period for the exchange of the ratifications of
+the convention between the same parties on the subject of commercial
+reciprocity.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 7, 1869_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith, in answer to a resolution of the House of
+Representatives of the 16th of December last, a report[71] from the
+Secretary of State of the 6th instant.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 71: Giving reasons why reductions in the number of officers
+and employees and in the salaries and expenses of the Department of
+State should not be made.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 8, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+In conformity with the requirements of the sixth section of the act of
+the 22d of June, 1860, to carry into effect provisions of the treaty
+with China and certain other Oriental nations, I transmit to Congress a
+copy of eight rules agreed upon between the Chinese Imperial Government
+and the minister of the United States and those of other foreign powers
+accredited to that Government, for conducting the proceedings of the
+joint tribunal in cases of confiscation and fines for breaches of the
+revenue laws of that Empire. These rules, which are accompanied by
+correspondence between our minister and Secretary of State on the
+subject, are commended to the consideration of Congress with a view
+to their approval.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 8, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 17th
+ultimo, a report[72] from the Secretary of State, with an accompanying
+paper.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 72: Relating to the exercise or claim by United States consuls
+in Japan of judicial powers in cases arising between American citizens
+and citizens or subjects of any foreign nation ether than Japan, etc.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 11, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention between the United States and Belgium upon
+the subject of naturalization, which was signed at Brussels on the 16th
+of November last.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 11, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention between the United States and Belgium
+concerning the rights, privileges, and immunities of consuls in the
+two countries, signed at Brussels on the 5th ultimo.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 11, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, an additional article of the treaty of commerce and
+navigation between the United States and Belgium of the 17th of July,
+1858, which was signed at Brussels on the 20th ultimo.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 12, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit a copy of a convention between the United States and Peru,
+signed at Lima on the 4th of last month, stipulating for a mixed
+commission for the adjustment of claims of citizens of the two
+countries. An extract from that part of the dispatch of the minister of
+the United States at Lima which accompanied the copy referred to, and
+which relates to it, is also transmitted. It will be seen from this
+extract that it is desirable that the decision of the Senate upon
+the instrument should be given as early as may be convenient. It is
+consequently recommended for consideration with a view to ratification.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 13, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded at Washington, D.C., August 13, 1868, between the
+United States and the Nez Perce tribe of Indians, which treaty is
+supplemental to and amendatory of the treaty concluded with said tribe
+June 9, 1863. A communication from the Secretary of the Interior of the
+12th instant, inclosing a copy of a report of the Commissioner of Indian
+Affairs of the 11th instant, is also herewith transmitted.[73]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 73: Note by the Executive Clerk of the Senate.--"The
+communication from the Secretary of the Interior and this report of the
+Commissioner of Indian Affairs did not accompany the above communication
+from the president."]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 14, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, together with
+the original papers accompanying the same, submitted in compliance
+with the resolution of the Senate of the 5th instant, requesting such
+information as is furnished by the files of the War Department in
+relation to the erection of fortifications at Lawrence, Kans., in 1864
+and 1865.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 15, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for the opinion of the Senate as to the expediency of
+concluding a convention based thereupon, a protocol, signed at London on
+the 9th of October last, for regulating the citizenship of citizens of
+the United States who have emigrated or who may emigrate from the United
+States to the British dominions, and of British subjects who have
+emigrated or who may emigrate from the British dominions to the United
+States of America.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 15, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to its
+ratification, a copy of a treaty between the United States and Great
+Britain, signed yesterday at London, providing for the reference to an
+arbiter of the question of difference between the United States and
+Great Britain concerning the northwest line of water boundary between
+the United States and the British possessions in North America. It is
+expected that the original of the convention will be forwarded by the
+steamer which leaves Liverpool to-morrow. Circumstances, however, to
+which it is unnecessary to advert, in my judgment make it advisable to
+communicate to the Senate the copy referred to in advance of the arrival
+of the original instrument.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 15, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view of its
+ratification, a copy of a convention between the United States and
+Great Britain, signed yesterday at London, providing for the adjustment
+of all outstanding claims of the citizens and subjects of the parties,
+respectively. It is expected that the original of the convention
+will be forwarded by the steamer which leaves Liverpool to-morrow.
+Circumstances, however, to which it is unnecessary to advert, in my
+judgment make it advisable to communicate to the Senate the copy
+referred to in advance of the arrival of the original instrument.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 18, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+The resolution adopted on the 5th instant, requesting the President "to
+transmit to the Senate a copy of any proclamation of amnesty made by him
+since the last adjournment of Congress, and also to communicate to the
+Senate by what authority of law the same was made," has been received.
+
+I accordingly transmit herewith a copy of a proclamation dated the 25th
+day of December last. The authority of law by which it was made is set
+forth in the proclamation itself, which expressly affirms that it was
+issued "by virtue of the power and authority in me vested by the
+Constitution, and in the name of the sovereign people of the United
+States," and proclaims and declares "unconditionally and without
+reservation, to all and to every person who, directly or indirectly,
+participated in the late insurrection or rebellion, a full pardon and
+amnesty for the offense of treason against the United States, or of
+adhering to their enemies during the late civil war, with restoration of
+all rights, privileges, and immunities under the Constitution and the
+laws which have been made in pursuance thereof."
+
+The Federal Constitution is understood to be and is regarded by the
+Executive as the supreme law of the land. The second section of article
+second of that instrument provides that the President "shall have power
+to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States,
+except in cases of impeachment." The proclamation of the 25th ultimo is
+in strict accordance with the judicial expositions of the authority thus
+conferred upon the Executive, and, as will be seen by reference to the
+accompanying papers, is in conformity with the precedent established by
+Washington in 1795, and followed by President Adams in 1800, Madison in
+1815, and Lincoln in 1863, and by the present Executive in 1865, 1867,
+and 1868.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 20, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, made in
+compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 19th ultimo,
+requesting information in reference to the payment of rent for the use
+of the building known as the Libby Prison, in the city of Richmond, Va.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 22, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, an additional article to the convention between the United
+States and His Majesty the King of Italy for regulating the jurisdiction
+of consuls.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 22, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, an additional article to the convention between the United
+States and His Majesty the King of Italy for the mutual extradition of
+criminals fugitives from justice.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 23, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for the constitutional action of
+that body, a treaty concluded at the council house on the Cattaraugus
+Reservation, in Erie County, N.Y., on the 4th day of December, 1868,
+by Walter R. Irwin, commissioner on the part of the United States, and
+the duly authorized representatives of the several tribes and bands of
+Indians residing in the State of New York, A copy of a letter from the
+Secretary of the Interior, dated the 22d instant, and the papers therein
+referred to, in relation to the treaty, are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 26, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit for the consideration of Congress, in conformity with the
+requirements of the sixth section of the act of the 22d of June, 1860,
+a copy of certain regulations for the consular courts in China,
+prohibiting steamers sailing under the flag of the United States from
+using or passing through the Straw Shoe Channel on the river Yangtse,
+decreed by S. Wells Williams, chargé d'affaires, on the 1st of June, and
+promulgated by George F. Seward, consul-general at Shanghai, on the 25th
+of July, 1868, with the assent of five of the United States consuls in
+China, G.H. Colton Salter dissenting. His objections to the regulations
+are set forth in the accompanying copy of a communication of the 10th of
+October last, inclosed in Consul-General Seward's dispatch of the 14th
+of the game month to the Secretary of State, a copy of which is also
+transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 26, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of State, with
+accompanying documents, in relation to the gold medal presented to Mr.
+George Peabody pursuant to the resolution of Congress of March 16, 1867.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 27, 1860_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their
+resolution of the 23d instant, the accompanying report[74] from
+the Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 74: Relating to buildings occupied in Washington by
+Departments of the Government.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 27, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War, upon the
+subject of the resolution of the Senate of the 21st instant, requesting
+a copy of the report of Brevet Major-General William S. Harney upon the
+Sioux and other Indians congregated under treaties made with them by the
+special peace commission.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 29, 1869_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to a resolution
+of the House of Representatives without date, received at the Executive
+Mansion on the 10th of December, calling for correspondence in relation
+to the cases of Messrs. Costello and Warren, naturalized citizens of the
+United States imprisoned in Great Britain, a report from the Secretary
+of State and the papers to which it refers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 29, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its consideration in connection
+with the treaty with the New York Indians concluded November 4, 1868,
+which is now before that body for its constitutional action, an
+additional article of said treaty as an amendment.
+
+A communication, dated the 28th instant, from the Secretary of the
+Interior, and a copy of a report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
+explaining the object of the amendment, are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 1, 1869_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 16th
+of December last, in relation to the arrest of American citizens in
+Paraguay, I transmit a report of the Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 1, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In further answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 8th of December
+last, concerning recent transactions in the region of the La Plata
+affecting the political relations of the United States with Paraguay,
+the Argentine Republic, Uruguay, and Brazil, I transmit a report from
+the Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 2, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+two treaties made by the commissioners appointed under the act of
+Congress of 20th July, 1867, to establish peace with certain hostile
+tribes, viz:
+
+A treaty concluded at Fort Laramie, Dakota Territory, on the 2Qth April,
+1868, with various bands of the Sioux or Dakota Nation of Indians.
+
+A treaty concluded at Fort Bridger, Utah Territory, on the 3d day of
+July, 1868, with the Shoshone (eastern band) and Bannock Indians.
+
+A communication from the Secretary of the Interior, dated the 2d
+instant, inclosing a copy of a letter to him from the Commissioner of
+Indian Affairs of the 28th ultimo, together with the correspondence
+therein referred to, relating to said treaties, are also herewith
+transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 3, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit, for the consideration of Congress, a report from the
+Secretary of State, and the papers which accompany it, in relation to
+the encroachments of agents of the Hudsons Bay Company upon the trade
+and territory of Alaska.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 4, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for the constitutional action of that
+body thereon, the following treaties, concluded with various bands and
+tribes of Indians by William I. Cullen, special agent for Indians in
+Montana, viz:
+
+Treaty concluded at Fort Hawley on the 13th July, 1868, with the Gros
+Ventres.
+
+Treaty concluded at Fort Hawley on the 15th July, 1868, with the River
+Crow Indians.
+
+Treaty concluded at Fort Benton September 1, 1868, with the Blackfeet
+Nation (composed of the tribe of that name and the Blood and Piegan
+tribes).
+
+Treaty with the mixed bands of Shoshones, Bannocks, and Sheepeaters,
+concluded at Virginia City September 24, 1868.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior, dated the 3d instant, and
+the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, dated the 2d instant,
+explaining the provisions of the several treaties and suggesting an
+amendment of some of them, and submitting maps and papers connected with
+said treaties, are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 4, 1869_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 23d
+January ultimo, I transmit a report[75] of the Secretary of State, which is
+accompanied by a copy of the correspondence called for by the resolution.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 75: Relating to the claim of William T. Harris, a United
+States citizen, to property withheld by the Brazilian Government.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 8, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+Referring to my communications of the 16th of December, 1868, and of
+the 1st of February instant, addressed to the Senate in answer to the
+resolution of that body of the 8th of December last, concerning recent
+transactions in the region of the La Plata, I transmit a report of the
+Secretary of State and the papers which accompany it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 9, 1869_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 13th
+ultimo, requesting information as to expenditures by the northwestern
+boundary commission, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State on
+the subject, and the papers which accompanied it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 9, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for the constitutional action of that
+body thereon, a treaty concluded on the 2d day of September, 1868,
+between the United States and the Creek Nation of Indians by their duly
+authorized delegates.
+
+A letter from the Secretary of the Interior, dated the 8th instant, and
+a report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, dated the 6th instant,
+in relation to said treaty, are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 11, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 21st
+ultimo, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying papers,
+in relation to the establishment of the Robert College at
+Constantinople.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 13, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for their action thereon, a mutual
+relinquishment of the agreement between the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
+of Kansas, which agreement is appended to a treaty now before the Senate
+between the United States and the Swan Creek and Black River Chippewas
+and the Munsee or Christian Indians, concluded on the 1st of June, 1868.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 11th instant, together
+with the papers therein referred to, is also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 15, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to
+ratification, a convention between the United States of America arid the
+United States of Colombia for facilitating and securing the construction
+of a ship canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the
+continental isthmus lying without the jurisdiction of the United States
+of Colombia, which instrument was signed at Bogota on the 14th instant.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 17, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded on the 11th instant, in the city of Washington,
+between the United States and the Sac and Fox Indians of the Missouri
+and the Iowa tribe of Indians. A letter of the Secretary of the Interior
+of the 16th instant, together with the letters therein referred to,
+accompany the treaty. For reasons stated in the accompanying
+communications, I request to withdraw from the Senate a treaty with the
+Sac and Fox Indians of the Missouri, concluded February 19, 1867, now
+pending before that body.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 17, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of State, with
+accompanying documents, in relation to the gold medal presented to Mr.
+Cyrus W. Field pursuant to the resolution of Congress of March 2, 1867.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 17, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith present, for the consideration of the Senate in connection
+with the treaty with the Brule and other bands of Sioux Indians now
+pending before that body, a communication from the Secretary of the
+Interior, dated the 16th instant, and accompanying letters from the
+Commissioner of Indian Affairs and P. H. Conger, United States Indian
+agent for the Yankton Sioux, requesting that the benefits of said treaty
+may be extended to the Yankton Sioux and all the bands and individuals
+of the Dakota Sioux.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 17, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 19th
+ultimo, relating to fisheries, a report from the Secretary of State and
+the documents which accompanied it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 18, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action, a treaty
+concluded on the 13th instant between the United States and the Otoe and
+Missouria tribe of Indians, together with the accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 19, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a copy of a correspondence which has taken place
+between the Secretary of State and the minister of the United States at
+Paris, in relation to the use of passports by citizens of the United
+States in France.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 20, 1869_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit an additional report from the Secretary of State,
+representing that Messrs. Costello and Warren, citizens of the United
+States imprisoned in Ireland, have been released.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 23, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, on
+the subject of the resolution of the Senate of the 13th January last,
+requesting "that the President direct the Secretary of the Treasury to
+detail an officer to select from the public lands such permanent points
+upon the coast of Oregon, Washington Territory, and Alaska as in his
+judgment may be necessary for light-house purposes, in view of the
+future commercial necessity of the Pacific Coast, and to reserve the
+same for exclusive use of the United States."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 23, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+Referring to my communication to Congress of the 26th ultimo, concerning
+a decree made by the United States chargé d'affaires in China, on 1st
+of June last, prohibiting steamers sailing under the flag of the United
+States from using or passing through the Straw Shoe Channel on the
+Yangtse River, I now transmit a copy of a dispatch of the 22d of August
+last, No. 25, from S. Wells Williams, esq., and of such of the papers
+accompanying it as were not contained in my former communication. I also
+transmit a copy of the reply of the 6th instant made by the Secretary of
+State to the above-named dispatch.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 24, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a copy of a convention between the United States
+and the Mexican Republic, providing for the adjustment of the claims of
+citizens of either country against the other, signed on the 4th day of
+July last, and the ratifications of which were exchanged on the 1st
+instant.
+
+It is recommended that such legislation as may be necessary to carry
+this convention into effect shall receive early consideration.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 1, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the request of the Senate of the 27th ultimo,
+I return herewith their resolution of the 26th February, calling for a
+statement of internal-revenue stamps issued by the Government since the
+passage of the act approved July 1, 1862.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+VETO MESSAGES.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 13, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+The bill entitled "An act transferring the duties of trustees of colored
+schools of Washington and Georgetown" is herewith returned to the
+Senate, in which House it originated, without my approval.
+
+The accompanying paper exhibits the fact that the legislation which the
+bill proposes is contrary to the wishes of the colored residents of
+Washington and Georgetown, and that they prefer that the schools for
+their children should be under the management of trustees selected by
+the Secretary of the Interior, whose term of office is for four years,
+rather than subject to the control of bodies whose tenure of office,
+depending merely upon political considerations, may be annually affected
+by the elections which take place in the two cities.
+
+The colored people of Washington and Georgetown are at present not
+represented by a person of their own race in either of the boards of
+trustees of public schools appointed by the municipal authorities.
+Of the three trustees, however, who, under the act of July 11, 1862,
+compose the board of trustees of the schools for colored children, two
+are persons of color. The resolutions transmitted herewith show that
+they have performed their trust in a manner entirely satisfactory to
+the colored people of the two cities, and no good reason is known to
+the Executive why the duties which now devolve upon them should be
+transferred as proposed in the bill.
+
+With these brief suggestions the bill is respectfully returned, and the
+consideration of Congress invited to the accompanying preamble and
+resolutions.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 22, 1869_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+The accompanying bill, entitled "An act regulating the duties on
+imported copper and copper ores," is, for the following reasons,
+returned, without my approval, to the House of Representatives, in which
+branch of Congress it originated.
+
+Its immediate effect will be to diminish the public receipts, for the
+object of the bill can not be accomplished without seriously affecting
+the importation of copper and copper ores, from which a considerable
+revenue is at present derived. While thus impairing the resources of the
+Government, it imposes an additional tax upon an already overburdened
+people, who should not be further impoverished that monopolies may be
+fostered and corporations enriched.
+
+It is represented--and the declaration seems to be sustained by
+evidence--that the duties for which this bill provides are nearly or
+quite sufficient to prohibit the importation of certain foreign ores of
+copper. Its enactment, therefore, will prove detrimental to the shipping
+interests of the nation, and at the same time destroy the business, for
+many years successfully established, of smelting home ores in connection
+with a smaller amount of the imported articles. This business, it is
+credibly asserted, has heretofore yielded the larger share of the copper
+production of the country, and thus the industry which this legislation
+is designed to encourage is actually less than that which will be
+destroyed by the passage of this bill.
+
+It seems also to be evident that the effect of this measure will be to
+enhance by 70 per cent the cost of blue vitriol--an article extensively
+used in dyeing and in the manufacture of printed and colored cloths. To
+produce such an augmentation in the price of this commodity will be to
+discriminate against other great branches of domestic industry, and by
+increasing their cost to expose them most unfairly to the effects of
+foreign competition. Legislation can neither be wise nor just which
+seeks the welfare of a single interest at the expense and to the injury
+of many and varied interests at least equally important and equally
+deserving the consideration of Congress. Indeed, it is difficult to find
+any reason which will justify the interference of Government with any
+legitimate industry, except so far as may be rendered necessary by the
+requirements of the revenue. As has already been stated, however, the
+legislative intervention proposed in the present instance will diminish,
+not increase, the public receipts.
+
+The enactment of such a law is urged as necessary for the relief of
+certain mining interests upon Lake Superior, which, it is alleged,
+are in a greatly depressed condition, and can only be sustained by an
+enhancement of the price of copper. If this result should follow the
+passage of the bill, a tax for the exclusive benefit of a single class
+would be imposed upon the consumers of copper throughout the entire
+country, not warranted by any need of the Government, and the avails of
+which would not in any degree find their way into the Treasury of the
+nation. If the miners of Lake Superior are in a condition of want, it
+can not be justly affirmed that the Government should extend charity to
+them in preference to those of its citizens who in other portions of the
+country suffer in like manner from destitution. Least of all should the
+endeavor to aid them be based upon a method so uncertain and indirect as
+that contemplated by the bill, and which, moreover, proposes to continue
+the exercise of its benefaction through an indefinite period of years.
+It is, besides, reasonable to hope that positive suffering from want,
+if it really exists, will prove but temporary in a region where
+agricultural labor is so much in demand and so well compensated. A
+careful examination of the subject appears to show that the present
+low price of copper, which alone has induced any depression the mining
+interests of Lake Superior may have recently experienced, is due to
+causes which it is wholly impolitic, if not impracticable, to contravene
+by legislation. These causes are, in the main, an increase in the
+general supply of copper, owing to the discovery and working of
+remarkably productive mines and to a coincident restriction in the
+consumption and use of copper by the substitution of other and cheaper
+metals for industrial purposes. It is now sought to resist by artificial
+means the action of natural laws; to place the people of the United
+States, in respect to the enjoyment and use of an essential commodity,
+upon a different basis from other nations, and especially to compensate
+certain private and sectional interests for the changes and losses which
+are always incident to industrial progress.
+
+Although providing for an increase of duties, the proposed law does not
+even come within the range of protection, in the fair acceptation of the
+term. It does not look to the fostering of a young and feeble interest
+with a view to the ultimate attainment of strength and the capacity
+of self-support. It appears to assume that the present inability for
+successful production is inherent and permanent, and is more likely
+to increase than to be gradually overcome; yet in spite of this it
+proposes, by the exercise of the lawmaking power, to sustain that
+interest and to impose it in hopeless perpetuity as a tax upon the
+competent and beneficent industries of the country.
+
+The true method for the mining interests of Lake Superior to
+obtain relief, if relief is needed, is to endeavor to make their great
+natural resources fully available by reducing the cost of production.
+Special or class legislation can not remedy the evils which this bill
+is designed to meet. They can only be overcome by laws which will effect
+a wise, honest, and economical administration of the Government, a
+reestablishment of the specie standard of value, and an early adjustment
+of our system of State, municipal, and national taxation (especially the
+latter) upon the fundamental principle that all taxes, whether collected
+under the internal revenue or under a tariff, shall interfere as little
+as possible with the productive energies of the people.
+
+The bill is therefore returned, in the belief that the true interests
+of the Government and of the people require that it should not become
+a law.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+PROCLAMATION.
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the President of the United States has heretofore set forth
+several proclamations offering amnesty and pardon to persons who
+had been or were concerned in the late rebellion against the lawful
+authority of the Government of the United States, which proclamations
+were severally issued on the 8th day of December, 1863, on the 26th
+day of March, 1864, on the 29th day of May, 1865, on the 7th day of
+September, 1867, and on the 4th day of July, in the present year; and
+
+Whereas the authority of the Federal Government having been
+reestablished in all the States and Territories within the jurisdiction
+of the United States, it is believed that such prudential reservations
+and exceptions as at the dates of said several proclamations were deemed
+necessary and proper may now be wisely and justly relinquished, and that
+an universal amnesty and pardon for participation in said rebellion
+extended to all who have borne any part therein will tend to secure
+permanent peace, order, and prosperity throughout the land, and to renew
+and fully restore confidence and fraternal feeling among the whole
+people, and their respect for and attachment to the National Government,
+designed by its patriotic founders for the general good:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, by virtue of the power and authority in me vested by the
+Constitution and in the name of the sovereign people of the United
+States, do hereby proclaim and declare, unconditionally and without
+reservation, to all and to every person who, directly or indirectly,
+participated in the late insurrection or rebellion a full pardon and
+amnesty for the offense of treason against the United States or of
+adhering to their enemies during the late civil war, with restoration
+of all rights, privileges, and immunities under the Constitution and
+the laws which have been made in pursuance thereof.
+
+In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, the 25th day of December, A.D. 1868, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  F.W. SEWARD,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+
+IMPEACHMENT OF ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+
+On the 24th of February, 1868, the House of Representatives of the
+Congress of the United States resolved to impeach Andrew Johnson,
+President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors, of
+which the Senate was apprised, and arrangements were made for the trial.
+On the 2d and 3d of March articles of impeachment were agreed upon by
+the House of Representatives, and on the 4th they were presented to the
+Senate by the managers on the part of the House, Mr. John A. Bingham,
+Mr. George S. Boutwell, Mr. James F. Wilson, Mr. Benjamin F. Butler, Mr.
+Thomas Williams, Mr. John A. Logan, and Mr. Thaddeus Stevens, who were
+accompanied by the House as a Committee of the Whole. The articles are
+as follows:
+
+
+IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, UNITED STATES, _March 2, 1868_.
+
+ARTICLES EXHIBITED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES,
+IN THE NAME OF THEMSELVES AND ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES,
+AGAINST ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, IN MAINTENANCE
+AND SUPPORT OF THEIR IMPEACHMENT AGAINST HIM FOR HIGH CRIMES AND
+MISDEMEANORS IN OFFICE.
+
+
+ARTICLE I. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+on the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District
+of Columbia, unmindful of the high duties of his office, of his oath
+of office, and of the requirement of the Constitution that he should
+take care that the laws be faithfully executed, did unlawfully and in
+violation of the Constitution and laws of the United States issue an
+order in writing for the removal of Edwin M. Stanton from the office
+of Secretary for the Department of War, said Edwin M. Stanton having
+been theretofore duly appointed and commissioned, by and with the advice
+and consent of the Senate of the United States, as such Secretary;
+and said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, on the 12th
+day of August, A.D. 1867, and during the recess of said Senate, having
+suspended by his order Edwin M. Stanton from said office, and within
+twenty days after the first day of the next meeting of said Senate--that
+is to say, on the 12th day of December, in the year last aforesaid--having
+reported to said Senate such suspension, with the evidence and reasons
+for his action in the case and the name of the person designated to
+perform the duties of such office temporarily until the next meeting of
+the Senate; and said Senate thereafterwards, on the 13th day of January,
+A.D. 1868, having duly considered the evidence and reasons reported by
+said Andrew Johnson for said suspension, and having refused to concur
+in said suspension, whereby and by force of the provisions of an act
+entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed
+March 2, 1867, said Edwin M. Stanton did forthwith resume the functions
+of his office, whereof the said Andrew Johnson had then and there due
+notice; and said Edwin M. Stanton, by reason of the premises, on said
+21st day of February, being lawfully entitled to hold said office of
+Secretary for the Department of War; which said order for the removal
+of said Edwin M. Stanton is in substance as follows; that is to say:
+
+
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+  _Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868_.
+
+  Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+  _Washington, D.C._
+
+  SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by
+  the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby removed
+  from office as Secretary for the Department of War, and your functions
+  as such will terminate upon the receipt of this communication.
+
+  You will transfer to Brevet Major-General Lorenzo Thomas,
+  Adjutant-General of the Army, who has this day been authorized and
+  empowered to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, all records, books,
+  papers, and other public property now in your custody and charge.
+
+  Respectfully, yours,
+
+  ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+which order was unlawfully issued with intent then and there to violate
+the act entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil
+offices," passed March 2, 1867, and with the further intent, contrary,
+to the provisions of said act, in violation thereof, and contrary to the
+provisions of the Constitution of the United States, and without the
+advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, the said Senate
+then and there being in session, to remove said Edwin M. Stanton from
+the office of Secretary for the Department of War, the said Edwin M.
+Stanton being then and there Secretary for the Department of War, and
+being then and there in the due and lawful execution and discharge of
+the duties of said office; whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of
+the United States, did then and there commit and was guilty of a high
+misdemeanor in office.
+
+ART. II. That on said 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in
+the District of Columbia, said Andrew Johnson, President of the United
+States, unmindful of the high duties of his office, of his oath of
+office, and in violation of the Constitution of the United States, and
+contrary to the provisions of an act entitled "An act regulating the
+tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867, without the
+advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, said Senate then
+and there being in session, and without authority of law, did, with
+intent to violate the Constitution of the United States and the act
+aforesaid, issue and deliver to one Lorenzo Thomas a letter of authority
+in substance as follows; that is to say:
+
+
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+  _Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868_.
+
+  Brevet Major-General LORENZO THOMAS,
+
+  _Adjutant-General United States Army, Washington, D.C._
+
+  SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day removed from office
+  as Secretary for the Department of War, you are hereby authorized and
+  empowered to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, and will immediately
+  enter upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office.
+
+  Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all the records,
+  books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and charge.
+
+  Respectfully, yours,
+
+  ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+then and there being no vacancy in said office of Secretary for the
+Department of War; whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United
+States, did then and there commit and was guilty of a high misdemeanor
+in office.
+
+ART. III. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, on
+the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District of
+Columbia, did commit and was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office in
+this, that without authority of law, while the Senate of the United
+States was then and there in session, he did appoint one Lorenzo Thomas
+to be Secretary for the Department of War _ad interim_, without the
+advice and consent of the Senate, and with intent to violate the
+Constitution of the United States, no vacancy having happened in said
+office of Secretary for the Department of War during the recess of the
+Senate, and no vacancy existing in said office at the time, and which
+said appointment, so made by said Andrew Johnson, of said Lorenzo
+Thomas, is in substance as follows; that is to say:
+
+
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+  _Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868_.
+
+  Brevet Major-General LORENZO THOMAS,
+
+  _Adjutant-General United States Army, Washington, D.C._
+
+  SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day removed from office
+  as Secretary for the Department of War, you are hereby authorized and
+  empowered to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, and will immediately
+  enter upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office.
+
+  Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all the records,
+  books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and charge.
+
+  Respectfully, yours,
+
+  ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+ART. IV. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+unmindful of the high duties of his office and his oath of office, in
+violation of the Constitution and laws of the United States, on the 21st
+day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District of Columbia,
+did unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo Thomas, and with other persons
+to the House of Representatives unknown, with intent, by intimidation
+and threats, unlawfully to hinder and prevent Edwin M. Stanton, then and
+there the Secretary for the Department of War, duly appointed under the
+laws of the United States, from holding said office of Secretary for the
+Department of War, contrary to and in violation of the Constitution of
+the United States and of the provisions of an act entitled "An act to
+define and punish certain conspiracies," approved July 31, 1861; whereby
+said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, did then and there
+commit and was guilty of a high crime in office.
+
+ART. V. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office,
+on the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, and on divers other days and
+times in said year before the 2d day of March, A.D. 1868, at Washington,
+in the District of Columbia, did unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo
+Thomas, and with other persons to the House of Representatives unknown,
+to prevent and hinder the execution of an act entitled "An act
+regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867,
+and in pursuance of said conspiracy did unlawfully attempt to prevent
+Edwin M. Stanton, then and there being Secretary for the Department
+of War, duly appointed and commissioned under the laws of the United
+States, from holding said office; whereby the said Andrew Johnson,
+President of the United States, did then and there commit and was guilty
+of a high misdemeanor in office.
+
+ART. VI. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office,
+on the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District
+of Columbia, did unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo Thomas by force
+to seize, take, and possess the property of the United States in the
+Department of War, and then and there in the custody and charge of Edwin
+M. Stanton, Secretary for said Department, contrary to the provisions
+of an act entitled "An act to define and punish certain conspiracies,"
+approved July 31, 1861, and with intent to violate and disregard an act
+entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed
+March 2, 1867; whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United
+States, did then and there commit a high crime in office.
+
+ART. VII. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office, on
+the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District of
+Columbia, did unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo Thomas with intent
+unlawfully to seize, take, and possess the property of the United States
+in the Department of War, in the custody and charge of Edwin M. Stanton,
+Secretary for said Department, with intent to violate and disregard the
+act entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices,"
+passed March 2, 1867; whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, did then and there commit a high misdemeanor in office.
+
+ART. VIII. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office,
+with intent unlawfully to control the disbursement of the moneys
+appropriated for the military service and for the Department of War,
+on the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District
+of Columbia, did unlawfully, and contrary to the provisions of an act
+entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed
+March 2, 1867, and in violation of the Constitution of the United
+States, and without the advice and consent of the Senate of the United
+States, and while the Senate was then and there in session, there being
+no vacancy in the office of Secretary for the Department of War, and
+with intent to violate and disregard the act aforesaid, then and there
+issue and deliver to one Lorenzo Thomas a letter of authority, in
+writing, in substance as follows; that is to say:
+
+
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+  _Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868_.
+
+  Brevet Major-General LORENZO THOMAS,
+
+  _Adjutant-General United States Army, Washington, D.C._
+
+  SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day removed from office
+  as Secretary for the Department of War, you are hereby authorized and
+  empowered to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, and will immediately
+  enter upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office.
+
+  Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all the records,
+  books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and charge.
+
+  Respectfully, yours,
+
+  ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, did then
+and there commit and was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office.
+
+ART. IX. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, on
+the 22d day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District of
+Columbia, in disregard of the Constitution and the laws of the United
+States duly enacted, as Commander in Chief of the Army of the United
+States, did bring before himself then and there William H. Emory, a
+major-general by brevet in the Army of the United States, actually in
+command of the Department of Washington and the military forces thereof,
+and did then and there, as such Commander in Chief, declare to and
+instruct said Emory that part of a law of the United States, passed
+March 2, 1867, entitled "An act making appropriations for the support
+of the Army for the year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes,"
+especially the second section thereof, which provides, among other
+things, that "all orders and instructions relating to military
+operations issued by the President or Secretary of War shall be issued
+through the General of the Army, and in case of his inability through
+the next in rank," was unconstitutional and in contravention of the
+commission of said Emory, and which said provision of law had been
+theretofore duly and legally promulgated by general order for the
+government and direction of the Army of the United States, as the said
+Andrew Johnson then and there well knew, with intent thereby to induce
+said Emory, in his official capacity as commander of the Department of
+Washington, to violate the provisions of said act and to take and
+receive, act upon, and obey such orders as he, the said Andrew Johnson,
+might make and give, and which should not be issued through the General
+of the Army of the United States, according to the provisions of said
+act, and with the further intent thereby to enable him, the said Andrew
+Johnson, to prevent the execution of the act entitled "An act regulating
+the tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867, and to
+unlawfully prevent Edwin M. Stanton, then being Secretary for the
+Department of War, from holding said office and discharging the duties
+thereof; whereby said "Andrew Johnson, President of the United States"
+did then and there commit and was guilty of a high misdemeanor in
+office.
+
+And the House of Representatives, by protestation, saving to themselves
+the liberty of exhibiting at any time hereafter any further articles
+or other accusation or impeachment against the said Andrew Johnson,
+President of the United States, and also of replying to his answers
+which he shall make unto the articles herein preferred against him, and
+of offering proof to the same, and every part thereof, and to all and
+every other article, accusation, or impeachment which shall be exhibited
+by them, as the case shall require, _do demand_ that the said Andrew
+Johnson may be put to answer the high crimes and misdemeanors in office
+herein charged against him, and that such proceedings, examinations,
+trials, and judgments may be thereupon had and given as may be agreeable
+to law and justice.
+
+SCHUYLER COLFAX,
+
+_Speaker of the House of Representatives_.
+
+Attest:
+
+EDWARD McPHERSON,
+
+_Clerk of the House of Representatives_.
+
+
+
+IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, UNITED STATES, _March 3, 1868_.
+
+The following additional articles of impeachment were agreed to, viz:
+
+ART. X. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+unmindful of the high duties of his office and the dignity and
+proprieties thereof, and of the harmony and courtesies which ought to
+exist and be maintained between the executive and legislative branches
+of the Government of the United States, designing and intending to
+set aside the rightful authority and powers of Congress, did attempt
+to bring into disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt, and reproach the
+Congress of the United States and the several branches thereof, to
+impair and destroy the regard and respect of all the good people of
+the United States for the Congress and legislative power thereof (which
+all officers of the Government ought inviolably to preserve and
+maintain), and to excite the odium and resentment of all the good
+people of the United States against Congress and the laws by it duly and
+constitutionally enacted; and, in pursuance of his design and intent,
+openly and publicly, and before divers assemblages of the citizens of
+the United States, convened in divers parts thereof to meet and receive
+said Andrew Johnson as the Chief Magistrate of the United States, did,
+on the 18th day of August, A.D. 1866, and on divers other days and
+times, as well before as afterwards, make and deliver with a loud voice
+certain intemperate, inflammatory, and scandalous harangues, and did
+therein utter loud threats and bitter menaces, as well against Congress
+as the laws of the United States, duly enacted thereby, amid the cries,
+jeers, and laughter of the multitudes then assembled and in hearing,
+which are set forth in the several specifications hereinafter written
+in substance and effect; that is to say:
+
+_Specification first_.--In this, that at Washington, in the District of
+Columbia, in the Executive Mansion, to a committee of citizens who
+called upon the President of the United States, speaking of and
+concerning the Congress of the United States, said Andrew Johnson,
+President of the United States, heretofore, to wit, on the 18th day of
+August, A.D. 1866, did in a loud voice declare in substance and effect,
+among other things; that is to say:
+
+  So far as the executive department of the Government is concerned, the
+  effort has been made to restore the Union, to heal the breach, to pour
+  oil into the wounds which were consequent upon the struggle, and (to
+  speak in common phrase) to prepare, as the learned and wise physician
+  would, a plaster healing in character and coextensive with the wound.
+  We thought and we think that we had partially succeeded; but as the work
+  progresses, as reconstruction seemed to be taking place and the country
+  was becoming reunited, we found a disturbing and marring element
+  opposing us. In alluding to that element I shall go no further than your
+  convention and the distinguished gentleman who has delivered to me the
+  report of its proceedings. I shall make no reference to it that I do not
+  believe the time and the occasion justify.
+
+  We have witnessed in one department of the Government every endeavor
+  to prevent the restoration of peace, harmony, and union. We have seen
+  hanging upon the verge of the Government, as it were, a body called, or
+  which assumes to be, the Congress of the United States, while in fact it
+  is a Congress of only a part of the States. We have seen this Congress
+  pretend to be for the Union, when its every step and act tended to
+  perpetuate disunion and make a disruption of the States inevitable.
+  * * * We have seen Congress gradually encroach, step by step, upon
+  constitutional rights, and violate, day after day and month after month,
+  fundamental principles of the Government. We have seen a Congress that
+  seemed to forget that there was a limit to the sphere and scope of
+  legislation. We have seen a Congress in a minority assume to exercise
+  power which, allowed to be consummated, would result in despotism or
+  monarchy itself.
+
+_Specification second_.--In this, that at Cleveland, in the State
+of Ohio, heretofore, to wit, on the 3d day of September, A.D. 1866,
+before a public assemblage of citizens and others, said Andrew Johnson,
+President of the United States, speaking of and concerning the Congress
+of the United States, did in a loud voice declare in substance and
+effect, among other things; that is to say:
+
+  I will tell you what I did do. I called upon your Congress that is
+  trying to break up the Government.
+
+  In conclusion, besides that, Congress had taken much pains to poison
+  their constituents against him. But what had Congress done? Have they
+  done anything to restore the Union of these States? No. On the contrary,
+  they have done everything to prevent it. And because he stood now where
+  he did when the rebellion commenced, he had been denounced as a traitor.
+  Who had run greater risks or made greater sacrifices than himself? But
+  Congress, factious and domineering, had undertaken to poison the minds
+  of the American people.
+
+_Specification third_.--In this, that at St. Louis, in the State of
+Missouri, heretofore, to wit, on the 8th day of September, A.D. 1866,
+before a public assemblage of citizens and others, said Andrew Johnson,
+President of the United States, speaking of and concerning the Congress
+of the United States, did in a loud voice declare in substance and
+effect, among other things; that is to say:
+
+  Go on. Perhaps if you had a word or two on the subject of New Orleans
+  you might understand more about it than you do. And if you will go
+  back--if you will go back and ascertain the cause of the riot at New
+  Orleans, perhaps you will not be so prompt in calling out "New Orleans."
+  If you will take up the riot at New Orleans and trace it back to its
+  source or its immediate cause, you will find out who was responsible
+  for the blood that was shed there. If you will take up the riot at New
+  Orleans and trace it back to the Radical Congress, you will find that
+  the riot at New Orleans was substantially planned. If you will take up
+  the proceedings in their caucuses, you will understand that they there
+  knew that a convention was to be called which was extinct by its power
+  having expired; that it was said that the intention was that a new
+  government was to be organized, and on the organization of that
+  government the intention was to enfranchise one portion of the
+  population, called the colored population, who had just been
+  emancipated, and at the same time disfranchise white men. When you
+  design to talk about New Orleans, you ought to understand what you are
+  talking about. When you read the speeches that were made and take up
+  the facts on the Friday and Saturday before that convention sat, you
+  will there find that speeches were made, incendiary in their character,
+  exciting that portion of the population--the black population--to arm
+  themselves and prepare for the shedding of blood. You will also find
+  that that convention did assemble, in violation of law, and the
+  intention of that convention was to supersede the reorganized
+  authorities in the State government of Louisiana, which had been
+  recognized by the Government of the United States; and every man engaged
+  in that rebellion in that convention, with the intention of superseding
+  and upturning the civil government which had been recognized by the
+  Government of the United States, I say that he was a traitor to the
+  Constitution of the United States; and hence you find that another
+  rebellion was commenced, _having its origin in the Radical Congress_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  So much for the New Orleans riot. And there was the cause and the origin
+  of the blood that was shed; and every drop of blood that was shed is
+  upon their skirts, and they are responsible for it. I could test this
+  thing a little closer, but will not do it here to-night. But when you
+  talk about the causes and consequences that resulted from proceedings
+  of that kind, perhaps, as I have been introduced here, and you have
+  provoked questions of this kind--though it does not provoke me--I will
+  tell you a few wholesome things that have been done by this Radical
+  Congress in connection with New Orleans and the extension of the
+  elective franchise.
+
+  I know that I have been traduced and abused. I know it has come in
+  advance of me, here as elsewhere, that I have attempted to exercise an
+  arbitrary power in resisting laws that were intended to be forced upon
+  the Government; that I had exercised that power; that I had abandoned
+  the party that elected me, and that I was a traitor, because I exercised
+  the veto power in attempting and did arrest for a time a bill that was
+  called a "Freedmen's Bureau" bill; yes, that I was a traitor. And I have
+  been traduced, I have been slandered, I have been maligned, I have been
+  called Judas Iscariot and all that. Now, my countrymen, here to-night,
+  it is very easy to indulge in epithets; it is easy to call a man a Judas
+  and cry out "traitor;" but when he is called upon to give arguments and
+  facts he is very often found wanting. Judas Iscariot--Judas. There was
+  a Judas, and he was one of the twelve apostles. Oh, yes; the twelve
+  apostles had a Christ. The twelve apostles had a Christ, and he never
+  could have had a Judas unless he had had twelve apostles. If I have
+  played the Judas, who has been my Christ that I have played the Judas
+  with? Was it Thad. Stevens? Was it Wendell Phillips? Was it Charles
+  Sumner? These are the men that stop and compare themselves with the
+  Savior, and everybody that differs with them in opinion, and to try
+  to stay and arrest their diabolical and nefarious policy, is to be
+  denounced as a Judas.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  Well, let me say to you, if you will stand by me in this action, if you
+  will stand by me in trying to give the people a fair chance--soldiers
+  and citizens--to participate in these offices, God being willing I will
+  kick them out. I will kick them out just as fast as I can.
+
+  Let me say to you in concluding that what I have said I intended to say.
+  I was not provoked into this, and I care not for their menaces, the
+  taunts and the jeers. I care not for threats. I do not intend to be
+  bullied by my enemies nor overawed by my friends. But, God willing, with
+  your help I will veto their measures whenever any of them come to me.
+
+
+which said utterances, declarations, threats, and harangues, highly
+censurable in any, are peculiarly indecent and unbecoming in the Chief
+Magistrate of the United States, by means whereof said Andrew Johnson
+has brought the high office of the President of the United States into
+contempt, ridicule, and disgrace, to the great scandal of all good
+citizens; whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+did commit and was then and there guilty of a high misdemeanor in
+office.
+
+ART. XI. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office,
+and in disregard of the Constitution and laws of the United States, did
+heretofore, to wit, on the 18th day of August, A.D. 1866, at the city of
+Washington, in the District of Columbia, by public speech, declare and
+affirm in substance that the Thirty-ninth Congress of the United States
+was not a Congress of the United States authorized by the Constitution
+to exercise legislative power under the same, but, on the contrary, was
+a Congress of only part of the States; thereby denying and intending to
+deny that the legislation of said Congress was valid or obligatory upon
+him, the said Andrew Johnson, except in so far as he saw fit to approve
+the same, and also thereby denying and intending to deny the power of
+the said Thirty-ninth Congress to propose amendments to the Constitution
+of the United States; and in pursuance of said declaration the said
+Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, afterwards, to wit,
+on the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at the city of Washington,
+in the District of Columbia, did unlawfully, and in disregard of the
+requirement of the Constitution that he should take care that the laws
+be faithfully executed, attempt to prevent the execution of an act
+entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed
+March 2, 1867, by unlawfully devising and contriving, and attempting to
+devise and contrive, means by which he should prevent Edwin M. Stanton
+from forthwith resuming the functions of the office of Secretary for the
+Department of War, notwithstanding the refusal of the Senate to concur
+in the suspension theretofore made by said Andrew Johnson of said Edwin
+M. Stanton from said office of Secretary for the Department of War, and
+also by further unlawfully devising and contriving, and attempting to
+devise and contrive, means then and there to prevent the execution of
+an act entitled "An act making appropriations for the support of the
+Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868 and for other purposes,"
+approved March 2, 1867, and also to prevent the execution of an act
+entitled "An act to provide for the more efficient government of the
+rebel States," passed March 2, 1867, whereby the said Andrew Johnson,
+President of the United States, did then, to wit, on the 21st day of
+February, A.D. 1868, at the city of Washington, commit and was guilty
+of a high misdemeanor in office.
+
+SCHUYLER COLFAX,
+
+_Speaker of the House of Representatives_.
+
+Attest:
+
+EDWARD McPHERSON,
+
+_Clerk of the House of Representatives_.
+
+
+
+IN THE SENATE, _March 4, 1868_.
+
+The President _pro tempore_ laid before the Senate the following letter
+from the Hon. Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the
+United States:
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 4, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+Inasmuch as the sole power to try impeachments is vested by the
+Constitution in the Senate, and it is made the duty of the Chief Justice
+to preside when the President is on trial, I take the liberty of
+submitting, very respectfully, some observations in respect to the
+proper mode of proceeding upon the impeachment which has been preferred
+by the House of Representatives against the President now in office.
+
+That when the Senate sits for the trial of an impeachment it sits as a
+court seems unquestionable.
+
+That for the trial of an impeachment of the President this court must be
+constituted of the members of the Senate, with the Chief Justice
+presiding, seems equally unquestionable.
+
+The Federalist is regarded as the highest contemporary authority on the
+construction of the Constitution, and in the sixty-fourth number the
+functions of the Senate "sitting in their judicial capacity as a court
+for the trial of impeachments" are examined.
+
+In a paragraph explaining the reasons for not uniting "the Supreme Court
+with the Senate in the formation of the court of impeachments" it is
+observed that--
+
+  To a certain extent the benefits of that union will be obtained from
+  making the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court the president of the court
+  of impeachments, as is proposed by the plan of the Convention, while the
+  inconveniences of an entire incorporation of the former into the latter
+  will be substantially avoided. This was, perhaps, the prudent mean.
+
+This authority seems to leave no doubt upon either of the propositions
+just stated; and the statement of them will serve to introduce the
+question upon which I think it my duty to state the result of my
+reflections to the Senate, namely, At what period, in the case of
+an impeachment of the President, should the court of impeachment be
+organized under oath, as directed by the Constitution?
+
+It will readily suggest itself to anyone who reflects upon the abilities
+and the learning in the law which distinguish so many Senators that
+besides the reason assigned in the Federalist there must have been still
+another for the provision requiring the Chief Justice to preside in the
+court of impeachment. Under the Constitution, in case of a vacancy in
+the office of President, the Vice-President succeeds, and it was
+doubtless thought prudent and befitting that the next in succession
+should not preside in a proceeding through which a vacancy might be
+created.
+
+It is not doubted that the Senate, while sitting in its ordinary
+capacity, must necessarily receive from the House of Representatives
+some notice of its intention to impeach the President at its bar,
+but it does not seem to me an unwarranted opinion, in view of this
+constitutional provision, that the organization of the Senate as
+a court of impeachment, under the Constitution, should precede the
+actual announcement of the impeachment on the part of the House.
+
+And it may perhaps be thought a still less unwarranted opinion that
+articles of impeachment should only be presented to a court of
+impeachment; that no summons or other process should issue except
+from the organized court, and that rules for the government of the
+proceedings of such a court should be framed only by the court itself.
+
+I have found myself unable to come to any other conclusions than these.
+I can assign no reason for requiring the Senate to organize as a court
+under any other than its ordinary presiding officer for the latter
+proceedings upon an impeachment of the President which does not seem
+to me to apply equally to the earlier.
+
+I am informed that the Senate has proceeded upon other views, and it is
+not my purpose to contest what its superior wisdom may have directed.
+
+All good citizens will fervently pray that no occasion may ever arise
+when the grave proceedings now in progress will be cited as a precedent;
+but it is not impossible that such an occasion may come.
+
+Inasmuch, therefore, as the Constitution has charged the Chief Justice
+with an important function in the trial of an impeachment of the
+President, it has seemed to me fitting and obligatory, where he is
+unable to concur in the views of the Senate concerning matters essential
+to the trial, that his respectful dissent should appear.
+
+S.P. CHASE,
+
+_Chief Justice of the United States_.
+
+
+
+
+PROCEEDINGS OF THE SENATE SITTING FOR THE TRIAL OF THE IMPEACHMENT
+OF ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+
+
+THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 1868.
+
+THE UNITED STATES _vs_. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+
+The Chief Justice of the United States entered the Senate Chamber and
+was conducted to the chair by the committee appointed by the Senate for
+that purpose.
+
+The following oath was administered to the Chief Justice by Associate
+Justice Nelson, and by the Chief Justice to the members of the Senate:
+
+I do solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of
+the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, now
+pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and
+laws. So help me God.
+
+
+
+FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 1868.
+
+THE UNITED STATES _vs_. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+
+To accord with the conviction of the Chief Justice[76] that the court
+should adopt its own rules, those adopted on March 2 by the Senate
+sitting in its legislative capacity were readopted by the Senate sitting
+as a court of impeachment. The rules are as follows:
+
+[Footnote 76: See letter from the Chief Justice, pp. 718-720.]
+
+
+RULES OF PROCEDURE AND PRACTICE IN THE SENATE WHEN SITTING ON THE TRIAL
+OF IMPEACHMENTS.
+
+I. Whensoever the Senate shall receive notice from the House of
+Representatives that managers are appointed on their part to conduct an
+impeachment against any person, and are directed to carry articles of
+impeachment to the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate shall immediately
+inform the House of Representatives that the Senate is ready to receive
+the managers for the purpose of exhibiting such articles of impeachment
+agreeably to said notice.
+
+II. When the managers of an impeachment shall be introduced at the bar
+of the Senate and shall signify that they are ready to exhibit articles
+of impeachment against any person, the Presiding Officer of the Senate
+shall direct the Sergeant-at-Arms to make proclamation, who shall, after
+making proclamation, repeat the following words, viz:
+
+  All persons are commanded to keep silence, on pain of imprisonment,
+  while the House of Representatives is exhibiting to the Senate of the
+  United States articles of impeachment against -------- --------.
+
+after which the articles shall be exhibited; and then the Presiding
+Officer of the Senate shall inform the managers that the Senate will
+take proper order on the subject of the impeachment, of which due notice
+shall be given to the House of Representatives.
+
+III. Upon such articles being presented to the Senate, the Senate shall,
+at 1 o'clock afternoon of the day (Sunday excepted) following such
+presentation, or sooner if so ordered by the Senate, proceed to the
+consideration of such articles, and shall continue in session from day
+to day (Sundays excepted) after the trial shall commence (unless
+otherwise ordered by the Senate) until final judgment shall be rendered,
+and so much longer as may in its judgment be needful. Before proceeding
+to the consideration of the articles of impeachment the Presiding
+Officer shall administer the oath hereinafter provided to the members of
+the Senate then present, and to the other members of the Senate as they
+shall appear, whose duty it shall be to take the same.
+
+IV. When the President of the United States, or the Vice-President
+of the United States upon whom the powers and duties of the office of
+President shall have devolved, shall be impeached, the Chief Justice
+of the Supreme Court of the United States shall preside; and in a case
+requiring the said Chief Justice to preside notice shall be given to him
+by the Presiding Officer of the Senate of the time and place fixed for
+the consideration of the articles of impeachment as aforesaid, with a
+request to attend; and the said Chief Justice shall preside over the
+Senate during the consideration of said articles and upon the trial
+of the person impeached therein.
+
+V. The Presiding Officer shall have power to make and issue, by himself
+or by the Secretary of the Senate, all orders, mandates, writs, and
+precepts authorized by these rules or by the Senate, and to make and
+enforce such other regulations and orders in the premises as the Senate
+may authorize or provide.
+
+VI. The Senate shall have power to compel the attendance of witnesses,
+to enforce obedience to its orders, mandates, writs, precepts, and
+judgments, to preserve order, and to punish in a summary way contempts
+of and disobedience to its authority, orders, mandates, writs, precepts,
+or judgments, and to make all lawful orders, rules, and regulations
+which it may deem essential or conducive to the ends of justice; and the
+Sergeant-at-Arms, under the direction of the Senate, may employ such aid
+and assistance as may be necessary to enforce, execute, and carry into
+effect the lawful orders, mandates, writs, and precepts of the Senate.
+
+VII. The Presiding Officer of the Senate shall direct all necessary
+preparations in the Senate Chamber, and the presiding officer upon the
+trial shall direct all the forms of proceeding while the Senate are
+sitting for the purpose of trying an impeachment and all forms during
+the trial not otherwise specially provided for. The presiding officer
+may, in the first instance, submit to the Senate, without a division,
+all questions of evidence and incidental questions; but the same shall,
+on the demand of one-fifth of the members present, be decided by yeas
+and nays.
+
+VIII. Upon the presentation of articles of impeachment and the
+organization of the Senate as hereinbefore provided, a writ of summons
+shall issue to the accused, reciting said articles and notifying him to
+appear before the Senate upon a day and at a place to be fixed by the
+Senate, and named in such writ, and file his answer to said articles of
+impeachment, and to stand to and abide the orders and judgments of the
+Senate thereon, which writ shall be served by such officer or person as
+shall be named in the precept thereof such number of days prior to the
+day fixed for such appearance as shall be named in such precept, either
+by the delivery of an attested copy thereof to the person accused or,
+if that can not conveniently be done, by leaving such copy at the last
+known place of abode of such person or at his usual place of business,
+in some conspicuous place therein; or, if such service shall be, in the
+judgment of the Senate, impracticable, notice to the accused to appear
+shall be given in such other manner, by publication or otherwise, as
+shall be deemed just; and if the writ aforesaid shall fail of service
+in the manner aforesaid, the proceedings shall not thereby abate, but
+further service may be made in such manner as the Senate shall direct.
+If the accused, after service, shall fail to appear, either in person or
+by attorney, on the day so fixed therefor as aforesaid, or, appearing,
+shall fail to file his answer to such articles of impeachment, the trial
+shall proceed, nevertheless, as upon a plea of not guilty. If a plea of
+guilty shall be entered, judgment may be entered thereon without further
+proceedings.
+
+IX. At 12 o'clock and 30 minutes afternoon of the day appointed for the
+return of the summons against the person impeached the legislative and
+executive business of the Senate shall be suspended and the Secretary of
+the Senate shall administer an oath to the returning officer in the form
+following, viz:
+
+  I, -------- --------, do solemnly swear that the return made by me
+  upon the process issued on the ---- day of ---- by the Senate of the
+  United States against -------- -------- is truly made, and that I have
+  performed such service as herein described.
+
+  So help me God.
+
+which oath shall be entered at large on the records.
+
+X. The person impeached shall then be called to appear and answer the
+articles of impeachment against him. If he appear, or any person for
+him, the appearance shall be recorded, stating particularly if by
+himself or by agent or attorney, naming the person appearing and the
+capacity in which he appears, If he do not appear, either personally
+or by agent or attorney, the same shall be recorded.
+
+XI. At 12 o'clock and 30 minutes afternoon of the day appointed for the
+trial of an impeachment the legislative and executive business of the
+Senate shall be suspended and the Secretary shall give notice to the
+House of Representatives that the Senate is ready to proceed upon the
+impeachment of -------- --------, in the Senate Chamber, which chamber
+is prepared with accommodations for the reception of the House of
+Representatives.
+
+XII. The hour of the day at which the Senate shall sit upon the trial of
+an impeachment shall be (unless otherwise ordered) 12 o'clock m., and
+when the hour for such sitting shall arrive the Presiding Officer of the
+Senate shall so announce; and thereupon the presiding officer upon such
+trial shall cause proclamation to be made, and the business of the trial
+shall proceed. The adjournment of the Senate sitting in said trial shall
+not operate as an adjournment of the Senate, but on such adjournment the
+Senate shall resume the consideration of its legislative and executive
+business.
+
+XIII. The Secretary of the Senate shall record the proceedings in cases
+of impeachment as in the case of legislative proceedings, and the same
+shall be reported in the same manner as the legislative proceedings of
+the Senate.
+
+XIV. Counsel for the parties shall be admitted to appear and be heard
+upon an impeachment.
+
+XV. All motions made by the parties or their counsel shall be addressed
+to the presiding officer, and if he or any Senator shall require it they
+shall be committed to writing and read at the Secretary's table.
+
+XVI. Witnesses shall be examined by one person on behalf of the party
+producing them and then cross-examined by one person on the other side.
+
+XVII. If a Senator is called as a witness, he shall be sworn and give
+his testimony standing in his place.
+
+XVIII. If a Senator wishes a question to be put to a witness, or to
+offer a motion or order (except a motion to adjourn), it shall be
+reduced to writing and put by the presiding officer.
+
+XIX. At all times while the Senate is sitting upon the trial of an
+impeachment the doors of the Senate shall be kept open, unless the
+Senate shall direct the doors to be closed while deliberating upon
+its decisions.
+
+XX. All preliminary or interlocutory questions and all motions shall be
+argued for not exceeding one hour on each side, unless the Senate shall
+by order extend the time.
+
+XXI. The case on each side shall be opened by one person. The final
+argument on the merits may be made by two persons on each side (unless
+otherwise ordered by the Senate, upon application for that purpose),
+and the argument shall be opened and closed on the part of the House
+of Representatives.
+
+XXII. On the final question whether the impeachment is sustained the
+yeas and nays shall be taken on each article of impeachment separately,
+and if the impeachment shall not, upon any of the articles presented, be
+sustained by the votes of two-thirds of the members present a judgment
+of acquittal shall be entered; but if the person accused in such
+articles of impeachment shall be convicted upon any of said articles by
+the votes of two-thirds of the members present the Senate shall proceed
+to pronounce judgment, and a certified copy of such judgment shall be
+deposited in the office of the Secretary of State.
+
+XXIII. All the orders and decisions shall be made and had by yeas and
+nays, which shall be entered on the record, and without debate, except
+when the doors shall be closed for deliberation, and in that case no
+member shall speak more than once on one question, and for not more than
+ten minutes on an interlocutory question, and for not more than fifteen
+minutes on the final question, unless by consent of the Senate, to be
+had without debate; but a motion to adjourn may be decided without the
+yeas and nays, unless they be demanded by one-fifth of the members
+present.
+
+XXIV. Witnesses shall be sworn in the following form, viz:
+
+  You, -------- --------, do swear (or affirm, as the case maybe) that
+  the evidence you shall give in the case now depending between the
+  United States and -------- -------- shall be the truth, the whole
+  truth, and nothing but the truth. So help you God.
+
+which oath shall be administered by the Secretary or any other duly
+authorized person.
+
+
+Form of subpoena to be issued on the application of the managers of
+the impeachment, or of the party impeached, or of his counsel:
+
+  _To_ -------- --------; _greeting_:
+
+  You and each of you are hereby commanded to appear before the Senate of
+  the United States on the ---- day of ----, at the Senate Chamber, in
+  the city of Washington, then and there to testify your knowledge in the
+  cause which is before the Senate in which the House of Representatives
+  have impeached -------- --------.
+
+  Fail not.
+
+  Witness -------- --------, and Presiding Officer of the Senate, at
+  the city of Washington, this ---- day of ----, A.D. ----, and of the
+  Independence of the United States the ------.
+
+
+Form of direction for the service of said subpoena:
+
+  _The Senate of the United States to_ -------- --------, _greeting_:
+
+  You are hereby commanded to serve and return the within subpoena
+  according to law.
+
+  Dated at Washington, this ---- day of ----, A.D. ----, and of the
+  Independence of the United States the ------.
+
+  _Secretary of the Senate_.
+
+
+Form of oath to be administered to the members of the Senate sitting in
+the trial of impeachments:
+
+  I solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that in all things
+  appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of -------- --------, now
+  pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and
+  laws. So help me God.
+
+
+Form of summons to be issued and served upon the person impeached.
+
+
+  THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, _ss_:
+
+  _The Senate of the United States to_ -------- --------, _greeting_:
+
+  Whereas the House of Representatives of the United States of America did
+  on the ---- day of ---- exhibit to the Senate articles of impeachment
+  against you, the said -------- --------, in the words following:
+
+  [Here insert the articles.]
+
+  And demand that you, the said -------- --------, should be put to
+  answer the accusations as set forth in said articles, and that such
+  proceedings, examinations, trials, and judgments might be thereupon
+  had as are agreeable to law and justice:
+
+  You, the said -------- --------, are therefore hereby summoned to be
+  and appear before the Senate of the United States of America, at their
+  chamber, in the city of Washington, on the ---- day of ----, at 12
+  o'clock and 30 minutes afternoon, then and there to answer to the said
+  articles of impeachment, and then and there to abide by, obey, and
+  perform such orders, directions, and judgments as the Senate of the
+  United States shall make in the premises, according to the Constitution
+  and laws of the United States.
+
+  Hereof you are not to fail.
+
+  Witness -------- --------, and Presiding Officer of the said Senate, at
+  the city of Washington, this ---- day of ----, A.D. ----, and of the
+  Independence of the United States the ------.
+
+
+Form of precept to be indorsed on said writ of summons:
+
+
+  THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, _ss_:
+
+  _The Senate of the United States to_ -------- --------, _greeting_:
+
+  You are hereby commanded to deliver to and leave with -------- --------,
+  if conveniently to be found, or, if not, to leave at his usual place of
+  abode or at his usual place of business, in some conspicuous place, a
+  true and attested copy of the within writ of summons, together with a
+  like copy of this precept; and in whichsoever way you perform the
+  service, let it be done at least ---- days before the appearance day
+  mentioned in said writ of summons.
+
+  Fail not, and make return of this writ of summons and precept, with your
+  proceedings thereon indorsed, on or before the appearance day mentioned
+  in the said writ of summons.
+
+  Witness -------- --------, and Presiding Officer of the Senate, at
+  the city of Washington, this ---- day of ----, A.D. ----, and of the
+  Independence of the United States the ------.
+
+
+All process shall be served by the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate unless
+otherwise ordered by the court.
+
+XXV. If the Senate shall at any time fail to sit for the consideration
+of articles of impeachment on the day or hour fixed therefor, the Senate
+may by an order, to be adopted without debate, fix a day and hour for
+resuming such consideration.
+
+On March 31 Rule VII was amended to read as follows:
+
+VII. The Presiding Officer of the Senate shall direct all necessary
+preparations in the Senate Chamber, and the presiding officer on the
+trial shall direct all the forms of proceeding while the Senate are
+sitting for the purpose of trying an impeachment, and all forms during
+the trial not otherwise specially provided for, and the presiding
+officer on the trial may rule all questions of evidence and incidental
+questions, which ruling shall stand as the judgment of the Senate,
+unless some member of the Senate shall ask that a formal vote be taken
+thereon, in which case it shall be submitted to the Senate for decision;
+or he may, at his option, in the first instance submit any such question
+to a vote of the members of the Senate.
+
+On April 3 Rule VII was further amended by inserting at the end thereof
+the following:
+
+Upon all such questions the vote shall be without a division, unless the
+yeas and nays be demanded by one-fifth of the members present, when the
+same shall be taken.
+
+On March 13 Rule XXIII was amended to read as follows:
+
+XXIII. All the orders and decisions shall be made and had by yeas and
+nays, which shall be entered on the record, and without debate, subject,
+however, to the operation of Rule VII, except when the doors shall be
+closed for deliberation, and in that case no member shall speak more
+than once on one question, and for not more than ten minutes on an
+interlocutory question, and for not more than fifteen minutes on the
+final question, unless by consent of the Senate, to be had without
+debate; but a motion to adjourn may be decided without the yeas and
+nays, unless they be demanded by one-fifth of the members present.
+
+On May 7 Rule XXIII was further amended by adding thereto the following:
+
+The fifteen minutes herein allowed shall be for the whole deliberation
+on the final question, and not to the final question on each article of
+impeachment.
+
+
+
+FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 1868.
+
+THE UNITED STATES _vs_. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+
+Mr. Henry Stanbery, in behalf of Andrew Johnson, the respondent, read
+the following paper:
+
+In the matter of the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States.
+
+Mr. CHIEF JUSTICE: I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+having been served with a summons to appear before this honorable court,
+sitting as a court of impeachment, to answer certain articles of
+impeachment found and presented against me by the honorable the House
+of Representatives of the United States, do hereby enter my appearance
+by my counsel, Henry Stanbery, Benjamin R. Curtis, Jeremiah S. Black,
+William M. Evarts, and Thomas A.R. Nelson, who have my warrant and
+authority therefor, and who are instructed by me to ask of this
+honorable court a reasonable time for the preparation of my answer
+to said articles. After a careful examination of the articles of
+impeachment and consultation with my counsel, I am satisfied that at
+least forty days will be necessary for the preparation of my answer,
+and I respectfully ask that it be allowed.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+Mr. Stanbery then submitted the following motion:
+
+In the matter of the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States.
+
+Henry Stanbery, Benjamin R. Curtis, Jeremiah S. Black, William M.
+Evarts, and Thomas A.R. Nelson, of counsel for the respondent, move the
+court for the allowance of forty days for the preparation of the answer
+to the articles of impeachment, and in support of the motion make the
+following professional statement:
+
+The articles are eleven in number, involving many questions of law
+and fact. We have during the limited time and opportunity afforded us
+considered as far as possible the field of investigation which must be
+explored in the preparation of the answer, and the conclusion at which
+we have arrived is that with the utmost diligence the time we have asked
+is reasonable and necessary.
+
+The precedents as to time for answer upon impeachments before the Senate
+to which we have had opportunity to refer are those of Judge Chase and
+Judge Peck.
+
+In the case of Judge Chase time was allowed from the 3d of January until
+the 4th of February next succeeding to put in his answer--a period of
+thirty-two days; but in this case there were only eight articles, and
+Judge Chase had been for a year cognizant of most of the articles, and
+had been himself engaged in preparing to meet them.
+
+In the case of Judge Peck there was but a single article. Judge Peck
+asked for time from the 10th to the 25th of May to put in his answer,
+and it was granted. It appears that Judge Peck had been long cognizant
+of the ground laid for his impeachment, and had been present before the
+committee of the House upon the examination of the witnesses, and had
+been permitted by the House of Representatives to present to that body
+an elaborate answer to the charges.
+
+It is apparent that the President is fairly entitled to more time than
+was allowed in either of the foregoing cases. It is proper to add that
+the respondents in these cases were lawyers, fully capable of preparing
+their own answers, and that no pressing official duties interfered with
+their attention to that business; whereas the President, not being a
+lawyer, must rely on his counsel. The charges involve his acts,
+declarations, and intentions, as to all which his counsel must be fully
+advised upon consultation with him, step by step, in the preparation of
+his defense. It is seldom that a case requires such constant
+communication between client and counsel as this, and yet such
+communication can only be had at such intervals as are allowed to the
+President from the usual hours that must be devoted to his high official
+duties.
+
+We further beg leave to suggest for the consideration of this honorable
+court that, as counsel careful as well of their own reputation as of
+the interests of their client in a case of such magnitude as this, so
+out of the ordinary range of professional experience, where so much
+responsibility is felt, they submit to the candid consideration of the
+court that they have a right to ask for themselves such opportunity to
+discharge their duty as seems to them to be absolutely necessary.
+
+  HENRY STANBERY,
+  B.R. CURTIS,
+  JEREMIAH S. BLACK, \__ Per H.S.
+  WILLIAM M. EVARTS, /
+  THOMAS A.R. NELSON,
+
+_Of Counsel for the Respondent_.
+
+
+The above motion was denied, and the Senate adopted the following orders:
+
+_Ordered_, That the respondent file answer to the articles of
+impeachment on or before Monday, the 23d day of March instant.
+
+_Ordered_, That unless otherwise ordered by the Senate, for cause shown,
+the trial of the pending impeachment shall proceed immediately after
+replication shall be filed.
+
+
+
+MONDAY, MARCH 23, 1868.
+
+THE UNITED STATES _vs_. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+
+The answer of the respondent to the articles of impeachment was
+submitted by his counsel, as follows:
+
+Senate of the United States, sitting as a court of impeachment for the
+trial of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States.
+
+THE ANSWER OF THE SAID ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,
+TO THE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT EXHIBITED AGAINST HIM BY THE HOUSE OF
+REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+_Answer to Article I_.--For answer to the first article he says that
+Edwin M. Stanton was appointed Secretary for the Department of War on
+the 15th day of January, A.D. 1862, by Abraham Lincoln, then President
+of the United States, during the first term of his Presidency, and was
+commissioned, according to the Constitution and laws of the United
+States, to hold the said office during the pleasure of the President;
+that the office of Secretary for the Department of War was created by an
+act of the First Congress in its first session, passed on the 7th day of
+August, A.D. 1789, and in and by that act it was provided and enacted
+that the said Secretary for the Department of War shall perform and
+execute such duties as shall from time to time be enjoined on and
+intrusted to him by the President of the United States, agreeably to the
+Constitution, relative to the subjects within the scope of the said
+Department; and, furthermore, that the said Secretary shall conduct the
+business of the said Department in such a manner as the President of the
+United States shall from time to time order and instruct.
+
+And this respondent, further answering, says that by force of the act
+aforesaid and by reason of his appointment aforesaid the said Stanton
+became the principal officer in one of the Executive Departments of the
+Government within the true intent and meaning of the second section
+of the second article of the Constitution of the United States and
+according to the true intent and meaning of that provision of the
+Constitution of the United States; and, in accordance with the settled
+and uniform practice of each and every President of the United States,
+the said Stanton then became, and so long as he should continue to hold
+the said office of Secretary for the Department of War must continue to
+be, one of the advisers of the President of the United States, as well
+as the person intrusted to act for and represent the President in
+matters enjoined upon him or intrusted to him by the President touching
+the Department aforesaid, and for whose conduct in such capacity,
+subordinate to the President, the President is by the Constitution and
+laws of the United States made responsible.
+
+And this respondent, further answering, says he succeeded to the office
+of President of the United States upon and by reason of the death of
+Abraham Lincoln, then President of the United States, on the 15th day
+of April, 1865, and the said Stanton was then holding the said office
+of Secretary for the Department of War under and by reason of the
+appointment and commission aforesaid; and not having been removed from
+the said office by this respondent, the said Stanton continued to hold
+the same under the appointment and commission aforesaid, at the pleasure
+of the President, until the time hereinafter particularly mentioned,
+and at no time received any appointment or commission save as above
+detailed.
+
+And this respondent, further answering, says that on and prior to the
+5th day of August, A.D. 1867, this respondent, the President of the
+United States, responsible for the conduct of the Secretary for the
+Department of War, and having the constitutional right to resort to
+and rely upon the person holding that office for advice concerning
+the great and difficult public duties enjoined on the President by
+the Constitution and laws of the United States, became satisfied that
+he could not allow the said Stanton to continue to hold the office
+of Secretary for the Department of War without hazard of the public
+interest; that the relations between the said Stanton and the President
+no longer permitted the President to resort to him for advice or to be,
+in the judgment of the President, safely responsible for his conduct of
+the affairs of the Department of War, as by law required, in accordance
+with the orders and instructions of the President; and thereupon, by
+force of the Constitution and laws of the United States, which devolve
+on the President the power and the duty to control the conduct of the
+business of that Executive Department of the Government, and by reason
+of the constitutional duty of the President to take care that the laws
+be faithfully executed, this respondent did necessarily consider and did
+determine that the said Stanton ought no longer to hold the said office
+of Secretary for the Department of War. And this respondent, by virtue
+of the power and authority vested in him as President of the United
+States by the Constitution and laws of the United States, to give effect
+to such his decision and determination, did, on the 5th day of August,
+A.D. 1867, address to the said Stanton a note of which the following
+is a true copy:
+
+  SIR: Public considerations of a high character constrain me to say that
+  your resignation as Secretary of War will be accepted.
+
+
+To which note the said Stanton made the following reply:
+
+  WAR DEPARTMENT,
+
+  _Washington, August_ 5, _1867_.
+
+  SIR: Your note of this day has been received, stating that "public
+  considerations of a high character constrain" you "to say that" my
+  "resignation as Secretary of War will be accepted."
+
+  In reply I have the honor to say that public considerations of a high
+  character, which alone have induced me to continue at the head of this
+  Department, constrain me not to resign the office of Secretary of War
+  before the next meeting of Congress.
+
+  Very respectfully, yours,
+
+  EDWIN M. STANTON.
+
+
+This respondent, as President of the United States, was thereon of
+opinion that, having regard to the necessary official relations and
+duties of the Secretary for the Department of War to the President of
+the United States, according to the Constitution and laws of the United
+States, and having regard to the responsibility of the President for
+the conduct of the said Secretary, and having regard to the permanent
+executive authority of the office which the respondent holds under
+the Constitution and laws of the United States, it was impossible,
+consistently with the public interests, to allow the said Stanton to
+continue to hold the said office of Secretary for the Department of War;
+and it then became the official duty of the respondent, as President of
+the United States, to consider and decide what act or acts should and
+might lawfully be done by him, as President of the United States, to
+cause the said Stanton to surrender the said office.
+
+This respondent was informed and verily believed that it was practically
+settled by the First Congress of the United States, and had been so
+considered and uniformly and in great numbers of instances acted on by
+each Congress and President of the United States, in succession, from
+President Washington to and including President Lincoln, and from the
+First Congress to the Thirty-ninth Congress, that the Constitution of
+the United States conferred on the President, as part of the executive
+power and as one of the necessary means and instruments of performing
+the executive duty expressly imposed on him by the Constitution of
+taking care that the laws be faithfully executed, the power at any and
+all times of removing from office all executive officers for cause to be
+judged of by the President alone. This respondent had, in pursuance of
+the Constitution, required the opinion of each principal officer of the
+Executive Departments upon this question of constitutional executive
+power and duty, and had been advised by each of them, including
+the said Stanton, Secretary for the Department of War, that under
+the Constitution of the United States this power was lodged by
+the Constitution in the President of the United States, and that,
+consequently, it could be lawfully exercised by him, and the Congress
+could not deprive him thereof; and this respondent, in his capacity of
+President of the United States, and because in that capacity he was both
+enabled and bound to use his best judgment upon this question, did, in
+good faith and with an earnest desire to arrive at the truth, come to
+the conclusion and opinion, and did make the same known to the honorable
+the Senate of the United States by a message dated on the 2d day of
+March, 1867 (a true copy whereof is hereunto annexed and marked A), that
+the power last mentioned was conferred and the duty of exercising it in
+fit cases was imposed on the President by the Constitution of the United
+States, and that the President could not be deprived of this power
+or relieved of this duty, nor could the same be vested by law in the
+President and the Senate jointly, either in part or whole; and this has
+ever since remained and was the opinion of this respondent at the time
+when he was forced as aforesaid to consider and decide what act or acts
+should and might lawfully be done by this respondent, as President of
+the United States, to cause the said Stanton to surrender the said
+office.
+
+This respondent was also then aware that by the first section of "An act
+regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867,
+by a constitutional majority of both Houses of Congress, it was enacted
+as follows:
+
+  That every person holding any civil office to which he has been
+  appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and every
+  person who shall hereafter be appointed to any such office and shall
+  become duly qualified to act therein, is and shall be entitled to hold
+  such office until a successor shall have been in like manner appointed
+  and duly qualified, except as herein otherwise provided: _Provided_,
+  That the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, of the Navy,
+  and of the Interior, the Postmaster-General, and the Attorney-General
+  shall hold their offices, respectively, for and during the term of the
+  President by whom they may have been appointed and one month thereafter,
+  subject to removal by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
+
+This respondent was also aware that this act was understood and intended
+to be an expression of the opinion of the Congress by which that act
+was passed that the power to remove executive officers for cause might
+by law be taken from the President and vested in him and the Senate
+jointly; and although this respondent had arrived at and still retained
+the opinion above expressed, and verily believed, as he still believes,
+that the said first section of the last-mentioned act was and is wholly
+inoperative and void by reason of its conflict with the Constitution of
+the United States, yet, inasmuch as the same had been enacted by the
+constitutional majority in each of the two Houses of that Congress, this
+respondent considered it to be proper to examine and decide whether the
+particular case of the said Stanton, on which it was this respondent's
+duty to act, was within or without the terms of that first section of
+the act, or, if within it, whether the President had not the power,
+according to the terms of the act, to remove the said Stanton from the
+office of Secretary for the Department of War; and having, in his
+capacity of President of the United States, so examined and considered,
+did form the opinion that the case of the said Stanton and his tenure of
+office were not affected by the first section of the last-named act.
+
+And this respondent, further answering, says that although a case thus
+existed which, in his judgment, as President of the United States,
+called for the exercise of the executive power to remove the said
+Stanton from the office of Secretary for the Department of War; and
+although this respondent was of opinion, as is above shown, that under
+the Constitution of the United States the power to remove the said
+Stanton from the said office was vested in the President of the United
+States; and although this respondent was also of the opinion, as is
+above shown, that the case of the said Stanton was not affected by
+the first section of the last-named act; and although each of the
+said opinions had been formed by this respondent upon an actual case,
+requiring him, in his capacity of President of the United States, to
+come to some judgment and determination thereon, yet this respondent,
+as President of the United States, desired and determined to avoid, if
+possible, any question of the construction and effect of the said first
+section of the last-named act, and also the broader question of the
+executive power conferred upon the President of the United States by
+the Constitution of the United States to remove one of the principal
+officers of one of the Executive Departments for cause seeming to him
+sufficient; and this respondent also desired and determined that if,
+from causes over which he could exert no control, it should become
+absolutely necessary to raise and have in some way determined either
+or both of the said last-named questions, it was in accordance with the
+Constitution of the United States, and was required of the President
+thereby, that questions of so much gravity and importance, upon which
+the legislative and executive departments of the Government had
+disagreed, which involved powers considered by all branches of the
+Government, during its entire history down to the year 1867, to have
+been confided by the Constitution of the United States to the President,
+and to be necessary for the complete and proper execution of his
+constitutional duties, should be in some proper way submitted to that
+judicial department of the Government intrusted by the Constitution
+with the power, and subjected by it to the duty, not only of
+determining finally the construction and effect of all acts of Congress,
+but of comparing them with the Constitution of the United States
+and pronouncing them inoperative when found in conflict with that
+fundamental law which the people have enacted for the government of
+all their servants. And to these ends, first, that through the action
+of the Senate of the United States the absolute duty of the President
+to substitute some fit person in place of Mr. Stanton as one of his
+advisers, and as a principal subordinate officer whose official conduct
+he was responsible for and had lawful right to control, might, if
+possible, be accomplished without the necessity of raising any one
+of the questions aforesaid; and, second, if this duty could not
+be so performed, then that these questions, or such of them as might
+necessarily arise, should be judicially determined in manner aforesaid,
+and for no other end or purpose, this respondent, as President of the
+United States, on the 12th day of August, 1867, seven days after the
+reception of the letter of the said Stanton of the 5th of August,
+hereinbefore stated, did issue to the said Stanton the order
+following, namely:
+
+
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+  _Washington, August 12, 1867_.
+
+  Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+  _Secretary of War_.
+
+  SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by
+  the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby suspended
+  from office as Secretary of War, and will cease to exercise any and all
+  functions pertaining to the same.
+
+  You will at once transfer to General Ulysses S. Grant, who has this day
+  been authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_,
+  all records, books, papers, and other public property now in your
+  custody and charge.
+
+
+To which said order the said Stanton made the following reply:
+
+
+  WAR DEPARTMENT,
+
+  _Washington City, August 12, 1867_.
+
+  The PRESIDENT.
+
+  SIR: Your note of this date has been received, informing me that by
+  virtue of the powers vested in you as President by the Constitution
+  and laws of the United States I am suspended from office as Secretary
+  of War, and will cease to exercise any and all functions pertaining to
+  the same; and also directing me at once to transfer to General Ulysses
+  S. Grant, who has this day been authorized and empowered to act as
+  Secretary of War _ad interim_, all records, books, papers, and other
+  public property now in my custody and charge.
+
+  Under a sense of public duty, I am compelled to deny your right under
+  the Constitution and laws of the United States, without the advice and
+  consent of the Senate and without legal cause, to suspend me from office
+  as Secretary of War, or the exercise of any or all functions pertaining
+  to the same, or without such advice and consent to compel me to transfer
+  to any person the records, books, papers, and public property in my
+  custody as Secretary.
+
+  But inasmuch as the General Commanding the armies of the United States
+  has been appointed _ad interim_, and has notified me that he has
+  accepted the appointment, I have no alternative but to submit, under
+  protest, to superior force.
+
+
+And this respondent, further answering, says that it is provided in and
+by the second section of "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil
+offices" that the President may suspend an officer from the performance
+of the duties of the office held by him, for certain causes therein
+designated, until the next meeting of the Senate and until the case
+shall be acted on by the Senate; that this respondent, as President
+of the United States, was advised, and he verily believed, and still
+believes, that the executive power of removal from office confided to
+him by the Constitution as aforesaid includes the power of suspension
+from office at the pleasure of the President; and this respondent, by
+the order aforesaid, did suspend the said Stanton from office, not until
+the next meeting of the Senate or until the Senate should have acted
+upon the case, but, by force of the power and authority vested in him by
+the Constitution and laws of the United States, indefinitely and at the
+pleasure of the President; and the order, in form aforesaid, was made
+known to the Senate of the United States on the 12th day of December,
+A.D. 1867, as will be more fully hereinafter stated.
+
+And this respondent, further answering, says that in and by the act of
+February 13, 1795, it was, among other things, provided and enacted that
+in case of vacancy in the office of Secretary for the Department of
+War it shall be lawful for the President, in case he shall think it
+necessary, to authorize any person to perform the duties of that office
+until a successor be appointed or such vacancy filled, but not exceeding
+the term of six months; and this respondent, being advised and believing
+that such law was in full force and not repealed, by an order dated
+August 12, 1867, did authorize and empower Ulysses S. Grant, General of
+the armies of the United States, to act as Secretary for the Department
+of War _ad interim_, in the form in which similar authority had
+theretofore been given, not until the next meeting of the Senate and
+until the Senate should act on the case, but at the pleasure of the
+President, subject only to the limitation of six months in the said
+last-mentioned act contained; and a copy of the last-named order was
+made known to the Senate of the United States on the 12th day of
+December, A.D. 1867, as will be hereinafter more fully stated; and in
+pursuance of the design and intention aforesaid, if it should become
+necessary, to submit the said questions to a judicial determination,
+this respondent, at or near the date of the last-mentioned order, did
+make known such his purpose to obtain a judicial decision of the said
+questions, or such of them as might be necessary.
+
+And this respondent, further answering, says that in further pursuance
+of his intention and design, if possible, to perform what he judged to
+be his imperative duty, to prevent the said Stanton from longer holding
+the office of Secretary for the Department of War, and at the same time
+avoiding, if possible, any question respecting the extent of the power
+of removal from executive office confided to the President by the
+Constitution of the United States, and any question respecting the
+construction and effect of the first section of the said "Act regulating
+the tenure of certain civil offices," while he should not by any act of
+his abandon and relinquish either a power which he believed the
+Constitution had conferred on the President of the United States to
+enable him to perform the duties of his office or a power designedly
+left to him by the first section of the act of Congress last aforesaid,
+this respondent did, on the 12th day of December, 1867, transmit to the
+Senate of the United States a message, a copy whereof is hereunto
+annexed and marked B, wherein he made known the orders aforesaid and
+the reasons which had induced the same, so far as this respondent then
+considered it material and necessary that the same should be set forth,
+and reiterated his views concerning the constitutional power of removal
+vested in the President, and also expressed his views concerning the
+construction of the said first section of the last-mentioned act, as
+respected the power of the President to remove the said Stanton from
+the said office of Secretary for the Department of War, well hoping that
+this respondent could thus perform what he then believed, and still
+believes, to be his imperative duty in reference to the said Stanton
+without derogating from the powers which this respondent believed were
+confided to the President by the Constitution and laws, and without
+the necessity of raising judicially any questions respecting the same.
+
+And this respondent, further answering, says that this hope not having
+been realized, the President was compelled either to allow the said
+Stanton to resume the said office and remain therein contrary to the
+settled convictions of the President, formed as aforesaid, respecting
+the powers confided to him and the duties required of him by the
+Constitution of the United States, and contrary to the opinion formed
+as aforesaid that the first section of the last-mentioned act did not
+affect the case of the said Stanton, and contrary to the fixed belief
+of the President that he could no longer advise with or trust or be
+responsible for the said Stanton in the said office of Secretary for the
+Department of War, or else he was compelled to take such steps as might
+in the judgment of the President be lawful and necessary to raise for a
+judicial decision the questions affecting the lawful right of the said
+Stanton to resume the said office or the power of the said Stanton to
+persist in refusing to quit the said office if he should persist in
+actually refusing to quit the same; and to this end, and to this end
+only, this respondent did, on the 21st day of February, 1868, issue the
+order for the removal of the said Stanton, in the said first article
+mentioned and set forth, and the order authorizing the said Lorenzo
+Thomas to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, in the said second
+article set forth.
+
+And this respondent, proceeding to answer specifically each substantial
+allegation in the said first article, says: He denies that the said
+Stanton, on the 21st day of February, 1868, was lawfully in possession
+of the said office of Secretary for the Department of War. He denies
+that the said Stanton, on the day last mentioned, was lawfully entitled
+to hold the said office against the will of the President of the United
+States. He denies that the said order for the removal of the said
+Stanton was unlawfully issued. He denies that the said order was issued
+with intent to violate the act entitled "An act regulating the tenure of
+certain civil offices." He denies that the said order was a violation of
+the last-mentioned act. He denies that the said order was a violation of
+the Constitution of the United States, or of any law thereof, or of his
+oath of office. He denies that the said order was issued with an intent
+to violate the Constitution of the United States, or any law thereof, or
+this respondent's oath of office; and he respectfully but earnestly
+insists that not only was it issued by him in the performance of what he
+believed to be an imperative official duty, but in the performance of
+what this honorable court will consider was, in point of fact, an
+imperative official duty. And he denies that any and all substantive
+matters in the said first article contained, in manner and form as the
+same are therein stated and set forth, do by law constitute a high
+misdemeanor in office within the true intent and meaning of the
+Constitution of the United States.
+
+_Answer to Article II_.--And for answer to the second article this
+respondent says that he admits he did issue and deliver to said Lorenzo
+Thomas the said writing set forth in said second article, bearing
+date at Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868, addressed to Brevet
+Major-General Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant-General United States Army,
+Washington, D.C., and he further admits that the same was so issued
+without the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, then
+in session; but he denies that he thereby violated the Constitution of
+the United States or any law thereof, or that he did thereby intend to
+violate the Constitution of the United States or the provisions of any
+act of Congress; and this respondent refers to his answer to said first
+article for a full statement of the purposes and intentions with which
+said order was issued, and adopts the same as part of his answer to this
+article; and he further denies that there was then and there no vacancy
+in the said office of Secretary for the Department of War, or that he
+did then and there commit or was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office;
+and this respondent maintains and will insist--
+
+1. That at the date and delivery of said writing there was a vacancy
+existing in the office of Secretary for the Department of War.
+
+2. That notwithstanding the Senate of the United States was then in
+session, it was lawful and according to long and well-established usage
+to empower and authorize the said Thomas to act as Secretary of War
+_ad interim_.
+
+3. That if the said act regulating the tenure of civil offices be held
+to be a valid law, no provision of the same was violated by the issuing
+of said order or by the designation of said Thomas to act as Secretary
+of War _ad interim_.
+
+_Answer to Article III_.--And for answer to said third article this
+respondent says that he abides by his answer to said first and second
+articles in so far as the same are responsive to the allegations
+contained in the said third article, and, without here again repeating
+the same answer, prays the same be taken as an answer to this third
+article as fully as if here again set out at length; and as to the new
+allegation contained in said third article, that this respondent did
+appoint the said Thomas to be Secretary for the Department of War _ad
+interim_, this respondent denies that he gave any other authority to
+said Thomas than such as appears in said written authority, set out in
+said article, by which he authorized and empowered said Thomas to act
+as Secretary for the Department of War _ad interim_; and he denies
+that the same amounts to an appointment, and insists that it is only
+a designation of an officer of that Department to act temporarily as
+Secretary for the Department of War _ad interim_--until an appointment
+should be made. But whether the said written authority amounts to an
+appointment or to a temporary authority or designation, this respondent
+denies that in any sense he did thereby intend to violate the
+Constitution of the United States, or that he thereby intended to
+give the said order the character or effect of an appointment in the
+constitutional or legal sense of that term. He further denies that there
+was no vacancy in said office of Secretary for the Department of War
+existing at the date of said written authority.
+
+_Answer to Article IV_.--And for answer to said fourth article this
+respondent denies that on the said 21st day of February, 1868, at
+Washington aforesaid, or at any other time or place, he did unlawfully
+conspire with the said Lorenzo Thomas, or with the said Thomas and any
+other person or persons, with intent, by intimidations and threats,
+unlawfully to hinder and prevent the said Stanton from holding said
+office of Secretary for the Department of War, in violation of the
+Constitution of the United States or of the provisions of the said act
+of Congress in said article mentioned, or that he did then and there
+commit or was guilty of a high crime in office. On the contrary thereof,
+protesting that the said Stanton was not then and there lawfully the
+Secretary for the Department of War, this respondent states that his
+sole purpose in authorizing the said Thomas to act as Secretary for the
+Department of War _ad interim_ was, as is fully stated in his answer to
+the said first article, to bring the question of the right of the said
+Stanton to hold said office, notwithstanding his said suspension, and
+notwithstanding the said order of removal, and notwithstanding the said
+authority of the said Thomas to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, to
+the test of a final decision by the Supreme Court of the United States
+in the earliest practicable mode by which the question could be brought
+before that tribunal.
+
+This respondent did not conspire or agree with the said Thomas, or any
+other person or persons, to use intimidation or threats to hinder or
+prevent the said Stanton from holding the said office of Secretary for
+the Department of War, nor did this respondent at any time command
+or advise the said Thomas, or any other person or persons, to resort
+to or use either threats or intimidation for that purpose. The only
+means in the contemplation or purpose of respondent to be used are set
+forth fully in the said orders of February 21, the first addressed to
+Mr. Stanton and the second to the said Thomas. By the first order the
+respondent notified Mr. Stanton that he was removed from the said office
+and that his functions as Secretary for the Department of War were to
+terminate upon the receipt of that order; and he also thereby notified
+the said Stanton that the said Thomas had been authorized to act as
+Secretary for the Department of War _ad interim_, and ordered the said
+Stanton to transfer to him all the records, books, papers, and other
+public property in his custody and charge; and by the second order this
+respondent notified the said Thomas of the removal from office of the
+said Stanton, and authorized him to act as Secretary for the Department
+of War _ad interim_, and directed him to immediately enter upon the
+discharge of the duties pertaining to that office and to receive the
+transfer of all the records, books, papers, and other public property
+from Mr. Stanton then in his custody and charge.
+
+Respondent gave no instructions to the said Thomas to use intimidation
+or threats to enforce obedience to these orders. He gave him no
+authority to call in the aid of the military or any other force to
+enable him to obtain possession of the office or of the books, papers,
+records, or property thereof. The only agency resorted to, or intended
+to be resorted to, was by means of the said Executive orders requiring
+obedience. But the Secretary for the Department of War refused to obey
+these orders, and still holds undisturbed possession and custody of that
+Department and of the records, books, papers, and other public property
+therein. Respondent further states that in execution of the orders so by
+this respondent given to the said Thomas he, the said Thomas, proceeded
+in a peaceful manner to demand of the said Stanton a surrender to him of
+the public property in the said Department, and to vacate the possession
+of the same, and to allow him, the said Thomas, peaceably to exercise
+the duties devolved upon him by authority of the President. That, as
+this respondent has been informed and believes, the said Stanton
+peremptorily refused obedience to the orders so issued. Upon such
+refusal no force or threat of force was used by the said Thomas, by
+authority of the President or otherwise, to enforce obedience, either
+then or at any subsequent time.
+
+This respondent doth here except to the sufficiency of the allegations
+contained in said fourth article, and states for ground of exception
+that it is not stated that there was any agreement between this
+respondent and the said Thomas, or any other person or persons, to use
+intimidation and threats, nor is there any allegation as to the nature
+of said intimidation and threats, or that there was any agreement to
+carry them into execution, or that any step was taken or agreed to be
+taken to carry them into execution; and that the allegation in said
+article that the intent of said conspiracy was to use intimidation and
+threats is wholly insufficient, inasmuch as it is not alleged that the
+said intent formed the basis or became part of any agreement between the
+said alleged conspirators; and, furthermore, that there is no allegation
+of any conspiracy or agreement to use intimidation or threats.
+
+_Answer to Article V_.--And for answer to the said fifth article this
+respondent denies that on the said 21st day of February, 1868, or at
+any other time or times in the same year before the said 2d day of
+March, 1868, or at any prior or subsequent time, at Washington
+aforesaid, or at any other place, this respondent did unlawfully
+conspire with the said Thomas, or with any other person or persons,
+to prevent or hinder the execution of the said act entitled "An act
+regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," or that, in pursuance
+of said alleged conspiracy, he did unlawfully attempt to prevent the
+said Edwin M. Stanton from holding the said office of Secretary for the
+Department of War, or that he did thereby commit, or that he was thereby
+guilty of, a high misdemeanor in office. Respondent, protesting that
+said Stanton was not then and there Secretary for the Department of War,
+begs leave to refer to his answer given to the fourth article and to his
+answer to the first article as to his intent and purpose in issuing the
+orders for the removal of Mr. Stanton and the authority given to the
+said Thomas, and prays equal benefit therefrom as if the same were here
+again repeated and fully set forth.
+
+And this respondent excepts to the sufficiency of the said fifth
+article, and states his ground for such exception that it is not alleged
+by what means or by what agreement the said alleged conspiracy was
+formed or agreed to be carried out, or in what way the same was
+attempted to be carried out, or what were the acts done in pursuance
+thereof.
+
+_Answer to Article VI_.--And for answer to the said sixth article this
+respondent denies that on the said 21st day of February, 1868, at
+Washington aforesaid, or at any other time or place, he did unlawfully
+conspire with the said Thomas by force to seize, take, or possess the
+property of the United States in the Department of War, contrary to
+the provisions of the said acts referred to in the said article, or
+either of them, or with intent to violate either of them. Respondent,
+protesting that said Stanton was not then and there Secretary for the
+Department of War, not only denies the said conspiracy as charged, but
+also denies any unlawful intent in reference to the custody and charge
+of the property of the United States in the said Department of War, and
+again refers to his former answers for a full statement of his intent
+and purpose in the premises.
+
+_Answer to Article VII_.--And for answer to the said seventh article
+respondent denies that on the said 21st day of February, 1868, at
+Washington aforesaid, or at any other time and place, he did unlawfully
+conspire with the said Thomas with intent unlawfully to seize, take, or
+possess the property of the United States in the Department of War, with
+intent to violate or disregard the said act in the said seventh article
+referred to, or that he did then and there commit a high misdemeanor in
+office. Respondent, protesting that the said Stanton was not then and
+there Secretary for the Department of War, again refers to his former
+answers, in so far as they are applicable, to show the intent with which
+he proceeded in the premises, and prays equal benefit therefrom as
+if the same were here again fully repeated. Respondent further takes
+exception to the sufficiency of the allegations of this article as to
+the conspiracy alleged upon the same grounds as stated in the exception
+set forth in his answer to said article fourth.
+
+_Answer to Article VIII_.--And for answer to the said eighth article
+this respondent denies that, on the 21st day of February, 1868, at
+Washington aforesaid, or at any other time and place, he did issue
+and deliver to the said Thomas the said letter of authority set forth
+in the said eighth article with the intent unlawfully to control the
+disbursements of the money appropriated for the military service and
+for the Department of War. This respondent, protesting that there was
+a vacancy in the office of Secretary of War, admits that he did issue
+the said letter of authority, and he denies that the same was with any
+unlawful intent whatever, either to violate the Constitution of the
+United States or any act of Congress. On the contrary, this respondent
+again affirms that his sole intent was to vindicate his authority as
+President of the United States, and by peaceful means to bring the
+question of the right of the said Stanton to continue to hold the said
+office of Secretary of War to a final decision before the Supreme Court
+of the United States, as has been hereinbefore set forth; and he prays
+the same benefit from his answer in the premises as if the same were
+here again repeated at length.
+
+_Answer to Article IX_.--And for answer to the said ninth article
+the respondent states that on the said 22d day of February, 1868, the
+following note was addressed to the said Emory by the private secretary
+of the respondent:
+
+
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+  WASHINGTON, D.C.,
+
+  _February 22, 1868_.
+
+  GENERAL: The President directs me to say that he will be pleased to have
+  you call upon him as early as practicable.
+
+  Respectfully and truly yours,
+
+  WILLIAM G. MOORE,
+
+  _United States Army_.
+
+
+General Emory called at the Executive Mansion according to this request.
+The object of respondent was to be advised by General Emory, as
+commander of the Department of Washington, what changes had been made in
+the military affairs of the department. Respondent had been informed
+that various changes had been made which in no wise had been brought to
+his notice or reported to him from the Department of War or from any
+other quarter, and desired to ascertain the facts. After the said Emory
+had explained in detail the changes which had taken place, said Emory
+called the attention of respondent to a general order which he referred
+to, and which this respondent then sent for, when it was produced. It is
+as follows:
+
+
+  GENERAL ORDERS, No, 17.
+
+  WAR DEPARTMENT,
+
+  ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE,
+
+  _Washington, March 14, 1867_.
+
+  The following acts of Congress are published for the information and
+  government of all concerned:
+
+  *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  "II.--PUBLIC--No. 85.
+
+  "An act making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year
+  ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes.
+
+  *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  "SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That the headquarters of the
+  General of the Army of the United States shall be at the city of
+  Washington, and all orders and instructions relating to military
+  operations issued by the President or Secretary of War shall be issued
+  through the General of the Army, and in case of his inability through
+  the next in rank. The General of the Army shall not be removed,
+  suspended, or relieved from command, or assigned to duty elsewhere than
+  at said headquarters, except at his own request, without the previous
+  approval of the Senate; and any orders or instructions relating to
+  military operations issued contrary to the requirements of this section
+  shall be null and void; and any officer who shall issue orders or
+  instructions contrary to the provisions of this section shall be deemed
+  guilty of a misdemeanor in office; and any officer of the Army who shall
+  transmit, convey, or obey any orders or instructions so issued contrary
+  to the provisions of this section, knowing that such orders were so
+  issued, shall be liable to imprisonment for not less than two nor more
+  than twenty years upon conviction thereof in any court of competent
+  jurisdiction.
+
+  *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  "Approved, March 2, 1867."
+
+  *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  By order of the Secretary of War:
+
+  E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+  _Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+  Official:
+
+  -------- --------,
+
+  _Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+General Emory not only called the attention of respondent to this order,
+but to the fact that it was in conformity with a section contained in an
+appropriation act passed by Congress. Respondent, after reading the
+order, observed:
+
+This is not in accordance with the Constitution of the United States,
+which makes me Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, or of the
+language of the commission which you hold.
+
+General Emory then stated that this order had met the respondent's
+approval. Respondent then said in reply, in substance:
+
+
+  Am I to understand that the President of the United States can not give
+  an order but through the General in Chief, or General Grant?
+
+
+General Emory again reiterated the statement that it had met
+respondent's approval, and that it was the opinion of some of the
+leading lawyers of the country that this order was constitutional. With
+some further conversation, respondent then inquired the names of the
+lawyers who had given the opinion, and he mentioned the names of two.
+Respondent then said that the object of the law was very evident,
+referring to the clause in the appropriation act upon which the order
+purported to be based. This, according to respondent's recollection,
+was the substance of the conversation had with General Emory.
+
+Respondent denies that any allegations in the said article of any
+instructions or declarations given to the said Emory then or at any
+other time contrary to or in addition to what is hereinbefore set forth
+are true. Respondent denies that in said conversation with said Emory he
+had any other intent than to express the opinion then given to the said
+Emory, nor did he then or at any time request or order the said Emory
+to disobey any law or any order issued in conformity with any law,
+or intend to offer any inducement to the said Emory to violate any
+law. What this respondent then said to General Emory was simply the
+expression of an opinion which he then fully believed to be sound,
+and which he yet believes to be so, and that is that by the express
+provisions of the Constitution this respondent, as President, is made
+the Commander in Chief of the armies of the United States, and as such
+he is to be respected, and that his orders, whether issued through the
+War Department, or through the General in Chief, or by any other channel
+of communication, are entitled to respect and obedience, and that such
+constitutional power can not be taken from him by virtue of any act of
+Congress. Respondent doth therefore deny that by the expression of such
+opinion he did commit or was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office;
+and the respondent doth further say that the said Article IX lays no
+foundation whatever for the conclusion stated in the said article, that
+the respondent, by reason of the allegations therein contained, was
+guilty of a high misdemeanor in office.
+
+In reference to the statement made by General Emory that this respondent
+had approved of said act of Congress containing the section referred to,
+the respondent admits that his formal approval was given to said act,
+but accompanied the same by the following message, addressed and sent
+with the act to the House of Representatives, in which House the said
+act originated, and from which it came to respondent:
+
+
+  WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 2, 1867_.
+
+  _To the House of Representatives_:
+
+  The act entitled "An act making appropriations for the support of
+  the Army for the year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes,"
+  contains provisions to which I must call attention. These provisions
+  are contained in the second section, which in certain cases virtually
+  deprives the President of his constitutional functions as Commander in
+  Chief of the Army, and in the sixth section, which denies to ten States
+  of the Union their constitutional right to protect themselves in any
+  emergency by means of their own militia. These provisions are out of
+  place in an appropriation act, but I am compelled to defeat these
+  necessary appropriations if I withhold my signature from the act.
+  Pressed by these considerations, I feel constrained to return the bill
+  with my signature, but to accompany it with my earnest protest against
+  the sections which I have indicated.
+
+
+Respondent, therefore, did no more than to express to said Emory the
+same opinion which he had so expressed to the House of Representatives.
+
+_Answer to Article X_.--And in answer to the tenth article and
+specifications thereof the respondent says that on the 14th and 15th
+days of August, in the year 1866, a political convention of delegates
+from all or most of the States and Territories of the Union was held
+in the city of Philadelphia, under the name and style of the National
+Union Convention, for the purpose of maintaining and advancing certain
+political views and opinions before the people of the United States, and
+for their support and adoption in the exercise of the constitutional
+suffrage in the elections of Representatives and Delegates in Congress
+which were soon to occur in many of the States and Territories of the
+Union; which said convention, in the course of its proceedings, and
+in furtherance of the objects of the same, adopted a "Declaration of
+principles" and "An address to the people of the United States," and
+appointed a committee of two of its members from each State and of one
+from each Territory and one from the District of Columbia to wait upon
+the President of the United States and present to him a copy of the
+proceedings of the convention; that on the 18th day of said month of
+August this committee waited upon the President of the United States
+at the Executive Mansion, and was received by him in one of the rooms
+thereof, and by their chairman, Hon. Reverdy Johnson, then and now
+a Senator of the United States, acting and speaking in their behalf,
+presented a copy of the proceedings of the convention and addressed the
+President of the United States in a speech of which a copy (according
+to a published report of the same, and, as the respondent believes,
+substantially a correct report) is hereto annexed as a part of this
+answer, and marked Exhibit C.
+
+That thereupon, and in reply to the address of said committee by their
+chairman, this respondent addressed the said committee so waiting upon
+him in one of the rooms of the Executive Mansion; and this respondent
+believes that this his address to said committee is the occasion
+referred to in the first specification of the tenth article; but this
+respondent does not admit that the passages therein set forth, as if
+extracts from a speech or address of this respondent upon said occasion,
+correctly or justly present his speech or address upon said occasion,
+but, on the contrary, this respondent demands and insists that if
+this honorable court shall deem the said article and the said first
+specification thereof to contain allegation of matter cognizable by
+this honorable court as a high misdemeanor in office within the intent
+and meaning of the Constitution of the United States, and shall receive
+or allow proof in support of the same, that proof shall be required
+to be made of the actual speech and address of this respondent on
+said occasion, which this respondent denies that said article and
+specification contain or correctly or justly represent.
+
+And this respondent, further answering the tenth article and the
+specifications thereof, says that at Cleveland, in the State of Ohio,
+and on the 3d day of September, in the year 1866, he was attended by a
+large assemblage of his fellow-citizens, and in deference and obedience
+to their call and demand he addressed them upon matters of public and
+political consideration; and this respondent believes that said occasion
+and address are referred to in the second specification of the tenth
+article; but this respondent does not admit that the passages therein
+set forth, as if extracts from a speech of this respondent on said
+occasion, correctly or justly present his speech or address upon said
+occasion, but, on the contrary, this respondent demands and insists that
+if this honorable court shall deem the said article and the said second
+specification thereof to contain allegation of matter cognizable by this
+honorable court as a high misdemeanor in office within the intent and
+meaning of the Constitution of the United States, and shall receive or
+allow proof in support of the same, that proof shall be required to be
+made of the actual speech and address of this respondent on said
+occasion, which this respondent denies that said article and
+specification contain or correctly or justly represent.
+
+And this respondent, further answering the tenth article and the
+specifications thereof, says that at St. Louis, in the State of
+Missouri, and on the 8th day of September, in the year 1866, he was
+attended by a numerous assemblage of his fellow-citizens, and in
+deference and obedience to their call and demand he addressed them upon
+matters of public and political consideration; and this respondent
+believes that said occasion and address are referred to in the third
+specification of the tenth article; but this respondent does not admit
+that the passages therein set forth, as if extracts from a speech of
+this respondent on said occasion, correctly or justly present his speech
+or address upon said occasion, but, on the contrary, this respondent
+demands and insists that if this honorable court shall deem the said
+article and the said third specification thereof to contain allegation
+of matter cognizable by this honorable court as a high misdemeanor in
+office within the intent and meaning of the Constitution of the United
+States, and shall receive or allow proof in support of the same, that
+proof shall be required to be made of the actual speech and address of
+this respondent on said occasion, which this respondent denies that the
+said article and specification contain or correctly or justly represent.
+
+And this respondent, further answering the tenth article, protesting
+that he has not been unmindful of the high duties of his office or of
+the harmony or courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained between
+the executive and legislative branches of the Government of the United
+States, denies that he has ever intended or designed to set aside the
+rightful authority or powers of Congress, or attempted to bring into
+disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt, or reproach the Congress of the
+United States, or either branch thereof, or to impair or destroy the
+regard or respect of all or any of the good people of the United States
+for the Congress or the rightful legislative power thereof, or to excite
+the odium or resentment of all or any of the good people of the United
+States against Congress and the laws by it duly and constitutionally
+enacted. This respondent further says that at all times he has, in his
+official acts as President, recognized the authority of the several
+Congresses of the United States as constituted and organized during his
+administration of the office of President of the United States.
+
+And this respondent, further answering, says that he has from time
+to time, under his constitutional right and duty as President of the
+United States, communicated to Congress his views and opinions in
+regard to such acts or resolutions thereof as, being submitted to him
+as President of the United States in pursuance of the Constitution,
+seemed to this respondent to require such communications; and he has
+from time to time, in the exercise of that freedom of speech which
+belongs to him as a citizen of the United States, and, in his political
+relations as President of the United States to the people of the United
+States, is upon fit occasions a duty of the highest obligation, expressed
+to his fellow-citizens his views and opinions respecting the measures
+and proceedings of Congress; and that in such addresses to his
+fellow-citizens and in such his communications to Congress he has
+expressed his views, opinions, and judgment of and concerning the actual
+constitution of the two Houses of Congress, without representation
+therein of certain States of the Union, and of the effect that in wisdom
+and justice, in the opinion and judgment of this respondent, Congress
+in its legislation and proceedings should give to this political
+circumstance; and whatsoever he has thus communicated to Congress
+or addressed to his fellow-citizens or any assemblage thereof this
+respondent says was and is within and according to his right and
+privilege as an American citizen and his right and duty as President
+of the United States.
+
+And this respondent, not waiving or at all disparaging his right
+of freedom of opinion and of freedom of speech, as hereinbefore or
+hereinafter more particularly set forth, but claiming and insisting upon
+the same, further answering the said tenth article, says that the views
+and opinions expressed by this respondent in his said addresses to
+the assemblages of his fellow-citizens, as in said articles or in this
+answer thereto mentioned, are not and were not intended to be other
+or different from those expressed by him in his communications to
+Congress--that the eleven States lately in insurrection never had
+ceased to be States of the Union, and that they were then entitled
+to representation in Congress by loyal Representatives and Senators
+as fully as the other States of the Union, and that consequently the
+Congress as then constituted was not in fact a Congress of all the
+States, but a Congress of only a part of the States. This respondent,
+always protesting against the unauthorized exclusion therefrom of the
+said eleven States, nevertheless gave his assent to all laws passed by
+said Congress which did not, in his opinion and judgment, violate the
+Constitution, exercising his constitutional authority of returning bills
+to said Congress with his objections when they appeared to him to be
+unconstitutional or inexpedient.
+
+And further, this respondent has also expressed the opinion, both in
+his communications to Congress and in his addresses to the people, that
+the policy adopted by Congress in reference to the States lately in
+insurrection did not tend to peace, harmony, and union, but, on the
+contrary, did tend to disunion and the permanent disruption of the
+States, and that in following its said policy laws had been passed by
+Congress in violation of the fundamental principles of the Government,
+and which tended to consolidation and despotism; and such being his
+deliberate opinions, he would have felt himself unmindful of the
+high duties of his office if he had failed to express them in his
+communications to Congress or in his addresses to the people when called
+upon by them to express his opinions on matters of public and political
+consideration.
+
+And this respondent, further answering the tenth article, says that he
+has always claimed and insisted, and now claims and insists, that both
+in the personal and private capacity of a citizen of the United States
+and in the political relations of the President of the United States to
+the people of the United States, whose servant, under the duties and
+responsibilities of the Constitution of the United States, the President
+of the United States is and should always remain, this respondent had
+and has the full right, and in his office of President of the United
+States is held to the high duty, of forming, and on fit occasions
+expressing, opinions of and concerning the legislation of Congress,
+proposed or completed, in respect of its wisdom, expediency, justice,
+worthiness, objects, purposes, and public and political motives and
+tendencies, and within and as a part of such right and duty to form,
+and on fit occasions to express, opinions of and concerning the public
+character and conduct, views, purposes, objects, motives, and tendencies
+of all men engaged in the public service, as well in Congress as
+otherwise, and under no other rules or limits upon this right of
+freedom of opinion and of freedom of speech, or of responsibility and
+amenability for the actual exercise of such freedom of opinion and
+freedom of speech, than attend upon such rights and their exercise on
+the part of all other citizens of the United States and on the part of
+all their public servants.
+
+And this respondent, further answering said tenth article, says
+that the several occasions on which, as is alleged in the several
+specifications of said article, this respondent addressed his
+fellow-citizens on subjects of public and political considerations were
+not, nor was any one of them, sought or planned by this respondent, but,
+on the contrary, each of said occasions arose upon the exercise of a
+lawful and accustomed right of the people of the United States to call
+upon their public servants and express to them their opinions, wishes,
+and feelings upon matters of public and political consideration, and to
+invite from such their public servants an expression of their opinions,
+views, and feelings on matters of public and political consideration;
+and this respondent claims and insists before this honorable court, and
+before all the people of the United States, that of or concerning this
+his right of freedom of opinion and of freedom of speech, and this
+his exercise of such rights on all matters of public and political
+consideration, and in respect of all public servants or persons
+whatsoever engaged in or connected therewith, this respondent, as
+a citizen or as President of the United States, is not subject to
+question, inquisition, impeachment, or inculpation in any form or
+manner whatsoever.
+
+And this respondent says that neither the said tenth article nor any
+specification thereof nor any allegation therein contained touches or
+relates to any official act or doing of this respondent in the office
+of President of the United States or in the discharge of any of its
+constitutional or legal duties or responsibilities; but said article and
+the specifications and allegations thereof, wholly and in every part
+thereof, question only the discretion or propriety of freedom of opinion
+or freedom, of speech as exercised by this respondent as a citizen of
+the United States in his personal right and capacity, and without
+allegation or imputation against this respondent of the violation of any
+law of the United States touching or relating to freedom of speech or
+its exercise by the citizens of the United States or by this respondent
+as one of the said citizens or otherwise; and he denies that by reason
+of any matter in said article or its specifications alleged he has said
+or done anything indecent or unbecoming in the Chief Magistrate of the
+United States, or that he has brought the high office of President of
+the United States into contempt, ridicule, or disgrace, or that he has
+committed or has been guilty of a high misdemeanor in office.
+
+_Answer to Article XI_.--And in answer to the eleventh article this
+respondent denies that on the 18th day of August, in the year 1866, at
+the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, he did, by public
+speech or otherwise, declare or affirm, in substance or at all, that the
+Thirty-ninth Congress of the United States was not a Congress of the
+United States authorized by the Constitution to exercise legislative
+power under the same, or that he did then and there declare or affirm
+that the said Thirty-ninth Congress was a Congress of only part of the
+States in any sense or meaning other than that ten States of the Union
+were denied representation therein, or that he made any or either of
+the declarations or affirmations in this behalf in the said article
+alleged as denying or intending to deny that the legislation of said
+Thirty-ninth Congress was valid or obligatory upon this respondent
+except so far as this respondent saw fit to approve the same; and as to
+the allegation in said article that he did thereby intend or mean to be
+understood that the said Congress had not power to propose amendments
+to the Constitution, this respondent says that in said address he said
+nothing in reference to the subject of amendments of the Constitution,
+nor was the question of the competency of the said Congress to propose
+such amendments, without the participation of said excluded States,
+at the time of said address in any way mentioned or considered or
+referred to by this respondent, nor in what he did say had he any
+intent regarding the same; and he denies the allegations so made
+to the contrary thereof. But this respondent, in further answer to
+and in respect of the said allegations of the said eleventh article
+hereinbefore traversed and denied, claims and insists upon his personal
+and official right of freedom of opinion and freedom of speech, and his
+duty in his political relations as President of the United States to the
+people of the United States in the exercise of such freedom of opinion
+and freedom of speech, in the same manner, form, and effect as he has
+in this behalf stated the same in his answer to the said tenth article,
+and with the same effect as if he here repeated the same; and he further
+claims and insists, as in said answer to said tenth article he has
+claimed and insisted, that he is not subject to question, inquisition,
+impeachment or inculpation, in any form or manner, of or concerning such
+rights of freedom of opinion or freedom of speech, or his said alleged
+exercise thereof.
+
+And this respondent further denies that on the 21st day of February,
+in the year 1868, or at any other time, at the city of Washington, in
+the District of Columbia, in pursuance of any such declaration as in
+that behalf in said eleventh article alleged, or otherwise, he did
+unlawfully, and in disregard of the requirement of the Constitution that
+he should take care that the laws should be faithfully executed, attempt
+to prevent the execution of an act entitled "An act regulating the
+tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867, by unlawfully
+devising or contriving, or attempting to devise or contrive, means by
+which he should prevent Edwin M. Stanton from forthwith resuming the
+functions of Secretary for the Department of War, or by unlawfully
+devising or contriving, or attempting to devise or contrive, means to
+prevent the execution of an act entitled "An act making appropriations
+for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868,
+and for other purposes," approved March 2, 1867, or to prevent the
+execution of an act entitled "An act to provide for the more efficient
+government of the rebel States," passed March 2, 1867.
+
+And this respondent, further answering the said eleventh article, says
+that he has in his answer to the first article set forth in detail the
+acts, steps, and proceedings done and taken by this respondent to and
+toward or in the matter of the suspension or removal of the said Edwin
+M. Stanton in or from the office of Secretary for the Department of War,
+with the times, modes, circumstances, intents, views, purposes, and
+opinions of official obligations and duty under and with which such
+acts, steps, and proceedings were done and taken; and he makes answer to
+this eleventh article of the matters in his answer to the first article
+pertaining to the suspension or removal of said Edwin M. Stanton, to the
+same intent and effect as if they were here repeated and set forth.
+
+And this respondent, further answering the said eleventh article,
+denies that by means or reason of anything in said article alleged this
+respondent, as President of the United States, did, on the 21st day of
+February, 1868, or at any other day or time, commit or that he was
+guilty of a high misdemeanor in office.
+
+And this respondent, further answering the said eleventh article, says
+that the same and the matters therein contained do not charge or allege
+the commission of any act whatever by this respondent in his office of
+President of the United States, nor the omission by this respondent of
+any act of official obligation or duty in his office of President of
+the United States; nor does the said article nor the matters therein
+contained name, designate, describe, or define any act or mode or form
+of attempt, device, contrivance, or means, or of attempt at device,
+contrivance, or means, whereby this respondent can know or understand
+what act or mode or form of attempt, device, contrivance, or means, or
+of attempt at device, contrivance, or means, are imputed to or charged
+against this respondent in his office of President of the United States,
+or intended so to be, or whereby this respondent can more fully or
+definitely make answer unto the said article than he hereby does.
+
+And this respondent, in submitting to this honorable court this
+his answer to the articles of impeachment exhibited against him,
+respectfully reserves leave to amend and add to the same from time to
+time, as may become necessary or proper, and when and as such necessity
+and propriety shall appear.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+  HENRY STANBERY,
+  B.R. CURTIS,
+  THOMAS A.R. NELSON,
+  WILLIAM M. EVARTS,
+  W.S. GROESBECK,
+
+_Of Counsel_.
+
+
+
+[For Exhibits A and B see veto message of March 2, 1867, pp. 492-498,
+and special message of December 12, 1867, pp. 583-594.]
+
+
+
+EXHIBIT C.
+
+ADDRESS TO THE PRESIDENT BY HON. REVERDY JOHNSON, AUGUST, 18, 1866.
+
+Mr. PRESIDENT: We are before you as a committee of the National Union
+Convention, which met in Philadelphia on Tuesday, the 14th instant,
+charged with the duty of presenting you with an authentic copy of its
+proceedings.
+
+Before placing it in your hands you will permit us to congratulate
+you that in the object for which the convention was called, in the
+enthusiasm with which in every State and Territory the call was
+responded to, in the unbroken harmony of its deliberations, in the
+unanimity with which the principles it has declared were adopted, and
+more especially in the patriotic and constitutional character of the
+principles themselves, we are confident that you and the country will
+find gratifying and cheering evidence that there exists among the people
+a public sentiment which renders an early and complete restoration of
+the Union as established by the Constitution certain and inevitable.
+Party faction, seeking the continuance of its misrule, may momentarily
+delay it, but the principles of political liberty for which our
+fathers successfully contended, and to secure which they adopted the
+Constitution, are so glaringly inconsistent with the condition in
+which the country has been placed by such misrule that it will not
+be permitted a much longer duration.
+
+We wish, Mr. President, you could have witnessed the spirit of concord
+and brotherly affection which animated every member of the convention.
+Great as your confidence has ever been in the intelligence and
+patriotism of your fellow-citizens, in their deep devotion to the Union
+and their present determination to reinstate and maintain it, that
+confidence would have become a positive conviction could you have seen
+and heard all that was done and said upon the occasion. Every heart
+was evidently full of joy; every eye beamed with patriotic animation;
+despondency gave place to the assurance that, our late dreadful civil
+strife ended, the blissful reign of peace, under the protection, not of
+arms, but of the Constitution and laws, would have sway, and be in every
+part of our land cheerfully acknowledged and in perfect good faith
+obeyed. You would not have doubted that the recurrence of dangerous
+domestic insurrections in the future is not to be apprehended.
+
+If you could have seen the men of Massachusetts and South Carolina
+coming into the convention on the first day of its meeting hand in hand,
+amid the rapturous applause of the whole body, awakened by heartfelt
+gratification at the event, filling the eyes of thousands with tears of
+joy, which they neither could nor desired to repress, you would have
+felt, as every person present felt, that the time had arrived when all
+sectional or other perilous dissensions had ceased, and that nothing
+should be heard in the future but the voice of harmony proclaiming
+devotion to a common country, of pride in being bound together by a
+common Union, existing and protected by forms of government proved by
+experience to be eminently fitted for the exigencies of either war or
+peace.
+
+In the principles announced by the convention and in the feeling there
+manifested we have every assurance that harmony throughout our entire
+land will soon prevail. We know that as in former days, as was
+eloquently declared by Webster, the nation's most gifted statesman,
+Massachusetts and South Carolina went "shoulder to shoulder through the
+Revolution" and stood hand in hand "around the Administration of
+Washington and felt his own great arm lean on them for support," so will
+they again, with like magnanimity, devotion, and power, stand round your
+Administration and cause you to feel that you may also lean on them for
+support.
+
+In the proceedings, Mr. President, which we are to place in your hands
+you will find that the convention performed the grateful duty imposed
+upon them by their knowledge of your "devotion to the Constitution and
+laws and interests of your country," as illustrated by your entire
+Presidential career, of declaring that in you they "recognize a Chief
+Magistrate worthy of the nation and equal to the great crisis upon
+which your lot is cast;" and in this declaration it gives us marked
+pleasure to add we are confident that the convention has but spoken the
+intelligent and patriotic sentiment of the country. Ever inaccessible to
+the low influences which often control the mere partisan, governed alone
+by an honest opinion of constitutional obligations and rights and of the
+duty of looking solely to the true interests, safety, and honor of the
+nation, such a class is incapable of resorting to any bait for
+popularity at the expense of the public good.
+
+In the measures which you have adopted for the restoration of the Union
+the convention saw only a continuance of the policy which for the same
+purpose was inaugurated by your immediate predecessor. In his reelection
+by the people, after that policy had been fully indicated and had been
+made one of the issues of the contest, those of his political friends
+who are now assailing you for sternly pursuing it are forgetful or
+regardless of the opinions which their support of his reelection
+necessarily involved. Being upon the same ticket with that much-lamented
+public servant, whose foul assassination touched the heart of the
+civilized world with grief and horror, you would have been false to
+obvious duty if you had not endeavored to carry out the same policy;
+and, judging now by the opposite one which Congress has pursued, its
+wisdom and patriotism are indicated by the fact that that of Congress
+has but continued a broken Union by keeping ten of the States in which
+at one time the insurrection existed (as far as they could accomplish
+it) in the condition of subjugated provinces, denying to them the right
+to be represented, while subjecting their people to every species of
+legislation, including that of taxation. That such a state of things is
+at war with the very genius of our Government, inconsistent with every
+idea of political freedom, and most perilous to the peace and safety of
+the country no reflecting man can fail to believe.
+
+We hope, sir, that the proceedings of the convention will cause you to
+adhere, if possible, with even greater firmness to the course which you
+are pursuing, by satisfying you that the people are with you, and that
+the wish which lies nearest to their heart is that a perfect restoration
+of our Union at the earliest moment be attained, and a conviction that
+the result can only be accomplished by the measures which you are
+pursuing. And in the discharge of the duties which these impose upon
+you we, as did every member of the convention, again for ourselves
+individually tender to you our profound respect and assurance of our
+cordial and sincere support.
+
+With a reunited Union, with no foot but that of a freeman treading or
+permitted to tread our soil, with a nation's faith pledged forever to a
+strict observance of all its obligations, with kindness and fraternal
+love everywhere prevailing, the desolations of war will soon be removed;
+its sacrifices of life, sad as they have been, will, with Christian
+resignation, be referred to a providential purpose of fixing our beloved
+country on a firm and enduring basis, which will forever place our
+liberty and happiness beyond the reach of human peril.
+
+Then, too, and forever, will our Government challenge the admiration and
+receive the respect of the nations of the world, and be in no danger of
+any efforts to impeach our honor.
+
+And permit me, sir, in conclusion, to add that, great as is your
+solicitude for the restoration of our domestic peace and your labors
+to that end, you have also a watchful eye to the rights of the nation,
+and that any attempt by an assumed or actual foreign power to enforce
+an illegal blockade against the Government or citizens of the United
+States, to use your own mild but expressive words, "will be disallowed."
+In this determination I am sure you will receive the unanimous approval
+of your fellow-citizens.
+
+Now, sir, as the chairman of this committee, and in behalf of the
+convention, I have the honor to present you with an authentic copy
+of its proceedings.
+
+
+  Counsel for the respondent submitted the following motion:
+
+  _To the Senate of the United States sitting as a court of impeachment_:
+
+  And now, on this 23d day of March, in the year 1868, the counsel for
+  the President of the United States, upon reading and filing his answer
+  to the articles of impeachment exhibited against him, respectfully
+  represent to the honorable court that after the replication shall have
+  been filed to the said answer the due and proper preparation of and for
+  the trial of the cause will require, in the opinion and judgment of such
+  counsel, that a period of not less than thirty days should be allowed to
+  the President of the United States and his counsel for such preparation,
+  and before the said trial should proceed.
+
+  HENRY STANBERY,
+  B.R. CURTIS,
+  THOMAS A.R. NELSON,
+  WM. M. EVARTS,
+  W.S. GROESBECK,
+
+  _Of Counsel_.
+
+
+
+TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 1868.
+
+UNITED STATES _vs_. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+
+REPLICATION BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES TO
+THE ANSWER OF ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, TO THE
+ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT EXHIBITED AGAINST HIM BY THE HOUSE OF
+REPRESENTATIVES.
+
+The House of Representatives of the United States have considered the
+several answers of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, to
+the several articles of impeachment against him, by them exhibited in
+the name of themselves and of all the people of the United States, and
+reserving to themselves all advantage of exception to the insufficiency
+of his answer to each and all of the several articles of impeachment
+exhibited against said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+do deny each and every averment in said several answers, or either
+of them, which denies or traverses the acts, intents, crimes, or
+misdemeanors charged against said Andrew Johnson in the said articles of
+impeachment, or either of them, and for replication to the said answer
+do say that said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, is
+guilty of the high crimes and misdemeanors mentioned in said articles,
+and that the House of Representatives are ready to prove the same.
+
+SCHUYLER COLFAX,
+
+_Speaker of the House of Representatives_.
+
+EDW'D McPHERSON,
+
+_Clerk of the House of Representatives_.
+
+
+The motion of the counsel for the respondent, submitted on March 23,
+"that a period of not less than thirty days should be allowed to the
+President of the United States and his counsel for such preparation and
+before the said trial should proceed," was denied, and it was
+
+  _Ordered_. That the Senate will commence the trial of the President
+  upon the articles of impeachment exhibited against him on Monday, the
+  30th of March instant, and proceed therein with all convenient dispatch
+  under the rules of the Senate sitting upon the trial of an impeachment.
+
+
+
+MONDAY, MAY 11, 1868.
+
+THE UNITED STATES _vs_. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+
+The Chief Justice stated that in compliance with the desire of the
+Senate he had prepared the question to be addressed to Senators upon
+each article of impeachment, and that he had reduced his views thereon
+to writing, which he read, as follows:
+
+SENATORS: In conformity with what seemed to be the general wish of the
+Senate when it adjourned last Thursday, the Chief Justice, in taking the
+vote on the articles of impeachment, will adopt the mode sanctioned by
+the practice in the cases of Chase, Peck, and Humphreys.
+
+He will direct the Secretary to read the several articles successively,
+and after the reading of each article will put the question of guilty or
+not guilty to each Senator, rising in his place, in the form used in the
+case of Judge Chase:
+
+  Mr. Senator ----, how say you? Is the respondent, Andrew Johnson,
+  President of the United States, guilty or not guilty of a high
+  misdemeanor, as charged in this article?
+
+
+In putting the question on Articles IV and VI, each of which charges a
+crime, the word "crime" will be substituted for the word "misdemeanor."
+
+The Chief Justice has carefully considered the suggestion of the Senator
+from Indiana (Mr. Hendricks), which appeared to meet the approval of the
+Senate, that in taking the vote on the eleventh article the question
+should be put on each clause, and has found himself unable to divide the
+article as suggested. The article charges several facts, but they are so
+connected that they make but one allegation and they are charged as
+constituting one misdemeanor.
+
+The first fact charged is, in substance, that the President publicly
+declared in August, 1866, that the Thirty-ninth Congress was a Congress
+of only part of the States and not a constitutional Congress, intending
+thereby to deny its constitutional competency to enact laws or propose
+amendments of the Constitution; and this charge seems to have been made
+as introductory, and as qualifying that which follows, namely, that the
+President, in pursuance of this declaration, attempted to prevent the
+execution of the tenure-of-office act by contriving and attempting to
+contrive means to prevent Mr. Stanton from resuming the functions of
+Secretary of War after the refusal of the Senate to concur in his
+suspension, and also by contriving and attempting to contrive means to
+prevent the execution of the appropriation act of March 2, 1867, and
+also to prevent the execution of the rebel States governments act of
+the same date.
+
+The gravamen of the article seems to be that the President attempted
+to defeat the execution of the tenure-of-office act, and that he
+did this in pursuance of a declaration which was intended to deny
+the constitutional competency of Congress to enact laws or propose
+constitutional amendments, and by contriving means to prevent Mr.
+Stanton from resuming his office of Secretary, and also to prevent the
+execution of the appropriation act and the rebel States governments act.
+
+The single substantive matter charged is the attempt to prevent the
+execution of the tenure-of-office act, and the other facts are alleged
+either as introductory and exhibiting this general purpose or as showing
+the means contrived in furtherance of that attempt.
+
+This single matter, connected with the other matters previously and
+subsequently alleged, is charged as the high misdemeanor of which the
+President is alleged to have been guilty.
+
+The general question, guilty or not guilty of a high misdemeanor as
+charged, seems fully to cover the whole charge, and will be put as to
+this article as well as to the others, unless the Senate direct some
+mode of division.
+
+In the tenth article the division suggested by the Senator from New York
+(Mr. Conkling) may be more easily made. It contains a general allegation
+to the effect that on the 18th of August and on other days the
+President, with intent to set aside the rightful authority of Congress
+and bring it into contempt, delivered certain scandalous harangues, and
+therein uttered loud threats and bitter menaces against Congress and the
+laws of the United States enacted by Congress, thereby bringing the
+office of President into disgrace, to the great scandal of all good
+citizens, and sets forth in three distinct specifications the harangues,
+threats, and menaces complained of.
+
+In respect to this article, if the Senate sees fit so to direct, the
+question of guilty or not guilty of the facts charged may be taken in
+respect to the several specifications, and then the question of guilty
+or not guilty of a high misdemeanor, as charged in the article, can also
+be taken.
+
+The Chief Justice, however, sees no objection to putting the general
+question on this article in the same manner as on the others; for,
+whether particular questions be put on the specifications or not, the
+answer to the final question must be determined by the judgment of the
+Senate whether or not the facts alleged in the specifications have been
+sufficiently proved, and whether, if sufficiently proved, they amount
+to a high misdemeanor within the meaning of the Constitution.
+
+On the whole, therefore, the Chief Justice thinks that the better
+practice will be to put the general question on each article without
+attempting to make any subdivision, and will pursue this course if no
+objection is made. He will, however, be pleased to conform to such
+directions as the Senate may see fit to give in this respect.
+
+Whereupon it was
+
+  _Ordered_, That the question be put as proposed by the Presiding
+  Officer of the Senate, and each Senator shall rise in his place and
+  answer "guilty" or "not guilty" only.
+
+
+
+SATURDAY, MAY 16, 1868.
+
+THE UNITED STATES _vs_. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+
+The Chief Justice stated that, in pursuance of the order of the Senate,
+he would first proceed to take the judgment of the Senate on the
+eleventh article. The roll of the Senate was called, with the following
+result:
+
+The Senators who voted "guilty" are Messrs. Anthony, Cameron, Cattell,
+Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Conness, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds,
+Ferry, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Howard, Howe, Morgan, Morrill of Maine,
+Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy,
+Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Wade,
+Williams, Willey, Wilson, and Yates--35.
+
+The Senators who voted "not guilty" are Messrs. Bayard, Buckalew, Davis,
+Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Fowler, Grimes, Henderson, Hendricks,
+Johnson, McCreery, Norton, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, Saulsbury,
+Trumbull, Van Winkle, and Vickers--19.
+
+The Chief Justice announced that upon this article thirty-five Senators
+had voted "guilty" and nineteen Senators "not guilty," and declared that
+two-thirds of the Senators present not having pronounced him guilty,
+Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, stood acquitted of the
+charges contained in the eleventh article of impeachment.
+
+
+
+TUESDAY, MAY 26, 1868.
+
+THE UNITED STATES _vs_. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+
+The Senate ordered that the vote be taken upon the second article of
+impeachment. The roll of the Senate was called, with the following
+result:
+
+The Senators who voted "guilty" are Messrs. Anthony, Cameron, Cattell,
+Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Conness, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds,
+Ferry, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Howard, Howe, Morgan, Morrill of Maine,
+Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy,
+Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Wade, Willey,
+Williams, Wilson, and Yates--35.
+
+The Senators who voted "not guilty" are Messrs. Bayard, Buckalew, Davis,
+Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Fowler, Grimes, Henderson, Hendricks,
+Johnson, McCreery, Norton, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, Saulsbury,
+Trumbull, Van Winkle, and Vickers--19.
+
+The Chief Justice announced that upon this article thirty-five Senators
+had voted "guilty" and nineteen Senators had voted "not guilty," and
+declared that two-thirds of the Senators present not having pronounced
+him guilty, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, stood
+acquitted of the charges contained in the second article of impeachment.
+
+The Senate ordered that the vote be taken upon the third article of
+impeachment. The roll of the Senate was called, with the following
+result:
+
+The Senators who voted "guilty" are Messrs. Anthony, Cameron, Cattell,
+Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Conness, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds,
+Ferry, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Howard, Howe, Morgan, Morrill of Maine,
+Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy,
+Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Wade, Willey,
+Williams, Wilson, and Yates--35.
+
+The Senators who voted "not guilty" are Messrs. Bayard, Buckalew, Davis,
+Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Fowler, Grimes, Henderson, Hendricks,
+Johnson, McCreery, Norton, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, Saulsbury,
+Trumbull, Van Winkle, and Vickers--19.
+
+The Chief Justice announced that upon this article thirty-five Senators
+had voted "guilty" and nineteen Senators had voted "not guilty," and
+declared that two-thirds of the Senators present not having pronounced
+him guilty, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, stood
+acquitted of the charges contained in the third article.
+
+No objection being made, the secretary, by direction of the Chief
+Justice, entered the judgment of the Senate upon the second, third,
+and eleventh articles, as follows:
+
+The Senate having tried Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+upon articles of impeachment exhibited against him by the House of
+Representatives, and two-thirds of the Senators present not having found
+him guilty of the charges contained in the second, third, and eleventh
+articles of impeachment, it is therefore
+
+_Ordered and adjudged_, That the said Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, be, and he is, acquitted of the charges in said articles
+made and set forth.
+
+A motion "that the Senate sitting for the trial of the President upon
+articles of impeachment do now adjourn without day" was adopted by a
+vote of 34 yeas to 16 nays.
+
+Those who voted in the affirmative are Messrs. Anthony, Cameron,
+Cattell, Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds,
+Ferry, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Howard, Morgan, Morrill of Maine, Morrill
+of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy, Ramsey,
+Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Van Winkle, Wade,
+Willey, Williams, Wilson, and Yates.
+
+Those who voted in the negative are Messrs. Bayard, Buckalew, Davis,
+Dixon, Doolittle, Fowler, Henderson, Hendricks, Johnson, McCreery,
+Norton, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, Saulsbury, Trumbull, and Vickers.
+
+The Chief Justice declared the Senate sitting as a court of impeachment
+for the trial of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, upon
+articles of impeachment exhibited against him by the House of
+Representatives, adjourned without day.
+
+
+
+
+ADDENDA.
+
+
+[An injunction of secrecy having been placed upon the following messages
+by the Senate, they were not printed in the Executive Journal covering
+their period, but were found in the imprinted Executive Journal of the
+Forty-first Congress while searching for copy for Volume VII, and
+consequently too late for insertion in their proper places in this
+volume.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 29, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate_:
+
+Referring to the three Executive communications of the 15th instant,
+with which were transmitted to the Senate, respectively, a copy of a
+convention between the United States and Great Britain upon the subject
+of claims, a copy of a convention between the same parties in relation
+to the question of boundary, and a protocol of a treaty between the same
+parties concerning the rights of naturalized citizens and subjects of
+the respective parties, I now transmit a copy of such correspondence
+upon those subjects as has not been heretofore communicated to the
+Senate.
+
+In the progress of the negotiation the three subjects became to such a
+degree associated with each other that it would be difficult to present
+separately the correspondence upon each. The papers are therefore
+transmitted in the order in which they are mentioned in the accompanying
+list.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 30, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+Referring to the Executive communication of the 15th instant, which
+was accompanied by a copy of a convention between the United States
+and Great Britain for the settlement of all outstanding claims, I now
+transmit to the Senate the original of that instrument, and a report of
+the Secretary of State pointing out the differences between the copy as
+submitted to the Senate and the original as signed by the
+plenipotentiaries.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 30, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+Referring to the Executive communication of the 15th instant, which was
+accompanied by a copy of a convention between the United States and
+Great Britain providing for the reference to an arbiter of the question
+of difference between the United States and Great Britain concerning the
+northwest line of water boundary between the United States and the
+British possessions in North America, I now transmit to the Senate the
+original of that instrument, and a report of the Secretary of State
+pointing out the differences between the copy as submitted to the Senate
+and the original as signed by the plenipotentiaries.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Compilation of the Messages and
+Papers of the Presidents, by James D. Richardson
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANDREW JOHNSON ***
+
+***** This file should be named 12755-8.txt or 12755-8.zip *****
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of
+the Presidents, 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
+       Section 2 (of 2) of Volume 6: Andrew Johnson
+
+Author: James D. Richardson
+
+Release Date: June 28, 2004 [EBook #12755]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANDREW JOHNSON ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, David Garcia and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team.
+
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+</pre>
+
+<div style="height: 8em;"><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h1>
+    A COMPILATION OF THE MESSAGES AND PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS
+</h1>
+<center><b>
+    BY JAMES D. RICHARDSON
+</b></center>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<hr>
+<h2>
+    Andrew Johnson
+</h2>
+<h3>
+    April 15, 1865, to March 4, 1869
+</h3>
+<hr>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    Andrew Johnson
+</h2>
+<p>
+    Andrew Johnson was born in Raleigh, N.C., December 29, 1808. His parents
+    were very poor. When he was 4 years old his father died of injuries
+    received in rescuing a person from drowning. At the age of 10 years
+    Andrew was apprenticed to a tailor. His early education was almost
+    entirely neglected, and, notwithstanding his natural craving to learn,
+    he never spent a day in school. Was taught the alphabet by a
+    fellow-workman, borrowed a book, and learned to read. In 1824 removed to
+    Laurens Court-House, S.C., where he worked as a journeyman tailor. In
+    May, 1826, returned to Raleigh, and in September, with his mother and
+    stepfather, set out for Greeneville, Tenn., in a two-wheeled cart drawn
+    by a blind pony. Here he married Eliza McCardle, a woman of refinement,
+    who taught him to write, and read to him while he was at work during the
+    day. It was not until he had been in Congress that he learned to write
+    with ease. From Greeneville went to the West, but returned after the
+    lapse of a year. In 1828 was elected alderman; was reelected in 1829 and
+    1830, and in 1830 was advanced to the mayoralty, which office he held
+    for three years. In 1831 was appointed by the county court a trustee
+    of Rhea Academy, and about this time participated in the debates of a
+    society at Greeneville College. In 1834 advocated the adoption of a new
+    State constitution, by which the influence of the large landholders was
+    abridged. In 1835 represented Greene and Washington counties in the
+    legislature. Was defeated for the legislature in 1837, but in 1839 was
+    reelected. In 1836 supported Hugh L. White for the Presidency, and in
+    the political altercations between John Bell and James K. Polk, which
+    distracted Tennessee at the time, supported the former. Mr. Johnson was
+    the only ardent follower of Bell that failed to go over to the Whig
+    party. Was an elector for the State at large on the Van Buren ticket in
+    1840, and made a State reputation by the force of his oratory. In 1841
+    was elected to the State senate from Greene and Hawkins counties, and
+    while in that body was one of the "immortal thirteen" Democrats who,
+    having it in their power to prevent the election of a Whig Senator, did
+    so by refusing to meet the house in joint convention; also proposed that
+    the basis of representation should rest upon white votes, without regard
+    to the ownership of slaves. Was elected to Congress in 1843 over John A.
+    Asken, a United States Bank Democrat, who was supported by the Whigs.
+    His first speech was in support of the resolution to restore to General
+    Jackson the fine imposed upon him at New Orleans; also supported the
+    annexation of Texas. In 1845 was reelected, and supported Polk's
+    Administration. Was regularly reelected to Congress until 1853. During
+    this period opposed all expenditures for internal improvements that were
+    not general; resisted and defeated the proposed contingent tax of 10 per
+    cent on tea and coffee; made his celebrated defense of the veto power;
+    urged the adoption of the homestead law, which was obnoxious to the
+    extreme Southern element of his party; supported the compromise measures
+    of 1850 as a matter of expediency, but opposed compromises in general
+    as a sacrifice of principle. Was elected governor of Tennessee in 1853
+    over Gustavus A. Henry, the "Eagle Orator" of the State. In his message
+    to the legislature he dwelt upon the homestead law and other measures
+    for the benefit of the working classes, and earned the title of
+    the "Mechanic Governor." Opposed the Know-nothing movement with
+    characteristic vehemence. Was reelected governor in 1855, defeating
+    Meredith P. Gentry, the Whig-American candidate, after a most remarkable
+    canvass. The Kansas-Nebraska bill received his earnest support. In 1857
+    was elected to the United States Senate, where he urged the passage of
+    the homestead bill, and on May 20, 1858, made his greatest speech on
+    this subject. Opposed the grant of aid for the construction of a Pacific
+    railroad. Was prominent in debate, and frequently clashed with Southern
+    supporters of the Administration. His pronounced Unionism estranged him
+    from the extremists on the Southern side, while his acceptance of
+    slavery as an institution guaranteed by the Constitution caused him
+    to hold aloof from the Republicans on the other. At the Democratic
+    convention at Charleston, S.C., in 1860 was a candidate for the
+    Presidential nomination, but received only the vote of Tennessee, and
+    when the convention reassembled in Baltimore withdrew his name. In the
+    canvass that followed supported John C. Breckinridge. At the session
+    of Congress beginning in December, 1860, took decided and unequivocal
+    grounds in opposition to secession, and on December 13 introduced a
+    joint resolution proposing to amend the Constitution so as to elect the
+    President and Vice-President by district votes, Senators by a direct
+    popular vote, and to limit the terms of Federal judges to twelve
+    years, the judges to be equally divided between slaveholding and
+    non-slaveholding States. In his speech on this resolution, December 18
+    and 19, declared his unyielding opposition to secession and announced
+    his intention to stand by and act under the Constitution. Retained
+    his seat in the Senate until appointed by President Lincoln military
+    governor of Tennessee, March 4, 1862. March 12 reached Nashville, and
+    organized a provisional government for the State; March 18 issued a
+    proclamation in which he appealed to the people to return to their
+    allegiance, to uphold the law, and to accept "a full and complete
+    amnesty for all past acts and declarations;" April 5 removed the mayor
+    and other officials of Nashville for refusing to take the oath of
+    allegiance to the United States, and appointed others; urged the holding
+    of Union meetings throughout the State, and frequently attended them in
+    person; completed the railroad from Nashville to the Tennessee River;
+    raised twenty-five regiments for service in the State; December 8, 1862,
+    issued a proclamation ordering Congressional elections, and on the 15th
+    levied an assessment upon the richer Southern sympathizers "in behalf of
+    the many helpless widows, wives, and children in the city of Nashville
+    who have been reduced to poverty and wretchedness in consequence of
+    their husbands, sons, and fathers having been forced into the armies of
+    this unholy and nefarious rebellion." Was nominated for Vice-President
+    of the United States at the national Republican convention at Baltimore
+    June 8, 1864, and was elected on November 8. In his letter of acceptance
+    of the nomination Mr. Johnson virtually disclaimed any departure from
+    his principles as a Democrat, but placed his acceptance upon the ground
+    of "the higher duty of first preserving the Government." On the night of
+    the 14th of April, 1865, President Lincoln was shot by an assassin and
+    died the next morning. At 11 o'clock a.m. April 15 Mr. Johnson was sworn
+    in as President, at his rooms in the Kirkwood House, Washington, by
+    Chief Justice Chase, in the presence of nearly all the Cabinet officers
+    and others. April 29, 1865, issued a proclamation for the removal of
+    trade restrictions in most of the insurrectionary States, which, being
+    in contravention of an act of Congress, was subsequently modified.
+    May 9 issued an Executive order restoring Virginia to the Union. May 22
+    proclaimed all ports, except four in Texas, opened to foreign commerce
+    on July 1, 1865. May 29 issued a general amnesty proclamation, after
+    which the fundamental and irreconcilable differences between President
+    Johnson and the party that had elevated him to power became more
+    apparent. He exercised the veto power to a very great extent, but it was
+    generally nullified by the two-thirds votes of both Houses. From May 29
+    to July 13, 1865, proclaimed provisional governors for North Carolina,
+    Mississippi, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, South Carolina, and Florida, whose
+    duties were to reorganize the State governments. The State governments
+    were reorganized, but the Republicans claimed that the laws passed were
+    so stringent in reference to the negroes that it was a worse form of
+    slavery than the old. The thirteenth amendment to the Constitution
+    became a law December 18, 1865, with Mr. Johnson's concurrence. The first
+    breach between the President and the party in power was the veto of the
+    Freedmen's Bureau bill, in February, 1866, which was designed to protect
+    the negroes. March 27 vetoed the civil-rights bill, but it was passed
+    over his veto. In a message of June 22, 1866, opposed the joint
+    resolution proposing the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution. In
+    June, 1866, the Republicans in Congress brought forward their plan of
+    reconstruction, called the "Congressional plan," in contradistinction
+    to that of the President. The chief features of the Congressional plan
+    were to give the negroes the right to vote, to protect them in this
+    right, and to prevent Confederate leaders from voting. January 5, 1867,
+    vetoed the act giving negroes the right of suffrage in the District
+    of Columbia, but it was passed over his veto. An attempt was made to
+    impeach the President, but it failed. In January, 1867, a bill was
+    passed to deprive the President of the power to proclaim general
+    amnesty, which he disregarded. Measures were adopted looking to the
+    meeting of the Fortieth and all subsequent Congresses immediately after
+    the adjournment of the preceding. The President was deprived of the
+    command of the Army by a rider to the army appropriation bill, which
+    provided that his orders should only be given through the General, who
+    was not to be removed without the previous consent of the Senate. The
+    bill admitting Nebraska, providing that no law should ever be passed in
+    that State denying the right of suffrage to any person because of his
+    color or race, was vetoed by the President, but passed over his veto.
+    March 2, 1867, vetoed the act to provide for the more efficient
+    government of the rebel States, but it was passed over his veto.
+    It embodied the Congressional plan of reconstruction, and divided the
+    Southern States into five military districts, each under an officer of
+    the Army not under the rank of brigadier-general, who was to exercise
+    all the functions of government until the citizens had "formed a
+    constitution of government in conformity with the Constitution
+    of the United States in all respects." On the same day vetoed the
+    tenure-of-office act, which was also passed over his veto. It provided
+    that civil officers should remain in office until the confirmation of
+    their successors; that the members of the Cabinet should be removed
+    only with the consent of the Senate, and that when Congress was not in
+    session the President could suspend but not remove any official, and in
+    case the Senate at the next session should not ratify the suspension the
+    suspended official should be reinducted into his office. August 5, 1867,
+    requested Edwin M. Stanton to resign his office as Secretary of War.
+    Mr. Stanton refused, was suspended, and General Grant was appointed
+    Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>. When Congress met, the Senate
+    refused to ratify the suspension. General Grant then resigned, and Mr.
+    Stanton resumed the duties of his office. The President removed him and
+    appointed Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant-General of the Army, Secretary of War
+    <i>ad interim</i>. The Senate declared this act illegal, and Mr. Stanton
+    refused to comply, and notified the Speaker of the House. On February
+    24, 1868, the House of Representatives resolved to impeach the
+    President, and on March 2 and 3 articles of impeachment were agreed upon
+    by the House of Representatives, and on the 4th were presented to the
+    Senate. The trial began on March 30. May 16 the test vote was had;
+    thirty-five Senators voted for conviction and nineteen for acquittal. A
+    change of one vote would have carried conviction. A verdict of acquittal
+    was entered, and the Senate sitting as a court of impeachment adjourned
+    <i>sine die</i>. After the expiration of his term the ex-President
+    returned to Tennessee. Was a candidate for the United States Senate, but
+    was defeated. In 1872 was an unsuccessful candidate for Congressman from
+    the State at large. In January, 1875, was elected to the United States
+    Senate, and took his seat at the extra session of that year. Shortly
+    after the session began made a speech which was a skillful but bitter
+    attack upon President Grant. While visiting his daughter near
+    Elizabethton, in Carter County, Tenn., was stricken with paralysis July
+    30, 1875, and died the following day. He was buried at Greeneville, Tenn.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
+</h2>
+<center>
+    [From the Sunday Morning Chronicle, Washington, April 16, 1865, and
+    The Sun, Baltimore, April 17, 1865.]
+</center>
+<p>
+    GENTLEMEN: I must be permitted to say that I have been almost
+    overwhelmed by the announcement of the sad event which has so recently
+    occurred. I feel incompetent to perform duties so important and
+    responsible as those which have been so unexpectedly thrown upon me.
+    As to an indication of any policy which may be pursued by me in the
+    administration of the Government, I have to say that that must be left
+    for development as the Administration progresses. The message or
+    declaration must be made by the acts as they transpire. The only
+    assurance that I can now give of the future is reference to the past.
+    The course which I have taken in the past in connection with this
+    rebellion must be regarded as a guaranty of the future. My past public
+    life, which has been long and laborious, has been founded, as I in good
+    conscience believe, upon a great principle of right, which lies at the
+    basis of all things. The best energies of my life have been spent in
+    endeavoring to establish and perpetuate the principles of free
+    government, and I believe that the Government in passing through its
+    present perils will settle down upon principles consonant with popular
+    rights more permanent and enduring than heretofore. I must be permitted
+    to say, if I understand the feelings of my own heart, that I have long
+    labored to ameliorate and elevate the condition of the great mass of the
+    American people. Toil and an honest advocacy of the great principles of
+    free government have been my lot. Duties have been mine; consequences
+    are God's. This has been the foundation of my political creed, and I
+    feel that in the end the Government will triumph and that these great
+    principles will be permanently established.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In conclusion, gentlemen, let me say that I want your encouragement and
+    countenance. I shall ask and rely upon you and others in carrying the
+    Government through its present perils. I feel in making this request
+    that it will be heartily responded to by you and all other patriots
+    and lovers of the rights and interests of a free people.
+</p>
+<p>
+    APRIL 15, 1865.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    PROCLAMATIONS.
+</h2>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas, by my direction, the Acting Secretary of State, in a notice to
+    the public of the 17th, requested the various religious denominations
+    to assemble on the 19th instant, on the occasion of the obsequies of
+    Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United States, and to observe the
+    same with appropriate ceremonies; but
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas our country has become one great house of mourning, where the
+    head of the family has been taken away, and believing that a special
+    period should be assigned for again humbling ourselves before Almighty
+    God, in order that the bereavement may be sanctified to the nation:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, in order to mitigate that grief on earth which can
+    only be assuaged by communion with the Father in heaven, and in
+    compliance with the wishes of Senators and Representatives in Congress,
+    communicated to me by resolutions adopted at the National Capitol,
+    I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby appoint
+    Thursday, the 25th day of May next, to be observed, wherever in the
+    United States the flag of the country may be respected, as a day of
+    humiliation and mourning, and I recommend my fellow citizens then to
+    assemble in their respective places of worship, there to unite in solemn
+    service to Almighty God in memory of the good man who has been removed,
+    so that all shall be occupied at the same time in contemplation of his
+    virtues and in sorrow for his sudden and violent end.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, the 25th day of April, A.D. 1865, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  W. HUNTER,<br>
+    <i>Acting Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas by my proclamation of the 25th instant Thursday, the 25th day of
+    next month, was recommended as a day for special humiliation and prayer
+    in consequence of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, late President
+    of the United States; but
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas my attention has since been called to the fact that the day
+    aforesaid is sacred to large numbers of Christians as one of rejoicing
+    for the ascension of the Savior:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States, do hereby suggest that the religious services recommended
+    as aforesaid should be postponed until Thursday, the 1st day of June
+    next.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 29th day of April, A.D. 1865, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  W. HUNTER,<br>
+    <i>Acting Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas it appears from evidence in the Bureau of Military Justice that
+    the atrocious murder of the late President, Abraham Lincoln, and the
+    attempted assassination of the Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of
+    State, were incited, concerted, and procured by and between Jefferson
+    Davis, late of Richmond, Va., and Jacob Thompson, Clement C. Clay,
+    Beverley Tucker, George N. Sanders, William C. Cleary, and other rebels
+    and traitors against the Government of the United States harbored in
+    Canada:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, to the end that justice may be done, I, Andrew Johnson,
+    President of the United States, do offer and promise for the arrest of
+    said persons, or either of them, within the limits of the United States,
+    so that they can be brought to trial, the following rewards:
+</p>
+<p>
+    One hundred thousand dollars for the arrest of Jefferson Davis.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of Clement C. Clay.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of Jacob Thompson, late of
+    Mississippi.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of George N. Sanders.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of Beverley Tucker.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Ten thousand dollars for the arrest of William C. Cleary, late clerk of
+    Clement C. Clay.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Provost-Marshal-General of the United States is directed to cause
+    a description of said persons, with notice of the above rewards, to be
+    published.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 2d day of May, A.D. 1865, and of
+    the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  W. HUNTER,<br>
+    <i>Acting Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President of the United States, by his proclamation of the
+    19th day of April, 1861, did declare certain States therein mentioned in
+    insurrection against the Government of the United States; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas armed resistance to the authority of this Government in the said
+    insurrectionary States may be regarded as virtually at an end, and the
+    persons by whom that resistance, as well as the operations of insurgent
+    cruisers, was directed are fugitives or captives; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas it is understood that some of those cruisers are still infesting
+    the high seas and others are preparing to capture, burn, and destroy
+    vessels of the United States:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States, hereby enjoin all naval, military, and civil officers of
+    the United States diligently to endeavor, by all lawful means, to arrest
+    the said cruisers and to bring them into a port of the United States, in
+    order that they may be prevented from committing further depredations on
+    commerce and that the persons on board of them may no longer enjoy
+    impunity for their crimes.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And I do further proclaim and declare that if, after a reasonable time
+    shall have elapsed for this proclamation to become known in the ports of
+    nations claiming to have been neutrals, the said insurgent cruisers and
+    the persons on board of them shall continue to receive hospitality in
+    the said ports, this Government will deem itself justified in refusing
+    hospitality to the public vessels of such nations in ports of the United
+    States and in adopting such other measures as may be deemed advisable
+    toward vindicating the national sovereignty.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 10th day of May, A.D. 1865, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  W. HUNTER,<br>
+    <i>Acting Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas by the proclamation of the President of the 11th day of April
+    last certain ports of the United States therein specified, which had
+    previously been subject to blockade, were, for objects of public safety,
+    declared, in conformity with previous special legislation of Congress,
+    to be closed against foreign commerce during the national will, to be
+    thereafter expressed and made known by the President; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas events and circumstances have since occurred which, in my
+    judgment, render it expedient to remove that restriction, except as to
+    the ports of Galveston, La Salle, Brazos de Santiago (Point Isabel), and
+    Brownsville, in the State of Texas:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States, do hereby declare that the ports aforesaid, not excepted
+    as above, shall be open to foreign commerce from and after the 1st day
+    of July next; that commercial intercourse with the said ports may from
+    that time be carried on, subject to the laws of the United States and in
+    pursuance of such regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of
+    the Treasury. If, however, any vessel from a foreign port shall enter
+    any of the before-named excepted ports in the State of Texas, she will
+    continue to be held liable to the penalties prescribed by the act of
+    Congress approved on the 13th day of July, 1861, and the persons on
+    board of her to such penalties as may be incurred, pursuant to the laws
+    of war, for trading or attempting to trade with an enemy.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby declare
+    and make known that the United States of America do henceforth disallow
+    to all persons trading or attempting to trade in any ports of the United
+    States in violation of the laws thereof all pretense of belligerent
+    rights and privileges; and I give notice that from the date of this
+    proclamation all such offenders will be held and dealt with as pirates.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is also ordered that all restrictions upon trade heretofore imposed
+    in the territory of the United States east of the Mississippi River,
+    save those relating to contraband of war, to the reservation of the
+    rights of the United States to property purchased in the territory of an
+    enemy, and to the 25 per cent upon purchases of cotton be removed. All
+    provisions of the internal-revenue law will be carried into effect under
+    the proper officers.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 22d day of May, A.D. 1865, and of
+    the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  W. HUNTER,<br>
+    <i>Acting Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President of the United States, on the 8th day of December,
+    A.D. 1863, and on the 26th day of March, A.D. 1864, did, with the object
+    to suppress the existing rebellion, to induce all persons to return to
+    their loyalty, and to restore the authority of the United States, issue
+    proclamations offering amnesty and pardon to certain persons who had,
+    directly or by implication, participated in the said rebellion; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas many persons who had so engaged in said rebellion have, since
+    the issuance of said proclamations, failed or neglected to take the
+    benefits offered thereby; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas many persons who have been justly deprived of all claim to
+    amnesty and pardon thereunder by reason of their participation, directly
+    or by implication, in said rebellion and continued hostility to the
+    Government of the United States since the date of said proclamations now
+    desire to apply for and obtain amnesty and pardon.
+</p>
+<p>
+    To the end, therefore, that the authority of the Government of the
+    United States may be restored and that peace, order, and freedom may
+    be established, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+    do proclaim and declare that I hereby grant to all persons who have,
+    directly or indirectly, participated in the existing rebellion, except
+    as hereinafter excepted, amnesty and pardon, with restoration of all
+    rights of property, except as to slaves and except in cases where legal
+    proceedings under the laws of the United States providing for the
+    confiscation of property of persons engaged in rebellion have been
+    instituted; but upon the condition, nevertheless, that every such person
+    shall take and subscribe the following oath (or affirmation) 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:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  I &mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash; do solemnly swear (or affirm), 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 laws and proclamations which have been made during the
+  existing rebellion with reference to the emancipation of slaves.
+  So help me God.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The following classes of persons are excepted from the benefits of this
+    proclamation:
+</p>
+<p>
+    First. All who are or shall have been pretended civil or diplomatic
+    officers or otherwise domestic or foreign agents of the pretended
+    Confederate government.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second. All who left judicial stations under the United States to aid
+    the rebellion.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Third. All who shall have been military or naval officers of said
+    pretended Confederate government above the rank of colonel in the army
+    or lieutenant in the navy.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fourth. All who left seats in the Congress of the United States to aid
+    the rebellion.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fifth. All who resigned or tendered resignations of their commissions in
+    the Army or Navy of the United States to evade duty in resisting the
+    rebellion.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Sixth. All who have engaged in any way in treating otherwise than
+    lawfully as prisoners of war persons found in the United States service
+    as officers, soldiers, seamen, or in other capacities.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Seventh. All persons who have been or are absentees from the United
+    States for the purpose of aiding the rebellion.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Eighth. All military and naval officers in the rebel service who were
+    educated by the Government in the Military Academy at West Point or the
+    United States Naval Academy.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Ninth. All persons who held the pretended offices of governors of States
+    in insurrection against the United States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Tenth. All persons who left their homes within the jurisdiction and
+    protection of the United States and passed beyond the Federal military
+    lines into the pretended Confederate States for the purpose of aiding
+    the rebellion.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Eleventh. All persons who have been engaged in the destruction of the
+    commerce of the United States upon the high seas and all persons who
+    have made raids into the United States from Canada or been engaged in
+    destroying the commerce of the United States upon the lakes and rivers
+    that separate the British Provinces from the United States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Twelfth. All persons who, at the time when they seek to obtain the
+    benefits hereof by taking the oath herein prescribed, are in military,
+    naval, or civil confinement or custody, or under bonds 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.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Thirteenth. All persons who have voluntarily participated in said
+    rebellion and the estimated value of whose taxable property is over
+    $20,000.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fourteenth. All persons who have taken the oath of amnesty as prescribed
+    in the President's proclamation of December 8, A.D. 1863, or an oath of
+    allegiance to the Government of the United States since the date of said
+    proclamation and who have not thenceforward kept and maintained the same
+    inviolate.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Provided</i>, That special application may be made to the President
+    for pardon by any person belonging to the excepted classes, and such
+    clemency will be liberally extended as may be consistent with the facts
+    of the case and the peace and dignity of the United States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Secretary of State will establish rules and regulations for
+    administering and recording the said amnesty oath, so as to insure its
+    benefit to the people and guard the Government against fraud.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal
+    of the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, the 29th day of May, A.D. 1865, and
+    of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+    the United States declares that the United States shall guarantee to
+    every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+    protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution made
+    Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+    executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+    faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+    to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+    the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+    Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+    organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+    in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of North
+    Carolina of all civil government; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+    obligations of the United States to the people of North Carolina in
+    securing them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+    me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+    enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+    whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+    loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+    property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+    Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do hereby
+    appoint William W. Holden provisional governor of the State of North
+    Carolina, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest practicable period, to
+    prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for
+    convening a convention composed of delegates to be chosen by that
+    portion of the people of said State who are loyal to the United States,
+    and no others, for the purpose of altering or amending the constitution
+    thereof, and with authority to exercise within the limits of said State
+    all the powers necessary and proper to enable such loyal people of the
+    State of North Carolina to restore said State to its constitutional
+    relations to the Federal Government and to present such a republican
+    form of State government as will entitle the State to the guaranty of
+    the United States therefor and its people to protection by the United
+    States against invasion, insurrection, and domestic violence:
+    <i>Provided</i>, That in any election that may be hereafter held for
+    choosing delegates to any State convention as aforesaid no person shall
+    be qualified as an elector or shall be eligible as a member of such
+    convention unless he shall have previously taken and subscribed the oath
+    of amnesty as set forth in the President's proclamation of May 29, A.D.
+    1865, and is a voter qualified as prescribed by the constitution and
+    laws of the State of North Carolina in force immediately before the 20th
+    day of May, A.D. 1861, the date of the so-called ordinance of secession;
+    and the said convention, when convened, or the legislature that may be
+    thereafter assembled, will prescribe the qualification of electors and
+    the eligibility of persons to hold office under the constitution and
+    laws of the State&mdash;a power the people of the several States composing
+    the Federal Union have rightfully exercised from the origin of the
+    Government to the present time.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And I do hereby direct&mdash;
+</p>
+<p>
+    First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+    and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+    provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+    are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+    discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+    government as herein authorized.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws
+    of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+    Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+    appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+    revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+    authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+    States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+    the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+    the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+    suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+    residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+    and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+    States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+    of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+    agents, etc., from other States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which North
+    Carolina is included proceed to hold courts within said State in
+    accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The
+    Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to
+    judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and
+    enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters
+    within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+    property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+    limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+    affairs having application to the said State.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+    relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+    limits aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 29th day of May, A.D. 1865, and
+    of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+    the United States declares that the United States shall guarantee to
+    every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+    protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution made
+    Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+    executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+    faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+    to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+    the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+    Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+    organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+    in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of
+    Mississippi of all civil government; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+    obligations of the United States to the people of Mississippi in
+    securing them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+    me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+    enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+    whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+    loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+    property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+    Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do
+    hereby appoint William L. Sharkey, of Mississippi, provisional governor
+    of the State of Mississippi, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest
+    practicable period, to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be
+    necessary and proper for convening a convention composed of delegates
+    to be chosen by that portion of the people of said State who are loyal
+    to the United States, and no others, for the purpose of altering or
+    amending the constitution thereof, and with authority to exercise within
+    the limits of said State all the powers necessary and proper to enable
+    such loyal people of the State of Mississippi to restore said State to
+    its constitutional relations to the Federal Government and to present
+    such a republican form of State government as will entitle the State to
+    the guaranty of the United States therefor and its people to protection
+    by the United States against invasion, insurrection, and domestic
+    violence: <i>Provided</i>, That in any election that may be hereafter
+    held for choosing delegates to any State convention as aforesaid no
+    person shall be qualified as an elector or shall be eligible as a member
+    of such convention unless he shall have previously taken and subscribed
+    the oath of amnesty as set forth in the President's proclamation of
+    May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a voter qualified as prescribed by the
+    constitution and laws of the State of Mississippi in force immediately
+    before the 9th of January, A.D. 1861, the date of the so-called
+    ordinance of secession; and the said convention, when convened, or
+    the legislature that may be thereafter assembled, will prescribe the
+    qualification of electors and the eligibility of persons to hold office
+    under the constitution and laws of the State&mdash;a power the people of the
+    several States composing the Federal Union have rightfully exercised
+    from the origin of the Government to the present time.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And I do hereby direct&mdash;
+</p>
+<p>
+    First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+    and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+    provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+    are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+    discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+    government as herein authorized.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws
+    of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+    Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+    appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+    revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+    authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+    States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+    the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+    the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+    suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+    residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+    and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+    States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+    of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+    agents, etc., from other States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which
+    Mississippi is included proceed to hold courts within said State
+    in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The
+    Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to
+    judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and
+    enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters
+    within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+    property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+    limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+    affairs having application to the said State.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+    relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+    limits aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal
+    of the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 13th day of June, A.D. 1865, and
+    of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas by my proclamation<a href="#note-1"><small>1</small></a> of the 29th of April, 1865, all
+    restrictions upon internal, domestic, and commercial intercourse,
+    with certain exceptions therein specified and set forth, were removed
+    "in such parts of the States of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina,
+    South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and so much of
+    Louisiana as lies east of the Mississippi River as shall be embraced
+    within the lines of national military occupation;" and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas by my proclamation of the 22d of May, 1865, for reasons therein
+    given, it was declared that certain ports of the United States which had
+    been previously closed against foreign commerce should, with certain
+    specified exceptions, be reopened to such commerce on and after the
+    1st day of July next, subject to the laws of the United States, and in
+    pursuance of such regulations as might be prescribed by the Secretary
+    of the Treasury; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas I am satisfactorily informed that dangerous combinations against
+    the laws of the United States no longer exist within the State of
+    Tennessee; that the insurrection heretofore existing within said State
+    has been suppressed; that within the boundaries thereof the authority of
+    the United States is undisputed, and that such officers of the United
+    States as have been duly commissioned are in the undisturbed exercise of
+    their official functions:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States, do hereby declare that all restrictions upon internal,
+    domestic, and coastwise intercourse and trade and upon the removal of
+    products of States heretofore declared in insurrection, reserving and
+    excepting only those relating to contraband of war, as hereinafter
+    recited, and also those which relate to the reservation of the rights
+    of the United States to property purchased in the territory of an enemy
+    heretofore imposed in the territory of the United States east of the
+    Mississippi River, are annulled, and I do hereby direct that they be
+    forthwith removed; and that on and after the 1st day of July next all
+    restrictions upon foreign commerce with said ports, with the exception
+    and reservation aforesaid, be likewise removed; and that the commerce of
+    said States shall be conducted under the supervision of the regularly
+    appointed officers of the customs provided by law, and such officers of
+    the customs shall receive any captured and abandoned property that may
+    be turned over to them under the law by the military or naval forces of
+    the United States and dispose of such property as shall be directed by
+    the Secretary of the Treasury. The following articles, contraband of
+    war, are excepted from the effect of this proclamation: Arms,
+    ammunition, all articles from which ammunition is made, and gray
+    uniforms and cloth.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And I hereby also proclaim and declare that the insurrection, so far as
+    it relates to and within the State of Tennessee and the inhabitants of
+    the said State of Tennessee as reorganized and constituted under their
+    recently adopted constitution and reorganization and accepted by them,
+    is suppressed, and therefore, also, that all the disabilities and
+    disqualifications attaching to said State and the inhabitants thereof
+    consequent upon any proclamation issued by virtue of the fifth section
+    of the act entitled "An act further to provide for the collection of
+    duties on imports and for other purposes," approved the 13th day of
+    July, 1861, are removed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    But nothing herein contained shall be considered or construed as in any
+    wise changing or impairing any of the penalties and forfeitures for
+    treason heretofore incurred under the laws of the United States or any
+    of the provisions, restrictions, or disabilities set forth in my
+    proclamation bearing date the 29th day of May, 1865, or as impairing
+    existing regulations for the suspension of the <i>habeas corpus</i> and
+    the exercise of military law in cases where it shall be necessary for
+    the general public safety and welfare during the existing insurrection;
+    nor shall this proclamation affect or in any way impair any laws
+    heretofore passed by Congress and duly approved by the President or any
+    proclamations or orders issued by him during the aforesaid insurrection
+    abolishing slavery or in any way affecting the relations of slavery,
+    whether of persons or property; but, on the contrary, all such laws and
+    proclamations heretofore made or issued are expressly saved and declared
+    to be in full force and virtue.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal
+    of the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 13th day of June, A.D. 1865, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+    the United States declares that the United States shall guarantee to
+    every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+    protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution made
+    Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+    executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+    faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+    to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+    the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+    Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+    organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+    in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of
+    Georgia of all civil government; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+    obligations of the United States to the people of Georgia in securing
+    them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+    me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+    enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+    whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+    loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+    property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+    Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do hereby
+    appoint James Johnson, of Georgia, provisional governor of the State of
+    Georgia, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest practicable period,
+    to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper
+    for convening a convention composed of delegates to be chosen by that
+    portion of the people of said State who are loyal to the United States,
+    and no others, for the purpose of altering or amending the constitution
+    thereof, and with authority to exercise within the limits of said State
+    all the powers necessary and proper to enable such loyal people of the
+    State of Georgia to restore said State to its constitutional relations
+    to the Federal Government and to present such a republican form of State
+    government as will entitle the State to the guaranty of the United
+    States therefor and its people to protection by the United States
+    against invasion, insurrection, and domestic violence: <i>Provided</i>,
+    That in any election that may be hereafter held for choosing delegates
+    to any State convention as aforesaid no person shall be qualified as an
+    elector or shall be eligible as a member of such convention unless he
+    shall have previously taken and subscribed the oath of amnesty as set
+    forth in the President's proclamation of May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a
+    voter qualified as prescribed by the constitution and laws of the State
+    of Georgia in force immediately before the 19th of January, A.D. 1861,
+    the date of the so-called ordinance of secession; and the said
+    convention, when convened, or the legislature that may be thereafter
+    assembled, will prescribe the qualification of electors and the
+    eligibility of persons to hold office under the constitution and laws
+    of the State&mdash;a power the people of the several States composing the
+    Federal Union have rightfully exercised from the origin of the
+    Government to the present time.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And I do hereby direct&mdash;
+</p>
+<p>
+    First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+    and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+    provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+    are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+    discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+    government as herein authorized.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws
+    of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+    Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+    appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+    revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+    authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+    States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+    the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+    the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+    suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+    residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+    and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+    States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+    of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+    agents, etc., from other States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which
+    Georgia is included proceed to hold courts within said State in
+    accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The
+    Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to
+    judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and
+    enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters
+    within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+    property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+    limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+    affairs having application to the said State.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+    relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+    limits aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal
+    of the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 17th day of June, A.D. 1865, and
+    of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+    the United States declares that the United States shall guarantee to
+    every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+    protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution
+    made Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+    executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+    faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+    to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+    the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+    Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+    organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+    in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of Texas
+    of all civil government; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+    obligations of the United States to the people of the State of Texas in
+    securing them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+    me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+    enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+    whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+    loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+    property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+    Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do hereby
+    appoint Andrew J. Hamilton, of Texas, provisional governor of the State
+    of Texas, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest practicable period, to
+    prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for
+    convening a convention composed of delegates to be chosen by that
+    portion of the people of said State who are loyal to the United States,
+    and no others, for the purpose of altering or amending the constitution
+    thereof, and with authority to exercise within the limits of said State
+    all the powers necessary and proper to enable such loyal people of the
+    State of Texas to restore said State to its constitutional relations to
+    the Federal Government and to present such a republican form of State
+    government as will entitle the State to the guaranty of the United
+    States therefor and its people to protection by the United States
+    against invasion, insurrection, and domestic violence: <i>Provided</i>,
+    That in any election that may be hereafter held for choosing delegates
+    to any State convention as aforesaid no person shall be qualified as an
+    elector or shall be eligible as a member of such convention unless he
+    shall have previously taken and subscribed the oath of amnesty as set
+    forth in the President's proclamation of May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a
+    voter qualified as prescribed by the constitution and laws of the State
+    of Texas in force immediately before the 1st day of February, A.D. 1861,
+    the date of the so-called ordinance of secession; and the said
+    convention, when convened, or the legislature that may be thereafter
+    assembled, will prescribe the qualification of electors and the
+    eligibility of persons to hold office under the constitution and laws of
+    the State&mdash;a power the people of the several States composing the
+    Federal Union have rightfully exercised from the origin of the
+    Government to the present time.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And I do hereby direct&mdash;
+</p>
+<p>
+    First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+    and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+    provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+    are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+    discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+    government as herein authorized.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws
+    of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+    Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+    appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+    revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+    authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+    States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+    the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+    the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+    suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+    residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+    and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+    States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+    of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+    agents, etc., from other States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which Texas
+    is included proceed to hold courts within said State in accordance with
+    the provisions of the act of Congress. The Attorney-General will
+    instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to judgment,
+    confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and enforce the
+    administration of justice within said State in all matters within the
+    cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+    property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+    limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+    affairs having application to the said State.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+    relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+    limits aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 17th day of June, A.D. 1865, and of
+    the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+    the United States declares that the United States shall guarantee to
+    every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+    protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution made
+    Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+    executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+    faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+    to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+    the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+    Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+    organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+    in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of
+    Alabama of all civil government; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+    obligations of the United States to the people of Alabama in securing
+    them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+    me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+    enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+    whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+    loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+    property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+    Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do hereby
+    appoint Lewis E. Parsons, of Alabama, provisional governor of the State
+    of Alabama, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest practicable period,
+    to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper
+    for convening a convention composed of delegates to be chosen by that
+    portion of the people of said State who are loyal to the United States,
+    and no others, for the purpose of altering or amending the constitution
+    thereof, and with authority to exercise within the limits of said State
+    all the powers necessary and proper to enable such loyal people of the
+    State of Alabama to restore said State to its constitutional relations
+    to the Federal Government and to present such a republican form of State
+    government as will entitle the State to the guaranty of the United
+    States therefor and its people to protection by the United States
+    against invasion, insurrection, and domestic violence: <i>Provided</i>,
+    That in any election that may be hereafter held for choosing delegates
+    to any State convention as aforesaid no person shall be qualified as an
+    elector or shall be eligible as a member of such convention unless he
+    shall have previously taken and subscribed the oath of amnesty as set
+    forth in the President's proclamation of May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a
+    voter qualified as prescribed by the constitution and laws of the State
+    of Alabama in force immediately before the 11th day of January, A.D.
+    1861, the date of the so-called ordinance of secession; and the said
+    convention, when convened, or the legislature that may be thereafter
+    assembled, will prescribe the qualification of electors and the
+    eligibility of persons to hold office under the constitution and laws of
+    the State, a power the people of the several States composing the
+    Federal Union have rightfully exercised from the origin of the
+    Government to the present time.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And I do hereby direct&mdash;
+</p>
+<p>
+    First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+    and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+    provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+    are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+    discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+    government as herein authorized.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws
+    of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+    Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+    appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+    revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+    authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+    States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+    the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+    the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+    suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+    residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+    and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+    States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+    of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+    agents, etc., from other States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which
+    Alabama is included proceed to hold courts within said State in
+    accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The
+    Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to
+    judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and
+    enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters
+    within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+    property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+    limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+    affairs having application to the said State.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+    relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+    limits aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal
+    of the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 21st day of June, A.D. 1865, and
+    of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas by the proclamations of the President of the 19th and 27th of
+    April, 1861, a blockade of certain ports of the United States was set on
+    foot; but
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the reasons for that measure have ceased to exist:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States, do hereby declare and proclaim the blockade aforesaid to
+    be rescinded as to all the ports aforesaid, including that of Galveston
+    and other ports west of the Mississippi River, which ports will be open
+    to foreign commerce on the 1st of July next on the terms and conditions
+    set forth in my proclamation of the 22d of May last.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is to be understood, however, that the blockade thus rescinded was an
+    international measure for the purpose of protecting the sovereign rights
+    of the United States. The greater or less subversion of civil authority
+    in the region to which it applied and the impracticability of at once
+    restoring that in due efficiency may for a season make it advisable to
+    employ the Army and Navy of the United States toward carrying the laws
+    into effect wherever such employment may be necessary.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 23d day of June, A.D. 1865, and of
+    the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  W. HUNTER,<br>
+    <i>Acting Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas it has been the desire of the General Government of the United
+    States to restore unrestricted commercial intercourse between and in the
+    several States as soon as the same could be safely done in view of
+    resistance to the authority of the United States by combinations of
+    armed insurgents; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas that desire has been shown in my proclamations of the 29th of
+    April, 1865, the 13th of June, 1865, and the 23d of June, 1865; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas it now seems expedient and proper to remove restrictions upon
+    internal, domestic, and coastwise trade and commercial intercourse
+    between and within the States and Territories west of the Mississippi
+    River:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States, do hereby declare that all restrictions upon internal,
+    domestic, and coastwise intercourse and trade and upon the purchase and
+    removal of products of States and parts of States and Territories
+    heretofore declared in insurrection, lying west of the Mississippi River
+    (excepting only those relating to property heretofore purchased by the
+    agents or captured by or surrendered to the forces of the United States
+    and to the transportation thereto or therein on private account of arms,
+    ammunition, all articles from which ammunition is made, gray uniforms,
+    and gray cloth), are annulled; and I do hereby direct that they be
+    forthwith removed, and also that the commerce of such States and parts
+    of States shall be conducted under the supervision of the regularly
+    appointed officers of the customs, [who] shall receive any captured and
+    abandoned property that may be turned over to them under the law by the
+    military or naval forces of the United States and dispose of the same in
+    accordance with instructions on the subject issued by the Secretary of
+    the Treasury.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 24th day of June, A.D. 1865, and of
+    the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  W. HUNTER,<br>
+    <i>Acting Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+    the United States declares that the United States shall guarantee to
+    every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+    protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution made
+    Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+    executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+    faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+    to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+    the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+    Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+    organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+    in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of South
+    Carolina of all civil government; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+    obligations of the United States to the people of South Carolina in
+    securing them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+    me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+    enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+    whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+    loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+    property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+    Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do hereby
+    appoint Benjamin F. Perry, of South Carolina, provisional governor of
+    the State of South Carolina, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest
+    practicable period, to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be
+    necessary and proper for convening a convention composed of delegates
+    to be chosen by that portion of the people of said State who are loyal
+    to the United States, and no others, for the purpose of altering or
+    amending the constitution thereof, and with authority to exercise within
+    the limits of said State all the powers necessary and proper to enable
+    such loyal people of the State of South Carolina to restore said State
+    to its constitutional relations to the Federal Government and to present
+    such a republican form of State government as will entitle the State to
+    the guaranty of the United States therefor and its people to protection
+    by the United States against invasion, insurrection, and domestic
+    violence: <i>Provided</i>, That in any election that may be hereafter
+    held for choosing delegates to any State convention as aforesaid no
+    person shall be qualified as an elector or shall be eligible as a member
+    of such convention unless he shall have previously taken and subscribed
+    the oath of amnesty as set forth in the President's proclamation
+    of May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a voter qualified as prescribed by
+    the constitution and laws of the State of South Carolina in force
+    immediately before the 17th day of November, A.D. 1860, the date of
+    the so-called ordinance of secession; and the said convention, when
+    convened, or the legislature that may be thereafter assembled, will
+    prescribe the qualification of electors and the eligibility of persons
+    to hold office under the constitution and laws of the State&mdash;a power the
+    people of the several States composing the Federal Union have rightfully
+    exercised from the origin of the Government to the present time.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And I do hereby direct&mdash;
+</p>
+<p>
+    First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+    and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+    provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+    are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+    discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+    government as herein authorized.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws
+    of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+    Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+    appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+    revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+    authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+    States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+    the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+    the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+    suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+    residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+    and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+    States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+    of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+    agents, etc., from other States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which
+    South Carolina is included proceed to hold courts within said
+    State in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The
+    Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to
+    judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and
+    enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters
+    within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+    property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+    limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+    affairs having application to the said State.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+    relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+    limits aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal
+    of the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 30th day of June, A.D. 1865, and
+    of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+    the United States declares that the United Stales shall guarantee to
+    every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+    protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution made
+    Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+    executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+    faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+    to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+    the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+    Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+    organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+    in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of
+    Florida of all civil government; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+    obligations of the United States to the people of Florida in securing
+    them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+    me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+    enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+    whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+    loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+    property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+    Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do hereby
+    appoint William Marvin provisional governor of the State of Florida,
+    whose duty it shall be, at the earliest practicable period, to prescribe
+    such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for convening
+    a convention composed of delegates to be chosen by that portion of the
+    people of said State who are loyal to the United States, and no others,
+    for the purpose of altering or amending the constitution thereof, and
+    with authority to exercise within the limits of said State all the
+    powers necessary and proper to enable such loyal people of the State of
+    Florida to restore said State to its constitutional relations to the
+    Federal Government and to present such a republican form of State
+    government as will entitle the State to the guaranty of the United
+    States therefor and its people to protection by the United States
+    against invasion, insurrection, and domestic violence: <i>Provided</i>,
+    That in any election that may be hereafter held for choosing delegates
+    to any State convention as aforesaid no person shall be qualified as an
+    elector or shall be eligible as a member of such convention unless he
+    shall have previously taken and subscribed the oath of amnesty as set
+    forth in the President's proclamation of May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a
+    voter qualified as prescribed by the constitution and laws of the State
+    of Florida in force immediately before the 10th day of January, A.D.
+    1861, the date of the so-called ordinance of secession; and the said
+    convention, when convened, or the legislature that may be thereafter
+    assembled, will prescribe the qualification of electors and the
+    eligibility of persons to hold office under the constitution and laws of
+    the State&mdash;a power the people of the several States composing the
+    Federal Union have rightfully exercised from the origin of the
+    Government to the present time.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And I do hereby direct&mdash;
+</p>
+<p>
+    First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+    and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+    provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+    are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+    discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+    government as herein authorized.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws of
+    the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+    Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+    appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+    revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+    authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+    States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+    the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+    the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+    suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+    residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+    and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+    States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+    of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+    agents, etc., from other States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which
+    Florida is included proceed to hold courts within said State in
+    accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The
+    Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to
+    judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and
+    enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters
+    within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+    property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+    limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+    affairs having application to the said State.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+    relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+    limits aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 13th day of July, A.D. 1865, and of
+    the Independence of the United States the ninetieth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas by my proclamations of the 13th and 24th of June, 1865, removing
+    restrictions, in part, upon internal, domestic, and coastwise
+    intercourse and trade with those States recently declared in
+    insurrection, certain articles were excepted from the effect of said
+    proclamations as contraband of war; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the necessity for restricting trade in said articles has now in
+    a great measure ceased:
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is hereby ordered that on and after the 1st day of September, 1865.
+    all restrictions aforesaid be removed, so that the articles declared by
+    the said proclamations to be contraband of war may be imported into and
+    sold in said States, subject only to such regulations as the Secretary
+    of the Treasury may prescribe.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 20th day of August, A.D. 1865, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas by a proclamation of the 5th day of July, 1864, the President of
+    the United States, when the civil war was flagrant and when combinations
+    were in progress in Kentucky for the purpose of inciting insurgent raids
+    into that State, directed that the proclamation suspending the privilege
+    of the writ of <i>habeas corpus</i> should be made effectual in Kentucky
+    and that martial law should be established there and continue until said
+    proclamation should be revoked or modified; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas since then the danger from insurgent raids into Kentucky has
+    substantially passed away:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the
+    Constitution, do hereby declare that the said proclamation of the 5th
+    day of July, 1864, shall be, and is hereby, modified in so far that
+    martial law shall be no longer in force in Kentucky from and after the
+    date hereof.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 12th day of October, A.D. 1865, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  W. HUNTER,<br>
+    <i>Acting Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas it has pleased Almighty God during the year which is now coming
+    to an end to relieve our beloved country from the fearful scourge of
+    civil war and to permit us to secure the blessings of peace, unity, and
+    harmony, with a great enlargement of civil liberty; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas our Heavenly Father has also during the year graciously averted
+    from us the calamities of foreign war, pestilence, and famine, while our
+    granaries are full of the fruits of an abundant season; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas righteousness exalteth a nation, while sin is a reproach to any
+    people:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States, do hereby recommend to the people thereof that they do
+    set apart and observe the first Thursday of December next as a day of
+    national thanksgiving to the Creator of the Universe for these great
+    deliverances and blessings.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And I do further recommend that on that occasion the whole people make
+    confession of our national sins against His infinite goodness, and with
+    one heart and one mind implore the divine guidance in the ways of
+    national virtue and holiness.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 28th day of October, A.D. 1865, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas by the proclamation of the President of the United States of the
+    15th day of September, 1863, the privilege of the writ of <i>habeas
+    corpus</i> was, in certain cases therein set forth, suspended throughout
+    the United States; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the reasons for that suspension may be regarded as having ceased
+    in some of the States and Territories:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States, do hereby proclaim and declare that the suspension
+    aforesaid and all other proclamations and orders suspending the
+    privilege of the writ of <i>habeas corpus</i> in the States and
+    Territories of the United States are revoked and annulled, excepting as
+    to the States of Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South
+    Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas,
+    and Texas, the District of Columbia, and the Territories of New Mexico
+    and Arizona.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 1st day of December, A.D. 1865, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<a name="2H_4_0006"><!-- H2 anchor --></a>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
+</h2>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,
+<br>
+<i>Washington, April 29, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Being desirous to relieve all loyal citizens and well-disposed persons
+    residing in insurrectionary States from unnecessary commercial
+    restrictions and to encourage them to return to peaceful pursuits&mdash;
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>It is hereby ordered</i>, I. That all restrictions upon internal,
+    domestic, and coastwise commercial intercourse be discontinued in such
+    parts of the States of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, South
+    Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and so much of
+    Louisiana as lies east of the Mississippi River as shall be embraced
+    within the lines of national military occupation, excepting only such
+    restrictions as are imposed by acts of Congress and regulations in
+    pursuance thereof prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury and
+    approved by the President, and excepting also from the effect of this
+    order the following articles contraband of war, to wit: Arms,
+    ammunition, all articles from which ammunition is manufactured, gray
+    uniforms and cloth, locomotives, cars, railroad iron, and machinery for
+    operating railroads, telegraph wires, insulators, and instruments for
+    operating telegraphic lines.
+</p>
+<p>
+    II. That all existing military and naval orders in any manner
+    restricting internal, domestic, and coastwise commercial intercourse and
+    trade with or in the localities above named be, and the same are hereby,
+    revoked, and that no military or naval officer in any manner interrupt
+    or interfere with the same, or with any boats or other vessels engaged
+    therein under proper authority, pursuant to the regulations of the
+    Secretary of the Treasury.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WAR DEPARTMENT,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington City, April 29, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Executive order of January 20, 1865, prohibiting the exportation of
+    hay, is rescinded from and after the 1st day of May, 1865.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By order of the President:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EDWIN M STANTON.
+<br>
+    <i>Secretary of War</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,
+<br>
+<i>Washington City, May 1, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the Attorney-General of the United States hath given his opinion
+    that the persons implicated in the murder of the late President, Abraham
+    Lincoln, and the attempted assassination of the Hon. William H. Seward,
+    Secretary of State, and in an alleged conspiracy to assassinate other
+    officers of the Federal Government at Washington City, and their aiders
+    and abettors, are subject to the jurisdiction of and lawfully triable
+    before a military commission&mdash;
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>It is ordered</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    First. That the assistant adjutant-general detail nine competent
+    military officers to serve as a commission for the trial of said
+    parties, and that the Judge-Advocate-General proceed to prefer charges
+    against said parties for their alleged offenses and bring them to trial
+    before said military commission; that said trial or trials be conducted
+    by the said Judge-Advocate-General, and as recorder thereof, in person,
+    aided by such assistant or special judge-advocate as he may designate,
+    and that said trials be conducted with all diligence consistent with the
+    ends of justice; the said commission to sit without regard to hours.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second. That Brevet Major-General Hartranft be assigned to duty as
+    special provost-marshal-general for the purpose of said trial, and
+    attendance upon said commission, and the execution of its mandates.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Third. That the said commission establish such order or rules of
+    proceeding as may avoid unnecessary delay and conduce to the ends of
+    public justice.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Official copy:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    W.A. NICHOLS,
+<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WAR DEPARTMENT,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., May 3, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Order Rescinding Regulations Prohibiting the Exportation of Arms,
+    Ammunition, Horses, Mules, and Live Stock.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Executive order of November 21, 1862, prohibiting the exportation of
+    arms and ammunition from the United States, and the Executive order of
+    May 13, 1863,<a href="#note-2"><small>2</small></a> prohibiting the exportation of horses, mules, and live
+    stock, being no longer required by public necessities, the aforesaid
+    orders are hereby rescinded and annulled.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By order of the President of the United States:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EDWIN M. STANTON,
+<br>
+    <i>Secretary of War</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, May 4, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This being the day of the funeral of the late President, Abraham
+    Lincoln, at Springfield, Ill., the Executive Office and the various
+    Departments will be closed at 12 m. to-day.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON,
+<br>
+    <i>President of the United States</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    SPECIAL ORDERS, No. 211.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    WAR DEPARTMENT,<br>
+    ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, May 6, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p>
+    4. A military commission is hereby appointed to meet at Washington,
+    D.C., on Monday, the 8th day of May, 1865, at 9 o'clock a.m., or as soon
+    thereafter as practicable, for the trial of David E. Herold, George A.
+    Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward Spangler, Samuel
+    Arnold, Mary E. Surratt, Samuel A. Mudd, and such other prisoners as may
+    be brought before it, implicated in the murder of the late President,
+    Abraham Lincoln, and the attempted assassination of the Hon. William H.
+    Seward, Secretary of State, and in an alleged conspiracy to assassinate
+    other officers of the Federal Government at Washington City, and their
+    aiders and abettors.
+</p>
+<center>
+    <i>Detail for the court</i>.
+</center>
+<p><br>
+  Major-General David Hunter, United States Volunteers.<br>
+  Major-General Lewis Wallace, United States Volunteers.<br>
+  Brevet Major-General August V. Kautz, United States Volunteers.<br>
+  Brigadier-General Albion P. Howe, United States Volunteers.<br>
+  Brigadier-General Robert S. Foster, United States Volunteers.<br>
+  Brevet Brigadier-General Cyrus B. Comstock,<a href="#note-3"><small>3</small></a>  United States Volunteers.<br>
+  Brigadier-General T.M. Harris, United States Volunteers.<br>
+  Brevet Colonel Horace Porter,<a href="#note-4"><small>4</small></a>  aid-de-camp.<br>
+  Lieutenant-Colonel David R. Clendenin, Eighth Illinois Cavalry.<br>
+  Brigadier-General Joseph Holt, Judge-Advocate-General, United States
+    Army, is appointed the judge-advocate and recorder of the commission,
+    to be aided by such assistant or special judge-advocate as he may
+    designate.<br>
+</p>
+<p>
+    The commission will sit without regard to hours.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By order of the President of the United States:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,
+<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WAR DEPARTMENT, <i>Washington City, May 7, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Brigadier-General Holt, Judge-Advocate-General, having designated the
+    Hon. John A. Bingham as a special judge-advocate, whose aid he requires
+    in the prosecution of Herold and others before the military commission
+    of which Major-General Hunter is presiding officer:
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>It is ordered</i>, That the said John A. Bingham be, and he is hereby,
+    appointed special judge-advocate for the purpose aforesaid, to aid the
+    Judge-Advocate-General, pursuant to the order of the President in
+    respect to said military commission.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By order of the President:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EDWIN M. STANTON,
+<br>
+    <i>Secretary of War</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    SPECIAL ORDERS. No. 216.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+WAR DEPARTMENT,<br>
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, May 9, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p>
+    91. Brevet Brigadier-General Cyrus B. Comstock, United States
+    Volunteers, and Brevet Colonel Horace Porter, aid-de-camp, are hereby
+    relieved from duty as members of the military commission appointed in
+    Special Orders, No. 211, paragraph 4, dated "War Department,
+    Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, May 6, 1865," and Brevet
+    Brigadier-General James A. Ekin, United States Volunteers, and Brevet
+    Colonel C.H. Tompkins, United States Army, are detailed in their
+    places, respectively.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The commission will be composed as follows:
+</p>
+<p><br>
+  Major-General David Hunter, United States Volunteers.<br>
+  Major-General Lewis Wallace, United States Volunteers.<br>
+  Brevet Major-General August V. Kautz, United States Volunteers.<br>
+  Brigadier-General Albion P. Howe, United States Volunteers.<br>
+  Brigadier-General Robert S. Poster, United States Volunteers.<br>
+  Brevet Brigadier-General James A. Ekin, United States Volunteers.<br>
+  Brigadier-General T.M. Harris, United States Volunteers.<br>
+  Brevet Colonel C.H. Tompkins, United States Army.<br>
+  Lieutenant-Colonel David R. Clendenin, Eighth Illinois Cavalry.<br>
+  Brigadier-General Joseph Holt, judge-advocate and recorder.<br>
+</p>
+<p>
+    By order of the President of the United States:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,
+<br>
+<i>Washington City, May 9, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Executive Order to Reestablish the Authority of the United States and
+    Execute the Laws within the Geographical Limits Known as the State of
+    Virginia.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Ordered</i>, first. That all acts and proceedings of the political,
+    military, and civil organizations which have been in a state of
+    insurrection and rebellion within the State of Virginia against the
+    authority and laws of the United States, and of which Jefferson Davis,
+    John Letcher, and William Smith were late the respective chiefs, are
+    declared null and void. All persons who shall exercise, claim, pretend,
+    or attempt to exercise any political, military, or civil power,
+    authority, jurisdiction, or right by, through, or under Jefferson Davis,
+    late of the city of Richmond, and his confederates, or under John
+    Letcher or William Smith and their confederates, or under any pretended
+    political, military, or civil commission or authority issued by them or
+    either of them since the 17th day of April, 1861, shall be deemed and
+    taken as in rebellion against the United States, and shall be dealt with
+    accordingly.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws of
+    the United States the administration whereof belongs to the Department
+    of State applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed without delay to
+    nominate for appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs
+    and internal revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department
+    as are authorized by law, and shall put in execution the revenue laws of
+    the United States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making
+    appointments the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons
+    residing within the districts where their respective duties are to be
+    performed; but if suitable persons shall not be found residents of the
+    districts, then persons residing in other States or districts shall be
+    appointed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fourth. That the Postmaster-General shall proceed to establish
+    post-offices and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of
+    the United States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the
+    preference of appointment; but if suitable persons are not found, then
+    to appoint agents, etc., from other States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fifth. That the district judge of said district proceed to hold courts
+    within said State in accordance with the provisions of the act of
+    Congress. The Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to
+    libel and bring to judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to
+    confiscation, and enforce the administration of justice within said
+    State in all matters, civil and criminal, within the cognizance and
+    jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Sixth. That the Secretary of War assign such assistant
+    provost-marshal-general and such provost-marshals in each district of
+    said State as he may deem necessary.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Seventh. The Secretary of the Navy will take possession of all public
+    property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+    limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+    affairs having application to the said State.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Eighth. The Secretary of the Interior will also put in force the laws
+    relating to the Department of the Interior.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Ninth. That to carry into effect the guaranty by the Federal
+    Constitution of a republican form of State government and afford the
+    advantage and security of domestic laws, as well as to complete the
+    reestablishment of the authority and laws of the United States and the
+    full and complete restoration of peace within the limits aforesaid,
+    Francis H. Peirpoint, governor of the State of Virginia, will be aided
+    by the Federal Government so far as may be necessary in the lawful
+    measures which he may take for the extension and administration of the
+    State government throughout the geographical limits of said State.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal
+    of the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  W. HUNTER,<br>
+    <i>Acting Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WAR DEPARTMENT,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington City, May 27, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Ordered</i>, That in all cases of sentences by military tribunals of
+    imprisonment during the war the sentence be remitted and that the
+    prisoners be discharged. The Adjutant-General will issue immediately the
+    necessary instructions to carry this order into effect.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By order of the President of the United States:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EDWIN M. STANTON,
+<br>
+    <i>Secretary of War</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., May 31, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    To-morrow, the 1st of June, being the day appointed for special
+    humiliation and prayer in consequence of the assassination of Abraham
+    Lincoln, late President of the United States, the Executive Office and
+    the various Departments will be closed during the day.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON,
+<br>
+    <i>President of the United States</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    GENERAL ORDERS, No. 107.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+WAR DEPARTMENT,<br>
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, June 2, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Ordered</i>, That all military restrictions upon trade in any of the
+    States or Territories of the United States, except in articles
+    contraband of war&mdash;to wit, arms, ammunition, gray cloth, and all
+    articles from which ammunition is manufactured; locomotives, cars,
+    railroad iron, and machinery for operating railroads; telegraph wires,
+    insulators, and instruments for operating telegraphic lines&mdash;shall cease
+    from and after the present date.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By order of the President of the United States:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    DEPARTMENT OF STATE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, June 2, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas, pursuant to the order of the President and as a means required
+    by the public safety, 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; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the necessities which required the adoption of that measure are
+    believed no longer to exist:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, the President directs that from and after this date the
+    order above referred to shall be, and the same is hereby, rescinded.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Nothing in this regulation, however, will be construed to relieve from
+    due accountability any enemies of the United States or offenders against
+    their peace and dignity who may hereafter seek to enter the country or
+    at any time be found within its lawful jurisdiction.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., June 2, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas by an act of Congress approved March 3, 1865, there was
+    established in the War Department a Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and
+    Abandoned Lands, and to which, in accordance with the said act of
+    Congress, is committed the supervision and management of all abandoned
+    lands and the control of all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen
+    from rebel States, or from any district of country within the territory
+    embraced in the operations of the Army, under such rules and regulations
+    as may be prescribed by the head of the Bureau and approved by the
+    President; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas it appears that the management of abandoned lands and subjects
+    relating to refugees and freedmen, as aforesaid, have been and still
+    are, by orders based on military exigencies or legislation based on
+    previous statutes, partly in the hands of military officers disconnected
+    with said Bureau and partly in charge of officers of the Treasury
+    Department: It is therefore
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Ordered</i>, That all officers of the Treasury Department, all military
+    officers, and all others in the service of the United States turn over
+    to the authorized officers of said Bureau all abandoned lands and
+    property contemplated in said act of Congress approved March 3, 1865,
+    establishing the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, that
+    may now be under or within their control. They will also turn over to
+    such officers all funds collected by tax or otherwise for the benefit of
+    refugees or freedmen or accruing from abandoned lands or property set
+    apart for their use, and will transfer to them all official records
+    connected with the administration of affairs which pertain to said
+    Bureau.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    GENERAL ORDERS, No. 109.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+WAR DEPARTMENT,<br>
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, June 6, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<center>
+    ORDER FOR THE DISCHARGE OF CERTAIN PRISONERS OF WAR.
+</center>
+<p>
+    The prisoners of war at the several depots in the North will be
+    discharged under the following regulations and restrictions:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I. All enlisted men of the rebel army and petty officers and seamen of
+    the rebel navy will be discharged upon taking the oath of allegiance.
+</p>
+<p>
+    II. Officers of the rebel army not above the grade of captain and of
+    the rebel navy not above the grade of lieutenant, except such as have
+    graduated at the United States Military or Naval academies and such
+    as held a commission in either the United States Army or Navy at the
+    beginning of the rebellion, may be discharged upon taking the oath
+    of allegiance.
+</p>
+<p>
+    III. When the discharges hereby ordered are completed, regulations will
+    be issued in respect to the discharge of officers having higher rank
+    than captain in the army or lieutenant in the navy.
+</p>
+<p>
+    IV. The several commanders of prison stations will discharge each day as
+    many of the prisoners hereby authorized to be discharged as proper rolls
+    can be prepared for, beginning with those who have been longest in
+    prison and from the most remote points of the country; and certified
+    rolls will be forwarded daily to the Commissary-General of Prisoners of
+    those so discharged. The oath of allegiance only will be administered,
+    but notice will be given that all who desire will be permitted to take
+    the oath of amnesty after their release, in accordance with the
+    regulations of the Department of State respecting the amnesty.
+</p>
+<p>
+    V. The Quartermaster's Department will furnish transportation to all
+    released prisoners to the nearest accessible point to their homes, by
+    rail or by steamboat.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By order of the President of the United States:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, June 6, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas circumstances of recent occurrence have made it no longer
+    necessary to continue the prohibition of the departure for her
+    destination of the gunboat <i>Fusyama</i>, built at New York for the Japanese
+    Government, it is consequently ordered that that prohibition be removed.
+    The Secretary of the Treasury will therefore cause a clearance to be
+    issued to the <i>Fusyama</i>, and the Secretary of the Navy will not allow
+    any obstacle thereto.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    [From the Daily National Intelligencer, June 13, 1865.]
+</center>
+<center>
+    CIRCULAR.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, June 7, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By direction of the President, all persons belonging to the excepted
+    classes enumerated in the President's amnesty proclamation of May 29,
+    1865, who may make special applications to the President for pardon are
+    hereby notified that before their respective applications will be
+    considered it must be shown that they have respectively taken and
+    subscribed the oath (or affirmation) in said proclamation prescribed.
+    Every such person desiring a special pardon should make personal
+    application in writing therefor, and should transmit with such
+    application the original oath (or affirmation) as taken and subscribed
+    before an officer authorized under the rules and regulations promulgated
+    by the Secretary of State to administer the amnesty oath prescribed in
+    the said proclamation of the President.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    JAMES SPEED,
+<br>
+    <i>Attorney-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., June 9, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is represented to me in a communication from the Secretary of the
+    Interior that Indians in New Mexico have been seized and reduced into
+    slavery, and it is recommended that the authority of the executive
+    branch of the Government should be exercised for the effectual
+    suppression of a practice which is alike in violation of the rights
+    of the Indians and of the provisions of the organic law of the said
+    Territory.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Concurring in this recommendation, I do hereby order that the heads
+    of the several Executive Departments do enjoin upon the subordinates,
+    agents, and employees under their respective orders or supervision in
+    that Territory to discountenance the practice aforesaid and to take all
+    lawful means to suppress the same.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    GENERAL COURT-MARTIAL ORDERS, No. 356.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+WAR DEPARTMENT,<br>
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, July 5, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I. Before a military commission which convened at Washington, D.C.,
+    May 9, 1865, pursuant to paragraph 4 of Special Orders, No. 211,
+    dated May 6, 1865, and paragraph 91 of Special Orders, No. 216, dated
+    May 9, 1865, War Department, Adjutant-General's Office, Washington,
+    and of which Major-General David Hunter, United States Volunteers, is
+    president, were arraigned and tried David E. Herold, G.A. Atzerodt,
+    Lewis Payne, Mary E. Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward Spangler,
+    Samuel Arnold, and Samuel A. Mudd.
+</p>
+<center>
+    CHARGE I.
+</center>
+<p>
+    For maliciously, unlawfully, and traitorously, and in aid of the
+    existing armed rebellion against the United States of America, on or
+    before the 6th day of March, A.D. 1865, and on divers other days between
+    that day and the 15th day of April, A.D. 1865, combining, confederating,
+    and conspiring together with one John H. Surratt, John Wilkes Booth,
+    Jefferson Davis, George N. Sanders, Beverley Tucker, Jacob Thompson,
+    William C. Cleary, Clement C. Clay, George Harper, George Young, and
+    others unknown to kill and murder, within the Military Department of
+    Washington, and within the fortified and intrenched lines thereof,
+    Abraham Lincoln, late, and at the time of said combining, confederating,
+    and conspiring, President of the United States of America and Commander
+    in Chief of the Army and Navy thereof; Andrew Johnson, now
+    Vice-President of the United States aforesaid; William H. Seward,
+    Secretary of State of the United States aforesaid; and Ulysses S. Grant,
+    Lieutenant-General of the Army of the United States aforesaid, then in
+    command of the armies of the United States, under the direction of the
+    said Abraham Lincoln; and in pursuance of and in prosecuting said
+    malicious, unlawful, and traitorous conspiracy aforesaid, and in aid of
+    said rebellion, afterwards, to wit, on the 14th day of April, A.D. 1865,
+    within the Military Department of Washington aforesaid, and within the
+    fortified and intrenched lines of said military department, together
+    with said John Wilkes Booth and John H. Surratt, maliciously,
+    unlawfully, and traitorously murdering the said Abraham Lincoln, then
+    President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Army and
+    Navy of the United States as aforesaid; and maliciously, unlawfully, and
+    traitorously assaulting, with intent to kill and murder, the said
+    William H. Seward, then Secretary of State of the United States as
+    aforesaid; and lying in wait, with intent maliciously, unlawfully, and
+    traitorously to kill and murder the said Andrew Johnson, then being
+    Vice-President of the United States, and the said Ulysses S. Grant, then
+    being Lieutenant-General and in command of the armies of the United
+    States as aforesaid.
+</p>
+<center>
+    SPECIFICATION FIRST.
+</center>
+<p>
+    In this, that they, the said David E. Herold, Edward Spangler, Lewis
+    Payne, Michael O'Laughlin, Samuel Arnold, Mary E. Surratt, George A.
+    Atzerodt, and Samuel A. Mudd, together with the said John H. Surratt and
+    John Wilkes Booth, incited and encouraged thereunto by Jefferson Davis,
+    George N. Sanders, Beverley Tucker, Jacob Thompson, William C. Cleary,
+    Clement C. Clay, George Harper, George Young, and, others unknown,
+    citizens of the United States aforesaid, and who were then engaged In
+    armed rebellion against the United States of America, within the limits
+    thereof, did, in aid of said armed rebellion, on or before the 6th day
+    of March, A.D. 1865, and on divers other days and times between that day
+    and the 15th day of April, A.D. 1865, combine, confederate, and conspire
+    together at Washington City, within the Military Department of
+    Washington, and within the intrenched fortifications and military lines
+    of the said United States there being, unlawfully, maliciously, and
+    traitorously to kill and murder Abraham Lincoln, then President of the
+    United States aforesaid and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy
+    thereof; and unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously to kill and
+    murder Andrew Johnson, now Vice-President of the said United States,
+    upon whom, on the death of said Abraham Lincoln, after the 4th day of
+    March, A.D. 1865, the office of President of the said United States and
+    Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy thereof would devolve; and to
+    unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously kill and murder Ulysses S.
+    Grant, then Lieutenant-General, and, under the direction of the said
+    Abraham Lincoln, in command of the armies of the United States
+    aforesaid; and unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously to kill and
+    murder William H. Seward, then Secretary of State of the United States
+    aforesaid, whose duty it was by law, upon the death of said President
+    and Vice-President of the United States aforesaid, to cause an election
+    to be held for electors of President of the United States&mdash;the
+    conspirators aforesaid designing and intending by the killing and murder
+    of the said Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, and
+    William H. Seward, as aforesaid, to deprive the Army and Navy of the
+    said United States of a constitutional Commander in Chief, and to
+    deprive the armies of the United States of their lawful commander, and
+    to prevent a lawful election of President and Vice-President of the
+    United States aforesaid, and by the means aforesaid to aid and comfort
+    the insurgents engaged in armed rebellion against the said United States
+    as aforesaid, and thereby to aid in the subversion and overthrow of the
+    Constitution and laws of the said United States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And being so combined, confederated, and conspiring together in the
+    prosecution of said unlawful and traitorous conspiracy, on the night of
+    the 14th day of April, A.D. 1865, at the hour of about 10 o'clock and 15
+    minutes p.m., at Ford's Theater, on Tenth street, in the city of
+    Washington, and within the military department and military lines
+    aforesaid, John Wilkes Booth, one of the conspirators aforesaid, in
+    pursuance of said unlawful and traitorous conspiracy, did then and there
+    unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously, and with intent to kill and
+    murder the said Abraham Lincoln, discharge a pistol then held in the
+    hands of him, the said Booth, the same being then loaded with powder and
+    a leaden ball, against and upon the left and posterior side of the head
+    of the said Abraham Lincoln, and did thereby then and there inflict upon
+    him, the said Abraham Lincoln, then President of the said United States
+    and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy thereof, a mortal wound,
+    whereof afterwards, to wit, on the 15th day of April, A.D. 1865, at
+    Washington City aforesaid, the said Abraham Lincoln died; and thereby
+    then and there, and in pursuance of said conspiracy, the said defendants
+    and the said John Wilkes Booth and John H. Surratt did unlawfully,
+    traitorously, and maliciously, and with the intent to aid the rebellion
+    as aforesaid, kill and murder the said Abraham Lincoln, President of the
+    United States as aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And in further prosecution of the unlawful and traitorous conspiracy
+    aforesaid and of the murderous and traitorous intent of said conspiracy,
+    the said Edward Spangler, on said 14th day of April, A.D. 1865, at about
+    the same hour of that day as aforesaid, within said military department
+    and the military lines aforesaid, did aid and assist the said John
+    Wilkes Booth to obtain entrance to the box in said theater in which said
+    Abraham Lincoln was sitting at the time he was assaulted and shot, as
+    aforesaid, by John Wilkes Booth; and also did then and there aid said
+    Booth in barring and obstructing the door of the box of said theater, so
+    as to hinder and prevent any assistance to or rescue of the said Abraham
+    Lincoln against the murderous assault of the said John Wilkes Booth, and
+    did aid and abet him in making his escape after the said Abraham Lincoln
+    had been murdered in manner aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And in further prosecution of said unlawful, murderous, and traitorous
+    conspiracy, and in pursuance thereof, and with the intent as aforesaid,
+    the said David B. Herold did, on the night of the 14th of April, A.D.
+    1865, within the military department and military lines aforesaid, aid,
+    abet, and assist the said John Wilkes Booth in the killing and murder of
+    the said Abraham Lincoln, and did then and there aid and abet and assist
+    him, the said John Wilkes Booth, in attempting to escape through the
+    military lines aforesaid, and did accompany and assist the said John
+    Wilkes Booth in attempting to conceal himself and escape from justice
+    after killing and murdering said Abraham Lincoln, as aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And in further prosecution of said unlawful and traitorous conspiracy
+    and of the intent thereof as aforesaid, the said Lewis Payne did, on the
+    same night of the 14th day of April, A.D. 1865, about the same hour of
+    10 o'clock and 15 minutes p.m., at the city of Washington, and within
+    the military department and the military lines aforesaid, unlawfully and
+    maliciously make an assault upon the said William H. Seward, Secretary
+    of State, as aforesaid, in the dwelling house and bedchamber of him, the
+    said William H. Seward, and the said Payne did then and there, with a
+    large knife held in his hand, unlawfully, traitorously, and in pursuance
+    of said conspiracy, strike, stab, cut, and attempt to kill and murder
+    the said William H. Seward, and did thereby then and there, and with the
+    intent aforesaid, with said knife, inflict upon the face and throat of
+    the said William H. Seward divers grievous wounds; and the said Lewis
+    Payne, in further prosecution of said conspiracy, at the same time and
+    place last aforesaid, did attempt, with the knife aforesaid and a pistol
+    held in his hand, to kill and murder Frederick W. Seward, Augustus H.
+    Seward, Emrick W. Hansell, and George F. Robinson, who were then
+    striving to protect and rescue the said William H. Seward from murder by
+    the said Lewis Payne, and did then and there, with said knife and pistol
+    held in his hands, inflict upon the head of said Frederick W. Seward and
+    upon the persons of said Augustus H. Seward, Emrick W. Hansell, and
+    George F. Robinson divers grievous and dangerous wounds, with intent
+    then and there to kill and murder the said Frederick W. Seward, Augustus
+    H. Seward, Emrick W. Hansell, and George F. Robinson.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And in further prosecution of said conspiracy and its traitorous and
+    murderous designs, the said George A. Atzerodt did, on the night of the
+    14th of April, A.D. 1865, and about the same hour of the night
+    aforesaid, within the military department and the military lines
+    aforesaid, lie in wait for Andrew Johnson, then Vice-President of the
+    United States aforesaid, with the intent unlawfully and maliciously to
+    kill and murder him, the said Andrew Johnson.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And in the further prosecution of the conspiracy aforesaid and of its
+    murderous and treasonable purposes aforesaid, on the nights of the 13th
+    and 14th of April, A.D. 1865, at Washington City, and within the
+    military department and military lines aforesaid, the said Michael
+    O'Laughlin did then and there lie in wait for Ulysses S. Grant, then
+    Lieutenant-General and commander of the armies of the United States as
+    aforesaid, with intent then and there to kill and murder the said
+    Ulysses S. Grant.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And in further prosecution of said conspiracy, the said Samuel Arnold
+    did, within the military department and military lines aforesaid, on or
+    before the 6th day of March, A.D. 1865, and on divers other days and
+    times between that day and the 15th day of April, A.D. 1865, combine,
+    conspire with, and aid, counsel, abet, comfort, and support the said
+    John Wilkes Booth, Lewis Payne, George A. Atzerodt, Michael O'Laughlin,
+    and their confederates in said unlawful, murderous, and traitorous
+    conspiracy and in the execution thereof, as aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And in further prosecution of the said conspiracy, Mary B. Surratt did,
+    at Washington City, and within the military department and military
+    lines aforesaid, on or before the 6th day of March, A.D. 1865, and on
+    divers other days and times between that day and the 20th day of April,
+    A.D. 1865, receive, entertain, harbor and conceal, aid and assist, the
+    said John Wilkes Booth, David B. Herold, Lewis Payne, John H. Surratt,
+    Michael O'Laughlin, George A. Atzerodt, Samuel Arnold, and their
+    confederates, with knowledge of the murderous and traitorous conspiracy
+    aforesaid, and with intent to aid, abet, and assist them in the
+    execution thereof and in escaping from justice after the murder of the
+    said Abraham Lincoln, as aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And in further prosecution of said conspiracy, the said Samuel A. Mudd
+    did, at Washington City, and within the military department and military
+    lines aforesaid, on or before the 6th day of March, A.D. 1865, and on
+    divers other days and times between that day and the 20th day of April,
+    A.D. 1865, advise, encourage, receive, entertain, harbor and conceal,
+    aid and assist, the said John Wilkes Booth, David B. Herold, Lewis
+    Payne, John H. Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, George A. Atzerodt, Mary B.
+    Surratt, and Samuel Arnold, and their confederates, with knowledge of
+    the murderous and traitorous conspiracy aforesaid, and with intent to
+    aid, abet, and assist them in the execution thereof and in escaping from
+    justice after the murder of the said Abraham Lincoln, in pursuance of
+    said conspiracy, in manner aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    To which charge and specification the accused, David B. Herold, G.A.
+    Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Mary B. Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward
+    Spangler, Samuel Arnold, and Samuel A. Mudd, pleaded "not guilty."
+</p>
+<center>
+    FINDINGS AND SENTENCES.
+</center>
+<p>
+    1. In the case of David B. Herold, the commission, having maturely
+    considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and
+    conspiring with Edward Spangler; as to which part thereof, not guilty."
+</p>
+<p>
+    Of the charge, "Guilty, except the words of the charge that he combined,
+    confederated, and conspired with Edward Spangler; as to which part of
+    said charge, not guilty."
+</p>
+<p>
+    And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said David B.
+    Herold, "To be hanged by the neck until he be dead, at such time and
+    place as the President of the United States shall direct; two-thirds of
+    the members of the commission concurring therein."
+</p>
+<p>
+    2. In the case of George A. Atzerodt, the commission, having maturely
+    considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and
+    conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+</p>
+<p>
+    Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring
+    with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+</p>
+<p>
+    And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said George A.
+    Atzerodt, "To be hung by the neck until he be dead, at such time and
+    place as the President of the United States shall direct; two-thirds of
+    the members of the commission concurring therein."
+</p>
+<p>
+    3. In the case of Lewis Payne, the commission, having maturely
+    considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and
+    conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+</p>
+<p>
+    Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring
+    with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+</p>
+<p>
+    And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Lewis Payne,
+    "To be hung by the neck until he be dead, at such time and place as the
+    President of the United States shall direct; two-thirds of the members
+    of the commission concurring therein."
+</p>
+<p>
+    4. In the case of Mary B. Surratt, the commission, having maturely
+    considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Of the specification, "Guilty, except as to receiving, entertaining,
+    harboring, and concealing Samuel Arnold and Michael O'Laughlin, and
+    except as to combining, confederating, and conspiring with Edward
+    Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+</p>
+<p>
+    Of the charge, "Guilty, except as to combining, confederating, and
+    conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+</p>
+<p>
+    And the commission does therefore sentence her, the said Mary B.
+    Surratt, "To be hung by the neck until she be dead, at such time and
+    place as the President of the United States shall direct; two-thirds of
+    the members of the commission concurring therein."
+</p>
+<p>
+    5. In the case of Michael O'Laughlin, the commission, having maturely
+    considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Of the specification, "Guilty, except the words thereof as follows: 'And
+    in the further prosecution of the conspiracy aforesaid and of its
+    murderous and treasonable purposes aforesaid, on the nights of the 13th
+    and 14th of April, A.D. 1865, at Washington City, and within the
+    military department and military lines aforesaid, the said Michael
+    O'Laughlin did then and there lie in wait for Ulysses S. Grant, then
+    Lieutenant-General and commander of the armies of the United States,
+    with intent then and there to kill and murder the said Ulysses S.
+    Grant;' of said words, not guilty; and except combining, confederating,
+    and conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+</p>
+<p>
+    Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring
+    with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+</p>
+<p>
+    And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Michael
+    O'Laughlin, "To be imprisoned at hard labor for life at such
+    penitentiary as the President of the United States shall designate."
+</p>
+<p>
+    6. In the case of Edward Spangler, the commission, having maturely
+    considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Of the specification, "Not guilty, except as to the words, 'The said
+    Edward Spangler, on said 14th day of April, A.D. 1865, at about the same
+    hour of that day as aforesaid, within said military department and the
+    military lines aforesaid, did aid and abet him (meaning John Wilkes
+    Booth) in making his escape after the said Abraham Lincoln had been
+    murdered in manner aforesaid;' and of these words, guilty."
+</p>
+<p>
+    Of the charge, "Not guilty, but guilty of having feloniously and
+    traitorously aided and abetted John Wilkes Booth in making his escape
+    after having killed and murdered Abraham Lincoln, President of the
+    United States, he the said Edward Spangler, at the time of aiding and
+    abetting as aforesaid, well knowing that the said Abraham Lincoln,
+    President as aforesaid, had been murdered by the said John Wilkes Booth,
+    as aforesaid."
+</p>
+<p>
+    And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Edward
+    Spangler, "To be confined at hard labor for the period of six years at
+    such penitentiary as the President of the United States shall
+    designate."
+</p>
+<p>
+    7. In the case of Samuel Arnold, the commission, having maturely
+    considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and
+    conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+</p>
+<p>
+    Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring
+    with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+</p>
+<p>
+    And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Samuel Arnold,
+    "To be imprisoned at hard labor for life at such penitentiary as the
+    President of the United States shall designate."
+</p>
+<p>
+    8. In the case of Samuel A. Mudd, the commission, having maturely
+    considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and
+    conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty; and except
+    receiving, entertaining, harboring, and concealing Lewis Payne, John H.
+    Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, George A. Atzerodt, Mary E. Surratt, and
+    Samuel Arnold; of this, not guilty."
+</p>
+<p>
+    Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring
+    with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+</p>
+<p>
+    And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Samuel A. Mudd,
+    "To be imprisoned at hard labor for life at such penitentiary as the
+    President of the United States shall designate."
+</p>
+<p>
+    II. The proceedings, findings, and sentences in the foregoing cases
+    having been submitted to the President of the United States, the
+    following are his orders:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION, <i>July 5, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The foregoing sentences in the cases of David E. Herold, George A.
+    Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward Spangler, Samuel
+    Arnold, Mary E. Surratt, and Samuel A. Mudd are hereby approved, and it
+    is ordered that the sentences in the cases of David E. Herold, G.A.
+    Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, and Mary E. Surratt be carried into execution by
+    the proper military authority, under the direction of the Secretary of
+    War, on the 7th day of July, 1865, between the hours of 10 o'clock a.m.
+    and 2 o'clock p.m. of that day. It is further ordered that the prisoners
+    Samuel Arnold, Samuel A. Mudd, Edward Spangler, and Michael O'Laughlin
+    be confined at hard labor in the penitentiary at Albany, N.Y., during
+    the period designated in their respective sentences.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON, <i>President</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    III. Major-General W.S. Hancock, United States Volunteers, commanding
+    Middle Military Division, is commanded to cause the foregoing sentences
+    in the cases of David E. Herold, G.A. Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, and Mary E.
+    Surratt to be duly executed in accordance with the President's order.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION, <i>July 15, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    IV. The Executive order dated July 5, 1865, approving the sentences in
+    the cases of Samuel Arnold, Samuel A. Mudd, Edward Spangler, and Michael
+    O'Laughlin, is hereby modified so as to direct that the said Arnold,
+    Mudd, Spangler, and O'Laughlin be confined at hard labor in the military
+    prison at Dry Tortugas, Florida, during the period designated in their
+    respective sentences.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Adjutant-General of the Army is directed to issue orders for the
+    said prisoners to be transported to the Dry Tortugas, and to be confined
+    there accordingly.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON, <i>President</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    V. Major-General W.S. Hancock, United States Volunteers, commanding
+    Middle Military Division, is commanded to send the prisoners Samuel
+    Arnold, Samuel A. Mudd, Edward Spangler, and Michael O'Laughlin, under
+    charge of a commissioned officer, with a sufficient guard, to the Dry
+    Tortugas, Florida, where they will be delivered to the commanding
+    officer of the post, who is hereby ordered to confine the said Arnold,
+    Mudd, Spangler, and O'Laughlin at hard labor during the periods
+    designated in their respective sentences.
+</p>
+<p>
+    VI. The military commission of which Major-General David Hunter is
+    president is hereby dissolved.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By command of the President of the United States:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND, <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>August 7, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    An impression seems to prevail that the interests of persons having
+    business with the executive government require that they should have
+    personal interviews with the President or heads of Departments. As this
+    impression is believed to be entirely unfounded, it is expected that
+    applications relating to such business will hereafter be made in writing
+    to the head of that Department to which the business may have been
+    assigned by law. Those applications will in their order be considered
+    and disposed of by heads of Departments, subject to the approval of the
+    President. This order is made necessary by the unusual numbers of
+    persons visiting the seat of Government. It is impracticable to grant
+    personal interviews to all of them, and desirable that there should be
+    no invidious distinction in this respect. Similar business of persons
+    who can not conveniently leave their homes must be neglected if the time
+    of the executive officers here is engrossed by personal interviews with
+    others.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    [From the Daily National Intelligencer, August 26, 1865.]
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    DEPARTMENT OF STATE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, August 25, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Paroled prisoners asking passports as citizens of the United States, and
+    against whom no special charges may be pending, will be furnished with
+    passports upon application therefor to the Department of State in the
+    usual form. Such passports will, however, be issued upon the condition
+    that the applicants do not return to the United States without leave of
+    the President. Other persons implicated in the rebellion who may wish to
+    go abroad will apply to the Department of State for passports, and the
+    applications will be disposed of according to the merits of the several
+    cases.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By the President of the United States:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE OFFICE, <i>September 7, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>It is hereby ordered</i>, That so much of the Executive order bearing date
+    the 7th [2d] day of June, 1865, as made it the duty of all officers
+    of the Treasury Department, military officers, and all others in the
+    service of the United States to turn over to the authorized officers
+    of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands all funds
+    collected by tax or otherwise for the benefit of refugees or freedmen,
+    or accruing from abandoned lands or property set apart for their use,
+    be, and the same is hereby, suspended.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON,<br>
+    <i>President</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    GENERAL ORDERS, No. 138.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+WAR DEPARTMENT,<br>
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, September 16, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    To provide for the transportation required by the Bureau of Refugees,
+    Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands&mdash;
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>It is ordered</i>, That upon the requisition of the Commissioner or the
+    assistant commissioners of the Bureau transportation be furnished such
+    destitute refugees and freedmen as are dependent upon the Government for
+    support to points where they can procure employment and subsistence and
+    support themselves, and thus relieve the Government, provided such
+    transportation be confined by assistant commissioners within the limits
+    of their jurisdiction.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second. Free transportation on Government transports and United States
+    military railroads will be furnished to such teachers only of refugees
+    and freedmen, and persons laboring voluntarily in behalf of refugees and
+    freedmen, as may be duly accredited by the Commissioner or assistant
+    commissioners of the Bureau.
+</p>
+<p>
+    All stores and schoolbooks necessary to the subsistence, comfort, and
+    instruction of dependent refugees and freedmen may be transported at
+    Government expense, when such stores and books shall be turned over to
+    the officers of the Quartermaster's Department, with the approval of the
+    assistant commissioners, Commissioner, or department commander, the same
+    to be transported as public stores, consigned to the quartermaster of
+    the post to which they are destined, who, after inspection, will turn
+    them over to the assistant commissioners or Bureau agent for whom they
+    are intended for distribution.
+</p>
+<p>
+    All army officers traveling on public duty, under the orders of the
+    commissioners, within the limits of their respective jurisdictions, will
+    be entitled to mileage or actual cost of transportation, according to
+    the revised Army Regulations, when transportation has not been furnished
+    them by the Quartermaster's Department.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By order of the President of the United States:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    SPECIAL ORDERS, NO. 503.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+WAR DEPARTMENT,<br>
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, September 19, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p>
+    It has been represented to the Department that commanders of
+    military posts and districts in Georgia, and particularly Brevet
+    Brigadier-General C.H. Grosvenor, provost-marshal-general, and Brevet
+    Major-General King, commanding in the district of Augusta, have assumed
+    to decide questions of contracts and conflicting claims of property
+    between individuals, and to order the delivery, surrender, or transfer
+    of property and documents of title as between private persons, in which
+    the Government is not concerned.
+</p>
+<p>
+    All such acts and proceedings on the part of military authorities in
+    said State are declared by the President to be without authority and
+    null and void.
+</p>
+<p>
+    All military commanders and authorities within said State are strictly
+    ordered to abstain from any such acts, and not in any way to interfere
+    with or assume to adjudicate any right, title, or claim of property
+    between private individuals, and to suspend all action upon any orders
+    heretofore made in respect to the ownership or delivery of property and
+    the validity of contracts between private persons.
+</p>
+<p>
+    They are also forbidden from being directly or indirectly interested in
+    any sales or contracts for cotton or other products of said State, and
+    from using or suffering to be used any Government transportation for the
+    transporting of cotton or other products of said State for or in behalf
+    of private persons on any pretense whatever.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Military officers have no authority to interfere in any way in questions
+    of sale or contracts of any kind between individuals or to decide any
+    question of property between them without special instructions from this
+    Department authorizing their action, and the usurpation of such power
+    will be treated as a grave military offense.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Major-General Steedman, commanding the Department of Georgia,
+    is specially charged with the enforcement of this order, and
+    directed to make report as to any acts, proceedings, or orders
+    of Brevet Major-General King and Brevet Brigadier-General Grosvenor,
+    provost-marshal-general, in regard to contracts or conflicting claims
+    of individuals in relation to cotton or other products, and to suspend
+    all action upon any such orders until further instructions.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By order of the President of the United States.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    GENERAL ORDERS, No. 145.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+WAR DEPARTMENT,<br>
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, October 9, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas certain tracts of land, situated on the coast of South Carolina,
+    Georgia, and Florida, at the time for the most part vacant, were set
+    apart by Major-General W.T. Sherman's special field order No. 15 for
+    the benefit of refugees and freedmen that had been congregated by the
+    operations of war or had been left to take care of themselves by their
+    former owners; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas an expectation was thereby created that they would be able to
+    retain possession of said lands; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas a large number of the former owners are earnestly soliciting the
+    restoration of the same and promising to absorb the labor and care for
+    the freedmen:
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>It is ordered</i>, That Major-General Howard, Commissioner of the
+    Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, proceed to the
+    several above-named States and endeavor to effect an arrangement
+    mutually satisfactory to the freedmen and the landowners, and make
+    report. And in case a mutually satisfactory arrangement can be effected,
+    he is duly empowered and directed to issue such orders as may become
+    necessary, after a full and careful investigation of the interests of
+    the parties concerned.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By order of the President of the United States:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE OFFICE, <i>October 11, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the following-named persons, to wit, John A. Campbell, of
+    Alabama; John H. Reagan, of Texas; Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia;
+    George A. Trenholm, of South Carolina, and Charles Clark, of
+    Mississippi, lately engaged in rebellion against the United States
+    Government, who are now in close custody, have made their submission to
+    the authority of the United States and applied to the President for
+    pardon under his proclamation; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the authority of the Federal Government is sufficiently restored
+    in the aforesaid States to admit of the enlargement of said persons from
+    close custody:
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>It is ordered</i>, That they be released on giving their respective
+    paroles to appear at such time and place as the President may designate
+    to answer any charge that he may direct to be preferred against them,
+    and also that they will respectively abide until further orders in the
+    places herein designated, and not depart therefrom, to wit:
+</p>
+<p>
+    John A. Campbell, in the State of Alabama; John H. Reagan, in the State
+    of Texas; Alexander H. Stephens, in the State of Georgia; George A.
+    Trenholm, in the State of South Carolina; and Charles Clark, in the
+    State of Mississippi. And if the President should grant his pardon to
+    any of said persons, such person's parole will be thereby discharged.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON,<br>
+    <i>President</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington City, November 11, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Ordered</i>, That the civil and military agents of the Government transfer
+    to the assistant commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and
+    Abandoned Lands for Alabama the use and custody of all real estate,
+    buildings, or other property, except cotton, seized or held by them in
+    that State as belonging to the late rebel government, together with
+    all such funds as may arise or have arisen from the rent, sale, or
+    disposition of such property which have not been finally paid into
+    the Treasury of the United States.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON,<br>
+    <i>President</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    GENERAL ORDERS, N0. 164.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+WAR DEPARTMENT,<br>
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, November 24, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Ordered</i>, That&mdash;
+</p>
+<p>
+    I. All persons claiming reward for the apprehension of John Wilkes
+    Booth, Lewis Payne, G.A. Atzerodt, and David E. Herold, and Jefferson
+    Davis, or either of them, are notified to file their claims and their
+    proofs with the Adjutant-General for final adjudication by the special
+    commission appointed to award and determine upon the validity of such
+    claims before the 1st day of January next, after which time no claims
+    will be received.
+</p>
+<p>
+    II. The rewards offered for the arrest of Jacob Thompson, Beverley
+    Tucker, George N. Sanders, William G. Cleary, and John H. Surratt are
+    revoked.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By order of the President of the United States:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE.
+</h2>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 4, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    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.
+    His removal cast upon me a heavier weight of cares than ever devolved
+    upon any one of his predecessors. To fulfill my trust I need the support
+    and confidence of all who are associated with me in the various
+    departments of Government and the support and confidence of the people.
+    There is but one way in which I can hope to gain their necessary aid.
+    It is to state with frankness the principles which guide my conduct, and
+    their application to the present state of affairs, well aware that the
+    efficiency of my labors will in a great measure depend on your and their
+    undivided approbation.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Union of the United States of America was intended by its authors to
+    last as long as the States themselves shall last. "The Union shall be
+    perpetual" are the words of the Confederation. "To form a more perfect
+    Union," by an ordinance of the people of the United States, is the
+    declared purpose of the Constitution. The hand of Divine Providence was
+    never more plainly visible in the affairs of men than in the framing and
+    the adopting of that instrument. It is beyond comparison the greatest
+    event in American history, and, indeed, is it not of all events in
+    modern times the most pregnant with consequences for every people of the
+    earth? The members of the Convention which prepared it brought to their
+    work the experience of the Confederation, of their several States, and
+    of other republican governments, old and new; but they needed and they
+    obtained a wisdom superior to experience. And when for its validity it
+    required the approval of a people that occupied a large part of a
+    continent and acted separately in many distinct conventions, what is
+    more wonderful than that, after earnest contention and long discussion,
+    all feelings and all opinions were ultimately drawn in one way to its
+    support? The Constitution to which life was thus imparted contains
+    within itself ample resources for its own preservation. It has power
+    to enforce the laws, punish treason, and insure domestic tranquillity.
+    In case of the usurpation of the government of a State by one man or
+    an oligarchy, it becomes a duty of the United States to make good the
+    guaranty to that State of a republican form of government, and so to
+    maintain the homogeneousness of all. Does the lapse of time reveal
+    defects? A simple mode of amendment is provided in the Constitution
+    itself, so that its conditions can always be made to conform to the
+    requirements of advancing civilization. No room is allowed even for the
+    thought of a possibility of its coming to an end. And these powers of
+    self-preservation have always been asserted in their complete integrity
+    by every patriotic Chief Magistrate&mdash;by Jefferson and Jackson not less
+    than by Washington and Madison. The parting advice of the Father of his
+    Country, while yet President, to the people of the United States was
+    that the free Constitution, which was the work of their hands, might be
+    sacredly maintained; and the inaugural words of President Jefferson
+    held up "the preservation of the General Government in its whole
+    constitutional vigor as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety
+    abroad." The Constitution is the work of "the people of the United
+    States," and it should be as indestructible as the people.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is not strange that the framers of the Constitution, which had no
+    model in the past, should not have fully comprehended the excellence of
+    their own work. Fresh from a struggle against arbitrary power, many
+    patriots suffered from harassing fears of an absorption of the State
+    governments by the General Government, and many from a dread that the
+    States would break away from their orbits. But the very greatness
+    of our country should allay the apprehension of encroachments by the
+    General Government, The subjects that come unquestionably within its
+    jurisdiction are so numerous that it must ever naturally refuse to be
+    embarrassed by questions that lie beyond it. Were it otherwise the
+    Executive would sink beneath the burden, the channels of justice would
+    be choked, legislation would be obstructed by excess, so that there is
+    a greater temptation to exercise some of the functions of the General
+    Government through the States than to trespass on their rightful sphere.
+    The "absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority" was at the
+    beginning of the century enforced by Jefferson as "the vital principle
+    of republics;" and the events of the last four years have established,
+    we will hope forever, that there lies no appeal to force.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The maintenance of the Union brings with it "the support of the State
+    governments in all their rights," but it is not one of the rights of any
+    State government to renounce its own place in the Union or to nullify
+    the laws of the Union. The largest liberty is to be maintained in the
+    discussion of the acts of the Federal Government, but there is no appeal
+    from its laws except to the various branches of that Government itself,
+    or to the people, who grant to the members of the legislative and of the
+    executive departments no tenure but a limited one, and in that manner
+    always retain the powers of redress.
+</p>
+<p>
+    "The sovereignty of the States" is the language of the Confederacy, and
+    not the language of the Constitution. The latter contains the emphatic
+    words&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  This Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made
+  in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made or which shall be made under
+  the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the
+  land, and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in
+  the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Certainly the Government of the United States is a limited government,
+    and so is every State government a limited government. With us this idea
+    of limitation spreads through every form of administration&mdash;general,
+    State, and municipal&mdash;and rests on the great distinguishing principle of
+    the recognition of the rights of man. The ancient republics absorbed
+    the individual in the state&mdash;prescribed his religion and controlled
+    his activity. The American system rests on the assertion of the equal
+    right of every man to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, to
+    freedom of conscience, to the culture and exercise of all his faculties.
+    As a consequence the State government is limited&mdash;as to the General
+    Government in the interest of union, as to the individual citizen in the
+    interest of freedom.
+</p>
+<p>
+    States, with proper limitations of power, are essential to the existence
+    of the Constitution of the United States. At the very commencement, when
+    we assumed a place among the powers of the earth, the Declaration of
+    Independence was adopted by States; so also were the Articles of
+    Confederation; and when "the people of the United States" ordained and
+    established the Constitution it was the assent of the States, one by
+    one, which gave it vitality. In the event, too, of any amendment to the
+    Constitution, the proposition of Congress needs the confirmation of
+    States. Without States one great branch of the legislative government
+    would be wanting. And if we look beyond the letter of the Constitution
+    to the character of our country, its capacity for comprehending within
+    its jurisdiction a vast continental empire is due to the system of
+    States. The best security for the perpetual existence of the States is
+    the "supreme authority" of the Constitution of the United States. The
+    perpetuity of the Constitution brings with it the perpetuity of the
+    States; their mutual relation makes us what we are, and in our political
+    system their connection is indissoluble. The whole can not exist without
+    the parts, nor the parts without the whole. So long as the Constitution
+    of the United States endures, the States will endure. The destruction of
+    the one is the destruction of the other; the preservation of the one is
+    the preservation of the other.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have thus explained my views of the mutual relations of the
+    Constitution and the States, because they unfold the principles on
+    which I have sought to solve the momentous questions and overcome the
+    appalling difficulties that met me at the very commencement of my
+    Administration. It has been my steadfast object to escape from the
+    sway of momentary passions and to derive a healing policy from the
+    fundamental and unchanging principles of the Constitution.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I found the States suffering from the effects of a civil war. Resistance
+    to the General Government appeared to have exhausted itself. The United
+    States had recovered possession of their forts and arsenals, and their
+    armies were in the occupation of every State which had attempted to
+    secede. Whether the territory within the limits of those States should
+    be held as conquered territory, under military authority emanating from
+    the President as the head of the Army, was the first question that
+    presented itself for decision.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now military governments, established for an indefinite period, would
+    have offered no security for the early suppression of discontent, would
+    have divided the people into the vanquishers and the vanquished, and
+    would have envenomed hatred rather than have restored affection. Once
+    established, no precise limit to their continuance was conceivable. They
+    would have occasioned an incalculable and exhausting expense. Peaceful
+    emigration to and from that portion of the country is one of the best
+    means that can be thought of for the restoration of harmony, and that
+    emigration would have been prevented; for what emigrant from abroad,
+    what industrious citizen at home, would place himself willingly under
+    military rule? The chief persons who would have followed in the train of
+    the Army would have been dependents on the General Government or men who
+    expected profit from the miseries of their erring fellow-citizens. The
+    powers of patronage and rule which would have been exercised, under the
+    President, over a vast and populous and naturally wealthy region are
+    greater than, unless under extreme necessity, I should be willing to
+    intrust to any one man. They are such as, for myself, I could never,
+    unless on occasions of great emergency, consent to exercise. The willful
+    use of such powers, if continued through a period of years, would have
+    endangered the purity of the general administration and the liberties of
+    the States which remained loyal.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Besides, the policy of military rule over a conquered territory would
+    have implied that the States whose inhabitants may have taken part in
+    the rebellion had by the act of those inhabitants ceased to exist. But
+    the true theory is that all pretended acts of secession were from the
+    beginning null and void. The States can not commit treason nor screen
+    the individual citizens who may have committed treason any more than
+    they can make valid treaties or engage in lawful commerce with any
+    foreign power. The States attempting to secede placed themselves in a
+    condition where their vitality was impaired, but not extinguished; their
+    functions suspended, but not destroyed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    But if any State neglects or refuses to perform its offices there is the
+    more need that the General Government should maintain all its authority
+    and as soon as practicable resume the exercise of all its functions.
+    On this principle I have acted, and have gradually and quietly, and by
+    almost imperceptible steps, sought to restore the rightful energy of the
+    General Government and of the States. To that end provisional governors
+    have been appointed for the States, conventions called, governors
+    elected, legislatures assembled, and Senators and Representatives chosen
+    to the Congress of the United States. At the same time the courts of the
+    United States, as far as could be done, have been reopened, so that the
+    laws of the United States may be enforced through their agency. The
+    blockade has been removed and the custom-houses reestablished in ports
+    of entry, so that the revenue of the United States may be collected. The
+    Post-Office Department renews its ceaseless activity, and the General
+    Government is thereby enabled to communicate promptly with its officers
+    and agents. The courts bring security to persons and property; the
+    opening of the ports invites the restoration of industry and commerce;
+    the post-office renews the facilities of social intercourse and of
+    business. And is it not happy for us all that the restoration of each
+    one of these functions of the General Government brings with it a
+    blessing to the States over which they are extended? Is it not a sure
+    promise of harmony and renewed attachment to the Union that after all
+    that has happened the return of the General Government is known only as
+    a beneficence?
+</p>
+<p>
+    I know very well that this policy is attended with some risk; that for
+    its success it requires at least the acquiescence of the States which it
+    concerns; that it implies an invitation to those States, by renewing
+    their allegiance to the United States, to resume their functions as
+    States of the Union. But it is a risk that must be taken. In the choice
+    of difficulties it is the smallest risk; and to diminish and if possible
+    to remove all danger, I have felt it incumbent on me to assert one other
+    power of the General Government&mdash;the power of pardon. As no State can
+    throw a defense over the crime of treason, the power of pardon is
+    exclusively vested in the executive government of the United States. In
+    exercising that power I have taken every precaution to connect it with
+    the clearest recognition of the binding force of the laws of the United
+    States and an unqualified acknowledgment of the great social change of
+    condition in regard to slavery which has grown out of the war.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The next step which I have taken to restore the constitutional relations
+    of the States has been an invitation to them to participate in the high
+    office of amending the Constitution. Every patriot must wish for a
+    general amnesty at the earliest epoch consistent with public safety. For
+    this great end there is need of a concurrence of all opinions and the
+    spirit of mutual conciliation. All parties in the late terrible conflict
+    must work together in harmony. It is not too much to ask, in the name of
+    the whole people, that on the one side the plan of restoration shall
+    proceed in conformity with a willingness to cast the disorders of the
+    past into oblivion, and that on the other the evidence of sincerity in
+    the future maintenance of the Union shall be put beyond any doubt by the
+    ratification of the proposed amendment to the Constitution, which
+    provides for the abolition of slavery forever within the limits of our
+    country. So long as the adoption of this amendment is delayed, so long
+    will doubt and jealousy and uncertainty prevail. This is the measure
+    which will efface the sad memory of the past: this is the measure which
+    will most certainly call population and capital and security to those
+    parts of the Union that need them most. Indeed, it is not too much to
+    ask of the States which are now resuming their places in the family of
+    the Union to give this pledge of perpetual loyalty and peace. Until it
+    is done the past, however much we may desire it, will not be forgotten.
+    The adoption of the amendment reunites us beyond all power of
+    disruption; it heals the wound that is still imperfectly closed; it
+    removes slavery, the element which has so long perplexed and divided the
+    country; it makes of us once more a united people, renewed and
+    strengthened, bound more than ever to mutual affection and support.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The amendment to the Constitution being adopted, it would remain for the
+    States whose powers have been so long in abeyance to resume their places
+    in the two branches of the National Legislature, and thereby complete
+    the work of restoration. Here it is for you, fellow-citizens of the
+    Senate, and for you, fellow-citizens of the House of Representatives,
+    to judge, each of you for yourselves, of the elections, returns, and
+    qualifications of your own members.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The full assertion of the powers of the General Government requires the
+    holding of circuit courts of the United States within the districts
+    where their authority has been interrupted. In the present posture of
+    our public affairs strong objections have been urged to holding those
+    courts in any of the States where the rebellion has existed; and it was
+    ascertained by inquiry that the circuit court of the United States would
+    not be held within the district of Virginia during the autumn or early
+    winter, nor until Congress should have "an opportunity to consider and
+    act on the whole subject." To your deliberations the restoration of
+    this branch of the civil authority of the United States is therefore
+    necessarily referred, with the hope that early provision will be made
+    for the resumption of all its functions. It is manifest that treason,
+    most flagrant in character, has been committed. Persons who are charged
+    with its commission should have fair and impartial trials in the highest
+    civil tribunals of the country, in order that the Constitution and the
+    laws may be fully vindicated, the truth clearly established and affirmed
+    that treason is a crime, that traitors should be punished and the
+    offense made infamous, and, at the same time, that the question may be
+    judicially settled, finally and forever, that no State of its own will
+    has the right to renounce its place in the Union.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The relations of the General Government toward the 4,000,000 inhabitants
+    whom the war has called into freedom have engaged my most serious
+    consideration. On the propriety of attempting to make the freed-men
+    electors by the proclamation of the Executive I took for my counsel the
+    Constitution itself, the interpretations of that instrument by its
+    authors and their contemporaries, and recent legislation by Congress.
+    When at the first movement toward independence, the Congress of the
+    United States instructed the several States to institute governments of
+    their own, they left each State to decide for itself the conditions for
+    the enjoyment of the elective franchise. During the period of the
+    Confederacy there continued to exist a very great diversity in the
+    qualifications of electors in the several States, and even within a
+    State a distinction of qualifications prevailed with regard to the
+    officers who were to be chosen. The Constitution of the United States
+    recognizes these diversities when it enjoins that in the choice of
+    members of the House of Representatives of the United States "the
+    electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for
+    electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature." After
+    the formation of the Constitution it remained, as before, the uniform
+    usage for each State to enlarge the body of its electors according to
+    its own judgment, and under this system one State after another has
+    proceeded to increase the number of its electors, until now universal
+    suffrage, or something very near it, is the general rule. So fixed was
+    this reservation of power in the habits of the people and so
+    unquestioned has been the interpretation of the Constitution that during
+    the civil war the late President never harbored the purpose&mdash;certainly
+    never avowed the purpose&mdash;of disregarding it; and in the acts of
+    Congress during that period nothing can be found which, during the
+    continuance of hostilities, much less after their close, would have
+    sanctioned any departure by the Executive from a policy which has so
+    uniformly obtained. Moreover, a concession of the elective franchise to
+    the freedmen by act of the President of the United States must have been
+    extended to all colored men, wherever found, and so must have
+    established a change of suffrage in the Northern, Middle, and Western
+    States, not less than in the Southern and Southwestern. Such an act
+    would have created a new class of voters, and would have been an
+    assumption of power by the President which nothing in the Constitution
+    or laws of the United States would have warranted.
+</p>
+<p>
+    On the other hand, every danger of conflict is avoided when the
+    settlement of the question is referred to the several States. They can,
+    each for itself, decide on the measure, and whether it is to be adopted
+    at once and absolutely or introduced gradually and with conditions. In
+    my judgment the freedmen, if they show patience and manly virtues, will
+    sooner obtain a participation in the elective franchise through the
+    States than through the General Government, even if it had power to
+    intervene. When the tumult of emotions that have been raised by the
+    suddenness of the social change shall have subsided, it may prove that
+    they will receive the kindest usage from some of those on whom they have
+    heretofore most closely depended.
+</p>
+<p>
+    But while I have no doubt that now, after the close of the war, it
+    is not competent for the General Government to extend the elective
+    franchise in the several States, it is equally clear that good faith
+    requires the security of the freedmen in their liberty and their
+    property, their right to labor, and their right to claim the just return
+    of their labor. I can not too strongly urge a dispassionate treatment
+    of this subject, which should be carefully kept aloof from all party
+    strife. We must equally avoid hasty assumptions of any natural
+    impossibility for the two races to live side by side in a state of
+    mutual benefit and good will. The experiment involves us in no
+    inconsistency; let us, then, go on and make that experiment in good
+    faith, and not be too easily disheartened. The country is in need of
+    labor, and the freedmen are in need of employment, culture, and
+    protection. While their right of voluntary migration and expatriation
+    is not to be questioned, I would not advise their forced removal and
+    colonization. Let us rather encourage them to honorable and useful
+    industry, where it may be beneficial to themselves and to the country;
+    and, instead of hasty anticipations of the certainty of failure,
+    let there be nothing wanting to the fair trial of the experiment.
+    The change in their condition is the substitution of labor by contract
+    for the status of slavery. The freedman can not fairly be accused of
+    unwillingness to work so long as a doubt remains about his freedom
+    of choice in his pursuits and the certainty of his recovering his
+    stipulated wages. In this the interests of the employer and the employed
+    coincide. The employer desires in his workmen spirit and alacrity, and
+    these can be permanently secured in no other way. And if the one ought
+    to be able to enforce the contract, so ought the other. The public
+    interest will be best promoted if the several States will provide
+    adequate protection and remedies for the freedmen. Until this is in some
+    way accomplished there is no chance for the advantageous use of their
+    labor, and the blame of ill success will not rest on them.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I know that sincere philanthropy is earnest for the immediate
+    realization of its remotest aims; but time is always an element in
+    reform. It is one of the greatest acts on record to have brought
+    4,000,000 people into freedom. The career of free industry must be
+    fairly opened to them, and then their future prosperity and condition
+    must, after all, rest mainly on themselves. If they fail, and so perish
+    away, let us be careful that the failure shall not be attributable to
+    any denial of justice. In all that relates to the destiny of the
+    freedmen we need not be too anxious to read the future; many incidents
+    which, from a speculative point of view, might raise alarm will quietly
+    settle themselves. Now that slavery is at an end, or near its end, the
+    greatness of its evil in the point of view of public economy becomes
+    more and more apparent. Slavery was essentially a monopoly of labor, and
+    as such locked the States where it prevailed against the incoming of
+    free industry. Where labor was the property of the capitalist, the white
+    man was excluded from employment, or had but the second best chance of
+    finding it; and the foreign emigrant turned away from the region where
+    his condition would be so precarious. With the destruction of the
+    monopoly free labor will hasten from all parts of the civilized world to
+    assist in developing various and immeasurable resources which have
+    hitherto lain dormant. The eight or nine States nearest the Gulf of
+    Mexico have a soil of exuberant fertility, a climate friendly to long
+    life, and can sustain a denser population than is found as yet in any
+    part of our country. And the future influx of population to them will
+    be mainly from the North or from the most cultivated nations in Europe.
+    From the sufferings that have attended them during our late struggle let
+    us look away to the future, which is sure to be laden for them with
+    greater prosperity than has ever before been known. The removal of the
+    monopoly of slave labor is a pledge that those regions will be peopled
+    by a numerous and enterprising population, which will vie with any in
+    the Union in compactness, inventive genius, wealth, and industry.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Our Government springs from and was made for the people&mdash;not the people
+    for the Government. To them it owes allegiance; from them it must derive
+    its courage, strength, and wisdom. But while the Government is thus
+    bound to defer to the people, from whom it derives its existence, it
+    should, from the very consideration of its origin, be strong in its
+    power of resistance to the establishment of inequalities. Monopolies,
+    perpetuities, and class legislation are contrary to the genius of free
+    government, and ought not to be allowed. Here there is no room for
+    favored classes or monopolies; the principle of our Government is that
+    of equal laws and freedom of industry. Wherever monopoly attains a
+    foothold, it is sure to be a source of danger, discord, and trouble. We
+    shall but fulfill our duties as legislators by according "equal and
+    exact justice to all men," special privileges to none. The Government is
+    subordinate to the people; but, as the agent and representative of the
+    people, it must be held superior to monopolies, which in themselves
+    ought never to be granted, and which, where they exist, must be
+    subordinate and yield to the Government.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Constitution confers on Congress the right to regulate commerce
+    among the several States. It is of the first necessity, for the
+    maintenance of the Union, that that commerce should be free and
+    unobstructed. No State can be justified in any device to tax the transit
+    of travel and commerce between States. The position of many States is
+    such that if they were allowed to take advantage of it for purposes of
+    local revenue the commerce between States might be injuriously burdened,
+    or even virtually prohibited. It is best, while the country is still
+    young and while the tendency to dangerous monopolies of this kind is
+    still feeble, to use the power of Congress so as to prevent any selfish
+    impediment to the free circulation of men and merchandise. A tax on
+    travel and merchandise in their transit constitutes one of the worst
+    forms of monopoly, and the evil is increased if coupled with a denial of
+    the choice of route. When the vast extent of our country is considered,
+    it is plain that every obstacle to the free circulation of commerce
+    between the States ought to be sternly guarded against by appropriate
+    legislation within the limits of the Constitution.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The report of the Secretary of the Interior explains the condition of
+    the public lands, the transactions of the Patent Office and the Pension
+    Bureau, the management of our Indian affairs, the progress made in the
+    construction of the Pacific Railroad, and furnishes information in
+    reference to matters of local interest in the District of Columbia. It
+    also presents evidence of the successful operation of the homestead act,
+    under the provisions of which 1,160,533 acres of the public lands were
+    entered during the last fiscal year&mdash;more than one-fourth of the whole
+    number of acres sold or otherwise disposed of during that period. It is
+    estimated that the receipts derived from this source are sufficient to
+    cover the expenses incident to the survey and disposal of the lands
+    entered under this act, and that payments in cash to the extent of from
+    40 to 50 per cent will be made by settlers who may thus at any time
+    acquire title before the expiration of the period at which it would
+    otherwise vest. The homestead policy was established only after long and
+    earnest resistance; experience proves its wisdom. The lands in the hands
+    of industrious settlers, whose labor creates wealth and contributes to
+    the public resources, are worth more to the United States than if they
+    had been reserved as a solitude for future purchasers.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The lamentable events of the last four years and the sacrifices made by
+    the gallant men of our Army and Navy have swelled the records of the
+    Pension Bureau to an unprecedented extent. On the 30th day of June last
+    the total number of pensioners was 85,986, requiring for their annual
+    pay, exclusive of expenses, the sum of $8,023,445. The number of
+    applications that have been allowed since that date will require a large
+    increase of this amount for the next fiscal year, The means for the
+    payment of the stipends due under existing laws to our disabled soldiers
+    and sailors and to the families of such as have perished in the service
+    of the country will no doubt be cheerfully and promptly granted.
+    A grateful people will not hesitate to sanction any measures having
+    for their object the relief of soldiers mutilated and families made
+    fatherless in the efforts to preserve our national existence.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The report of the Postmaster-General presents an encouraging exhibit
+    of the operations of the Post-Office Department during the year. The
+    revenues of the past year, from the loyal States alone, exceeded the
+    maximum annual receipts from all the States previous to the rebellion
+    in the sum of $6,038,091; and the annual average increase of revenue
+    during the last four years, compared with the revenues of the four
+    years immediately preceding the rebellion, was $3,533,845. The revenues
+    of the last fiscal year amounted to $14,556,158 and the expenditures
+    to $13,694,728, leaving a surplus of receipts over expenditures of
+    $861,430. Progress has been made in restoring the postal service in the
+    Southern States. The views presented by the Postmaster-General against
+    the policy of granting subsidies to the ocean mail steamship lines upon
+    established routes and in favor of continuing the present system, which
+    limits the compensation for ocean service to the postage earnings, are
+    recommended to the careful consideration of Congress.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It appears from the report of the Secretary of the Navy that while at
+    the commencement of the present year there were in commission 530
+    vessels of all classes and descriptions, armed with 3,000 guns and
+    manned by 51,000 men, the number of vessels at present in commission is
+    117, with 830 guns and 12,128 men. By this prompt reduction of the naval
+    forces the expenses of the Government have been largely diminished, and
+    a number of vessels purchased for naval purposes from the merchant
+    marine have been returned to the peaceful pursuits of commerce. Since
+    the suppression of active hostilities our foreign squadrons have been
+    reestablished, and consist of vessels much more efficient than those
+    employed on similar service previous to the rebellion. The suggestion
+    for the enlargement of the navy-yards, and especially for the
+    establishment of one in fresh water for ironclad vessels, is deserving
+    of consideration, as is also the recommendation for a different location
+    and more ample grounds for the Naval Academy.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the report of the Secretary of War a general summary is given of the
+    military campaigns of 1864 and 1865, ending in the suppression of armed
+    resistance to the national authority in the insurgent States. The
+    operations of the general administrative bureaus of the War Department
+    during the past year are detailed and an estimate made of the
+    appropriations that will be required for military purposes in the fiscal
+    year commencing the 1st day of July, 1866. The national military force
+    on the 1st of May, 1865, numbered 1,000,516 men. It is proposed to
+    reduce the military establishment to a peace footing, comprehending
+    50,000 troops of all arms, organized so as to admit of an enlargement
+    by filling up the ranks to 82,600 if the circumstances of the country
+    should require an augmentation of the Army. The volunteer force has
+    already been reduced by the discharge from service of over 800,000
+    troops, and the Department is proceeding rapidly in the work of further
+    reduction. The war estimates are reduced from $516,240,131 to
+    $33,814,461, which amount, in the opinion of the Department, is adequate
+    for a peace establishment. The measures of retrenchment in each bureau
+    and branch of the service exhibit a diligent economy worthy of
+    commendation. Reference is also made in the report to the necessity of
+    providing for a uniform militia system and to the propriety of making
+    suitable provision for wounded and disabled officers and soldiers.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The revenue system of the country is a subject of vital interest to its
+    honor and prosperity, and should command the earnest consideration of
+    Congress. The Secretary of the Treasury will lay before you a full and
+    detailed report of the receipts and disbursements of the last fiscal
+    year, of the first quarter of the present fiscal year, of the probable
+    receipts and expenditures for the other three quarters, and the
+    estimates for the year following the 30th of June, 1866. I might content
+    myself with a reference to that report, in which you will find all the
+    information required for your deliberations and decision, but the
+    paramount importance of the subject so presses itself on my own mind
+    that I can not but lay before you my views of the measures which are
+    required for the good character, and I might almost say for the
+    existence, of this people. The life of a republic lies certainly in the
+    energy, virtue, and intelligence of its citizens; but it is equally true
+    that a good revenue system is the life of an organized government. I
+    meet you at a time when the nation has voluntarily burdened itself with
+    a debt unprecedented in our annals. Vast as is its amount, it fades away
+    into nothing when compared with the countless blessings that will be
+    conferred upon our country and upon man by the preservation of the
+    nation's life. Now, on the first occasion of the meeting of Congress
+    since the return of peace, it is of the utmost importance to inaugurate
+    a just policy, which shall at once be put in motion, and which shall
+    commend itself to those who come after us for its continuance. We must
+    aim at nothing less than the complete effacement of the financial evils
+    that necessarily followed a state of civil war. We must endeavor to
+    apply the earliest remedy to the deranged state of the currency, and not
+    shrink from devising a policy which, without being oppressive to the
+    people, shall immediately begin to effect a reduction of the debt, and,
+    if persisted in, discharge it fully within a definitely fixed number of
+    years.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is our first duty to prepare in earnest for our recovery from the
+    ever-increasing evils of an irredeemable currency without a sudden
+    revulsion, and yet without untimely procrastination. For that end we
+    must each, in our respective positions, prepare the way. I hold it the
+    duty of the Executive to insist upon frugality in the expenditures, and
+    a sparing economy is itself a great national resource. Of the banks to
+    which authority has been given to issue notes secured by bonds of the
+    United States we may require the greatest moderation and prudence, and
+    the law must be rigidly enforced when its limits are exceeded. We may
+    each one of us counsel our active and enterprising countrymen to be
+    constantly on their guard, to liquidate debts contracted in a paper
+    currency, and by conducting business as nearly as possible on a system
+    of cash payments or short credits to hold themselves prepared to return
+    to the standard of gold and silver. To aid our fellow-citizens in the
+    prudent management of their monetary affairs, the duty devolves on us to
+    diminish by law the amount of paper money now in circulation. Five years
+    ago the bank-note circulation of the country amounted to not much more
+    than two hundred millions; now the circulation, bank and national,
+    exceeds seven hundred millions. The simple statement of the fact
+    recommends more strongly than any words of mine could do the necessity
+    of our restraining this expansion. The gradual reduction of the currency
+    is the only measure that can save the business of the country from
+    disastrous calamities, and this can be almost imperceptibly accomplished
+    by gradually funding the national circulation in securities that may be
+    made redeemable at the pleasure of the Government.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Our debt is doubly secure&mdash;first in the actual wealth and still greater
+    undeveloped resources of the country, and next in the character of our
+    institutions. The most intelligent observers among political economists
+    have not failed to remark that the public debt of a country is safe in
+    proportion as its people are free; that the debt of a republic is the
+    safest of all. Our history confirms and establishes the theory, and is,
+    I firmly believe, destined to give it a still more signal illustration.
+    The secret of this superiority springs not merely from the fact that in
+    a republic the national obligations are distributed more widely through
+    countless numbers in all classes of society; it has its root in the
+    character of our laws. Here all men contribute to the public welfare and
+    bear their fair share of the public burdens. During the war, under the
+    impulses of patriotism, the men of the great body of the people, without
+    regard to their own comparative want of wealth, thronged to our armies
+    and filled our fleets of war, and held themselves ready to offer their
+    lives for the public good. Now, in their turn, the property and income
+    of the country should bear their just proportion of the burden of
+    taxation, while in our impost system, through means of which increased
+    vitality is incidentally imparted to all the industrial interests of
+    the nation, the duties should be so adjusted as to fall most heavily
+    on articles of luxury, leaving the necessaries of life as free from
+    taxation as the absolute wants of the Government economically
+    administered will justify. No favored class should demand freedom from
+    assessment, and the taxes should be so distributed as not to fall unduly
+    on the poor, but rather on the accumulated wealth of the country. We
+    should look at the national debt just as it is&mdash;not as a national
+    blessing, but as a heavy burden on the industry of the country, to be
+    discharged without unnecessary delay.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury that the expenditures
+    for the fiscal year ending the 30th of June, 1866, will exceed the
+    receipts $112,194,947. It is gratifying, however, to state that it is
+    also estimated that the revenue for the year ending the 30th of June,
+    1867, will exceed the expenditures in the sum of $111,682,818. This
+    amount, or so much as may be deemed sufficient for the purpose, may be
+    applied to the reduction of the public debt, which on the 31st day of
+    October, 1865, was $2,740,854,750. Every reduction will diminish the
+    total amount of interest to be paid, and so enlarge the means of still
+    further reductions, until the whole shall be liquidated; and this, as
+    will be seen from the estimates of the Secretary of the Treasury, may be
+    accomplished by annual payments even within a period not exceeding
+    thirty years. I have faith that we shall do all this within a reasonable
+    time; that as we have amazed the world by the suppression of a civil war
+    which was thought to be beyond the control of any government, so we
+    shall equally show the superiority of our institutions by the prompt and
+    faithful discharge of our national obligations.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Department of Agriculture under its present direction is
+    accomplishing much in developing and utilizing the vast agricultural
+    capabilities of the country, and for information respecting the details
+    of its management reference is made to the annual report of the
+    Commissioner.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have dwelt thus fully on our domestic affairs because of their
+    transcendent importance. Under any circumstances our great extent of
+    territory and variety of climate, producing almost everything that is
+    necessary for the wants and even the comforts of man, make us singularly
+    independent of the varying policy of foreign powers and protect us
+    against every temptation to "entangling alliances," while at the present
+    moment the reestablishment of harmony and the strength that comes from
+    harmony will be our best security against "nations who feel power and
+    forget right." For myself, it has been and it will be my constant aim to
+    promote peace and amity with all foreign nations and powers, and I have
+    every reason to believe that they all, without exception, are animated
+    by the same disposition. Our relations with the Emperor of China, so
+    recent in their origin, are most friendly. Our commerce with his
+    dominions is receiving new developments, and it is very pleasing to find
+    that the Government of that great Empire manifests satisfaction with our
+    policy and reposes just confidence in the fairness which marks our
+    intercourse. The unbroken harmony between the United States and the
+    Emperor of Russia is receiving a new support from an enterprise designed
+    to carry telegraphic lines across the continent of Asia, through his
+    dominions, and so to connect us with all Europe by a new channel of
+    intercourse. Our commerce with South America is about to receive
+    encouragement by a direct line of mail steamships to the rising Empire
+    of Brazil. The distinguished party of men of science who have recently
+    left our country to make a scientific exploration of the natural history
+    and rivers and mountain ranges of that region have received from the
+    Emperor that generous welcome which was to have been expected from his
+    constant friendship for the United States and his well-known zeal in
+    promoting the advancement of knowledge. A hope is entertained that our
+    commerce with the rich and populous countries that border the
+    Mediterranean Sea may be largely increased. Nothing will be wanting on
+    the part of this Government to extend the protection of our flag over
+    the enterprise of our fellow-citizens. We receive from the powers in
+    that region assurances of good will; and it is worthy of note that a
+    special envoy has brought us messages of condolence on the death of our
+    late Chief Magistrate from the Bey of Tunis, whose rule includes the old
+    dominions of Carthage, on the African coast.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Our domestic contest, now happily ended, has left some traces in our
+    relations with one at least of the great maritime powers. The formal
+    accordance of belligerent rights to the insurgent States was
+    unprecedented, and has not been justified by the issue. But in the
+    systems of neutrality pursued by the powers which made that concession
+    there was a marked difference. The materials of war for the insurgent
+    States were furnished, in a great measure, from the workshops of Great
+    Britain, and British ships, manned by British subjects and prepared for
+    receiving British armaments, sallied from the ports of Great Britain to
+    make war on American commerce under the shelter of a commission from the
+    insurgent States. These ships, having once escaped from British ports,
+    ever afterwards entered them in every part of the world to refit, and so
+    to renew their depredations. The consequences of this conduct were most
+    disastrous to the States then in rebellion, increasing their desolation
+    and misery by the prolongation of our civil contest. It had, moreover,
+    the effect, to a great extent, to drive the American flag from the sea,
+    and to transfer much of our shipping and our commerce to the very power
+    whose subjects had created the necessity for such a change. These events
+    took place before I was called to the administration of the Government.
+    The sincere desire for peace by which I am animated led me to approve
+    the proposal, already made, to submit the question which had thus arisen
+    between the countries to arbitration. These questions are of such moment
+    that they must have commanded the attention of the great powers, and are
+    so interwoven with the peace and interests of every one of them as to
+    have insured an impartial decision. I regret to inform you that Great
+    Britain declined the arbitrament, but, on the other hand, invited us to
+    the formation of a joint commission to settle mutual claims between the
+    two countries, from which those for the depredations before mentioned
+    should be excluded. The proposition, in that very unsatisfactory form,
+    has been declined.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The United States did not present the subject as an impeachment of the
+    good faith of a power which was professing the most friendly
+    dispositions, but as involving questions of public law of which the
+    settlement is essential to the peace of nations; and though pecuniary
+    reparation to their injured citizens would have followed incidentally
+    on a decision against Great Britain, such compensation was not their
+    primary object. They had a higher motive, and it was in the interests of
+    peace and justice to establish important principles of international
+    law. The correspondence will be placed before you. The ground on which
+    the British minister rests his justification is, substantially, that the
+    municipal law of a nation and the domestic interpretations of that law
+    are the measure of its duty as a neutral, and I feel bound to declare my
+    opinion before you and before the world that that justification can not
+    be sustained before the tribunal of nations. At the same time, I do not
+    advise to any present attempt at redress by acts of legislation. For the
+    future, friendship between the two countries must rest on the basis of
+    mutual justice.
+</p>
+<p>
+    From the moment of the establishment of our free Constitution the
+    civilized world has been convulsed by revolutions in the interests of
+    democracy or of monarchy, but through all those revolutions the United
+    States have wisely and firmly refused to become propagandists of
+    republicanism. It is the only government suited to our condition; but
+    we have never sought to impose it on others, and we have consistently
+    followed the advice of Washington to recommend it only by the careful
+    preservation and prudent use of the blessing. During all the intervening
+    period the policy of European powers and of the United States has, on
+    the whole, been harmonious. Twice, indeed, rumors of the invasion of
+    some parts of America in the interest of monarchy have prevailed; twice
+    my predecessors have had occasion to announce the views of this nation
+    in respect to such interference. On both occasions the remonstrance of
+    the United States was respected from a deep conviction on the part of
+    European Governments that the system of noninterference and mutual
+    abstinence from propagandism was the true rule for the two hemispheres.
+    Since those times we have advanced in wealth and power, but we retain
+    the same purpose to leave the nations of Europe to choose their own
+    dynasties and form their own systems of government. This consistent
+    moderation may justly demand a corresponding moderation. We should
+    regard it as a great calamity to ourselves, to the cause of good
+    government, and to the peace of the world should any European power
+    challenge the American people, as it were, to the defense of
+    republicanism against foreign interference. We can not foresee and are
+    unwilling to consider what opportunities might present themselves, what
+    combinations might offer to protect ourselves against designs inimical
+    to our form of government. The United States desire to act in the
+    future as they have ever acted heretofore; they never will be driven
+    from that course but by the aggression of European powers, and we
+    rely on the wisdom and justice of those powers to respect the system of
+    noninterference which has so long been sanctioned by time, and which by
+    its good results has approved itself to both continents.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The correspondence between the United States and France in reference to
+    questions which have become subjects of discussion between the two
+    Governments will at a proper time be laid before Congress.
+</p>
+<p>
+    When, on the organization of our Government under the Constitution, the
+    President of the United States delivered his inaugural address to the
+    two Houses of Congress, he said to them, and through them to the country
+    and to mankind, that&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the
+  republican model of government are justly considered, perhaps, as
+  <i>deeply</i>, as <i>finally</i>, staked on the experiment intrusted to the hands
+  of the American people.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And the House of Representatives answered Washington by the voice of
+    Madison:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  We adore the Invisible Hand which has led the American people, through
+  so many difficulties, to cherish a conscious responsibility for the
+  destiny of republican liberty.
+</p>
+<p>
+    More than seventy-six years have glided away since these words were
+    spoken; the United States have passed through severer trials than were
+    foreseen; and now, at this new epoch in our existence as one nation,
+    with our Union purified by sorrows and strengthened by conflict and
+    established by the virtue of the people, the greatness of the occasion
+    invites us once more to repeat with solemnity the pledges of our fathers
+    to hold ourselves answerable before our fellow-men for the success of
+    the republican form of government. Experience has proved its sufficiency
+    in peace and in war; it has vindicated its authority through dangers and
+    afflictions, and sudden and terrible emergencies, which would have
+    crushed any system that had been less firmly fixed in the hearts of the
+    people. At the inauguration of Washington the foreign relations of the
+    country were few and its trade was repressed by hostile regulations; now
+    all the civilized nations of the globe welcome our commerce, and their
+    governments profess toward us amity. Then our country felt its way
+    hesitatingly along an untried path, with States so little bound together
+    by rapid means of communication as to be hardly known to one another,
+    and with historic traditions extending over very few years; now
+    intercourse between the States is swift and intimate; the experience of
+    centuries has been crowded into a few generations, and has created an
+    intense, indestructible nationality. Then our jurisdiction did not reach
+    beyond the inconvenient boundaries of the territory which had achieved
+    independence; now, through cessions of lands, first colonized by Spain
+    and France, the country has acquired a more complex character, and has
+    for its natural limits the chain of lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, and on
+    the east and the west the two great oceans. Other nations were wasted by
+    civil wars for ages before they could establish for themselves the
+    necessary degree of unity; the latent conviction that our form of
+    government is the best ever known to the world has enabled us to emerge
+    from civil war within four years with a complete vindication of the
+    constitutional authority of the General Government and with our local
+    liberties and State institutions unimpaired.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The throngs of emigrants that crowd to our shores are witnesses of the
+    confidence of all peoples in our permanence. Here is the great land of
+    free labor, where industry is blessed with unexampled rewards and the
+    bread of the workingman is sweetened by the consciousness that the cause
+    of the country "is his own cause, his own safety, his own dignity." Here
+    everyone enjoys the free use of his faculties and the choice of activity
+    as a natural right. Here, under the combined influence of a fruitful
+    soil, genial climes, and happy institutions, population has increased
+    fifteen-fold within a century. Here, through the easy development of
+    boundless resources, wealth has increased with twofold greater rapidity
+    than numbers, so that we have become secure against the financial
+    vicissitudes of other countries and, alike in business and in opinion,
+    are self-centered and truly independent. Here more and more care is
+    given to provide education for everyone born on our soil. Here religion,
+    released from political connection with the civil government, refuses to
+    subserve the craft of statesmen, and becomes in its independence the
+    spiritual life of the people. Here toleration is extended to every
+    opinion, in the quiet certainty that truth needs only a fair field to
+    secure the victory. Here the human mind goes forth unshackled in the
+    pursuit of science, to collect stores of knowledge and acquire an
+    ever-increasing mastery over the forces of nature. Here the national
+    domain is offered and held in millions of separate freeholds, so that
+    our fellow-citizens, beyond the occupants of any other part of the
+    earth, constitute in reality a people. Here exists the democratic form
+    of government; and that form of government, by the confession of
+    European statesmen, "gives a power of which no other form is capable,
+    because it incorporates every man with the state and arouses everything
+    that belongs to the soul."
+</p>
+<p>
+    Where in past history does a parallel exist to the public happiness
+    which is within the reach of the people of the United States? Where in
+    any part of the globe can institutions be found so suited to their
+    habits or so entitled to their love as their own free Constitution?
+    Every one of them, then, in whatever part of the land he has his home,
+    must wish its perpetuity. Who of them will not now acknowledge, in the
+    words of Washington, that "every step by which the people of the United
+    States have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to
+    have been distinguished by some token of providential agency"? Who will
+    not join with me in the prayer that the Invisible Hand which has led us
+    through the clouds that gloomed around our path will so guide us onward
+    to a perfect restoration of fraternal affection that we of this day may
+    be able to transmit our great inheritance of State governments in all
+    their rights, of the General Government in its whole constitutional
+    vigor, to our posterity, and they to theirs through countless
+    generations?
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    SPECIAL MESSAGES.
+</h2>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 11, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a report of this date from the Secretary of State, and the
+    papers referred to therein, concerning the Universal Exposition to be
+    held at Paris in the year 1867, in which the United States have been
+    invited by the Government of France to take part. I commend the subject
+    to your early and favorable consideration.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 13, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 11th instant,
+    requesting information on the subject of a decree of the so-called
+    Emperor of Mexico of the 3d of October last, I transmit a report from
+    the Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 14, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    11th instant, requesting information relative to a so-called decree
+    concerning the reestablishment of slavery or peonage in the Republic
+    of Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the
+    documents by which it was accompanied.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>December 18, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the requirements of the third section of the act
+    approved March 3, 1865, I transmit herewith a communication from the
+    Secretary of War, with the accompanying report and estimates of the
+    Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 18, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In reply to the resolution adopted by the Senate on the 12th instant,
+    I have the honor to state that the rebellion waged by a portion of the
+    people against the properly constituted authority of the Government of
+    the United States has been suppressed; that the United States are in
+    possession of every State in which the insurrection existed, and that,
+    as far as it could be done, the courts of the United States have been
+    restored, post-offices reestablished, and steps taken to put into
+    effective operation the revenue laws of the country.
+</p>
+<p>
+    As the result of the measures instituted by the Executive with the view
+    of inducing a resumption of the functions of the States comprehended in
+    the inquiry of the Senate, the people of North Carolina, South Carolina,
+    Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee have
+    reorganized their respective State governments, and "are yielding
+    obedience to the laws and Government of the United States" with more
+    willingness and greater promptitude than under the circumstances could
+    reasonably have been anticipated. The proposed amendment to the
+    Constitution, providing for the abolition of slavery forever within the
+    limits of the country, has been ratified by each one of those States,
+    with the exception of Mississippi, from which no official information
+    has been received, and in nearly all of them measures have been adopted
+    or are now pending to confer upon freedmen the privileges which are
+    essential to their comfort, protection, and security. In Florida and
+    Texas the people are making commendable progress in restoring their
+    State governments, and no doubt is entertained that they will at an
+    early period be in a condition to resume all of their practical
+    relations with the General Government.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In "that portion of the Union lately in rebellion" the aspect of affairs
+    is more promising than, in view of all the circumstances, could well
+    have been expected. The people throughout the entire South evince a
+    laudable desire to renew their allegiance to the Government and to
+    repair the devastations of war by a prompt and cheerful return to
+    peaceful pursuits, and abiding faith is entertained that their actions
+    will conform to their professions, and that in acknowledging the
+    supremacy of the Constitution and laws of the United States their
+    loyalty will be unreservedly given to the Government, whose leniency
+    they can not fail to appreciate and whose fostering care will soon
+    restore them to a condition of prosperity. It is true that in some of
+    the States the demoralizing effects of the war are to be seen in
+    occasional disorders; but these are local in character, not frequent in
+    occurrence, and are rapidly disappearing as the authority of civil law
+    is extended and sustained. Perplexing questions are naturally to be
+    expected from the great and sudden change in the relations between the
+    two races; but systems are gradually developing themselves under which
+    the freedman will receive the protection to which he is justly entitled,
+    and, by means of his labor, make himself a useful and independent member
+    in the community in which he has a home.
+</p>
+<p>
+    From all the information in my possession and from that which I have
+    recently derived from the most reliable authority I am induced to
+    cherish the belief that sectional animosity is surely and rapidly
+    merging itself into a spirit of nationality, and that representation,
+    connected with a properly adjusted system of taxation, will result in
+    a harmonious restoration of the relation of the States to the National
+    Union.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The report of Carl Schurz is herewith transmitted, as requested by the
+    Senate. No reports from the Hon. John Covode have been received by the
+    President. The attention of the Senate is invited to the accompanying
+    report from Lieutenant-General Grant, who recently made a tour of
+    inspection through several of the States whose inhabitants participated
+    in the rebellion.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 20, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In reply to the resolution of the Senate of the 19th instant, requesting
+    that the President, if not inconsistent with the public service,
+    communicate to the Senate the "report of General Howard of his
+    observations of the condition of the seceded States and the operation of
+    the Freedmen's Bureau therein," I have to state that the report of the
+    Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands
+    was yesterday transmitted to both Houses of Congress, as required by the
+    third section of the act approved March 3, 1865.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 21, 1865</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 11th instant,
+    respecting the occupation by the French troops of the Republic of Mexico
+    and the establishment of a monarchy there, I transmit a report from the
+    Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 5, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 19th ultimo,
+    requesting information in regard to any plans to induce the immigration
+    of dissatisfied citizens of the United States into Mexico, their
+    organization there with the view to create disturbances in the United
+    States, and especially in regard to the plans of Dr. William M. Gwin and
+    M.F. Maury, and to the action taken by the Government of the United
+    States to prevent the success of such schemes, I transmit a report from
+    the Acting Secretary of State and the papers by which it was
+    accompanied.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 5, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have received the following preamble and resolution, adopted by the
+    Senate on the 21st ultimo:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Whereas the Constitution declares that "in all criminal prosecutions
+  the accused shall enjoy the right of a speedy and public trial by an
+  impartial jury of the State or district wherein the crime shall have
+  been committed;" and
+</p><p class="q">
+  Whereas several months have elapsed since Jefferson Davis, late
+  president of the so-called Confederate States, was captured and confined
+  for acts notoriously done by him as such, which acts, if duly proved,
+  render him guilty of treason against the United States and liable to the
+  penalties thereof; and
+</p><p class="q">
+  Whereas hostilities between the Government of the United States and the
+  insurgents have ceased, and not one of the latter, so far as is known to
+  the Senate, is now held in confinement for the part he may have acted in
+  the rebellion except said Jefferson Davis: Therefore,
+</p><p class="q">
+  <i>Resolved</i>, That the President be respectfully requested, if compatible
+  with the public safety, to inform the Senate upon what charges or for
+  what reasons said Jefferson Davis is still held in confinement, and why
+  he has not been put upon his trial.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In reply to the resolution I transmit the accompanying reports from the
+    Secretary of War and the Attorney-General, and at the same time invite
+    the attention of the Senate to that portion of my message dated the 4th
+    day of December last which refers to Congress the questions connected
+    with the holding of circuit courts of the United States within the
+    districts where their authority has been interrupted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 5, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of
+    the 18th ultimo, requesting information in regard to steps taken by the
+    so-called Emperor of Mexico or by any European power to obtain from the
+    United States a recognition of the so-called Empire of Mexico, and what
+    action has been taken in the premises by the Government of the United
+    States, I transmit a report from the Acting Secretary of State and the
+    papers by which it was accompanied.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 10, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 8th
+    instant, asking for information in regard to the alleged kidnaping in
+    Mexico of the child of an American lady, I transmit a report from the
+    Acting Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>January 12, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a communication addressed to me by Messrs. John
+    Evans and J.B. Chaífee as "United States Senators elect from the State
+    of Colorado," together with the accompanying documents.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Under authority of the act of Congress approved the 21st day of
+    March, 1864, the people of Colorado, through a convention, formed a
+    constitution making provision for a State government, which, when
+    submitted to the qualified voters of the Territory, was rejected.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the summer of 1865 a second convention was called by the executive
+    committees of the several political parties in the Territory, which
+    assembled at Denver on the 8th of August, 1865. On the 12th of that
+    month this convention adopted a State constitution, which was submitted
+    to the people on the 5th of September, 1865, and ratified by a majority
+    of 155 of the qualified voters. The proceedings in the second instance
+    for the formation of a State government having differed in time and mode
+    from those specified in the act of March 21, 1864, I have declined to
+    issue the proclamation for which provision is made in the fifth section
+    of the law, and therefore submit the question for the consideration and
+    further action of Congress.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE OFFICE, <i>January 20, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I communicate to the Senate herewith, for its constitutional action
+    thereon, the several treaties<a href="#note-5"><small>5</small></a> with the Indians of the Southwest
+    referred to in the accompanying communication from the Secretary of
+    the Interior.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE OFFICE, <i>January 20, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I communicate to the Senate herewith, for its constitutional action
+    thereon, the several treaties with bands of the Sioux Nation of Indians
+    which are referred to in the accompanying communication from the
+    Secretary of the Interior.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION, <i>January 20, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I communicate to the Senate herewith, for its constitutional action
+    thereon, the treaties with the Omaha and Winnebago Indians referred to
+    in the accompanying communication from the Secretary of the Interior.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 26, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 11th instant,
+    requesting information in regard to a negotiation for the transit of
+    United States troops in 1861 through Mexican territory, I transmit a
+    report from the Acting Secretary of State and the papers by which it
+    was accompanied.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 26, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+    ratification, a convention between the United States and the Empire of
+    Japan for the reduction of import duties, which was signed at Yedo the
+    28th of January, 1864.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 26, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+    ratification, a convention between the Empire of Japan and the
+    Governments of the United States, Great Britain, France, and Holland,
+    providing for the payment to said Governments of the sum of $3,000,000
+    for indemnities and expenses, which was signed by the respective parties
+    at Yokohama on the 22d of October, 1864.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 26, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 17th instant,
+    requesting the President "to communicate to the Senate, if in his
+    opinion not inconsistent with the public interest, any letters from
+    Major-General Sheridan, commanding the Military Division of the Gulf,
+    or from any other officer of the Department of Texas, in regard to the
+    present condition of affairs on the southeastern frontier of the United
+    States, and especially in regard to any violation of neutrality on the
+    part of the army now occupying the right bank of the Rio Grande,"
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, bearing date
+    the 24th instant.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Concurring in his opinion that the publication of the correspondence
+    at this time is not consistent with the public interest, the papers
+    referred to in the accompanying report are for the present withheld.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 26, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    22d instant, requesting the communication of any correspondence or other
+    information in regard to a demonstration by the Congress of the United
+    States of Colombia, or any other country, in honor of President Juarez,
+    of the Republic of Mexico, I transmit herewith a report from the Acting
+    Secretary of State, with the papers by which it was accompanied.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 26, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 8th
+    instant, asking for information in regard to the reported surrender of
+    the rebel pirate vessel called the <i>Shenandoah</i>, I transmit a report
+    from the Acting Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 30, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Believing that the commercial interests of our country would be promoted
+    by a formal recognition of the independence of the Dominican Republic,
+    while such a recognition would be in entire conformity with the settled
+    policy of the United States, I have with that view nominated to the
+    Senate an officer of the same grade with the one now accredited to the
+    Republic of Hayti; and I recommend that an appropriation be made by
+    Congress toward providing for his compensation.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 1, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    10th ultimo, requesting information in regard to the organization in the
+    city of New York of the "Imperial Mexican Express Company" under a grant
+    from the so-called Emperor of Mexico, I transmit a report from the
+    Secretary of State and the papers by which it was accompanied.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 2, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The accompanying correspondence is transmitted to the Senate in
+    compliance with its resolution of the 16th ultimo, requesting the
+    President, "if not inconsistent with the public interest, to communicate
+    to the Senate any correspondence which may have taken place between
+    himself and any of the judges of the Supreme Court touching the holding
+    of the civil courts of the United States in the insurrectionary States
+    for the trial of crimes against the United States."
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 2, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 30th ultimo, requesting
+    the President, "if not incompatible with the public interests, to
+    communicate to the Senate a copy of the late report of Major-General
+    Sherman upon the condition of the States in his department, in which he
+    has lately made a tour of inspection," I transmit herewith a copy of a
+    communication, dated December 22, 1865, addressed to the Headquarters of
+    the Army by Major-General Sherman, commanding the Military Division of
+    the Mississippi.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 9, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    10th ultimo, requesting the President of the United States, "if not
+    incompatible with the public interest, to communicate to the House
+    any report or reports made by the Judge-Advocate-General or any other
+    officer of the Government as to the grounds, facts, or accusations upon
+    which Jefferson Davis, Clement C. Clay, jr., Stephen R. Mallory, and
+    David L. Yulee, or either of them, are held in confinement," I transmit
+    herewith reports from the Secretary of War and the Attorney-General,
+    and concur in the opinion therein expressed that the publication of
+    the papers called for by the resolution is not at the present time
+    compatible with the public interest.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 10, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit, for the consideration of Congress, a correspondence between
+    the Secretary of State and the minister of France accredited to this
+    Government, and also other papers, relative to a proposed international
+    conference at Constantinople upon the subject of cholera.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 5, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit the accompanying report from the Secretary of War, in answer
+    to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 27th ultimo,
+    requesting information in regard to the distribution of the rewards
+    offered by the Government for the arrest of the assassins of the late
+    President Lincoln.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 5, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 27th ultimo, I
+    transmit, herewith a communication from the Secretary of War, together
+    with the reports of the assistant commissioners of the Freedmen's Bureau
+    made since December 1, 1865.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 6, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolutions of the Senate of the 5th of January and
+    27th of February last, requesting information in regard to provisional
+    governors of States, I transmit reports from the Secretary of State and
+    the Secretary of War, to whom the resolutions were referred.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>March 6, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, a
+    treaty with the Utah, Yampah-Ute, Pah-Vant, San-Pete-Ute, Tim-p-nogs,
+    and Cum-um-bah bands of the Utah Indians, referred to in the
+    accompanying papers from the Secretary of the Interior.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 6, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    12th of January last, requesting information in regard to provisional
+    governments of certain States, I transmit a report from the Secretary
+    of State, to whom the resolution was referred.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 6, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 27th
+    ultimo, requesting certain information in relation to President Benito
+    Juarez, of Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 8, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate, a copy of a letter of
+    the 21st ultimo from the governor of the Territory of Colorado to the
+    Secretary of State, with the memorial to which it refers, relative to
+    the location of the Pacific Railroad.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 12, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit, for your consideration, a copy of two communications from
+    the minister of the United States at Paris, in regard to a proposed
+    exhibition of fishery and water culture, to be held at Arcachon, near
+    Bordeaux, in France, in July next.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 15, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 5th instant, upon the
+    subject of the supposed kidnaping of colored persons in the Southern
+    States for the purpose of selling them as slaves in Cuba, I transmit a
+    report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>March 19, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives dated
+    January 5, 1866, requesting information as to the number of men and
+    officers in the regular and volunteer service of the United States,
+    I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, with the papers by which
+    it was accompanied.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 20, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    11th of December last, requesting information upon the present condition
+    of affairs in the Republic of Mexico, I transmit a report from the
+    Secretary of State and the papers by which it was accompanied.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 21, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    a treaty made with the Great and Little Osage Indians on the 29th
+    September, 1865, together with the accompanying papers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 21, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, a
+    treaty made with the Woll-pah-pe tribe of Snake Indians on the 12th of
+    August, 1865, together with the accompanying papers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>March 26, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate a memorial of the legislature of Alabama,
+    asking an extension of time for the completion of certain railroads in
+    said State.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 30, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate,
+    a treaty negotiated with the Shawnee Indians, dated March 1, 1866,
+    with supplemental article, dated March 14, 1866, with accompanying
+    communications from the honorable Secretary of the Interior and
+    Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 3, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report by the Secretary of War, in compliance with
+    the Senate resolution of the 7th March, 1866, respecting the improvement
+    of the Washington City Canal, to promote the health of the metropolis.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>April 3, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, dated the
+    22d ultimo, together with a letter addressed to him by the governor of
+    Alabama, asking that the State of Alabama may be allowed to assume and
+    pay in State bonds the direct tax now due from that State to the United
+    States, or that delay of payment may be authorized until the State can
+    by the sale of its bonds or by taxation make provision for the
+    liquidation of the indebtedness.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I concur in the opinion of the Secretary of the Treasury "that it is
+    desirable that the State of Alabama and the other Southern States should
+    be allowed to assume and pay their proportion of the direct taxes now
+    due," and therefore recommend the necessary legislation by Congress.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 4, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    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 British vessel <i>Magicienne</i>, and recommend an
+    appropriation for the satisfaction of the claim, pursuant to the award
+    of the arbitrators.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 5, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith transmit communications from the Secretary of the Treasury
+    and the Postmaster-General, suggesting a modification of the oath of
+    office prescribed by the act of Congress approved July 2, 1862. I fully
+    concur in their recommendation, and as the subject pertains to the
+    efficient administration of the revenue and postal laws in the Southern
+    States I earnestly commend it to the early consideration of Congress.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 6, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a supplemental
+    article to the Pottawatomie treaty of November 15, 1861, concluded on
+    the 29th ultimo, together with the accompanying communications from the
+    Secretary of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>April 7, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Interior, with the
+    accompanying papers, in reference to grants of land made by acts of
+    Congress passed in the years 1850, 1853, and 1856 to the States of
+    Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Louisiana, to aid in
+    the construction of certain railroads. As these acts will expire by
+    limitation on the 11th day of August, 1866, leaving the roads for
+    whose benefit they were conferred in an unfinished condition, it is
+    recommended that the time within which they may be completed be extended
+    for a period of five years.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 11, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 27th ultimo,
+    in relation to the seizure and detention at New York of the steamship
+    <i>Meteor</i>, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State and
+    the papers by which it was accompanied.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 13, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a
+    treaty concluded with the Bois Forte band of Chippewa Indians on the
+    7th instant, together with the accompanying communications from the
+    Secretary of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 13, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 10th
+    instant, requesting information in regard to the rights and interests
+    of American citizens in the fishing grounds adjacent to the British
+    Provinces, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the
+    resolution was referred.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 20, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the Senate's resolution of the 8th January, 1866, I
+    transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War of the 19th
+    instant, covering copies of the correspondence respecting General
+    Orders, No. 17,<a href="#note-6"><small>6</small></a> issued by the commander of the Department of
+    California, and also the Attorney-General's opinion as to the question
+    whether the order involves a breach of neutrality toward Mexico.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>April 20, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 2d
+    instant, requesting information respecting the collection of the remains
+    of officers and soldiers killed and buried on the various battlefields
+    about Atlanta, I transmit herewith a report on the subject from the
+    Secretary of War.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 21, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a communication of this date from the Secretary
+    of War, covering a copy of the proceedings of a board of officers in
+    relation to brevet appointments in the Regular Army, requested in the
+    Senate's resolution of the 18th April, 1866.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 23, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+    ratification, a convention which was signed at Tangier on the 31st of
+    May last between the United States and other powers on the one part and
+    the Sultan of Morocco on the other part, concerning the administration
+    and maintenance of a light-house on Cape Spartel.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 23, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 16th
+    instant, requesting information relative to the proposed evacuation of
+    Mexico by French military forces, I transmit a report from the Secretary
+    of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., April 24, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I submit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, the accompanying
+    communication from the Secretary of the Interior, in relation to the
+    Union Pacific Railroad Company, eastern division.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It appears that the company were required to complete 100 miles of
+    their road within three years after their acceptance of the conditions
+    of the original act of Congress. This period expired December 22, 1865.
+    Sixty-two miles had been previously accepted by the Government. Since
+    that date an additional section of 23 miles has been completed.
+    Commissioners appointed for that purpose have examined and reported
+    upon it, and an application has been made for its acceptance.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The failure to complete 100 miles of road within the period prescribed
+    renders it questionable whether the executive officers of the Government
+    are authorized to issue the bonds and patents to which the company would
+    be entitled if this as well as the other requirements of the act had
+    been faithfully observed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This failure may to some extent be ascribed to the financial condition
+    of the country incident to the recent civil war. As the company appear
+    to be engaged in the energetic prosecution of their work and manifest a
+    disposition to comply with the conditions of the grant, I recommend that
+    the time for the completion of this part of the road be extended and
+    that authority be given for the issue of bonds and patents on account of
+    the section now offered for acceptance notwithstanding such failure,
+    should the company in other respects be thereunto entitled.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>April 28, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a
+    treaty this day concluded with the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations of
+    Indians.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 30, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 25th
+    instant, requesting information in regard to the rebel debt known as the
+    cotton loan, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom
+    the resolution was referred.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>May 2, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 23d
+    ultimo, I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, from which it
+    will be perceived that it is not deemed compatible with the public
+    interests to communicate to the House the report made by General Smith
+    and the Hon. James T. Brady of their investigations at New Orleans, La.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>May 4, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 5th
+    of March, 1866, requesting the names of persons worth more than $20,000
+    to whom special pardons have been issued, and a statement of the amount
+    of property which has been seized as belonging to the enemies of the
+    Government, or as abandoned property, and returned to those who claimed
+    to be the original owners, I transmit herewith reports from the
+    Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of
+    War, and the Attorney-General, together with a copy of the amnesty
+    proclamation of the 29th of May, 1865, and a copy of the warrants issued
+    in cases in which special pardons are granted. The second, third, and
+    fourth conditions of the warrant prescribe the terms, so far as property
+    is concerned, upon which all such pardons are granted and accepted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>May 4, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Referring to my message of the 12th of March last, communicating
+    information in regard to a proposed exposition of fishery and water
+    culture at Arcachon, in France, I communicate a copy of another dispatch
+    from the minister of the United States in Paris to the Secretary of
+    State, and again invite the attention of Congress to the subject.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>May 7, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 19th ultimo,
+    I transmit herewith a report from Benjamin C. Truman, relative to the
+    condition of the Southern people and the States in which the rebellion
+    existed.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>May 9, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to Congress a copy of a correspondence between the Secretary
+    of State and the acting chargé d'affaires of the United States at
+    Guayaquil, in the Republic of Ecuador, from which it appears that the
+    Government of that Republic has failed to pay the first installment of
+    the award of the commissioners under the convention between the United
+    States and Ecuador of the 25th November, 1862, which installment was due
+    on the 17th of February last.
+</p>
+<p>
+    As debts of this character from one government to another are justly
+    regarded as of a peculiarly sacred character, and as further diplomatic
+    measures are not in this instance likely to be successful, the
+    expediency of authorizing other proceedings in case they should
+    ultimately prove to be indispensable is submitted to your consideration.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>May 10, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, in
+    answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 3d
+    instant, requesting information concerning discriminations made by the
+    so-called Maximilian Government of Mexico against American commerce,
+    or against commerce from particular American ports.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>May 11, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to that part
+    of the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 7th instant
+    which calls for information in regard to the clerks employed in the
+    Department of State.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>May 16, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to Congress a copy of the correspondence between the
+    Secretary of State and Cornelius Vanderbilt, of New York, relative to
+    the joint resolution of the 28th of January, 1864, upon the subject of
+    the gift of the steamer <i>Vanderbilt</i> to the United States.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, May 7, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Hon. SCHUYLER COLFAX,
+<br>
+    <i>Speaker of the House of Representatives</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: I have the honor to submit herewith a communication of the
+    Secretary of War, inclosing one from the Lieutenant-General, relative
+    to the necessity for legislation upon the subject of the Army.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>May 17, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In further response to the resolution of the House of Representatives of
+    the 7th instant, calling for information in regard to clerks employed in
+    the several Executive Departments, I transmit herewith reports from the
+    Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of the Interior and the
+    Postmaster-General.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>May 22, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, made in
+    compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    7th instant, calling for information in respect to clerks employed in
+    the several Executive Departments of the Government.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>May 22, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 27th
+    ultimo, requesting a collation of the provisions in reference to
+    freedmen contained in the amended constitutions of the Southern States
+    and in the laws of those States passed since the suppression of the
+    rebellion, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the
+    resolution was referred.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>May 24, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Postmaster-General, made in answer
+    to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 14th instant,
+    calling for information relative to the proposed mail steamship service
+    between the United States and Brazil.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>May 25, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    21st instant, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War,
+    with the accompanying papers, in reference to the operations of the
+    Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>May 30, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    With sincere regret I announce to Congress that Winfield Scott, late
+    Lieutenant-General in the Army of the United States, departed this life
+    at West Point, in the State of New York, on the 29th day of May instant,
+    at 11 o'clock in the forenoon. I feel well assured that Congress will
+    share in the grief of the nation which must result from its bereavement
+    of a citizen whose high fame is identified with the military history of
+    the Republic.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>May 30, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a communication from the Secretary of War, covering a
+    supplemental report to that already made to the House of
+    Representatives, in answer to its resolution of the 21st instant,
+    requesting the reports of General Steedman and others in reference to
+    the operations of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 5, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+    ratification, a convention between the United States and the Republic of
+    Venezuela on the subject of the claims of citizens of the United States
+    upon the Government of that Republic, which convention was signed by the
+    plenipotentiaries of the parties at the city of Caracas on the 25th of
+    April last.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 9, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Acting Secretary of the Interior,
+    communicating the information requested by a resolution of the House of
+    Representatives of the 21st ultimo, in relation to the removal of the
+    Sioux Indians of Minnesota and the provisions made for their
+    accommodation in the Territory of Nebraska.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 9, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with a call of the Senate, as expressed in a resolution
+    adopted on the 6th instant, I transmit a copy of the report of the Board
+    of Visitors to the United States Naval Academy for the year 1866.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 11, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 10th
+    ultimo, calling for information relative to the claims of citizens of
+    the United States against the Republic of Venezuela, I transmit a report
+    from the Secretary of State.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 11, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is proper that I should inform Congress that a copy of an act of the
+    legislature of Georgia of the 10th of March last has been officially
+    communicated to me, by which that State accepts the donation of lands
+    for the benefit of colleges for agriculture and the mechanic arts, which
+    donation was provided for by the acts of Congress of the 2d of July,
+    1862, and 14th of April, 1864.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 11, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I communicate and invite the attention of Congress to a copy of joint
+    resolutions of the senate and house of representatives of the State
+    of Georgia, requesting a suspension of the collection of the
+    internal-revenue tax due from that State pursuant to the act of Congress
+    of the 5th of August, 1861.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 13, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 11th
+    instant, requesting information concerning the provisions of the laws
+    and ordinances of the late insurgent States on the subject of the rebel
+    debt, so called, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the
+    document by which it was accompanied.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 14, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 28th
+    of May, requesting information as to what progress has been made in
+    completing the maps connected with the boundary survey under the treaty
+    of Washington, with copies of any correspondence on this subject not
+    heretofore printed, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State
+    and the documents which accompanied it.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 15, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 13th instant,
+    calling for information in regard to the departure of troops from
+    Austria to Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and
+    the documents by which it was accompanied.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 16, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I communicate herewith a report from the Acting Secretary of the
+    Interior, furnishing, as requested by a resolution of the Senate of the
+    25th ultimo, information touching the transactions of the executive
+    branch of the Government respecting the transportation, settlement,
+    and colonization of persons of the African race.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 18, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In reply to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 11th
+    instant, requesting information in regard to the dispatch of military
+    forces from Austria for service in Mexico, I transmit a report from the
+    Secretary of State on the subject.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>June 20, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    21st ultimo, requesting information as to the collection of the direct
+    tax in the States whose inhabitants participated in the rebellion, I
+    transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, accompanied
+    by a report from the Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>June 22, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I submit to Congress a report of the Secretary of State, to whom was
+    referred the concurrent resolution of the 18th instant, respecting a
+    submission to the legislatures of the States of an additional article to
+    the Constitution of the United States. It will be seen from this report
+    that the Secretary of State had, on the 16th instant, transmitted to the
+    governors of the several States certified copies of the joint resolution
+    passed on the 13th instant, proposing an amendment to the Constitution.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Even in ordinary times any question of amending the Constitution must be
+    justly regarded as of paramount importance. This importance is at the
+    present time enhanced by the fact that the joint resolution was not
+    submitted by the two Houses for the approval of the President and that
+    of the thirty-six States which constitute the Union eleven are excluded
+    from representation in either House of Congress, although, with the
+    single exception of Texas, they have been entirely restored to all their
+    functions as States in conformity with the organic law of the land, and
+    have appeared at the national capital by Senators and Representatives,
+    who have applied for and have been refused admission to the vacant
+    seats. Nor have the sovereign people of the nation been afforded an
+    opportunity of expressing their views upon the important questions which
+    the amendment involves. Grave doubts, therefore, may naturally and
+    justly arise as to whether the action of Congress is in harmony with
+    the sentiments of the people, and whether State legislatures, elected
+    without reference to such an issue, should be called upon by Congress
+    to decide respecting the ratification of the proposed amendment.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Waiving the question as to the constitutional validity of the
+    proceedings of Congress upon the joint resolution proposing the
+    amendment or as to the merits of the article which it submits through
+    the executive department to the legislatures of the States, I deem it
+    proper to observe that the steps taken by the Secretary of State, as
+    detailed in the accompanying report, are to be considered as purely
+    ministerial, and in no sense whatever committing the Executive to an
+    approval or a recommendation of the amendment to the State legislatures
+    or to the people. On the contrary, a proper appreciation of the letter
+    and spirit of the Constitution, as well as of the interests of national
+    order, harmony, and union, and a due deference for an enlightened public
+    judgment may at this time well suggest a doubt whether any amendment to
+    the Constitution ought to be proposed by Congress and pressed upon the
+    legislatures of the several States for final decision until after the
+    admission of such loyal Senators and Representatives of the now
+    unrepresented States as have been or as may hereafter be chosen in
+    conformity with the Constitution and laws of the United States.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 22, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In further answer to recent resolutions of the Senate and House of
+    Representatives, requesting information in regard to the employment of
+    European troops in Mexico, I transmit to Congress a copy of a dispatch
+    of the 4th of this month addressed to the Secretary of State by the
+    minister of the United States at Paris.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 22, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    18th instant, calling for information in regard to the arrest and
+    imprisonment in Ireland of American citizens, I transmit herewith
+    a report from the Secretary of State on the subject.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>
+    WASHINGTON CITY, <i>June 23, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Interior,
+    communicating in part the information requested by a resolution of the
+    House of Representatives of the 23d of April last, in relation to
+    appropriations and expenditures connected with the Indian service.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>June 28, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Navy and the
+    accompanying copy of a report and maps prepared by a board of examiners
+    appointed under authority of the joint resolution approved June 1, 1866,
+    "to examine a site for a fresh-water basin for ironclad vessels of the
+    United States Navy."
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>June 28, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith reports from the heads of the several Executive
+    Departments, made in answer to the resolution of the House of
+    Representatives of the 4th instant, requesting information as to whether
+    any of the civil or military employees of the Government have assisted
+    in the rendition of public honors to the rebel living or dead.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 7, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The accompanying report of the Secretary of the Treasury is transmitted
+    to the Senate in compliance with its resolution of the 20th ultimo,
+    calling for a statement of the expenditures of the United States for the
+    various public works of the Government in each State and Territory of
+    the Union and in the District of Columbia from the year 1860 to the
+    close of the year 1865.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>July 7, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a
+    treaty concluded with the Seminole Nation of Indians on the 21st day of
+    March, 1866, together with the accompanying communications from the
+    Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>July 7, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a
+    treaty concluded with the Creek Nation of Indians on the 14th day of
+    June, 1866, together with the accompanying communications from the
+    Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 17, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of yesterday,
+    requesting information relative to proposed international movements in
+    connection with the Paris Universal Exposition for the reform of systems
+    of coinage, weights, and measures, I transmit a report from the
+    Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 17, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith transmit to Congress a report, dated 12th 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.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 20, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit, for the constitutional action of the Senate, certain
+    articles of agreement made at the Delaware Agency, Kans., on the 4th
+    instant between the United States and the Delaware Indians.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 20, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith submit, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a treaty
+    negotiated at the city of Washington, D.C., on the 19th instant, between
+    the United States, represented by Dennis N. Cooley, Commissioner of
+    Indian Affairs, and Elijah Sells, superintendent of Indian affairs for
+    the southern superintendency, and the Cherokee Nation of Indians;
+    represented by its delegates, James McDaniel, Smith Christie, White
+    Catcher, L.H. Benge, J.B. Jones, and Daniel H. Ross.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The distracted condition of the Cherokee Nation and the peculiar
+    relation of many of its members to this Government during the rebellion
+    presented almost insuperable difficulties to treating with them. The
+    treaty now submitted is a result of protracted negotiations. Its
+    stipulations are, it is believed, as satisfactory to the contracting
+    parties and furnish as just provisions for the welfare of the Indians
+    and as strong guaranties for the maintenance of peaceful relations with
+    them as under the circumstances could be expected.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>July 24, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I hereby transmit, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a treaty
+    concluded on the 15th of November, 1865, between the United States and
+    the confederate tribes and bands of Indians of middle Oregon, the same
+    being amendatory and supplemental to the treaty with said Indians of the
+    25th of June, 1855.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>July 24, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The following "Joint resolution, restoring Tennessee to her relations in
+    the Union," was last evening presented for my approval:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas in the year 1861 the government of the State of Tennessee was
+    seized upon and taken possession of by persons in hostility to the
+    United States, and the inhabitants of said State, in pursuance of an act
+    of Congress, were declared to be in a state of insurrection against the
+    United States; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas said State government can only be restored to its former
+    political relations in the Union by the consent of the lawmaking power
+    of the United States; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the people of said State did, on the 22d day of February, 1865,
+    by a large popular vote, adopt and ratify a constitution of government
+    whereby slavery was abolished and all ordinances and laws of secession
+    and debts contracted under the same were declared void; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas a State government has been organized under said constitution
+    which has ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the United
+    States abolishing slavery, also the amendment proposed by the
+    Thirty-ninth Congress, and has done other acts proclaiming and denoting
+    loyalty: Therefore,
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
+    States in Congress assembled</i>, That the State of Tennessee is hereby
+    restored to her former proper practical relations to the Union, and is
+    again entitled to be represented by Senators and Representatives in
+    Congress.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The preamble simply consists of statements, some of which are assumed,
+    while the resolution is merely a declaration of opinion. It comprises no
+    legislation, nor does it confer any power which is binding upon the
+    respective Houses, the Executive, or the States. It does not admit to
+    their seats in Congress the Senators and Representatives from the State
+    of Tennessee, for, notwithstanding the passage of the resolution, each
+    House, in the exercise of the constitutional right to judge for itself
+    of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its members, may, at
+    its discretion, admit them or continue to exclude them. If a joint
+    resolution of this kind were necessary and binding as a condition
+    precedent to the admission of members of Congress, it would happen, in
+    the event of a veto by the Executive, that Senators and Representatives
+    could only be admitted to the halls of legislation by a two-thirds vote
+    of each of the Houses.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Among other reasons recited in the preamble for the declaration
+    contained in the resolution is the ratification by the State government
+    of Tennessee of "the amendment to the Constitution of the United States
+    abolishing slavery, also the amendment proposed by the Thirty-ninth
+    Congress." If, as is also declared in the preamble, "said State
+    government can only be restored to its former political relations in the
+    Union by the consent of the lawmaking power of the United States," it
+    would really seem to follow that the joint resolution which at this late
+    day has received the sanction of Congress should have been passed,
+    approved, and placed on the statute books before any amendment to the
+    Constitution was submitted to the legislature of Tennessee for
+    ratification. Otherwise the inference is plainly deducible that while,
+    in the opinion of Congress, the people of a State may be too strongly
+    disloyal to be entitled to representation, they may nevertheless, during
+    the suspension of their "former proper practical relations to the
+    Union," have an equally potent voice with other and loyal States in
+    propositions to amend the Constitution, upon which so essentially depend
+    the stability, prosperity, and very existence of the nation.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A brief reference to my annual message of the 4th of December last will
+    show the steps taken by the Executive for the restoration to their
+    constitutional relations to the Union of the States that had been
+    affected by the rebellion. Upon the cessation of active hostilities
+    provisional governors were appointed, conventions called, governors
+    elected by the people, legislatures assembled, and Senators and
+    Representatives chosen to the Congress of the United States. At the same
+    time the courts of the United States were reopened, the blockade
+    removed, the custom-houses reestablished, and postal operations resumed.
+    The amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery forever within the
+    limits of the country was also submitted to the States, and they were
+    thus invited to and did participate in its ratification, thus exercising
+    the highest functions pertaining to a State. In addition nearly all of
+    these States, through their conventions and legislatures, had adopted
+    and ratified constitutions "of government whereby slavery was abolished
+    and all ordinances and laws of secession and debts contracted under the
+    same were declared void." So far, then, the political existence of the
+    States and their relations to the Federal Government had been fully and
+    completely recognized and acknowledged by the executive department of
+    the Government; and the completion of the work of restoration, which had
+    progressed so favorably, was submitted to Congress, upon which devolved
+    all questions pertaining to the admission to their seats of the Senators
+    and Representatives chosen from the States whose people had engaged in
+    the rebellion.
+</p>
+<p>
+    All these steps had been taken when, on the 4th day of December, 1865,
+    the Thirty-ninth Congress assembled. Nearly eight months have elapsed
+    since that time; and no other plan of restoration having been proposed
+    by Congress for the measures instituted by the Executive, it is now
+    declared, in the joint resolution submitted for my approval, "that the
+    State of Tennessee is hereby restored to her former proper practical
+    relations to the Union, and is again entitled to be represented by
+    Senators and Representatives in Congress." Thus, after the lapse of
+    nearly eight months, Congress proposes to pave the way to the admission
+    to representation of one of the eleven States whose people arrayed
+    themselves in rebellion against the constitutional authority of the
+    Federal Government.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Earnestly desiring to remove every cause of further delay, whether real
+    or imaginary, on the part of Congress to the admission to seats of loyal
+    Senators and Representatives from the State of Tennessee, I have,
+    notwithstanding the anomalous character of this proceeding, affixed
+    my signature to the resolution. My approval, however, is not to be
+    construed as an acknowledgment of the right of Congress to pass laws
+    preliminary to the admission of duly qualified Representatives from any
+    of the States. Neither is it to be considered as committing me to all
+    the statements made in the preamble, some of which are, in my opinion,
+    without foundation in fact, especially the assertion that the State of
+    Tennessee has ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the United
+    States proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress. No official notice of such
+    ratification has been received by the Executive or filed in the
+    Department of State; on the contrary, unofficial information from the
+    most reliable sources induces the belief that the amendment has not yet
+    been constitutionally sanctioned by the legislature of Tennessee. The
+    right of each House under the Constitution to judge of the elections,
+    returns, and qualifications of its own members is undoubted, and my
+    approval or disapproval of the resolution could not in the slightest
+    degree increase or diminish the authority in this respect conferred
+    upon the two branches of Congress.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In conclusion I can not too earnestly repeat my recommendation for the
+    admission of Tennessee, and all other States, to a fair and equal
+    participation in national legislation when they present themselves in
+    the persons of loyal Senators and Representatives who can comply with
+    all the requirements of the Constitution and the laws. By this means
+    harmony and reconciliation will be effected, the practical relations of
+    all the States to the Federal Government reestablished, and the work of
+    restoration, inaugurated upon the termination of the war, successfully
+    completed.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 25, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I nominate Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant to be General of the Army
+    of the United States.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 26, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to two resolutions of the House of Representatives of the 23d
+    instant, in the following words, respectively&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  <i>Resolved</i>, That the House of Representatives respectfully request the
+  President of the United States to urge upon the Canadian authorities,
+  and also the British Government, the release of the Fenian prisoners
+  recently captured in Canada;
+</p><p class="q">
+  <i>Resolved</i>, That this House respectfully request the President to cause
+  the prosecutions instituted in the United States courts against the
+  Fenians to be discontinued, if compatible with the public interest&mdash;
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a report on the subject from the Secretary of State, together
+    with the documents which accompany it.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    VETO MESSAGES.
+</h2>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 19, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have examined with care the bill, which originated in the Senate and
+    has been passed by the two Houses of Congress, to amend an act entitled
+    "An act to establish a bureau for the relief of freedmen and refugees,"
+    and for other purposes. Having with much regret come to the conclusion
+    that it would not be consistent with the public welfare to give my
+    approval to the measure, I return the bill to the Senate with my
+    objections to its becoming a law.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I might call to mind in advance of these objections that there is no
+    immediate necessity for the proposed measure. The act to establish a
+    bureau for the relief of freedmen and refugees, which was approved in
+    the month of March last, has not yet expired. It was thought stringent
+    and extensive enough for the purpose in view in time of war. Before it
+    ceases to have effect further experience may assist to guide us to a
+    wise conclusion as to the policy to be adopted in time of peace.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I share with Congress the strongest desire to secure to the freedmen
+    the full enjoyment of their freedom and property and their entire
+    independence and equality in making contracts for their labor, but the
+    bill before me contains provisions which in my opinion are not warranted
+    by the Constitution and are not well suited to accomplish the end in
+    view.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The bill proposes to establish by authority of Congress military
+    jurisdiction over all parts of the United States containing refugees and
+    freedmen. It would by its very nature apply with most force to those
+    parts of the United States in which the freedmen most abound, and it
+    expressly extends the existing temporary jurisdiction of the Freedmen's
+    Bureau, with greatly enlarged powers, over those States "in which the
+    ordinary course of judicial proceedings has been interrupted by the
+    rebellion." The source from which this military jurisdiction is to
+    emanate is none other than the President of the United States, acting
+    through the War Department and the Commissioner of the Freedmen's
+    Bureau. The agents to carry out this military jurisdiction are to be
+    selected either from the Army or from civil life; the country is to be
+    divided into districts and subdistricts, and the number of salaried
+    agents to be employed may be equal to the number of counties or parishes
+    in all the United States where freedmen and refugees are to be found.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The subjects over which this military jurisdiction is to extend in every
+    part of the United States include protection to "all employees, agents,
+    and officers of this bureau in the exercise of the duties imposed" upon
+    them by the bill. In eleven States it is further to extend over all
+    cases affecting freedmen and refugees discriminated against "by local
+    law, custom, or prejudice." In those eleven States the bill subjects any
+    white person who may be charged with depriving a freedman of "any civil
+    rights or immunities belonging to white persons" to imprisonment or
+    fine, or both, without, however, defining the "civil rights and
+    immunities" which are thus to be secured to the freedmen by military
+    law. This military jurisdiction also extends to all questions that may
+    arise respecting contracts. The agent who is thus to exercise the office
+    of a military judge may be a stranger, entirely ignorant of the laws of
+    the place, and exposed to the errors of judgment to which all men are
+    liable. The exercise of power over which there is no legal supervision
+    by so vast a number of agents as is contemplated by the bill must, by
+    the very nature of man, be attended by acts of caprice, injustice, and
+    passion.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The trials having their origin under this bill are to take place without
+    the intervention of a jury and without any fixed rules of law or
+    evidence. The rules on which offenses are to be "heard and determined"
+    by the numerous agents are such rules and regulations as the President,
+    through the War Department, shall prescribe. No previous presentment is
+    required nor any indictment charging the commission of a crime against
+    the laws; but the trial must proceed on charges and specifications. The
+    punishment will be, not what the law declares, but such as a
+    court-martial may think proper; and from these arbitrary tribunals there
+    lies no appeal, no writ of error to any of the courts in which the
+    Constitution of the United States vests exclusively the judicial power
+    of the country.
+</p>
+<p>
+    While the territory and the classes of actions and offenses that are
+    made subject to this measure are so extensive, the bill itself, should
+    it become a law, will have no limitation in point of time, but will form
+    a part of the permanent legislation of the country. I can not reconcile
+    a system of military jurisdiction of this kind with the words of the
+    Constitution which declare that "no person shall be held to answer
+    for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or
+    indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval
+    forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or
+    public danger," and that "in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall
+    enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the
+    State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed." The
+    safeguards which the experience and wisdom of ages taught our fathers
+    to establish as securities for the protection of the innocent, the
+    punishment of the guilty, and the equal administration of justice are
+    to be set aside, and for the sake of a more vigorous interposition in
+    behalf of justice we are to take the risks of the many acts of injustice
+    that would necessarily follow from an almost countless number of agents
+    established in every parish or county in nearly a third of the States of
+    the Union, over whose decisions there is to be no supervision or control
+    by the Federal courts. The power that would be thus placed in the hands
+    of the President is such as in time of peace certainly ought never to be
+    intrusted to any one man.
+</p>
+<p>
+    If it be asked whether the creation of such a tribunal within a State is
+    warranted as a measure of war, the question immediately presents itself
+    whether we are still engaged in war. Let us not unnecessarily disturb
+    the commerce and credit and industry of the country by declaring to the
+    American people and to the world that the United States are still in a
+    condition of civil war. At present there is no part of our country in
+    which the authority of the United States is disputed. Offenses that may
+    be committed by individuals should not work a forfeiture of the rights
+    of whole communities. The country has returned, or is returning, to a
+    state of peace and industry, and the rebellion is in fact at an end.
+    The measure, therefore, seems to be as inconsistent with the actual
+    condition of the country as it is at variance with the Constitution of
+    the United States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    If, passing from general considerations, we examine the bill in detail,
+    it is open to weighty objections.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In time of war it was eminently proper that we should provide for
+    those who were passing suddenly from a condition of bondage to a state
+    of freedom. But this bill proposes to make the Freedmen's Bureau,
+    established by the act of 1865 as one of many great and extraordinary
+    military measures to suppress a formidable rebellion, a permanent branch
+    of the public administration, with its powers greatly enlarged. I have
+    no reason to suppose, and I do not understand it to be alleged, that
+    the act of March, 1865, has proved deficient for the purpose for which
+    it was passed, although at that time and for a considerable period
+    thereafter the Government of the United States remained unacknowledged
+    in most of the States whose inhabitants had been involved in the
+    rebellion. The institution of slavery, for the military destruction of
+    which the Freedmen's Bureau was called into existence as an auxiliary,
+    has been already effectually and finally abrogated throughout the whole
+    country by an amendment of the Constitution of the United States, and
+    practically its eradication has received the assent and concurrence of
+    most of those States in which it at any time had an existence. I am not,
+    therefore, able to discern in the condition of the country anything to
+    justify an apprehension that the powers and agencies of the Freedmen's
+    Bureau, which were effective for the protection of freedmen and refugees
+    during the actual continuance of hostilities and of African servitude,
+    will now, in a time of peace and after the abolition of slavery, prove
+    inadequate to the same proper ends. If I am correct in these views,
+    there can be no necessity for the enlargement of the powers of the
+    Bureau, for which provision is made in the bill.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The third section of the bill authorizes a general and unlimited grant
+    of support to the destitute and suffering refugees and freedmen, their
+    wives and children. Succeeding sections make provision for the rent or
+    purchase of landed estates for freedmen, and for the erection for their
+    benefit of suitable buildings for asylums and schools, the expenses to
+    be defrayed from the Treasury of the whole people. The Congress of the
+    United States has never heretofore thought itself empowered to establish
+    asylums beyond the limits of the District of Columbia, except for the
+    benefit of our disabled soldiers and sailors. It has never founded
+    schools for any class of our own people, not even for the orphans of
+    those who have fallen in the defense of the Union, but has left the care
+    of education to the much more competent and efficient control of the
+    States, of communities, of private associations, and of individuals.
+    It has never deemed itself authorized to expend the public money for
+    the rent or purchase of homes for the thousands, not to say millions,
+    of the white race who are honestly toiling from day to day for their
+    subsistence. A system for the support of indigent persons in the United
+    States was never contemplated by the authors of the Constitution; nor
+    can any good reason be advanced why, as a permanent establishment,
+    it should be founded for one class or color of our people more than
+    another. Pending the war many refugees and freedmen received support
+    from the Government, but it was never intended that they should
+    thenceforth be fed, clothed, educated, and sheltered by the United
+    States. The idea on which the slaves were assisted to freedom was that
+    on becoming free they would be a self-sustaining population. Any
+    legislation that shall imply that they are not expected to attain a
+    self-sustaining condition must have a tendency injurious alike to their
+    character and their prospects.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The appointment of an agent for every county and parish will create an
+    immense patronage, and the expense of the numerous officers and their
+    clerks, to be appointed by the President, will be great in the
+    beginning, with a tendency steadily to increase. The appropriations
+    asked by the Freedmen's Bureau as now established, for the year 1866,
+    amount to $11,745,000. It may be safely estimated that the cost to be
+    incurred under the pending bill will require double that amount&mdash;more
+    than the entire sum expended in any one year under the Administration of
+    the second Adams. If the presence of agents in every parish and county
+    is to be considered as a war measure, opposition, or even resistance,
+    might be provoked; so that to give effect to their jurisdiction troops
+    would have to be stationed within reach of every one of them, and thus a
+    large standing force be rendered necessary. Large appropriations would
+    therefore be required to sustain and enforce military jurisdiction in
+    every county or parish from the Potomac to the Rio Grande. The condition
+    of our fiscal affairs is encouraging, but in order to sustain the
+    present measure of public confidence it is necessary that we practice
+    not merely customary economy, but, as far as possible, severe
+    retrenchment.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In addition to the objections already stated, the fifth section of the
+    bill proposes to take away land from its former owners without any
+    legal proceedings being first had, contrary to that provision of the
+    Constitution which declares that no person shall "be deprived of life,
+    liberty, or property without due process of law." It does not appear
+    that a part of the lands to which this section refers may not be owned
+    by minors or persons of unsound mind, or by those who have been faithful
+    to all their obligations as citizens of the United States. If any
+    portion of the land is held by such persons, it is not competent for
+    any authority to deprive them of it. If, on the other hand, it be found
+    that the property is liable to confiscation, even then it can not be
+    appropriated to public purposes until by due process of law it shall
+    have been declared forfeited to the Government.
+</p>
+<p>
+    There is still further objection to the bill, on grounds seriously
+    affecting the class of persons to whom it is designed to bring relief.
+    It will tend to keep the mind of the freedman in a state of uncertain
+    expectation and restlessness, while to those among whom he lives it will
+    be a source of constant and vague apprehension.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Undoubtedly the freedman should be protected, but he should be protected
+    by the civil authorities, especially by the exercise of all the
+    constitutional powers of the courts of the United States and of the
+    States. His condition is not so exposed as may at first be imagined.
+    He is in a portion of the country where his labor can not well be
+    spared. Competition for his services from planters, from those who
+    are constructing or repairing railroads, and from capitalists in his
+    vicinage or from other States will enable him to command almost his own
+    terms. He also possesses a perfect right to change his place of abode,
+    and if, therefore, he does not find in one community or State a mode of
+    life suited to his desires or proper remuneration for his labor, he can
+    move to another where that labor is more esteemed and better rewarded.
+    In truth, however, each State, induced by its own wants and interests,
+    will do what is necessary and proper to retain within its borders all
+    the labor that is needed for the development of its resources. The laws
+    that regulate supply and demand will maintain their force, and the wages
+    of the laborer will be regulated thereby. There is no danger that the
+    exceedingly great demand for labor will not operate in favor of the
+    laborer.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Neither is sufficient consideration given to the ability of the freedmen
+    to protect and take care of themselves. It is no more than justice to
+    them to believe that as they have received their freedom with moderation
+    and forbearance, so they will distinguish themselves by their industry
+    and thrift, and soon show the world that in a condition of freedom they
+    are self-sustaining, capable of selecting their own employment and
+    their own places of abode, of insisting for themselves on a proper
+    remuneration, and of establishing and maintaining their own asylums and
+    schools. It is earnestly hoped that instead of wasting away they will by
+    their own efforts establish for themselves a condition of respectability
+    and prosperity. It is certain that they can attain to that condition
+    only through their own merits and exertions.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In this connection the query presents itself whether the system proposed
+    by the bill will not, when put into complete operation, practically
+    transfer the entire care, support, and control of 4,000,000 emancipated
+    slaves to agents, overseers, or taskmasters, who, appointed at
+    Washington, are to be located in every county and parish throughout the
+    United States containing freedmen and refugees. Such a system would
+    inevitably tend to a concentration of power in the Executive which would
+    enable him, if so disposed, to control the action of this numerous class
+    and use them for the attainment of his own political ends.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I can not but add another very grave objection to this bill. The
+    Constitution imperatively declares, in connection with taxation, that
+    each State <i>shall</i> have at least one Representative, and fixes the rule
+    for the number to which, in future times, each State shall be entitled.
+    It also provides that the Senate of the United States <i>shall</i> be
+    composed of two Senators from each State, and adds with peculiar force
+    "that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal
+    suffrage in the Senate." The original act was necessarily passed in the
+    absence of the States chiefly to be affected, because their people were
+    then contumaciously engaged in the rebellion. Now the case is changed,
+    and some, at least, of those States are attending Congress by loyal
+    representatives, soliciting the allowance of the constitutional right
+    for representation. At the time, however, of the consideration and the
+    passing of this bill there was no Senator or Representative in Congress
+    from the eleven States which are to be mainly affected by its
+    provisions. The very fact that reports were and are made against the
+    good disposition of the people of that portion of the country is an
+    additional reason why they need and should have representatives of their
+    own in Congress to explain their condition, reply to accusations,
+    and assist by their local knowledge in the perfecting of measures
+    immediately affecting themselves. While the liberty of deliberation
+    would then be free and Congress would have full power to decide
+    according to its judgment, there could be no objection urged that the
+    States most interested had not been permitted to be heard. The principle
+    is firmly fixed in the minds of the American people that there should be
+    no taxation without representation. Great burdens have now to be borne
+    by all the country, and we may best demand that they shall be borne
+    without murmur when they are voted by a majority of the representatives
+    of all the people. I would not interfere with the unquestionable right
+    of Congress to judge, each House for itself, "of the elections, returns,
+    and qualifications of its own members;" but that authority can not be
+    construed as including the right to shut out in time of peace any State
+    from the representation to which it is entitled by the Constitution.
+    At present all the people of eleven States are excluded&mdash;those who
+    were most faithful during the war not less than others. The State of
+    Tennessee, for instance, whose authorities engaged in rebellion, was
+    restored to all her constitutional relations to the Union by the
+    patriotism and energy of her injured and betrayed people. Before the war
+    was brought to a termination they had placed themselves in relations
+    with the General Government, had established a State government of their
+    own, and, as they were not included in the emancipation proclamation,
+    they by their own act had amended their constitution so as to abolish
+    slavery within the limits of their State. I know no reason why the State
+    of Tennessee, for example, should not fully enjoy "all her
+    constitutional relations to the United States."
+</p>
+<p>
+    The President of the United States stands toward the country in
+    a somewhat different attitude from that of any member of Congress.
+    Each member of Congress is chosen from a single district or State;
+    the President is chosen by the people of all the States. As eleven
+    States are not at this time represented in either branch of Congress, it
+    would seem to be his duty on all proper occasions to present their just
+    claims to Congress. There always will be differences of opinion in the
+    community, and individuals may be guilty of transgressions of the law,
+    but these do not constitute valid objections against the right of a
+    State to representation. I would in no wise interfere with the
+    discretion of Congress with regard to the qualifications of members; but
+    I hold it my duty to recommend to you, in the interests of peace and the
+    interests of union, the admission of every State to its share in public
+    legislation when, however insubordinate, insurgent, or rebellious its
+    people may have been, it presents itself, not only in an attitude of
+    loyalty and harmony, but in the persons of representatives whose loyalty
+    can not be questioned under any existing constitutional or legal test.
+    It is plain that an indefinite or permanent exclusion of any part of the
+    country from representation must be attended by a spirit of disquiet and
+    complaint. It is unwise and dangerous to pursue a course of measures
+    which will unite a very large section of the country against another
+    section of the country, however much the latter may preponderate. The
+    course of emigration, the development of industry and business, and
+    natural causes will raise up at the South men as devoted to the Union as
+    those of any other part of the land; but if they are all excluded from
+    Congress, if in a permanent statute they are declared not to be in full
+    constitutional relations to the country, they may think they have cause
+    to become a unit in feeling and sentiment against the Government. Under
+    the political education of the American people the idea is inherent and
+    ineradicable that the consent of the majority of the whole people is
+    necessary to secure a willing acquiescence in legislation.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The bill under consideration refers to certain of the States as though
+    they had not "been fully restored in all their constitutional relations
+    to the United States." If they have not, let us at once act together to
+    secure that desirable end at the earliest possible moment. It is hardly
+    necessary for me to inform Congress that in my own judgment most of
+    those States, so far, at least, as depends upon their own action, have
+    already been fully restored, and are to be deemed as entitled to enjoy
+    their constitutional rights as members of the Union. Reasoning from the
+    Constitution itself and from the actual situation of the country, I feel
+    not only entitled but bound to assume that with the Federal courts
+    restored and those of the several States in the full exercise of their
+    functions the rights and interests of all classes of people will,
+    with the aid of the military in cases of resistance to the laws,
+    be essentially protected against unconstitutional infringement or
+    violation. Should this expectation unhappily fail, which I do not
+    anticipate, then the Executive is already fully armed with the powers
+    conferred by the act of March, 1865, establishing the Freedmen's Bureau,
+    and hereafter, as heretofore, he can employ the land and naval forces of
+    the country to suppress insurrection or to overcome obstructions to the
+    laws.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In accordance with the Constitution, I return the bill to the Senate,
+    in the earnest hope that a measure involving questions and interests so
+    important to the country will not become a law, unless upon deliberate
+    consideration by the people it shall receive the sanction of an
+    enlightened public judgment.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>March 27, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I regret that the bill, which has passed both Houses of Congress,
+    entitled "An act to protect all persons in the United States in their
+    civil rights and furnish the means of their vindication," contains
+    provisions which I can not approve consistently with my sense of duty to
+    the whole people and my obligations to the Constitution of the United
+    States. I am therefore constrained to return it to the Senate, the House
+    in which it originated, with my objections to its becoming a law.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By the first section of the bill all persons born in the United States
+    and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are
+    declared to be citizens of the United States. This provision comprehends
+    the Chinese of the Pacific States, Indians subject to taxation, the
+    people called gypsies, as well as the entire race designated as blacks,
+    people of color, negroes, mulattoes, and persons of African blood. Every
+    individual of these races born in the United States is by the bill made
+    a citizen of the United States. It does not purport to declare or confer
+    any other right of citizenship than Federal citizenship. It does not
+    purport to give these classes of persons any status as citizens of
+    States, except that which may result from their status as citizens of
+    the United States. The power to confer the right of State citizenship is
+    just as exclusively with the several States as the power to confer the
+    right of Federal citizenship is with Congress.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The right of Federal citizenship thus to be conferred on the several
+    excepted races before mentioned is now for the first time proposed to be
+    given by law. If, as is claimed by many, all persons who are native born
+    already are, by virtue of the Constitution, citizens of the United
+    States, the passage of the pending bill can not be necessary to make
+    them such. If, on the other hand, such persons are not citizens, as may
+    be assumed from the proposed legislation to make them such, the grave
+    question presents itself whether, when eleven of the thirty-six States
+    are unrepresented in Congress at the present time, it is sound policy
+    to make our entire colored population and all other excepted classes
+    citizens of the United States. Four millions of them have just emerged
+    from slavery into freedom. Can it be reasonably supposed that they
+    possess the requisite qualifications to entitle them to all the
+    privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States? Have the
+    people of the several States expressed such a conviction? It may also be
+    asked whether it is necessary that they should be declared citizens in
+    order that they may be secured in the enjoyment of the civil rights
+    proposed to be conferred by the bill. Those rights are, by Federal as
+    well as State laws, secured to all domiciled aliens and foreigners, even
+    before the completion of the process of naturalization; and it may
+    safely be assumed that the same enactments are sufficient to give like
+    protection and benefits to those for whom this bill provides special
+    legislation. Besides, the policy of the Government from its origin to
+    the present time seems to have been that persons who are strangers to
+    and unfamiliar with our institutions and our laws should pass through
+    a certain probation, at the end of which, before attaining the coveted
+    prize, they must give evidence of their fitness to receive and to
+    exercise the rights of citizens as contemplated by the Constitution of
+    the United States. The bill in effect proposes a discrimination against
+    large numbers of intelligent, worthy, and patriotic foreigners, and in
+    favor of the negro, to whom, after long years of bondage, the avenues to
+    freedom and intelligence have just now been suddenly opened. He must of
+    necessity, from his previous unfortunate condition of servitude, be less
+    informed as to the nature and character of our institutions than he who,
+    coming from abroad, has, to some extent at least, familiarized himself
+    with the principles of a Government to which he voluntarily intrusts
+    "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Yet it is now proposed,
+    by a single legislative enactment, to confer the rights of citizens upon
+    all persons of African descent born within the extended limits of the
+    United States, while persons of foreign birth who make our land their
+    home must undergo a probation of five years, and can only then become
+    citizens upon proof that they are "of good moral character, attached to
+    the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well
+    disposed to the good order and happiness of the same."
+</p>
+<p>
+    The first section of the bill also contains an enumeration of the rights
+    to be enjoyed by these classes so made citizens "in every State and
+    Territory in the United States." These rights are "to make and enforce
+    contracts; to sue, be parties, and give evidence; to inherit, purchase,
+    lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property," and to have
+    "full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of
+    person and property as is enjoyed by white citizens." So, too, they are
+    made subject to the same punishment, pains, and penalties in common with
+    white citizens, and to none other. Thus a perfect equality of the white
+    and colored races is attempted to be fixed by Federal law in every State
+    of the Union over the vast field of State jurisdiction covered by these
+    enumerated rights. In no one of these can any State ever exercise any
+    power of discrimination between the different races. In the exercise of
+    State policy over matters exclusively affecting the people of each State
+    it has frequently been thought expedient to discriminate between the
+    two races. By the statutes of some of the States, Northern as well
+    as Southern, it is enacted, for instance, that no white person shall
+    intermarry with a negro or mulatto. Chancellor Kent says, speaking of
+    the blacks, that&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Marriages between them and the whites are forbidden in some of the
+  States where slavery does not exist, and they are prohibited in all the
+  slaveholding States; and when not absolutely contrary to law, they are
+  revolting, and regarded as an offense against public decorum.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I do not say that this bill repeals State laws on the subject of
+    marriage between the two races, for as the whites are forbidden to
+    intermarry with the blacks, the blacks can only make such contracts as
+    the whites themselves are allowed to make, and therefore can not under
+    this bill enter into the marriage contract with the whites. I cite this
+    discrimination, however, as an instance of the State policy as to
+    discrimination, and to inquire whether if Congress can abrogate all
+    State laws of discrimination between the two races in the matter of real
+    estate, of suits, and of contracts generally Congress may not also
+    repeal the State laws as to the contract of marriage between the two
+    races. Hitherto every subject embraced in the enumeration of rights
+    contained in this bill has been considered as exclusively belonging to
+    the States. They all relate to the internal police and economy of the
+    respective States. They are matters which in each State concern the
+    domestic condition of its people, varying in each according to its own
+    peculiar circumstances and the safety and well-being of its own
+    citizens. I do not mean to say that upon all these subjects there are
+    not Federal restraints&mdash;as, for instance, in the State power of
+    legislation over contracts there is a Federal limitation that no State
+    shall pass a law impairing the obligations of contracts; and, as to
+    crimes, that no State shall pass an <i>ex post facto</i> law; and, as to
+    money, that no State shall make anything but gold and silver a legal
+    tender; but where can we find a Federal prohibition against the power
+    of any State to discriminate, as do most of them, between aliens and
+    citizens, between artificial persons, called corporations, and natural
+    persons, in the right to hold real estate? If it be granted that
+    Congress can repeal all State laws discriminating between whites and
+    blacks in the subjects covered by this bill, why, it may be asked, may
+    not Congress repeal in the same way all State laws discriminating
+    between the two races on the subjects of suffrage and office? If
+    Congress can declare by law who shall hold lands, who shall testify, who
+    shall have capacity to make a contract in a State, then Congress can by
+    law also declare who, without regard to color or race, shall have the
+    right to sit as a juror or as a judge, to hold any office, and, finally,
+    to vote "in every State and Territory of the United States." As respects
+    the Territories, they come within the power of Congress, for as to them
+    the lawmaking power is the Federal power; but as to the States no
+    similar provision exists vesting in Congress the power "to make rules
+    and regulations" for them.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The object of the second section of the bill is to afford discriminating
+    protection to colored persons in the full enjoyment of all the rights
+    secured to them by the preceding section. It declares&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  That any person who, under color of any law, statute, ordinance,
+  regulation, or custom, shall subject, or cause to be subjected, any
+  inhabitant of any State or Territory to the deprivation of any right
+  secured or protected by this act, or to different punishment, pains, or
+  penalties on account of such person having at any time been held in a
+  condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment
+  for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, or by reason
+  of his color or race, than is prescribed for the punishment of white
+  persons, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction
+  shall be punished by fine not exceeding $1,000, or imprisonment not
+  exceeding one year, or both, in the discretion of the court.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This section seems to be designed to apply to some existing or future
+    law of a State or Territory which may conflict with the provisions of
+    the bill now under consideration. It provides for counteracting such
+    forbidden legislation by imposing fine and imprisonment upon the
+    legislators who may pass such conflicting laws, or upon the officers or
+    agents who shall put or attempt to put them into execution. It means an
+    official offense, not a common crime committed against law upon the
+    persons or property of the black race. Such an act may deprive the black
+    man of his property, but not of the <i>right</i> to hold property. It means
+    a deprivation of the right itself, either by the State judiciary or
+    the State legislature. It is therefore assumed that under this section
+    members of State legislatures who should vote for laws conflicting with
+    the provisions of the bill, that judges of the State courts who should
+    render judgments in antagonism with its terms, and that marshals and
+    sheriffs who should, as ministerial officers, execute processes
+    sanctioned by State laws and issued by State judges in execution of
+    their judgments could be brought before other tribunals and there
+    subjected to fine and imprisonment for the performance of the duties
+    which such State laws might impose. The legislation thus proposed
+    invades the judicial power of the State. It says to every State court or
+    judge, If you decide that this act is unconstitutional; if you refuse,
+    under the prohibition of a State law, to allow a negro to testify; if
+    you hold that over such a subject-matter the State law is paramount, and
+    "under color" of a State law refuse the exercise of the right to the
+    negro, your error of judgment, however conscientious, shall subject
+    you to fine and imprisonment. I do not apprehend that the conflicting
+    legislation which the bill seems to contemplate is so likely to occur as
+    to render it necessary at this time to adopt a measure of such doubtful
+    constitutionality.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the next place, this provision of the bill seems to be unnecessary,
+    as adequate judicial remedies could be adopted to secure the desired end
+    without invading the immunities of legislators, always important to be
+    preserved in the interest of public liberty; without assailing the
+    independence of the judiciary, always essential to the preservation of
+    individual rights; and without impairing the efficiency of ministerial
+    officers, always necessary for the maintenance of public peace and
+    order. The remedy proposed by this section seems to be in this respect
+    not only anomalous, but unconstitutional; for the Constitution
+    guarantees nothing with certainty if it does not insure to the several
+    States the right of making and executing laws in regard to all matters
+    arising within their jurisdiction, subject only to the restriction that
+    in cases of conflict with the Constitution and constitutional laws of
+    the United States the latter should be held to be the supreme law of the
+    land.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The third section gives the district courts of the United States
+    exclusive "cognizance of all crimes and offenses committed against the
+    provisions of this act," and concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit
+    courts of the United States of all civil and criminal cases "affecting
+    persons who are denied or can not enforce in the courts or judicial
+    tribunals of the State or locality where they may be any of the rights
+    secured to them by the first section." The construction which I have
+    given to the second section is strengthened by this third section, for
+    it makes clear what kind of denial or deprivation of the rights secured
+    by the first section was in contemplation. It is a denial or deprivation
+    of such rights "in the courts or judicial tribunals of the State." It
+    stands, therefore, clear of doubt that the offense and the penalties
+    provided in the second section are intended for the State judge who, in
+    the clear exercise of his functions as a judge, not acting ministerially
+    but judicially, shall decide contrary to this Federal law. In other
+    words, when a State judge, acting upon a question involving a conflict
+    between a State law and a Federal law, and bound, according to his own
+    judgment and responsibility, to give an impartial decision between the
+    two, comes to the conclusion that the State law is valid and the Federal
+    law is invalid, he must not follow the dictates of his own judgment, at
+    the peril of fine and imprisonment. The legislative department of the
+    Government of the United States thus takes from the judicial department
+    of the States the sacred and exclusive duty of judicial decision, and
+    converts the State judge into a mere ministerial officer, bound to
+    decide according to the will of Congress.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is clear that in States which deny to persons whose rights are
+    secured by the first section of the bill any one of those rights all
+    criminal and civil cases affecting them will, by the provisions of the
+    third section, come under the exclusive cognizance of the Federal
+    tribunals. It follows that if, in any State which denies to a colored
+    person any one of all those rights, that person should commit a crime
+    against the laws of a State&mdash;murder, arson, rape, or any other
+    crime&mdash;all protection and punishment through the courts of the State are
+    taken away, and he can only be tried and punished in the Federal courts.
+    How is the criminal to be tried? If the offense is provided for and
+    punished by Federal law, that law, and not the State law, is to govern.
+    It is only when the offense does not happen to be within the purview of
+    Federal law that the Federal courts are to try and punish him under any
+    other law. Then resort is to be had to "the common law, as modified and
+    changed" by State legislation, "so far as the same is not inconsistent
+    with the Constitution and laws of the United States." So that over this
+    vast domain of criminal jurisprudence provided by each State for the
+    protection of its own citizens and for the punishment of all persons who
+    violate its criminal laws, Federal law, whenever it can be made to
+    apply, displaces State law. The question here naturally arises, from
+    what source Congress derives the power to transfer to Federal tribunals
+    certain classes of cases embraced in this section. The Constitution
+    expressly declares that the judicial power of the United States "shall
+    extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution,
+    the laws of the United States, and treaties made or which shall be made
+    under their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public
+    ministers, and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime
+    jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall be a
+    party; to controversies between two or more States, between a State and
+    citizens of another State, between citizens of different States, between
+    citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of different
+    States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign
+    states, citizens, or subjects." Here the judicial power of the United
+    States is expressly set forth and defined; and the act of September 24,
+    1789, establishing the judicial courts of the United States, in
+    conferring upon the Federal courts jurisdiction over cases originating
+    in State tribunals, is careful to confine them to the classes enumerated
+    in the above-recited clause of the Constitution. This section of the
+    bill undoubtedly comprehends cases and authorizes the exercise of powers
+    that are not, by the Constitution, within the jurisdiction of the courts
+    of the United States. To transfer them to those courts would be an
+    exercise of authority well calculated to excite distrust and alarm on
+    the part of all the States, for the bill applies alike to all of
+    them&mdash;as well to those that have as to those that have not been engaged
+    in rebellion.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It may be assumed that this authority is incident to the power granted
+    to Congress by the Constitution, as recently amended, to enforce, by
+    appropriate legislation, the article declaring that&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for
+  crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist
+  within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It can not, however, be justly claimed that, with a view to the
+    enforcement of this article of the Constitution, there is at present any
+    necessity for the exercise of all the powers which this bill confers.
+    Slavery has been abolished, and at present nowhere exists within the
+    jurisdiction of the United States; nor has there been, nor is it likely
+    there will be, any attempt to revive it by the people or the States.
+    If, however, any such attempt shall be made, it will then become the
+    duty of the General Government to exercise any and all incidental powers
+    necessary and proper to maintain inviolate this great constitutional law
+    of freedom.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The fourth section of the bill provides that officers and agents of the
+    Freedmen's Bureau shall be empowered to make arrests, and also that
+    other officers may be specially commissioned for that purpose by the
+    President of the United States. It also authorizes circuit courts of the
+    United States and the superior courts of the Territories to appoint,
+    without limitation, commissioners, who are to be charged with the
+    performance of <i>quasi</i> judicial duties. The fifth section empowers the
+    commissioners so to be selected by the courts to appoint in writing,
+    under their hands, one or more suitable persons from time to time to
+    execute warrants and other processes described by the bill. These
+    numerous official agents are made to constitute a sort of police,
+    in addition to the military, and are authorized to summon a <i>posse
+    comitatus</i>, and even to call to their aid such portion of the land
+    and naval forces of the United States, or of the militia, "as may be
+    necessary to the performance of the duty with which they are charged."
+    This extraordinary power is to be conferred upon agents irresponsible to
+    the Government and to the people, to whose number the discretion of the
+    commissioners is the only limit, and in whose hands such authority might
+    be made a terrible engine of wrong, oppression, and fraud. The general
+    statutes regulating the land and naval forces of the United States, the
+    militia, and the execution of the laws are believed to be adequate for
+    every emergency which can occur in time of peace. If it should prove
+    otherwise, Congress can at any time amend those laws in such manner as,
+    while subserving the public welfare, not to jeopard the rights,
+    interests, and liberties of the people.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The seventh section provides that a fee of $10 shall be paid to each
+    commissioner in every case brought before him, and a fee of $5 to his
+    deputy or deputies "for each person he or they may arrest and take
+    before any such commissioner," "with such other fees as may be deemed
+    reasonable by such commissioner," "in general for performing such other
+    duties as may be required in the premises." All these fees are to be
+    "paid out of the Treasury of the United States," whether there is a
+    conviction or not; but in case of conviction they are to be recoverable
+    from the defendant. It seems to me that under the influence of such
+    temptations bad men might convert any law, however beneficent, into an
+    instrument of persecution and fraud.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By the eighth section of the bill the United States courts, which sit
+    only in one place for white citizens, must migrate with the marshal and
+    district attorney (and necessarily with the clerk, although he is not
+    mentioned) to any part of the district upon the order of the President,
+    and there hold a court, "for the purpose of the more speedy arrest and
+    trial of persons charged with a violation of this act;" and there the
+    judge and officers of the court must remain, upon the order of the
+    President, "for the time therein designated."
+</p>
+<p>
+    The ninth section authorizes the President, or such person as he may
+    empower for that purpose, "to employ such part of the land or naval
+    forces of the United States, or of the militia, as shall be necessary
+    to prevent the violation and enforce the due execution of this act."
+    This language seems to imply a permanent military force, that is to be
+    always at hand, and whose only business is to be the enforcement of this
+    measure over the vast region where it is intended to operate.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I do not propose to consider the policy of this bill. To me the details
+    of the bill seem fraught with evil. The white race and the black race of
+    the South have hitherto lived together under the relation of master and
+    slave&mdash;capital owning labor. Now, suddenly, that relation is changed,
+    and as to ownership capital and labor are divorced. They stand now each
+    master of itself. In this new relation, one being necessary to the
+    other, there will be a new adjustment, which both are deeply interested
+    in making harmonious. Each has equal power in settling the terms, and
+    if left to the laws that regulate capital and labor it is confidently
+    believed that they will satisfactorily work out the problem. Capital, it
+    is true, has more intelligence, but labor is never so ignorant as not to
+    understand its own interests, not to know its own value, and not to see
+    that capital must pay that value.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This bill frustrates this adjustment. It intervenes between capital and
+    labor and attempts to settle questions of political economy through the
+    agency of numerous officials whose interest it will be to foment discord
+    between the two races, for as the breach widens their employment will
+    continue, and when it is closed their occupation will terminate.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In all our history, in all our experience as a people living under
+    Federal and State law, no such system as that contemplated by the
+    details of this bill has ever before been proposed or adopted. They
+    establish for the security of the colored race safeguards which go
+    infinitely beyond any that the General Government has ever provided for
+    the white race. In fact, the distinction of race and color is by the
+    bill made to operate in favor of the colored and against the white race.
+    They interfere with the municipal legislation of the States, with the
+    relations existing exclusively between a State and its citizens, or
+    between inhabitants of the same State&mdash;an absorption and assumption of
+    power by the General Government which, if acquiesced in, must sap and
+    destroy our federative system of limited powers and break down the
+    barriers which preserve the rights of the States. It is another step,
+    or rather stride, toward centralization and the concentration of all
+    legislative powers in the National Government. The tendency of the
+    bill must be to resuscitate the spirit of rebellion and to arrest the
+    progress of those influences which are more closely drawing around the
+    States the bonds of union and peace.
+</p>
+<p>
+    My lamented predecessor, in his proclamation of the 1st of January,
+    1863, ordered and declared that all persons held as slaves within
+    certain States and parts of States therein designated were and
+    thenceforward should be free; and further, that the executive government
+    of the United States, including the military and naval authorities
+    thereof, would recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons.
+    This guaranty has been rendered especially obligatory and sacred by the
+    amendment of the Constitution abolishing slavery throughout the United
+    States. I therefore fully recognize the obligation to protect and
+    defend that class of our people whenever and wherever it shall become
+    necessary, and to the full extent compatible with the Constitution of
+    the United States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Entertaining these sentiments, it only remains for me to say that I will
+    cheerfully cooperate with Congress in any measure that may be necessary
+    for the protection of the civil rights of the freedmen, as well as those
+    of all other classes of persons throughout the United States, by
+    judicial process, under equal and impartial laws, in conformity with the
+    provisions of the Federal Constitution.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I now return the bill to the Senate, and regret that in considering the
+    bills and joint resolutions&mdash;forty-two in number&mdash;which have been thus
+    far submitted for my approval I am compelled to withhold my assent from
+    a second measure that has received the sanction of both Houses of
+    Congress.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>May 15, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I return to the Senate, in which House it originated, the bill, which
+    has passed both Houses of Congress, entitled "An act for the admission
+    of the State of Colorado into the Union," with my objections to its
+    becoming a law at this time.
+</p>
+<p>
+    First. From the best information which I have been able to obtain
+    I do not consider the establishment of a State government at present
+    necessary for the welfare of the people of Colorado. Under the existing
+    Territorial government all the rights, privileges, and interests of the
+    citizens are protected and secured. The qualified voters choose their
+    own legislators and their own local officers, and are represented in
+    Congress by a Delegate of their own selection. They make and execute
+    their own municipal laws, subject only to revision by Congress&mdash;an
+    authority not likely to be exercised unless in extreme or extraordinary
+    cases. The population is small, some estimating it so low as 25,000,
+    while advocates of the bill reckon the number at from 35,000 to 40,000
+    souls. The people are principally recent settlers, many of whom are
+    understood to be ready for removal to other mining districts beyond
+    the limits of the Territory if circumstances shall render them more
+    inviting. Such a population can not but find relief from excessive
+    taxation if the Territorial system, which devolves the expenses of the
+    executive, legislative, and judicial departments upon the United States,
+    is for the present continued. They can not but find the security of
+    person and property increased by their reliance upon the national
+    executive power for the maintenance of law and order against the
+    disturbances necessarily incident to all newly organized communities.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second. It is not satisfactorily established that a majority of the
+    citizens of Colorado desire or are prepared for an exchange of a
+    Territorial for a State government. In September, 1864, under the
+    authority of Congress, an election was lawfully appointed and held for
+    the purpose of ascertaining the views of the people upon this particular
+    question. Six thousand one hundred and ninety-two votes were cast, and
+    of this number a majority of 3,152 was given against the proposed
+    change. In September, 1865, without any legal authority, the question
+    was again presented to the people of the Territory, with the view of
+    obtaining a reconsideration of the result of the election held in
+    compliance with the act of Congress approved March 21, 1864. At this
+    second election 5,905 votes were polled, and a majority of 155 was given
+    in favor of a State organization. It does not seem to me entirely safe
+    to receive this, the last-mentioned, result, so irregularly obtained, as
+    sufficient to outweigh the one which had been legally obtained in the
+    first election. Regularity and conformity to law are essential to the
+    preservation of order and stable government, and should, as far as
+    practicable, always be observed in the formation of new States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Third. The admission of Colorado at this time as a State into the
+    Federal Union appears to me to be incompatible with the public interests
+    of the country. While it is desirable that Territories, when
+    sufficiently matured, should be organized as States, yet the spirit of
+    the Constitution seems to require that there should be an approximation
+    toward equality among the several States composing the Union. No State
+    can have less or more than two Senators in Congress. The largest State
+    has a population of 4,000,000; several of the States have a population
+    exceeding 2,000,000, and many others have a population exceeding
+    1,000,000. A population of 127,000 is the ratio of apportionment of
+    Representatives among the several States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    If this bill should become a law, the people of Colorado, 30,000 in
+    number, would have in the House of Representatives one member, while New
+    York, with a population of 4,000,000, has but thirty-one; Colorado would
+    have in the electoral college three votes, while New York has only
+    thirty-three; Colorado would have in the Senate two votes, while New
+    York has no more.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Inequalities of this character have already occurred, but it is believed
+    that none have happened where the inequality was so great. When such
+    inequality has been allowed, Congress is supposed to have permitted it
+    on the ground of some high public necessity and under circumstances
+    which promised that it would rapidly disappear through the growth and
+    development of the newly admitted State. Thus, in regard to the several
+    States in what was formerly called the "Northwest Territory," lying east
+    of the Mississippi, their rapid advancement in population rendered it
+    certain that States admitted with only one or two Representatives in
+    Congress would in a very short period be entitled to a great increase
+    of representation. So, when California was admitted, on the ground of
+    commercial and political exigencies, it was well foreseen that that
+    State was destined rapidly to become a great, prosperous, and important
+    mining and commercial community. In the case of Colorado, I am not aware
+    that any national exigency, either of a political or commercial nature,
+    requires a departure from the law of equality which has been so
+    generally adhered to in our history.
+</p>
+<p>
+    If information submitted in connection with this bill is reliable,
+    Colorado, instead of increasing, has declined in population. At an
+    election for members of a Territorial legislature held in 1861, 10,580
+    votes were cast; at the election before mentioned, in 1864, the number
+    of votes cast was 6,192; while at the irregular election held in 1865,
+    which is assumed as a basis for legislative action at this time, the
+    aggregate of votes was 5,905. Sincerely anxious for the welfare and
+    prosperity of every Territory and State, as well as for the prosperity
+    and welfare of the whole Union, I regret this apparent decline of
+    population in Colorado; but it is manifest that it is due to emigration
+    which is going on from that Territory into other regions within the
+    United States, which either are in fact or are believed by the
+    inhabitants of Colorado to be richer in mineral wealth and agricultural
+    resources. If, however, Colorado has not really declined in population,
+    another census or another election under the authority of Congress would
+    place the question beyond doubt, and cause but little delay in the
+    ultimate admission of the Territory as a State if desired by the people.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The tenor of these objections furnishes the reply which may be expected
+    to an argument in favor of the measure derived from the enabling act
+    which was passed by Congress on the 21st day of March, 1864. Although
+    Congress then supposed that the condition of the Territory was such as
+    to warrant its admission as a State, the result of two years' experience
+    shows that every reason which existed for the institution of a
+    Territorial instead of a State government in Colorado at its first
+    organization still continues in force.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The condition of the Union at the present moment is calculated to
+    inspire caution in regard to the admission of new States. Eleven of the
+    old States have been for some time, and still remain, unrepresented
+    in Congress. It is a common interest of all the States, as well those
+    represented as those unrepresented, that the integrity and harmony of
+    the Union should be restored as completely as possible, so that all
+    those who are expected to bear the burdens of the Federal Government
+    shall be consulted concerning the admission of new States; and that
+    in the meantime no new State shall be prematurely and unnecessarily
+    admitted to a participation in the political power which the Federal
+    Government wields, not for the benefit of any individual State or
+    section, but for the common safety, welfare, and happiness of the whole
+    country.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>June 15, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The bill entitled "An act to enable the New York and Montana Iron Mining
+    and Manufacturing Company to purchase a certain amount of the public
+    lands not now in market" is herewith returned to the Senate, in which it
+    originated, with the objections which induce me to withhold my approval.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By the terms of this bill the New York and Montana Iron Mining and
+    Manufacturing Company are authorized, at any time within one year after
+    the date of approval, to <i>preempt</i> two tracts of land in the Territory
+    of Montana, not exceeding in the aggregate twenty sections, and not
+    included in any Indian reservation or in any Government reservation for
+    military or other purposes. Three of these sections may be selected from
+    lands containing <i>iron ore and coal</i>, and the remainder from <i>timber</i>
+    lands lying near thereto. These selections are to be made under
+    regulations from the Secretary of the Interior and be subject to his
+    approval. The company, on the selection of the lands, may acquire
+    immediate possession by permanently marking their boundaries and
+    publishing description thereof in any two newspapers of general
+    circulation in the Territory of Montana. Patents are to be issued on
+    the performance, within two years, of the following conditions:
+</p>
+<p>
+    First. The lands to be surveyed at the expense of the company, and each
+    tract to be "as nearly in a square form as may be practicable."
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second. The company to furnish evidence satisfactory to the Secretary of
+    the Interior that they have erected and have in operation in one or more
+    places on said lands iron works capable of manufacturing at least 1,500
+    tons of iron per annum.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Third. The company to have paid for said lands the minimum price of
+    $1.25 per acre.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is also provided that the "patents shall convey no title to any
+    mineral lands except iron and coal, or to any lands held by right of
+    possession, or by any other title, <i>except Indian title</i>, valid at
+    the time of the selection of the said lands." The company are to have
+    the privileges of <i>ordinary preemptors</i> and be subject to the same
+    restrictions as such preemptors with reference to wood and timber on the
+    lands, with the exception of so much as may be necessarily used in the
+    erection of buildings and in the legitimate business of manufacturing
+    iron.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The parties upon whom these privileges are conferred are designated in
+    the bill as "The New York and Montana Iron Mining and Manufacturing
+    Company." Their names and residence not being disclosed, it must be
+    inferred that this company is a corporation, which, under color of
+    corporate powers derived from some State or Territorial legislative
+    authority, proposes to carry on the business of mining and manufacturing
+    iron, and to accomplish these ends seeks this grant of public land in
+    Montana. Two questions thus arise, viz, whether the privileges the bill
+    would confer should be granted to any person or persons, and, secondly,
+    whether, if unobjectionable in other respects, they should be conferred
+    upon a corporation.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The public domain is a national trust, set apart and held for the
+    general welfare upon principles of equal justice, and not to be bestowed
+    as a special privilege upon a favored class. The proper rules for the
+    disposal of public land have from the earliest period been the subject
+    of earnest inquiry, grave discussion, and deliberate judgment. The
+    purpose of <i>direct</i> revenue was the first object, and this was attained
+    by public sale to the highest bidder, and subsequently by the right of
+    private purchase at a fixed minimum. It was soon discovered that the
+    surest and most speedy means of promoting the wealth and prosperity of
+    the country was by encouraging actual settlement and occupation, and
+    hence a system of preemption rights, resulting most beneficially, in all
+    the Western Territories. By progressive steps it has advanced to the
+    homestead principle, securing to every head of a family, widow, and
+    single man 21 years of age and to every soldier who has borne arms for
+    his country a landed estate sufficient, with industry, for the purpose
+    of independent support.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Without tracing the system of preemption laws through the several
+    stages, it is sufficient to observe that it rests upon certain just
+    and plain principles, firmly established in all our legislation. The
+    object of these laws is to encourage the expansion of population and
+    the development of agricultural interests, and hence they have been
+    invariably restricted to settlers. Actual residence and cultivation are
+    made indispensable conditions; and, to guard the privilege from abuses
+    of speculation or monopoly, the law is rigid as to the mode of
+    establishing claims by adequate testimony, with penalties for perjury.
+    Mining, trading, or any pursuit other than culture of the soil is
+    interdicted, mineral lands being expressly excluded from preemption
+    privileges, excepting those containing coal, which, in quantities not
+    exceeding 160 acres, are restricted to individuals in actual possession
+    and commerce, with an enhanced minimum of $20 per acre.
+</p>
+<p>
+    For a quarter of a century the quantity of land subject to agricultural
+    preemption has been limited so as not to exceed a quarter section, or
+    160 acres; and, still further to guard against monopoly, the privilege
+    of preemption is not allowed to any person who owns 320 acres of land in
+    any State or Territory of the United States, nor is any person entitled
+    to more than one preemptive right, nor is it extended to lands to which
+    the Indian usufruct has not been extinguished. To restrict the
+    privilege within reasonable limits, credit to the ordinary preemptor on
+    <i>offered</i> land is not extended beyond twelve months, within which time
+    the minimum price must be paid. Where the settlement is upon <i>unoffered</i>
+    territory, the time for payment is limited to the day of public offering
+    designated by proclamation of the President; while, to prevent
+    depreciation of the land by waste or destruction of what may constitute
+    its value, penal enactments have been made for the punishment of persons
+    depredating upon public timber.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, supposing the New York and Montana Iron Mining and Manufacturing
+    Company to be entitled to all the preemption rights which it has been
+    found just and expedient to bestow upon natural persons, it will be seen
+    that the privileges conferred by the bill in question are in direct
+    conflict with every principle heretofore observed in respect to the
+    disposal of the public lands.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The bill confers preemption right to <i>mineral lands</i>, which, excepting
+    coal lands, at an enhanced minimum, have heretofore, as a general
+    principle, been carefully excluded from preemption. The object of the
+    company is not to cultivate the soil or to promote agriculture, but is
+    for the sole purpose of mining and manufacturing iron. The company is
+    not limited, like ordinary preemptors, to one preemptive claim of a
+    quarter section, but may preempt two bodies of land, amounting in
+    the aggregate to twenty sections, containing 12,800 acres, or eighty
+    ordinary individual preemption rights. The timber is not protected, but,
+    on the contrary, is devoted to speedy destruction; for even before the
+    consummation of title the company are allowed to consume whatever may be
+    necessary in the erection of buildings and the business of manufacturing
+    iron. For these special privileges, in contravention of the land policy
+    of so many years, the company are required to pay only the minimum price
+    of $1.25 per acre, or one-sixteenth of the established minimum, and are
+    granted a credit of two years, or twice the time allowed ordinary
+    preemptors on offered lands.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Nor is this all. The preemption right in question covers three sections
+    of land containing iron ore and <i>coal</i>. The act passed on the 1st of
+    July, 1864, made it lawful for the President to cause tracts embracing
+    coal beds or coal fields to be offered at public sale in suitable legal
+    subdivisions to the highest bidder, after public notice of not less than
+    three months, at a minimum price of $20 per acre, and any lands not thus
+    disposed of were thereafter to be liable to private entry at said
+    minimum. By the act of March 3, 1865, the right of preemption to coal
+    lands is granted to any citizen of the United States who at that date
+    was engaged in the business of coal mining on the public domain for
+    purposes of commerce; and he is authorized to enter, according to legal
+    subdivisions, at the minimum price of $20 per acre, a quantity of land
+    not exceeding 160 acres, to embrace his improvements and mining
+    premises. Under these acts the minimum price of three sections of coal
+    lands would be thirty-eight thousand four hundred dollars ($38,400).
+</p>
+<p>
+    By the bill now in question these sections containing <i>coal and iron</i>
+    are bestowed on this company at the nominal price of $1.25 per acre, or
+    two thousand four hundred dollars ($2,400), thus making a gratuity or
+    gift to the New York and Montana Iron Mining and Manufacturing Company
+    of thirty-six thousand dollars ($36,000).
+</p>
+<p>
+    On what ground can such a gratuity to this company be justified,
+    especially at a time when the burdens of taxation bear so heavily upon
+    all classes of the people?
+</p>
+<p>
+    Less than two years ago it appears to have been the deliberate judgment
+    of Congress that tracts of land containing coal beds or coal fields
+    should be sold, after three months' notice, to the bidder at public
+    auction who would give the highest price over $20 per acre, and that
+    a citizen engaged in the business of actual coal mining on the public
+    domain should only secure a tract of 160 acres, at private entry, upon
+    payment of $20 per acre and formal and satisfactory proof that he in all
+    respects came within the requirements of the statute. It can not be that
+    the coal fields of Montana have depreciated nearly twenty fold in value
+    since July, 1864. So complete a revolution in the land policy as is
+    manifested by this act can only be ascribed, therefore, to an
+    inadvertence, which Congress will, I trust, promptly correct.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Believing that the preemption policy&mdash;so deliberately adopted, so long
+    practiced, so carefully guarded with a view to the disposal of the
+    public lands in a manner that would promote the population and
+    prosperity of the country&mdash;should not be perverted to the purposes
+    contemplated by this bill, I would be constrained to withhold my
+    sanction even if this company were, as natural persons, entitled to the
+    privileges of ordinary preemptors; for if a corporation, as the name and
+    the absence of any designation of individuals would denote, the measure
+    before me is liable to another fatal objection.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Why should incorporated companies have the privileges of individual
+    preemptors? What principle of justice requires such a policy? What
+    motive of public welfare can fail to condemn it? Lands held by
+    corporations were regarded by ancient laws as held in mortmain, or by
+    "dead hand," and from the time of Magna Charta corporations required
+    the royal license to hold land, because such holding was regarded as in
+    derogation of public policy and common right. Preemption is itself a
+    special privilege, only authorized by its supposed public benefit in
+    promoting the settlement and cultivation of vacant territory and in
+    rewarding the enterprise of the persons upon whom the privilege is
+    bestowed. "Preemption rights," as declared by the Supreme Court of the
+    United States, "are founded in an enlightened public policy, rendered
+    necessary by the enterprise of our citizens. The adventurous pioneer,
+    who is found in advance of our settlements, encounters many hardships,
+    and not unfrequently dangers from savage incursions. He is generally
+    poor, and it is fit that his enterprise should be rewarded by the
+    privilege of purchasing the spot selected by him, not to exceed 160
+    acres."
+</p>
+<p>
+    It may be said that this company, before they obtain a patent, must
+    prove that within two years they "have erected and have in operation
+    in one or more places on the said lands iron works with a capacity for
+    manufacturing at least 1,500 tons of iron per annum." On the other hand,
+    they are to have possession for two years of more than 12,000 acres of
+    the choice land of the Territory, of which nearly 2,000 acres are to
+    contain <i>iron ore and coal</i> and over 10,000 acres to be of <i>timber</i>
+    land selected by themselves. They will thus have the first and exclusive
+    choice. In fact, they are the only parties who at this time would have
+    any privilege whatever in the way of obtaining titles in that Territory.
+    Inasmuch as Montana has not yet been organized into a land district, the
+    general preemption laws for the benefit of individual settlers have not
+    yet been extended to that country, nor has a single acre of public
+    land in the Territory yet been surveyed. With such exclusive and
+    extraordinary privileges, how many companies would be willing to
+    undertake furnaces that would produce 5 tons per day in much less time
+    than two years?
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is plain the pretended consideration on which the patent is to issue
+    bears no just proportion to that of the ordinary preemptor, and that
+    this bill is but the precursor of a system of land distribution to a
+    privileged class, unequal, unjust, and which ought not to receive the
+    sanction of the General Government. Many thousand pioneers have turned
+    their steps to the Western Territories, seeking, with their wives and
+    children, homesteads to be acquired by sturdy industry under the
+    preemption laws. On their arrival they should not find the timbered
+    lands and the tracts containing iron ore and coal already surveyed and
+    claimed by corporate companies, favored by the special legislation of
+    Congress, and with boundaries fixed even in advance of the public
+    surveys&mdash;a departure from the salutary provision requiring a settler
+    upon unsurveyed lands to limit the boundaries of his claim to the lines
+    of the public survey after they shall have been established. He receives
+    a title only to a legal subdivision, including his residence and
+    improvements. The survey of the company may not accord with that which
+    will hereafter be made by the Government, while the patent that issues
+    will be descriptive of and confer a title to the tract as surveyed by
+    the company.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I am aware of no precedent for granting such exclusive rights to a
+    manufacturing company for a nominal consideration. Congress have made
+    concessions to railway companies of alternate sections within given
+    limits of the lines of their roads. This policy originated in the belief
+    that the facilities afforded by reaching the parts of the country remote
+    from the great centers of population would expedite the settlement and
+    sale of the public domain. These incidental advantages were secured
+    without pecuniary loss to the Government, by reason of the enhanced
+    value of the reserved sections, which are held at the double minimum.
+    Mining and manufacturing companies, however, have always been
+    distinguished from public-improvement corporations. The former are, in
+    law and in fact, only private associations for trade and business on
+    individual account and for personal benefit. Admitting the proposition
+    that railroad grants can stand on sound principle, it is plain that such
+    can not be the case with concessions to companies like that contemplated
+    by this measure. In view of the strong temptation to monopolize the
+    public lands, with the pernicious results, it would seem at least of
+    doubtful expediency to lift corporations above all competition with
+    actual settlers by authorizing them to become purchasers of public lands
+    in the Territories for any purpose, and particularly when clothed with
+    the special benefits of this bill. For myself, I am convinced that the
+    privileges of ordinary preemptors ought not to be extended to
+    incorporated companies.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A third objection may be mentioned, as it exemplifies the spirit in
+    which special privileges are sought by incorporated companies.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Land subject to Indian occupancy has always been scrupulously guarded by
+    law from preemption settlement or encroachment under any pretext until
+    the Indian title should be extinguished. In the fourth section of this
+    act, however, lands held by "Indian title" are excepted from prohibition
+    against the patent to be issued to the New York and Montana Iron Mining
+    and Manufacturing Company.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The bill provides that the patent "shall convey no title to any mineral
+    lands <i>except iron and coal</i>, or to any lands held by right of
+    possession, or by any other title, <i>except Indian title</i>, valid at
+    the time of the selection of the said lands." It will be seen that by
+    the first section lands in "Indian reservations" are excluded from
+    individual preemption right, but by the fourth section the patent may
+    cover any Indian title except a <i>reservation</i>; so that no matter what
+    may be the nature of the Indian title, unless it be in a reservation,
+    it is unprotected from the privilege conceded by this bill.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Without further pursuing the subject, I return the bill to the Senate
+    without my signature, and with the following as prominent objections to
+    its becoming a law:
+</p>
+<p>
+    First. That it gives to the New York and Montana Iron Mining and
+    Manufacturing Company preemption privileges to iron and coal lands on a
+    large scale and at the ordinary minimum&mdash;a privilege denied to ordinary
+    preemptors. It bestows upon the company large tracts of <i>coal</i> lands at
+    one-sixteenth of the minimum price required from ordinary preemptors.
+    It also relieves the company from restrictions imposed upon ordinary
+    preemptors in respect to <i>timber lands</i>; allows double the time for
+    payment granted to preemptors on offered lands; and these privileges are
+    for purposes not heretofore authorized by the preemption laws, but for
+    trade and manufacturing.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second. Preemption rights on such a scale to private corporations are
+    unequal and hostile to the policy and principles which sanction
+    preemption laws.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Third. The bill allows this company to take possession of land, use it,
+    and acquire a patent thereto before the Indian title is extinguished,
+    and thus violates the good faith of the Government toward the aboriginal
+    tribes.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>July 16, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    A careful examination of the bill passed by the two Houses of Congress
+    entitled "An act to continue in force and to amend 'An act to establish
+    a bureau for the relief of freedmen and refugees, and for other
+    purposes'" has convinced me that the legislation which it proposes would
+    not be consistent with the welfare of the country, and that it falls
+    clearly within the reasons assigned in my message of the 19th of
+    February last, returning, without my signature, a similar measure which
+    originated in the Senate. It is not my purpose to repeat the objections
+    which I then urged. They are yet fresh in your recollection, and can be
+    readily examined as a part of the records of one branch of the National
+    Legislature. Adhering to the principles set forth in that message, I now
+    reaffirm them and the line of policy therein indicated.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The only ground upon which this kind of legislation can be justified is
+    that of the war-making power. The act of which this bill is intended
+    as amendatory was passed during the existence of the war. By its own
+    provisions it is to terminate within one year from the cessation of
+    hostilities and the declaration of peace. It is therefore yet in
+    existence, and it is likely that it will continue in force as long
+    as the freedmen may require the benefit of its provisions. It will
+    certainly remain in operation as a law until some months subsequent to
+    the meeting of the next session of Congress, when, if experience shall
+    make evident the necessity of additional legislation, the two Houses
+    will have ample time to mature and pass the requisite measures. In the
+    meantime the questions arise, Why should this war measure be continued
+    beyond the period designated in the original act, and why in time of
+    peace should military tribunals be created to continue until each
+    "State shall be fully restored in its constitutional relations to the
+    Government and shall be duly represented in the Congress of the United
+    States"?
+</p>
+<p>
+    It was manifest, with respect to the act approved March 3, 1865, that
+    prudence and wisdom alike required that jurisdiction over all cases
+    concerning the free enjoyment of the immunities and rights of
+    citizenship, as well as the protection of person and property, should
+    be conferred upon some tribunal in every State or district where the
+    ordinary course of judicial proceedings was interrupted by the
+    rebellion, and until the same should be fully restored. At that time,
+    therefore, an urgent necessity existed for the passage of some such
+    law. Now, however, war has substantially ceased; the ordinary course of
+    judicial proceedings is no longer interrupted; the courts, both State
+    and Federal, are in full, complete, and successful operation, and
+    through them every person, regardless of race and color, is entitled to
+    and can be heard. The protection granted to the white citizen is already
+    conferred by law upon the freedman; strong and stringent guards, by way
+    of penalties and punishments, are thrown around his person and property,
+    and it is believed that ample protection will be afforded him by due
+    process of law, without resort to the dangerous expedient of "military
+    tribunals," now that the war has been brought to a close. The necessity
+    no longer existing for such tribunals, which had their origin in the
+    war, grave objections to their continuance must present themselves to
+    the minds of all reflecting and dispassionate men. Independently of the
+    danger, in representative republics, of conferring upon the military,
+    in time of peace, extraordinary powers&mdash;so carefully guarded against
+    by the patriots and statesmen of the earlier days of the Republic,
+    so frequently the ruin of governments founded upon the same free
+    principles, and subversive of the rights and liberties of the
+    citizen&mdash;the question of practical economy earnestly commends itself to
+    the consideration of the lawmaking power. With an immense debt already
+    burdening the incomes of the industrial and laboring classes, a due
+    regard for their interests, so inseparably connected with the welfare of
+    the country, should prompt us to rigid economy and retrenchment, and
+    influence us to abstain from all legislation that would unnecessarily
+    increase the public indebtedness. Tested by this rule of sound political
+    wisdom, I can see no reason for the establishment of the "military
+    jurisdiction" conferred upon the officials of the Bureau by the
+    fourteenth section of the bill.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By the laws of the United States and of the different States competent
+    courts, Federal and State, have been established and are now in full
+    practical operation. By means of these civil tribunals ample redress is
+    afforded for all private wrongs, whether to the person or the property
+    of the citizen, without denial or unnecessary delay. They are open to
+    all, without regard to color or race. I feel well assured that it will
+    be better to trust the rights, privileges, and immunities of the citizen
+    to tribunals thus established, and presided over by competent and
+    impartial judges, bound by fixed rules of law and evidence, and where
+    the right of trial by jury is guaranteed and secured, than to the
+    caprice or judgment of an officer of the Bureau, who it is possible
+    may be entirely ignorant of the principles that underlie the just
+    administration of the law. There is danger, too, that conflict of
+    jurisdiction will frequently arise between the civil courts and these
+    military tribunals, each having concurrent jurisdiction over the person
+    and the cause of action&mdash;the one judicature administered and controlled
+    by civil law, the other by the military. How is the conflict to be
+    settled, and who is to determine between the two tribunals when it
+    arises? In my opinion, it is wise to guard against such conflict by
+    leaving to the courts and juries the protection of all civil rights
+    and the redress of all civil grievances.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The fact can not be denied that since the actual cessation of
+    hostilities many acts of violence, such, perhaps, as had never been
+    witnessed in their previous history, have occurred in the States
+    involved in the recent rebellion. I believe, however, that public
+    sentiment will sustain me in the assertion that such deeds of wrong are
+    not confined to any particular State or section, but are manifested over
+    the entire country, demonstrating that the cause that produced them
+    does not depend upon any particular locality, but is the result of
+    the agitation and derangement incident to a long and bloody civil war.
+    While the prevalence of such disorders must be greatly deplored, their
+    occasional and temporary occurrence would seem to furnish no necessity
+    for the extension of the Bureau beyond the period fixed in the original
+    act.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Besides the objections which I have thus briefly stated, I may urge upon
+    your consideration the additional reason that recent developments in
+    regard to the practical operations of the Bureau in many of the States
+    show that in numerous instances it is used by its agents as a means of
+    promoting their individual advantage, and that the freedmen are employed
+    for the advancement of the personal ends of the officers instead of
+    their own improvement and welfare, thus confirming the fears originally
+    entertained by many that the continuation of such a Bureau for any
+    unnecessary length of time would inevitably result in fraud, corruption,
+    and oppression. It is proper to state that in cases of this character
+    investigations have been promptly ordered, and the offender punished
+    whenever his guilt has been satisfactorily established.
+</p>
+<p>
+    As another reason against the necessity of the legislation contemplated
+    by this measure, reference may be had to the "civil-rights bill," now a
+    law of the land, and which will be faithfully executed so long as it
+    shall remain unrepealed and may not be declared unconstitutional by
+    courts of competent jurisdiction. By that act it is enacted&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  That all persons born in the United States and not subject to any
+  foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to
+  be citizens of the United States; and such citizens, of every race
+  and color, without regard to any previous condition of slavery or
+  involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the
+  party shall have been duly convicted, shall have the same right in every
+  State and Territory in the United States to make and enforce contracts;
+  to sue, be parties, and give evidence; to inherit, purchase, lease,
+  sell, hold, and convey real and personal property, and to full and equal
+  benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and
+  property, as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like
+  punishment, pains, and penalties, and to none other, any law, statute,
+  ordinance, regulation, or custom to the contrary notwithstanding.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By the provisions of the act full protection is afforded through the
+    district courts of the United States to all persons injured, and whose
+    privileges, as thus declared, are in any way impaired; and heavy
+    penalties are denounced against the person who willfully violates the
+    law. I need not state that that law did not receive my approval; yet its
+    remedies are far more preferable than those proposed in the present
+    bill&mdash;the one being civil and the other military.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By the sixth section of the bill herewith returned certain proceedings
+    by which the lands in the "parishes of St. Helena and St. Luke, South
+    Carolina," were sold and bid in, and afterwards disposed of by the tax
+    commissioners, are ratified and confirmed. By the seventh, eighth,
+    ninth, tenth, and eleventh sections provisions by law are made for the
+    disposal of the lands thus acquired to a particular class of citizens.
+    While the quieting of titles is deemed very important and desirable, the
+    discrimination made in the bill seems objectionable, as does also the
+    attempt to confer upon the commissioners judicial powers by which
+    citizens of the United States are to be deprived of their property in a
+    mode contrary to that provision of the Constitution which declares that
+    no person shall "be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due
+    process of law." As a general principle, such legislation is unsafe,
+    unwise, partial, and unconstitutional. It may deprive persons of their
+    property who are equally deserving objects of the nation's bounty as
+    those whom by this legislation Congress seeks to benefit. The title to
+    the land thus to be portioned out to a favored class of citizens must
+    depend upon the regularity of the tax sales under the law as it existed
+    at the time of the sale, and no subsequent legislation can give
+    validity to the right thus acquired as against the original claimants.
+    The attention of Congress is therefore invited to a more mature
+    consideration of the measures proposed in these sections of the bill.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In conclusion I again urge upon Congress the danger of class
+    legislation, so well calculated to keep the public mind in a state of
+    uncertain expectation, disquiet, and restlessness and to encourage
+    interested hopes and fears that the National Government will continue to
+    furnish to classes of citizens in the several States means for support
+    and maintenance regardless of whether they pursue a life of indolence or
+    of labor, and regardless also of the constitutional limitations of the
+    national authority in times of peace and tranquillity.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The bill is herewith returned to the House of Representatives, in which
+    it originated, for its final action.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>July 28, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith return, without my approval, the bill entitled "An act
+    erecting the Territory of Montana into a surveying district, and for
+    other purposes."
+</p>
+<p>
+    The bill contains four sections, the first of which erects the Territory
+    into a surveying district and authorizes the appointment of a
+    surveyor-general; the second constitutes the Territory a land district;
+    the third authorizes the appointment of a register and receiver for said
+    district; and the fourth requires the surveyor-general to&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  select and survey eighteen alternate odd sections of nonmineral timber
+  lands within said district for the New York and Montana Iron Mining and
+  Manufacturing Company, incorporated under the laws of the State of New
+  York, which lands the said company shall have immediate possession of on
+  the payment of <i>$1.25</i> per acre, and shall have a patent for the same
+  whenever, within two years after their selection, they shall have
+  furnished evidence satisfactory to the Secretary of the Interior that
+  they have erected and have in operation on the said lands iron works
+  with a capacity for manufacturing 1,500 tons of iron per annum:
+  <i>Provided</i>, That the said lands shall revert to the United States in
+  case the above-mentioned iron works be not erected within the specified
+  time: <i>And provided</i>, That until the title to the said lands shall have
+  been perfected the timber shall not be cut off from more than one
+  section of the said lands.
+</p>
+<p>
+    To confer the special privileges specified in this fourth section
+    appears to be the chief object of the bill, the provisions of which are
+    subject to some of the most important objections that induced me to
+    return to the Senate with my disapproval the bill entitled "An act to
+    enable the New York and Montana Iron Mining and Manufacturing Company
+    to purchase a certain amount of the public lands not now in market."
+    That bill authorized the same corporation to select and survey in the
+    Territory of Montana, in square form, twenty-one sections of land, three
+    of which might contain coal and iron ore, for which the minimum rate of
+    $1.25 per acre was to be paid. The present bill omits these sections of
+    mineral lands, and directs the surveyor-general to select and survey the
+    timber lands; but it contains the objectionable feature of granting
+    to a private mining and manufacturing corporation exclusive rights and
+    privileges in the public domain which are by law denied to individuals.
+    The first choice of timber land in the Territory is bestowed upon a
+    corporation foreign to the Territory and over which Congress has no
+    control. The surveyor-general of the district, a public officer who
+    should have no connection with any purchase of public land, is made the
+    agent of the corporation to select the land, the selections to be made
+    in the absence of all competition; and over 11,000 acres are bestowed
+    at the lowest price of public lands. It is by no means certain that
+    the substitution of alternate sections for the compact body of lands
+    contemplated by the other bill is any less injurious to the public
+    interest, for alternate sections stripped of timber are not likely
+    to enhance the value of those reserved by the Government. Be this as
+    it may, this bill bestows a large monopoly of public lands without
+    adequate consideration; confers a right and privilege in quantity
+    equivalent to seventy-two preemption rights; introduces a dangerous
+    system of privileges to private trading corporations; and is an unjust
+    discrimination in favor of traders and speculators against individual
+    settlers and pioneers who are seeking homes and improving our Western
+    Territories. Such a departure from the long-established, wise, and just
+    policy which has heretofore governed the disposition of the public funds
+    [lands] can not receive my sanction. The objections enumerated apply to
+    the fourth section of the bill. The first, second, and third sections,
+    providing for the appointment of a surveyor-general, register, and
+    receiver, are unobjectionable if any necessity requires the creation
+    of these offices and the additional expenses of a new surveying land
+    district. But they appear in this instance to be only needed as a part
+    of the machinery to enable the "New York and Montana Iron Mining and
+    Manufacturing Company" to secure these privileges; for I am informed by
+    the proper Department, in a communication hereto annexed, that there is
+    no public necessity for a surveyor-general, register, or receiver in
+    Montana Territory, since it forms part of an existing surveying and land
+    district, wherein the public business is, under present laws, transacted
+    with adequate facility, so that the provisions of the first, second, and
+    third sections would occasion needless expense to the General
+    Government.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    PROCLAMATIONS.
+</h2>
+<h3>
+    ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<p>
+    <i>To all whom it may concern</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    An exequatur, bearing date the 13th day of October, 1864, having been
+    issued to Esteban Rogers, recognizing him as consul <i>ad interim</i> of the
+    Republic of Chile for the port of New York and its dependencies and
+    declaring him free to exercise and enjoy such functions, powers, and
+    privileges as are allowed to consuls by the law of nations or by the
+    laws of the United States and existing treaty stipulations between the
+    Government of Chile and the United States; but as it is deemed advisable
+    that the said Esteban Rogers should no longer be permitted to continue
+    in the exercise of said functions, powers, and privileges:
+</p>
+<p>
+    These are therefore to declare that I no longer recognize the said
+    Esteban Rogers as consul <i>ad interim</i> of the Republic of Chile for
+    the port of New York and its dependencies and will not permit him to
+    exercise or enjoy any of the functions, powers, or privileges allowed to
+    a consular officer 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.
+</p>
+<p>
+    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.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Given under my hand, at Washington, this 12th day of February, A.D.
+    1866, and of the Independence of the United States of America the
+    ninetieth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<p>
+    <i>To all whom it may concern</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    An exequatur, bearing date the 7th day of October, 1864, having been
+    issued to Claudius Edward Habicht, recognizing him as consul of Sweden
+    and Norway at New York and declaring him free to exercise and enjoy such
+    functions, powers, and privileges as are allowed to consuls by the law
+    of nations or by the laws of the United States and existing treaty
+    stipulations between the Government of Sweden and Norway and the United
+    States; but as it is deemed advisable that the said Claudius Edward
+    Habicht should no longer be permitted to continue in the exercise of
+    said functions, powers, and privileges:
+</p>
+<p>
+    These are therefore to declare that I no longer recognize the said
+    Claudius Edward Habicht as consul of Sweden and Norway at New York and
+    will not permit him to exercise or enjoy any of the functions, powers,
+    or privileges allowed to a consular officer 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.
+</p>
+<p>
+    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.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Given under my hand, at Washington, the 26th day of March, A.D. 1866,
+    and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<p>
+    <i>To all whom it may concern</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    An exequatur, bearing date the 1st day of July, 1865, having been issued
+    to S.M. Svenson, recognizing him as vice-consul of Sweden and Norway at
+    New Orleans and declaring him free to exercise and enjoy such functions,
+    powers, and privileges as are allowed to vice-consuls by the law of
+    nations or by the laws of the United States and existing treaty
+    stipulations between the Government of Sweden and Norway and the United
+    States; but as it is deemed advisable that the said S.M. Svenson should
+    no longer be permitted to continue in the exercise of said functions,
+    powers, and privileges:
+</p>
+<p>
+    These are therefore to declare that I no longer recognize the said S.M.
+    Svenson as vice-consul of Sweden and Norway at New Orleans and will
+    not permit him to exercise or enjoy any of the functions, powers, or
+    privileges allowed to a consular officer 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.
+</p>
+<p>
+    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.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Given under my hand, at Washington, the 26th day of March, A.D. 1866,
+    and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas by proclamations of the 15th and 19th of April, 1861, the
+    President of the United States, in virtue of the power vested in him by
+    the Constitution and the laws, declared that the laws of the United
+    States were 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; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas by another proclamation, made on the 16th day of August, in the
+    same year, in pursuance of an act of Congress approved July 13, 1861,
+    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 the
+    State of Virginia lying west of the Alleghany Mountains and of such
+    other parts of that State and the other States before named as might
+    maintain a loyal 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 insurgents) were declared to be in a state
+    of insurrection against the United States; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas by another proclamation, of the 1st day of July, 1862, issued in
+    pursuance of an act of Congress approved June 7, in the same year, the
+    insurrection was declared to be still existing in the States aforesaid,
+    with the exception of certain specified counties in the State of
+    Virginia; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas by another proclamation, made on the 2d day of April, 1863, in
+    pursuance of the act of Congress of July 13, 1861, the exceptions named
+    in the proclamation of August 16, 1861, were revoked and 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 the ports of New Orleans, Key West, Port Royal, and Beaufort, in
+    North Carolina) were declared to be still in a state of insurrection
+    against the United States; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the House of Representatives, on the 22d day of July, 1861,
+    adopted a resolution in the words following, namely:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  <i>Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United
+  States</i>, That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon the
+  country by the disunionists of the Southern States now in revolt against
+  the constitutional Government and in arms around the capital; that in
+  this national emergency Congress, banishing all feelings of mere passion
+  or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole country; that
+  this war is not waged upon our part in any spirit of oppression, nor for
+  any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor purpose of overthrowing or
+  interfering with the rights or established institutions of those States,
+  but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution and to
+  preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the
+  several States unimpaired; and that as soon as these objects are
+  accomplished the war ought to cease.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And whereas the Senate of the United States, on the 25th day of July,
+    1861, adopted a resolution in the words following, to wit:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  <i>Resolved</i>, That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon
+  the country by the disunionists of the Southern States now in revolt
+  against the constitutional Government and in arms around the capital;
+  that in this national emergency Congress, banishing all feeling of
+  mere passion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole
+  country; that this war is not prosecuted upon our part in any spirit
+  of oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor
+  purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established
+  institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy
+  of the Constitution and all laws made in pursuance thereof and to
+  preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality, and rights of
+  the several States unimpaired; that as soon as these objects are
+  accomplished the war ought to cease.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And whereas these resolutions, though not joint or concurrent in form,
+    are substantially identical, and as such may be regarded as having
+    expressed the sense of Congress upon the subject to which they relate;
+    and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas by my proclamation of the 13th day of June last the insurrection
+    in the State of Tennessee was declared to have been suppressed, the
+    authority of the United States therein to be undisputed, and such United
+    States officers as had been duly commissioned to be in the undisturbed
+    exercise of their official functions; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas there now exists no organized armed resistance of misguided
+    citizens or others to the authority of the United States in the States
+    of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee,
+    Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Florida, and the laws can
+    be sustained and enforced therein by the proper civil authority, State
+    or Federal, and the people of said States are well and loyally disposed
+    and have conformed or will conform in their legislation to the condition
+    of affairs growing out of the amendment to the Constitution of the
+    United States prohibiting slavery within the limits and jurisdiction of
+    the United States; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas, in view of the before-recited premises, it is the manifest
+    determination of the American people that no State of its own will has
+    the right or the power to go out of, or separate itself from, or be
+    separated from, the American Union, and that therefore each State ought
+    to remain and constitute an integral part of the United States; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the people of the several before-mentioned States have, in the
+    manner aforesaid, given satisfactory evidence that they acquiesce in
+    this sovereign and important resolution of national unity; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas it is believed to be a fundamental principle of government that
+    people who have revolted and who have been overcome and subdued must
+    either be dealt with so as to induce them voluntarily to become friends
+    or else they must be held by absolute military power or devastated so as
+    to prevent them from ever again doing harm as enemies, which last-named
+    policy is abhorrent to humanity and to freedom; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the Constitution of the United States provides for constituent
+    communities only as States, and not as Territories, dependencies,
+    provinces, or protectorates; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas such constituent States must necessarily be, and by the
+    Constitution and laws of the United States are, made equals and placed
+    upon a like footing as to political rights, immunities, dignity, and
+    power with the several States with which they are united; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the observance of political equality, as a principle of right
+    and justice, is well calculated to encourage the people of the aforesaid
+    States to be and become more and more constant and persevering in their
+    renewed allegiance; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas standing armies, military occupation, martial law, military
+    tribunals, and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of <i>habeas
+    corpus</i> are in time of peace dangerous to public liberty, incompatible
+    with the individual rights of the citizen, contrary to the genius and
+    spirit of our free institutions, and exhaustive of the national
+    resources, and ought not, therefore, to be sanctioned or allowed except
+    in cases of actual necessity for repelling invasion or suppressing
+    insurrection or rebellion; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the policy of the Government of the United States from the
+    beginning of the insurrection to its overthrow and final suppression has
+    been in conformity with the principles herein set forth and enumerated:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do
+    hereby proclaim and declare that the insurrection which heretofore
+    existed in the States of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, North
+    Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and
+    Florida is at an end and is henceforth to be so regarded.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 2d day of April, A.D. 1866, and of
+    the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<p>
+    <i>To all whom it may concern</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the exequatur of Claudius Edward Habicht, recognizing him as
+    consul of Sweden and Norway at New York, and that of S.M. Svenson as
+    vice-consul of Sweden and Norway at New Orleans were formally revoked on
+    the 26th day of March last; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas representations have been made to me since that date which have
+    effectually relieved those gentlemen from the charges of unlawful and
+    unfriendly conduct heretofore entertained against them:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of
+    the United States of America, do hereby annul the revocation of the
+    exequaturs of the said Claudius Edward Habicht and S.M. Svenson and
+    restore to them the right to exercise the functions and privileges
+    heretofore granted as consular officers of the Government of Sweden
+    and Norway.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name and caused the seal
+    of the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 30th day of May, A.D. 1866, and of
+    the Independence of the United States the ninetieth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas it has become known to me that certain evil-disposed persons
+    have, within the territory and jurisdiction of the United States, begun
+    and set on foot and have provided and prepared, and are still engaged in
+    providing and preparing, means for a military expedition and enterprise,
+    which expedition and enterprise is to be carried on from the territory
+    and jurisdiction of the United States against colonies, districts, and
+    people of British North America, within the dominions of the United
+    Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with which said colonies,
+    districts, and people and Kingdom the United States are at peace; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the proceedings aforesaid constitute a high misdemeanor,
+    forbidden by the laws of the United States as well as by the law of
+    nations:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, for the purpose of preventing the carrying on of the
+    unlawful expedition and enterprise aforesaid from the territory and
+    jurisdiction of the United States and to maintain the public peace as
+    well as the national honor and enforce obedience and respect to the laws
+    of the United States, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+    do admonish and warn all good citizens of the United States against
+    taking part in or in any wise aiding, countenancing, or abetting said
+    unlawful proceedings; and I do exhort all judges, magistrates, marshals,
+    and officers in the service of the United States to employ all their
+    lawful authority and power to prevent and defeat the aforesaid unlawful
+    proceedings and to arrest and bring to justice all persons who may be
+    engaged therein.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And, pursuant to the act of Congress in such case made and provided,
+    I do furthermore authorize and empower Major-General George G. Meade,
+    commander of the Military Division of the Atlantic, to employ the land
+    and naval forces of the United States and the militia thereof to arrest
+    and prevent the setting on foot and carrying on the expedition and
+    enterprise aforesaid.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 6th day of June, A.D. 1866, and of
+    the Independence of the United States the ninetieth.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas a war is existing in the Republic of Mexico, aggravated by
+    foreign military intervention; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the United States, in accordance with their settled habits and
+    policy, are a neutral power in regard to the war which thus afflicts the
+    Republic of Mexico; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas it has become known that one of the belligerents in the said
+    war, namely, the Prince Maximilian, who asserts himself to be Emperor in
+    Mexico, has issued a decree in regard to the port of Matamoras and other
+    Mexican ports which are in the occupation and possession of another of
+    the said belligerents, namely, the United States of Mexico, which decree
+    is in the following words:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  The port of Matamoras and all those of the northern frontier which have
+  withdrawn from their obedience to the Government are closed to foreign
+  and coasting traffic during such time as the empire of the law shall not
+  be therein reinstated.
+</p><p class="q">
+  ART. 2. Merchandise proceeding from the said ports, on arriving at any
+  other where the excise of the Empire is collected, shall pay the duties
+  on importation, introduction, and consumption, and, on satisfactory
+  proof of contravention, shall be irremissibly confiscated. Our minister
+  of the treasury is charged with the punctual execution of this decree.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Given at Mexico, the 9th of July, 1866.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And whereas the decree thus recited, by declaring a belligerent blockade
+    unsupported by competent military or naval force, is in violation of the
+    neutral rights of the United States as defined by the law of nations as
+    well as of the treaties existing between the United States of America
+    and the aforesaid United States of Mexico:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do
+    hereby proclaim and declare that the aforesaid decree is held and will
+    be held by the United States to be absolutely null and void as against
+    the Government and citizens of the United States, and that any attempt
+    which shall be made to enforce the same against the Government or the
+    citizens of the United States will be disallowed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, the 17th day of August, A.D. 1866, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas by proclamations of the 15th and 19th of April, 1861, the
+    President of the United States, in virtue of the power vested in him
+    by the Constitution and the laws, declared that the laws of the United
+    States were 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; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas by another proclamation, made on the 16th day of August, in the
+    same year, in pursuance of an act of Congress approved July 13, 1861,
+    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 the
+    State of Virginia lying west of the Alleghany Mountains, and except also
+    the inhabitants of such other parts of that State and the other States
+    before named as might maintain a loyal 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 insurgents)
+    were declared to be in a state of insurrection against the United
+    States; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas by another proclamation, of the 1st day of July, 1862, issued in
+    pursuance of an act of Congress approved June 7, in the same year, the
+    insurrection was declared to be still existing in the States aforesaid,
+    with the exception of certain specified counties in the State of
+    Virginia; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas by another proclamation, made on the 2d day of April, 1863, in
+    pursuance of the act of Congress of July 13, 1861, the exceptions named
+    in the proclamation of August 16, 1861, were revoked and 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 the ports of New Orleans, Key West, Port Royal, and Beaufort, in
+    North Carolina) were declared to be still in a state of insurrection
+    against the United States; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas by another proclamation, of the 15th day of September, 1863,
+    made in pursuance of the act of Congress approved March 3, 1863, the
+    rebellion was declared to be still existing and the privilege of the
+    writ of <i>habeas corpus</i> was in certain specified cases suspended
+    throughout the United States, said suspension to continue throughout
+    the duration of the rebellion or until said proclamation should, by
+    a subsequent one to be issued by the President of the United States,
+    be modified or revoked; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the House of Representatives, on the 22d day of July, 1861,
+    adopted a resolution in the words following, namely:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  <i>Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United
+  States</i>, That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon
+  the country by the dis-unionists of the Southern States now in revolt
+  against the constitutional Government and in arms around the capital;
+  that in this national emergency Congress, banishing all feelings of
+  mere passion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole
+  country; that this war is not waged upon our part in any spirit of
+  oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor
+  purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established
+  institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy
+  of the Constitution and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity,
+  equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired; and that as
+  soon as these objects are accomplished the war ought to cease.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And whereas the Senate of the United States, on the 25th day of July,
+    1861, adopted a resolution in the words following, to wit:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  <i>Resolved</i>, That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon
+  the country by the disunionists of the Southern States now in revolt
+  against the constitutional Government and in arms around the capital;
+  that in this national emergency Congress, banishing all feeling of
+  mere passion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole
+  country; that this war is not prosecuted upon our part in any spirit
+  of oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor
+  purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established
+  institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy
+  of the Constitution and all laws made in pursuance thereof and to
+  preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality, and rights of
+  the several States unimpaired; that as soon as these objects are
+  accomplished the war ought to cease.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And whereas these resolutions, though not joint or concurrent in form,
+    are substantially identical, and as such have hitherto been and yet are
+    regarded as having expressed the sense of Congress upon the subject to
+    which they relate; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President of the United States, by proclamation of the 13th
+    of June, 1865, declared that the insurrection in the State of Tennessee
+    had been suppressed, and that the authority of the United States therein
+    was undisputed, and that such United States officers as had been duly
+    commissioned were in the undisturbed exercise of their official
+    functions; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President of the United States, by further proclamation,
+    issued on the 2d day of April, 1866, did promulgate and declare that
+    there no longer existed any armed resistance of misguided citizens or
+    others to the authority of the United States in any or in all the States
+    before mentioned, excepting only the State of Texas, and did further
+    promulgate and declare that the laws could be sustained and enforced in
+    the several States before mentioned, except Texas, by the proper civil
+    authorities, State or Federal, and that the people of the said States,
+    except Texas, are well and loyally disposed and have conformed or will
+    conform in their legislation to the condition of affairs growing out of
+    the amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibiting
+    slavery within the limits and jurisdiction of the United States;
+</p>
+<p>
+    And did further declare in the same proclamation that it is the manifest
+    determination of the American people that no State, of its own will, has
+    a right or power to go out of, or separate itself from, or be separated
+    from, the American Union; and that, therefore, each State ought to
+    remain and constitute an integral part of the United States;
+</p>
+<p>
+    And did further declare in the same last-mentioned proclamation that
+    the several aforementioned States, excepting Texas, had in the manner
+    aforesaid given satisfactory evidence that they acquiesce in this
+    sovereign and important resolution of national unity; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President of the United States in the same proclamation did
+    further declare that it is believed to be a fundamental principle of
+    government that the people who have revolted and who have been overcome
+    and subdued must either be dealt with so as to induce them voluntarily
+    to become friends or else they must be held by absolute military power
+    or devastated so as to prevent them from ever again doing harm as
+    enemies, which last-named policy is abhorrent to humanity and to
+    freedom; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President did in the same proclamation further declare
+    that the Constitution of the United States provides for constituent
+    communities only as States, and not as Territories, dependencies,
+    provinces, or protectorates;
+</p>
+<p>
+    And further, that such constituent States must necessarily be, and by
+    the Constitution and laws of the United States are, made equals and
+    placed upon a like footing as to political rights, immunities, dignity,
+    and power with the several States with which they are united;
+</p>
+<p>
+    And did further declare that the observance of political equality, as
+    a principle of right and justice, is well calculated to encourage the
+    people of the before named States, except Texas, to be and to become
+    more and more constant and persevering in their renewed allegiance; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President did further declare that standing armies,
+    military occupation, martial law, military tribunals, and the suspension
+    of the writ of <i>habeas corpus</i> are in time of peace dangerous to public
+    liberty, incompatible with the individual rights of the citizen,
+    contrary to the genius and spirit of our free institutions, and
+    exhaustive of the national resources, and ought not, therefore, to be
+    sanctioned or allowed except in cases of actual necessity for repelling
+    invasion or suppressing insurrection or rebellion;
+</p>
+<p>
+    And the President did further, in the same proclamation, declare that
+    the policy of the Government of the United States from the beginning
+    of the insurrection to its overthrow and final suppression had been
+    conducted in conformity with the principles in the last-named
+    proclamation recited; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President, in the said proclamation of the 13th of June,
+    1865, upon the grounds therein stated and hereinbefore recited, did then
+    and thereby proclaim and declare that the insurrection which heretofore
+    existed in the several States before named, except in Texas, was at an
+    end and was henceforth to be so regarded; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas subsequently to the said 2d day of April, 1866, the insurrection
+    in the State of Texas has been completely and everywhere suppressed and
+    ended and the authority of the United States has been successfully and
+    completely established in the said State of Texas and now remains
+    therein unresisted and undisputed, and such of the proper United States
+    officers as have been duly commissioned within the limits of the said
+    State are now in the undisturbed exercise of their official functions;
+    and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the laws can now be sustained and enforced in the said State of
+    Texas by the proper civil authority, State or Federal, and the people
+    of the said State of Texas, like the people of the other States before
+    named, are well and loyally disposed and have conformed or will conform
+    in their legislation to the condition of affairs growing out of the
+    amendment of the Constitution of the United States prohibiting slavery
+    within the limits and jurisdiction of the United States; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas all the reasons and conclusions set forth in regard to the
+    several States therein specially named now apply equally and in all
+    respects to the State of Texas, as well as to the other States which
+    had been involved in insurrection; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas adequate provision has been made by military orders to enforce
+    the execution of the acts of Congress, aid the civil authorities, and
+    secure obedience to the Constitution and laws of the United States
+    within the State of Texas if a resort to military force for such purpose
+    should at any time become necessary:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do
+    hereby proclaim and declare that the insurrection which heretofore
+    existed in the State of Texas is at an end and is to be henceforth so
+    regarded in that State as in the other States before named in which the
+    said insurrection was proclaimed to be at an end by the aforesaid
+    proclamation of the 2d day of April, 1866.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And I do further proclaim that the said insurrection is at an end and
+    that peace, order, tranquillity, and civil authority now exist in and
+    throughout the whole of the United States of America.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 20th day of August, A.D. 1866, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
+</h3>
+<h3>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h3>
+<p>
+    Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, has been pleased to vouchsafe to us
+    as a people another year of that national life which is an indispensable
+    condition of peace, security, and progress. That year has, moreover,
+    been crowned with many peculiar blessings.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The civil war that so recently closed among us has not been anywhere
+    reopened; foreign intervention has ceased to excite alarm or
+    apprehension; intrusive pestilence has been benignly mitigated; domestic
+    tranquillity has improved, sentiments of conciliation have largely
+    prevailed, and affections of loyalty and patriotism have been widely
+    renewed; our fields have yielded quite abundantly, our mining industry
+    has been richly rewarded, and we have been allowed to extend our
+    railroad system far into the interior recesses of the country, while
+    our commerce has resumed its customary activity in foreign seas.
+</p>
+<p>
+    These great national blessings demand a national acknowledgment.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson. President of the United States, do
+    hereby recommend that Thursday, the 29th day of November next, be set
+    apart and be observed everywhere in the several States and Territories
+    of the United States by the people thereof as a day of thanksgiving and
+    praise to Almighty God, with due remembrance that "in His temple doth
+    every man speak of His honor." I recommend also that on the same solemn
+    occasion they do humbly and devoutly implore Him to grant to our
+    national councils and to our whole people that divine wisdom which
+    alone can lead any nation into the ways of all good.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In offering these national thanksgivings, praises, and supplications we
+    have the divine assurance that "the Lord remaineth a king forever; them
+    that are meek shall He guide in judgment and such as are gentle shall He
+    learn His way; the Lord shall give strength to His people, and the Lord
+    shall give to His people the blessing of peace."
+</p>
+<p>
+    In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 8th day of October, A.D. 1866, and
+    of the Independence of the United States the ninety-first.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
+</h2>
+<center>
+    [From the Daily National Intelligencer, April 9, 1866.]
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION, <i>April 7, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is eminently right and proper that the Government of the United
+    States should give earnest and substantial evidence of its just
+    appreciation of the services of the patriotic men who when the life of
+    the nation was imperiled entered the Army and Navy to preserve the
+    integrity of the Union, defend the Government, and maintain and
+    perpetuate unimpaired its free institutions.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>It is therefore directed</i>&mdash;
+</p>
+<p>
+    First. That in appointments to office in the several Executive
+    Departments of the General Government and the various branches of
+    the public service connected with said Departments preference shall
+    be given to such meritorious and honorably discharged soldiers and
+    sailors&mdash;particularly those who have been disabled by wounds received
+    or diseases contracted in the line of duty&mdash;as may possess the proper
+    qualifications.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second. That in all promotions in said Departments and the several
+    branches of the public service connected therewith such persons shall
+    have preference, when equally eligible and qualified, over those who
+    have not faithfully and honorably served in the land or naval forces
+    of the United States.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    DEPARTMENT OF STATE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, April 13, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    On the 14th of April, 1865, great affliction was brought upon the
+    American people by the assassination of the lamented Abraham Lincoln,
+    then President of the United States. The undersigned is therefore
+    directed by the President to announce that in commemoration of that
+    event the public offices will be closed to-morrow, the 14th instant.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    GENERAL ORDERS, No. 26.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+WAR DEPARTMENT,<br>
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE.<br>
+    <i>Washington, May 1, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<center>
+    ORDER IN RELATION TO TRIALS BY MILITARY COURTS AND COMMISSIONS.
+</center>
+<p>
+    Whereas some military commanders are embarrassed by doubts as to the
+    operation of the proclamation of the President dated the 2d day of
+    April, 1866, upon trials by military courts-martial and military
+    officers; to remove such doubts&mdash;
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>It is ordered by the President</i>, That hereafter, whenever offenses
+    committed by civilians are to be tried where civil tribunals are in
+    existence which can try them, their cases are not authorized to be, and
+    will not be, brought before military courts-martial or commissions, but
+    will be committed to the proper civil authorities. This order is not
+    applicable to camp followers, as provided for under the sixtieth article
+    of war, or to contractors and others specified in section 16, act of
+    July 17, 1862, and sections 1 and 2, act of March 2, 1863. Persons and
+    offenses cognizable by the Rules and Articles of War and by the acts of
+    Congress above cited will continue to be tried and punished by military
+    tribunals as prescribed by the Rules and Articles of War and acts of
+    Congress hereinafter cited, to wit:
+</p>
+<p>
+  [Sixtieth of the Rules and Articles of War.]
+</p><p class="q">
+  60. All sutlers and retainers to the camp, and all persons whatsoever
+  serving with the armies of the United States in the field, though not
+  enlisted soldiers, are to be subject to orders, according to the rules
+  and discipline of war.
+</p>
+<p>
+  [Extract from "An act to define the pay and emoluments of certain
+  officers of the Army, and for other purposes," approved July 17, 1862.]
+</p><p class="q">
+  SEC. 16. <i>And be it further enacted</i>, That whenever any contractor for
+  subsistence, clothing, arms, ammunition, munitions of war, and for every
+  description of supplies for the Army or Navy of the United States, shall
+  be found guilty by a court-martial of fraud or willful neglect of duty,
+  he shall be punished by fine, imprisonment, or such other punishment as
+  the court-martial shall adjudge; and any person who shall contract to
+  furnish supplies of any kind or description for the Army or Navy, <i>he</i>
+  shall be deemed and taken as a part of the land or naval forces of the
+  United States for which he shall contract to furnish said supplies, and
+  be subject to the rules and regulations for the government of the land
+  and naval forces of the United States.
+</p>
+<p>
+  [Extract from "An act to prevent and punish frauds upon the Government
+  of the United States," approved March 2, 1863.]
+</p><p class="q">
+  <i>Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
+  States of America in Congress assembled</i>, That any person in the land or
+  naval forces of the United States, or in the militia in actual service
+  of the United States in time of war, who shall make or cause to be made,
+  or present or cause to be presented for payment or approval to or by any
+  person or officer in the civil or military service of the United States,
+  any claim upon or against the Government of the United States, or
+  any department or officer thereof, knowing such claim to be false,
+  fictitious, or fraudulent; any person in such forces or service who
+  shall, for the purpose of obtaining or aiding in obtaining the approval
+  or payment of such claim, make, use, or cause to be made or used, any
+  false bill, receipt, voucher, entry, roll, account, claim, statement,
+  certificate, affidavit, or deposition, knowing the same to contain any
+  false or fraudulent statement or entry; any person in said forces or
+  service who shall make or procure to be made, or knowingly advise the
+  making of, any false oath to any fact, statement, or certificate,
+  voucher or entry, for the purpose of obtaining or of aiding to obtain
+  any approval or payment of any claim against the United States, or any
+  department or officer thereof; any person in said forces or service who,
+  for the purpose of obtaining or enabling any other person to obtain
+  from the Government of the United States, or any department or officer
+  thereof, any payment or allowance, or the approval or signature of any
+  person in the military, naval, or civil service of the United States
+  of or to any false, fraudulent, or fictitious claim, shall forge or
+  counterfeit, or cause or procure to be forged or counterfeited, any
+  signature upon any bill, receipt, voucher, account, claim, roll,
+  statement, affidavit, or deposition; and any person in said forces or
+  service who shall utter or use the same as true or genuine, knowing the
+  same to have been forged or counterfeited; any person in said forces or
+  service who shall enter into any agreement, combination, or conspiracy
+  to cheat or defraud the Government of the United States, or any
+  department or officer thereof, by obtaining or aiding and assisting to
+  obtain the payment or allowance of any false or fraudulent claim; any
+  person in said forces or service who shall steal, embezzle, or knowingly
+  and willfully misappropriate or apply to his own use or benefit, or who
+  shall wrongfully and knowingly sell, convey, or dispose of any ordnance,
+  arms, ammunition, clothing, subsistence stores, money, or other property
+  of the United States, furnished or to be used for the military or naval
+  service of the United States; any contractor, agent, paymaster,
+  quartermaster, or other person whatsoever in said forces or service
+  having charge, possession, custody, or control of any money or other
+  public property used or to be used in the military or naval service of
+  the United States, who shall, with intent to defraud the United States,
+  or willfully to conceal such money or other property, deliver or cause
+  to be delivered to any other person having authority to receive the same
+  any amount of such money or other public property less than that for
+  which he shall receive a certificate or receipt; any person in said
+  forces or service who is or shall be authorized to make or deliver any
+  certificate, voucher, or receipt, or other paper certifying the receipt
+  of arms, ammunition, provisions, clothing, or other public property so
+  used or to be used, who shall make or deliver the same to any person
+  without having full knowledge of the truth of the facts stated therein,
+  and with intent to cheat, defraud, or injure the United States; any
+  person in said forces or service who shall knowingly purchase or
+  receive, in pledge for any obligation or indebtedness, from any soldier,
+  officer, or other person called into or employed in said forces or
+  service, any arms, equipments, ammunition, clothes, or military stores,
+  or other public property, such soldier, officer, or other person not
+  having the lawful right to pledge or sell the same, shall be deemed
+  guilty of a criminal offense, and shall be subject to the rules and
+  regulations made for the government of the military and naval forces of
+  the United States, and of the militia when called into and employed in
+  the actual service of the United States in time of war, and to the
+  provisions of this act. And every person so offending may be arrested
+  and held for trial by a court-martial, and if found guilty shall be
+  punished by fine and imprisonment, or such other punishment as the
+  court-martial may adjudge, save the punishment of death.
+</p><p class="q">
+  SEC. 2. <i>And be it further enacted</i>, That any person heretofore called
+  or hereafter to be called into or employed in such forces or service who
+  shall commit any violation of this act, and shall afterwards receive his
+  discharge or be dismissed from the service, shall, notwithstanding such
+  discharge or dismissal, continue to be liable to be arrested and held
+  for trial and sentence by a court-martial in the same manner and to the
+  same extent as if he had not received such discharge or been dismissed.
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p>
+    By order of the Secretary of War:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION, <i>May 29, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The President with profound sorrow announces to the people of the United
+    States the death of Winfield Scott, the late Lieutenant-General of the
+    Army. On the day which may be appointed for his funeral the several
+    Executive Departments of the Government will be closed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The heads of the War and Navy Departments will respectively give orders
+    for paying appropriate honors to the memory of the deceased.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    [From the Daily National Intelligencer, June 6, 1866.]
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., June 5, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By direction of the President, you<a href="#note-7"><small>7</small></a> are hereby instructed to cause
+    the arrest of all prominent, leading, or conspicuous persons called
+    "Fenians" who you may have probable cause to believe have been or may
+    be guilty of violations of the neutrality laws of the United States.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    JAMES SPEED,
+<br>
+    <i>Attorney-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    DEPARTMENT OF STATE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, June 18, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The President directs the undersigned to perform the painful duty
+    of announcing to the people of the United States that Lewis Cass,
+    distinguished not more by faithful service in varied public trusts than
+    by exalted patriotism at a recent period of political disorder, departed
+    this life at 4 o'clock yesterday morning. The several Executive
+    Departments of the Government will cause appropriate honors to be
+    rendered to the memory of the deceased at home and abroad wherever the
+    national name and authority are acknowledged.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., October 26, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+<br>
+    <i>Secretary of War</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: Recent advices indicate an early evacuation of Mexico by the French
+    expeditionary forces and that the time has arrived when our minister to
+    Mexico should place himself in communication with that Republic.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In furtherance of the objects of his mission and as evidence of the
+    earnest desire felt by the United States for the proper adjustment of
+    the questions involved, I deem it of great importance that General Grant
+    should by his presence and advice cooperate with our minister.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have therefore to ask that you will request General Grant to proceed
+    to some point on our Mexican frontier most suitable and convenient for
+    communication with our minister, or (if General Grant deems it best) to
+    accompany him to his destination in Mexico, and to give him the aid of
+    his advice in carrying out the instructions of the Secretary of State,
+    a copy of which is herewith sent for the General's information.
+</p>
+<p>
+    General Grant will make report to the Secretary of War of such matters
+    as, in his discretion, ought to be communicated to the Department.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Very respectfully, yours,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., October 30, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+<br>
+    <i>Secretary of War</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: General Ulysses S. Grant having found it inconvenient to assume
+    the duties specified in my letter to you of the 26th instant, you will
+    please relieve him from the same and assign them in all respects to
+    William T. Sherman, Lieutenant-General of the Army of the United States.
+    By way of guiding General Sherman in the performance of his duties, you
+    will furnish him with a copy of your special orders to General Grant,
+    made in compliance with my letter of the 26th instant, together with a
+    copy of the instructions of the Secretary of State to Lewis D. Campbell,
+    esq., therein mentioned. The Lieutenant-General will proceed to the
+    execution of his duties without delay.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Very respectfully, yours,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., November 1, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+<br>
+    <i>Secretary of War</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: In the report of General Grant of the 27th ultimo, inclosed in your
+    communication of that date, reference is made to the force at present
+    stationed in the Military Department of Washington (which embraces the
+    District of Columbia, the counties of Alexander and Fairfax, Va., and
+    the States of Maryland and Delaware), and it is stated that the entire
+    number of troops comprised in the command is 2,224, of which only 1,550
+    are enumerated as "effective." In view of the prevalence in various
+    portions of the country of a revolutionary and turbulent disposition,
+    which might at any moment assume insurrectionary proportions and lead to
+    serious disorders, and of the duty of the Government to be at all times
+    prepared to act with decision and effect, this force is not deemed
+    adequate for the protection and security of the seat of Government.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I therefore request that you will at once take such measures as will
+    insure its safety, and thus discourage any attempt for its possession
+    by insurgent or other illegal combinations.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Very respectfully, yours,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., November 2, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+<br>
+    <i>Secretary of War</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: There is ground to apprehend danger of an insurrection in Baltimore
+    against the constituted authorities of the State of Maryland on or about
+    the day of the election soon to be held in that city, and that in such
+    contingency the aid of the United States might be invoked under the acts
+    of Congress which pertain to that subject. While I am averse to any
+    military demonstration that would have a tendency to interfere with the
+    free exercise of the elective franchise in Baltimore or be construed
+    into any interference in local questions, I feel great solicitude that
+    should an insurrection take place the Government should be prepared to
+    meet and promptly put it down. I accordingly desire you to call General
+    Grant's attention to the subject, leaving to his own discretion and
+    judgment the measures of preparation and precaution that should be
+    adopted.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Very respectfully, yours,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE.
+</h2>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 3, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    After a brief interval the Congress of the United States resumes its
+    annual legislative labors. An all-wise and merciful Providence has
+    abated the pestilence which visited our shores, leaving its calamitous
+    traces upon some portions of our country. Peace, order, tranquillity,
+    and civil authority have been formally declared to exist throughout the
+    whole of the United States. In all of the States civil authority has
+    superseded the coercion of arms, and the people, by their voluntary
+    action, are maintaining their governments in full activity and complete
+    operation. The enforcement of the laws is no longer "obstructed in any
+    State by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary
+    course of judicial proceedings," and the animosities engendered by the
+    war are rapidly yielding to the beneficent influences of our free
+    institutions and to the kindly effects of unrestricted social and
+    commercial intercourse. An entire restoration of fraternal feeling
+    must be the earnest wish of every patriotic heart; and we will have
+    accomplished our grandest national achievement when, forgetting the sad
+    events of the past and remembering only their instructive lessons, we
+    resume our onward career as a free, prosperous, and united people.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In my message of the 4th of December, 1865, Congress was informed of the
+    measures which had been instituted by the Executive with a view to the
+    gradual restoration of the States in which the insurrection occurred to
+    their relations with the General Government. Provisional governors had
+    been appointed, conventions called, governors elected, legislatures
+    assembled, and Senators and Representatives chosen to the Congress
+    of the United States. Courts had been opened for the enforcement of
+    laws long in abeyance. The blockade had been removed, custom-houses
+    reestablished, and the internal-revenue laws put in force, in order that
+    the people might contribute to the national income. Postal operations
+    had been renewed, and efforts were being made to restore them to their
+    former condition of efficiency. The States themselves had been asked to
+    take part in the high function of amending the Constitution, and of thus
+    sanctioning the extinction of African slavery as one of the legitimate
+    results of our internecine struggle.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Having progressed thus far, the executive department found that it had
+    accomplished nearly all that was within the scope of its constitutional
+    authority. One thing, however, yet remained to be done before the work
+    of restoration could be completed, and that was the admission to
+    Congress of loyal Senators and Representatives from the States whose
+    people had rebelled against the lawful authority of the General
+    Government. This question devolved upon the respective Houses, which
+    by the Constitution are made the judges of the elections, returns, and
+    qualifications of their own members, and its consideration at once
+    engaged the attention of Congress.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the meantime the executive department&mdash;no other plan having been
+    proposed by Congress&mdash;continued its efforts to perfect, as far as was
+    practicable, the restoration of the proper relations between the
+    citizens of the respective States, the States, and the Federal
+    Government, extending from time to time, as the public interests seemed
+    to require, the judicial, revenue, and postal systems of the country.
+    With the advice and consent of the Senate, the necessary officers were
+    appointed and appropriations made by Congress for the payment of their
+    salaries. The proposition to amend the Federal Constitution, so as to
+    prevent the existence of slavery within the United States or any place
+    subject to their jurisdiction, was ratified by the requisite number
+    of States, and on the 18th day of December, 1865, it was officially
+    declared to have become valid as a part of the Constitution of the
+    United States. All of the States in which the insurrection had existed
+    promptly amended their constitutions so as to make them conform to the
+    great change thus effected in the organic law of the land; declared null
+    and void all ordinances and laws of secession; repudiated all pretended
+    debts and obligations created for the revolutionary purposes of the
+    insurrection, and proceeded in good faith to the enactment of measures
+    for the protection and amelioration of the condition of the colored
+    race. Congress, however, yet hesitated to admit any of these States to
+    representation, and it was not until toward the close of the eighth
+    month of the session that an exception was made in favor of Tennessee
+    by the admission of her Senators and Representatives.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I deem it a subject of profound regret that Congress has thus far
+    failed to admit to seats loyal Senators and Representatives from the
+    other States whose inhabitants, with those of Tennessee, had engaged
+    in the rebellion. Ten States&mdash;more than one-fourth of the whole
+    number&mdash;remain without representation; the seats of fifty members in the
+    House of Representatives and of twenty members in the Senate are yet
+    vacant, not by their own consent, not by a failure of election, but by
+    the refusal of Congress to accept their credentials. Their admission,
+    it is believed, would have accomplished much toward the renewal and
+    strengthening of our relations as one people and removed serious cause
+    for discontent on the part of the inhabitants of those States. It would
+    have accorded with the great principle enunciated in the Declaration
+    of American Independence that no people ought to bear the burden of
+    taxation and yet be denied the right of representation. It would have
+    been in consonance with the express provisions of the Constitution that
+    "each State shall have at least one Representative" and "that no State,
+    without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the
+    Senate." These provisions were intended to secure to every State and
+    to the people of every State the right of representation in each House
+    of Congress; and so important was it deemed by the framers of the
+    Constitution that the equality of the States in the Senate should be
+    preserved that not even by an amendment of the Constitution can any
+    State, without its consent, be denied a voice in that branch of the
+    National Legislature.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is true it has been assumed that the existence of the States was
+    terminated by the rebellious acts of their inhabitants, and that, the
+    insurrection having been suppressed, they were thenceforward to be
+    considered merely as conquered territories. The legislative, executive,
+    and judicial departments of the Government have, however, with great
+    distinctness and uniform consistency, refused to sanction an assumption
+    so incompatible with the nature of our republican system and with the
+    professed objects of the war. Throughout the recent legislation of
+    Congress the undeniable fact makes itself apparent that these ten
+    political communities are nothing less than States of this Union. At the
+    very commencement of the rebellion each House declared, with a unanimity
+    as remarkable as it was significant, that the war was not "waged upon
+    our part in any spirit of oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or
+    subjugation, nor purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights
+    or established institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain
+    the supremacy of the Constitution and all laws made in pursuance
+    thereof, and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality,
+    and rights of the several States unimpaired; and that as soon as these
+    objects" were "accomplished the war ought to cease." In some instances
+    Senators were permitted to continue their legislative functions, while
+    in other instances Representatives were elected and admitted to seats
+    after their States had formally declared their right to withdraw from
+    the Union and were endeavoring to maintain that right by force of arms.
+    All of the States whose people were in insurrection, as States, were
+    included in the apportionment of the direct tax of $20,000,000 annually
+    laid upon the United States by the act approved 5th August, 1861.
+    Congress, by the act of March 4, 1862, and by the apportionment of
+    representation thereunder also recognized their presence as States in
+    the Union; and they have, for judicial purposes, been divided into
+    districts, as States alone can be divided. The same recognition appears
+    in the recent legislation in reference to Tennessee, which evidently
+    rests upon the fact that the functions of the State were not destroyed
+    by the rebellion, but merely suspended; and that principle is of course
+    applicable to those States which, like Tennessee, attempted to renounce
+    their places in the Union.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The action of the executive department of the Government upon this
+    subject has been equally definite and uniform, and the purpose of the
+    war was specifically stated in the proclamation issued by my predecessor
+    on the 22d day of September, 1862. It was then solemnly proclaimed and
+    declared "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."
+</p>
+<p>
+    The recognition of the States by the judicial department of the
+    Government has also been clear and conclusive in all proceedings
+    affecting them as States had in the Supreme, circuit, and district
+    courts.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the admission of Senators and Representatives from any and all of the
+    States there can be no just ground of apprehension that persons who are
+    disloyal will be clothed with the powers of legislation, for this could
+    not happen when the Constitution and the laws are enforced by a vigilant
+    and faithful Congress. Each House is made the "judge of the elections,
+    returns, and qualifications of its own members," and may, "with the
+    concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member." When a Senator or
+    Representative presents his certificate of election, he may at once
+    be admitted or rejected; or, should there be any question as to his
+    eligibility, his credentials may be referred for investigation to the
+    appropriate committee. If admitted to a seat, it must be upon evidence
+    satisfactory to the House of which he thus becomes a member that
+    he possesses the requisite constitutional and legal qualifications.
+    If refused admission as a member for want of due allegiance to the
+    Government and returned to his constituents, they are admonished that
+    none but persons loyal to the United States will be allowed a voice
+    in the legislative councils of the nation, and the political power
+    and moral influence of Congress are thus effectively exerted in the
+    interests of loyalty to the Government and fidelity to the Union. Upon
+    this question, so vitally affecting the restoration of the Union and the
+    permanency of our present form of government, my convictions, heretofore
+    expressed, have undergone no change, but, on the contrary, their
+    correctness has been confirmed by reflection and time. If the admission
+    of loyal members to seats in the respective Houses of Congress was wise
+    and expedient a year ago, it is no less wise and expedient now. If this
+    anomalous condition is right now&mdash;if in the exact condition of these
+    States at the present time it is lawful to exclude them from
+    representation&mdash;I do not see that the question will be changed by the
+    efflux of time. Ten years hence, if these States remain as they are, the
+    right of representation will be no stronger, the right of exclusion will
+    be no weaker.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Constitution of the United States makes it the duty of the President
+    to recommend to the consideration of Congress "such measures as he shall
+    judge necessary and expedient." I know of no measure more imperatively
+    demanded by every consideration of national interest, sound policy,
+    and equal justice than the admission of loyal members from the now
+    unrepresented States. This would consummate the work of restoration
+    and exert a most salutary influence in the reestablishment of peace,
+    harmony, and fraternal feeling. It would tend greatly to renew the
+    confidence of the American people in the vigor and stability of their
+    institutions. It would bind us more closely together as a nation and
+    enable us to show to the world the inherent and recuperative power of a
+    government founded upon the will of the people and established upon the
+    principles of liberty, justice, and intelligence. Our increased strength
+    and enhanced prosperity would irrefragably demonstrate the fallacy of
+    the arguments against free institutions drawn from our recent national
+    disorders by the enemies of republican government. The admission of
+    loyal members from the States now excluded from Congress, by allaying
+    doubt and apprehension, would turn capital now awaiting an opportunity
+    for investment into the channels of trade and industry. It would
+    alleviate the present troubled condition of those States, and by
+    inducing emigration aid in the settlement of fertile regions now
+    uncultivated and lead to an increased production of those staples which
+    have added so greatly to the wealth of the nation and commerce of the
+    world. New fields of enterprise would be opened to our progressive
+    people, and soon the devastations of war would be repaired and all
+    traces of our domestic differences effaced from the minds of our
+    countrymen.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In our efforts to preserve "the unity of government which constitutes
+    us one people" by restoring the States to the condition which they held
+    prior to the rebellion, we should be cautious, lest, having rescued
+    our nation from perils of threatened disintegration, we resort to
+    consolidation, and in the end absolute despotism, as a remedy for the
+    recurrence of similar troubles. The war having terminated, and with it
+    all occasion for the exercise of powers of doubtful constitutionality,
+    we should hasten to bring legislation within the boundaries prescribed
+    by the Constitution and to return to the ancient landmarks established
+    by our fathers for the guidance of succeeding generations.
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  The constitution which at any time exists till changed by an explicit
+  and authentic act of the whole people is sacredly obligatory upon all.
+  * * * If in the opinion of the people the distribution or modification
+  of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be
+  corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates;
+  but let there be no change by usurpation, for * * * it is the customary
+  weapon by which free governments are destroyed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Washington spoke these words to his countrymen when, followed by their
+    love and gratitude, he voluntarily retired from the cares of public
+    life. "To keep in all things within the pale of our constitutional
+    powers and cherish the Federal Union as the only rock of safety" were
+    prescribed by Jefferson as rules of action to endear to his "countrymen
+    the true principles of their Constitution and promote a union of
+    sentiment and action, equally auspicious to their happiness and safety."
+    Jackson held that the action of the General Government should always be
+    strictly confined to the sphere of its appropriate duties, and justly
+    and forcibly urged that our Government is not to be maintained nor our
+    Union preserved "by invasions of the rights and powers of the several
+    States. In thus attempting to make our General Government strong we make
+    it weak. Its true strength consists in leaving individuals and States as
+    much as possible to themselves; in making itself felt, not in its power,
+    but in its beneficence; not in its control, but in its protection; not
+    in binding the States more closely to the center, but leaving each to
+    move unobstructed in its proper constitutional orbit." These are the
+    teachings of men whose deeds and services have made them illustrious,
+    and who, long since withdrawn from the scenes of life, have left to
+    their country the rich legacy of their example, their wisdom, and their
+    patriotism. Drawing fresh inspiration from their lessons, let us emulate
+    them in love of country and respect for the Constitution and the laws.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The report of the Secretary of the Treasury affords much information
+    respecting the revenue and commerce of the country. His views upon
+    the currency and with reference to a proper adjustment of our revenue
+    system, internal as well as impost, are commended to the careful
+    consideration of Congress. In my last annual message I expressed my
+    general views upon these subjects. I need now only call attention to the
+    necessity of carrying into every department of the Government a system
+    of rigid accountability, thorough retrenchment, and wise economy.
+    With no exceptional nor unusual expenditures, the oppressive burdens of
+    taxation can be lessened by such a modification of our revenue laws as
+    will be consistent with the public faith and the legitimate and
+    necessary wants of the Government.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The report presents a much more satisfactory condition of our finances
+    than one year ago the most sanguine could have anticipated. During the
+    fiscal year ending the 30th June, 1865 (the last year of the war), the
+    public debt was increased $941,902,537, and on the 31st of October,
+    1865, it amounted to $2,740,854,750. On the 31st day of October, 1866,
+    it had been reduced to $2,551,310,006, the diminution during a period of
+    fourteen months, commencing September 1, 1865, and ending October 31,
+    1866, having been $206,379,565. In the last annual report on the state
+    of the finances it was estimated that during the three quarters of the
+    fiscal year ending the 30th of June last the debt would be increased
+    $112,194,947. During that period, however, it was reduced $31,196,387,
+    the receipts of the year having been $89,905,905 more and the
+    expenditures $200,529,235 less than the estimates. Nothing could more
+    clearly indicate than these statements the extent and availability of
+    the national resources and the rapidity and safety with which, under
+    our form of government, great military and naval establishments can be
+    disbanded and expenses reduced from a war to a peace footing.
+</p>
+<p>
+    During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1866, the receipts were
+    $558,032,620 and the expenditures $520,750,940, leaving an available
+    surplus of $37,281,680. It is estimated that the receipts for the fiscal
+    year ending the 30th June, 1867, will be $475,061,386, and that the
+    expenditures will reach the sum of $316,428,078, leaving in the Treasury
+    a surplus of $158,633,308. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1886, it
+    is estimated that the receipts will amount to $436,000,000 and that the
+    expenditures will be $350,247,641, showing an excess of $85,752,359 in
+    favor of the Government. These estimated receipts may be diminished
+    by a reduction of excise and import duties, but after all necessary
+    reductions shall have been made the revenue of the present and of
+    following years will doubtless be sufficient to cover all legitimate
+    charges upon the Treasury and leave a large annual surplus to be applied
+    to the payment of the principal of the debt. There seems now to be no
+    good reason why taxes may not be reduced as the country advances in
+    population and wealth, and yet the debt be extinguished within the
+    next quarter of a century.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The report of the Secretary of War furnishes valuable and important
+    information in reference to the operations of his Department during the
+    past year. Few volunteers now remain in the service, and they are being
+    discharged as rapidly as they can be replaced by regular troops. The
+    Army has been promptly paid, carefully provided with medical treatment,
+    well sheltered and subsisted, and is to be furnished with breech-loading
+    small arms. The military strength of the nation has been unimpaired
+    by the discharge of volunteers, the disposition of unserviceable or
+    perishable stores, and the retrenchment of expenditure. Sufficient war
+    material to meet any emergency has been retained, and from the disbanded
+    volunteers standing ready to respond to the national call large armies
+    can be rapidly organized, equipped, and concentrated. Fortifications on
+    the coast and frontier have received or are being prepared for more
+    powerful armaments; lake surveys and harbor and river improvements are
+    in course of energetic prosecution. Preparations have been made for the
+    payment of the additional bounties authorized during the recent session
+    of Congress, under such regulations as will protect the Government from
+    fraud and secure to the honorably discharged soldier the well-earned
+    reward of his faithfulness and gallantry. More than 6,000 maimed
+    soldiers have received artificial limbs or other surgical apparatus,
+    and 41 national cemeteries, containing the remains of 104,526 Union
+    soldiers, have already been established. The total estimate of military
+    appropriations is $25,205,669.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is stated in the report of the Secretary of the Navy that the naval
+    force at this time consists of 278 vessels, armed with 2,351 guns. Of
+    these, 115 vessels, carrying 1,029 guns, are in commission, distributed
+    chiefly among seven squadrons. The number of men in the service is
+    13,600. Great activity and vigilance have been displayed by all the
+    squadrons, and their movements have been judiciously and efficiently
+    arranged in such manner as would best promote American commerce and
+    protect the rights and interests of our countrymen abroad. The vessels
+    unemployed are undergoing repairs or are laid up until their services
+    may be required. Most of the ironclad fleet is at League Island, in the
+    vicinity of Philadelphia, a place which, until decisive action should be
+    taken by Congress, was selected by the Secretary of the Navy as the most
+    eligible location for that class of vessels. It is important that a
+    suitable public station should be provided for the ironclad fleet.
+    It is intended that these vessels shall be in proper condition for any
+    emergency, and it is desirable that the bill accepting League Island for
+    naval purposes, which passed the House of Representatives at its last
+    session, should receive final action at an early period, in order that
+    there may be a suitable public station for this class of vessels, as
+    well as a navy-yard of area sufficient for the wants of the service
+    on the Delaware River. The naval pension fund amounts to $11,750,000,
+    having been increased $2,750,000 during the year. The expenditures
+    of the Department for the fiscal year ending 30th June last were
+    $43,324,526, and the estimates for the coming year amount to
+    $23,568,436. Attention is invited to the condition of our seamen and the
+    importance of legislative measures for their relief and improvement. The
+    suggestions in behalf of this deserving class of our fellow-citizens are
+    earnestly recommended to the favorable attention of Congress.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The report of the Postmaster-General presents a most satisfactory
+    condition of the postal service and submits recommendations which
+    deserve the consideration of Congress. The revenues of the Department
+    for the year ending June 30, 1866, were $14,386,986 and the expenditures
+    $15,352,079, showing an excess of the latter of $965,093. In
+    anticipation of this deficiency, however, a special appropriation was
+    made by Congress in the act approved July 28, 1866. Including the
+    standing appropriation of $700,000 for free mail matter as a legitimate
+    portion of the revenues, yet remaining unexpended, the actual deficiency
+    for the past year is only $265,093&mdash;a sum within $51,141 of the amount
+    estimated in the annual report of 1864. The decrease of revenue compared
+    with the previous year was 1-1/5 per cent, and the increase of
+    expenditures, owing principally to the enlargement of the mail service
+    in the South, was 12 per cent. On the 30th of June last there were in
+    operation 6,930 mail routes, with an aggregate length of 180,921 miles,
+    an aggregate annual transportation of 71,837,914 miles, and an aggregate
+    annual cost, including all expenditures, of $8,410,184. The length of
+    railroad routes is 32,092 miles and the annual transportation 30,609,467
+    miles. The length of steamboat routes is 14,346 miles and the annual
+    transportation 3,411,962 miles. The mail service is rapidly increasing
+    throughout the whole country, and its steady extension in the Southern
+    States indicates their constantly improving condition. The growing
+    importance of the foreign service also merits attention. The post-office
+    department of Great Britain and our own have agreed upon a preliminary
+    basis for a new postal convention, which it is believed will prove
+    eminently beneficial to the commercial interests of the United States,
+    inasmuch as it contemplates a reduction of the international letter
+    postage to one-half the existing rates; a reduction of postage with
+    all other countries to and from which correspondence is transmitted
+    in the British mail, or in closed mails through the United Kingdom;
+    the establishment of uniform and reasonable charges for the sea
+    and territorial transit of correspondence in closed mails; and an
+    allowance to each post-office department of the right to use all mail
+    communications established under the authority of the other for the
+    dispatch of correspondence, either in open or closed mails, on the same
+    terms as those applicable to the inhabitants of the country providing
+    the means of transmission.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The report of the Secretary of the Interior exhibits the condition
+    of those branches of the public service which are committed to his
+    supervision. During the last fiscal year 4,629,312 acres of public
+    land were disposed of, 1,892,516 acres of which were entered under the
+    homestead act. The policy originally adopted relative to the public
+    lands has undergone essential modifications. Immediate revenue, and not
+    their rapid settlement, was the cardinal feature of our land system.
+    Long experience and earnest discussion have resulted in the conviction
+    that the early development of our agricultural resources and the
+    diffusion of an energetic population over our vast territory are objects
+    of far greater importance to the national growth and prosperity than the
+    proceeds of the sale of the land to the highest bidder in open market.
+    The preemption laws confer upon the pioneer who complies with the terms
+    they impose the privilege of purchasing a limited portion of "unoffered
+    lands" at the minimum price. The homestead enactments relieve the
+    settler from the payment of purchase money, and secure him a permanent
+    home upon the condition of residence for a term of years. This liberal
+    policy invites emigration from the Old and from the more crowded
+    portions of the New World. Its propitious results are undoubted, and
+    will be more signally manifested when time shall have given to it a
+    wider development.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Congress has made liberal grants of public land to corporations in
+    aid of the construction of railroads and other internal improvements.
+    Should this policy hereafter prevail, more stringent provisions will
+    be required to secure a faithful application of the fund. The title to
+    the lands should not pass, by patent or otherwise, but remain in the
+    Government and subject to its control until some portion of the road has
+    been actually built. Portions of them might then from time to time be
+    conveyed to the corporation, but never in a greater ratio to the whole
+    quantity embraced by the grant than the completed parts bear to the
+    entire length of the projected improvement. This restriction would not
+    operate to the prejudice of any undertaking conceived in good faith
+    and executed with reasonable energy, as it is the settled practice to
+    withdraw from market the lands falling within the operation of such
+    grants, and thus to exclude the inception of a subsequent adverse right.
+    A breach of the conditions which Congress may deem proper to impose
+    should work a forfeiture of claim to the lands so withdrawn but
+    unconveyed, and of title to the lands conveyed which remain unsold.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Operations on the several lines of the Pacific Railroad have been
+    prosecuted with unexampled vigor and success. Should no unforeseen
+    causes of delay occur, it is confidently anticipated that this great
+    thoroughfare will be completed before the expiration of the period
+    designated by Congress.
+</p>
+<p>
+    During the last fiscal year the amount paid to pensioners, including the
+    expenses of disbursement, was $13,459,996, and 50,177 names were added
+    to the pension rolls. The entire number of pensioners June 30, 1866,
+    was 126,722. This fact furnishes melancholy and striking proof of
+    the sacrifices made to vindicate the constitutional authority of the
+    Federal Government and to maintain inviolate the integrity of the Union.
+    They impose upon us corresponding obligations. It is estimated that
+    $33,000,000 will be required to meet the exigencies of this branch of
+    the service during the next fiscal year.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Treaties have been concluded with the Indians, who, enticed into armed
+    opposition to our Government at the outbreak of the rebellion, have
+    unconditionally submitted to our authority and manifested an earnest
+    desire for a renewal of friendly relations.
+</p>
+<p>
+    During the year ending September 30, 1866, 8,716 patents for useful
+    inventions and designs were issued, and at that date the balance in
+    the Treasury to the credit of the patent fund was $228,297.
+</p>
+<p>
+    As a subject upon which depends an immense amount of the production and
+    commerce of the country, I recommend to Congress such legislation as
+    may be necessary for the preservation of the levees of the Mississippi
+    River. It is a matter of national importance that early steps should
+    be taken, not only to add to the efficiency of these barriers against
+    destructive inundations, but for the removal of all obstructions to the
+    free and safe navigation of that great channel of trade and commerce.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The District of Columbia under existing laws is not entitled to that
+    representation in the national councils which from our earliest history
+    has been uniformly accorded to each Territory established from time to
+    time within our limits. It maintains peculiar relations to Congress, to
+    whom the Constitution has granted the power of exercising exclusive
+    legislation over the seat of Government. Our fellow-citizens residing
+    in the District, whose interests are thus confided to the special
+    guardianship of Congress, exceed in number the population of several of
+    our Territories, and no just reason is perceived why a Delegate of their
+    choice should not be admitted to a seat in the House of Representatives.
+    No mode seems so appropriate and effectual of enabling them to make
+    known their peculiar condition and wants and of securing the local
+    legislation adapted to them. I therefore recommend the passage of a
+    law authorizing the electors of the District of Columbia to choose a
+    Delegate, to be allowed the same rights and privileges as a Delegate
+    representing a Territory. The increasing enterprise and rapid progress
+    of improvement in the District are highly gratifying, and I trust that
+    the efforts of the municipal authorities to promote the prosperity of
+    the national metropolis will receive the efficient and generous
+    cooperation of Congress.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The report of the Commissioner of Agriculture reviews the operations of
+    his Department during the past year, and asks the aid of Congress in
+    its efforts to encourage those States which, scourged by war, are now
+    earnestly engaged in the reorganization of domestic industry.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is a subject of congratulation that no foreign combinations
+    against our domestic peace and safety or our legitimate influence
+    among the nations have been formed or attempted. While sentiments of
+    reconciliation, loyalty, and patriotism have increased at home, a more
+    just consideration of our national character and rights has been
+    manifested by foreign nations.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The entire success of the Atlantic telegraph between the coast of
+    Ireland and the Province of Newfoundland is an achievement which has
+    been justly celebrated in both hemispheres as the opening of an era in
+    the progress of civilization. There is reason to expect that equal
+    success will attend and even greater results follow the enterprise for
+    connecting the two continents through the Pacific Ocean by the projected
+    line of telegraph between Kamchatka and the Russian possessions in
+    America.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The resolution of Congress protesting against pardons by foreign
+    governments of persons convicted of infamous offenses on condition of
+    emigration to our country has been communicated to the states with which
+    we maintain intercourse, and the practice, so justly the subject of
+    complaint on our part, has not been renewed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The congratulations of Congress to the Emperor of Russia upon his escape
+    from attempted assassination have been presented to that humane and
+    enlightened ruler and received by him with expressions of grateful
+    appreciation.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Executive, warned of an attempt by Spanish American adventurers to
+    induce the emigration of freedmen of the United States to a foreign
+    country, protested against the project as one which, if consummated,
+    would reduce them to a bondage even more oppressive than that from
+    which they have just been relieved. Assurance has been received from
+    the Government of the State in which the plan was matured that the
+    proceeding will meet neither its encouragement nor approval. It is
+    a question worthy of your consideration whether our laws upon this
+    subject are adequate to the prevention or punishment of the crime
+    thus meditated.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the month of April last, as Congress is aware, a friendly
+    arrangement was made between the Emperor of France and the President
+    of the United States for the withdrawal from Mexico of the French
+    expeditionary military forces. This withdrawal was to be effected in
+    three detachments, the first of which, it was understood, would leave
+    Mexico in November, now past, the second in March next, and the third
+    and last in November, 1867. Immediately upon the completion of the
+    evacuation the French Government was to assume the same attitude of
+    nonintervention in regard to Mexico as is held by the Government of the
+    United States. Repeated assurances have been given by the Emperor since
+    that agreement that he would complete the promised evacuation within
+    the period mentioned, or sooner.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It was reasonably expected that the proceedings thus contemplated would
+    produce a crisis of great political interest in the Republic of Mexico.
+    The newly appointed minister of the United States, Mr. Campbell, was
+    therefore sent forward on the 9th day of November last to assume his
+    proper functions as minister plenipotentiary of the United States to
+    that Republic. It was also thought expedient that he should be attended
+    in the vicinity of Mexico by the Lieutenant-General of the Army of the
+    United States, with the view of obtaining such information as might be
+    important to determine the course to be pursued by the United States in
+    reestablishing and maintaining necessary and proper intercourse with the
+    Republic of Mexico. Deeply interested in the cause of liberty and
+    humanity, it seemed an obvious duty on our part to exercise whatever
+    influence we possessed for the restoration and permanent establishment
+    in that country of a domestic and republican form of government.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Such was the condition of our affairs in regard to Mexico when, on the
+    22d of November last, official information was received from Paris that
+    the Emperor of France had some time before decided not to withdraw a
+    detachment of his forces in the month of November past, according to
+    engagement, but that this decision was made with the purpose of
+    withdrawing the whole of those forces in the ensuing spring. Of this
+    determination, however, the United States had not received any notice
+    or intimation, and so soon as the information was received by the
+    Government care was taken to make known its dissent to the Emperor of
+    France.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I can not forego the hope that France will reconsider the subject and
+    adopt some resolution in regard to the evacuation of Mexico which will
+    conform as nearly as practicable with the existing engagement, and thus
+    meet the just expectations of the United States. The papers relating
+    to the subject will be laid before you. It is believed that with the
+    evacuation of Mexico by the expeditionary forces no subject for serious
+    differences between France and the United States would remain. The
+    expressions of the Emperor and people of France warrant a hope that the
+    traditionary friendship between the two countries might in that case be
+    renewed and permanently restored.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A claim of a citizen of the United States for indemnity for spoliations
+    committed on the high seas by the French authorities in the exercise of
+    a belligerent power against Mexico has been met by the Government of
+    France with a proposition to defer settlement until a mutual convention
+    for the adjustment of all claims of citizens and subjects of both
+    countries arising out of the recent wars on this continent shall
+    be agreed upon by the two countries. The suggestion is not deemed
+    unreasonable, but it belongs to Congress to direct the manner in which
+    claims for indemnity by foreigners as well as by citizens of the United
+    States arising out of the late civil war shall be adjudicated and
+    determined. I have no doubt that the subject of all such claims will
+    engage your attention at a convenient and proper time.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is a matter of regret that no considerable advance has been made
+    toward an adjustment of the differences between the United States and
+    Great Britain arising out of the depredations upon our national commerce
+    and other trespasses committed during our civil war by British subjects,
+    in violation of international law and treaty obligations. The delay,
+    however, may be believed to have resulted in no small degree from the
+    domestic situation of Great Britain. An entire change of ministry
+    occurred in that country during the last session of Parliament. The
+    attention of the new ministry was called to the subject at an early day,
+    and there is some reason to expect that it will now be considered in a
+    becoming and friendly spirit. The importance of an early disposition of
+    the question can not be exaggerated. Whatever might be the wishes of the
+    two Governments, it is manifest that good will and friendship between
+    the two countries can not be established until a reciprocity in the
+    practice of good faith and neutrality shall be restored between the
+    respective nations.
+</p>
+<p>
+    On the 6th of June last, in violation of our neutrality laws, a military
+    expedition and enterprise against the British North American colonies
+    was projected and attempted to be carried on within the territory and
+    jurisdiction of the United States. In obedience to the obligation
+    imposed upon the Executive by the Constitution to see that the laws are
+    faithfully executed, all citizens were warned by proclamation against
+    taking part in or aiding such unlawful proceedings, and the proper
+    civil, military, and naval officers were directed to take all necessary
+    measures for the enforcement of the laws. The expedition failed, but it
+    has not been without its painful consequences. Some of our citizens who,
+    it was alleged, were engaged in the expedition were captured, and have
+    been brought to trial as for a capital offense in the Province of
+    Canada. Judgment and sentence of death have been pronounced against
+    some, while others have been acquitted. Fully believing in the maxim of
+    government that severity of civil punishment for misguided persons who
+    have engaged in revolutionary attempts which have disastrously failed is
+    unsound and unwise, such representations have been made to the British
+    Government in behalf of the convicted persons as, being sustained by
+    an enlightened and humane judgment, will, it is hoped, induce in their
+    cases an exercise of clemency and a judicious amnesty to all who were
+    engaged in the movement. Counsel has been employed by the Government to
+    defend citizens of the United States on trial for capital offenses in
+    Canada, and a discontinuance of the prosecutions which were instituted
+    in the courts of the United States against those who took part in the
+    expedition has been directed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have regarded the expedition as not only political in its nature, but
+    as also in a great measure foreign from the United States in its causes,
+    character, and objects. The attempt was understood to be made in
+    sympathy with an insurgent party in Ireland, and by striking at a
+    British Province on this continent was designed to aid in obtaining
+    redress for political grievances which, it was assumed, the people of
+    Ireland had suffered at the hands of the British Government during a
+    period of several centuries. The persons engaged in it were chiefly
+    natives of that country, some of whom had, while others had not, become
+    citizens of the United States under our general laws of naturalization.
+    Complaints of misgovernment in Ireland continually engage the attention
+    of the British nation, and so great an agitation is now prevailing in
+    Ireland that the British Government have deemed it necessary to suspend
+    the writ of <i>habeas corpus</i> in that country. These circumstances must
+    necessarily modify the opinion which we might otherwise have entertained
+    in regard to an expedition expressly prohibited by our neutrality laws.
+    So long as those laws remain upon our statute books they should be
+    faithfully executed, and if they operate harshly, unjustly, or
+    oppressively Congress alone can apply the remedy by their modification
+    or repeal.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Political and commercial interests of the United States are not unlikely
+    to be affected in some degree by events which are transpiring in the
+    eastern regions of Europe, and the time seems to have come when our
+    Government ought to have a proper diplomatic representation in Greece.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This Government has claimed for all persons not convicted or accused or
+    suspected of crime an absolute political right of self-expatriation and
+    a choice of new national allegiance. Most of the European States have
+    dissented from this principle, and have claimed a right to hold such of
+    their subjects as have emigrated to and been naturalized in the United
+    States and afterwards returned on transient visits to their native
+    countries to the performance of military service in like manner as
+    resident subjects. Complaints arising from the claim in this respect
+    made by foreign states have heretofore been matters of controversy
+    between the United States and some of the European powers, and the
+    irritation consequent upon the failure to settle this question increased
+    during the war in which Prussia, Italy, and Austria were recently
+    engaged. While Great Britain has never acknowledged the right of
+    expatriation, she has not for some years past practically insisted
+    upon the opposite doctrine. France has been equally forbearing, and
+    Prussia has proposed a compromise, which, although evincing increased
+    liberality, has not been accepted by the United States. Peace is now
+    prevailing everywhere in Europe, and the present seems to be a favorable
+    time for an assertion by Congress of the principle so long maintained by
+    the executive department that naturalization by one state fully exempts
+    the native-born subject of any other state from the performance of
+    military service under any foreign government, so long as he does not
+    voluntarily renounce its rights and benefits.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the performance of a duty imposed upon me by the Constitution
+    I have thus submitted to the representatives of the States and of the
+    people such information of our domestic and foreign affairs as the
+    public interests seem to require. Our Government is now undergoing its
+    most trying ordeal, and my earnest prayer is that the peril may be
+    successfully and finally passed without impairing its original strength
+    and symmetry. The interests of the nation are best to be promoted by the
+    revival of fraternal relations, the complete obliteration of our past
+    differences, and the reinauguration of all the pursuits of peace.
+    Directing our efforts to the early accomplishment of these great
+    ends, let us endeavor to preserve harmony between the coordinate
+    departments of the Government, that each in its proper sphere may
+    cordially cooperate with the other in securing the maintenance of
+    the Constitution, the preservation of the Union, and the perpetuity
+    of our free institutions.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    SPECIAL MESSAGES.
+</h2>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 8, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In reply to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 5th
+    instant, inquiring if any portion of Mexican territory has been occupied
+    by United States troops, I transmit the accompanying report upon the
+    subject from the Secretary of War.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 8, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have the honor to communicate a report of the Secretary of State
+    relating to the discovery and arrest of John H. Surratt.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>December 11, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith reports from the Secretary of War and the
+    Attorney-General, in compliance with a resolution of the 3d instant,
+    requesting the President to communicate to the House, "if not in his
+    opinion incompatible with the public interests, the information asked
+    for in a resolution of this House dated the 23d June last, and which
+    resolution he has up to this time failed to answer, as to whether any
+    application has been made to him for the pardon of G.E. Pickett, who
+    acted as a major-general of the rebel forces in the late war for the
+    suppression of insurrection, and, if so, what has been the action
+    thereon; and also to communicate copies of all papers, entries,
+    indorsements, and other documentary evidence in relation to any
+    proceeding in connection with such application; and that he also inform
+    this House whether, since the adjournment at Raleigh, N.C., on the
+    30th of March last, of the last board or court of inquiry convened to
+    investigate the facts attending the hanging of a number of United States
+    soldiers for alleged desertion from the rebel army, any further measures
+    have been taken to bring the said Pickett or other perpetrators of that
+    crime to punishment."
+</p>
+<p>
+    In transmitting the accompanying papers containing the information
+    requested by the House of Representatives it is proper to state that,
+    instead of bearing date the 23d of June last, the first resolution was
+    dated the 23d of July, and was received by the Executive only four days
+    before the termination of the session.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 14, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I communicate a translation of a letter of the 17th of August last
+    addressed to me by His Majesty Alexander, Emperor of Russia, in reply to
+    the joint resolution of Congress approved on the 16th day of May, 1866,
+    relating to the attempted assassination of the Emperor, a certified copy
+    of which was, in compliance with the request of Congress, forwarded to
+    His Majesty by the hands of Gustavus V. Fox, late Assistant Secretary of
+    the Navy of the United States.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 15, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Interior, in
+    answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 10th
+    instant, in relation to the Atchison and Pikes Peak Railroad Company.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 20, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of
+    December 4 last, requesting information "relating to the attempt of
+    Santa Anna and Ortega to organize armed expeditions within the United
+    States for the purpose of overthrowing the National Government of the
+    Republic of Mexico," I transmit a report from the Secretary of State
+    and the papers accompanying it.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 21, 1866</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 19th
+    instant, calling for a copy of certain correspondence relating to the
+    joint occupancy of the island of San Juan, in Washington Territory,
+    I transmit a report from the Secretary of State on the subject.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 3, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have the honor to communicate an additional report of the Secretary of
+    State relating to the discovery and arrest of John H. Surratt.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 8, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War and the
+    accompanying papers, in reply to the resolution of the House of
+    Representatives of the 13th ultimo, requesting copies of all official
+    documents, orders, letters, and papers of every description relative to
+    the trial by a military commission and conviction of Crawford Keys and
+    others for the murder of Emory Smith and others, and to the respite
+    of the sentence in the case of said Crawford Keys or either of his
+    associates, their transfer to Fort Delaware, and subsequent release
+    upon a writ of <i>habeas corpus</i>.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 8, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit the accompanying report from the Attorney-General as a
+    partial reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    10th ultimo, requesting a "list of names of all persons engaged in the
+    late rebellion against the United States Government who have been
+    pardoned by the President from April 15, 1865, to this date; that said
+    list shall also state the rank of each person who has been so pardoned,
+    if he has been engaged in the military service of the so-called
+    Confederate government, and the position if he shall have held any civil
+    office under said so-called Confederate government; and shall also
+    further state whether such person has at any time prior to April 14,
+    1861, held any office under the United States Government, and, if so,
+    what office, together with the reasons for granting such pardons and
+    also the names of the person or persons at whose solicitation such
+    pardon was granted."
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 9, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Navy, in
+    answer to a resolution of the House of the 19th ultimo, requesting a
+    statement of the amounts charged to the State Department since May 1,
+    1865, for services rendered by naval vessels.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 9, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Navy,
+    with the accompanying documents, in answer to a resolution of the Senate
+    of the 5th ultimo, calling for copies of orders, instructions, and
+    directions issued from that Department in relation to the employment of
+    officers and others in the navy-yards of the United States, and all
+    communications received in relation to employment at the Norfolk
+    Navy-Yard.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 10, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to a resolution of
+    the 17th ultimo, calling for information relative to the revolution in
+    Candia, a report of the Secretary of State, with accompanying documents.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, January 14, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the House of the 19th ultimo,
+    requesting information regarding the occupation of Mexican territory by
+    the troops of the United States, I transmit a report of the Secretary of
+    State and one of the Secretary of War, and the documents by which they
+    were accompanied.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 18, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with a resolution of the 19th ultimo, requesting certain
+    information in regard to the Universal Exposition to be held at Paris
+    during the present year, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State
+    and the documents to which it refers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>January 19, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith communicate a report from the Secretary of the Interior,
+    in answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 16th
+    instant, in relation to the clerks of the Federal courts and the marshal
+    of the United States for the district of North Carolina.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War and the
+    accompanying papers, in compliance with the resolution of the House of
+    Representatives of the 19th ultimo, requesting copies of all papers in
+    possession of the President touching the case of George St. Leger
+    Grenfel.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>
+    JANUARY 21, 1867.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 23, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 21st
+    instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+    papers.<a href="#note-8"><small>8</small></a>
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 28, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report<a href="#note-9"><small>9</small></a> from the Secretary of State, with
+    accompanying papers, in answer to the Senate's resolution of the
+    7th instant.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 28, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    7th instant, in relation to the attempted compromise of certain suits
+    instituted in the English courts in behalf of the United States against
+    Fraser, Trenholm &amp; Co., alleged agents of the so-called Confederate
+    government, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the
+    documents by which it was accompanied.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 29, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report<a href="#note-10"><small>10</small></a> from the Secretary of State, in answer
+    to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 24th instant.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 29, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    12th ultimo and its request of the 28th instant for all correspondence,
+    reports, and information in my possession in relation to the riot which
+    occurred in the city of New Orleans on the 30th day of July last, I
+    transmit herewith copies of telegraphic dispatches upon the subject,
+    and reports from the Secretary of War, with the papers accompanying
+    the same.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 29, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    4th of December last, requesting information upon the present condition
+    of affairs in the Republic of Mexico, and of one of the 18th of the same
+    month, desiring me to communicate to the House of Representatives copies
+    of all correspondence on the subject of the evacuation of Mexico by the
+    French troops not before officially published, I transmit a report from
+    the Secretary of State and the papers accompanying it.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 31, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith reports from the heads of the several Executive
+    Departments, containing the information in reference to appointments
+    to office requested in the resolution adopted by the House of
+    Representatives on the 6th of December last.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION, <i>January 31, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report by the Secretary of War of January 30,
+    containing the information asked for in a resolution of the House of
+    Representatives of January 25, 1867, hereto annexed, respecting the
+    execution of "An act providing for the appointment of a commissioner to
+    examine and report upon certain claims of the State of Iowa," approved
+    July 25, 1866.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 31, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The accompanying reports from the heads of the several Executive
+    Departments of the Government are submitted in compliance with a
+    resolution of the Senate dated the 12th ultimo, inquiring whether any
+    person appointed to an office required by law to be filled by and with
+    the advice and consent of the Senate, and who was commissioned during
+    the recess of the Senate, previous to the assembling of the present
+    Congress, to fill a vacancy, has been continued in such office and
+    permitted to discharge its functions, either by the granting of a new
+    commission or otherwise, since the end of the session of the Senate on
+    the 28th day of July last, without the submission of the name of such
+    person to the Senate for its confirmation; and particularly whether a
+    surveyor or naval officer of the port of Philadelphia has thus been
+    continued in office without the consent of the Senate, and, if any such
+    officer has performed the duties of that office, whether he has received
+    any salary or compensation therefor.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 7, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    a treaty concluded the 29th day of August, 1866, between Alexander
+    Cummings, governor of Colorado Territory and <i>ex officio</i> superintendent
+    of Indian affairs, Hon. A.C. Hunt, and D.C. Oakes, United States Indian
+    agent, duly authorized and appointed as commissioners for the purpose,
+    and the chiefs and warriors of the Uintah Jampa, or Grand River, bands
+    of Utah Indians.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 31st of January, with
+    copy of letter from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 28th of
+    January, 1867, together with a map showing the tract of country claimed
+    by said Indians, accompany the treaty.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 4, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 2d instant, requesting
+    the Secretary of State to report what steps have been taken him to
+    secure to the United States the right to make the necessary surveys for
+    an interoceanic ship canal through the territory of Colombia, I transmit
+    herewith the report of the Secretary of State.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 4, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith communicate a report from the Secretary of the Interior of
+    this date, in answer to a resolution of the Senate of the 31st ultimo,
+    in relation to the deputy marshals, bailiffs, and criers in the District
+    of Columbia who have received compensation for the year 1866.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 4, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a report of the Secretary of the Treasury, in answer to a
+    resolution of the Senate of the 31st ultimo, on the subject of a treaty
+    of reciprocity with the Hawaiian Islands.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 5, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith, in answer to the Senate's resolution of the 2d
+    instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with an accompanying
+    document.<a href="#note-11"><small>11</small></a>
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 5, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to a
+    resolution of the House of Representatives of yesterday, making inquiry
+    as to the States which have ratified the amendment to the Constitution
+    proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 7, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    4th instant, requesting me to communicate to that body any official
+    correspondence which may have taken place with regard to the visit of
+    Professor Agassiz to Brazil, I transmit herewith the report of the
+    Secretary of State and the papers accompanying it.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 7, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith communicate a report of the Secretary of the Interior,
+    in answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 22d
+    ultimo, requesting information relative to the condition, occupancy,
+    and area of the Hot Springs Reservation, in the State of Arkansas.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 9, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith, in answer to the Senate's resolution of the 7th
+    instant, a report<a href="#note-12"><small>12</small></a> from the Secretary of State, with an accompanying
+    document.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 11, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 6th of February,
+    1867, requesting me to transmit copies of all correspondence not
+    heretofore communicated on the subject of grants to American citizens
+    for railroad and telegraph lines across the territory of the Republic of
+    Mexico, I submit herewith the report of the Secretary of State and the
+    papers accompanying it.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 16, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to a
+    resolution of the House of Representatives of yesterday, making further
+    inquiry as to the States which have ratified the amendment to the
+    Constitution proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 16, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 27th of July last,
+    relative to the practicability of establishing equal reciprocal
+    relations between the United States and the British North American
+    Provinces and to the actual condition of the question of the fisheries,
+    I transmit a report on the subject from the Secretary of State, with
+    the papers to which it refers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 18, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have received a resolution of the Senate dated the 8th day of January
+    last, requesting the President to inform the Senate if any violations of
+    the act entitled "An act to protect all persons in the United States in
+    their civil rights and furnish the means of their vindication" have come
+    to his knowledge, and, if so, what steps, if any, have been taken by him
+    to enforce the law and punish the offenders.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Not being cognizant of any cases which came within the purview of the
+    resolution, in order that the inquiry might have the fullest range I
+    referred it to the heads of the several Executive Departments, whose
+    reports are herewith communicated for the information of the Senate.
+</p>
+<p>
+    With the exception of the cases mentioned in the reports of the
+    Secretary of War and the Attorney-General, no violations, real or
+    supposed, of the act to which the resolution refers have at any time
+    come to the knowledge of the Executive. The steps taken in these cases
+    to enforce the law appear in these reports.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Secretary of War, under date of the 15th instant, submitted a series
+    of reports from the General Commanding the armies of the United States
+    and other military officers as to supposed violations of the act alluded
+    to in the resolution, with the request that they should be referred to
+    the Attorney-General "for his investigation and report, to the end that
+    the cases may be designated which are cognizant by the civil authorities
+    and such as are cognizant by military tribunals." I have directed the
+    reference so to be made.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 18, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a letter of the 26th ultimo, addressed to me by W.F.M. Arny,
+    secretary and acting governor of the Territory of New Mexico, with the
+    memorials to Congress by which it was accompanied, requesting certain
+    appropriations for that Territory. The attention of the House of
+    Representatives is invited to the subject.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 19, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit the accompanying reports from the Secretary of the Treasury
+    and the Secretary of War, in answer to the resolution of the House of
+    Representatives of the 28th May last, requesting certain information in
+    regard to captured and forfeited cotton.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 20, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, giving information of
+    States which have ratified the amendment to the Constitution proposed by
+    the Thirty-ninth Congress in addition to those named in his report which
+    was communicated in my message of the 16th instant, in answer to a
+    resolution of the House of Representatives of the 15th instant.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 21, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 11th
+    instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+    documents.<a href="#note-13"><small>13</small></a>
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 21, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 31st ultimo,
+    a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying documents.<a href="#note-14"><small>14</small></a>
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 21, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 19th
+    instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+    documents.<a href="#note-15"><small>15</small></a>
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 21, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their
+    resolution of the 14th instant, a report<a href="#note-16"><small>16</small></a> from the Secretary of
+    State of this date.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 21, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    For the reasons stated<a href="#note-16"><small>16</small></a> in the accompanying communication from the
+    Secretary of the Interior, I withdraw the treaty concluded with the
+    New York Indians in Kansas and submitted to the Senate in the month of
+    December, 1863, but upon which I am informed no action has yet been
+    taken.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., <i>February 23, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    a treaty concluded in the city of Washington on the 19th of February,
+    1867, between the United States and the Sac and Fox tribes of Indians
+    of Missouri.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 23d and copy of a
+    letter of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 19th of February,
+    1867, accompany the treaty.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., <i>February 23, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    a treaty concluded in the city of Washington on the 18th February, 1867,
+    between the United States and the Sac and Fox tribes of Indians of the
+    Mississippi.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 23d and a copy of a
+    letter of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 19th February, 1867,
+    accompany the treaty.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., <i>February 23, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    a treaty concluded on the 19th February, 1867, between the United States
+    and the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands of Indians.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 23d instant and
+    accompanying copies of letters of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs
+    and Major T.R. Brown, in relation to said treaty, are also herewith
+    transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 23, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a copy of a letter of the 12th instant addressed to me by His
+    Excellency Lucius Fairchild, governor of the State of Wisconsin, and of
+    the memorial to Congress concerning the Paris Exposition adopted by the
+    legislature of that State during its present session.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION, <i>February 25, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Interior, in
+    reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 11th
+    instant, calling for certain information relative to removals and
+    appointments in his Department since the adjournment of the first
+    session of the Thirty-ninth Congress.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>February 26, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to Congress a copy of a correspondence between the Secretary
+    of State and G.V. Fox, esq., relative to the presentation by the latter
+    to the Emperor of Russia of the resolution of Congress expressive of
+    the feelings of the people of the United States in reference to the
+    providential escape of that sovereign from an attempted assassination.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 26, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, with a view to ratification, a general
+    convention of amity, commerce, and navigation and for the surrender of
+    fugitive criminals between the United States and the Dominican Republic,
+    signed by the plenipotentiaries of the parties at the city of St.
+    Domingo on the 8th of this month.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>February 27, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Navy,
+    in answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 21st
+    instant, calling for a copy of a letter addressed by Richard M. Boynton
+    and Harriet M. Fisher to the Secretary of the Navy in the month of
+    February, 1863, together with the indorsement made thereon by the Chief
+    of the Bureau of Ordnance.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 2, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report of the Attorney-General, additional to the
+    one submitted by him December 13, 1866, in reply to the resolution of
+    the House of Representatives of December 10, 1866, requesting "a list of
+    names of all persons who have been engaged in the late rebellion against
+    the United States Government who have been pardoned by the President
+    from April 15, 1865, to this date; that said list shall also state the
+    rank of each person who has been so pardoned, if he has been engaged
+    in the military service of the so-called Confederate States, and the
+    position if he shall have held any civil office under said so-called
+    Confederate government; and shall also further state whether such person
+    has at any time prior to April 14, 1861, held any office under the
+    United States Government, and, if so, what office, together with the
+    reasons for granting such pardons, and also the names of the person or
+    persons at whose solicitation such pardon was granted."
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>
+    MARCH 2, 1867.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The act entitled "An act making appropriations for the support of the
+    Army for the year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes" contains
+    provisions to which I must call attention. Those provisions are
+    contained in the second section, which in certain cases virtually
+    deprives the President of his constitutional functions as Commander in
+    Chief of the Army, and in the sixth section, which denies to ten States
+    of this Union their constitutional right to protect themselves in any
+    emergency by means of their own militia. Those provisions are out of
+    place in an appropriation act. I am compelled to defeat these necessary
+    appropriations if I withhold my signature to the act. Pressed by these
+    considerations, I feel constrained to return the bill with my signature,
+    but to accompany it with my protest against the sections which I have
+    indicated.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    VETO MESSAGES.
+</h2>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 5, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have received and considered a bill entitled "An act to regulate the
+    elective franchise in the District of Columbia," passed by the Senate
+    on the 13th of December and by the House of Representatives on the
+    succeeding day. It was presented for my approval on the 26th ultimo&mdash;six
+    days after the adjournment of Congress&mdash;and is now returned with my
+    objections to the Senate, in which House it originated.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Measures having been introduced at the commencement of the first session
+    of the present Congress for the extension of the elective franchise to
+    persons of color in the District of Columbia, steps were taken by the
+    corporate authorities of Washington and Georgetown to ascertain and make
+    known the opinion of the people of the two cities upon a subject so
+    immediately affecting their welfare as a community. The question was
+    submitted to the people at special elections held in the month of
+    December, 1865, when the qualified voters of Washington and Georgetown,
+    with great unanimity of sentiment, expressed themselves opposed to
+    the contemplated legislation. In Washington, in a vote of 6,556&mdash;the
+    largest, with but two exceptions, ever polled in that city&mdash;only
+    thirty-five ballots were cast for negro suffrage, while in Georgetown,
+    in an aggregate of 813 votes&mdash;a number considerably in excess of the
+    average vote at the four preceding annual elections&mdash;but one was given
+    in favor of the proposed extension of the elective franchise. As these
+    elections seem to have been conducted with entire fairness, the result
+    must be accepted as a truthful expression of the opinion of the people
+    of the District upon the question which evoked it. Possessing, as an
+    organized community, the same popular right as the inhabitants of a
+    State or Territory to make known their will upon matters which affect
+    their social and political condition, they could have selected no more
+    appropriate mode of memorializing Congress upon the subject of this
+    bill than through the suffrages of their qualified voters.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Entirely disregarding the wishes of the people of the District of
+    Columbia, Congress has deemed it right and expedient to pass the measure
+    now submitted for my signature. It therefore becomes the duty of the
+    Executive, standing between the legislation of the one and the will of
+    the other, fairly expressed, to determine whether he should approve the
+    bill, and thus aid in placing upon the statute books of the nation a law
+    against which the people to whom it is to apply have solemnly and with
+    such unanimity protested, or whether he should return it with his
+    objections in the hope that upon reconsideration Congress, acting as
+    the representatives of the inhabitants of the seat of Government, will
+    permit them to regulate a purely local question as to them may seem best
+    suited to their interests and condition.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The District of Columbia was ceded to the United States by Maryland and
+    Virginia in order that it might become the permanent seat of Government
+    of the United States. Accepted by Congress, it at once became subject to
+    the "exclusive legislation" for which provision is made in the Federal
+    Constitution. It should be borne in mind, however, that in exercising
+    its functions as the lawmaking power of the District of Columbia the
+    authority of the National Legislature is not without limit, but that
+    Congress is bound to observe the letter and spirit of the Constitution
+    as well in the enactment of local laws for the seat of Government as
+    in legislation common to the entire Union. Were it to be admitted that
+    the right "to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever"
+    conferred upon Congress unlimited power within the District of Columbia,
+    titles of nobility might be granted within its boundaries; laws might be
+    made "respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free
+    exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press,
+    or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the
+    Government for a redress of grievances." Despotism would thus reign at
+    the seat of government of a free republic, and as a place of permanent
+    residence it would be avoided by all who prefer the blessings of liberty
+    to the mere emoluments of official position.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It should also be remembered that in legislating for the District of
+    Columbia under the Federal Constitution the relation of Congress to
+    its inhabitants is analogous to that of a legislature to the people
+    of a State under their own local constitution. It does not, therefore,
+    seem to be asking too much that in matters pertaining to the District
+    Congress should have a like respect for the will and interest of its
+    inhabitants as is entertained by a State legislature for the wishes
+    and prosperity of those for whom they legislate. The spirit of our
+    Constitution and the genius of our Government require that in regard to
+    any law which is to affect and have a permanent bearing upon a people
+    their will should exert at least a reasonable influence upon those who
+    are acting in the capacity of their legislators. Would, for instance,
+    the legislature of the State of New York, or of Pennsylvania, or of
+    Indiana, or of any State in the Union, in opposition to the expressed
+    will of a large majority of the people whom they were chosen to
+    represent, arbitrarily force upon them as voters all persons of the
+    African or negro race and make them eligible for office without any
+    other qualification than a certain term of residence within the State?
+    In neither of the States named would the colored population, when acting
+    together, be able to produce any great social or political result.
+    Yet in New York, before he can vote, the man of color must fulfill
+    conditions that are not required of the white citizen; in Pennsylvania
+    the elective franchise is restricted to white freemen, while in Indiana
+    negroes and mulattoes are expressly excluded from the right of suffrage.
+    It hardly seems consistent with the principles of right and justice that
+    representatives of States where suffrage is either denied the colored
+    man or granted to him on qualifications requiring intelligence or
+    property should compel the people of the District of Columbia to
+    try an experiment which their own constituents have thus far shown
+    an unwillingness to test for themselves. Nor does it accord with our
+    republican ideas that the principle of self-government should lose its
+    force when applied to the residents of the District merely because their
+    legislators are not, like those of the States, responsible through the
+    ballot to the people for whom they are the lawmaking power.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The great object of placing the seat of Government under the exclusive
+    legislation of Congress was to secure the entire independence of the
+    General Government from undue State influence and to enable it to
+    discharge without danger of interruption or infringement of its
+    authority the high functions for which it was created by the people.
+    For this important purpose it was ceded to the United States by Maryland
+    and Virginia, and it certainly never could have been contemplated
+    as one of the objects to be attained by placing it under the exclusive
+    jurisdiction of Congress that it would afford to propagandists or
+    political parties a place for an experimental test of their principles
+    and theories. While, indeed, the residents of the seat of Government are
+    not citizens of any State and are not, therefore, allowed a voice in the
+    electoral college or representation in the councils of the nation, they
+    are, nevertheless, American citizens, entitled as such to every guaranty
+    of the Constitution, to every benefit of the laws, and to every right
+    which pertains to citizens of our common country. In all matters, then,
+    affecting their domestic affairs, the spirit of our democratic form of
+    government demands that their wishes should be consulted and respected
+    and they taught to feel that although not permitted practically to
+    participate in national concerns, they are, nevertheless, under a
+    paternal government regardful of their rights, mindful of their wants,
+    and solicitous for their prosperity. It was evidently contemplated that
+    all local questions would be left to their decision, at least to an
+    extent that would not be incompatible with the object for which Congress
+    was granted exclusive legislation over the seat of Government. When the
+    Constitution was yet under consideration, it was assumed by Mr. Madison
+    that its inhabitants would be allowed "a municipal legislature for local
+    purposes, derived from their own suffrages." When for the first time
+    Congress, in the year 1800, assembled at Washington, President Adams, in
+    his speech at its opening, reminded the two Houses that it was for them
+    to consider whether the local powers over the District of Columbia,
+    vested by the Constitution in the Congress of the United States, should
+    be immediately exercised, and he asked them to "consider it as the
+    capital of a great nation, advancing with unexampled rapidity in arts,
+    in commerce, in wealth, and in population, and possessing within itself
+    those resources which, if not thrown away or lamentably misdirected,
+    would secure to it a long course of prosperity and self-government."
+    Three years had not elapsed when Congress was called upon to determine
+    the propriety of retroceding to Maryland and Virginia the jurisdiction
+    of the territory which they had respectively relinquished to the
+    Government of the United States. It was urged on the one hand that
+    exclusive jurisdiction was not necessary or useful to the Government;
+    that it deprived the inhabitants of the District of their political
+    rights; that much of the time of Congress was consumed in legislation
+    pertaining to it; that its government was expensive; that Congress was
+    not competent to legislate for the District, because the members were
+    strangers to its local concerns; and that it was an example of a
+    government without representation&mdash;an experiment dangerous to the
+    liberties of the States. On the other hand it was held, among other
+    reasons, and successfully, that the Constitution, the acts of cession
+    of Virginia and Maryland, and the act of Congress accepting the grant
+    all contemplated the exercise of exclusive legislation by Congress,
+    and that its usefulness, if not its necessity, was inferred from the
+    inconvenience which was felt for want of it by the Congress of the
+    Confederation; that the people themselves, who, it was said, had been
+    deprived of their political rights, had not complained and did not
+    desire a retrocession; that the evil might be remedied by giving them a
+    representation in Congress when the District should become sufficiently
+    populous, and in the meantime a local legislature; that if the
+    inhabitants had not political rights they had great political influence;
+    that the trouble and expense of legislating for the District would not
+    be great, but would diminish, and might in a great measure be avoided
+    by a local legislature; and that Congress could not retrocede the
+    inhabitants without their consent. Continuing to live substantially
+    under the laws that existed at the time of the cession, and such changes
+    only having been made as were suggested by themselves, the people of the
+    District have not sought by a local legislature that which has generally
+    been willingly conceded by the Congress of the nation.
+</p>
+<p>
+    As a general rule sound policy requires that the legislature should
+    yield to the wishes of a people, when not inconsistent with the
+    constitution and the laws. The measures suited to one community might
+    not be well adapted to the condition of another; and the persons best
+    qualified to determine such questions are those whose interests are
+    to be directly affected by any proposed law. In Massachusetts, for
+    instance, male persons are allowed to vote without regard to color,
+    provided they possess a certain degree of intelligence. In a population
+    in that State of 1,231,066 there were, by the census of 1860, only 9,602
+    persons of color, and of the males over 20 years of age there were
+    339,086 white to 2,602 colored. By the same official enumeration there
+    were in the District of Columbia 60,764 whites to 14,316 persons of the
+    colored race. Since then, however, the population of the District has
+    largely increased, and it is estimated that at the present time there
+    are nearly 100,000 whites to 30,000 negroes. The cause of the augmented
+    numbers of the latter class needs no explanation. Contiguous to Maryland
+    and Virginia, the District during the war became a place of refuge for
+    those who escaped from servitude, and it is yet the abiding place of a
+    considerable proportion of those who sought within its limits a shelter
+    from bondage. Until then held in slavery and denied all opportunities
+    for mental culture, their first knowledge of the Government was acquired
+    when, by conferring upon them freedom, it became the benefactor of their
+    race. The test of their capability for improvement began when for the
+    first time the career of free industry and the avenues to intelligence
+    were opened to them. Possessing these advantages but a limited time&mdash;the
+    greater number perhaps having entered the District of Columbia during
+    the later years of the war, or since its termination&mdash;we may well
+    pause to inquire whether, after so brief a probation, they are as a
+    class capable of an intelligent exercise of the right of suffrage and
+    qualified to discharge the duties of official position. The people
+    who are daily witnesses of their mode of living, and who have become
+    familiar with their habits of thought, have expressed the conviction
+    that they are not yet competent to serve as electors, and thus become
+    eligible for office in the local governments under which they live.
+    Clothed with the elective franchise, their numbers, already largely in
+    excess of the demand for labor, would be soon increased by an influx
+    from the adjoining States. Drawn from fields where employment is
+    abundant, they would in vain seek it here, and so add to the
+    embarrassments already experienced from the large class of idle persons
+    congregated in the District. Hardly yet capable of forming correct
+    judgments upon the important questions that often make the issues
+    of a political contest, they could readily be made subservient to the
+    purposes of designing persons. While in Massachusetts, under the census
+    of 1860, the proportion of white to colored males over 20 years of age
+    was 130 to 1, here the black race constitutes nearly one-third of the
+    entire population, whilst the same class surrounds the District on all
+    sides, ready to change their residence at a moment's notice, and with
+    all the facility of a nomadic people, in order to enjoy here, after a
+    short residence, a privilege they find nowhere else. It is within their
+    power in one year to come into the District in such numbers as to have
+    the supreme control of the white race, and to govern them by their own
+    officers and by the exercise of all the municipal authority&mdash;among
+    the rest, of the power of taxation over property in which they have
+    no interest. In Massachusetts, where they have enjoyed the benefits
+    of a thorough educational system, a qualification of intelligence
+    is required, while here suffrage is extended to all without
+    discrimination&mdash;as well to the most incapable who can prove a
+    residence in the District of one year as to those persons of color who,
+    comparatively few in number, are permanent inhabitants, and, having
+    given evidence of merit and qualification, are recognized as useful and
+    responsible members of the community. Imposed upon an unwilling people
+    placed by the Constitution under the exclusive legislation of Congress,
+    it would be viewed as an arbitrary exercise of power and as an
+    indication by the country of the purpose of Congress to compel the
+    acceptance of negro suffrage by the States. It would engender a feeling
+    of opposition and hatred between the two races, which, becoming deep
+    rooted and ineradicable, would prevent them from living together in
+    a state of mutual friendliness. Carefully avoiding every measure that
+    might tend to produce such a result, and following the clear and
+    well-ascertained popular will, we should assiduously endeavor to promote
+    kindly relations between them, and thus, when that popular will leads
+    the way, prepare for the gradual and harmonious introduction of this
+    new element into the political power of the country.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It can not be urged that the proposed extension of suffrage in the
+    District of Columbia is necessary to enable persons of color to protect
+    either their interests or their rights. They stand here precisely as
+    they stand in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. Here as elsewhere, in all
+    that pertains to civil rights, there is nothing to distinguish this
+    class of persons from citizens of the United States, for they possess
+    the "full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security
+    of person and property as is enjoyed by white citizens," and are made
+    "subject to like punishment, pains, and penalties, and to none other,
+    any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom to the contrary
+    notwithstanding." Nor, as has been assumed, are their suffrages
+    necessary to aid a loyal sentiment here, for local governments already
+    exist of undoubted fealty to the Government, and are sustained by
+    communities which were among the first to testify their devotion to the
+    Union, and which during the struggle furnished their full quotas of men
+    to the military service of the country.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The exercise of the elective franchise is the highest attribute of an
+    American citizen, and when guided by virtue, intelligence, patriotism,
+    and a proper appreciation of our institutions constitutes the true basis
+    of a democratic form of government, in which the sovereign power is
+    lodged in the body of the people. Its influence for good necessarily
+    depends upon the elevated character and patriotism of the elector, for
+    if exercised by persons who do not justly estimate its value and who are
+    indifferent as to its results it will only serve as a means of placing
+    power in the hands of the unprincipled and ambitious, and must eventuate
+    in the complete destruction of that liberty of which it should be the
+    most powerful conservator. Great danger is therefore to be apprehended
+    from an untimely extension of the elective franchise to any new class
+    in our country, especially when the large majority of that class, in
+    wielding the power thus placed in their hands, can not be expected
+    correctly to comprehend the duties and responsibilities which pertain
+    to suffrage. Yesterday, as it were, 4,000,000 persons were held in a
+    condition of slavery that had existed for generations; to-day they are
+    freemen and are assumed by law to be citizens. It can not be presumed,
+    from their previous condition of servitude, that as a class they are as
+    well informed as to the nature of our Government as the intelligent
+    foreigner who makes our land the home of his choice. In the case of
+    the latter neither a residence of five years and the knowledge of our
+    institutions which it gives nor attachment to the principles of the
+    Constitution are the only conditions upon which he can be admitted to
+    citizenship; he must prove in addition a good moral character, and thus
+    give reasonable ground for the belief that he will be faithful to the
+    obligations which he assumes as a citizen of the Republic. Where a
+    people&mdash;the source of all political power&mdash;speak by their suffrages
+    through the instrumentality of the ballot box, it must be carefully
+    guarded against the control of those who are corrupt in principle and
+    enemies of free institutions, for it can only become to our political
+    and social system a safe conductor of healthy popular sentiment when
+    kept free from demoralizing influences. Controlled through fraud and
+    usurpation by the designing, anarchy and despotism must inevitably
+    follow.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the hands of the patriotic and worthy our Government will be
+    preserved upon the principles of the Constitution inherited from our
+    fathers. It follows, therefore, that in admitting to the ballot box
+    a new class of voters not qualified for the exercise of the elective
+    franchise we weaken our system of government instead of adding to its
+    strength and durability.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In returning this bill to the Senate I deeply regret that there should
+    be any conflict of opinion between the legislative and executive
+    departments of the Government in regard to measures that vitally affect
+    the prosperity and peace of the country. Sincerely desiring to reconcile
+    the States with one another and the whole people to the Government of
+    the United States, it has been my earnest wish to cooperate with
+    Congress in all measures having for their object a proper and complete
+    adjustment of the questions resulting from our late civil war. Harmony
+    between the coordinate branches of the Government, always necessary for
+    the public welfare, was never more demanded than at the present time,
+    and it will therefore be my constant aim to promote as far as possible
+    concert of action between them. The differences of opinion that have
+    already occurred have rendered me only the more cautious, lest the
+    Executive should encroach upon any of the prerogatives of Congress,
+    or by exceeding in any manner the constitutional limit of his duties
+    destroy the equilibrium which should exist between the several
+    coordinate departments, and which is so essential to the harmonious
+    working of the Government. I know it has been urged that the executive
+    department is more likely to enlarge the sphere of its action than
+    either of the other two branches of the Government, and especially in
+    the exercise of the veto power conferred upon it by the Constitution. It
+    should be remembered, however, that this power is wholly negative and
+    conservative in its character, and was intended to operate as a check
+    upon unconstitutional, hasty, and improvident legislation and as a means
+    of protection against invasions of the just powers of the executive and
+    judicial departments. It is remarked by Chancellor Kent that&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  To enact laws is a transcendent power, and if the body that possesses
+  it be a full and equal representation of the people there is danger of
+  its pressing with destructive weight upon all the other parts of the
+  machinery of Government. It has therefore been thought necessary by the
+  most skillful and most experienced artists in the science of civil
+  polity that strong barriers should be erected for the protection and
+  security of the other necessary powers of the Government. Nothing has
+  been deemed more fit and expedient for the purpose than the provision
+  that the head of the executive department should be so constituted as
+  to secure a requisite share of independence and that he should have a
+  negative upon the passing of laws; and that the judiciary power, resting
+  on a still more permanent basis, should have the right of determining
+  upon the validity of laws by the standard of the Constitution.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The necessity of some such check in the hands of the Executive is shown
+    by reference to the most eminent writers upon our system of government,
+    who seem to concur in the opinion that encroachments are most to be
+    apprehended from the department in which all legislative powers are
+    vested by the Constitution. Mr. Madison, in referring to the difficulty
+    of providing some practical security for each against the invasion of
+    the others, remarks that "the legislative department is everywhere
+    extending the sphere of its activity and drawing all power into its
+    impetuous vortex." "The founders of our Republic * * * seem never to
+    have recollected the danger from legislative usurpations, which by
+    assembling all power in the same hands must lead to the same tyranny as
+    is threatened by Executive usurpations." "In a representative republic,
+    where the executive magistracy is carefully limited both in the extent
+    and the duration of its power, and where the legislative power is
+    exercised by an assembly which is inspired, by a supposed influence over
+    the people, with an intrepid confidence in its own strength, which
+    is sufficiently numerous to feel all the passions which actuate a
+    multitude, yet not so numerous as to be incapable of pursuing the
+    objects of its passions by means which reason prescribes, it is against
+    the enterprising ambition of this department that the people ought to
+    indulge all their jealousy and exhaust all their precautions." "The
+    legislative department derives a superiority in our governments from
+    other circumstances. Its constitutional powers being at once more
+    extensive and less susceptible of precise limits, it can with the
+    greater facility mask, under complicated and indirect measures, the
+    encroachments which it makes on the coordinate departments." "On the
+    other side, the Executive power being restrained within a narrower
+    compass and being more simple in its nature, and the judiciary being
+    described by landmarks still less uncertain, projects of usurpation
+    by either of these departments would immediately betray and defeat
+    themselves. Nor is this all. As the legislative department alone has
+    access to the pockets of the people and has in some constitutions full
+    discretion and in all a prevailing influence over the pecuniary rewards
+    of those who fill the other departments, a dependence is thus created in
+    the latter which gives still greater facility to encroachments of the
+    former." "We have seen that the tendency of republican governments is
+    to an aggrandizement of the legislative at the expense of the other
+    departments."
+</p>
+<p>
+    Mr. Jefferson, in referring to the early constitution of
+    Virginia, objected that by its provisions all the powers of
+    government&mdash;legislative, executive, and judicial&mdash;resulted to the
+    legislative body, holding that "the concentrating these in the same
+    hands is precisely the definition of despotic government. It will be no
+    alleviation that these powers will be exercised by a plurality of hands,
+    and not by a single one. One hundred and seventy-three despots would
+    surely be as oppressive as one." "As little will it avail us that they
+    are chosen by ourselves. An elective despotism was not the government we
+    fought for, but one which should not only be founded on free principles,
+    but in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced
+    among several bodies of magistracy as that no one could transcend their
+    legal limits without being effectually checked and restrained by the
+    others. For this reason that convention which passed the ordinance of
+    government laid its foundation on this basis, that the legislative,
+    executive, and judicial departments should be separate and distinct,
+    so that no person should exercise the powers of more than one of them
+    at the same time. But no barrier was provided between these several
+    powers. The judiciary and executive members were left dependent on the
+    legislative for their subsistence in office, and some of them for their
+    continuance in it. If, therefore, the legislature assumes executive and
+    judiciary powers, no opposition is likely to be made, nor, if made, can
+    be effectual, because in that case they may put their proceedings into
+    the form of an act of assembly, which will render them obligatory on the
+    other branches. They have accordingly in many instances decided rights
+    which should have been left to judiciary controversy; and the direction
+    of the executive, during the whole time of their session, is becoming
+    habitual and familiar."
+</p>
+<p>
+    Mr. Justice Story, in his Commentaries on the Constitution, reviews the
+    same subject, and says:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  The truth is that the legislative power is the great and overruling
+  power in every free government. * * * The representatives of the people
+  will watch with jealousy every encroachment of the executive magistrate,
+  for it trenches upon their own authority. But who shall watch the
+  encroachment of these representatives themselves? Will they be as
+  jealous of the exercise of power by themselves as by others? * * *
+</p><p class="q">
+  There are many reasons which may be assigned for the engrossing
+  influence of the legislative department. In the first place, its
+  constitutional powers are more extensive, and less capable of being
+  brought within precise limits than those of either the other
+  departments. The bounds of the executive authority are easily marked
+  out and defined. It reaches few objects, and those are known. It can
+  not transcend them without being brought in contact with the other
+  departments. Laws may check and restrain and bound its exercise. The
+  same remarks apply with still greater force to the judiciary. The
+  jurisdiction is, or may be, bounded to a few objects or persons; or,
+  however general and unlimited, its operations are necessarily confined
+  to the mere administration of private and public justice. It can not
+  punish without law. It can not create controversies to act upon. It can
+  decide only upon rights and cases as they are brought by others before
+  it. It can do nothing for itself. It must do everything for others. It
+  must obey the laws, and if it corruptly administers them it is subjected
+  to the power of impeachment. On the other hand, the legislative power
+  except in the few cases of constitutional prohibition, is unlimited. It
+  is forever varying its means and its ends. It governs the institutions
+  and laws and public policy of the country. It regulates all its vast
+  interests. It disposes of all its property. Look but at the exercise
+  of two or three branches of its ordinary powers. It levies all taxes;
+  it directs and appropriates all supplies; it gives the rules for the
+  descent, distribution, and devises of all property held by individuals;
+  it controls the sources and the resources of wealth; it changes at its
+  will the whole fabric of the laws; it molds at its pleasure almost all
+  the institutions which give strength and comfort and dignity to society.
+</p><p class="q">
+  In the next place, it is the direct visible representative of the will
+  of the people in all the changes of times and circumstances. It has the
+  pride as well as the power of numbers. It is easily moved and steadily
+  moved by the strong impulses of popular feeling and popular odium. It
+  obeys without reluctance the wishes and the will of the majority for the
+  time being. The path to public favor lies open by such obedience, and it
+  finds not only support but impunity in whatever measures the majority
+  advises, even though they transcend the constitutional limits. It has no
+  motive, therefore, to be jealous or scrupulous in its own use of power;
+  and it finds its ambition stimulated and its arm strengthened by the
+  countenance and the courage of numbers. These views are not alone those
+  of men who look with apprehension upon the fate of republics, but they
+  are also freely admitted by some of the strongest advocates for popular
+  rights and the permanency of republican institutions. * * *
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p class="q">
+  * * * Each department should have a will of its own. * * * Each should
+  have its own independence secured beyond the power of being taken away
+  by either or both of the others. But at the same time the relations of
+  each to the other should be so strong that there should be a mutual
+  interest to sustain and protect each other. There should not only be
+  constitutional means, but personal motives to resist encroachments of
+  one or either of the others. Thus ambition would be made to counteract
+  ambition, the desire of power to check power, and the pressure of
+  interest to balance an opposing interest.
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p class="q">
+  * * * The judiciary is naturally and almost necessarily, as has been
+  already said, the weakest department. It can have no means of influence
+  by patronage. Its powers can never be wielded for itself. It has no
+  command over the purse or the sword of the nation. It can neither lay
+  taxes, nor appropriate money, nor command armies, nor appoint to office.
+  It is never brought into contact with the people by constant appeals and
+  solicitations and private intercourse, which belong to all the other
+  departments of Government. It is seen only in controversies or in trials
+  and punishments. Its rigid justice and impartiality give it no claims to
+  favor, however they may to respect. It stands solitary and unsupported,
+  except by that portion of public opinion which is interested only in the
+  strict administration of justice. It can rarely secure the sympathy or
+  zealous support either of the Executive or the Legislature. If they
+  are not, as is not unfrequently the case, jealous of its prerogatives,
+  the constant necessity of scrutinizing the acts of each, upon the
+  application of any private person, and the painful duty of pronouncing
+  judgment that these acts are a departure from the law or Constitution
+  can have no tendency to conciliate kindness or nourish influence. It
+  would seem, therefore, that some additional guards would, under the
+  circumstances, be necessary to protect this department from the absolute
+  dominion of the others. Yet rarely have any such guards been applied,
+  and every attempt to introduce them has been resisted with a pertinacity
+  which demonstrates how slow popular leaders are to introduce checks upon
+  their own power and how slow the people are to believe that the
+  judiciary is the real bulwark of their liberties. * * *
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p class="q">
+  * * * If any department of the Government has undue influence or
+  absorbing power, it certainly has not been the executive or judiciary.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In addition to what has been said by these distinguished writers,
+    it may also be urged that the dominant party in each House may, by the
+    expulsion of a sufficient number of members or by the exclusion from
+    representation of a requisite number of States, reduce the minority to
+    less than one-third. Congress by these means might be enabled to pass a
+    law, the objections of the President to the contrary notwithstanding,
+    which would render impotent the other two departments of the Government
+    and make inoperative the wholesome and restraining power which it was
+    intended by the framers of the Constitution should be exerted by them.
+    This would be a practical concentration of all power in the Congress
+    of the United States; this, in the language of the author of the
+    Declaration of Independence, would be "precisely the definition of
+    despotic government."
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have preferred to reproduce these teachings of the great statesmen
+    and constitutional lawyers of the early and later days of the Republic
+    rather than to rely simply upon an expression of my own opinions.
+    We can not too often recur to them, especially at a conjuncture like
+    the present. Their application to our actual condition is so apparent
+    that they now come to us a living voice, to be listened to with more
+    attention than at any previous period of our history. We have been and
+    are yet in the midst of popular commotion. The passions aroused by a
+    great civil war are still dominant. It is not a time favorable to that
+    calm and deliberate judgment which is the only safe guide when radical
+    changes in our institutions are to be made. The measure now before me is
+    one of those changes. It initiates an untried experiment for a people
+    who have said, with one voice, that it is not for their good. This alone
+    should make us pause, but it is not all. The experiment has not been
+    tried, or so much as demanded, by the people of the several States for
+    themselves. In but few of the States has such an innovation been allowed
+    as giving the ballot to the colored population without any other
+    qualification than a residence of one year, and in most of them the
+    denial of the ballot to this race is absolute and by fundamental law
+    placed beyond the domain of ordinary legislation. In most of those
+    States the evil of such suffrage would be partial, but, small as it
+    would be, it is guarded by constitutional barriers. Here the innovation
+    assumes formidable proportions, which may easily grow to such an extent
+    as to make the white population a subordinate element in the body
+    politic.
+</p>
+<p>
+    After full deliberation upon this measure, I can not bring myself to
+    approve it, even upon local considerations, nor yet as the beginning of
+    an experiment on a larger scale. I yield to no one in attachment to that
+    rule of general suffrage which distinguishes our policy as a nation.
+    But there is a limit, wisely observed hitherto, which makes the ballot
+    a privilege and a trust, and which requires of some classes a time
+    suitable for probation and preparation. To give it indiscriminately to
+    a new class, wholly unprepared by previous habits and opportunities to
+    perform the trust which it demands, is to degrade it, and finally to
+    destroy its power, for it may be safely assumed that no political truth
+    is better established than that such indiscriminate and all-embracing
+    extension of popular suffrage must end at last in its destruction.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 28, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I return to the Senate, in which House it originated, a bill entitled
+    "An act to admit the State of Colorado into the Union," to which I can
+    not, consistently with my sense of duty, give my approval. With the
+    exception of an additional section, containing new provisions, it is
+    substantially the same as the bill of a similar title passed by Congress
+    during the last session, submitted to the President for his approval,
+    returned with the objections contained in a message bearing date the
+    15th of May last, and yet awaiting the reconsideration of the Senate.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A second bill, having in view the same purpose, has now passed both
+    Houses of Congress and been presented for my signature. Having again
+    carefully considered the subject, I have been unable to perceive any
+    reason for changing the opinions which have already been communicated to
+    Congress. I find, on the contrary, that there are many objections to the
+    proposed legislation of which I was not at that time aware, and that
+    while several of those which I then assigned have in the interval gained
+    in strength, yet others have been created by the altered character of
+    the measures now submitted.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The constitution under which the State government is proposed to be
+    formed very properly contains a provision that all laws in force at the
+    time of its adoption and the admission of the State into the Union shall
+    continue as if the constitution had not been adopted. Among those laws
+    is one absolutely prohibiting negroes and mulattoes from voting. At the
+    recent session of the Territorial legislature a bill for the repeal of
+    this law, introduced into the council, was almost unanimously rejected;
+    and at the very time when Congress was engaged in enacting the bill now
+    under consideration the legislature passed an act excluding negroes and
+    mulattoes from the right to sit as jurors. This bill was vetoed by the
+    governor of the Territory, who held that by the laws of the United
+    States negroes and mulattoes are citizens, and subject to the duties, as
+    well as entitled to the rights, of citizenship. The bill, however, was
+    passed, the objections of the governor to the contrary notwithstanding,
+    and is now a law of the Territory. Yet in the bill now before me, by
+    which it is proposed to admit the Territory as a State, it is provided
+    that "there shall be no denial of the elective franchise or any other
+    rights to any person by reason of race or color, excepting Indians not
+    taxed."
+</p>
+<p>
+    The incongruity thus exhibited between the legislation of Congress and
+    that of the Territory, taken in connection with the protest against the
+    admission of the State hereinafter referred to, would seem clearly to
+    indicate the impolicy and injustice of the proposed enactment.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It might, indeed, be a subject of grave inquiry, and doubtless will
+    result in such inquiry if this bill becomes a law, whether it does not
+    attempt to exercise a power not conferred upon Congress by the Federal
+    Constitution. That instrument simply declares that Congress may admit
+    new States into the Union. It nowhere says that Congress may make new
+    States for the purpose of admitting them into the Union or for any other
+    purpose; and yet this bill is as clear an attempt to make the
+    institutions as any in which the people themselves could engage.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In view of this action of Congress, the house of representatives of the
+    Territory have earnestly protested against being forced into the Union
+    without first having the question submitted to the people. Nothing could
+    be more reasonable than the position which they thus assume; and it
+    certainly can not be the purpose of Congress to force upon a community
+    against their will a government which they do not believe themselves
+    capable of sustaining.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The following is a copy of the protest alluded to as officially
+    transmitted to me:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Whereas it is announced in the public prints that it is the intention
+  of Congress to admit Colorado as a State into the Union: Therefore,
+</p><p class="q">
+  <i>Resolved by the house of representatives of the Territory</i>, That,
+  representing, as we do, the last and only legal expression of public
+  opinion on this question, we earnestly protest against the passage of a
+  law admitting the State without first having the question submitted to
+  a vote of the people, for the reasons, first, that we have a right to a
+  voice in the selection of the character of our government; second, that
+  we have not a sufficient population to support the expenses of a State
+  government. For these reasons we trust that Congress will not force upon
+  us a government against our will.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Upon information which I considered reliable, I assumed in my message of
+    the 15th of May last that the population of Colorado was not more than
+    30,000, and expressed the opinion that this number was entirely too
+    small either to assume the responsibilities or to enjoy the privileges
+    of a State.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It appears that previous to that time the legislature, with a view
+    to ascertain the exact condition of the Territory, had passed a law
+    authorizing a census of the population to be taken. The law made it
+    the duty of the assessors in the several counties to take the census
+    in connection with the annual assessments, and, in order to secure
+    a correct enumeration of the population, allowed them a liberal
+    compensation for the service by paying them for every name returned,
+    and added to their previous oath of office an oath to perform this
+    duty with fidelity.
+</p>
+<p>
+    From the accompanying official report it appears that returns have been
+    received from fifteen of the eighteen counties into which the State is
+    divided, and that their population amounts in the aggregate to 24,909.
+    The three remaining counties are estimated to contain 3,000, making a
+    total population of 27,909.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This census was taken in the summer season, when it is claimed that the
+    population is much larger than at any other period, as in the autumn
+    miners in large numbers leave their work and return to the East with the
+    results of their summer enterprise.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The population, it will be observed, is but slightly in excess of
+    one-fifth of the number required as the basis of representation for a
+    single Congressional district in any of the States&mdash;the number being
+    127,000.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I am unable to perceive any good reason for such great disparity in the
+    right of representation, giving, as it would, to the people of Colorado
+    not only this vast advantage in the House of Representatives, but an
+    equality in the Senate, where the other States are represented by
+    millions. With perhaps a single exception, no such inequality as this
+    has ever before been attempted. I know that it is claimed that the
+    population of the different States at the time of their admission has
+    varied at different periods, but it has not varied much more than the
+    population of each decade and the corresponding basis of representation
+    for the different periods.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The obvious intent of the Constitution was that no State should be
+    admitted with a less population than the ratio for a Representative at
+    the time of application. The limitation in the second section of the
+    first article of the Constitution, declaring that "each State shall have
+    at least one Representative," was manifestly designed to protect the
+    States which originally composed the Union from being deprived, in
+    the event of a waning population, of a voice in the popular branch of
+    Congress, and was never intended as a warrant to force a new State into
+    the Union with a representative population far below that which might at
+    the time be required of sister members of the Confederacy. This bill, in
+    view of the prohibition of the same section, which declares that "the
+    number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every 30,000," is at
+    least a violation of the spirit if not the letter of the Constitution.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is respectfully submitted that however Congress, under the pressure
+    of circumstances, may have admitted two or three States with less than
+    a representative population at the time, there has been no instance in
+    which an application for admission has ever been entertained when the
+    population, as officially ascertained, was below 30,000.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Were there any doubt of this being the true construction of the
+    Constitution, it would be dispelled by the early and long-continued
+    practice of the Federal Government. For nearly sixty years after the
+    adoption of the Constitution no State was admitted with a population
+    believed at the time to be less than the current ratio for a
+    Representative, and the first instance in which there appears to have
+    been a departure from the principle was in 1845, in the case of Florida.
+    Obviously the result of sectional strife, we would do well to regard it
+    as a warning of evil rather than as an example for imitation; and I
+    think candid men of all parties will agree that the inspiring cause of
+    the violation of this wholesome principle of restraint is to be found
+    in a vain attempt to balance these antagonisms, which refused to be
+    reconciled except through the bloody arbitrament of arms. The plain
+    facts of our history will attest that the great and leading States
+    admitted since 1845, viz, Iowa, Wisconsin, California, Minnesota, and
+    Kansas, including Texas, which was admitted that year, have all come
+    with an ample population for one Representative, and some of them with
+    nearly or quite enough for two.
+</p>
+<p>
+    To demonstrate the correctness of my views on this question, I subjoin
+    a table containing a list of the States admitted since the adoption
+    of the Federal Constitution, with the date of admission, the ratio of
+    representation, and the representative population when admitted, deduced
+    from the United States census tables, the calculation being made for the
+    period of the decade corresponding with the date of admission.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Colorado, which it is now proposed to admit as a State, contains, as has
+    already been stated, a population less than 28,000, while the present
+    ratio of representation is 127,000.
+</p>
+<p>
+    There can be no reason that I can perceive for the admission of
+    Colorado that would not apply with equal force to nearly every other
+    Territory now organized; and I submit whether, if this bill become a
+    law, it will be possible to resist the logical conclusion that such
+    Territories as Dakota, Montana, and Idaho must be received as States
+    whenever they present themselves, without regard to the number of
+    inhabitants they may respectively contain. Eight or ten new Senators and
+    four or five new members of the House of Representatives would thus be
+    admitted to represent a population scarcely exceeding that which in any
+    other portion of the nation is entitled to but a single member of the
+    House of Representatives, while the average for two Senators in the
+    Union, as now constituted, is at least 1,000,000 people. It would surely
+    be unjust to all other sections of the Union to enter upon a policy with
+    regard to the admission of new States which might result in conferring
+    such a disproportionate share of influence in the National Legislature
+    upon communities which, in pursuance of the wise policy of our fathers,
+    should for some years to come be retained under the fostering care
+    and protection of the National Government. If it is deemed just and
+    expedient now to depart from the settled policy of the nation during
+    all its history, and to admit all the Territories to the rights and
+    privileges of States, irrespective of their population or fitness
+    for such government, it is submitted whether it would not be well to
+    devise such measures as will bring the subject before the country for
+    consideration and decision. This would seem to be eminently wise,
+    because, as has already been stated, if it is right to admit Colorado
+    now there is no reason for the exclusion of the other Territories.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is no answer to these suggestions that an enabling act was passed
+    authorizing the people of Colorado to take action on this subject. It is
+    well known that that act was passed in consequence of representations
+    that the population reached, according to some statements, as high as
+    80,000, and to none less than 50,000, and was growing with a rapidity
+    which by the time the admission could be consummated would secure a
+    population of over 100,000. These representations proved to have been
+    wholly fallacious, and in addition the people of the Territory by a
+    deliberate vote decided that they would not assume the responsibilities
+    of a State government. By that decision they utterly exhausted all power
+    that was conferred by the enabling act, and there has been no step taken
+    since in relation to the admission that has had the slightest sanction
+    or warrant of law.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The proceeding upon which the present application is based was in the
+    utter absence of all law in relation to it, and there is no evidence
+    that the votes on the question of the formation of a State government
+    bear any relation whatever to the sentiment of the Territory. The
+    protest of the house of representatives previously quoted is conclusive
+    evidence to the contrary.
+</p>
+<p>
+    But if none of these reasons existed against this proposed enactment,
+    the bill itself, besides being inconsistent in its provisions in
+    conferring power upon a person unknown to the laws and who may never
+    have a legal existence, is so framed as to render its execution almost
+    impossible. It is, indeed, a question whether it is not in itself a
+    nullity. To say the least, it is of exceedingly doubtful propriety to
+    confer the power proposed in this bill upon the "governor elect," for as
+    by its own terms the constitution is not to take effect until after the
+    admission of the State, he in the meantime has no more authority than
+    any other private citizen. But even supposing him to be clothed with
+    sufficient authority to convene the legislature, what constitutes the
+    "State legislature" to which is to be referred the submission of the
+    conditions imposed by Congress? Is it a new body to be elected and
+    convened by proclamation of the "governor elect," or is it that body
+    which met more than a year ago under the provisions of the State
+    constitution? By reference to the second section of the schedule and to
+    the eighteenth section of the fourth article of the State constitution
+    it will be seen that the term of the members of the house of
+    representatives and that of one-half of the members of the senate
+    expired on the first Monday of the present month. It is clear that if
+    there were no intrinsic objections to the bill itself in relation to
+    purposes to be accomplished this objection would be fatal, as, it is
+    apparent that the provisions of the third section of the bill to admit
+    Colorado have reference to a period and a state of facts entirely
+    different from the present and affairs as they now exist, and if carried
+    into effect must necessarily lead to confusion.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Even if it were settled that the old and not a new body were to act, it
+    would be found impracticable to execute the law, because a considerable
+    number of the members, as I am informed, have ceased to be residents of
+    the Territory, and in the sixty days within which the legislature is to
+    be convened after the passage of the act there would not be sufficient
+    time to fill the vacancies by new elections, were there any authority
+    under which they could be held.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It may not be improper to add that if these proceedings were all regular
+    and the result to be obtained were desirable, simple justice to the
+    people of the Territory would require a longer period than sixty days
+    within which to obtain action on the conditions proposed by the third
+    section of the bill. There are, as is well known, large portions of the
+    Territory with which there is and can be no general communication, there
+    being several counties which from November to May can only be reached by
+    persons traveling on foot, while with other regions of the Territory,
+    occupied by a large portion of the population, there is very little more
+    freedom of access. Thus, if this bill should become a law, it would be
+    impracticable to obtain any expression of public sentiment in reference
+    to its provisions, with a view to enlighten the legislature, if the old
+    body were called together, and, of course, equally impracticable to
+    procure the election of a new body. This defect might have been remedied
+    by an extension of the time and a submission of the question to the
+    people, with a fair opportunity to enable them to express their
+    sentiments.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The admission of a new State has generally been regarded as an epoch in
+    our history marking the onward progress of the nation; but after the
+    most careful and anxious inquiry on the subject I can not perceive that
+    the proposed proceeding is in conformity with the policy which from the
+    origin of the Government has uniformly prevailed in the admission of new
+    States. I therefore return the bill to the Senate without my signature.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<div style="border: solid; border-style: thin; border-width: .05em;">
+<table width="100%" summary="population and admission date information for various states">
+<tr style="font-weight: bold;"><td width="25%">  States</td><td align="right" width="25%">Admitted. </td><td align="right" width="25%">Ratio. </td><td align="right" width="25%">Population.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Vermont</td><td align="right">1791  </td><td align="right">33,000   </td><td align="right">92,320</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Kentucky </td><td align="right">1792  </td><td align="right">33,000   </td><td align="right">95,638</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Tennessee</td><td align="right">1796  </td><td align="right">33,000   </td><td align="right">73,864</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Ohio </td><td align="right">1802  </td><td align="right">33,000   </td><td align="right">82,443</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Louisiana</td><td align="right">1812  </td><td align="right">35,000   </td><td align="right">75,212</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Indiana</td><td align="right">1816  </td><td align="right">35,000   </td><td align="right">98,110</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Mississippi</td><td align="right">1817  </td><td align="right">35,000   </td><td align="right">53,677</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Illinois </td><td align="right">1818  </td><td align="right">35,000   </td><td align="right">46,274</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Alabama</td><td align="right">1819  </td><td align="right">35,000  </td><td align="right">111,150</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Maine</td><td align="right">1820  </td><td align="right">35,000  </td><td align="right">298,335</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Missouri </td><td align="right">1821  </td><td align="right">35,000   </td><td align="right">69,260</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Arkansas </td><td align="right">1836  </td><td align="right">47,700   </td><td align="right">65,175</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Michigan </td><td align="right">1837  </td><td align="right">47,700  </td><td align="right">158,073</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Florida</td><td align="right">1845  </td><td align="right">70,680   </td><td align="right">57,951</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Texas</td><td align="right">1845  </td><td align="right">70,680  </td><td align="right"><a href="#note-17"><small>17</small></a> 189,327 </td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Iowa </td><td align="right">1846  </td><td align="right">70,680  </td><td align="right">132,527</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Wisconsin</td><td align="right">1848  </td><td align="right">70,680  </td><td align="right">250,497</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  California </td><td align="right">1850  </td><td align="right">70,680   </td><td align="right">92,597</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Oregon </td><td align="right">1858  </td><td align="right">93,492   </td><td align="right">44,630</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Minnesota</td><td align="right">1859  </td><td align="right">93,492  </td><td align="right">138,909</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Kansas </td><td align="right">1861  </td><td align="right">93,492  </td><td align="right">107,206</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  West Virginia</td><td align="right">1862  </td><td align="right">93,492  </td><td align="right">349,628</td></tr>
+<tr><td>  Nevada </td><td align="right">1864 </td><td align="right">127,000  </td><td align="right">Not known.</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 29, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I return for reconsideration a bill entitled "An act for the admission
+    of the State of Nebraska into the Union," which originated in the Senate
+    and has received the assent of both Houses of Congress. A bill having in
+    view the same object was presented for my approval a few hours prior to
+    the adjournment of the last session, but, submitted at a time when there
+    was no opportunity for a proper consideration of the subject, I withheld
+    my signature and the measure failed to become a law.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It appears by the preamble of this bill that the people of Nebraska,
+    availing themselves of the authority conferred upon them by the act
+    passed on the 19th day of April, 1864, "have adopted a constitution
+    which, upon due examination, is found to conform to the provisions and
+    comply with the conditions of said act, and to be republican in its form
+    of government, and that they now ask for admission into the Union."
+    This proposed law would therefore seem to be based upon the declaration
+    contained in the enabling act that upon compliance with its terms the
+    people of Nebraska should be admitted into the Union upon an equal
+    footing with the original States. Reference to the bill, however, shows
+    that while by the first section Congress distinctly accepts, ratifies,
+    and confirms the Constitution and State government which the people of
+    the Territory have formed for themselves, declares Nebraska to be one
+    of the United States of America, and admits her into the Union upon an
+    equal footing with the original States in all respects whatsoever, the
+    third section provides that this measure "shall not take effect except
+    upon the fundamental condition that within the State of Nebraska there
+    shall be no denial of the elective franchise, or of any other right,
+    to any person by reason of race or color, excepting Indians not
+    taxed; and upon the further fundamental condition that the legislature
+    of said State, by a solemn public act, shall declare the assent of
+    said State to the said fundamental condition, and shall transmit to
+    the President of the United States an authentic copy of said act, upon
+    receipt whereof the President, by proclamation, shall forthwith announce
+    the fact, whereupon said fundamental condition shall be held as a part
+    of the organic law of the State; and thereupon, and without any further
+    proceeding on the part of Congress, the admission of said State into the
+    Union shall be considered as complete." This condition is not mentioned
+    in the original enabling act; was not contemplated at the time of its
+    passage; was not sought by the people themselves; has not heretofore
+    been applied to the inhabitants of any State asking admission, and is in
+    direct conflict with the constitution adopted by the people and declared
+    in the preamble "to be republican in its form of government," for in
+    that instrument the exercise of the elective franchise and the right
+    to hold office are expressly limited to white citizens of the United
+    States. Congress thus undertakes to authorize and compel the legislature
+    to change a constitution which, it is declared in the preamble, has
+    received the sanction of the people, and which by this bill is
+    "accepted, ratified, and confirmed" by the Congress of the nation.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The first and third sections of the bill exhibit yet further
+    incongruity. By the one Nebraska is "admitted into the Union upon an
+    equal footing with the original States in all respects whatsoever,"
+    while by the other Congress demands as a condition precedent to her
+    admission requirements which in our history have never been asked of
+    any people when presenting a constitution and State government for the
+    acceptance of the lawmaking power. It is expressly declared by the third
+    section that the bill "shall not take effect except upon the fundamental
+    condition that within the State of Nebraska there shall be no denial of
+    the elective franchise, or of any other right, to any person by reason
+    of race or color, excepting Indians not taxed." Neither more nor less
+    than the assertion of the right of Congress to regulate the elective
+    franchise of any State hereafter to be admitted, this condition is in
+    clear violation of the Federal Constitution, under the provisions of
+    which, from the very foundation of the Government, each State has been
+    left free to determine for itself the qualifications necessary for
+    the exercise of suffrage within its limits. Without precedent in our
+    legislation, it is in marked contrast with those limitations which,
+    imposed upon States that from time to time have become members of the
+    Union, had for their object the single purpose of preventing any
+    infringement of the Constitution of the country.
+</p>
+<p>
+    If Congress is satisfied that Nebraska at the present time possesses
+    sufficient population to entitle her to full representation in the
+    councils of the nation, and that her people desire an exchange of a
+    Territorial for a State government, good faith would seem to demand that
+    she should be admitted without further requirements than those expressed
+    in the enabling act, with all of which, it is asserted in the preamble,
+    her inhabitants have complied. Congress may, under the Constitution,
+    admit new States or reject them, but the people of a State can alone
+    make or change their organic law and prescribe the qualifications
+    requisite for electors. Congress, however, in passing the bill in the
+    shape in which it has been submitted for my approval, does not merely
+    reject the application of the people of Nebraska for present admission
+    as a State into the Union, on the ground that the constitution which
+    they have submitted restricts the exercise of the elective franchise to
+    the white population, but imposes conditions which, if accepted by the
+    legislature, may, without the consent of the people, so change the
+    organic law as to make electors of all persons within the State without
+    distinction of race or color. In view of this fact, I suggest for the
+    consideration of Congress whether it would not be just, expedient, and
+    in accordance with the principles of our Government to allow the people,
+    by popular vote or through a convention chosen by themselves for that
+    purpose, to declare whether or not they will accept the terms upon which
+    it is now proposed to admit them into the Union. This course would
+    not occasion much greater delay than that which the bill contemplates
+    when it requires that the legislature shall be convened within thirty
+    days after this measure shall have become a law for the purpose of
+    considering and deciding the conditions which it imposes, and gains
+    additional force when we consider that the proceedings attending the
+    formation of the State constitution were not in conformity with the
+    provisions of the enabling act; that in an aggregate vote of 7,776 the
+    majority in favor of the constitution did not exceed 100; and that it is
+    alleged that, in consequence of frauds, even this result can not be
+    received as a fair expression of the wishes of the people. As upon them
+    must fall the burdens of a State organization, it is but just that they
+    should be permitted to determine for themselves a question which so
+    materially affects their interests. Possessing a soil and a climate
+    admirably adapted to those industrial pursuits which bring prosperity
+    and greatness to a people, with the advantage of a central position
+    on the great highway that will soon connect the Atlantic and Pacific
+    States, Nebraska is rapidly gaining in numbers and wealth, and may
+    within a very brief period claim admission on grounds which will
+    challenge and secure universal assent. She can therefore wisely and
+    patiently afford to wait. Her population is said to be steadily and
+    even rapidly increasing, being now generally conceded as high as 40,000,
+    and estimated by some whose judgment is entitled to respect at a still
+    greater number. At her present rate of growth she will in a very short
+    time have the requisite population for a Representative in Congress,
+    and, what is far more important to her own citizens, will have realized
+    such an advance in material wealth as will enable the expenses of a
+    State government to be borne without oppression to the taxpayer. Of new
+    communities it may be said with special force&mdash;and it is true of old
+    ones&mdash;that the inducement to emigrants, other things being equal, is in
+    almost the precise ratio of the rate of taxation. The great States of
+    the Northwest owe their marvelous prosperity largely to the fact that
+    they were continued as Territories until they had growth to be wealthy
+    and populous communities.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 2, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have carefully examined the bill "to regulate the tenure of certain
+    civil offices." The material portion of the bill is contained in the
+    first section, and is of the effect following, namely:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  That every person holding any civil office to which he has been
+  appointed, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and every
+  person who shall hereafter be appointed to any such office and shall
+  become duly qualified to act therein, is and shall be entitled
+  to hold such office until a successor shall have been appointed
+  by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and duly
+  qualified; and that the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War,
+  of the Navy, and of the Interior, the Postmaster-General, and the
+  Attorney-General shall hold their offices respectively for and during
+  the term of the President by whom they may have been appointed and for
+  one month thereafter, subject to removal by and with the advice and
+  consent of the Senate.
+</p>
+<p>
+    These provisions are qualified by a reservation in the fourth section,
+    "that nothing contained in the bill shall be construed to extend the
+    term of any office the duration of which is limited by law." In effect
+    the bill provides that the President shall not remove from their places
+    any of the civil officers whose terms of service are not limited by law
+    without the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States. The
+    bill in this respect conflicts, in my judgment, with the Constitution
+    of the United States. The question, as Congress is well aware, is by no
+    means a new one. That the power of removal is constitutionally vested
+    in the President of the United States is a principle which has been not
+    more distinctly declared by judicial authority and judicial commentators
+    than it has been uniformly practiced upon by the legislative and
+    executive departments of the Government. The question arose in the House
+    of Representatives so early as the 16th of June, 1789, on the bill for
+    establishing an Executive Department denominated "the Department of
+    Foreign Affairs." The first clause of the bill, after recapitulating
+    the functions of that officer and defining his duties, had these words:
+    "To be removable from office by the President of the United States."
+    It was moved to strike out these words and the motion was sustained
+    with great ability and vigor. It was insisted that the President could
+    not constitutionally exercise the power of removal exclusively of the
+    Senate; that the Federalist so interpreted the Constitution when arguing
+    for its adoption by the several States; that the Constitution had
+    nowhere given the President power of removal, either expressly or by
+    strong implication, but, on the contrary, had distinctly provided for
+    removals from office by impeachment only.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A construction which denied the power of removal by the President was
+    further maintained by arguments drawn from the danger of the abuse of
+    the power; from the supposed tendency of an exposure of public officers
+    to capricious removal to impair the efficiency of the civil service;
+    from the alleged injustice and hardship of displacing incumbents
+    dependent upon their official stations without sufficient consideration;
+    from a supposed want of responsibility on the part of the President, and
+    from an imagined defect of guaranties against a vicious President who
+    might incline to abuse the power. On the other hand, an exclusive power
+    of removal by the President was defended as a true exposition of the
+    text of the Constitution. It was maintained that there are certain
+    causes for which persons ought to be removed from office without being
+    guilty of treason, bribery, or malfeasance, and that the nature of
+    things demands that it should be so. "Suppose," it was said, "a man
+    becomes insane by the visitation of God and is likely to ruin our
+    affairs; are the hands of the Government to be confined from warding off
+    the evil? Suppose a person in office not possessing the talents he was
+    judged to have at the time of the appointment; is the error not to be
+    corrected? Suppose he acquires vicious habits and incurable indolence or
+    total neglect of the duties of his office, which shall work mischief to
+    the public welfare; is there no way to arrest the threatened danger?
+    Suppose he becomes odious and unpopular by reason of the measures he
+    pursues&mdash;and this he may do without committing any positive offense
+    against the law; must he preserve his office in despite of the popular
+    will? Suppose him grasping for his own aggrandizement and the elevation
+    of his connections by every means short of the treason defined by the
+    Constitution, hurrying your affairs to the precipice of destruction,
+    endangering your domestic tranquillity, plundering you of the means of
+    defense, alienating the affections of your allies and promoting the
+    spirit of discord; must the tardy, tedious, desultory road by way of
+    impeachment be traveled to overtake the man who, barely confining
+    himself within the letter of the law, is employed in drawing off the
+    vital principle of the Government? The nature of things, the great
+    objects of society, the express objects of the Constitution itself,
+    require that this thing should be otherwise. To unite the Senate with
+    the President in the exercise of the power," it was said, "would involve
+    us in the most serious difficulty. Suppose a discovery of any of those
+    events should take place when the Senate is not in session; how is the
+    remedy to be applied? The evil could be avoided in no other way than by
+    the Senate sitting always." In regard to the danger of the power being
+    abused if exercised by one man it was said "that the danger is as great
+    with respect to the Senate, who are assembled from various parts of the
+    continent, with different impressions and opinions;" "that such a body
+    is more likely to misuse the power of removal than the man whom the
+    united voice of America calls to the Presidential chair. As the nature
+    of government requires the power of removal," it was maintained "that it
+    should be exercised in this way by the hand capable of exerting itself
+    with effect; and the power must be conferred on the President by the
+    Constitution as the executive officer of the Government."
+</p>
+<p>
+    Mr. Madison, whose adverse opinion in the Federalist had been relied
+    upon by those who denied the exclusive power, now participated in the
+    debate. He declared that he had reviewed his former opinions, and he
+    summed up the whole case as follows:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  The Constitution affirms that the executive power is vested in the
+  President. Are there exceptions to this proposition? Yes; there are.
+  The Constitution says that in appointing to office the Senate shall be
+  associated with the President, unless in the case of inferior officers,
+  when the law shall otherwise direct. Have we (that is, Congress) a
+  right to extend this exception? I believe not. If the Constitution has
+  invested all executive power in the President, I venture to assert
+  that the Legislature has no right to diminish or modify his executive
+  authority. The question now resolves itself into this: Is the power of
+  displacing an executive power? I conceive that if any power whatsoever
+  is in the Executive it is the power of appointing, overseeing, and
+  controlling those who execute the laws. If the Constitution had not
+  qualified the power of the President in appointing to office by
+  associating the Senate with him in that business, would it not be clear
+  that he would have the right by virtue of his executive power to make
+  such appointment? Should we be authorized in defiance of that clause
+  in the Constitution, "The executive power shall be vested in the
+  President," to unite the Senate with the President in the appointment
+  to office? I conceive not. If it is admitted that we should not be
+  authorized to do this, I think it may be disputed whether we have a
+  right to associate them in removing persons from office, the one power
+  being as much of an executive nature as the other; and the first one is
+  authorized by being excepted out of the general rule established by the
+  Constitution in these words: "The executive power shall be vested in the
+  President."
+</p>
+<p>
+    The question, thus ably and exhaustively argued, was decided by the
+    House of Representatives, by a vote of 34 to 20, in favor of the
+    principle that the executive power of removal is vested by the
+    Constitution in the Executive, and in the Senate by the casting vote
+    of the Vice-President.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The question has often been raised in subsequent times of high
+    excitement, and the practice of the Government has, nevertheless,
+    conformed in all cases to the decision thus early made.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The question was revived during the Administration of President Jackson,
+    who made, as is well recollected, a very large number of removals, which
+    were made an occasion of close and rigorous scrutiny and remonstrance.
+    The subject was long and earnestly debated in the Senate, and the early
+    construction of the Constitution was, nevertheless, freely accepted as
+    binding and conclusive upon Congress.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The question came before the Supreme Court of the United States in
+    January, 1839, <i>ex parte</i> Hennen. It was declared by the court on that
+    occasion that the power of removal from office was a subject much
+    disputed, and upon which a great diversity of opinion was entertained in
+    the early history of the Government. This related, however, to the power
+    of the President to remove officers appointed with the concurrence of
+    the Senate, and the great question was whether the removal was to be
+    by the President alone or with the concurrence of the Senate, both
+    constituting the appointing power. No one denied the power of the
+    President and Senate jointly to remove where the tenure of the office
+    was not fixed by the Constitution, which was a full recognition of the
+    principle that the power of removal was incident to the power of
+    appointment; but it was very early adopted as a practical construction
+    of the Constitution that this power was vested in the President alone,
+    and such would appear to have been the legislative construction of the
+    Constitution, for in the organization of the three great Departments of
+    State, War, and Treasury, in the year 1789, provision was made for the
+    appointment of a subordinate officer by the head of the Department, who
+    should have charge of the records, books, and papers appertaining to the
+    office when the head of the Department should be removed from office
+    by the President of the United States. When the Navy Department was
+    established, in the year 1798, provision was made for the charge and
+    custody of the books, records, and documents of the Department in case
+    of vacancy in the office of Secretary by removal or otherwise. It is not
+    here said "by removal of the President," as is done with respect to the
+    heads of the other Departments, yet there can be no doubt that he holds
+    his office with the same tenure as the other Secretaries and is
+    removable by the President. The change of phraseology arose, probably,
+    from its having become the settled and well-understood construction of
+    the Constitution that the power of removal was vested in the President
+    alone in such cases, although the appointment of the officer is by the
+    President and Senate. (13 Peters, p. 139.)
+</p>
+<p>
+    Our most distinguished and accepted commentators upon the Constitution
+    concur in the construction thus early given by Congress, and thus
+    sanctioned by the Supreme Court. After a full analysis of the
+    Congressional debate to which I have referred, Mr. Justice Story comes
+    to this conclusion:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  After a most animated discussion, the vote finally taken in the House
+  of Representatives was affirmative of the power of removal in the
+  President, without any cooperation of the Senate, by the vote of 34
+  members against 20. In the Senate the clause in the bill affirming the
+  power was carried by the casting vote of the Vice-President. That the
+  final decision of this question so made was greatly influenced by the
+  exalted character of the President then in office was asserted at the
+  time and has always been believed; yet the doctrine was opposed as well
+  as supported by the highest talents and patriotism of the country. The
+  public have acquiesced in this decision, and it constitutes, perhaps,
+  the most extraordinary case in the history of the Government of a power
+  conferred by implication on the Executive by the assent of a bare
+  majority of Congress which has not been questioned on many other
+  occasions.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The commentator adds:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Nor is this general acquiescence and silence without a satisfactory
+  explanation.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Chancellor Kent's remarks on the subject are as follows:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  On the first organization of the Government it was made a question
+  whether the power of removal in case of officers appointed to hold
+  at pleasure resided nowhere but in the body which appointed, and, of
+  course, whether the consent of the Senate was not requisite to remove.
+  This was the construction given to the Constitution, while it was
+  pending for ratification before the State conventions, by the author of
+  the Federalist. But the construction which was given to the Constitution
+  by Congress, after great consideration and discussion, was different.
+  The words of the act [establishing the Treasury Department] are: "And
+  whenever the same shall be removed from office by the President of
+  the United States, or in any other case of vacancy in the office, the
+  assistant shall act." This amounted to a legislative construction of the
+  Constitution, and it has ever since been acquiesced in and acted upon
+  as a decisive authority in the case. It applies equally to every other
+  officer of the Government appointed by the President, whose term of
+  duration is not specially declared. It is supported by the weighty
+  reason that the subordinate officers in the executive department ought
+  to hold at the pleasure of the head of the department, because he is
+  invested generally with the executive authority, and the participation
+  in that authority by the Senate was an exception to a general principle
+  and ought to be taken strictly. The President is the great responsible
+  officer for the faithful execution of the law, and the power of removal
+  was incidental to that duty, and might often be requisite to fulfill it.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Thus has the important question presented by this bill been settled, in
+    the language of the late Daniel Webster (who, while dissenting from it,
+    admitted that it was settled), by construction, settled by precedent,
+    settled by the practice of the Government, and settled by statute. The
+    events of the last war furnished a practical confirmation of the wisdom
+    of the Constitution as it has hitherto been maintained in many of its
+    parts, including that which is now the subject of consideration. When
+    the war broke out, rebel enemies, traitors, abettors, and sympathizers
+    were found in every Department of the Government, as well in the civil
+    service as in the land and naval military service. They were found in
+    Congress and among the keepers of the Capitol; in foreign missions; in
+    each and all the Executive Departments; in the judicial service; in the
+    post-office, and among the agents for conducting Indian affairs. Upon
+    probable suspicion they were promptly displaced by my predecessor, so
+    far as they held their offices under executive authority, and their
+    duties were confided to new and loyal successors. No complaints against
+    that power or doubts of its wisdom were entertained in any quarter. I
+    sincerely trust and believe that no such civil war is likely to occur
+    again. I can not doubt, however, that in whatever form and on whatever
+    occasion sedition can raise an effort to hinder or embarrass or defeat
+    the legitimate action of this Government, whether by preventing the
+    collection of revenue, or disturbing the public peace, or separating the
+    States, or betraying the country to a foreign enemy, the power of
+    removal from office by the Executive, as it has heretofore existed and
+    been practiced, will be found indispensable.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Under these circumstances, as a depositary of the executive authority of
+    the nation, I do not feel at liberty to unite with Congress in reversing
+    it by giving my approval to the bill. At the early day when this
+    question was settled, and, indeed, at the several periods when it has
+    subsequently been agitated, the success of the Constitution of the
+    United States, as a new and peculiar system of free representative
+    government, was held doubtful in other countries, and was even a subject
+    of patriotic apprehension among the American people themselves. A trial
+    of nearly eighty years, through the vicissitudes of foreign conflicts
+    and of civil war, is confidently regarded as having extinguished all
+    such doubts and apprehensions for the future. During that eighty years
+    the people of the United States have enjoyed a measure of security,
+    peace, prosperity, and happiness never surpassed by any nation. It can
+    not be doubted that the triumphant success of the Constitution is due
+    to the wonderful wisdom with which the functions of government were
+    distributed between the three principal departments&mdash;the legislative,
+    the executive, and the judicial&mdash;and to the fidelity with which each
+    has confined itself or been confined by the general voice of the nation
+    within its peculiar and proper sphere. While a just, proper, and
+    watchful jealousy of executive power constantly prevails, as it ought
+    ever to prevail, yet it is equally true that an efficient Executive,
+    capable, in the language of the oath prescribed to the President, of
+    executing the laws and, within the sphere of executive action, of
+    preserving, protecting, and defending the Constitution of the United
+    States, is an indispensable security for tranquillity at home and peace,
+    honor, and safety abroad. Governments have been erected in many
+    countries upon our model. If one or many of them have thus far failed in
+    fully securing to their people the benefits which we have derived from
+    our system, it may be confidently asserted that their misfortune has
+    resulted from their unfortunate failure to maintain the integrity of
+    each of the three great departments while preserving harmony among
+    them all.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Having at an early period accepted the Constitution in regard to the
+    Executive office in the sense in which it was interpreted with the
+    concurrence of its founders, I have found no sufficient grounds in the
+    arguments now opposed to that construction or in any assumed necessity
+    of the times for changing those opinions. For these reasons I return
+    the bill to the Senate, in which House it originated, for the further
+    consideration of Congress which the Constitution prescribes. Insomuch as
+    the several parts of the bill which I have not considered are matters
+    chiefly of detail and are based altogether upon the theory of the
+    Constitution from which I am obliged to dissent, I have not thought
+    it necessary to examine them with a view to make them an occasion of
+    distinct and special objections.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Experience, I think, has shown that it is the easiest, as it is
+    also the most attractive, of studies to frame constitutions for the
+    self-government of free states and nations. But I think experience has
+    equally shown that it is the most difficult of all political labors to
+    preserve and maintain such free constitutions of self-government when
+    once happily established. I know no other way in which they can be
+    preserved and maintained except by a constant adherence to them through
+    the various vicissitudes of national existence, with such adaptations
+    as may become necessary, always to be effected, however, through the
+    agencies and in the forms prescribed in the original constitutions
+    themselves.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whenever administration fails or seems to fail in securing any of the
+    great ends for which republican government is established, the proper
+    course seems to be to renew the original spirit and forms of the
+    Constitution itself.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 2, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have examined the bill "to provide for the more efficient government
+    of the rebel States" with the care and anxiety which its transcendent
+    importance is calculated to awaken. I am unable to give it my assent,
+    for reasons so grave that I hope a statement of them may have some
+    influence on the minds of the patriotic and enlightened men with whom
+    the decision must ultimately rest.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The bill places all the people of the ten States therein named under the
+    absolute domination of military rulers; and the preamble undertakes to
+    give the reason upon which the measure is based and the ground upon
+    which it is justified. It declares that there exists in those States no
+    legal governments and no adequate protection for life or property, and
+    asserts the necessity of enforcing peace and good order within their
+    limits. Is this true as matter of fact?
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is not denied that the States in question have each of them
+    an actual government, with all the powers&mdash;executive, judicial, and
+    legislative&mdash;which properly belong to a free state. They are organized
+    like the other States of the Union, and, like them, they make,
+    administer, and execute the laws which concern their domestic affairs.
+    An existing <i>de facto</i> government, exercising such functions as these,
+    is itself the law of the state upon all matters within its jurisdiction.
+    To pronounce the supreme law-making power of an established state
+    illegal is to say that law itself is unlawful.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The provisions which these governments have made for the preservation
+    of order, the suppression of crime, and the redress of private injuries
+    are in substance and principle the same as those which prevail in the
+    Northern States and in other civilized countries. They certainly have
+    not succeeded in preventing the commission of all crime, nor has this
+    been accomplished anywhere in the world. There, as well as elsewhere,
+    offenders sometimes escape for want of vigorous prosecution, and
+    occasionally, perhaps, by the inefficiency of courts or the prejudice of
+    jurors. It is undoubtedly true that these evils have been much increased
+    and aggravated, North and South, by the demoralizing influences of civil
+    war and by the rancorous passions which the contest has engendered. But
+    that these people are maintaining local governments for themselves which
+    habitually defeat the object of all government and render their own
+    lives and property insecure is in itself utterly improbable, and the
+    averment of the bill to that effect is not supported by any evidence
+    which has come to my knowledge. All the information I have on the
+    subject convinces me that the masses of the Southern people and those
+    who control their public acts, while they entertain diverse opinions
+    on questions of Federal policy, are completely united in the effort to
+    reorganize their society on the basis of peace and to restore their
+    mutual prosperity as rapidly and as completely as their circumstances
+    will permit.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The bill, however, would seem to show upon its face that the
+    establishment of peace and good order is not its real object. The fifth
+    section declares that the preceding sections shall cease to operate in
+    any State where certain events shall have happened. These events are,
+    first, the selection of delegates to a State convention by an election
+    at which negroes shall be allowed to vote; second, the formation of a
+    State constitution by the convention so chosen; third, the insertion
+    into the State constitution of a provision which will secure the right
+    of voting at all elections to negroes and to such white men as may
+    not be disfranchised for rebellion or felony; fourth, the submission
+    of the constitution for ratification to negroes and white men not
+    disfranchised, and its actual ratification by their vote; fifth, the
+    submission of the State constitution to Congress for examination and
+    approval, and the actual approval of it by that body; sixth, the
+    adoption of a certain amendment to the Federal Constitution by a vote
+    of the legislature elected under the new constitution; seventh, the
+    adoption of said amendment by a sufficient number of other States to
+    make it a part of the Constitution of the United States. All these
+    conditions must be fulfilled before the people of any of these States
+    can be relieved from the bondage of military domination; but when they
+    are fulfilled, then immediately the pains and penalties of the bill are
+    to cease, no matter whether there be peace and order or not, and without
+    any reference to the security of life or property. The excuse given for
+    the bill in the preamble is admitted by the bill itself not to be real.
+    The military rule which it establishes is plainly to be used, not for
+    any purpose of order or for the prevention of crime, but solely as
+    a means of coercing the people into the adoption of principles and
+    measures to which it is known that they are opposed, and upon which
+    they have an undeniable right to exercise their own judgment.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I submit to Congress whether this measure is not in its whole character,
+    scope, and object without precedent and without authority, in palpable
+    conflict with the plainest provisions of the Constitution, and utterly
+    destructive to those great principles of liberty and humanity for which
+    our ancestors on both sides of the Atlantic have shed so much blood and
+    expended so much treasure.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The ten States named in the bill are divided into five districts.
+    For each district an officer of the Army, not below the rank of a
+    brigadier-general, is to be appointed to rule over the people; and he
+    is to be supported with an efficient military force to enable him to
+    perform his duties and enforce his authority. Those duties and that
+    authority, as defined by the third section of the bill, are "to protect
+    all persons in their rights of person and property, to suppress
+    insurrection, disorder, and violence, and to punish or cause to be
+    punished all disturbers of the public peace or criminals." The power
+    thus given to the commanding officer over all the people of each
+    district is that of an absolute monarch. His mere will is to take the
+    place of all law. The law of the States is now the only rule applicable
+    to the subjects placed under his control, and that is completely
+    displaced by the clause which declares all interference of State
+    authority to be null and void. He alone is permitted to determine what
+    are rights of person or property, and he may protect them in such way as
+    in his discretion may seem proper. It places at his free disposal all
+    the lands and goods in his district, and he may distribute them without
+    let or hindrance to whom he pleases. Being bound by no State law, and
+    there being no other law to regulate the subject, he may make a criminal
+    code of his own; and he can make it as bloody as any recorded in
+    history, or he can reserve the privilege of acting upon the impulse of
+    his private passions in each case that arises. He is bound by no rules
+    of evidence; there is, indeed, no provision by which he is authorized or
+    required to take any evidence at all. Everything is a crime which he
+    chooses to call so, and all persons are condemned whom he pronounces to
+    be guilty. He is not bound to keep any record or make any report of his
+    proceedings. He may arrest his victims wherever he finds them, without
+    warrant, accusation, or proof of probable cause. If he gives them a
+    trial before he inflicts the punishment, he gives it of his grace and
+    mercy, not because he is commanded so to do.
+</p>
+<p>
+    To a casual reader of the bill it might seem that some kind of trial was
+    secured by it to persons accused of crime, but such is not the case.
+    The officer "may allow local civil tribunals to try offenders," but
+    of course this does not require that he shall do so. If any State or
+    Federal court presumes to exercise its legal jurisdiction by the trial
+    of a malefactor without his special permission, he can break it up and
+    punish the judges and jurors as being themselves malefactors. He can
+    save his friends from justice, and despoil his enemies contrary to
+    justice.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is also provided that "he shall have power to organize military
+    commissions or tribunals:" but this power he is not commanded to
+    exercise. It is merely permissive, and is to be used only "when in his
+    judgment it may be necessary for the trial of offenders." Even if the
+    sentence of a commission were made a prerequisite to the punishment
+    of a party, it would be scarcely the slightest check upon the officer,
+    who has authority to organize it as he pleases, prescribe its mode of
+    proceeding, appoint its members from his own subordinates, and revise
+    all its decisions. Instead of mitigating the harshness of his single
+    rule, such a tribunal would be used much more probably to divide the
+    responsibility of making it more cruel and unjust.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Several provisions dictated by the humanity of Congress have
+    been inserted in the bill, apparently to restrain the power of the
+    commanding officer; but it seems to me that they are of no avail for
+    that purpose. The fourth section provides: First. That trials shall not
+    be unnecessarily delayed; but I think I have shown that the power is
+    given to punish without trial; and if so, this provision is practically
+    inoperative. Second. Cruel or unusual punishment is not to be inflicted;
+    but who is to decide what is cruel and what is unusual? The words have
+    acquired a legal meaning by long use in the courts. Can it be expected
+    that military officers will understand or follow a rule expressed in
+    language so purely technical and not pertaining in the least degree
+    to their profession? If not, then each officer may define cruelty
+    according to his own temper, and if it is not usual he will make it
+    usual. Corporal punishment, imprisonment, the gag, the ball and chain,
+    and all the almost insupportable forms of torture invented for military
+    punishment lie within the range of choice. Third. The sentence of
+    a commission is not to be executed without being approved by the
+    commander, if it affects life or liberty, and a sentence of death must
+    be approved by the President. This applies to cases in which there has
+    been a trial and sentence. I take it to be clear, under this bill, that
+    the military commander may condemn to death without even the form of a
+    trial by a military commission, so that the life of the condemned may
+    depend upon the will of two men instead of one.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is plain that the authority here given to the military officer
+    amounts to absolute despotism. But to make it still more unendurable,
+    the bill provides that it may be delegated to as many subordinates as he
+    chooses to appoint, for it declares that he shall "punish or cause to be
+    punished." Such a power has not been wielded by any monarch in England
+    for more than five hundred years. In all that time no people who speak
+    the English language have borne such servitude. It reduces the whole
+    population of the ten States&mdash;all persons, of every color, sex, and
+    condition, and every stranger within their limits&mdash;to the most abject
+    and degrading slavery. No master ever had a control so absolute over the
+    slaves as this bill gives to the military officers over both white and
+    colored persons.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It may be answered to this that the officers of the Army are too
+    magnanimous, just, and humane to oppress and trample upon a subjugated
+    people. I do not doubt that army officers are as well entitled to this
+    kind of confidence as any other class of men. But the history of the
+    world has been written in vain if it does not teach us that unrestrained
+    authority can never be safely trusted in human hands. It is almost sure
+    to be more or less abused under any circumstances, and it has always
+    resulted in gross tyranny where the rulers who exercise it are strangers
+    to their subjects and come among them as the representatives of a
+    distant power, and more especially when the power that sends them is
+    unfriendly. Governments closely resembling that here proposed have been
+    fairly tried in Hungary and Poland, and the suffering endured by those
+    people roused the sympathies of the entire world. It was tried in
+    Ireland, and, though tempered at first by principles of English law,
+    it gave birth to cruelties so atrocious that they are never recounted
+    without just indignation. The French Convention armed its deputies with
+    this power and sent them to the southern departments of the Republic.
+    The massacres, murders, and other atrocities which they committed show
+    what the passions of the ablest men in the most civilized society will
+    tempt them to do when wholly unrestrained by law.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The men of our race in every age have struggled to tie up the hands
+    of their governments and keep them within the law, because their own
+    experience of all mankind taught them that rulers could not be relied
+    on to concede those lights which they were not legally bound to respect.
+    The head of a great empire has sometimes governed it with a mild and
+    paternal sway, but the kindness of an irresponsible deputy never yields
+    what the law does not extort from him. Between such a master and the
+    people subjected to his domination there can be nothing but enmity; he
+    punishes them if they resist his authority, and if they submit to it
+    he hates them for their servility.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I come now to a question which is, if possible, still more important.
+    Have we the power to establish and carry into execution a measure like
+    this? I answer, Certainly not, if we derive our authority from the
+    Constitution and if we are bound by the limitations which it imposes.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This proposition is perfectly clear, that no branch of the Federal
+    Government&mdash;executive, legislative, or judicial&mdash;can have any just
+    powers except those which it derives through and exercises under the
+    organic law of the Union. Outside of the Constitution we have no legal
+    authority more than private citizens, and within it we have only so
+    much as that instrument gives us. This broad principle limits all our
+    functions and applies to all subjects. It protects not only the citizens
+    of States which are within the Union, but it shields every human being
+    who comes or is brought under our jurisdiction. We have no right to do
+    in one place more than in another that which the Constitution says we
+    shall not do at all. If, therefore, the Southern States were in truth
+    out of the Union, we could not treat their people in a way which the
+    fundamental law forbids.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Some persons assume that the success of our arms in crushing the
+    opposition which was made in some of the States to the execution of the
+    Federal laws reduced those States and all their people&mdash;the innocent as
+    well as the guilty&mdash;to the condition of vassalage and gave us a power
+    over them which the Constitution does not bestow or define or limit.
+    No fallacy can be more transparent than this. Our victories subjected
+    the insurgents to legal obedience, not to the yoke of an arbitrary
+    despotism. When an absolute sovereign reduces his rebellious subjects,
+    he may deal with them according to his pleasure, because he had that
+    power before. But when a limited monarch puts down an insurrection, he
+    must still govern according to law. If an insurrection should take place
+    in one of our States against the authority of the State government and
+    end in the overthrow of those who planned it, would that take away the
+    rights of all the people of the counties where it was favored by a part
+    or a majority of the population? Could they for such a reason be wholly
+    outlawed and deprived of their representation in the legislature? I have
+    always contended that the Government of the United States was sovereign
+    within its constitutional sphere; that it executed its laws, like
+    the States themselves, by applying its coercive power directly to
+    individuals, and that it could put down insurrection with the same
+    effect as a State and no other. The opposite doctrine is the worst
+    heresy of those who advocated secession, and can not be agreed to
+    without admitting that heresy to be right.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Invasion, insurrection, rebellion, and domestic violence were
+    anticipated when the Government was framed, and the means of repelling
+    and suppressing them were wisely provided for in the Constitution; but
+    it was not thought necessary to declare that the States in which they
+    might occur should be expelled from the Union. Rebellions, which were
+    invariably suppressed, occurred prior to that out of which these
+    questions grow; but the States continued to exist and the Union remained
+    unbroken. In Massachusetts, in Pennsylvania, in Rhode Island, and in New
+    York, at different periods in our history, violent and armed opposition
+    to the United States was carried on; but the relations of those States
+    with the Federal Government were not supposed to be interrupted or
+    changed thereby after the rebellious portions of their population were
+    defeated and put down. It is true that in these earlier cases there was
+    no formal expression of a determination to withdraw from the Union, but
+    it is also true that in the Southern States the ordinances of secession
+    were treated by all the friends of the Union as mere nullities and are
+    now acknowledged to be so by the States themselves. If we admit that
+    they had any force or validity or that they did in fact take the States
+    in which they were passed out of the Union, we sweep from under our feet
+    all the grounds upon which we stand in justifying the use of Federal
+    force to maintain the integrity of the Government.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This is a bill passed by Congress in time of peace. There is not
+    in any one of the States brought under its operation either war or
+    insurrection. The laws of the States and of the Federal Government are
+    all in undisturbed and harmonious operation. The courts, State and
+    Federal, are open and in the full exercise of their proper authority.
+    Over every State comprised in these five military districts, life,
+    liberty, and property are secured by State laws and Federal laws, and
+    the National Constitution is everywhere in force and everywhere obeyed.
+    What, then, is the ground on which this bill proceeds? The title of the
+    bill announces that it is intended "for the more efficient government"
+    of these ten States. It is recited by way of preamble that no legal
+    State governments "nor adequate protection for life or property" exist
+    in those States, and that peace and good order should be thus enforced.
+    The first thing which arrests attention upon these recitals, which
+    prepare the way for martial law, is this, that the only foundation
+    upon which martial law can exist under our form of government is not
+    stated or so much as pretended. Actual war, foreign invasion, domestic
+    insurrection&mdash;none of these appear; and none of these, in fact, exist.
+    It is not even recited that any sort of war or insurrection is
+    threatened. Let us pause here to consider, upon this question of
+    constitutional law and the power of Congress, a recent decision of
+    the Supreme Court of the United States in <i>ex parte</i> Milligan.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I will first quote from the opinion of the majority of the court:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Martial law can not arise from a threatened invasion. The necessity
+  must be actual and present, the invasion real, such as effectually
+  closes the courts and deposes the civil administration.
+</p>
+<p>
+    We see that martial law comes in only when actual war closes the courts
+    and deposes the civil authority; but this bill, in time of peace, makes
+    martial law operate as though we were in actual war, and becomes the
+    <i>cause</i> instead of the <i>consequence</i> of the abrogation of civil
+    authority. One more quotation:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  It follows from what has been said on this subject that there are
+  occasions when martial law can be properly applied. If in foreign
+  invasion or civil war the courts are actually closed, and it is
+  impossible to administer criminal justice according to law, <i>then</i>, on
+  the theater of active military operations, where war really prevails,
+  there is a necessity to furnish a substitute for the civil authority
+  thus overthrown, to preserve the safety of the army and society; and as
+  no power is left but the military, it is allowed to govern by martial
+  rule until the laws can have their free course.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I now quote from the opinion of the minority of the court, delivered by
+    Chief Justice Chase:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  We by no means assert that Congress can establish and apply the laws of
+  war where no war has been declared or exists. Where peace exists, the
+  laws of peace must prevail.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This is sufficiently explicit. Peace exists in all the territory to
+    which this bill applies. It asserts a power in Congress, in time of
+    peace, to set aside the laws of peace and to substitute the laws of war.
+    The minority, concurring with the majority, declares that Congress does
+    not possess that power. Again, and, if possible, more emphatically, the
+    Chief Justice, with remarkable clearness and condensation, sums up the
+    whole matter as follows:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  There are under the Constitution three kinds of military
+  jurisdiction&mdash;one to be exercised both in peace and war; another to be
+  exercised in time of foreign war without the boundaries of the United
+  States, or in time of rebellion and civil war within States or districts
+  occupied by rebels treated as belligerents; and a third to be exercised
+  in time of invasion or insurrection within the limits of the United
+  States, or during rebellion within the limits of the States maintaining
+  adhesion to the National Government, when the public danger requires its
+  exercise. The first of these may be called jurisdiction under military
+  law, and is found in acts of Congress prescribing rules and articles of
+  war or otherwise providing for the government of the national forces;
+  the second may be distinguished as military government, superseding
+  as far as may be deemed expedient the local law, and exercised by
+  the military commander under the direction of the President, with
+  the express or implied sanction of Congress; while the third may be
+  denominated martial law proper, and is called into action by Congress,
+  or temporarily, when the action of Congress can not be invited, and in
+  the case of justifying or excusing peril, by the President, in times of
+  insurrection or invasion or of civil or foreign war, within districts
+  or localities where ordinary law no longer adequately secures public
+  safety and private rights.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It will be observed that of the three kinds of military jurisdiction
+    which can be exercised or created under our Constitution there is but
+    one that can prevail in time of peace, and that is the code of laws
+    enacted by Congress for the government of the national forces. That body
+    of military law has no application to the citizen, nor even to the
+    citizen soldier enrolled in the militia in time of peace. But this bill
+    is not a part of that sort of military law, for that applies only to the
+    soldier and not to the citizen, whilst, contrariwise, the military law
+    provided by this bill applies only to the citizen and not to the
+    soldier.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I need not say to the representatives of the American people that their
+    Constitution forbids the exercise of judicial power in any way but
+    one&mdash;that is, by the ordained and established courts. It is equally well
+    known that in all criminal cases a trial by jury is made indispensable
+    by the express words of that instrument. I will not enlarge on the
+    inestimable value of the right thus secured to every freeman or speak
+    of the danger to public liberty in all parts of the country which must
+    ensue from a denial of it anywhere or upon any pretense. A very recent
+    decision of the Supreme Court has traced the history, vindicated the
+    dignity, and made known the value of this great privilege so clearly
+    that nothing more is needed. To what extent a violation of it might be
+    excused in time of war or public danger may admit of discussion, but we
+    are providing now for a time of profound peace, when there is not an
+    armed soldier within our borders except those who are in the service
+    of the Government. It is in such a condition of things that an act of
+    Congress is proposed which, if carried out, would deny a trial by the
+    lawful courts and juries to 9,000,000 American citizens and to their
+    posterity for an indefinite period. It seems to be scarcely possible
+    that anyone should seriously believe this consistent with a Constitution
+    which declares in simple, plain, and unambiguous language that all
+    persons shall have that right and that no person shall ever in any case
+    be deprived of it. The Constitution also forbids the arrest of the
+    citizen without judicial warrant, founded on probable cause. This bill
+    authorizes an arrest without warrant, at the pleasure of a military
+    commander. The Constitution declares that "no person shall be held to
+    answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on presentment
+    by a grand jury." This bill holds every person not a soldier answerable
+    for all crimes and all charges without any presentment. The Constitution
+    declares that "no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property
+    without due process of law." This bill sets aside all process of law,
+    and makes the citizen answerable in his person and property to the
+    will of one man, and as to his life to the will of two. Finally, the
+    Constitution declares that "the privilege of the writ of <i>habeas corpus</i>
+    shall not be suspended unless when, in case of rebellion or invasion,
+    the public safety may require it;" whereas this bill declares martial
+    law (which of itself suspends this great writ) in time of peace, and
+    authorizes the military to make the arrest, and gives to the prisoner
+    only one privilege, and that is a trial "without unnecessary delay."
+    He has no hope of release from custody, except the hope, such as it is,
+    of release by acquittal before a military commission.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The United States are bound to guarantee to each State a republican form
+    of government. Can it be pretended that this obligation is not palpably
+    broken if we carry out a measure like this, which wipes away every
+    vestige of republican government in ten States and puts the life,
+    property, liberty, and honor of all the people in each of them under
+    the domination of a single person clothed with unlimited authority?
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Parliament of England, exercising the omnipotent power which it
+    claimed, was accustomed to pass bills of attainder; that is to say, it
+    would convict men of treason and other crimes by legislative enactment.
+    The person accused had a hearing, sometimes a patient and fair one, but
+    generally party prejudice prevailed instead of justice. It often became
+    necessary for Parliament to acknowledge its error and reverse its own
+    action. The fathers of our country determined that no such thing should
+    occur here. They withheld the power from Congress, and thus forbade its
+    exercise by that body, and they provided in the Constitution that no
+    State should pass any bill of attainder. It is therefore impossible for
+    any person in this country to be constitutionally convicted or punished
+    for any crime by a legislative proceeding of any sort. Nevertheless,
+    here is a bill of attainder against 9,000,000 people at once. It is
+    based upon an accusation so vague as to be scarcely intelligible and
+    found to be true upon no credible evidence. Not one of the 9,000,000 was
+    heard in his own defense. The representatives of the doomed parties were
+    excluded from all participation in the trial. The conviction is to be
+    followed by the most ignominious punishment ever inflicted on large
+    masses of men. It disfranchises them by hundreds of thousands and
+    degrades them all, even those who are admitted to be guiltless, from
+    the rank of freemen to the condition of slaves.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The purpose and object of the bill&mdash;the general intent which pervades it
+    from beginning to end&mdash;is to change the entire structure and character
+    of the State governments and to compel them by force to the adoption of
+    organic laws and regulations which they are unwilling to accept if left
+    to themselves. The negroes have not asked for the privilege of voting;
+    the vast majority of them have no idea what it means. This bill not only
+    thrusts it into their hands, but compels them, as well as the whites, to
+    use it in a particular way. If they do not form a constitution with
+    prescribed articles in it and afterwards elect a legislature which will
+    act upon certain measures in a prescribed way, neither blacks nor whites
+    can be relieved from the slavery which the bill imposes upon them.
+    Without pausing here to consider the policy or impolicy of Africanizing
+    the southern part of our territory, I would simply ask the attention of
+    Congress to that manifest, well-known, and universally acknowledged rule
+    of constitutional law which declares that the Federal Government has no
+    jurisdiction, authority, or power to regulate such subjects for any
+    State. To force the right of suffrage out of the hands of the white
+    people and into the hands of the negroes is an arbitrary violation of
+    this principle.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This bill imposes martial law at once, and its operations will begin
+    so soon as the general and his troops can be put in place. The dread
+    alternative between its harsh rule and compliance with the terms of this
+    measure is not suspended, nor are the people afforded any time for free
+    deliberation. The bill says to them, take martial law first, <i>then</i>
+    deliberate. And when they have done all that this measure requires them
+    to do other conditions and contingencies over which they have no control
+    yet remain to be fulfilled before they can be relieved from martial law.
+    Another Congress must first approve the Constitution made in conformity
+    with the will of this Congress and must declare these States entitled to
+    representation in both Houses. The whole question thus remains open and
+    unsettled and must again occupy the attention of Congress; and in the
+    meantime the agitation which now prevails will continue to disturb all
+    portions of the people.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The bill also denies the legality of the governments of ten of the
+    States which participated in the ratification of the amendment to the
+    Federal Constitution abolishing slavery forever within the jurisdiction
+    of the United States and practically excludes them from the Union. If
+    this assumption of the bill be correct, their concurrence can not be
+    considered as having been legally given, and the important fact is made
+    to appear that the consent of three-fourths of the States&mdash;the requisite
+    number&mdash;has not been constitutionally obtained to the ratification of
+    that amendment, thus leaving the question of slavery where it stood
+    before the amendment was officially declared to have become a part of
+    the Constitution.
+</p>
+<p>
+    That the measure proposed by this bill does violate the Constitution
+    in the particulars mentioned and in many other ways which I forbear
+    to enumerate is too clear to admit of the least doubt. It only remains
+    to consider whether the injunctions of that instrument ought to be
+    obeyed or not. I think they ought to be obeyed, for reasons which I will
+    proceed to give as briefly as possible.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the first place, it is the only system of free government which we
+    can hope to have as a nation. When it ceases to be the rule of our
+    conduct, we may perhaps take our choice between complete anarchy, a
+    consolidated despotism, and a total dissolution of the Union; but
+    national liberty regulated by law will have passed beyond our reach.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is the best frame of government the world ever saw. No other is or
+    can be so well adapted to the genius, habits, or wants of the American
+    people. Combining the strength of a great empire with unspeakable
+    blessings of local self-government, having a central power to defend the
+    general interests, and recognizing the authority of the States as the
+    guardians of industrial rights, it is "the sheet anchor of our safety
+    abroad and our peace at home." It was ordained "to form a more perfect
+    union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, promote the
+    general welfare, provide for the common defense, and secure the
+    blessings of liberty to ourselves and to our posterity." These great
+    ends have been attained heretofore, and will be again by faithful
+    obedience to it; but they are certain to be lost if we treat with
+    disregard its sacred obligations.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It was to punish the gross crime of defying the Constitution and to
+    vindicate its supreme authority that we carried on a bloody war of four
+    years' duration. Shall we now acknowledge that we sacrificed a million
+    of lives and expended billions of treasure to enforce a Constitution
+    which is not worthy of respect and preservation?
+</p>
+<p>
+    Those who advocated the right of secession alleged in their own
+    justification that we had no regard for law and that their rights of
+    property, life, and liberty would not be safe under the Constitution as
+    administered by us. If we now verify their assertion, we prove that they
+    were in truth and in fact fighting for their liberty, and instead of
+    branding their leaders with the dishonoring name of traitors against a
+    righteous and legal government we elevate them in history to the rank
+    of self-sacrificing patriots, consecrate them to the admiration of the
+    world, and place them by the side of Washington, Hampden, and Sidney.
+    No; let us leave them to the infamy they deserve, punish them as they
+    should be punished, according to law, and take upon ourselves no share
+    of the odium which they should bear alone.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is a part of our public history which can never be forgotten that
+    both Houses of Congress, in July, 1861, declared in the form of a solemn
+    resolution that the war was and should be carried on for no purpose of
+    subjugation, but solely to enforce the Constitution and laws, and that
+    when this was yielded by the parties in rebellion the contest should
+    cease, with the constitutional rights of the States and of individuals
+    unimpaired. This resolution was adopted and sent forth to the world
+    unanimously by the Senate and with only two dissenting voices in the
+    House. It was accepted by the friends of the Union in the South as well
+    as in the North as expressing honestly and truly the object of the war.
+    On the faith of it many thousands of persons in both sections gave their
+    lives and their fortunes to the cause. To repudiate it now by refusing
+    to the States and to the individuals within them the rights which the
+    Constitution and laws of the Union would secure to them is a breach of
+    our plighted honor for which I can imagine no excuse and to which I
+    cannot voluntarily become a party.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The evils which spring from the unsettled state of our Government will
+    be acknowledged by all. Commercial intercourse is impeded, capital is in
+    constant peril, public securities fluctuate in value, peace itself is
+    not secure, and the sense of moral and political duty is impaired. To
+    avert these calamities from our country it is imperatively required that
+    we should immediately decide upon some course of administration which
+    can be steadfastly adhered to. I am thoroughly convinced that any
+    settlement or compromise or plan of action which is inconsistent with
+    the principles of the Constitution will not only be unavailing, but
+    mischievous; that it will but multiply the present evils, instead of
+    removing them. The Constitution, in its whole integrity and vigor,
+    throughout the length and breadth of the land, is the best of all
+    compromises. Besides, our duty does not, in my judgment, leave us a
+    choice between that and any other. I believe that it contains the remedy
+    that is so much needed, and that if the coordinate branches of the
+    Government would unite upon its provisions they would be found broad
+    enough and strong enough to sustain in time of peace the nation which
+    they bore safely through the ordeal of a protracted civil war. Among the
+    most sacred guaranties of that instrument are those which declare that
+    "each State shall have at least one Representative," and that "no
+    State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in
+    the Senate." Each House is made the "judge of the elections, returns,
+    and qualifications of its own members," and may, "with the concurrence
+    of two-thirds, expel a member." Thus, as heretofore urged, "in the
+    admission of Senators and Representatives from any and all of the
+    States there can be no just ground of apprehension that persons who are
+    disloyal will be clothed with the powers of legislation, for this could
+    not happen when the Constitution and the laws are enforced by a vigilant
+    and faithful Congress." "When a Senator or Representative presents his
+    certificate of election, he may at once be admitted or rejected; or,
+    should there be any question as to his eligibility, his credentials may
+    be referred for investigation to the appropriate committee. If admitted
+    to a seat, it must be upon evidence satisfactory to the House of which
+    he thus becomes a member that he possesses the requisite constitutional
+    and legal qualifications. If refused admission as a member for want of
+    due allegiance to the Government, and returned to his constituents, they
+    are admonished that none but persons loyal to the United States will be
+    allowed a voice in the legislative councils of the nation, and the
+    political power and moral influence of Congress are thus effectively
+    exerted in the interests of loyalty to the Government and fidelity to
+    the Union." And is it not far better that the work of restoration should
+    be accomplished by simple compliance with the plain requirements of the
+    Constitution than by a recourse to measures which in effect destroy the
+    States and threaten the subversion of the General Government? All that
+    is necessary to settle this simple but important question without
+    further agitation or delay is a willingness on the part of all to
+    sustain the Constitution and carry its provisions into practical
+    operation. If to-morrow either branch of Congress would declare that
+    upon the presentation of their credentials members constitutionally
+    elected and loyal to the General Government would be admitted to seats
+    in Congress, while all others would be excluded and their places remain
+    vacant until the selection by the people of loyal and qualified persons,
+    and if at the same time assurance were given that this policy would be
+    continued until all the States were represented in Congress, it would
+    send a thrill of joy throughout the entire land, as indicating the
+    inauguration of a system which must speedily bring tranquillity to the
+    public mind.
+</p>
+<p>
+    While we are legislating upon subjects which are of great importance to
+    the whole people, and which must affect all parts of the country, not
+    only during the life of the present generation, but for ages to come, we
+    should remember that all men are entitled at least to a hearing in the
+    councils which decide upon the destiny of themselves and their children.
+    At present ten States are denied representation, and when the Fortieth
+    Congress assembles on the 4th day of the present month sixteen States
+    will be without a voice in the House of Representatives. This grave
+    fact, with the important questions before us, should induce us to pause
+    in a course of legislation which, looking solely to the attainment of
+    political ends, fails to consider the rights it transgresses, the law
+    which it violates, or the institutions which it imperils.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    PROCLAMATIONS.
+</h2>
+<h3>
+    ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<p>
+    <i>To all whom it may concern</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas exequaturs were heretofore issued to the following-named persons
+    at the dates mentioned and for the places specified, recognizing them as
+    consular officers, respectively, of the Kingdom of Hanover, of the
+    Electorate of Hesse, of the Duchy of Nassau, and of the city of
+    Frankfort, and declaring them free to exercise and enjoy functions,
+    powers, and privileges under the said exequaturs, viz:
+</p>
+<p><br>
+  FOR THE KINGDOM OF HANOVER.
+</p><p><br>
+  Julius Frederich, consul at Galveston, Tex., July 28, 1848.<br>
+  Otto Frank, consul at San Francisco, Cal., July 9, 1850.<br>
+  Augustus Reichard, consul at New Orleans, La., January 22, 1853.<br>
+  Kauffmann H. Muller, consul at Savannah, Ga., June 28, 1854.<br>
+  G.C. Baurmeister, consul at Charleston, S.C., April 21, 1856.<br>
+  Adolph Gosling, consul-general at New York, November 7, 1859.<br>
+  G.W. Hennings, vice-consul at New York, July 2, 1860.<br>
+  George Papendiek, consul at Boston, November 3, 1863.<br>
+  Francis A. Hoffmann, consul at Chicago, July 26, 1864.<br>
+  Carl C. Schöttler, consul at Philadelphia, Pa., September 23, 1864.<br>
+  A. Rettberg, consul at Cleveland, Ohio, September 27, 1864.<br>
+  A.C. Wilmaus, consul at Milwaukee, Wis., October 7, 1864.<br>
+  Adolph Meier, consul at St. Louis, Mo., October 7, 1864.<br>
+  Theodor Schwartz, consul at Louisville, Ky., October 12, 1864.<br>
+  Carl F. Adae, consul at Cincinnati, Ohio, October 20, 1864.<br>
+  Werner Dresel, consul at Baltimore, Md., July 25, 1866.<br>
+</p><p><br>
+  FOR THE ELECTORATE OF HESSE.
+</p><p><br>
+  Theodor Wagner, consul at Galveston, Tex., March 7, 1857.<br>
+  Clamor Friedrich Hagedorn, consul at Philadelphia, February 14, 1862.<br>
+  Werner Dresel, consul at Baltimore, Md., September 26, 1864.<br>
+  Friedrich Kuhne, consul at New York, September 30, 1864.<br>
+  Richard Thiele, consul at New Orleans, La., October 18, 1864.<br>
+  Carl Adae, consul at Cincinnati, Ohio, October 20, 1864.<br>
+  Robert Barth, consul at St. Louis, Mo., April 11, 1865.<br>
+  C.F. Mebius, consul at San Francisco, Cal., May 3, 1865.<br>
+</p><p><br>
+  FOR THE DUCHY OF NASSAU.
+</p><p><br>
+  Wilhelm A. Kobbe, consul-general for the United States at New York,
+    November 19, 1846.<br>
+  Friedrich Wilhelm Freudenthal, consul for Louisiana at New Orleans,
+    January 22, 1852.<br>
+  Franz Moureau, consul for the western half of Texas at New Braunfels,
+    April 6, 1857.<br>
+  Carl C. Finkler, consul for California at San Francisco, May 21, 1864.<br>
+  Ludwig von Baumbach, consul for Wisconsin, September 27, 1864.<br>
+  Otto Cuntz, consul for Massachusetts at Boston, October 7, 1864.<br>
+  Friedrich Kuhne, consul at New York, September 30, 1864.<br>
+  Carl F. Adae, consul for the State of Ohio, October 20, 1864.<br>
+  Robert Barth, consul for Missouri, April 18, 1865.<br>
+</p><p><br>
+  FOR THE CITY OF FRANKFORT.
+</p><p><br>
+  John H. Harjes, consul at Philadelphia, Pa., September 27, 1864.<br>
+  F.A. Reuss, consul at St. Louis, Mo., September 30, 1864.<br>
+  A.C. Wilmanns, consul for Wisconsin at Milwaukee, October 7, 1864.<br>
+  Francis A. Hoffmann, consul for Chicago, Ill., October 12, 1864.<br>
+  Carl F. Adae, consul for Ohio and Indiana, October 20, 1864.<br>
+  Jacob Julius de Neufville, consul in New York, July 3, 1866.<br>
+</p>
+<p>
+    And whereas the said countries, namely, the Kingdom of Hanover, the
+    Electorate of Hesse, the Duchy of Nassau, and the city of Frankfort,
+    have, in consequence of the late war between Prussia and Austria, been
+    united to the Crown of Prussia; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas His Majesty the King of Prussia has requested of the President
+    of the United States that the aforesaid exequaturs may, in consequence
+    of the before-recited premises, be revoked:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, these presents do declare that the above-named consular
+    officers are no longer recognized, and that the exequaturs heretofore
+    granted to them are hereby declared to be absolutely null and void from
+    this day forward.
+</p>
+<p>
+    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.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Given under my hand at the city of Washington, this 19th day of
+    December, A.D. 1866, and of the Independence of the United States
+    of America the ninety-first.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<p>
+    <i>To all whom it may concern</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    An exequatur, bearing date the 22d day of March, 1866, having been
+    issued to Gerhard Janssen, recognizing him as consul of Oldenburg for
+    New York and declaring him free to exercise and enjoy such functions,
+    powers, and privileges as are allowed to consuls by the law of nations
+    or by the laws of the United States and existing treaty stipulations
+    between the Government of Oldenburg and the United States, and the said
+    Janssen having refused to appear in the supreme court of the State of
+    New York to answer in a suit there pending against himself and others on
+    the plea that he is a consular officer of Oldenburg, thus seeking to use
+    his official position to defeat the ends of justice, it is deemed
+    advisable that the said Gerhard Janssen should no longer be permitted to
+    continue in the exercise of said functions, powers, and privileges.
+</p>
+<p>
+    These are therefore to declare that I no longer recognize the said
+    Gerhard Janssen as consul of Oldenburg for New York 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.
+</p>
+<p>
+    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.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Given under my hand at Washington, this 26th day of December, A.D. 1866,
+    and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas satisfactory evidence has been received by me from His Imperial
+    Majesty the Emperor of France, through the Marquis de Montholon, his
+    envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, that vessels belonging
+    to citizens of the United States entering any port of France or of its
+    dependencies on or after the 1st day of January, 1867, will not be
+    subjected to the payment of higher duties on tonnage than are levied
+    upon vessels belonging to citizens of France entering the said ports:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States
+    of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by an act of
+    Congress of the 7th day of January, 1824, entitled "An act concerning
+    discriminating duties of tonnage and impost," and by an act in addition
+    thereto of the 24th day of May, 1828, do hereby declare and proclaim
+    that on and after the said 1st day of January, 1867, so long as vessels
+    of the United States shall be admitted to French ports on the terms
+    aforesaid, French vessels entering ports of the United States will be
+    subject to no higher rates of duty on tonnage than are levied upon
+    vessels of the United States in the ports thereof.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 28th day of December, A.D. 1866,
+    and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas, in virtue of the power conferred by the act of Congress
+    approved June 22, 1860, sections 15 and 24 of which act were designed by
+    proper provisions to secure the strict neutrality of citizens of the
+    United States residing in or visiting the Empires of China and Japan, a
+    notification was issued on the 4th of August last by the legation of the
+    United States in Japan, through the consulates of the open ports of that
+    Empire, requesting American shipmasters not to approach the coasts of
+    Suwo and Nagato pending the then contemplated hostilities between the
+    Tycoon of Japan and the Daimio of the said Provinces; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas authentic information having been received by the said legation
+    that such hostilities had actually commenced, a regulation in
+    furtherance of the aforesaid notification and pursuant to the act
+    referred to was issued by the minister resident of the United States in
+    Japan forbidding American merchant vessels from stopping or anchoring at
+    any port or roadstead in that country except the three opened ports,
+    viz, Kanagawa (Yokohama), Nagasaki, and Hakodate, unless in distress or
+    forced by stress of weather, as provided by treaty, and giving notice
+    that masters of vessels committing a breach of the regulation would
+    thereby render themselves liable to prosecution and punishment and also
+    to forfeiture of the protection of the United States if the visit to
+    such nonopened port or roadstead should either involve a breach of
+    treaty or be construed as an act in aid of insurrection or rebellion:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States of America, with a view to prevent acts which might
+    injuriously affect the relations existing between the Government of the
+    United States and that of Japan, do hereby call public attention to the
+    aforesaid notification and regulation, which are hereby sanctioned and
+    confirmed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 12th day of January, A.D. 1867, and
+    of the Independence of the United States the ninety-first.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    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
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas satisfactory evidence has lately been received by me from
+    His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands, through an official
+    communication of His Majesty's minister of foreign relations under date
+    of the 10th of December, 1866, that no other or higher duties of tonnage
+    and impost are imposed or levied in the ports of the Hawaiian Islands
+    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
+    Hawaiian ships and their cargoes in the same ports under like
+    circumstances:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, 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 the Hawaiian Islands and the produce, manufactures,
+    and merchandise imported into the United States in the same from the
+    dominions of the Hawaiian Islands and from any other foreign country
+    whatever, the said suspension to take effect from the said 10th day
+    of December 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 the
+    Hawaiian Islands in the same, as aforesaid, shall be continued on the
+    part of the Government of His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, the 29th day of January, A.D. 1867, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas the Congress of the United States did by an act approved on
+    the 19th day of April, 1864, authorize the people of the Territory
+    of Nebraska 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 upon certain conditions in said act specified; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas said people did adopt a constitution conforming to the
+    provisions and conditions of said act and ask admission into the Union;
+    and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the Congress of the United States did on the 8th and 9th days
+    of February, 1867, in mode prescribed by the Constitution, pass a
+    further act for the admission of the State of Nebraska into the Union,
+    in which last-named act it was provided that it should not take effect
+    except upon the fundamental condition that within the State of Nebraska
+    there should be no denial of the elective franchise or of any other
+    right to any person by reason of race or color, excepting Indians not
+    taxed, and upon the further fundamental condition that the legislature
+    of said State, by a solemn public act, should declare the assent of
+    said State to the said fundamental condition and should transmit to
+    the President of the United States an authenticated copy of said act
+    of the legislature of said State, upon receipt whereof the President,
+    by proclamation, should forthwith announce the fact, whereupon said
+    fundamental condition should be held as a part of the organic law of
+    the State, and thereupon, and without any further proceeding on the
+    part of Congress, the admission of said State into the Union should
+    be considered as complete; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas within the time prescribed by said act of Congress of the 8th
+    and 9th of February, 1867, the legislature of the State of Nebraska did
+    pass an act ratifying the said act of Congress of the 8th and 9th of
+    February, 1867, and declaring that the aforenamed provisions of the
+    third section of said last-named act of Congress should be a part of
+    the organic law of the State of Nebraska; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas a duly authenticated copy of said act of the legislature of the
+    State of Nebraska has been received by me:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States of
+    America, do, in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress
+    last herein named, declare and proclaim the fact that the fundamental
+    conditions imposed by Congress on the State of Nebraska to entitle that
+    State to admission to the Union have been ratified and accepted and that
+    the admission of the said State into the Union is now complete.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand and have caused the seal
+    of the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 1st day of March, A.D. 1867, and of
+    the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [Note.&mdash;The Fortieth Congress, first session, met March 4, 1867,
+    in accordance with the act of January 22, 1867, and on March 30, in
+    accordance with the concurrent resolution of March 29, adjourned to
+    July 3. The Senate met in special session April 1, in conformity to the
+    proclamation of the President of the United States of March 30, and on
+    April 20 adjourned without day. The Fortieth Congress, first session,
+    again met July 3, and on July 20, in accordance with the concurrent
+    resolution of the latter date, adjourned to November 21; again met
+    November 21, and on December 2, 1867, in accordance with the concurrent
+    resolution of November 26, adjourned without day.]
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    SPECIAL MESSAGES.
+</h2>
+<p class="r">
+    MARCH 11, 1867.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 28th of
+    July last, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+    documents.<a href="#note-18"><small>18</small></a>
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON CITY, <i>March 13, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    a treaty concluded this day between the United States and the chiefs and
+    headmen of the Kickapoo tribe of Indians.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A letter of the Secretary of the Interior and a copy of a letter of the
+    Commissioner of Indian Affairs, explanatory of said treaty, are also
+    herewith transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., <i>March 13, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    a treaty concluded in this city on the 15th instant [ultimo] between the
+    United States and the Stockbridge and Munsee tribes of Indians.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 25th instant [ultimo]
+    and a copy of a communication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of
+    the 19th instant [ultimo], explanatory of the said treaty, are also
+    herewith transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., <i>March 13, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    a treaty concluded in this city on the 23d instant [ultimo] between the
+    United States and the following tribes of Indians, viz: The Senecas,
+    the confederated Senecas and Shawnees, the Quapaws, the Ottawas, the
+    confederated Peorias, Kaskaskias, Weas and Piankeshaws, and the Miamis.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 26th instant [ultimo]
+    and a copy of a letter of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 25th
+    instant [ultimo], explanatory of said treaty, are also herewith
+    transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., <i>March 13, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    a treaty concluded on the 2d March, 1866, between the United States and
+    the Shawnee tribe of Indians of Kansas.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 6th instant and a copy
+    of a communication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 2d
+    instant, explanatory of the said treaty, are also herewith transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., <i>March 13, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    a treaty concluded on the 27th instant [ultimo] between the United
+    States and the Pottawatomie tribe of Indians.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 28th instant [ultimo]
+    and a copy of a communication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of
+    the 27th instant [ultimo], explanatory of the said treaty, are also
+    herewith transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., <i>March 13, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon
+    a treaty concluded in this city on the 13th instant [ultimo] between the
+    United States and the Kansas or Kaw tribe of Indians.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 25th instant [ultimo]
+    and a copy of a communication of the 19th instant [ultimo] from the
+    Commissioner of Indian Affairs, explanatory of said treaty, are also
+    herewith transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON CITY, <i>March 13, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    a treaty this day concluded between the United States and the Cherokee
+    Nation of Indians, providing for the sale of their lands in Kansas,
+    known as the "Cherokee neutral lands."
+</p>
+<p>
+    A letter of the Secretary of the Interior and accompanying copy of a
+    letter from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of this date, in relation
+    to the treaty, are also herewith transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 14, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, in further
+    answer to the resolution<a href="#note-19"><small>19</small></a> of the House of Representatives of the 24th
+    of January last.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 15, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in further answer to their resolution of the
+    31st of January last, a report from the Secretary of State, with
+    accompanying documents.<a href="#note-20"><small>20</small></a>
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 20, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their resolution
+    of the 18th instant, a report<a href="#note-21"><small>21</small></a> from the Secretary of State, with its
+    accompanying papers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 20, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their
+    resolution of the 18th instant, a report<a href="#note-22"><small>22</small></a>from the Secretary of State,
+    with an accompanying paper.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 20, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 15th
+    instant, reports<a href="#note-23"><small>23</small></a> from the Secretary of State and the Secretary of
+    the Treasury, with accompanying papers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 20, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 7th
+    instant, relative to the arrest, imprisonment, and treatment of American
+    citizens in Great Britain or its Provinces, I transmit a report from the
+    Secretary of State on the subject.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>March 21, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    a treaty concluded on the 19th of March, 1867, between the United States
+    and the Chippewa tribe of Indians of the Mississippi.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A letter of the Secretary of the Interior and a copy of a letter of Hon.
+    Lewis V. Bogy, special commissioner, of the 20th instant, explanatory of
+    the said treaty, are also herewith transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>March 30, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In giving my approval to the joint resolution providing for the expenses
+    of carrying into full effect an act entitled "An act to provide for the
+    more efficient government of the rebel States," I am moved to do so for
+    the following reason: The seventh section of the act supplementary to
+    the act for the more efficient government of the rebel States provides
+    that the expenses incurred under or by virtue of that act shall be paid
+    out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. This
+    provision is wholly unlimited as to the amount to be expended, whereas
+    the resolution now before me limits the appropriation to $500,000. I
+    consider this limitation as a very necessary check against unlimited
+    expenditure and liabilities. Yielding to that consideration, I feel
+    bound to approve this resolution, without modifying in any manner any
+    objections heretofore stated against the original and supplemental acts.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 30, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+    ratification, a treaty between the United States and His Majesty the
+    Emperor of all the Russias upon the subject of a cession of territory by
+    the latter to the former, which treaty was this day signed in this city
+    by the plenipotentiaries of the parties.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    PROCLAMATION.
+</h2>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas objects of interest to the United States require that the Senate
+    should be convened at 12 o'clock on Monday, the 1st day of April next,
+    to receive and act upon such communications as may be made to it on the
+    part of the Executive.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, 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 Monday, the 1st day of April next, at 12 o'clock 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.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Given under my hand and the seal of the United States, at Washington,
+    the 30th day of March, A.D. 1867, and of the Independence of the United
+    States of America the ninety-first.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    SPECIAL MESSAGES.
+</h2>
+<center>
+    [The following messages were sent to the special session of the Senate.]
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 28, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 20th
+    instant, a report<a href="#note-24"><small>24</small></a> from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+    documents.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 12, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 10th
+    instant, calling for information relative to prisoners of war taken by
+    belligerents in the Mexican Republic, a report from the Secretary of
+    State, with accompanying papers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 13, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 28th of January
+    last, requesting certain information in regard to governors,
+    secretaries, and judges of Territories, I transmit herewith reports<a href="#note-25"><small>25</small></a>
+    from the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Interior, and the
+    Attorney-General.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 15, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 13th
+    instant, a report<a href="#note-26"><small>26</small></a> from the Secretary of State.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 16, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith reports from the heads of the several Executive
+    Departments, in answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 11th
+    instant, requesting "copies of any official opinions which may have been
+    given by the Attorney-General, the Solicitor of the Treasury, or by any
+    other officer of the Government on the interpretation of the act of
+    Congress regulating the tenure of office, and especially with regard to
+    appointments by the President during the recess of Congress."
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>
+    [The following messages were sent to the Fortieth Congress, first session.]
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 5, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+    ratification, a convention for commercial reciprocity between the
+    United States and His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands, which
+    convention was signed by the plenipotentiaries of the parties in the
+    city of San Francisco on the 21st day of May last.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 5, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to Congress a copy of a convention between the United States
+    and the Republic of Venezuela for the adjustment of claims of citizens
+    of the United States on the Government of that Republic. The
+    ratifications of this convention were exchanged at Caracas on the 10th
+    of April last. As its first article stipulates that the commissioners
+    shall meet in that city within four months from that date, the
+    expediency of passing the usual act for the purpose of carrying the
+    convention into effect will, of course, engage the attention of
+    Congress.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 6, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to Congress a copy of a treaty between the United States and
+    His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, the ratifications of which
+    were exchanged in this city on the 20th day of June last.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This instrument provides for a cession of territory to the United States
+    in consideration of the payment of $7,200,000 in gold. The attention of
+    Congress is invited to the subject of an appropriation for this payment,
+    and also to that of proper legislation for the occupation and government
+    of the territory as a part of the dominion of the United States.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 6, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+    ratification, a convention between the United States, Great Britain,
+    France, the Netherlands, and Japan, concluded at Yedo on the 25th of
+    June, 1866.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 8, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Attorney-General, additional to
+    the reports submitted by him December 31, 1866, and March 2, 1867, in
+    reply to a resolution of the House of Representatives of December 10,
+    1866, requesting "a list of names of all persons engaged in the late
+    rebellion against the United States Government who have been pardoned by
+    the President from April 15, 1865, to this date; that said list shall
+    also state the rank of each person who has been so pardoned, if he has
+    been engaged in the military service of the so-called Confederate
+    government, and the position if he shall have held any civil office
+    under said so-called Confederate government; and shall also further
+    state whether such person has at any time prior to April 14, 1861, held
+    any office under the United States Government, and, if so, what office,
+    together with the reasons for granting such pardon, and also the names
+    of the person or persons at whose solicitation such pardon was granted."
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 9, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    5th of July, requesting the President "to inform the House what States
+    have ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the United States
+    proposed by concurrent resolution of the two Houses of Congress, June
+    16, 1866," I transmit a report from the Secretary of State.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 10, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with so much of the resolution of the House of
+    Representatives of the 8th instant as requests information in regard to
+    certain agreements said to have been entered into between the United
+    States, European and West Virginia Land and Mining Company and certain
+    reputed agents of the Republic of Mexico, I transmit a report from the
+    Secretary of State and the papers accompanying it.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 11, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    3d instant, requesting me to transmit all the official correspondence
+    between the Department of State and the Hon. Lewis D. Campbell, late
+    minister to Mexico, and also that with his successor, I communicate a
+    report from the Secretary of State and the papers accompanying it.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 12, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 8th instant,
+    requesting me to transmit "all the official correspondence between the
+    Department of State and the Hon. Lewis D. Campbell, late minister
+    of the United States to the Republic of Mexico, from the time of his
+    appointment, also the correspondence of the Department with his
+    successor," I communicate herewith a report on the subject from the
+    Secretary of State, from which it appears that the correspondence
+    called for by the Senate has already been communicated to the House
+    of Representatives.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>July 15, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith reports from the Secretary of War and the
+    Attorney-General, containing the information called for by the
+    resolution of the Senate of the 3d instant, requesting the President "to
+    communicate to the Senate copies of all orders, instructions, circular
+    letters, or letters of advice issued to the respective military officers
+    assigned to the command of the several military districts under the act
+    passed March 2, 1867, entitled 'An act to provide for the more efficient
+    government of the rebel States,' and the act supplementary thereto,
+    passed March 23, 1867; also copies of all opinions given to him by the
+    Attorney-General of the United States touching the construction and
+    interpretation of said acts, and of all correspondence relating to the
+    operation, construction, or execution of said acts that may have taken
+    place between himself and any of said commanders, or between him and the
+    General of the Army, or between the latter and any of said commanders,
+    touching the same subjects; also copies of all orders issued by any of
+    said commanders in carrying out the provisions of said acts or either of
+    them; also that he inform the Senate what progress has been made in the
+    matter of registration under said acts, and whether the sum of money
+    heretofore appropriated for carrying them out is probably sufficient."
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to that portion of the resolution which inquires whether the
+    sum of money heretofore appropriated for carrying these acts into effect
+    is probably sufficient, reference is made to the accompanying report
+    of the Secretary of War. It will be seen from that report that the
+    appropriation of $500,000 made in the act approved March 30, 1867, for
+    the purpose of carrying into effect the "Act to provide for the more
+    efficient government of the rebel States," passed March 2, 1867, and the
+    act supplementary thereto, passed March 23, 1867, has already been
+    expended by the commanders of the several military districts, and that,
+    in addition, the sum of $1,648,277 is required for present purposes.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is exceedingly difficult at the present time to estimate the probable
+    expense of carrying into full effect the two acts of March last and the
+    bill which passed the two Houses of Congress on the 13th instant. If the
+    existing governments of ten States of the Union are to be deposed and
+    their entire machinery is to be placed under the exclusive control and
+    authority of the respective district commanders, all the expenditures
+    incident to the administration of such governments must necessarily be
+    incurred by the Federal Government. It is believed that, in addition to
+    the $2,100,000 already expended or estimated for, the sum which would
+    be required for this purpose would not be less than $14,000,000&mdash;the
+    aggregate amount expended prior to the rebellion in the administration
+    of their respective governments by the ten States embraced in the
+    provisions of these acts. This sum would no doubt be considerably
+    augmented if the machinery of these States is to be operated by the
+    Federal Government, and would be largely increased if the United States,
+    by abolishing the existing State governments, should become responsible
+    for liabilities incurred by them before the rebellion in laudable
+    efforts to develop their resources, and in no wise created for
+    insurrectionary or revolutionary purposes. The debts of these States,
+    thus legitimately incurred, when accurately ascertained will, it is
+    believed, approximate $100,000,000; and they are held not only by our
+    own citizens, among whom are residents of portions of the country which
+    have ever remained loyal to the Union, but by persons who are the
+    subjects of foreign governments. It is worthy the consideration of
+    Congress and the country whether, if the Federal Government by its
+    action were to assume such obligations, so large an addition to our
+    public expenditures would not seriously impair the credit of the nation,
+    or, on the other hand, whether the refusal of Congress to guarantee
+    the payment of the debts of these States, after having displaced or
+    abolished their State governments, would not be viewed as a violation of
+    good faith and a repudiation by the national legislature of liabilities
+    which these States had justly and legally incurred.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 18, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 8th instant,
+    requesting me to furnish to that body copies of any correspondence on
+    the files of the Department of State relating to any recent events in
+    Mexico, I communicate a report from the Secretary of State, with the
+    papers accompanying it.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 18, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with that part of the resolution of the House of
+    Representatives of the 8th instant which requests me to transmit to
+    the House of Representatives any official correspondence or other
+    information relating to the capture and execution of Maximilian and
+    the arrest and reported execution of Santa Anna in Mexico, I inclose
+    herewith a report from the Secretary of State, from which it appears
+    that the correspondence called for by the House of Representatives has
+    already been communicated to the Senate of the United States.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 20, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have received a resolution adopted by the House of Representatives
+    on the 8th instant, inquiring "whether the publication which appeared
+    in the National Intelligencer and other public prints on the 21st of
+    June last, and which contained a statement of the proceedings of the
+    President and Cabinet in respect to an interpretation of the acts of
+    Congress commonly known as the reconstruction acts, was made by the
+    authority of the President or with his knowledge and consent," and
+    "whether the full and complete record or minute of all the proceedings,
+    conclusions, and determinations of the President and Cabinet relating to
+    said acts of Congress and their interpretation is embraced or given in
+    said publication," and also requesting that "a true copy of the full
+    and complete record or minute of such proceedings, conclusions, and
+    determinations in regard to the interpretation of said reconstruction
+    acts" be furnished to the House.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the request of the House of Representatives, I have
+    to state that the publication to which the resolution refers was made
+    by proper authority, and that it comprises the proceedings in Cabinet
+    relating to the acts of Congress mentioned in the inquiry, upon which,
+    after taking the opinions of the heads of the several Executive
+    Departments of the Government, I had announced my own conclusions. Other
+    questions arising from these acts have been under consideration, upon
+    which, however, no final conclusion has been reached. No publication in
+    reference to them has, therefore, been authorized by me; but should it
+    at any time be deemed proper and advantageous to the interests of the
+    country to make public those or any other proceedings of the Cabinet,
+    authority for their promulgation will be given by the President.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A correct copy of the record of the proceedings, published in the
+    National Intelligencer and other newspapers on the 21st ultimo, is
+    herewith transmitted, together with a copy of the instructions based
+    upon the conclusions of the President and Cabinet and sent to the
+    commanders of the several military districts created by act of Congress
+    of March 2, 1867.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  IN CABINET, <i>June 18, 1867</i>.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Present: The President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of
+  the Treasury, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, the
+  Postmaster-General, the Attorney-General, the Acting Secretary of
+  the Interior.
+</p><p class="q">
+  The President announced that he had under consideration the two opinions
+  from the Attorney-General as to the legal questions arising upon the
+  acts of Congress commonly known as the reconstruction acts, and that in
+  view of the great magnitude of the subject and of the various interests
+  involved he deemed it proper to have it considered fully in the Cabinet
+  and to avail himself of all the light which could be afforded by the
+  opinions and advice of the members of the Cabinet, to enable him to see
+  that these laws be faithfully executed and to decide what orders and
+  instructions are necessary and expedient to be given to the military
+  commanders.
+</p><p class="q">
+  The President said further that the branch of the subject that seemed to
+  him first in order for consideration was as to the instructions to be
+  sent to the military commanders for their guidance and for the guidance
+  of persons offering for registration. The instructions proposed by the
+  Attorney-General, as set forth in the summary contained in his last
+  opinion, will therefore be now considered.
+</p><p class="q">
+  The summary was then read at length.
+</p><p class="q">
+  The reading of the summary having been concluded, each section was then
+  considered, discussed, and voted upon as follows:
+</p><p class="q">
+  1. The oath prescribed in the supplemental act defines all the
+  qualifications required, and every person who can take that oath is
+  entitled to have his name entered upon the list of voters.
+</p><p class="q">
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who votes "nay."
+</p><p class="q">
+  2. The board of registration have no authority to administer any other
+  oath to the person applying for registration than this prescribed
+  oath, nor to administer any oath to any other person touching the
+  qualifications of the applicant or the falsity of the oath so taken
+  by him.
+</p><p class="q">
+  No provision is made for challenging the qualifications of the applicant
+  or entering upon any trial or investigation of his qualifications,
+  either by witnesses or any other form of proof.
+</p><p class="q">
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who votes "nay."
+</p><p class="q">
+  3. As to citizenship and residence:
+</p><p class="q">
+  The applicant for registration must be a citizen of the State and of the
+  United States, and must be a resident of a county or parish included in
+  the election district. He may be registered if he has been such citizen
+  for a period less than twelve months at the time he applies for
+  registration, but he can not vote at any election unless his citizenship
+  has then extended to the full term of one year. As to such a person, the
+  exact length of his citizenship should be noted opposite his name on the
+  list, so that it may appear on the day of election, upon reference to
+  the list, whether the full term has then been accomplished.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+</p><p class="q">
+  4. An unnaturalized person can not take this oath, but an alien who has
+  been naturalized can take it, and no other proof of naturalization can
+  be required from him.
+</p><p class="q">
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who votes "nay."
+</p><p class="q">
+  5. No one who is not 21 years of age at the time of registration can
+  take the oath, for he must swear that he has then attained that age.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+</p><p class="q">
+  6. No one who has been disfranchised for participation in any rebellion
+  against the United States or for felony committed against the laws of
+  any State or of the United States can take this oath.
+</p><p class="q">
+  The actual participation in a rebellion or the actual commission of a
+  felony does not amount to disfranchisement. The sort of disfranchisement
+  here meant is that which is declared by law passed by competent
+  authority, or which has been fixed upon the criminal by the sentence of
+  the court which tried him for the crime.
+</p><p class="q">
+  No law of the United States has declared the penalty of disfranchisement
+  for participation in rebellion alone; nor is it known that any such law
+  exists in either of these ten States, except, perhaps, Virginia, as to
+  which State special instructions will be given.
+</p><p class="q">
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who dissents as to the
+  second and third paragraphs.
+</p><p class="q">
+  7. As to disfranchisement arising from having held office followed by
+  participation in rebellion:
+</p><p class="q">
+  This is the most important part of the oath, and requires strict
+  attention to arrive at its meaning. The applicant must swear or affirm
+  as follows:
+</p><p class="q">
+  "That I have never been a member of any State legislature, nor held any
+  executive or judicial office in any State, and afterwards engaged in an
+  insurrection or rebellion against the United States or given aid or
+  comfort to the enemies thereof; that I have never taken an oath as a
+  member of Congress of the United States, or as an officer of the United
+  States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or
+  judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United
+  States, and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the
+  United States or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."
+</p><p class="q">
+  Two elements must concur in order to disqualify a person under these
+  clauses: First, the office and official oath to support the Constitution
+  of the United States; second, engaging afterwards in rebellion. Both
+  must exist to work disqualification, and must happen in the order of
+  time mentioned.
+</p><p class="q">
+  A person who has held an office and taken the oath to support the
+  Federal Constitution and has not afterwards engaged in rebellion is not
+  disqualified. So, too, a person who has engaged in rebellion, but has
+  not theretofore held an office and taken that oath, is not disqualified.
+</p><p class="q">
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who votes "nay."
+</p><p class="q">
+  8. Officers of the United States:
+</p><p class="q">
+  As to these the language is without limitation. The person who has at
+  any time prior to the rebellion held any office, civil or military,
+  under the United States, and has taken an official oath to support the
+  Constitution of the United States, is subject to disqualification.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+</p><p class="q">
+  9. Militia officers of any State prior to the rebellion are not subject
+  to disqualification.
+</p><p class="q">
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who votes "nay."
+</p><p class="q">
+  10. Municipal officers&mdash;that is to say, officers of incorporated cities,
+  towns, and villages, such as mayors, aldermen, town council, police, and
+  other city or town officers&mdash;are not subject to disqualification.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+</p><p class="q">
+  11. Persons who have prior to the rebellion been members of the Congress
+  of the United States or members of a State legislature are subject to
+  disqualification, but those who have been members of conventions framing
+  or amending the constitution of a State prior to the rebellion are not
+  subject to disqualification.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+</p><p class="q">
+  12. All the executive or judicial officers of any State who took an
+  oath to support the Constitution of the United States are subject
+  to disqualification, including county officers. They are subject to
+  disqualification if they were required to take as a part of their
+  official oath the oath to support the Constitution of the United States.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+</p><p class="q">
+  13. Persons who exercised mere employments under State authority are
+  not disqualified; such as commissioners to lay out roads, commissioners
+  of public works, visitors of State institutions, directors of State
+  institutions, examiners of banks, notaries public, commissioners to
+  take acknowledgments of deeds.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Concurred in unanimously; but the Secretary of State, the Secretary of
+  the Treasury, and the Secretary of War express the opinion that lawyers
+  are such officers as are disqualified if they participated in the
+  rebellion. Two things must exist as to any person to disqualify him from
+  voting: First, the office held prior to the rebellion, and, afterwards,
+  participation in the rebellion.
+</p><p class="q">
+  14. An act to fix upon a person the offense of engaging in rebellion
+  under this law must be an overt and voluntary act, done with the intent
+  of aiding or furthering the common unlawful purpose. A person forced
+  into the rebel service by conscription or under a paramount authority
+  which he could not safely disobey, and who would not have entered such
+  service if left to the free exercise of his own will, can not be held
+  to be disqualified from voting.
+</p><p class="q">
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who votes "nay" as the
+  proposition is stated.
+</p><p class="q">
+  15. Mere acts of charity, where the intent is to relieve the wants of
+  the object of such charity, and not done in aid of the cause in which he
+  may have been engaged, do not disqualify; but organized contributions
+  of food and clothing for the general relief of persons engaged in the
+  rebellion, and not of a merely sanitary character, but contributed to
+  enable them to perform their unlawful object, maybe classed with acts
+  which do disqualify. Forced contributions to the rebel cause in the form
+  of taxes or military assessments, which a person was compelled to pay or
+  contribute, do not disqualify; but voluntary contributions to the rebel
+  cause, even such indirect contributions as arise from the voluntary loan
+  of money to the rebel authorities or purchase of bonds or securities
+  created to afford the means of carrying on the rebellion, will work
+  disqualification.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+</p><p class="q">
+  16. All those who in legislative or other official capacity were engaged
+  in the furtherance of the common unlawful purpose, where the duties of
+  the office necessarily had relation to the support of the rebellion,
+  such as members of the rebel conventions, congresses, and legislatures,
+  diplomatic agents of the rebel Confederacy, and other officials whose
+  offices were created for the purpose of more effectually carrying on
+  hostilities or whose duties appertained to the support of the rebel
+  cause, must be held to be disqualified; but officers who during the
+  rebellion discharged official duties not incident to war, but only such
+  duties as belong even to a state of peace and were necessary to the
+  preservation of order and the administration of law, are not to be
+  considered as thereby engaging in rebellion or as disqualified. Disloyal
+  sentiments, opinions, or sympathies would not disqualify, but where a
+  person has by speech or writing incited others to engage in rebellion he
+  must come under the disqualification.
+</p><p class="q">
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who dissents to the second
+  paragraph, with the exception of the words "where a person has by speech
+  or by writing incited others to engage in rebellion he must come under
+  the disqualification."
+</p><p class="q">
+  17. The duties of the board appointed to superintend the elections.
+</p><p class="q">
+  This board, having the custody of the list of registered voters in the
+  district for which it is constituted, must see that the name of the
+  person offering to vote is found upon the registration list, and if such
+  proves to be the fact it is the duty of the board to receive his vote if
+  then qualified by residence. They can not receive the vote of any person
+  whose name is not upon the list, though he may be ready to take the
+  registration oath, and although he may satisfy them that he was unable
+  to have his name registered at the proper time, in consequence of
+  absence, sickness, or other cause.
+</p><p class="q">
+  The board can not enter into any inquiry as to the qualifications of
+  any person whose name is not on the registration list, or as to the
+  qualifications of any person whose name is on that list.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+</p><p class="q">
+  18. The mode of voting is provided in the act to be by ballot. The board
+  will keep a record and poll book of the election, showing the votes,
+  list of voters, and the persons elected by a plurality of the votes cast
+  at the election, and make returns of these to the commanding general of
+  the district.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+</p><p class="q">
+  19. The board appointed for registration and for superintending the
+  elections must take the oath prescribed by the act of Congress approved
+  July 2, 1862, entitled "An act to prescribe an oath of office."
+</p><p class="q">
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  IN CABINET, <i>June 20, 1867</i>.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Present: The same Cabinet officers as on the 18th, except the Acting
+  Secretary of the Interior.
+</p><p class="q">
+  The President announced to the Cabinet that after full deliberation he
+  concurred with the majority upon the sections of the summary upon which
+  the Secretary of War expressed his dissent, and that he concurred with
+  the Cabinet upon those sections approved by unanimous vote; that as it
+  appeared the military commanders entertained doubts upon the points
+  covered by the summary, and as their action hitherto had not been
+  uniform, he deemed it proper, without further delay, to communicate in
+  a general order<a href="#note-27"><small>27</small></a> to the respective commanders the points set forth
+  in the summary.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    VETO MESSAGES.
+</h2>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 23, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have considered the bill entitled "An act supplementary to an act
+    entitled 'An act to provide for the more efficient government of the
+    rebel States,' passed March 2, 1867, and to facilitate restoration,"
+    and now return it to the House of Representatives with my objections.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This bill provides for elections in the ten States brought under the
+    operation of the original act to which it is supplementary. Its details
+    are principally directed to the elections for the formation of the State
+    constitutions, but by the sixth section of the bill "all elections"
+    in these States occurring while the original act remains in force are
+    brought within its purview. Referring to these details, it will be found
+    that, first of all, there is to be a registration of the voters. No one
+    whose name has not been admitted on the list is to be allowed to vote at
+    any of these elections. To ascertain who is entitled to registration,
+    reference is made necessary, by the express language of the supplement,
+    to the original act and to the pending bill. The fifth section of the
+    original act provides, as to voters, that they shall be "male citizens
+    of the State, 21 years old and upward, of whatever race, color, or
+    previous condition, who have been residents of said State for one
+    year." This is the general qualification, followed, however, by many
+    exceptions. No one can be registered, according to the original act,
+    "who may be disfranchised for participation in the rebellion"&mdash;a
+    provision which left undetermined the question as to what amounted to
+    disfranchisement, and whether without a judicial sentence the act
+    itself produced that effect. This supplemental bill superadds an oath,
+    to be taken by every person before his name can be admitted upon the
+    registration, that he has "not been disfranchised for participation in
+    any rebellion or civil war against the United States." It thus imposes
+    upon every person the necessity and responsibility of deciding for
+    himself, under the peril of punishment by a military commission if
+    he makes a mistake, what works disfranchisement by participation in
+    rebellion and what amounts to such participation. Almost every man&mdash;the
+    negro as well as the white&mdash;above 21 years of age who was resident in
+    these ten States during the rebellion, voluntarily or involuntarily, at
+    some time and in some way did participate in resistance to the lawful
+    authority of the General Government. The question with the citizen to
+    whom this oath is to be proposed must be a fearful one, for while the
+    bill does not declare that perjury may be assigned for such false
+    swearing nor fix any penalty for the offense, we must not forget that
+    martial law prevails; that every person is answerable to a military
+    commission, without previous presentment by a grand jury, for any charge
+    that may be made against him, and that the supreme authority of the
+    military commander determines the question as to what is an offense
+    and what is to be the measure of punishment.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The fourth section of the bill provides "that the commanding general of
+    each district shall appoint as many boards of registration as may be
+    necessary, consisting of three loyal officers or persons." The only
+    qualification stated for these officers is that they must be "loyal."
+    They may be persons in the military service or civilians, residents of
+    the State or strangers. Yet these persons are to exercise most important
+    duties and are vested with unlimited discretion. They are to decide what
+    names shall be placed upon the register and from their decision there is
+    to be no appeal. They are to superintend the elections and to decide all
+    questions which may arise. They are to have the custody of the ballots
+    and to make return of the persons elected. Whatever frauds or errors
+    they may commit must pass without redress. All that is left for the
+    commanding general is to receive the returns of the elections, open the
+    same, and ascertain who are chosen "according to the returns of the
+    officers who conducted said elections." By such means and with this
+    sort of agency are the conventions of delegates to be constituted.
+</p>
+<p>
+    As the delegates are to speak for the people, common justice would seem
+    to require that they should have authority from the people themselves.
+    No convention so constituted will in any sense represent the wishes of
+    the inhabitants of these States, for under the all-embracing exceptions
+    of these laws, by a construction which the uncertainty of the clause as
+    to disfranchisement leaves open to the board of officers, the great body
+    of the people may be excluded from the polls and from all opportunity of
+    expressing their own wishes or voting for delegates who will faithfully
+    reflect their sentiments.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I do not deem it necessary further to investigate the details of this
+    bill. No consideration could induce me to give my approval to such an
+    election law for any purpose, and especially for the great purpose of
+    framing the constitution of a State. If ever the American citizen should
+    be left to the free exercise of his own judgment it is when he is
+    engaged in the work of forming the fundamental law under which he is to
+    live. That work is his work, and it can not properly be taken out of his
+    hands. All this legislation proceeds upon the contrary assumption that
+    the people of each of these States shall have no constitution except
+    such as may be arbitrarily dictated by Congress and formed under the
+    restraint of military rule. A plain statement of facts makes this
+    evident.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In all these States there are existing constitutions, framed in the
+    accustomed way by the people. Congress, however, declares that these
+    constitutions are not "loyal and republican," and requires the people to
+    form them anew. What, then, in the opinion of Congress, is necessary to
+    make the constitution of a State "loyal and republican"? The original
+    act answers the question: It is universal negro suffrage&mdash;a question
+    which the Federal Constitution leaves exclusively to the States
+    themselves. All this legislative machinery of martial law, military
+    coercion, and political disfranchisement is avowedly for that purpose
+    and none other. The existing constitutions of the ten States conform to
+    the acknowledged standards of loyalty and republicanism. Indeed, if
+    there are degrees in republican forms of government, their constitutions
+    are more republican now than when these States, four of which were
+    members of the original thirteen, first became members of the Union.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Congress does not now demand that a single provision of their
+    constitutions be changed except such as confine suffrage to the white
+    population. It is apparent, therefore, that these provisions do not
+    conform to the standard of republicanism which Congress seeks to
+    establish. That there may be no mistake, it is only necessary that
+    reference should be made to the original act, which declares "such
+    constitution shall provide that the elective franchise shall be enjoyed
+    by all such persons as have the qualifications herein stated for
+    electors of delegates." What class of persons is here meant clearly
+    appears in the same section; that is to say, "the male citizens of said
+    State 21 years old and upward, of whatever race, color, or previous
+    condition, who have been resident in said State for one year previous
+    to the day of such election."
+</p>
+<p>
+    Without these provisions no constitution which can be framed in any one
+    of the ten States will be of any avail with Congress. This, then, is the
+    test of what the constitution of a State of this Union must contain to
+    make it republican. Measured by such a standard, how few of the States
+    now composing the Union have republican constitutions! If in the
+    exercise of the constitutional guaranty that Congress shall secure to
+    every State a republican form of government universal suffrage for
+    blacks as well as whites is a <i>sine qua non</i>, the work of reconstruction
+    may as well begin in Ohio as in Virginia, in Pennsylvania as in North
+    Carolina.
+</p>
+<p>
+    When I contemplate the millions of our fellow-citizens of the South
+    with no alternative left but to impose upon themselves this fearful
+    and untried experiment of complete negro enfranchisement&mdash;and white
+    disfranchisement, it may be, almost as complete&mdash;or submit indefinitely
+    to the rigor of martial law, without a single attribute of freemen,
+    deprived of all the sacred guaranties of our Federal Constitution, and
+    threatened with even worse wrongs, if any worse are possible, it seems
+    to me their condition is the most deplorable to which any people can be
+    reduced. It is true that they have been engaged in rebellion and that
+    their object being a separation of the States and a dissolution of the
+    Union there was an obligation resting upon every loyal citizen to treat
+    them as enemies and to wage war against their cause.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Inflexibly opposed to any movement imperiling the integrity of the
+    Government, I did not hesitate to urge the adoption of all measures
+    necessary for the suppression of the insurrection. After a long and
+    terrible struggle the efforts of the Government were triumphantly
+    successful, and the people of the South, submitting to the stern
+    arbitrament, yielded forever the issues of the contest. Hostilities
+    terminated soon after it became my duty to assume the responsibilities
+    of the chief executive officer of the Republic, and I at once endeavored
+    to repress and control the passions which our civil strife had
+    engendered, and, no longer regarding these erring millions as enemies,
+    again acknowledged them as our friends and our countrymen. The war had
+    accomplished its objects. The nation was saved and that seminal
+    principle of mischief which from the birth of the Government had
+    gradually but inevitably brought on the rebellion was totally
+    eradicated. Then, it seemed to me, was the auspicious time to commence
+    the work of reconciliation; then, when these people sought once more our
+    friendship and protection, I considered it our duty generously to meet
+    them in the spirit of charity and forgiveness and to conquer them even
+    more effectually by the magnanimity of the nation than by the force of
+    its arms. I yet believe that if the policy of reconciliation then
+    inaugurated, and which contemplated an early restoration of these people
+    to all their political rights, had received the support of Congress,
+    every one of these ten States and all their people would at this moment
+    be fast anchored in the Union and the great work which gave the war all
+    its sanction and made it just and holy would have been accomplished.
+    Then over all the vast and fruitful regions of the South peace and its
+    blessings would have prevailed, while now millions are deprived of
+    rights guaranteed by the Constitution to every citizen and after nearly
+    two years of legislation find themselves placed under an absolute
+    military despotism. "A military republic, a government founded on mock
+    elections and supported only by the sword," was nearly a quarter of a
+    century since pronounced by Daniel Webster, when speaking of the South
+    American States, as "a movement, indeed, but a retrograde and disastrous
+    movement, from the regular and old-fashioned monarchical systems;" and
+    he added:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  If men would enjoy the blessings of republican government, they must
+  govern themselves by reason, by mutual counsel and consultation, by a
+  sense and feeling of general interest, and by the acquiescence of the
+  minority in the will of the majority, properly expressed; and, above
+  all, the military must be kept, according to the language of our bill of
+  rights, in strict subordination to the civil authority. Wherever this
+  lesson is not both learned and practiced there can be no political
+  freedom. Absurd, preposterous is it, a scoff and a satire on free forms
+  of constitutional liberty, for frames of government to be prescribed by
+  military leaders and the right of suffrage to be exercised at the point
+  of the sword.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I confidently believe that a time will come when these States will again
+    occupy their true positions in the Union. The barriers which now seem so
+    obstinate must yield to the force of an enlightened and just public
+    opinion, and sooner or later unconstitutional and oppressive legislation
+    will be effaced from our statute books. When this shall have been
+    consummated, I pray God that the errors of the past may be forgotten and
+    that once more we shall be a happy, united, and prosperous people, and
+    that at last, after the bitter and eventful experience through which the
+    nation has passed, we shall all come to know that our only safety is in
+    the preservation of our Federal Constitution and in according to every
+    American citizen and to every State the rights which that Constitution
+    secures.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>April 10, 1867</i>.<a href="#note-28"><small>28</small></a>
+</p>
+<p>
+    The first session of the Fortieth Congress adjourned on the 30th day
+    of March, 1867. This bill,<a href="#note-29"><small>29</small></a> which was passed during that session,
+    was not presented for my approval by the Hon. Edmund G. Ross, of the
+    Senate of the United States, and a member of the Committee on Enrolled
+    Bills, until Monday, the 1st day of April, 1867, two days after the
+    adjournment. It is not believed that the approval of any bill after
+    the adjournment of Congress, whether presented before or after such
+    adjournment, is authorized by the Constitution of the United States,
+    that instrument expressly declaring that no bill shall become a law the
+    return of which may have been prevented by the adjournment of Congress.
+    To concede that under the Constitution the President, after the
+    adjournment of Congress, may, without limitation in respect to time,
+    exercise the power of approval, and thus determine at his discretion
+    whether or not bills shall become laws, might subject the executive and
+    legislative departments of the Government to influences most pernicious
+    to correct legislation and sound public morals, and&mdash;with a single
+    exception, occurring during the prevalence of civil war&mdash;would be
+    contrary to the established practice of the Government from its
+    inauguration to the present time. This bill will therefore be filed
+    in the office of the Secretary of State without my approval.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>July 19, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I return herewith the bill entitled "An act supplementary to an act
+    entitled 'An act to provide for the more efficient government of the
+    rebel States,' passed on the 2d day of March, 1867, and the act
+    supplementary thereto, passed, on the 23d day of March, 1867," and will
+    state as briefly as possible some of the reasons which prevent me from
+    giving it my approval.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This is one of a series of measures passed by Congress during the last
+    four months on the subject of reconstruction. The message returning the
+    act of the 2d of March last states at length my objections to the
+    passage of that measure. They apply equally well to the bill now before
+    me, and I am content merely to refer to them and to reiterate my
+    conviction that they are sound and unanswerable.
+</p>
+<p>
+    There are some points peculiar to this bill, which I will proceed at
+    once to consider.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The first section purports to declare "the true intent and meaning,"
+    in some particulars, of the two prior acts upon this subject.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is declared that the intent of those acts was, first, that the
+    existing governments in the ten "rebel States" "were not legal State
+    governments," and, second, "that thereafter said governments, if
+    continued, were to be continued subject in all respects to the military
+    commanders of the respective districts and to the paramount authority
+    of Congress."
+</p>
+<p>
+    Congress may by a declaratory act fix upon a prior act a
+    construction altogether at variance with its apparent meaning, and
+    from the time, at least, when such a construction is fixed the original
+    act will be construed to mean exactly what it is stated to mean by the
+    declaratory statute. There will be, then, from the time this bill may
+    become a law no doubt, no question, as to the relation in which the
+    "existing governments" in those States, called in the original act "the
+    provisional governments," stand toward the military authority. As those
+    relations stood before the declaratory act, these "governments," it is
+    true, were made subject to absolute military authority in many important
+    respects, but not in all, the language of the act being "subject to the
+    military authority of the United States, as hereinafter prescribed."
+    By the sixth section of the original act these governments were made
+    "in all respects subject to the paramount authority of the United
+    States."
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now by this declaratory act it appears that Congress did not by the
+    original act intend to limit the military authority to any particulars
+    or subjects therein "prescribed," but meant to make it universal. Thus
+    over all of these ten States this military government is now declared to
+    have unlimited authority. It is no longer confined to the preservation
+    of the public peace, the administration of criminal law, the
+    registration of voters, and the superintendence of elections, but
+    "in all respects" is asserted to be paramount to the existing civil
+    governments.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is impossible to conceive any state of society more intolerable than
+    this; and yet it is to this condition that 12,000,000 American citizens
+    are reduced by the Congress of the United States. Over every foot of the
+    immense territory occupied by these American citizens the Constitution
+    of the United States is theoretically in full operation. It binds all
+    the people there and should protect them; yet they are denied every
+    one of its sacred guaranties.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Of what avail will it be to any one of these Southern people when
+    seized by a file of soldiers to ask for the cause of arrest or for the
+    production of the warrant? Of what avail to ask for the privilege of
+    bail when in military custody, which knows no such thing as bail? Of
+    what avail to demand a trial by jury, process for witnesses, a copy of
+    the indictment, the privilege of counselor that greater privilege, the
+    writ of <i>habeas corpus</i>?
+</p>
+<p>
+    The veto of the original bill of the 2d of March was based on two
+    distinct grounds&mdash;the interference of Congress in matters strictly
+    appertaining to the reserved powers of the States and the establishment
+    of military tribunals for the trial of citizens in time of peace.
+    The impartial reader of that message will understand that all that
+    it contains with respect to military despotism and martial law has
+    reference especially to the fearful power conferred on the district
+    commanders to displace the criminal courts and assume jurisdiction to
+    try and to punish by military boards; that, potentially, the suspension
+    of the <i>habeas corpus</i> was martial law and military despotism. The act
+    now before me not only declares that the intent was to confer such
+    military authority, but also to confer unlimited military authority over
+    all the other courts of the State and over all the officers of the
+    State&mdash;legislative, executive, and judicial. Not content with the
+    general grant of power, Congress, in the second section of this bill,
+    specifically gives to each military commander the power "to suspend or
+    remove from office, or from the performance of official duties and
+    the exercise of official powers, any officer or person holding or
+    exercising, or professing to hold or exercise, any civil or military
+    office or duty in such district under any power, election, appointment,
+    or authority derived from, or granted by, or claimed under any so-called
+    State, or the government thereof, or any municipal or other division
+    thereof."
+</p>
+<p>
+    A power that hitherto all the departments of the Federal Government,
+    acting in concert or separately, have not dared to exercise is here
+    attempted to be conferred on a subordinate military officer. To him,
+    as a military officer of the Federal Government, is given the power,
+    supported by "a sufficient military force," to remove every civil
+    officer of the State. What next? The district commander, who has thus
+    displaced the civil officer, is authorized to fill the vacancy by the
+    detail of an officer or soldier of the Army, or by the appointment of
+    "some other person."
+</p>
+<p>
+    This military appointee, whether an officer, a soldier, or "some
+    other person," is to perform "the duties of such officer or person so
+    suspended or removed." In other words, an officer or soldier of the Army
+    is thus transformed into a civil officer. He may be made a governor,
+    a legislator, or a judge. However unfit he may deem himself for such
+    civil duties, he must obey the order. The officer of the Army must, if
+    "detailed," go upon the supreme bench of the State with the same prompt
+    obedience as if he were detailed to go upon a court-martial. The
+    soldier, if detailed to act as a justice of the peace, must obey as
+    quickly as if he were detailed for picket duty.
+</p>
+<p>
+    What is the character of such a military civil officer? This bill
+    declares that he shall perform the duties of the civil office to which
+    he is detailed. It is clear, however, that he does not lose his position
+    in the military service. He is still an officer or soldier of the Army;
+    he is still subject to the rules and regulations which govern it, and
+    must yield due deference, respect, and obedience toward his superiors.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The clear intent of this section is that the officer or soldier
+    detailed to fill a civil office must execute its duties according to the
+    laws of the State. If he is appointed a governor of a State, he is to
+    execute the duties as provided by the laws of that State, and for the
+    time being his military character is to be suspended in his new civil
+    capacity. If he is appointed a State treasurer, he must at once assume
+    the custody and disbursement of the funds of the State, and must perform
+    those duties precisely according to the laws of the State, for he is
+    intrusted with no other official duty or other official power. Holding
+    the office of treasurer and intrusted with funds, it happens that he is
+    required by the State laws to enter into bond with security and to take
+    an oath of office; yet from the beginning of the bill to the end there
+    is no provision for any bond or oath of office, or for any single
+    qualification required under the State law, such as residence,
+    citizenship, or anything else. The only oath is that provided for in the
+    ninth section, by the terms of which everyone detailed or appointed to
+    any civil office in the State is required "to take and to subscribe the
+    oath of office prescribed by law for officers of the United States."
+    Thus an officer of the Army of the United States detailed to fill a
+    civil office in one of these States gives no official bond and takes
+    no official oath for the performance of his new duties, but as a civil
+    officer of the State only takes the same oath which he had already taken
+    as a military officer of the United States. He is, at last, a military
+    officer performing civil duties, and the authority under which he acts
+    is Federal authority only; and the inevitable result is that the Federal
+    Government, by the agency of its own sworn officers, in effect assumes
+    the civil government of the State.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A singular contradiction is apparent here. Congress declares these local
+    State governments to be illegal governments, and then provides that
+    these illegal governments shall be carried on by Federal officers, who
+    are to perform the very duties imposed on its own officers by this
+    illegal State authority. It certainly would be a novel spectacle if
+    Congress should attempt to carry on a <i>legal</i> State government by the
+    agency of its own officers. It is yet more strange that Congress
+    attempts to sustain and carry on an <i>illegal</i> State government by the
+    same Federal agency.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In this connection I must call attention to the tenth and eleventh
+    sections of the bill, which provide that none of the officers or
+    appointees of these military commanders "shall be bound in his action by
+    any opinion of any civil officer of the United States," and that all the
+    provisions of the act "shall be construed liberally, to the end that all
+    the intents thereof may be fully and perfectly carried out."
+</p>
+<p>
+    It seems Congress supposed that this bill might require construction,
+    and they fix, therefore, the rule to be applied. But where is the
+    construction to come from? Certainly no one can be more in want of
+    instruction than a soldier or an officer of the Army detailed for a
+    civil service, perhaps the most important in a State, with the duties of
+    which he is altogether unfamiliar. This bill says he shall not be bound
+    in his action by the opinion of any civil officer of the United States.
+    The duties of the office are altogether civil, but when he asks for an
+    opinion he can only ask the opinion of another military officer, who,
+    perhaps, understands as little of his duties as he does himself; and as
+    to his "action," he is answerable to the military authority, and to the
+    military authority alone. Strictly, no opinion of any civil officer
+    other than a judge has a binding force.
+</p>
+<p>
+    But these military appointees would not be bound even by a judicial
+    opinion. They might very well say, even when their action is in conflict
+    with the Supreme Court of the United States, "That court is composed of
+    civil officers of the United States, and we are not bound to conform our
+    action to any opinion of any such authority."
+</p>
+<p>
+    This bill and the acts to which it is supplementary are all founded upon
+    the assumption that these ten communities are not States and that their
+    existing governments are not legal. Throughout the legislation upon this
+    subject they are called "rebel States," and in this particular bill they
+    are denominated "so-called States," and the vice of illegality is
+    declared to pervade all of them. The obligations of consistency bind a
+    legislative body as well as the individuals who compose it. It is now
+    too late to say that these ten political communities are not States of
+    this Union. Declarations to the contrary made in these three acts are
+    contradicted again and again by repeated acts of legislation enacted by
+    Congress from the year 1861 to the year 1867.
+</p>
+<p>
+    During that period, while these States were in actual rebellion, and
+    after that rebellion was brought to a close, they have been again and
+    again recognized as States of the Union. Representation has been
+    apportioned to them as States. They have been divided into judicial
+    districts for the holding of district and circuit courts of the United
+    States, as States of the Union only can be districted. The last act on
+    this subject was passed July 23, 1866, by which every one of these ten
+    States was arranged into districts and circuits.
+</p>
+<p>
+    They have been called upon by Congress to act through their legislatures
+    upon at least two amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
+    As States they have ratified one amendment, which required the vote
+    of twenty-seven States of the thirty-six then composing the Union.
+    When the requisite twenty-seven votes were given in favor of that
+    amendment&mdash;seven of which votes were given by seven of these ten
+    States&mdash;it was proclaimed to be a part of the Constitution of the United
+    States, and slavery was declared no longer to exist within the United
+    States or any place subject to their jurisdiction. If these seven States
+    were not legal States of the Union, it follows as an inevitable
+    consequence that in some of the States slavery yet exists. It does not
+    exist in these seven States, for they have abolished it also in their
+    State constitutions; but Kentucky not having done so, it would still
+    remain in that State. But, in truth, if this assumption that these
+    States have no legal State governments be true, then the abolition of
+    slavery by these illegal governments binds no one, for Congress now
+    denies to these States the power to abolish slavery by denying to them
+    the power to elect a legal State legislature, or to frame a constitution
+    for any purpose, even for such a purpose as the abolition of slavery.
+</p>
+<p>
+    As to the other constitutional amendment, having reference to suffrage,
+    it happens that these States have not accepted it. The consequence is
+    that it has never been proclaimed or understood, even by Congress, to be
+    a part of the Constitution of the United States. The Senate of the
+    United States has repeatedly given its sanction to the appointment of
+    judges, district attorneys, and marshals for every one of these States;
+    yet, if they are not legal States, not one of these judges is authorized
+    to hold a court. So, too, both Houses of Congress have passed
+    appropriation bills to pay all these judges, attorneys, and officers of
+    the United States for exercising their functions in these States. Again,
+    in the machinery of the internal-revenue laws all these States are
+    districted, not as "Territories," but as "States."
+</p>
+<p>
+    So much for continuous legislative recognition. The instances cited,
+    however, fall far short of all that might be enumerated. Executive
+    recognition, as is well known, has been frequent and unwavering. The
+    same maybe said as to judicial recognition through the Supreme Court of
+    the United States. That august tribunal, from first to last, in the
+    administration of its duties <i>in banc</i> and upon the circuit, has never
+    failed to recognize these ten communities as legal States of the Union.
+    The cases depending in that court upon appeal and writ of error from
+    these States when the rebellion began have not been dismissed upon any
+    idea of the cessation of jurisdiction. They were carefully continued
+    from term to term until the rebellion was entirely subdued and peace
+    reestablished, and then they were called for argument and consideration
+    as if no insurrection had intervened. New cases, occurring since the
+    rebellion, have come from these States before that court by writ of
+    error and appeal, and even by original suit, where only "a State" can
+    bring such a suit. These cases are entertained by that tribunal in the
+    exercise of its acknowledged jurisdiction, which could not attach to
+    them if they had come from any political body other than a State of the
+    Union. Finally, in the allotment of their circuits made by the judges at
+    the December term, 1865, every one of these States is put on the same
+    footing of legality with all the other States of the Union. Virginia
+    and North Carolina, being a part of the fourth circuit, are allotted to
+    the Chief Justice. South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and
+    Florida constitute the fifth circuit, and are allotted to the late Mr.
+    Justice Wayne. Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas are allotted to the sixth
+    judicial circuit, as to which there is a vacancy on the bench.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Chief Justice, in the exercise of his circuit duties, has recently
+    held a circuit court in the State of North Carolina. If North Carolina
+    is not a State of this Union, the Chief Justice had no authority to hold
+    a court there, and every order, judgment, and decree rendered by him in
+    that court were <i>coram non judice</i> and void.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Another ground on which these reconstruction acts are attempted to be
+    sustained is this: That these ten States are conquered territory; that
+    the constitutional relation in which they stood as States toward the
+    Federal Government prior to the rebellion has given place to a new
+    relation; that their territory is a conquered country and their citizens
+    a conquered people, and that in this new relation Congress can govern
+    them by military power.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A title by conquest stands on clear ground; it is a new title acquired
+    by war; it applies only to territory; for goods or movable things
+    regularly captured in war are called "booty," or, if taken by individual
+    soldiers, "plunder."
+</p>
+<p>
+    There is not a foot of the land in any one of these ten States which
+    the United States holds by conquest, save only such land as did not
+    belong to either of these States or to any individual owner. I mean such
+    lands as did belong to the pretended government called the Confederate
+    States. These lands we may claim to hold by conquest. As to all other
+    land or territory, whether belonging to the States or to individuals,
+    the Federal Government has now no more title or right to it than
+    it had before the rebellion. Our own forts, arsenals, navy-yards,
+    custom-houses, and other Federal property situate in those States we
+    now hold, not by the title of conquest, but by our old title, acquired
+    by purchase or condemnation for public use, with compensation to
+    former owners. We have not conquered these places, but have simply
+    "repossessed" them.
+</p>
+<p>
+    If we require more sites for forts, custom-houses, or other public use,
+    we must acquire the title to them by purchase or appropriation in the
+    regular mode. At this moment the United States, in the acquisition of
+    sites for national cemeteries in these States, acquires title in the
+    same way. The Federal courts sit in court-houses owned or leased by the
+    United States, not in the court-houses of the States. The United States
+    pays each of these States for the use of its jails. Finally, the United
+    States levies its direct taxes and its internal revenue upon the
+    property in these States, including the productions of the lands within
+    their territorial limits, not by way of levy and contribution in the
+    character of a conqueror, but in the regular way of taxation, under the
+    same laws which apply to all the other States of the Union.
+</p>
+<p>
+    From first to last, during the rebellion and since, the title of each of
+    these States to the lands and public buildings owned by them has never
+    been disturbed, and not a foot of it has ever been acquired by the
+    United States, even under a title by confiscation, and not a foot of
+    it has ever been taxed under Federal law.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In conclusion I must respectfully ask the attention of Congress to the
+    consideration of one more question arising under this bill. It vests in
+    the military commander, subject only to the approval of the General of
+    the Army of the United States, an unlimited power to remove from office
+    any civil or military officer in each of these ten States, and the
+    further power, subject to the same approval, to detail or appoint any
+    military officer or soldier of the United States to perform the duties
+    of the officer so removed, and to fill all vacancies occurring in those
+    States by death, resignation, or otherwise.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The military appointee thus required to perform the duties of a
+    civil office according to the laws of the State, and, as such, required
+    to take an oath, is for the time being a civil officer. What is his
+    character? Is he a civil officer of the State or a civil officer of the
+    United States? If he is a civil officer of the State, where is the
+    Federal power under our Constitution which authorizes his appointment by
+    any Federal officer? If, however, he is to be considered a civil officer
+    of the United States, as his appointment and oath would seem to
+    indicate, where is the authority for his appointment vested by the
+    Constitution? The power of appointment of all officers of the United
+    States, civil or military, where not provided for in the Constitution,
+    is vested in the President, by and with the advice and consent of the
+    Senate, with this exception, that Congress "may by law vest the
+    appointment of such inferior officers as they think proper in the
+    President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of Departments."
+    But this bill, if these are to be considered inferior officers within
+    the meaning of the Constitution, does not provide for their appointment
+    by the President alone, or by the courts of law, or by the heads of
+    Departments, but vests the appointment in one subordinate executive
+    officer, subject to the approval of another subordinate executive
+    officer. So that, if we put this question and fix the character of this
+    military appointee either way, this provision of the bill is equally
+    opposed to the Constitution.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Take the case of a soldier or officer appointed to perform the office
+    of judge in one of these States, and, as such, to administer the
+    proper laws of the State. Where is the authority to be found in the
+    Constitution for vesting in a military or an executive officer strict
+    judicial functions to be exercised under State law? It has been again
+    and again decided by the Supreme Court of the United States that acts
+    of Congress which have attempted to vest <i>executive</i> powers in the
+    <i>judicial</i> courts or judges of the United States are not warranted by
+    the Constitution. If Congress can not clothe <i>a judge</i> with merely
+    <i>executive</i> duties, how can they clothe <i>an officer</i> or <i>soldier</i> of the
+    Army with <i>judicial</i> duties over citizens of the United States who are
+    not in the military or naval service? So, too, it has been repeatedly
+    decided that Congress can not require a State officer, executive or
+    judicial, to perform any duty enjoined upon him by a law of the United
+    States. How, then, can Congress confer power upon an executive officer
+    of the United States to perform such duties in a State? If Congress
+    could not vest in a judge of one of these States any judicial authority
+    under the United States by direct enactment, how can it accomplish the
+    same thing indirectly, by removing the State judge and putting an
+    officer of the United States in his place?
+</p>
+<p>
+    To me these considerations are conclusive of the unconstitutionality
+    of this part of the bill now before me, and I earnestly commend their
+    consideration to the deliberate judgment of Congress.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Within a period less than a year the legislation of Congress has
+    attempted to strip the executive department of the Government of some
+    of its essential powers. The Constitution and the oath provided in it
+    devolve upon the President the power and duty to see that the laws are
+    faithfully executed. The Constitution, in order to carry out this power,
+    gives him the choice of the agents, and makes them subject to his
+    control and supervision. But in the execution of these laws the
+    constitutional obligation upon the President remains, but the power
+    to exercise that constitutional duty is effectually taken away. The
+    military commander is as to the power of appointment made to take the
+    place of the President, and the General of the Army the place of the
+    Senate; and any attempt on the part of the President to assert his own
+    constitutional power may, under pretense of law, be met by official
+    insubordination. It is to be feared that these military officers,
+    looking to the authority given by these laws rather than to the letter
+    of the Constitution, will recognize no authority but the commander of
+    the district and the General of the Army.
+</p>
+<p>
+    If there were no other objection than this to this proposed legislation,
+    it would be sufficient. Whilst I hold the chief executive authority of
+    the United States, whilst the obligation rests upon me to see that all
+    the laws are faithfully executed, I can never willingly surrender that
+    trust or the powers given for its execution. I can never give my assent
+    to be made responsible for the faithful execution of laws, and at the
+    same time surrender that trust and the powers which accompany it to any
+    other executive officer, high or low, or to any number of executive
+    officers. If this executive trust, vested by the Constitution in the
+    President, is to be taken from him and vested in a subordinate officer,
+    the responsibility will be with Congress in clothing the subordinate
+    with unconstitutional power and with the officer who assumes its
+    exercise.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This interference with the constitutional authority of the executive
+    department is an evil that will inevitably sap the foundations of our
+    federal system; but it is not the worst evil of this legislation. It is
+    a great public wrong to take from the President powers conferred on him
+    alone by the Constitution, but the wrong is more flagrant and more
+    dangerous when the powers so taken from the President are conferred upon
+    subordinate executive officers, and especially upon military officers.
+    Over nearly one-third of the States of the Union military power,
+    regulated by no fixed law, rules supreme. Each one of the five district
+    commanders, though not chosen by the people or responsible to them,
+    exercises at this hour more executive power, military and civil, than
+    the people have ever been willing to confer upon the head of the
+    executive department, though chosen by and responsible to themselves.
+    The remedy must come from the people themselves. They know what it is
+    and how it is to be applied. At the present time they can not, according
+    to the forms of the Constitution, repeal these laws; they can not remove
+    or control this military despotism. The remedy is, nevertheless, in
+    their hands; it is to be found in the ballot, and is a sure one if
+    not controlled by fraud, overawed by arbitrary power, or, from apathy
+    on their part, too long delayed. With abiding confidence in their
+    patriotism, wisdom, and integrity, I am still hopeful of the future, and
+    that in the end the rod of despotism will be broken, the armed heel of
+    power lifted from the necks of the people, and the principles of a
+    violated Constitution preserved.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>July 19, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    For reasons heretofore stated in my several veto messages to Congress
+    upon the subject of reconstruction, I return without my approval the
+    "Joint resolution to carry into effect the several acts providing for
+    the more efficient government of the rebel States," and appropriating
+    for that purpose the sum of $1,000,000.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    PROCLAMATIONS.
+</h2>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas by the Constitution of the United States the executive power is
+    vested in a President of the United States of America, who is bound by
+    solemn oath faithfully to execute the office of President and to the
+    best of his ability to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of
+    the United States, and is by the same instrument made Commander in Chief
+    of the Army and Navy of the United States and is required to take care
+    that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas by the same Constitution it is provided that the said
+    Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made in
+    pursuance thereof shall be the supreme law of the land, and the judges
+    in every State shall be bound thereby; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas in and by the same Constitution the judicial power of the United
+    States is vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as
+    Congress may from time to time ordain and establish, and the aforesaid
+    judicial power is declared to extend to all cases in law and equity
+    arising under the Constitution, the laws of the United States, and the
+    treaties which shall be made under their authority; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas all officers, civil and military, are bound by oath that they
+    will support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign
+    and domestic, and will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas all officers of the Army and Navy of the United States, in
+    accepting their commissions under the laws of Congress and the Rules and
+    Articles of War, incur an obligation to observe, obey, and follow such
+    directions as they shall from time to time receive from the President or
+    the General or other superior officers set over them according to the
+    rules and discipline of war; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas it is provided by law that whenever, by reason of unlawful
+    obstructions, combinations, or assemblages of persons or rebellion
+    against the authority of the Government of the United States, it shall
+    become impracticable, in the judgment of the President of the United
+    States, to enforce by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings the
+    laws of the United States within any State or Territory, the Executive
+    in that case is authorized and required to secure their faithful
+    execution by the employment of the land and naval forces; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas impediments and obstructions, serious in their character, have
+    recently been interposed in the States of North Carolina and South
+    Carolina, hindering and preventing for a time a proper enforcement there
+    of the laws of the United States and of the judgments and decrees of a
+    lawful court thereof, in disregard of the command of the President of
+    the United States; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas reasonable and well-founded apprehensions exist that such
+    ill-advised and unlawful proceedings may be again attempted there or
+    elsewhere:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do
+    hereby warn all persons against obstructing or hindering in any manner
+    whatsoever the faithful execution of the Constitution and the laws; and
+    I do solemnly enjoin and command all officers of the Government, civil
+    and military, to render due submission and obedience to said laws and to
+    the judgments and decrees of the courts of the United States, and to
+    give all the aid in their power necessary to the prompt enforcement and
+    execution of such laws, decrees, judgments, and processes.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And I do hereby enjoin upon the officers of the Army and Navy to assist
+    and sustain the courts and other civil authorities of the United States
+    in a faithful administration of the laws thereof and in the judgments,
+    decrees, mandates, and processes of the courts of the United States; and
+    I call upon all good and well-disposed citizens of the United States
+    to remember that upon the said Constitution and laws, and upon the
+    judgments, decrees, and processes of the courts made in accordance with
+    the same, depend the protection of the lives, liberty, property, and
+    happiness of the people. And I exhort them everywhere to testify their
+    devotion to their country, their pride in its prosperity and greatness,
+    and their determination to uphold its free institutions by a hearty
+    cooperation in the efforts of the Government to sustain the authority of
+    the law, to maintain the supremacy of the Federal Constitution, and to
+    preserve unimpaired the integrity of the National Union.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be
+    affixed to these presents and sign the same with my hand.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, the 3d day of September, in the year
+    1867.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas in the month of July, A.D. 1861, the two Houses of Congress,
+    with extraordinary unanimity, solemnly declared that the war then
+    existing was not waged on the part of the Government in any spirit of
+    oppression nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor purpose
+    of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established
+    institutions of the States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy
+    of the Constitution and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity,
+    equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired, and that as soon
+    as these objects should be accomplished the war ought to cease; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President of the United States, on the 8th day of December,
+    A.D. 1863, and on the 26th day of March, A.D. 1864, did, with the
+    objects of suppressing the then existing rebellion, of inducing all
+    persons to return to their loyalty, and of restoring the authority of
+    the United States, issue proclamations offering amnesty and pardon to
+    all persons who had, directly or indirectly, participated in the then
+    existing rebellion, except as in those proclamations was specified and
+    reserved; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President of the United States did on the 29th day of May,
+    A.D. 1865, issue a further proclamation, with the same objects before
+    mentioned, and to the end that the authority of the Government of the
+    United States might be restored and that peace, order, and freedom might
+    be established, and the President did by the said last-mentioned
+    proclamation proclaim and declare that he thereby granted to all persons
+    who had, directly or indirectly, participated in the then existing
+    rebellion, except as therein excepted, amnesty and pardon, with
+    restoration of all rights of property, except as to slaves, and except
+    in certain cases where legal proceedings had been instituted, but upon
+    condition that such persons should take and subscribe an oath therein
+    prescribed, which oath should be registered for permanent preservation;
+    and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas in and by the said last-mentioned proclamation of the 29th
+    day of May, A.D. 1865, fourteen extensive classes of persons therein
+    specially described were altogether excepted and excluded from the
+    benefits thereof; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President of the United States did, on the 2d day of April,
+    A.D. 1866, issue a proclamation declaring that the insurrection was at
+    an end and was thenceforth to be so regarded; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas there now exists no organized armed resistance of misguided
+    citizens or others to the authority of the United States in the
+    States of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee,
+    Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Florida, and Texas, and the
+    laws can be sustained and enforced therein by the proper civil
+    authority, State or Federal, and the people of said States are well and
+    loyally disposed, and have conformed, or, if permitted to do so, will
+    conform in their legislation to the condition of affairs growing out
+    of the amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibiting
+    slavery within the limits and jurisdiction of the United States; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas there no longer exists any reasonable ground to apprehend within
+    the States which were involved in the late rebellion any renewal thereof
+    or any unlawful resistance by the people of said States to the
+    Constitution and laws of the United States; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas large standing armies, military occupation, martial law,
+    military tribunals, and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of
+    <i>habeas corpus</i> and the right of trial by jury are in time of peace
+    dangerous to public liberty, incompatible with the individual rights of
+    the citizen, contrary to the genius and spirit of our free institutions,
+    and exhaustive of the national resources, and ought not, therefore,
+    to be sanctioned or allowed except in cases of actual necessity for
+    repelling invasion or suppressing insurrection or rebellion; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas a retaliatory or vindictive policy, attended by unnecessary
+    disqualifications, pains, penalties, confiscations, and disfranchisements,
+    now, as always, could only tend to hinder reconciliation among the people
+    and national restoration, while it must seriously embarrass, obstruct,
+    and repress popular energies and national industry and enterprise; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas for these reasons it is now deemed essential to the public
+    welfare and to the more perfect restoration of constitutional law and
+    order that the said last-mentioned proclamation so as aforesaid issued
+    on the 29th day of May, A.D. 1865, should be modified, and that the full
+    and beneficent pardon conceded thereby should be opened and further
+    extended to a large number of the persons who by its aforesaid
+    exceptions have been hitherto excluded from Executive clemency:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States, do hereby proclaim and declare that the full pardon
+    described in the said proclamation of the 29th day of May, A.D. 1865,
+    shall henceforth be opened and extended to all persons who, directly or
+    indirectly, participated in the late rebellion, with the restoration
+    of all privileges, immunities, and rights of property, except as to
+    property with regard to slaves, and except in cases of legal proceedings
+    under the laws of the United States; but upon this condition,
+    nevertheless, that every such person who shall seek to avail himself of
+    this proclamation shall take and subscribe the following oath and shall
+    cause the same to be registered for permanent preservation in the same
+    manner and with the same effect as with the oath prescribed in the said
+    proclamation of the 29th day of May, 1865, namely:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  I, &mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;, do solemnly swear (or affirm), 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 laws and proclamations which have been made during the late
+  rebellion with reference to the emancipation of slaves. So help me God.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The following persons, and no others, are excluded from the benefits of
+    this proclamation and of the said proclamation of the 29th day of May,
+    1865, namely:
+</p>
+<p>
+    First. The chief or pretended chief executive officers, including the
+    President, the Vice-President, and all heads of departments of the
+    pretended Confederate or rebel government, and all who were agents
+    thereof in foreign states and countries, and all who held or pretended
+    to hold in the service of the said pretended Confederate government a
+    military rank or title above the grade of brigadier-general or naval
+    rank or title above that of captain, and all who were or pretended to be
+    governors of States while maintaining, aiding, abetting, or submitting
+    to and acquiescing in the rebellion.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second. All persons who in any way treated otherwise than as lawful
+    prisoners of war persons who in any capacity were employed or engaged in
+    the military or naval service of the United States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Third. All persons who at the time they may seek to obtain the benefits
+    of this proclamation are actually in civil, military, or naval
+    confinement or custody, or legally held to bail, either before or after
+    conviction, and all persons who were engaged, directly or indirectly, in
+    the assassination of the late President of the United States or in any
+    plot or conspiracy in any manner therewith connected.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+    caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, the 7th day of September, A.D. 1867, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-second.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas it has been ascertained that in the nineteenth paragraph of
+    the proclamation of the President of the United States of the 20th of
+    August, 1866, declaring the insurrection at an end which had theretofore
+    existed in the State of Texas, the previous proclamation of the 13th of
+    June, 1865, instead of that of the 2d day of April, 1866, was referred
+    to:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States, do hereby declare and proclaim that the said words
+    "13th of June, 1865," are to be regarded as erroneous in the paragraph
+    adverted to, and that the words "2d day of April, 1866," are to be
+    considered as substituted therefor.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 7th day of October, A.D. 1867, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-second.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    In conformity with a recent custom that may now be regarded as
+    established on national consent and approval, I, Andrew Johnson,
+    President of the United States, do hereby recommend to my
+    fellow-citizens that Thursday, the 28th day of November next, be set
+    apart and observed throughout the Republic as a day of national
+    thanksgiving and praise to the Almighty Ruler of Nations, with whom are
+    dominion and fear, who maketh peace in His high places.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Resting and refraining from secular labors on that day, let us
+    reverently and devoutly give thanks to our Heavenly Father for the
+    mercies and blessings with which He has crowned the now closing year.
+    Especially let us remember that He has covered our land through all
+    its extent with greatly needed and very abundant harvests; that He has
+    caused industry to prosper, not only in our fields, but also in our
+    workshops, in our mines, and in our forests. He has permitted us to
+    multiply ships upon our lakes and rivers and upon the high seas, and at
+    the same time to extend our iron roads so far into the secluded places
+    of the continent as to guarantee speedy overland intercourse between
+    the two oceans. He has inclined our hearts to turn away from domestic
+    contentions and commotions consequent upon a distracting and desolating
+    civil war, and to walk more and more in the ancient ways of loyalty,
+    conciliation, and brotherly love. He has blessed the peaceful efforts
+    with which we have established new and important commercial treaties
+    with foreign nations, while we have at the same time strengthened our
+    national defenses and greatly enlarged our national borders.
+</p>
+<p>
+    While thus rendering the unanimous and heartfelt tribute of national
+    praise and thanksgiving which is so justly due to Almighty God, let us
+    not fail to implore Him that the same divine protection and care which
+    we have hitherto so undeservedly and yet so constantly enjoyed may be
+    continued to our country and our people throughout all their generations
+    forever.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 26th day of October, A.D. 1867, and
+    of the Independence of the United States the ninety-second.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
+</h2>
+<center>
+    GENERAL ORDERS, No. 10.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,<br>
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, March 11, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p>
+    II. In pursuance of the act of Congress entitled "An act to provide for
+    the more efficient government of the rebel States," the President
+    directs the following assignments to be made:
+</p>
+<p>
+    First District, State of Virginia, to be commanded by Brevet
+    Major-General J.M. Schofield. Headquarters, Richmond, Va.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second District, consisting of North Carolina and South Carolina, to be
+    commanded by Major-General D.E. Sickles. Headquarters, Columbia, S.C.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Third District, consisting of the States of Georgia, Florida, and
+    Alabama, to be commanded by Major-General G.H. Thomas. Headquarters,
+    Montgomery, Ala.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fourth District, consisting of the States of Mississippi and Arkansas,
+    to be commanded by Brevet Major-General E.O.C. Ord. Headquarters,
+    Vicksburg, Miss.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fifth District, consisting of the States of Louisiana and Texas, to be
+    commanded by Major-General P.H. Sheridan. Headquarters, New Orleans, La.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The powers of departmental commanders are hereby delegated to the
+    above-named district commanders.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By command of General Grant:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    GENERAL ORDERS, No. 18.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,<br>
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, March 15, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The President directs that the following change be made, at the request
+    of Major-General Thomas, in the assignment announced in General Orders,
+    No. 10, of March 11, 1867, of commanders of districts, under the act of
+    Congress entitled "An act to provide for the more efficient government
+    of the rebel States," and of the Department of the Cumberland, created
+    in General Orders, No. 14, of March 12, 1867:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Brevet Major-General John Pope to command the Third District, consisting
+    of the States of Georgia, Florida, and Alabama; and Major-General George
+    H. Thomas to command the Department of the Cumberland
+</p>
+<p>
+    By command of General Grant:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+WAR DEPARTMENT,<br>
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, June 20, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas several commanders of military districts created by the acts of
+    Congress known as the reconstruction acts have expressed doubts as to
+    the proper construction thereof and in respect to some of their powers
+    and duties under said acts, and have applied to the Executive for
+    information in relation thereto; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the said acts of Congress have been referred to the
+    Attorney-General for his opinion thereon, and the said acts and the
+    opinion of the Attorney-General have been fully and carefully considered
+    by the President in conference with the heads of the respective
+    Departments:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The President accepts the following as a practical interpretation of the
+    aforesaid acts of Congress on the points therein presented, and directs
+    the same to be transmitted to the respective military commanders for
+    their information, in order that there may be uniformity in the
+    execution of said acts:
+</p>
+<p>
+    1. The oath prescribed in the supplemental act defines all the
+    qualifications required, and every person who can take that oath is
+    entitled to have his name entered upon the list of voters.
+</p>
+<p>
+    2. The board of registration have no authority to administer any other
+    oath to the person applying for registration than this prescribed oath,
+    nor to administer an oath to any other person touching the
+    qualifications of the applicant or the falsity of the oath so taken by
+    him. The act, to guard against falsity in the oath, provides that if
+    false the person taking it shall be tried and punished for perjury.
+</p>
+<p>
+    No provision is made for challenging the qualifications of the applicant
+    or entering upon any trial or investigation of his qualifications,
+    either by witnesses or any other form of proof.
+</p>
+<p>
+    3. <i>As to citizenship and residence</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The applicant for registration must be a citizen of the State and of the
+    United States, and must be a resident of a county or parish included in
+    the election district. He may be registered if he has been such citizen
+    for a period less than twelve months at the time he applies for
+    registration, but he can not vote at any election unless his citizenship
+    has <i>then</i> extended to the full term of one year. As to such a person,
+    the exact length of his citizenship should be noted opposite his name on
+    the list, so that it may appear on the day of election, upon reference
+    to the list, whether the full term has then been accomplished.
+</p>
+<p>
+    4. An unnaturalized person can not take this oath, but an alien who has
+    been naturalized can take it, and no other proof of naturalization can
+    be required from him.
+</p>
+<p>
+    5. No one who is not 21 years of age at the time of registration can
+    take the oath, for he must swear that he has then attained that age.
+</p>
+<p>
+    6. No one who has been disfranchised for participation in any rebellion
+    against the United States or for felony committed against the laws of
+    any State or of the United States can take this oath.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The actual participation in a rebellion or the actual commission of a
+    felony does not amount to disfranchisement. The sort of disfranchisement
+    here meant is that which is declared by law passed by competent
+    authority, or which has been fixed upon the criminal by the sentence of
+    the court which tried him for the crime.
+</p>
+<p>
+    No law of the United States has declared the penalty of disfranchisement
+    for participation in rebellion alone; nor is it known that any such law
+    exists in either of these ten States, except, perhaps, Virginia, as to
+    which State special instructions will be given.
+</p>
+<p>
+    7. <i>As to disfranchisement arising from having held office followed by
+    participation in rebellion</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    This is the most important part of the oath, and requires strict
+    attention to arrive at its meaning. The applicant must swear or affirm
+    as follows:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  That I have never been a member of any State legislature, nor held any
+  executive or judicial office in any State, and afterwards engaged in
+  an insurrection or rebellion against the United States or given aid or
+  comfort to the enemies thereof; that I have never taken an oath as a
+  member of Congress of the United States, or as an officer of the United
+  States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive
+  or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the
+  United States, and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion
+  against the United States or given aid or comfort to the enemies
+  thereof.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Two elements must concur in order to disqualify a person under these
+    clauses: First, the office and official oath to support the Constitution
+    of the United States; second, engaging afterwards in rebellion. Both
+    must exist to work disqualification, and must happen in the order of
+    time mentioned.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A person who has held an office and taken the oath to support the
+    Federal Constitution and has not afterwards engaged in rebellion is not
+    disqualified. So, too, a person who has engaged in rebellion, but has
+    not theretofore held an office and taken that oath, is not disqualified.
+</p>
+<p>
+    8. <i>Officers of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    As to these the language is without limitation. The person who has at
+    any time prior to the rebellion held an office, civil or military, under
+    the United States, and has taken an official oath to support the
+    Constitution of the United States, is subject to disqualification.
+</p>
+<p>
+    9. <i>Militia officers</i> of any State prior to the rebellion are not
+    subject to disqualification.
+</p>
+<p>
+    10. <i>Municipal officers</i>&mdash;that is to say, officers of incorporated
+    cities, towns, and villages, such as mayors, aldermen, town council,
+    police, and other city or town officers&mdash;are not subject to
+    disqualification.
+</p>
+<p>
+    11. Persons who have prior to the rebellion been members of the Congress
+    of the United States or members of a State legislature are subject to
+    disqualification, but those who have been members of conventions framing
+    or amending the Constitution of a State prior to the rebellion are not
+    subject to disqualification.
+</p>
+<p>
+    12. All the executive or judicial officers of any State who took an oath
+    to support the Constitution of the United States are subject to
+    disqualification, including county officers. They are subject to
+    disqualification if they were required to take as a part of their
+    official oath <i>the oath to support the Constitution of the United
+    States</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    13. Persons who exercised mere employment under State authority are not
+    disqualified; such as commissioners to lay out roads, commissioners of
+    public works, visitors of State institutions, directors of State
+    institutions, examiners of banks, notaries public, and commissioners to
+    take acknowledgments of deeds.
+</p>
+<center>
+    ENGAGING IN REBELLION.
+</center>
+<p>
+    Having specified what offices held by anyone prior to the rebellion come
+    within the meaning of the law, it is necessary next to set forth what
+    subsequent conduct fixes upon such person the offense of engaging in
+    rebellion. Two things must exist as to any person to disqualify him from
+    voting: First, the office held prior to the rebellion, and, afterwards,
+    participation in the rebellion.
+</p>
+<p>
+    14. An act to fix upon a person the offense of engaging in the rebellion
+    under this law must be an overt and voluntary act, done with the intent
+    of aiding or furthering the common unlawful purpose. A person forced
+    into the rebel service by conscription or under a paramount authority
+    which he could not safely disobey, and who would not have entered such
+    service if left to the free exercise of his own will, can not be held
+    to be disqualified from voting.
+</p>
+<p>
+    15. Mere acts of charity, where the intent is to relieve the wants of
+    the object of such charity, and not done in aid of the cause in which he
+    may have been engaged, do not disqualify; but organized contributions
+    of food and clothing for the general relief of persons engaged in the
+    rebellion, and not of a merely sanitary character, but contributed to
+    enable them to perform their unlawful object, may be classed with acts
+    which do disqualify.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Forced contributions to the rebel cause in the form of taxes or military
+    assessments, which a person was compelled to pay or contribute, do not
+    disqualify; but voluntary contributions to the rebel cause, even such
+    indirect contributions as arise from the voluntary loan of money to
+    rebel authorities or purchase of bonds or securities created to afford
+    the means of carrying on the rebellion, will work disqualification.
+</p>
+<p>
+    16. All those who in legislative or other official capacity were engaged
+    in the furtherance of the common unlawful purpose, where the duties of
+    the office necessarily had relation to the support of the rebellion,
+    such as members of the rebel conventions, congresses, and legislatures,
+    diplomatic agents of the rebel Confederacy, and other officials whose
+    offices were created for the purpose of more effectually carrying on
+    hostilities or whose duties appertained to the support of the rebel
+    cause, must be held to be disqualified.
+</p>
+<p>
+    But officers who during the rebellion discharged official duties not
+    incident to war, but only such duties as belong even to a state of peace
+    and were necessary to the preservation of order and the administration
+    of law, are not to be considered as thereby engaging in rebellion or as
+    disqualified. Disloyal sentiments, opinions, or sympathies would not
+    disqualify, but where a person has by speech or by writing incited
+    others to engage in rebellion he must come under the disqualification.
+</p>
+<p>
+    17. <i>The duties of the board appointed to superintend the elections</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    This board, having the custody of the list of registered voters in the
+    district for which it is constituted, must see that the name of the
+    person offering to vote is found upon the registration list, and if such
+    proves to be the fact it is the duty of the board to receive his vote if
+    then qualified by residence. They can not receive the vote of any person
+    whose name is not upon the list, though he may be ready to take the
+    registration oath, and although he may satisfy them that he was unable
+    to have his name registered at the proper time, in consequence of
+    absence, sickness, or other cause.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The board can not enter into any inquiry as to the qualifications of any
+    person whose name is not on the registration list, or as to the
+    qualifications of any person whose name is on the list.
+</p>
+<p>
+    18. <i>The mode of voting</i> is provided in the act to be <i>by ballot</i>. The
+    board will keep a record and poll book of the election, showing the
+    votes, list of voters, and the persons elected by a plurality of the
+    votes cast at the election, and make returns of these to the commanding
+    general of the district.
+</p>
+<p>
+    19. The board appointed for registration and for superintending the
+    elections must take the oath prescribed by the act of Congress approved
+    July 2, 1862, entitled "An act to prescribe an oath of office."
+</p>
+<p>
+    By order of the President:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, August 12, 1867</i>,
+</p>
+<p>
+    Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+<br>
+    <i>Secretary of War</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by
+    the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby suspended
+    from office as Secretary of War, and will cease to exercise any and all
+    functions pertaining to the same.
+</p>
+<p>
+    You will at once transfer to General Ulysses S. Grant, who has this day
+    been authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>,
+    all records, books, and other property now in your custody and charge.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., August 12, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    General ULYSSES S. GRANT,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C.</i>
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day suspended as
+    Secretary of War, you are hereby authorized and empowered to act as
+    Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, and will at once enter upon the discharge
+    of the duties of the office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Secretary of War has been instructed to transfer to you all the
+    records, books, papers, and other public property now in his custody
+    and charge.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., August 17, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Major-General George H. Thomas is hereby assigned to the command of the
+    Fifth Military District, created by the act of Congress passed on the 2d
+    day of March, 1867.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Major-General P.H. Sheridan is hereby assigned to the command of the
+    Department of the Missouri.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Major-General Winfield S. Hancock is hereby assigned to the command of
+    the Department of the Cumberland.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i> will give the necessary instructions
+    to carry this order into effect.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., August 26, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    General U.S. GRANT,
+<br>
+    <i>Secretary of War ad interim</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: In consequence of the unfavorable condition of the health of
+    Major-General George H. Thomas, as reported to you in Surgeon Hasson's
+    dispatch of the 21st instant, my order dated August 17, 1867, is hereby
+    modified so as to assign Major-General Winfield S. Hancock to the
+    command of the Fifth Military District, created by the act of Congress
+    passed March 2, 1867, and of the military department comprising the
+    States of Louisiana and Texas. On being relieved from the command
+    of the Department of the Missouri by Major-General P. H. Sheridan,
+    Major-General Hancock will proceed directly to New Orleans, La.,
+    and, assuming the command to which he is hereby assigned, will, when
+    necessary to a faithful execution of the laws, exercise any and all
+    powers conferred by acts of Congress upon district commanders and any
+    and all authority pertaining to officers in command of military
+    departments.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Major-General P.H. Sheridan will at once turn over his present command
+    to the officer next in rank to himself, and, proceeding without delay
+    to Fort Leavenworth, Kans., will relieve Major-General Hancock of the
+    command of the Department of the Missouri.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Major-General George H. Thomas will until further orders remain in
+    command of the Department of the Cumberland.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Very respectfully, yours,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., August 26, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Brevet Major-General Edward R.S. Canby is hereby assigned to the command
+    of the Second Military District, created by the act of Congress of March
+    2, 1867, and of the Military Department of the South, embracing the
+    States of North Carolina and South Carolina. He will, as soon as
+    practicable, relieve Major-General Daniel E. Sickles, and, on assuming
+    the command to which he is hereby assigned, will, when necessary to a
+    faithful execution of the laws, exercise any and all powers conferred by
+    acts of Congress upon district commanders and any and all authority
+    pertaining to officers in command of military departments.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Major-General Daniel E. Sickles is hereby relieved from the command of
+    the Second Military District.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i> will give the necessary instructions
+    to carry this order into effect.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., September 4, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The heads of the several Executive Departments of the Government are
+    instructed to furnish each person holding an appointment in their
+    respective Departments with an official copy of the proclamation of the
+    President bearing date the 3d instant, with directions strictly to
+    observe its requirements for an earnest support of the Constitution of
+    the United States and a faithful execution of the laws which have been
+    made in pursuance thereof.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [Note.&mdash;The Fortieth Congress, second session, met December 2, 1867, in
+    conformity to the Constitution of the United States, and on July 27,
+    1868, in accordance with the concurrent resolution of July 24, adjourned
+    to September 21; again met September 21, and adjourned to October 16;
+    again met October 16, and adjourned to November 10; again met November
+    10 and adjourned to December 7, 1868; the latter meetings and
+    adjournments being in accordance with the concurrent resolution of
+    September 21.]
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE.
+</h2>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 3, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The continued disorganization of the Union, to which the President has
+    so often called the attention of Congress, is yet a subject of profound
+    and patriotic concern. We may, however, find some relief from that
+    anxiety in the reflection that the painful political situation, although
+    before untried by ourselves, is not new in the experience of nations.
+    Political science, perhaps as highly perfected in our own time and
+    country as in any other, has not yet disclosed any means by which civil
+    wars can be absolutely prevented. An enlightened nation, however, with a
+    wise and beneficent constitution of free government, may diminish their
+    frequency and mitigate their severity by directing all its proceedings
+    in accordance with its fundamental law.
+</p>
+<p>
+    When a civil war has been brought to a close, it is manifestly the first
+    interest and duty of the state to repair the injuries which the war has
+    inflicted, and to secure the benefit of the lessons it teaches as fully
+    and as speedily as possible. This duty was, upon the termination of the
+    rebellion, promptly accepted, not only by the executive department, but
+    by the insurrectionary States themselves, and restoration in the first
+    moment of peace was believed to be as easy and certain as it was
+    indispensable. The expectations, however, then so reasonably and
+    confidently entertained were disappointed by legislation from which
+    I felt constrained by my obligations to the Constitution to withhold
+    my assent.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is therefore a source of profound regret that in complying with the
+    obligation imposed upon the President by the Constitution to give to
+    Congress from time to time information of the state of the Union I am
+    unable to communicate any definitive adjustment, satisfactory to the
+    American people, of the questions which since the close of the rebellion
+    have agitated the public mind. On the contrary, candor compels me to
+    declare that at this time there is no Union as our fathers understood
+    the term, and as they meant it to be understood by us. The Union which
+    they established can exist only where all the States are represented in
+    both Houses of Congress; where one State is as free as another to
+    regulate its internal concerns according to its own will, and where the
+    laws of the central Government, strictly confined to matters of national
+    jurisdiction, apply with equal force to all the people of every section.
+    That such is not the present "state of the Union" is a melancholy fact,
+    and we must all acknowledge that the restoration of the States to their
+    proper legal relations with the Federal Government and with one another,
+    according to the terms of the original compact, would be the greatest
+    temporal blessing which God, in His kindest providence, could bestow
+    upon this nation. It becomes our imperative duty to consider whether
+    or not it is impossible to effect this most desirable consummation.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Union and the Constitution are inseparable. As long as one is obeyed
+    by all parties, the other will be preserved; and if one is destroyed,
+    both must perish together. The destruction of the Constitution will be
+    followed by other and still greater calamities. It was ordained not only
+    to form a more perfect union between the States, but to "establish
+    justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense,
+    promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to
+    ourselves and our posterity." Nothing but implicit obedience to its
+    requirements in all parts of the country will accomplish these great
+    ends. Without that obedience we can look forward only to continual
+    outrages upon individual rights, incessant breaches of the public peace,
+    national weakness, financial dishonor, the total loss of our prosperity,
+    the general corruption of morals, and the final extinction of popular
+    freedom. To save our country from evils so appalling as these, we should
+    renew our efforts again and again.
+</p>
+<p>
+    To me the process of restoration seems perfectly plain and simple. It
+    consists merely in a faithful application of the Constitution and laws.
+    The execution of the laws is not now obstructed or opposed by physical
+    force. There is no military or other necessity, real or pretended, which
+    can prevent obedience to the Constitution, either North or South.
+    All the rights and all the obligations of States and individuals
+    can be protected and enforced by means perfectly consistent with the
+    fundamental law. The courts may be everywhere open, and if open their
+    process would be unimpeded. Crimes against the United States can be
+    prevented or punished by the proper judicial authorities in a manner
+    entirely practicable and legal. There is therefore no reason why the
+    Constitution should not be obeyed, unless those who exercise its powers
+    have determined that it shall be disregarded and violated. The mere
+    naked will of this Government, or of some one or more of its branches,
+    is the only obstacle that can exist to a perfect union of all the
+    States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    On this momentous question and some of the measures growing out of it
+    I have had the misfortune to differ from Congress, and have expressed
+    my convictions without reserve, though with becoming deference to the
+    opinion of the legislative department. Those convictions are not only
+    unchanged, but strengthened by subsequent events and further reflection.
+    The transcendent importance of the subject will be a sufficient excuse
+    for calling your attention to some of the reasons which have so strongly
+    influenced my own judgment. The hope that we may all finally concur in a
+    mode of settlement consistent at once with our true interests and with
+    our sworn duties to the Constitution is too natural and too just to be
+    easily relinquished.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is clear to my apprehension that the States lately in rebellion are
+    still members of the National Union. When did they cease to be so? The
+    "ordinances of secession" adopted by a portion (in most of them a very
+    small portion) of their citizens were mere nullities. If we admit now
+    that they were valid and effectual for the purpose intended by their
+    authors, we sweep from under our feet the whole ground upon which we
+    justified the war. Were those States afterwards expelled from the Union
+    by the war? The direct contrary was averred by this Government to be its
+    purpose, and was so understood by all those who gave their blood and
+    treasure to aid in its prosecution. It can not be that a successful
+    war, waged for the preservation of the Union, had the legal effect of
+    dissolving it. The victory of the nation's arms was not the disgrace
+    of her policy; the defeat of secession on the battlefield was not the
+    triumph of its lawless principle. Nor could Congress, with or without
+    the consent of the Executive, do anything which would have the effect,
+    directly or indirectly, of separating the States from each other.
+    To dissolve the Union is to repeal the Constitution which holds it
+    together, and that is a power which does not belong to any department
+    of this Government, or to all of them united.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This is so plain that it has been acknowledged by all branches of the
+    Federal Government. The Executive (my predecessor as well as myself) and
+    the heads of all the Departments have uniformly acted upon the principle
+    that the Union is not only undissolved, but indissoluble. Congress
+    submitted an amendment of the Constitution to be ratified by the
+    Southern States, and accepted their acts of ratification as a necessary
+    and lawful exercise of their highest function. If they were not States,
+    or were States out of the Union, their consent to a change in the
+    fundamental law of the Union would have been nugatory, and Congress in
+    asking it committed a political absurdity. The judiciary has also given
+    the solemn sanction of its authority to the same view of the case. The
+    judges of the Supreme Court have included the Southern States in their
+    circuits, and they are constantly, <i>in banc</i> and elsewhere, exercising
+    jurisdiction which does not belong to them unless those States are
+    States of the Union.
+</p>
+<p>
+    If the Southern States are component parts of the Union, the
+    Constitution is the supreme law for them, as it is for all the other
+    States. They are bound to obey it, and so are we. The right of the
+    Federal Government, which is clear and unquestionable, to enforce the
+    Constitution upon them implies the correlative obligation on our part
+    to observe its limitations and execute its guaranties. Without the
+    Constitution we are nothing; by, through, and under the Constitution we
+    are what it makes us. We may doubt the wisdom of the law, we may not
+    approve of its provisions, but we can not violate it merely because it
+    seems to confine our powers within limits narrower than we could wish.
+    It is not a question of individual or class or sectional interest, much
+    less of party predominance, but of duty&mdash;of high and sacred duty&mdash;which
+    we are all sworn to perform. If we can not support the Constitution with
+    the cheerful alacrity of those who love and believe in it, we must give
+    to it at least the fidelity of public servants who act under solemn
+    obligations and commands which they dare not disregard.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The constitutional duty is not the only one which requires the States
+    to be restored. There is another consideration which, though of minor
+    importance, is yet of great weight. On the 22d day of July, 1861,
+    Congress declared by an almost unanimous vote of both Houses that the
+    war should be conducted solely for the purpose of preserving the Union
+    and maintaining the supremacy of the Federal Constitution and laws,
+    without impairing the dignity, equality, and rights of the States or of
+    individuals, and that when this was done the war should cease. I do not
+    say that this declaration is personally binding on those who joined in
+    making it; any more than individual members of Congress are personally
+    bound to pay a public debt created under a law for which they voted.
+    But it was a solemn, public, official pledge of the national honor,
+    and I can not imagine upon what grounds the repudiation of it is to
+    be justified. If it be said that we are not bound to keep faith with
+    rebels, let it be remembered that this promise was not made to rebels
+    only. Thousands of true men in the South were drawn to our standard by
+    it, and hundreds of thousands in the North gave their lives in the
+    belief that it would be carried out. It was made on the day after the
+    first great battle of the war had been fought and lost. All patriotic
+    and intelligent men then saw the necessity of giving such an assurance,
+    and believed that without it the war would end in disaster to our cause.
+    Having given that assurance in the extremity of our peril, the violation
+    of it now, in the day of our power, would be a rude rending of that good
+    faith which holds the moral world together; our country would cease to
+    have any claim upon the confidence of men; it would make the war not
+    only a failure, but a fraud.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Being sincerely convinced that these views are correct, I would be
+    unfaithful to my duty if I did not recommend the repeal of the acts of
+    Congress which place ten of the Southern States under the domination of
+    military masters. If calm reflection shall satisfy a majority of your
+    honorable bodies that the acts referred to are not only a violation of
+    the national faith, but in direct conflict with the Constitution, I dare
+    not permit myself to doubt that you will immediately strike them from
+    the statute book.
+</p>
+<p>
+    To demonstrate the unconstitutional character of those acts I need do no
+    more than refer to their general provisions. It must be seen at once
+    that they are not authorized. To dictate what alterations shall be made
+    in the constitutions of the several States; to control the elections of
+    State legislators and State officers, members of Congress and electors
+    of President and Vice-President, by arbitrarily declaring who shall
+    vote and who shall be excluded from that privilege; to dissolve State
+    legislatures or prevent them from assembling; to dismiss judges and
+    other civil functionaries of the State and appoint others without regard
+    to State law; to organize and operate all the political machinery of the
+    States; to regulate the whole administration of their domestic and local
+    affairs according to the mere will of strange and irresponsible agents,
+    sent among them for that purpose&mdash;these are powers not granted to the
+    Federal Government or to any one of its branches. Not being granted, we
+    violate our trust by assuming them as palpably as we would by acting in
+    the face of a positive interdict; for the Constitution forbids us to do
+    whatever it does not affirmatively authorize, either by express words or
+    by clear implication. If the authority we desire to use does not come to
+    us through the Constitution, we can exercise it only by usurpation, and
+    usurpation is the most dangerous of political crimes. By that crime the
+    enemies of free government in all ages have worked out their designs
+    against public liberty and private right. It leads directly and
+    immediately to the establishment of absolute rule, for undelegated
+    power is always unlimited and unrestrained.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The acts of Congress in question are not only objectionable for their
+    assumption of ungranted power, but many of their provisions are in
+    conflict with the direct prohibitions of the Constitution. The
+    Constitution commands that a republican form of government shall be
+    guaranteed to all the States; that no person shall be deprived of life,
+    liberty, or property without due process of law, arrested without a
+    judicial warrant, or punished without a fair trial before an impartial
+    jury; that the privilege of <i>habeas corpus</i> shall not be denied in time
+    of peace, and that no bill of attainder shall be passed even against a
+    single individual. Yet the system of measures established by these acts
+    of Congress does totally subvert and destroy the form as well as the
+    substance of republican government in the ten States to which they
+    apply. It binds them hand and foot in absolute slavery, and subjects
+    them to a strange and hostile power, more unlimited and more likely to
+    be abused than any other now known among civilized men. It tramples down
+    all those rights in which the essence of liberty consists, and which a
+    free government is always most careful to protect. It denies the <i>habeas
+    corpus</i> and the trial by jury. Personal freedom, property, and life, if
+    assailed by the passion, the prejudice, or the rapacity of the ruler,
+    have no security whatever. It has the effect of a bill of attainder or
+    bill of pains and penalties, not upon a few individuals, but upon whole
+    masses, including the millions who inhabit the subject States, and even
+    their unborn children. These wrongs, being expressly forbidden, can not
+    be constitutionally inflicted upon any portion of our people, no matter
+    how they may have come within our jurisdiction, and no matter whether
+    they live in States, Territories, or districts.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have no desire to save from the proper and just consequences of their
+    great crime those who engaged in rebellion against the Government, but
+    as a mode of punishment the measures under consideration are the most
+    unreasonable that could be invented. Many of those people are perfectly
+    innocent; many kept their fidelity to the Union untainted to the last;
+    many were incapable of any legal offense; a large proportion even of the
+    persons able to bear arms were forced into rebellion against their will,
+    and of those who are guilty with their own consent the degrees of guilt
+    are as various as the shades of their character and temper. But these
+    acts of Congress confound them all together in one common doom.
+    Indiscriminate vengeance upon classes, sects, and parties, or upon whole
+    communities, for offenses committed by a portion of them against the
+    governments to which they owed obedience was common in the barbarous
+    ages of the world; but Christianity and civilization have made such
+    progress that recourse to a punishment so cruel and unjust would meet
+    with the condemnation of all unprejudiced and right-minded men. The
+    punitive justice of this age, and especially of this country, does not
+    consist in stripping whole States of their liberties and reducing all
+    their people, without distinction, to the condition of slavery. It deals
+    separately with each individual, confines itself to the forms of law,
+    and vindicates its own purity by an impartial examination of every case
+    before a competent judicial tribunal. If this does not satisfy all our
+    desires with regard to Southern rebels, let us console ourselves by
+    reflecting that a free Constitution, triumphant in war and unbroken in
+    peace, is worth far more to us and our children than the gratification
+    of any present feeling.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I am aware it is assumed that this system of government for the
+    Southern States is not to be perpetual. It is true this military
+    government is to be only provisional, but it is through this temporary
+    evil that a greater evil is to be made perpetual. If the guaranties
+    of the Constitution can be broken provisionally to serve a temporary
+    purpose, and in a part only of the country, we can destroy them
+    everywhere and for all time. Arbitrary measures often change, but they
+    generally change for the worse. It is the curse of despotism that it has
+    no halting place. The intermitted exercise of its power brings no sense
+    of security to its subjects, for they can never know what more they will
+    be called to endure when its red right hand is armed to plague them
+    again. Nor is it possible to conjecture how or where power, unrestrained
+    by law, may seek its next victims. The States that are still free may be
+    enslaved at any moment; for if the Constitution does not protect all, it
+    protects none.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is manifestly and avowedly the object of these laws to confer upon
+    negroes the privilege of voting and to disfranchise such a number of
+    white citizens as will give the former a clear majority at all elections
+    in the Southern States. This, to the minds of some persons, is so
+    important that a violation of the Constitution is justified as a means
+    of bringing it about. The morality is always false which excuses a wrong
+    because it proposes to accomplish a desirable end. We are not permitted
+    to do evil that good may come. But in this case the end itself is evil,
+    as well as the means. The subjugation of the States to negro domination
+    would be worse than the military despotism under which they are now
+    suffering. It was believed beforehand that the people would endure any
+    amount of military oppression for any length of time rather than degrade
+    themselves by subjection to the negro race. Therefore they have been
+    left without a choice. Negro suffrage was established by act of
+    Congress, and the military officers were commanded to superintend the
+    process of clothing the negro race with the political privileges torn
+    from white men.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The blacks in the South are entitled to be well and humanely governed,
+    and to have the protection of just laws for all their rights of person
+    and property. If it were practicable at this time to give them a
+    Government exclusively their own, under which they might manage their
+    own affairs in their own way, it would become a grave question whether
+    we ought to do so, or whether common humanity would not require us to
+    save them from themselves. But under the circumstances this is only a
+    speculative point. It is not proposed merely that they shall govern
+    themselves, but that they shall rule the white race, make and administer
+    State laws, elect Presidents and members of Congress, and shape to a
+    greater or less extent the future destiny of the whole country. Would
+    such a trust and power be safe in such hands?
+</p>
+<p>
+    The peculiar qualities which should characterize any people who are fit
+    to decide upon the management of public affairs for a great state have
+    seldom been combined. It is the glory of white men to know that they
+    have had these qualities in sufficient measure to build upon this
+    continent a great political fabric and to preserve its stability for
+    more than ninety years, while in every other part of the world all
+    similar experiments have failed. But if anything can be proved by known
+    facts, if all reasoning upon evidence is not abandoned, it must be
+    acknowledged that in the progress of nations negroes have shown less
+    capacity for government than any other race of people. No independent
+    government of any form has ever been successful in their hands. On the
+    contrary, wherever they have been left to their own devices they have
+    shown a constant tendency to relapse into barbarism. In the Southern
+    States, however, Congress has undertaken to confer upon them the
+    privilege of the ballot. Just released from slavery, it may be doubted
+    whether as a class they know more than their ancestors how to organize
+    and regulate civil society. Indeed, it is admitted that the blacks of
+    the South are not only regardless of the rights of property, but so
+    utterly ignorant of public affairs that their voting can consist in
+    nothing more than carrying a ballot to the place where they are directed
+    to deposit it. I need not remind you that the exercise of the elective
+    franchise is the highest attribute of an American citizen, and that when
+    guided by virtue, intelligence, patriotism, and a proper appreciation of
+    our free institutions it constitutes the true basis of a democratic form
+    of government, in which the sovereign power is lodged in the body of the
+    people. A trust artificially created, not for its own sake, but solely
+    as a means of promoting the general welfare, its influence for good must
+    necessarily depend upon the elevated character and true allegiance of
+    the elector. It ought, therefore, to be reposed in none except those who
+    are fitted morally and mentally to administer it well; for if conferred
+    upon persons who do not justly estimate its value and who are
+    indifferent as to its results, it will only serve as a means of placing
+    power in the hands of the unprincipled and ambitious, and must eventuate
+    in the complete destruction of that liberty of which it should be the
+    most powerful conservator. I have therefore heretofore urged upon your
+    attention the great danger&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  to be apprehended from an untimely extension of the elective franchise
+  to any new class in our country, especially when the large majority of
+  that class, in wielding the power thus placed in their hands, can not be
+  expected correctly to comprehend the duties and responsibilities which
+  pertain to suffrage. Yesterday, as it were, 4,000,000 persons were held
+  in a condition of slavery that had existed for generations; to-day they
+  are freemen and are assumed by law to be citizens. It can not be
+  presumed, from their previous condition of servitude, that as a class
+  they are as well informed as to the nature of our Government as the
+  intelligent foreigner who makes our land the home of his choice. In the
+  case of the latter neither a residence of five years and the knowledge
+  of our institutions which it gives nor attachment to the principles of
+  the Constitution are the only conditions upon which he can be admitted
+  to citizenship; he must prove in addition a good moral character, and
+  thus give reasonable ground for the belief that he will be faithful to
+  the obligations which he assumes as a citizen of the Republic. Where
+  a people&mdash;the source of all political power&mdash;speak by their suffrages
+  through the instrumentality of the ballot box, it must be carefully
+  guarded against the control of those who are corrupt in principle and
+  enemies of free institutions, for it can only become to our political
+  and social system a safe conductor of healthy popular sentiment when
+  kept free from demoralizing influences. Controlled through fraud and
+  usurpation by the designing, anarchy and despotism must inevitably
+  follow. In the hands of the patriotic and worthy our Government will be
+  preserved upon the principles of the Constitution inherited from our
+  fathers. It follows, therefore, that in admitting to the ballot box
+  a new class of voters not qualified for the exercise of the elective
+  franchise we weaken our system of government instead of adding to its
+  strength and durability.
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p class="q">
+  I yield to no one in attachment to that rule of general suffrage which
+  distinguishes our policy as a nation. But there is a limit, wisely
+  observed hitherto, which makes the ballot a privilege and a trust,
+  and which requires of some classes a time suitable for probation
+  and preparation. To give it indiscriminately to a new class, wholly
+  unprepared by previous habits and opportunities to perform the trust
+  which it demands, is to degrade it, and finally to destroy its power,
+  for it may be safely assumed that no political truth is better
+  established than that such indiscriminate and all-embracing extension
+  of popular suffrage must end at last in its destruction.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I repeat the expression of my willingness to join in any plan within
+    the scope of our constitutional authority which promises to better the
+    condition of the negroes in the South, by encouraging them in industry,
+    enlightening their minds, improving their morals, and giving protection
+    to all their just rights as freedmen. But the transfer of our political
+    inheritance to them would, in my opinion, be an abandonment of a duty
+    which we owe alike to the memory of our fathers and the rights of our
+    children.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The plan of putting the Southern States wholly and the General
+    Government partially into the hands of negroes is proposed at a time
+    peculiarly unpropitious. The foundations of society have been broken
+    up by civil war. Industry must be reorganized, justice reestablished,
+    public credit maintained, and order brought out of confusion. To
+    accomplish these ends would require all the wisdom and virtue of the
+    great men who formed our institutions originally. I confidently believe
+    that their descendants will be equal to the arduous task before them,
+    but it is worse than madness to expect that negroes will perform it for
+    us. Certainly we ought not to ask their assistance till we despair of
+    our own competency.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The great difference between the two races in physical, mental,
+    and moral characteristics will prevent an amalgamation or fusion
+    of them together in one homogeneous mass. If the inferior obtains the
+    ascendency over the other, it will govern with reference only to its own
+    interests&mdash;for it will recognize no common interest&mdash;and create such a
+    tyranny as this continent has never yet witnessed. Already the negroes
+    are influenced by promises of confiscation and plunder. They are taught
+    to regard as an enemy every white man who has any respect for the rights
+    of his own race. If this continues it must become worse and worse, until
+    all order will be subverted, all industry cease, and the fertile fields
+    of the South grow up into a wilderness. Of all the dangers which our
+    nation has yet encountered, none are equal to those which must result
+    from the success of the effort now making to Africanize the half of
+    our country.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I would not put considerations of money in competition with justice and
+    right; but the expenses incident to "reconstruction" under the system
+    adopted by Congress aggravate what I regard as the intrinsic wrong of
+    the measure itself. It has cost uncounted millions already, and if
+    persisted in will add largely to the weight of taxation, already too
+    oppressive to be borne without just complaint, and may finally reduce
+    the Treasury of the nation to a condition of bankruptcy. We must not
+    delude ourselves. It will require a strong standing army and probably
+    more than $200,000,000 per annum to maintain the supremacy of negro
+    governments after they are established. The sum thus thrown away would,
+    if properly used, form a sinking fund large enough to pay the whole
+    national debt in less than fifteen years. It is vain to hope that
+    negroes will maintain their ascendency themselves. Without military
+    power they are wholly incapable of holding in subjection the white
+    people of the South.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I submit to the judgment of Congress whether the public credit may not
+    be injuriously affected by a system of measures like this. With our debt
+    and the vast private interests which are complicated with it, we can not
+    be too cautious of a policy which might by possibility impair the
+    confidence of the world in our Government. That confidence can only be
+    retained by carefully inculcating the principles of justice and honor
+    on the popular mind and by the most scrupulous fidelity to all our
+    engagements of every sort. Any serious breach of the organic law,
+    persisted in for a considerable time, can not but create fears for the
+    stability of our institutions. Habitual violation of prescribed rules,
+    which we bind ourselves to observe, must demoralize the people. Our only
+    standard of civil duty being set at naught, the sheet anchor of our
+    political morality is lost, the public conscience swings from its
+    moorings and yields to every impulse of passion and interest. If we
+    repudiate the Constitution, we will not be expected to care much for
+    mere pecuniary obligations. The violation of such a pledge as we made on
+    the 22d day of July, 1861, will assuredly diminish the market value of
+    our other promises. Besides, if we acknowledge that the national debt
+    was created, not to hold the States in the Union, as the taxpayers were
+    led to suppose, but to expel them from it and hand them over to be
+    governed by negroes, the moral duty to pay it may seem much less clear.
+    I say it may <i>seem</i> so, for I do not admit that this or any other
+    argument in favor of repudiation can be entertained as sound; but
+    its influence on some classes of minds may well be apprehended. The
+    financial honor of a great commercial nation, largely indebted and with
+    a republican form of government administered by agents of the popular
+    choice, is a thing of such delicate texture and the destruction of it
+    would be followed by such unspeakable calamity that every true patriot
+    must desire to avoid whatever might expose it to the slightest danger.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The great interests of the country require immediate relief from these
+    enactments. Business in the South is paralyzed by a sense of general
+    insecurity, by the terror of confiscation, and the dread of negro
+    supremacy. The Southern trade, from which the North would have derived
+    so great a profit under a government of law, still languishes, and can
+    never be revived until it ceases to be fettered by the arbitrary power
+    which makes all its operations unsafe. That rich country&mdash;the richest in
+    natural resources the world ever saw&mdash;is worse than lost if it be not
+    soon placed under the protection of a free constitution. Instead of
+    being, as it ought to be, a source of wealth and power, it will become
+    an intolerable burden upon the rest of the nation.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Another reason for retracing our steps will doubtless be seen by
+    Congress in the late manifestations of public opinion upon this subject.
+    We live in a country where the popular will always enforces obedience
+    to itself, sooner or later. It is vain to think of opposing it with
+    anything short of legal authority backed by overwhelming force. It can
+    not have escaped your attention that from the day on which Congress
+    fairly and formally presented the proposition to govern the Southern
+    States by military force, with a view to the ultimate establishment of
+    negro supremacy, every expression of the general sentiment has been more
+    or less adverse to it. The affections of this generation can not be
+    detached from the institutions of their ancestors. Their determination
+    to preserve the inheritance of free government in their own hands and
+    transmit it undivided and unimpaired to their own posterity is too
+    strong to be successfully opposed. Every weaker passion will disappear
+    before that love of liberty and law for which the American people are
+    distinguished above all others in the world.
+</p>
+<p>
+    How far the duty of the President "to preserve, protect, and defend
+    the Constitution" requires him to go in opposing an unconstitutional
+    act of Congress is a very serious and important question, on which
+    I have deliberated much and felt extremely anxious to reach a proper
+    conclusion. Where an act has been passed according to the forms of the
+    Constitution by the supreme legislative authority, and is regularly
+    enrolled among the public statutes of the country, Executive resistance
+    to it, especially in times of high party excitement, would be likely to
+    produce violent collision between the respective adherents of the two
+    branches of the Government. This would be simply civil war, and civil
+    war must be resorted to only as the last remedy for the worst of evils.
+    Whatever might tend to provoke it should be most carefully avoided.
+    A faithful and conscientious magistrate will concede very much to honest
+    error, and something even to perverse malice, before he will endanger
+    the public peace; and he will not adopt forcible measures, or such as
+    might lead to force, as long as those which are peaceable remain open to
+    him or to his constituents. It is true that cases may occur in which the
+    Executive would be compelled to stand on its rights, and maintain them
+    regardless of all consequences. If Congress should pass an act which is
+    not only in palpable conflict with the Constitution, but will certainly,
+    if carried out, produce immediate and irreparable injury to the organic
+    structure of the Government, and if there be, neither judicial remedy
+    for the wrongs it inflicts nor power in the people to protect themselves
+    without the official aid of their elected defender&mdash;if, for instance,
+    the legislative department should pass an act even through all the forms
+    of law to abolish a coordinate department of the Government&mdash;in such a
+    case the President must take the high responsibilities of his office and
+    save the life of the nation at all hazards. The so-called reconstruction
+    acts, though as plainly unconstitutional as any that can be imagined,
+    were not believed to be within the class last mentioned. The people were
+    not wholly disarmed of the power of self-defense. In all the Northern
+    States they still held in their hands the sacred right of the ballot,
+    and it was safe to believe that in due time they would come to the
+    rescue of their own institutions. It gives me pleasure to add that the
+    appeal to our common constituents was not taken in vain, and that my
+    confidence in their wisdom and virtue seems not to have been misplaced.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is well and publicly known that enormous frauds have been perpetrated
+    on the Treasury and that colossal fortunes have been made at the public
+    expense. This species of corruption has increased, is increasing, and
+    if not diminished will soon bring us into total ruin and disgrace. The
+    public creditors and the taxpayers are alike interested in an honest
+    administration of the finances, and neither class will long endure the
+    large-handed robberies of the recent past. For this discreditable state
+    of things there are several causes. Some of the taxes are so laid as
+    to present an irresistible temptation to evade payment. The great sums
+    which officers may win by connivance at fraud create a pressure which is
+    more than the virtue of many can withstand, and there can be no doubt
+    that the open disregard of constitutional obligations avowed by some of
+    the highest and most influential men in the country has greatly weakened
+    the moral sense of those who serve in subordinate places. The expenses
+    of the United States, including interest on the public debt, are more
+    than six times as much as they were seven years ago. To collect and
+    disburse this vast amount requires careful supervision as well as
+    systematic vigilance. The system, never perfected, was much disorganized
+    by the "tenure-of-office bill," which has almost destroyed official
+    accountability. The President may be thoroughly convinced that an
+    officer is incapable, dishonest, or unfaithful to the Constitution, but
+    under the law which I have named the utmost he can do is to complain to
+    the Senate and ask the privilege of supplying his place with a better
+    man. If the Senate be regarded as personally or politically hostile to
+    the President, it is natural, and not altogether unreasonable, for the
+    officer to expect that it will take his part as far as possible, restore
+    him to his place, and give him a triumph over his Executive superior.
+    The officer has other chances of impunity arising from accidental
+    defects of evidence, the mode of investigating it, and the secrecy of
+    the hearing. It is not wonderful that official malfeasance should become
+    bold in proportion as the delinquents learn to think themselves safe.
+    I am entirely persuaded that under such a rule the President can not
+    perform the great duty assigned to him of seeing the laws faithfully
+    executed, and that it disables him most especially from enforcing that
+    rigid accountability which is necessary to the due execution of the
+    revenue laws.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Constitution invests the President with authority to <i>decide</i>
+    whether a removal should be made in any given case; the act of Congress
+    declares in substance that he shall only <i>accuse</i> such as he supposes to
+    be unworthy of their trust. The Constitution makes him <i>sole judge</i> in
+    the premises, but the statute takes away his jurisdiction, transfers
+    it to the Senate, and leaves him nothing but the odious and sometimes
+    impracticable duty of becoming a <i>prosecutor</i>. The prosecution is to be
+    conducted before a tribunal whose members are not, like him, responsible
+    to the whole people, but to separate constituent bodies, and who may
+    hear his accusation with great disfavor. The Senate is absolutely
+    without any known standard of decision applicable to such a case. Its
+    judgment can not be anticipated, for it is not governed by any rule.
+    The law does not define what shall be deemed good cause for removal.
+    It is impossible even to conjecture what may or may not be so considered
+    by the Senate. The nature of the subject forbids clear proof. If the
+    charge be incapacity, what evidence will support it? Fidelity to the
+    Constitution may be understood or misunderstood in a thousand different
+    ways, and by violent party men, in violent party times, unfaithfulness
+    to the Constitution may even come to be considered meritorious. If the
+    officer be accused of dishonesty, how shall it be made out? Will it be
+    inferred from acts unconnected with public duty, from private history,
+    or from general reputation, or must the President await the commission
+    of an actual misdemeanor in office? Shall he in the meantime risk the
+    character and interest of the nation in the hands of men to whom he
+    can not give his confidence? Must he forbear his complaint until the
+    mischief is done and can not be prevented? If his zeal in the public
+    service should impel him to anticipate the overt act, must he move at
+    the peril of being tried himself for the offense of slandering his
+    subordinate? In the present circumstances of the country someone must be
+    held responsible for official delinquency of every kind. It is extremely
+    difficult to say where that responsibility should be thrown if it be
+    not left where it has been placed by the Constitution. But all just men
+    will admit that the President ought to be entirely relieved from such
+    responsibility if he can not meet it by reason of restrictions placed
+    by law upon his action.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The unrestricted power of removal from office is a very great one to be
+    trusted even to a magistrate chosen by the general suffrage of the whole
+    people and accountable directly to them for his acts. It is undoubtedly
+    liable to abuse, and at some periods of our history perhaps has been
+    abused. If it be thought desirable and constitutional that it should be
+    so limited as to make the President merely a common informer against
+    other public agents, he should at least be permitted to act in that
+    capacity before some open tribunal, independent of party politics, ready
+    to investigate the merits of every case, furnished with the means of
+    taking evidence, and bound to decide according to established rules.
+    This would guarantee the safety of the accuser when he acts in good
+    faith, and at the same time secure the rights of the other party. I
+    speak, of course, with all proper respect for the present Senate, but it
+    does not seem to me that any legislative body can be so constituted as
+    to insure its fitness for these functions.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is not the theory of this Government that public offices are the
+    property of those who hold them. They are given merely as a trust for
+    the public benefit, sometimes for a fixed period, sometimes during good
+    behavior, but generally they are liable to be terminated at the pleasure
+    of the appointing power, which represents the collective majesty and
+    speaks the will of the people. The forced retention in office of a
+    single dishonest person may work great injury to the public interests.
+    The danger to the public service comes not from the power to remove,
+    but from the power to appoint. Therefore it was that the framers of the
+    Constitution left the power of removal unrestricted, while they gave
+    the Senate a right to reject all appointments which in its opinion were
+    not fit to be made. A little reflection on this subject will probably
+    satisfy all who have the good of the country at heart that our best
+    course is to take the Constitution for our guide, walk in the path
+    marked out by the founders of the Republic, and obey the rules made
+    sacred by the observance of our great predecessors.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The present condition of our finances and circulating medium is one to
+    which your early consideration is invited.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The proportion which the currency of any country should bear to
+    the whole value of the annual produce circulated by its means is a
+    question upon which political economists have not agreed. Nor can it
+    be controlled by legislation, but must be left to the irrevocable laws
+    which everywhere regulate commerce and trade. The circulating medium
+    will ever irresistibly flow to those points where it is in greatest
+    demand. The law of demand and supply is as unerring as that which
+    regulates the tides of the ocean; and, indeed, currency, like the
+    tides, has its ebbs and flows throughout the commercial world.
+</p>
+<p>
+    At the beginning of the rebellion the bank-note circulation of the
+    country amounted to not much more than $200,000,000; now the circulation
+    of national-bank notes and those known as "legal-tenders" is nearly
+    seven hundred millions. While it is urged by some that this amount
+    should be increased, others contend that a decided reduction is
+    absolutely essential to the best interests of the country. In view of
+    these diverse opinions, it may be well to ascertain the real value of
+    our paper issues when compared with a metallic or convertible currency.
+    For this purpose let us inquire how much gold and silver could be
+    purchased by the seven hundred millions of paper money now in
+    circulation. Probably not more than half the amount of the latter,
+    showing that when our paper currency is compared with gold and silver
+    its commercial value is compressed into three hundred and fifty
+    millions. This striking fact makes it the obvious duty of the
+    Government, as early as may be consistent with the principles of sound
+    political economy, to take such measures as will enable the holder of
+    its notes and those of the national banks to convert them without loss
+    into specie or its equivalent. A reduction of our paper circulating
+    medium need not necessarily follow. This, however, would depend upon
+    the law of demand and supply, though it should be borne in mind that
+    by making legal-tender and bank notes convertible into coin or its
+    equivalent their present specie value in the hands of their holders
+    would be enhanced 100 per cent.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Legislation for the accomplishment of a result so desirable is demanded
+    by the highest public considerations. The Constitution contemplates that
+    the circulating medium of the country shall be uniform in quality and
+    value. At the time of the formation of that instrument the country had
+    just emerged from the War of the Revolution, and was suffering from the
+    effects of a redundant and worthless paper currency. The sages of that
+    period were anxious to protect their posterity from the evils that they
+    themselves had experienced. Hence in providing a circulating medium they
+    conferred upon Congress the power to coin money and regulate the value
+    thereof, at the same time prohibiting the States from making anything
+    but gold and silver a tender in payment of debts.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The anomalous condition of our currency is in striking contrast with
+    that which was originally designed. Our circulation now embraces, first,
+    notes of the national banks, which are made receivable for all dues to
+    the Government, excluding imposts, and by all its creditors, excepting
+    in payment of interest upon its bonds and the securities themselves;
+    second, legal-tender notes, issued by the United States, and which the
+    law requires shall be received as well in payment of all debts between
+    citizens as of all Government dues, excepting imposts; and, third, gold
+    and silver coin. By the operation of our present system of finance,
+    however, the metallic currency, when collected, is reserved only for one
+    class of Government creditors, who, holding its bonds, semiannually
+    receive their interest in coin from the National Treasury. They are thus
+    made to occupy an invidious position, which may be used to strengthen
+    the arguments of those who would bring into disrepute the obligations
+    of the nation. In the payment of all its debts the plighted faith of
+    the Government should be inviolably maintained. But while it acts with
+    fidelity toward the bondholder who loaned his money that the integrity
+    of the Union might be preserved, it should at the same time observe good
+    faith with the great masses of the people, who, having rescued the Union
+    from the perils of rebellion, now bear the burdens of taxation, that the
+    Government may be able to fulfill its engagements. There is no reason
+    which will be accepted as satisfactory by the people why those who
+    defend us on the land and protect us on the sea; the pensioner upon the
+    gratitude of the nation, bearing the scars and wounds received while
+    in its service; the public servants in the various Departments of the
+    Government; the farmer who supplies the soldiers of the Army and the
+    sailors of the Navy; the artisan who toils in the nation's workshops,
+    or the mechanics and laborers who build its edifices and construct
+    its forts and vessels of war, should, in payment of their just and
+    hard-earned dues, receive depreciated paper, while another class of
+    their countrymen, no more deserving, are paid in coin of gold and
+    silver. Equal and exact justice requires that all the creditors of the
+    Government should be paid in a currency possessing a uniform value.
+    This can only be accomplished by the restoration of the currency to the
+    standard established by the Constitution; and by this means we would
+    remove a discrimination which may, if it has not already done so, create
+    a prejudice that may become deep rooted and widespread and imperil the
+    national credit.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The feasibility of making our currency correspond with the
+    constitutional standard may be seen by reference to a few facts derived
+    from our commercial statistics.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The production of precious metals in the United States from 1849
+    to 1857, inclusive, amounted to $579,000,000; from 1858 to 1860,
+    inclusive, to $137,500,000, and from 1861 to 1867, inclusive, to
+    $457,500,000&mdash;making the grand aggregate of products since 1849
+    $1,174,000,000. The amount of specie coined from 1849 to 1857 inclusive,
+    was $439,000,000; from 1858 to 1860, inclusive, $125,000,000, and from
+    1861 to 1867, inclusive, $310,000,000&mdash;making the total coinage since
+    1849 $874,000,000. From 1849 to 1857, inclusive, the net exports of
+    specie amounted to $271,000,000; from 1858 to 1860, inclusive, to
+    $148,000,000, and from 1861 to 1867, inclusive, $322,000,000&mdash;making the
+    aggregate of net exports since 1849 $741,000,000. These figures show an
+    excess of product over net exports of $433,000,000. There are in the
+    Treasury $111,000,000 in coin, something more than $40,000,000 in
+    circulation on the Pacific Coast, and a few millions in the national
+    and other banks&mdash;in all about $160,000,000. This, however, taking into
+    account the specie in the country prior to 1849, leaves more than
+    $300,000,000 which have not been accounted for by exportation, and
+    therefore may yet remain in the country.
+</p>
+<p>
+    These are important facts and show how completely the inferior currency
+    will supersede the better, forcing it from circulation among the masses
+    and causing it to be exported as a mere article of trade, to add to the
+    money capital of foreign lands. They show the necessity of retiring our
+    paper money, that the return of gold and silver to the avenues of trade
+    may be invited and a demand created which will cause the retention
+    at home of at least so much of the productions of our rich and
+    inexhaustible gold-bearing fields as may be sufficient for purposes
+    of circulation. It is unreasonable to expect a return to a sound
+    currency so long as the Government by continuing to issue irredeemable
+    notes fills the channels of circulation with depreciated paper.
+    Notwithstanding a coinage by our mints, since 1849, of $874,000,000,
+    the people are now strangers to the currency which was designed for
+    their use and benefit, and specimens of the precious metals bearing
+    the national device are seldom seen, except when produced to gratify
+    the interest excited by their novelty. If depreciated paper is to be
+    continued as the permanent currency of the country, and all our coin is
+    to become a mere article of traffic and speculation, to the enhancement
+    in price of all that is indispensable to the comfort of the people, it
+    would be wise economy to abolish our mints, thus saving the nation the
+    care and expense incident to such establishments, and let all our
+    precious metals be exported in bullion. The time has come, however, when
+    the Government and national banks should be required to take the most
+    efficient steps and make all necessary arrangements for a resumption
+    of specie payments at the earliest practicable period. Specie payments
+    having been once resumed by the Government and banks, all notes or bills
+    of paper issued by either of a less denomination than $20 should by law
+    be excluded from circulation, so that the people may have the benefit
+    and convenience of a gold and silver currency which in all their
+    business transactions will be uniform in value at home and abroad.
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Every man of property or industry, every man who desires to preserve
+  what he honestly possesses or to obtain what he can honestly earn, has a
+  direct interest in maintaining a safe circulating medium&mdash;such a medium
+  as shall be real and substantial, not liable to vibrate with opinions,
+  not subject to be blown up or blown down by the breath of speculation,
+  but to be made stable and secure. A disordered currency is one of the
+  greatest political evils. It undermines the virtues necessary for the
+  support of the social system and encourages propensities destructive of
+  its happiness; it wars against industry, frugality, and economy, and it
+  fosters the evil spirits of extravagance and speculation.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It has been asserted by one of our profound and most gifted statesmen
+    that&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Of all the contrivances for cheating the laboring classes of mankind,
+  none has been more effectual than that which deludes them with paper
+  money. This is the most effectual of inventions to fertilize the rich
+  man's fields by the sweat of the poor man's brow. Ordinary tyranny,
+  oppression, excessive taxation&mdash;these bear lightly on the happiness of
+  the mass of the community compared with a fraudulent currency and the
+  robberies committed by depreciated paper. Our own history has recorded
+  for our instruction enough, and more than enough, of the demoralizing
+  tendency, the injustice, and the intolerable oppression on the virtuous
+  and well disposed of a degraded paper currency authorized by law or in
+  any way countenanced by government.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is one of the most successful devices, in times of peace or war,
+    expansions or revulsions, to accomplish the transfer of all the precious
+    metals from the great mass of the people into the hands of the few,
+    where they are hoarded in secret places or deposited in strong boxes
+    under bolts and bars, while the people are left to ensure all the
+    inconvenience, sacrifice, and demoralization resulting from the use
+    of a depreciated and worthless paper money.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The condition of our finances and the operations of our revenue
+    system are set forth and fully explained in the able and instructive
+    report of the Secretary of the Treasury. On the 30th of June, 1866,
+    the public debt amounted to $2,783,425,879; on the 30th of June last
+    it was $2,692,199,215, showing a reduction during the fiscal year of
+    $91,226,664. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1867, the receipts
+    were $490,634,010 and the expenditures $346,729,129, leaving an
+    available surplus of $143,904,880. It is estimated that the receipts for
+    the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, will be $417,161,928 and that the
+    expenditures will reach the sum of $393,269,226, leaving in the Treasury
+    a surplus of $23,892,702. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1869, it
+    is estimated that the receipts will amount to $381,000,000 and that the
+    expenditures will be $372,000,000, showing an excess of $9,000,000 in
+    favor of the Government.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The attention of Congress is earnestly invited to the necessity of a
+    thorough revision of our revenue system. Our internal-revenue laws and
+    impost system should be so adjusted as to bear most heavily on articles
+    of luxury, leaving the necessaries of life as free from taxation as
+    may be consistent with the real wants of the Government, economically
+    administered. Taxation would not then fall unduly on the man of moderate
+    means; and while none would be entirely exempt from assessment, all, in
+    proportion to their pecuniary abilities, would contribute toward the
+    support of the State. A modification of the internal-revenue system, by
+    a large reduction in the number of articles now subject to tax, would
+    be followed by results equally advantageous to the citizen and the
+    Government. It would render the execution of the law less expensive and
+    more certain, remove obstructions to industry, lessen the temptations to
+    evade the law, diminish the violations and frauds perpetrated upon its
+    provisions, make its operations less inquisitorial, and greatly reduce
+    in numbers the army of taxgatherers created by the system, who "take
+    from the mouth of honest labor the bread it has earned." Retrenchment,
+    reform, and economy should be carried into every branch of the public
+    service, that the expenditures of the Government may be reduced and the
+    people relieved from oppressive taxation; a sound currency should be
+    restored, and the public faith in regard to the national debt sacredly
+    observed. The accomplishment of these important results, together with
+    the restoration of the Union of the States upon the principles of
+    the Constitution, would inspire confidence at home and abroad in the
+    stability of our institutions and bring to the nation prosperity,
+    peace, and good will.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The report of the Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i> exhibits the operations
+    of the Army and of the several bureaus of the War Department. The
+    aggregate strength of our military force on the 30th of September
+    last was 56,315. The total estimate for military appropriations is
+    $77,124,707, including a deficiency in last year's appropriation of
+    $13,600,000. The payments at the Treasury on account of the service
+    of the War Department from January 1 to October 29, 1867&mdash;a period of
+    ten months&mdash;amounted to $109,807,000. The expenses of the military
+    establishment, as well as the numbers of the Army, are now three
+    times as great as they have ever been in time of peace, while the
+    discretionary power is vested in the Executive to add millions to this
+    expenditure by an increase of the Army to the maximum strength allowed
+    by the law.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The comprehensive report of the Secretary of the Interior furnishes
+    interesting information in reference to the important branches of the
+    public service connected with his Department. The menacing attitude of
+    some of the warlike bands of Indians inhabiting the district of country
+    between the Arkansas and Platte rivers and portions of Dakota Territory
+    required the presence of a large military force in that region.
+    Instigated by real or imaginary grievances, the Indians occasionally
+    committed acts of barbarous violence upon emigrants and our frontier
+    settlements; but a general Indian war has been providentially averted.
+    The commissioners under the act of 20th July, 1867, were invested with
+    full power to adjust existing difficulties, negotiate treaties with the
+    disaffected bands, and select for them reservations remote from the
+    traveled routes between the Mississippi and the Pacific. They entered
+    without delay upon the execution of their trust, but have not yet made
+    any official report of their proceedings. It is of vital importance that
+    our distant Territories should be exempt from Indian outbreaks, and
+    that the construction of the Pacific Railroad, an object of national
+    importance, should not be interrupted by hostile tribes. These objects,
+    as well as the material interests and the moral and intellectual
+    improvement of the Indians, can be most effectually secured by
+    concentrating them upon portions of country set apart for their
+    exclusive use and located at points remote from our highways and
+    encroaching white settlements.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Since the commencement of the second session of the Thirty-ninth
+    Congress 510 miles of road have been constructed on the main line
+    and branches of the Pacific Railway. The line from Omaha is rapidly
+    approaching the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, while the terminus
+    of the last section of constructed road in California, accepted by the
+    Government on the 24th day of October last, was but 11 miles distant
+    from the summit of the Sierra Nevada. The remarkable energy evinced by
+    the companies offers the strongest assurance that the completion of the
+    road from Sacramento to Omaha will not be long deferred.
+</p>
+<p>
+    During the last fiscal year 7,041,114 acres of public land were
+    disposed of, and the cash receipts from sales and fees exceeded by
+    one-half million dollars the sum realized from those sources during the
+    preceding year. The amount paid to pensioners, including expenses of
+    disbursements, was $18,619,956, and 36,482 names were added to the
+    rolls. The entire number of pensioners on the 30th of June last was
+    155,474. Eleven thousand six hundred and fifty-five patents and designs
+    were issued during the year ending September 30, 1867, and at that
+    date the balance in the Treasury to the credit of the patent fund
+    was $286,607.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The report of the Secretary of the Navy states that we have seven
+    squadrons actively and judiciously employed, under efficient and able
+    commanders, in protecting the persons and property of American citizens,
+    maintaining the dignity and power of the Government, and promoting the
+    commerce and business interests of our countrymen in every part of the
+    world. Of the 238 vessels composing the present Navy of the United
+    States, 56, carrying 507 guns, are in squadron service. During the year
+    the number of vessels in commission has been reduced 12, and there
+    are 13 less on squadron duty than there were at the date of the last
+    report. A large number of vessels were commenced and in the course of
+    construction when the war terminated, and although Congress had made the
+    necessary appropriations for their completion, the Department has either
+    suspended work upon them or limited the slow completion of the steam
+    vessels, so as to meet the contracts for machinery made with private
+    establishments. The total expenditures of the Navy Department for the
+    fiscal year ending June 30, 1867, were $31,034,011. No appropriations
+    have been made or required since the close of the war for the
+    construction and repair of vessels, for steam machinery, ordnance,
+    provisions and clothing, fuel, hemp, etc., the balances under these
+    several heads having been more than sufficient for current expenditures.
+    It should also be stated to the credit of the Department that, besides
+    asking no appropriations for the above objects for the last two years,
+    the Secretary of the Navy, on the 30th of September last, in accordance
+    with the act of May 1, 1820, requested the Secretary of the Treasury to
+    carry to the surplus fund the sum of $65,000,000, being the amount
+    received from the sales of vessels and other war property and the
+    remnants of former appropriations.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The report of the Postmaster-General shows the business of the
+    Post-Office Department and the condition of the postal service in a
+    very favorable light, and the attention of Congress is called to its
+    practical recommendations. The receipts of the Department for the
+    year ending June 30, 1867, including all special appropriations for
+    sea and land service and for free mail matter, were $19,978,693. The
+    expenditures for all purposes were $19,235,483, leaving an unexpended
+    balance in favor of the Department of $743,210, which can be applied
+    toward the expenses of the Department for the current year. The increase
+    of postal revenue, independent of specific appropriations, for the year
+    1867 over that of 1866 was $850,040. The increase of revenue from the
+    sale of stamps and stamped envelopes was $783,404. The increase of
+    expenditures for 1867 over those of the previous year was owing chiefly
+    to the extension of the land and ocean mail service. During the past
+    year new postal conventions have been ratified and exchanged with the
+    United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands,
+    Switzerland, the North German Union, Italy, and the colonial government
+    at Hong Kong, reducing very largely the rates of ocean and land postages
+    to and from and within those countries.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The report of the Acting Commissioner of Agriculture concisely presents
+    the condition, wants, and progress of an interest eminently worthy the
+    fostering care of Congress, and exhibits a large measure of useful
+    results achieved during the year to which it refers.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The reestablishment of peace at home and the resumption of extended
+    trade, travel, and commerce abroad have served to increase the number
+    and variety of questions in the Department for Foreign Affairs. None of
+    these questions, however, have seriously disturbed our relations with
+    other states.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Republic of Mexico, having been relieved from foreign intervention,
+    is earnestly engaged in efforts to reestablish her constitutional system
+    of government. A good understanding continues to exist between our
+    Government and the Republics of Hayti and San Domingo, and our cordial
+    relations with the Central and South American States remain unchanged.
+    The tender, made in conformity with a resolution of Congress, of the
+    good offices of the Government with a view to an amicable adjustment
+    of peace between Brazil and her allies on one side and Paraguay on the
+    other, and between Chile and her allies on the one side and Spain on the
+    other, though kindly received, has in neither case been fully accepted
+    by the belligerents. The war in the valley of the Parana is still
+    vigorously maintained. On the other hand, actual hostilities between
+    the Pacific States and Spain have been more than a year suspended.
+    I shall, on any proper occasion that may occur, renew the conciliatory
+    recommendations which have been already made. Brazil, with enlightened
+    sagacity and comprehensive statesmanship, has opened the great channels
+    of the Amazon and its tributaries to universal commerce. One thing more
+    seems needful to assure a rapid and cheering progress in South America.
+    I refer to those peaceful habits without which states and nations can
+    not in this age well expect material prosperity or social advancement.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Exposition of Universal Industry at Paris has passed, and seems to
+    have fully realized the high expectations of the French Government. If
+    due allowance be made for the recent political derangement of industry
+    here, the part which the United States has borne in this exhibition of
+    invention and art may be regarded with very high satisfaction. During
+    the exposition a conference was held of delegates from several nations,
+    the United States being one, in which the inconveniences of commerce and
+    social intercourse resulting from the diverse standards of money value
+    were very fully discussed, and plans were developed for establishing
+    by universal consent a common principle for the coinage of gold. These
+    conferences are expected to be renewed, with the attendance of many
+    foreign states not hitherto represented. A report of these interesting
+    proceedings will be submitted to Congress, which will, no doubt, justly
+    appreciate the great object and be ready to adopt any measure which may
+    tend to facilitate its ultimate accomplishment.
+</p>
+<p>
+    On the 25th of February, 1862, Congress declared by law that Treasury
+    notes, without interest, authorized by that act should be legal tender
+    in payment of all debts, public and private, within the United States.
+    An annual remittance of $30,000, less stipulated expenses, accrues
+    to claimants under the convention made with Spain in 1834. These
+    remittances, since the passage of that act, have been paid in such
+    notes. The claimants insist that the Government ought to require
+    payment in coin. The subject may be deemed worthy of your attention.
+</p>
+<p>
+    No arrangement has yet been reached for the settlement of our claims
+    for British depredations upon the commerce of the United States. I have
+    felt it my duty to decline the proposition of arbitration made by
+    Her Majesty's Government, because it has hitherto been accompanied by
+    reservations and limitations incompatible with the rights, interest, and
+    honor of our country. It is not to be apprehended that Great Britain
+    will persist in her refusal to satisfy these just and reasonable claims,
+    which involve the sacred principle of nonintervention&mdash;a principle
+    henceforth not more important to the United States than to all other
+    commercial nations.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The West India islands were settled and colonized by European States
+    simultaneously with the settlement and colonization of the American
+    continent. Most of the colonies planted here became independent nations
+    in the close of the last and the beginning of the present century. Our
+    own country embraces communities which at one period were colonies of
+    Great Britain, France, Spain, Holland, Sweden, and Russia. The people
+    in the West Indies, with the exception of those of the island of Hayti,
+    have neither attained nor aspired to independence, nor have they become
+    prepared for self-defense. Although possessing considerable commercial
+    value, they have been held by the several European States which
+    colonized or at some time conquered them, chiefly for purposes of
+    military and naval strategy in carrying out European policy and designs
+    in regard to this continent. In our Revolutionary War ports and harbors
+    in the West India islands were used by our enemy, to the great injury
+    and embarrassment of the United States. We had the same experience in
+    our second war with Great Britain. The same European policy for a long
+    time excluded us even from trade with the West Indies, while we were at
+    peace with all nations. In our recent civil war the rebels and their
+    piratical and blockade-breaking allies found facilities in the same
+    ports for the work, which they too successfully accomplished, of
+    injuring and devastating the commerce which we are now engaged in
+    rebuilding. We labored especially under this disadvantage, that
+    European steam vessels employed by our enemies found friendly shelter,
+    protection, and supplies in West Indian ports, while our naval
+    operations were necessarily carried on from our own distant shores.
+    There was then a universal feeling of the want of an advanced naval
+    outpost between the Atlantic coast and Europe. The duty of obtaining
+    such an outpost peacefully and lawfully, while neither doing nor
+    menacing injury to other states, earnestly engaged the attention of the
+    executive department before the close of the war, and it has not been
+    lost sight of since that time. A not entirely dissimilar naval want
+    revealed itself during the same period on the Pacific coast. The
+    required foothold there was fortunately secured by our late treaty with
+    the Emperor of Russia, and it now seems imperative that the more obvious
+    necessities of the Atlantic coast should not be less carefully provided
+    for. A good and convenient port and harbor, capable of easy defense,
+    will supply that want. With the possession of such a station by the
+    United States, neither we nor any other American nation need longer
+    apprehend injury or offense from any transatlantic enemy. I agree with
+    our early statesmen that the West Indies naturally gravitate to, and
+    may be expected ultimately to be absorbed by, the continental States,
+    including our own. I agree with them also that it is wise to leave the
+    question of such absorption to this process of natural political
+    gravitation. The islands of St. Thomas and St. John, which constitute
+    a part of the group called the Virgin Islands, seemed to offer us
+    advantages immediately desirable, while their acquisition could be
+    secured in harmony with the principles to which I have alluded. A treaty
+    has therefore been concluded with the King of Denmark for the cession of
+    those islands, and will be submitted to the Senate for consideration.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It will hardly be necessary to call the attention of Congress to the
+    subject of providing for the payment to Russia of the sum stipulated in
+    the treaty for the cession of Alaska. Possession having been formally
+    delivered to our commissioner, the territory remains for the present in
+    care of a military force, awaiting such civil organization as shall be
+    directed by Congress.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The annexation of many small German States to Prussia and the
+    reorganization of that country under a new and liberal constitution have
+    induced me to renew the effort to obtain a just and prompt settlement of
+    the long-vexed question concerning the claims of foreign states for
+    military service from their subjects naturalized in the United States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In connection with this subject the attention of Congress is
+    respectfully called to a singular and embarrassing conflict of laws.
+    The executive department of this Government has hitherto uniformly held,
+    as it now holds, that naturalization in conformity with the Constitution
+    and laws of the United States absolves the recipient from his native
+    allegiance. The courts of Great Britain hold that allegiance to the
+    British Crown is indefeasible, and is not absolved by our laws of
+    naturalization. British judges cite courts and law authorities of the
+    United States in support of that theory against the position held by the
+    executive authority of the United States. This conflict perplexes the
+    public mind concerning the rights of naturalized citizens and impairs
+    the national authority abroad. I called attention to this subject in my
+    last annual message, and now again respectfully appeal to Congress to
+    declare the national will unmistakably upon this important question.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The abuse of our laws by the clandestine prosecution of the African
+    slave trade from American ports or by American citizens has altogether
+    ceased, and under existing circumstances no apprehensions of its renewal
+    in this part of the world are entertained. Under these circumstances
+    it becomes a question whether we shall not propose to Her Majesty's
+    Government a suspension or discontinuance of the stipulations for
+    maintaining a naval force for the suppression of that trade.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    SPECIAL MESSAGES.
+</h2>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 3, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit, for consideration with a view to ratification, a treaty
+    between the United States and His Majesty the King of Denmark,
+    stipulating for the cession of the islands of St. Thomas and St. John,
+    in the West Indies.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 3, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit, for consideration with a view to ratification, a treaty of
+    friendship, commerce, and navigation between the United States and the
+    Republic of Nicaragua, signed at the city of Managua on the 21st day of
+    June last. This instrument has been framed pursuant to the amendments
+    of the Senate of the United States to the previous treaty between the
+    parties of the 16th of March, 1859.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 4, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a final report from the Attorney-General, additional
+    to the reports submitted by him December 31, 1866, March 2, 1867, and
+    July 8, 1867, in reply to a resolution of the House of Representatives
+    December 10, 1866, requesting "a list of the names of all persons
+    engaged in the late rebellion against the United States Government who
+    have been pardoned by the President from April 15, 1865, to this date;
+    that said list shall also state the rank of each person who has been
+    so pardoned, if he has been engaged in the military service of the
+    so-called Confederate government, and the position if he shall have held
+    any civil office under said so-called Confederate government; and shall
+    also state whether such person has at anytime prior to April 14, 1861,
+    held any office under the United States Government, and, if so, what
+    office, together with the reason for granting such pardon, and also the
+    names of the person or persons at whose solicitation such pardon was
+    granted."
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 4, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 26th
+    ultimo, a report<a href="#note-30"><small>30</small></a> from the Secretary of State, with accompanying papers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 5, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    17th July last, requesting me to communicate all information received
+    at the several Departments of the Government touching the organization
+    within or near the territory of the United States of armed bodies of men
+    for the purpose of avenging the death of the Archduke Maximilian or of
+    intervening in Mexican affairs, and what measures have been taken to
+    prevent the organization or departure of such organized bodies for the
+    purpose of carrying out such objects, I transmit a report from the
+    Secretary of State and the papers accompanying it.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 5, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I submit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+    ratification, a commercial treaty between the United States of America
+    and Her Majesty the Queen of Madagascar, signed at Antananarivo on the
+    14th of February last.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 10, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 25th
+    ultimo, a report<a href="#note-31"><small>31</small></a> from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+    papers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 10, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a copy of a dispatch of the 17th of July last, addressed to
+    the Secretary of State, and of the papers which accompanied it, from
+    Anson Burlingame, esq., minister of the United States to China, relating
+    to a proposed modification of the existing treaty between this
+    Government and that of China.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Senate is aware that the original treaty is chiefly <i>ex parte</i>
+    in its character. The proposed modification, though not of sufficient
+    importance to warrant all the usual forms, does not seem to be
+    objectionable; but it can not be legally accepted by the executive
+    government without the advice and consent of the Senate. If this
+    should be given, it may be indicated by a resolution, upon the adoption
+    of which the United States minister to China will be instructed to
+    inform the Government of that country that the modification has been
+    assented to.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 12, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    On the 12th of August last I suspended Mr. Stanton from the exercise of
+    the office of Secretary of War, and on the same day designated General
+    Grant to act as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The following are copies of the Executive orders:
+</p>
+<p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, August 12, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of War</i>.
+</p><p class="q">
+  SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by
+  the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby suspended
+  from office as Secretary of War, and will cease to exercise any and all
+  functions pertaining to the same.
+</p><p class="q">
+  You will at once transfer to General Ulysses S. Grant, who has this day
+  been authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>,
+  all records, books, and other property now in your custody and charge.
+</p>
+<p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., August 12, 1867</i>.
+</p><p class="q">
+  General ULYSSES S. GRANT,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C.</i>
+</p><p class="q">
+  SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day suspended as
+  Secretary of War, you are hereby authorized and empowered to act as
+  Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, and will at once enter upon the discharge
+  of the duties of the office.
+</p><p class="q">
+  The Secretary of War has been instructed to transfer to you all the
+  records, books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and
+  charge.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The following communication was received from Mr. Stanton:
+</p>
+<p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  WAR DEPARTMENT,<br>
+    <i>Washington City, August 12, 1867</i>.
+</p><p class="q">
+  The PRESIDENT.
+</p><p class="q">
+  SIR: Your note of this date has been received, informing me that by
+  virtue of the powers and authority vested in you as President by the
+  Constitution and laws of the United States I am suspended from office
+  as Secretary of War, and will cease to exercise any and all functions
+  pertaining to the same, and also directing me at once to transfer to
+  General Ulysses S. Grant, who has this day been authorized and empowered
+  to act as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, all records, books, papers, and
+  other public property now in my custody and charge.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Under a sense of public duty I am compelled to deny your right under
+  the Constitution and laws of the United States, without the advice and
+  consent of the Senate and without any legal cause, to suspend me from
+  office as Secretary of War or the exercise of any or all functions
+  pertaining to the same, or without such advice and consent to compel
+  me to transfer to any person the records, books, papers, and public
+  property in my custody as Secretary.
+</p><p class="q">
+  But inasmuch as the General Commanding the armies of the United States
+  has been appointed <i>ad interim</i>, and has notified me that he has
+  accepted the appointment, I have no alternative but to submit, under
+  protest, to superior force.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The suspension has not been revoked, and the business of the War
+    Department is conducted by the Secretary <i>ad interim</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Prior to the date of this suspension I had come to the conclusion that
+    the time had arrived when it was proper Mr. Stanton should retire from
+    my Cabinet. The mutual confidence and general accord which should exist
+    in such a relation had ceased. I supposed that Mr. Stanton was well
+    advised that his continuance in the Cabinet was contrary to my wishes,
+    for I had repeatedly given him so to understand by every mode short of
+    an express request that he should resign. Having waited full time for
+    the voluntary action of Mr. Stanton, and seeing no manifestation on his
+    part of an intention to resign, I addressed him the following note on
+    the 5th of August:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  SIR: Public considerations of a high character constrain me to say
+  that your resignation as Secretary of War will be accepted.
+</p>
+<p>
+    To this note I received the following reply:
+</p>
+<p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  WAR DEPARTMENT,<br>
+    <i>Washington, August 5, 1867</i>.
+</p><p class="q">
+  SIR: Your note of this day has been received, stating that public
+  considerations of a high character constrain you to say that my
+  resignation as Secretary of War will be accepted.
+</p><p class="q">
+  In reply I have the honor to say that public considerations of a high
+  character, which alone have induced me to continue at the head of this
+  Department, constrain me not to resign the office of Secretary of War
+  before the next meeting of Congress.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This reply of Mr. Stanton was not merely a disinclination of compliance
+    with the request for his resignation; it was a defiance, and something
+    more. Mr. Stanton does not content himself with assuming that public
+    considerations bearing upon his continuance in office form as fully
+    a rule of action for himself as for the President, and that upon so
+    delicate a question as the fitness of an officer for continuance in his
+    office the officer is as competent and as impartial to decide as his
+    superior, who is responsible for his conduct. But he goes further, and
+    plainly intimates what he means by "public considerations of a high
+    character," and this is nothing else than his loss of confidence in his
+    superior. He says that these public considerations have "alone induced
+    me to continue at the head of this Department," and that they "constrain
+    me not to resign the office of Secretary of War before the next meeting
+    of Congress."
+</p>
+<p>
+    This language is very significant. Mr. Stanton holds the position
+    unwillingly. He continues in office only under a sense of high public
+    duty. He is ready to leave when it is safe to leave, and as the danger
+    he apprehends from his removal then will not exist when Congress is
+    here, he is constrained to remain during the interim. What, then, is
+    that danger which can only be averted by the presence of Mr. Stanton or
+    of Congress? Mr. Stanton does not say that "public considerations of a
+    high character" constrain him to hold on to the office indefinitely. He
+    does not say that no one other than himself can at any time be found to
+    take his place and perform its duties. On the contrary, he expresses a
+    desire to leave the office at the earliest moment consistent with these
+    high public considerations. He says, in effect, that while Congress is
+    away he must remain, but that when Congress is here he can go. In other
+    words, he has lost confidence in the President. He is unwilling to leave
+    the War Department in his hands or in the hands of anyone the President
+    may appoint or designate to perform its duties. If he resigns, the
+    President may appoint a Secretary of War that Mr. Stanton does not
+    approve; therefore he will not resign. But when Congress is in session
+    the President can not appoint a Secretary of War which the Senate does
+    not approve; consequently when Congress meets Mr. Stanton is ready to
+    resign.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whatever cogency these "considerations" may have had on Mr. Stanton,
+    whatever right he may have had to entertain such considerations,
+    whatever propriety there might be in the expression of them to others,
+    one thing is certain, it was official misconduct, to say the least of
+    it, to parade them before his superior officer.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Upon the receipt of this extraordinary note I only delayed the order of
+    suspension long enough to make the necessary arrangements to fill the
+    office. If this were the only cause for his suspension, it would be
+    ample. Necessarily it must end our most important official relations,
+    for I can not imagine a degree of effrontery which would embolden the
+    head of a Department to take his seat at the council table in the
+    Executive Mansion after such an act; nor can I imagine a President so
+    forgetful of the proper respect and dignity which belong to his office
+    as to submit to such intrusion. I will not do Mr. Stanton the wrong to
+    suppose that he entertained any idea of offering to act as one of my
+    constitutional advisers after that note was written. There was an
+    interval of a week between that date and the order of suspension, during
+    which two Cabinet meetings were held. Mr. Stanton did not present
+    himself at either, nor was he expected.
+</p>
+<p>
+    On the 12th of August Mr. Stanton was notified of his suspension and
+    that General Grant had been authorized to take charge of the Department.
+    In his answer to this notification, of the same date, Mr. Stanton
+    expresses himself as follows:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Under a sense of public duty I am compelled to deny your right under
+  the Constitution and laws of the United States, without the advice and
+  consent of the Senate and without any legal cause, to suspend me from
+  office as Secretary of War or the exercise of any or all functions
+  pertaining to the same, or without such advice and consent to compel
+  me to transfer to any person the records, books, papers, and public
+  property in my custody as Secretary.
+</p><p class="q">
+  But inasmuch as the General Commanding the armies of the United States
+  has been appointed <i>ad interim</i>, and has notified me that he has
+  accepted the appointment, I have no alternative but to submit, under
+  protest, to superior force.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It will not escape attention that in his note of August 5 Mr. Stanton
+    stated that he had been constrained to continue in the office, even
+    before he was requested to resign, by considerations of a high public
+    character. In this note of August 12 a new and different sense of public
+    duty compels him to deny the President's right to suspend him from
+    office without the consent of the Senate. This last is the public duty
+    of resisting an act contrary to law, and he charges the President with
+    violation of the law in ordering his suspension.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Mr. Stanton refers generally to the Constitution and laws of the "United
+    States," and says that a sense of public duty "under" these compels him
+    to deny the right of the President to suspend him from office. As to his
+    sense of duty under the Constitution, that will be considered in the
+    sequel. As to his sense of duty under "the laws of the United States,"
+    he certainly can not refer to the law which creates the War Department,
+    for that expressly confers upon the President the unlimited right to
+    remove the head of the Department. The only other law bearing upon
+    the question is the tenure-of-office act, passed by Congress over the
+    Presidential veto March 2, 1867. This is the law which, under a sense
+    of public duty, Mr. Stanton volunteers to defend.
+</p>
+<p>
+    There is no provision in this law which compels any officer coming
+    within its provisions to remain in office. It forbids removals&mdash;not
+    resignations. Mr. Stanton was perfectly free to resign at any moment,
+    either upon his own motion or in compliance with a request or an order.
+    It was a matter of choice or of taste. There was nothing compulsory in
+    the nature of legal obligation. Nor does he put his action upon that
+    imperative ground. He says he acts under a "sense of public duty," not
+    of legal obligation, compelling him to hold on and leaving him no
+    choice. The public duty which is upon him arises from the respect which
+    he owes to the Constitution and the laws, violated in his own case.
+    He is therefore compelled by this sense of public duty to vindicate
+    violated law and to stand as its champion.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This was not the first occasion in which Mr. Stanton, in discharge of
+    a public duty, was called upon to consider the provisions of that law.
+    That tenure-of-office law did not pass without notice. Like other acts,
+    it was sent to the President for approval. As is my custom, I submitted
+    its consideration to my Cabinet for their advice upon the question
+    whether I should approve it or not. It was a grave question of
+    constitutional law, in which I would, of course, rely most upon the
+    opinion of the Attorney-General and of Mr. Stanton, who had once been
+    Attorney-General.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Every member of my Cabinet advised me that the proposed law was
+    unconstitutional. All spoke without doubt or reservation, but Mr.
+    Stanton's condemnation of the law was the most elaborate and emphatic.
+    He referred to the constitutional provisions, the debates in Congress,
+    especially to the speech of Mr. Buchanan when a Senator, to the
+    decisions of the Supreme Court, and to the usage from the beginning of
+    the Government through every successive Administration, all concurring
+    to establish the right of removal as vested by the Constitution in the
+    President. To all these he added the weight of his own deliberate
+    judgment, and advised me that it was my duty to defend the power of
+    the President from usurpation and to veto the law.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I do not know when a sense of public duty is more imperative upon a head
+    of Department than upon such an occasion as this. He acts then under the
+    gravest obligations of law, for when he is called upon by the President
+    for advice it is the Constitution which speaks to him. All his other
+    duties are left by the Constitution to be regulated by statute, but this
+    duty was deemed so momentous that it is imposed by the Constitution
+    itself.
+</p>
+<p>
+    After all this I was not prepared for the ground taken by Mr. Stanton in
+    his note of August 12. I was not prepared to find him compelled by a new
+    and indefinite sense of public duty, under "the Constitution," to assume
+    the vindication of a law which, under the solemn obligations of public
+    duty imposed by the Constitution itself, he advised me was a violation
+    of that Constitution. I make great allowance for a change of opinion,
+    but such a change as this hardly falls within the limits of greatest
+    indulgence.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Where our opinions take the shape of advice, and influence the action
+    of others, the utmost stretch of charity will scarcely justify us in
+    repudiating them when they come to be applied to ourselves.
+</p>
+<p>
+    But to proceed with the narrative. I was so much struck with the full
+    mastery of the question manifested by Mr. Stanton, and was at the time
+    so fully occupied with the preparation of another veto upon the pending
+    reconstruction act, that I requested him to prepare the veto upon this
+    tenure-of-office bill. This he declined, on the ground of physical
+    disability to undergo at the time the labor of writing, but stated his
+    readiness to furnish what aid might be required in the preparation of
+    materials for the paper.
+</p>
+<p>
+    At the time this subject was before the Cabinet it seemed to be taken
+    for granted that as to those members of the Cabinet who had been
+    appointed by Mr. Lincoln their tenure of office was not fixed by the
+    provisions of the act. I do not remember that the point was distinctly
+    decided, but I well recollect that it was suggested by one member of the
+    Cabinet who was appointed by Mr. Lincoln, and that no dissent was
+    expressed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whether the point was well taken or not did not seem to me of any
+    consequence, for the unanimous expression of opinion against the
+    constitutionality and policy of the act was so decided that I felt no
+    concern, so far as the act had reference to the gentlemen then present,
+    that I would be embarrassed in the future. The bill had not then become
+    a law. The limitation upon the power of removal was not yet imposed, and
+    there was yet time to make any changes. If any one of these gentlemen
+    had then said to me that he would avail himself of the provisions of
+    that bill in case it became a law, I should not have hesitated a moment
+    as to his removal. No pledge was then expressly given or required.
+    But there are circumstances when to give an expressed pledge is not
+    necessary, and when to require it is an imputation of possible bad
+    faith. I felt that if these gentlemen came within the purview of the
+    bill it was as to them a dead letter, and that none of them would ever
+    take refuge under its provisions.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I now pass to another subject. When, on the 15th of April, 1865, the
+    duties of the Presidential office devolved upon me, I found a full
+    Cabinet of seven members, all of them selected by Mr. Lincoln.
+    I made no change. On the contrary, I shortly afterwards ratified a
+    change determined upon by Mr. Lincoln, but not perfected at his death,
+    and admitted his appointee, Mr. Harlan, in the place of Mr. Usher, who
+    was in office at the time.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The great duty of the time was to reestablish government, law, and order
+    in the insurrectionary States. Congress was then in recess, and the
+    sudden overthrow of the rebellion required speedy action. This grave
+    subject had engaged the attention of Mr. Lincoln in the last days of his
+    life, and the plan according to which it was to be managed had been
+    prepared and was ready for adoption. A leading feature of that plan was
+    that it should be carried out by the Executive authority, for, so far as
+    I have been informed, neither Mr. Lincoln nor any member of his Cabinet
+    doubted his authority to act or proposed to call an extra session of
+    Congress to do the work. The first business transacted in Cabinet after
+    I became President was this unfinished business of my predecessor.
+    A plan or scheme of reconstruction was produced which had been prepared
+    for Mr. Lincoln by Mr. Stanton, his Secretary of War. It was approved,
+    and at the earliest moment practicable was applied in the form of a
+    proclamation to the State of North Carolina, and afterwards became the
+    basis of action in turn for the other States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Upon the examination of Mr. Stanton before the Impeachment Committee he
+    was asked the following question:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Did any one of the Cabinet express a doubt of the power of the executive
+  branch of the Government to reorganize State governments which had been
+  in rebellion without the aid of Congress?
+</p>
+<p>
+    He answered:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  None whatever. I had myself entertained no doubt of the authority of the
+  President to take measures for the organization of the rebel States on
+  the plan proposed during the vacation of Congress and agreed in the plan
+  specified in the proclamation in the case of North Carolina.
+</p>
+<p>
+    There is perhaps no act of my Administration for which I have been more
+    denounced than this. It was not originated by me, but I shrink from no
+    responsibility on that account, for the plan approved itself to my own
+    judgment, and I did not hesitate to carry it into execution.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Thus far and upon this vital policy there was perfect accord between the
+    Cabinet and myself, and I saw no necessity for a change. As time passed
+    on there was developed an unfortunate difference of opinion and of
+    policy between Congress and the President upon this same subject and
+    upon the ultimate basis upon which the reconstruction of these States
+    should proceed, especially upon the question of negro suffrage. Upon
+    this point three members of the Cabinet found themselves to be in
+    sympathy with Congress. They remained only long enough to see that the
+    difference of policy could not be reconciled. They felt that they should
+    remain no longer, and a high sense of duty and propriety constrained
+    them to resign their positions. We parted with mutual respect for the
+    sincerity of each other in opposite opinions, and mutual regret that the
+    difference was on points so vital as to require a severance of official
+    relations. This was in the summer of 1866. The subsequent sessions of
+    Congress developed new complications, when the suffrage bill for the
+    District of Columbia and the reconstruction acts of March 2 and March
+    23, 1867, all passed over the veto. It was in Cabinet consultations upon
+    these bills that a difference of opinion upon the most vital points was
+    developed. Upon these questions there was perfect accord between all the
+    members of the Cabinet and myself, except Mr. Stanton. He stood alone,
+    and the difference of opinion could not be reconciled. That unity of
+    opinion which, upon great questions of public policy or administration,
+    is so essential to the Executive was gone.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I do not claim that a head of Department should have no other opinions
+    than those of the President. He has the same right, in the conscientious
+    discharge of duty, to entertain and express his own opinions as has the
+    President. What I do claim is that the President is the responsible head
+    of the Administration, and when the opinions of a head of Department are
+    irreconcilably opposed to those of the President in grave matters of
+    policy and administration there is but one result which can solve the
+    difficulty, and that is a severance of the official relation. This in
+    the past history of the Government has always been the rule, and it is a
+    wise one, for such differences of opinion among its members must impair
+    the efficiency of any Administration.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have now referred to the general grounds upon which the withdrawal
+    or Mr. Stanton from my Administration seemed to me to be proper and
+    necessary, but I can not omit to state a special ground, which, if it
+    stood alone, would vindicate my action.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The sanguinary riot which occurred in the city of New Orleans on the
+    30th of August, 1866, justly aroused public indignation and public
+    inquiry, not only as to those who were engaged in it, but as to those
+    who, more or less remotely, might be held to responsibility for its
+    occurrence. I need not remind the Senate of the effort made to fix that
+    responsibility on the President. The charge was openly made, and again
+    and again reiterated all through the land, that the President was warned
+    in time, but refused to interfere.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By telegrams from the lieutenant-governor and attorney-general of
+    Louisiana, dated the 27th and 28th of August, I was advised that a body
+    of delegates claiming to be a constitutional convention were about to
+    assemble in New Orleans; that the matter was before the grand jury, but
+    that it would be impossible to execute civil process without a riot; and
+    this question was asked:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Is the military to interfere to prevent process of court?
+</p>
+<p>
+    This question was asked at a time when the civil courts were in the full
+    exercise of their authority, and the answer sent by telegraph on the
+    same 28th of August was this:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  The military will be expected to sustain, and not to interfere with,
+  the proceedings of the courts.
+</p>
+<p>
+    On the same 28th of August the following telegram was sent to Mr.
+    Stanton by Major-General Baird, then (owing to the absence of General
+    Sheridan) in command of the military at New Orleans:
+</p>
+<p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of War</i>:
+</p><p class="q">
+  A convention has been called, with the sanction of Governor Wells, to
+  meet here on Monday. The lieutenant-governor and city authorities think
+  it unlawful, and propose to break it up by arresting the delegates.
+  I have given no orders on the subject, but have warned the parties that
+  I could not countenance or permit such action without instructions to
+  that effect from the President. Please instruct me at once by telegraph.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The 28th of August was on Saturday. The next morning, the 29th, this
+    dispatch was received by Mr. Stanton at his residence in this city. He
+    took no action upon it, and neither sent instructions to General Baird
+    himself nor presented it to me for such instructions. On the next day
+    (Monday) the riot occurred. I never saw this dispatch from General Baird
+    until some ten days or two weeks after the riot, when, upon my call for
+    all the dispatches, with a view to their publication, Mr. Stanton sent
+    it to me.
+</p>
+<p>
+    These facts all appear in the testimony of Mr. Stanton before the
+    Judiciary Committee in the impeachment investigation.
+</p>
+<p>
+    On the 30th, the day of the riot, and after it was suppressed, General
+    Baird wrote to Mr. Stanton a long letter, from which I make the
+    following extract:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  SIR: I have the honor to inform you that a very serious riot has
+  occurred here to-day. I had not been applied to by the convention
+  for protection, but the lieutenant-governor and the mayor had freely
+  consulted with me, and I was so fully convinced that it was so strongly
+  the intent of the city authorities to preserve the peace, in order to
+  prevent military interference, that I did not regard an outbreak as a
+  thing to be apprehended. The lieutenant-governor had assured me that
+  even if a writ of arrest was issued by the court the sheriff would not
+  attempt to serve it without my permission, and for to-day they designed
+  to suspend it. I inclose herewith copies of my correspondence with the
+  mayor and of a dispatch which the lieutenant-governor claims to have
+  received from the President. I regret that no reply to my dispatch to
+  you of Saturday has yet reached me. General Sheridan is still absent
+  in Texas.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The dispatch of General Baird of the 28th asks for immediate
+    instructions, and his letter of the 30th, after detailing the terrible
+    riot which had just happened, ends with the expression of regret that
+    the instructions which he asked for were not sent. It is not the fault
+    or the error or the omission of the President that this military
+    commander was left without instructions; but for all omissions, for
+    all errors, for all failures to instruct when instruction might have
+    averted this calamity, the President was openly and persistently held
+    responsible. Instantly, without waiting for proof, the delinquency of
+    the President was heralded in every form of utterance. Mr. Stanton knew
+    then that the President was not responsible for this delinquency. The
+    exculpation was in his power, but it was not given by him to the public,
+    and only to the President in obedience to a requisition for all the
+    dispatches.
+</p>
+<p>
+    No one regrets more than myself that General Baird's request was not
+    brought to my notice. It is clear from his dispatch and letter that if
+    the Secretary of War had given him proper instructions the riot which
+    arose on the assembling of the convention would have been averted.
+</p>
+<p>
+    There may be those ready to say that I would have given no instructions
+    even if the dispatch had reached me in time, but all must admit that
+    I ought to have had the opportunity.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The following is the testimony given by Mr. Stanton before the
+    impeachment investigation committee as to this dispatch:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Q. Referring to the dispatch of the 28th of July by General Baird, I ask
+  you whether that dispatch on its receipt was communicated?
+</p><p class="q">
+  A. I received that dispatch on Sunday forenoon. I examined it carefully,
+  and considered the question presented. I did not see that I could give
+  any instructions different from the line of action which General Baird
+  proposed, and made no answer to the dispatch.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Q. I see it stated that this was received at 10.20 p.m. Was that the
+  hour at which it was received by you?
+</p><p class="q">
+  A. That is the date of its reception in the telegraph office Saturday
+  night. I received it on Sunday forenoon at my residence. A copy of the
+  dispatch was furnished to the President several days afterwards, along
+  with all the other dispatches and communications on that subject, but it
+  was not furnished by me before that time. I suppose it may have been ten
+  or fifteen days afterwards.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Q. The President himself being in correspondence with those parties upon
+  the same subject, would it not have been proper to have advised him of
+  the reception of that dispatch?
+</p><p class="q">
+  A. I know nothing about his correspondence, and know nothing about any
+  correspondence except this one dispatch. We had intelligence of the riot
+  on Thursday morning. The riot had taken place on Monday.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is a difficult matter to define all the relations which exist between
+    the heads of Departments and the President. The legal relations are well
+    enough defined. The Constitution places these officers in the relation
+    of his advisers when he calls upon them for advice. The acts of Congress
+    go further. Take, for example, the act of 1789 creating the War
+    Department. It provides that&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  There shall be a principal officer therein to be called the Secretary
+  for the Department of War, who shall perform and execute such duties
+  as shall from time to time be enjoined on or intrusted to him by the
+  President of the United States; and, furthermore, the said principal
+  officer shall conduct the business of the said Department in such manner
+  as the President of the United States shall from time to time order and
+  instruct.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Provision is also made for the appointment of an inferior officer by the
+    head of the Department, to be called the chief clerk, "who, whenever
+    said principal officer shall be removed from office by the President
+    of the United States," shall have the charge and custody of the books,
+    records, and papers of the Department.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The legal relation is analogous to that of principal and agent. It is
+    the President upon whom the Constitution devolves, as head of the
+    executive department, the duty to see that the laws are faithfully
+    executed; but as he can not execute them in person, he is allowed to
+    select his agents, and is made responsible for their acts within just
+    limits. So complete is this presumed delegation of authority in the
+    relation of a head of Department to the President that the Supreme Court
+    of the United States have decided that an order made by a head of
+    Department is presumed to be made by the President himself.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The principal, upon whom such responsibility is placed for the acts
+    of a subordinate, ought to be left as free as possible in the matter
+    of selection and of dismissal. To hold him to responsibility for an
+    officer beyond his control; to leave the question of the fitness of
+    such an agent to be decided <i>for</i> him and not <i>by</i> him; to allow such
+    a subordinate, when the President, moved by "public considerations of
+    a high character," requests his resignation, to assume for himself an
+    equal right to act upon his own views of "public considerations" and to
+    make his own conclusions paramount to those of the President&mdash;to allow
+    all this is to reverse the just order of administration and to place
+    the subordinate above the superior.
+</p>
+<p>
+    There are, however, other relations between the President and
+    a head of Department beyond these defined legal relations, which
+    necessarily attend them, though not expressed. Chief among these is
+    mutual confidence. This relation is so delicate that it is sometimes
+    hard to say when or how it ceases. A single flagrant act may end
+    it at once, and then there is no difficulty. But confidence may be
+    just as effectually destroyed by a series of causes too subtle for
+    demonstration. As it is a plant of slow growth, so, too, it may be
+    slow in decay. Such has been the process here. I will not pretend to say
+    what acts or omissions have broken up this relation. They are hardly
+    susceptible of statement, and still less of formal proof. Nevertheless,
+    no one can read the correspondence of the 5th of August without being
+    convinced that this relation was effectually gone on both sides, and
+    that while the President was unwilling to allow Mr. Stanton to remain
+    in his Administration, Mr. Stanton was equally unwilling to allow the
+    President to carry on his Administration without his presence.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the great debate which took place in the House of Representatives
+    in 1789, in the first organization of the principal Departments, Mr.
+    Madison spoke as follows:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  It is evidently the intention of the Constitution that the first
+  magistrate should be responsible for the executive department. So far,
+  therefore, as we do not make the officers who are to aid him in the
+  duties of that department responsible to him, he is not responsible
+  to the country. Again: Is there no danger that an officer, when he is
+  appointed by the concurrence of the Senate and has friends in that body,
+  may choose rather to risk his establishment on the favor of that branch
+  than rest it upon the discharge of his duties to the satisfaction of the
+  executive branch, which is constitutionally authorized to inspect and
+  control his conduct? And if it should happen that the officers connect
+  themselves with the Senate, they may mutually support each other, and
+  for want of efficacy reduce the power of the President to a mere
+  vapor, in which case his responsibility would be annihilated, and the
+  expectation of it is unjust. The high executive officers, joined in
+  cabal with the Senate, would lay the foundation of discord, and end in
+  an assumption of the executive power only to be removed by a revolution
+  in the Government.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Mr. Sedgwick, in the same debate, referring to the proposition that
+    a head of Department should only be removed or suspended by the
+    concurrence of the Senate, used this language:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  But if proof be necessary, what is then the consequence? Why, in nine
+  cases out of ten, where the case is very clear to the mind of the
+  President that the man ought to be removed, the effect can not be
+  produced, because it is absolutely impossible to produce the necessary
+  evidence. Are the Senate to proceed without evidence? Some gentlemen
+  contend not. Then the object will be lost. Shall a man under these
+  circumstances be saddled upon the President who has been appointed for
+  no other purpose but to aid the President in performing certain duties?
+  Shall he be continued, I ask again, against the will of the President?
+  If he is, where is the responsibility? Are you to look for it in the
+  President, who has no control over the officer, no power to remove him
+  if he acts unfeelingly or unfaithfully? Without you make him responsible
+  you weaken and destroy the strength and beauty of your system. What is
+  to be done in cases which can only be known from a long acquaintance
+  with the conduct of an officer?
+</p>
+<p>
+    I had indulged the hope that upon the assembling of Congress
+    Mr. Stanton would have ended this unpleasant complication according
+    to his intimation given in his note of August 12. The duty which I have
+    felt myself called upon to perform was by no means agreeable, but I feel
+    that I am not responsible for the controversy or for the consequences.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Unpleasant as this necessary change in my Cabinet has been to me upon
+    personal considerations, I have the consolation to be assured that so
+    far as the public interests are involved there is no cause for regret.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Salutary reforms have been introduced by the Secretary <i>ad interim</i>, and
+    great reductions of expenses have been effected under his administration
+    of the War Department, to the saving of millions to the Treasury.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 14, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    9th instant, I transmit herewith a copy of the papers relating to the
+    trial by a military commission of Albert M.D.C. Lusk, of Louisiana.
+    No action in the case has yet been taken by the President.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 17, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit for the information of the House of Representatives a report
+    from the Secretary of State, with an accompanying paper.<a href="#note-32"><small>32</small></a>
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 17, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 6th instant,
+    concerning the International Monetary Conference held at Paris in
+    June last, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, which
+    is accompanied by the papers called for by the resolution.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 17, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate, an agreement between
+    the diplomatic representatives of certain foreign powers in Japan,
+    including the minister of the United States, on the one part, and
+    plenipotentiaries on the part of the Japanese Government, relative
+    to the settlement of Yokohama.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This instrument can not be legally binding upon the United States unless
+    sanctioned by the Senate. There appears to be no objection to its
+    approval.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A copy of General Van Valkenburgh's dispatch to the Secretary of State,
+    by which the agreement was accompanied, and of the map to which it
+    refers, are also herewith transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>December 18, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    An official copy of the order issued by Major-General Winfield S.
+    Hancock, commander of the Fifth Military District, dated headquarters in
+    New Orleans, La., on the 29th day of November, has reached me through
+    the regular channels of the War Department, and I herewith communicate
+    it to Congress for such action as may seem to be proper in view of all
+    the circumstances.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It will be perceived that General Hancock announces that he will make
+    the law the rule of his conduct; that he will uphold the courts and
+    other civil authorities in the performance of their proper duties, and
+    that he will use his military power only to preserve the peace and
+    enforce the law. He declares very explicitly that the sacred right of
+    the trial by jury and the privilege of the writ of <i>habeas corpus</i> shall
+    not be crushed out or trodden under foot. He goes further, and in one
+    comprehensive sentence asserts that the principles of American liberty
+    are still the inheritance of this people and ever should be.
+</p>
+<p>
+    When a great soldier, with unrestricted power in his hands to oppress
+    his fellow-men, voluntarily foregoes the chance of gratifying his
+    selfish ambition and devotes himself to the duty of building up the
+    liberties and strengthening the laws of his country, he presents an
+    example of the highest public virtue that human nature is capable of
+    practicing. The strongest claim of Washington to be "first in war,
+    first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen" is founded
+    on the great fact that in all his illustrious career he scrupulously
+    abstained from violating the legal and constitutional rights of his
+    fellow-citizens. When he surrendered his commission to Congress, the
+    President of that body spoke his highest praise in saying that he had
+    "always regarded the rights of the civil authorities through all dangers
+    and disasters." Whenever power above the law courted his acceptance, he
+    calmly put the temptation aside. By such magnanimous acts of forbearance
+    he won the universal admiration of mankind and left a name which has no
+    rival in the history of the world.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I am far from saying that General Hancock is the only officer of the
+    American Army who is influenced by the example of Washington. Doubtless
+    thousands of them are faithfully devoted to the principles for which the
+    men of the Revolution laid down their lives. But the distinguished honor
+    belongs to him of being the first officer in high command south of the
+    Potomac, since the close of the civil war, who has given utterance to
+    these noble sentiments in the form of a military order.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I respectfully suggest to Congress that some public recognition of
+    General Hancock's patriotic conduct is due, if not to him, to the friends
+    of law and justice throughout the country. Of such an act as his at such
+    a time it is but fit that the dignity should be vindicated and the virtue
+    proclaimed, so that its value as an example may not be lost to the nation.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 19, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in answer to a resolution of that body
+    of the 16th instant, a report<a href="#note-33"><small>33</small></a> from the Secretary of State, with
+    accompanying papers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 20, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith transmit to Congress a report, dated the 20th 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.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 31, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    18th instant, requesting information concerning alleged interference
+    by Russian naval vessels with whaling vessels of the United States,
+    I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the papers referred
+    to therein.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 6, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith transmit to the Senate a report from the Secretary of the
+    Treasury, containing the information requested in their resolution of
+    the 16th ultimo, relative to the amount of United States bonds issued to
+    the Union Pacific Railroad Company and each of its branches, including
+    the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 7, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to a
+    resolution of the House of Representatives of yesterday, making inquiry
+    how many and what State legislatures have ratified the proposed
+    amendment to the Constitution of the United States known as the
+    fourteenth article.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 7, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    A Spanish steamer named <i>Nuestra Señora</i> being in the harbor of Port
+    Royal, S.C., on the 1st of December, 1861, Brigadier General T.W.
+    Sherman, who was in command of the United States forces there, received
+    information which he supposed justified him in seizing her, as she was
+    on her way from Charleston to Havana with insurgent correspondence on
+    board. The seizure was made accordingly, and during the ensuing spring
+    the vessel was sent to New York, in order that the legality of the
+    seizure might be tried.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By a decree of June 20, 1863, Judge Betts ordered the vessel to be
+    restored, and by a subsequent decree, of October 15, 1863, he referred
+    the adjustment of damages to amicable negotiations between the two
+    Governments.
+</p>
+<p>
+    While the proceeding in admiralty was pending, the vessel was appraised
+    and taken by the Navy Department at the valuation of $28,000, which sum
+    that Department paid into the Treasury.
+</p>
+<p>
+    As the amount of this valuation can not legally be drawn from the
+    Treasury without authority from Congress, I recommend an appropriation
+    for that purpose.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is proposed to appoint a commissioner on the part of this Government
+    to adjust, informally in this case, with a similar commissioner on the
+    part of Spain, the question of damages, the commissioners to name an
+    arbiter for points upon which they may disagree. When the amount of the
+    damages shall thus have been ascertained, application will be made to
+    Congress for a further appropriation toward paying them.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>January 14, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War <i>ad
+    interim</i>, with the accompanying papers, prepared in compliance with a
+    resolution of the House of Representatives of March 15, 1867, requesting
+    information in reference to contracts for ordnance projectiles and small
+    arms.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>January 14, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith the report made by the commissioners appointed under
+    the act of Congress approved on the 20th day of July, 1867, entitled
+    "An act to establish peace with certain hostile Indian tribes," together
+    with the accompanying papers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 14, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the Senate of yesterday, calling for
+    information relating to the appointment of the American minister at
+    Pekin to a diplomatic or other mission on behalf of the Chinese
+    Government by the Emperor of China, I transmit a report from the
+    Secretary of State upon the subject, together with the accompanying
+    papers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON CITY, <i>January 14, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    the following treaties, concluded at "Medicine Lodge Creek," Kansas,
+    between the Indian tribes therein named and the United States, by their
+    commissioners appointed by the act of Congress approved July 20, 1867,
+    entitled "An act to establish peace with certain hostile Indian tribes,"
+    viz:
+</p>
+<p>
+    A treaty with the Kiowa and Comanche tribes, concluded October 21, 1867.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A treaty with the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes, concluded October
+    28, 1867.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A treaty with the Arapahoe and Cheyenne tribes, dated October 28, 1867.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A letter of this date from the Secretary of the Interior, transmitting
+    said treaties, is herewith inclosed.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 17, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    With reference to the convention between the United States and Denmark
+    for the cession of the islands of St. Thomas and St. John, in the West
+    Indies, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State on the subject
+    of the vote of St. Thomas on the question of accepting the cession.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>January 23, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the request of the Senate of yesterday, I return
+    herewith their resolution of the 21st instant, calling for information
+    in reference to James A. Seddon, late Secretary of War of the so-called
+    Confederate States.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 23, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have received the following preamble and resolution, adopted by the
+    Senate on the 8th instant:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Whereas Senate bill No. 141, and entitled "An act for the further
+  security of equal rights in the District of Columbia," having at this
+  present session passed both Houses of Congress, was afterwards, on the
+  11th day of December, 1867, duly presented to the President of the
+  United States for his approval and signature; and
+</p><p class="q">
+  Whereas more than ten days, exclusive of Sundays, have since elapsed in
+  this session without said bill having been returned, either approved or
+  disapproved: Therefore,
+</p><p class="q">
+  <i>Resolved</i>, That the President of the United States be requested to
+  inform the Senate whether said bill has been delivered to and received
+  by the Secretary of State, as provided by the second section of the act
+  of the 27th day of July, 1789.
+</p>
+<p>
+    As the act which the resolution mentions has no relevancy to the subject
+    under inquiry, it is presumed that it was the intention of the Senate to
+    refer to the law of the 15th September, 1789, the second section of
+    which prescribes&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  That whenever a bill, order, resolution, or vote of the Senate and
+  House of Representatives, having been approved and signed by the
+  President of the United States, or not having been returned by him with
+  his objections, shall become a law or take effect, it shall forthwith
+  thereafter be received by the said Secretary from the President; and
+  whenever a bill, order, resolution, or vote shall be returned by the
+  President with his objections, and shall, on being reconsidered, be
+  agreed to be passed, and be approved by two-thirds of both Houses of
+  Congress, and thereby become a law or take effect, it shall in such
+  case be received by the said Secretary from the President of the Senate
+  or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in whichsoever House it
+  shall last have been so approved.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Inasmuch as the bill "for the further security of equal rights in the
+    District of Columbia" has not become a law in either of the modes
+    designated in the section above quoted, it has not been delivered to
+    the Secretary of State for record and promulgation. The Constitution
+    expressly declares that&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days
+  (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the
+  same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless
+  the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case
+  it shall not be a law.
+</p>
+<p>
+    As stated in the preamble to the resolution, the bill to which it refers
+    was presented for my approval on the 11th day of December, 1867. On the
+    20th of same month, and before the expiration of the ten days after the
+    presentation of the bill to the President, the two Houses, in accordance
+    with a concurrent resolution adopted on the 3d [13th] of December,
+    adjourned until the 6th of January, 1868. Congress by their adjournment
+    thus prevented the return of the bill within the time prescribed by the
+    Constitution, and it was therefore left in the precise condition in
+    which that instrument positively declares a bill "shall not be a law."
+</p>
+<p>
+    If the adjournment in December did not cause the failure of this bill,
+    because not such an adjournment as is contemplated by the Constitution
+    in the clause which I have cited, it must follow that such was the
+    nature of the adjournments during the past year, on the 30th day of
+    March until the first Wednesday of July and from the 20th of July until
+    the 21st of November. Other bills will therefore be affected by the
+    decision which may be rendered in this case, among them one having the
+    same title as that named in the resolution, and containing similar
+    provisions, which, passed by both Houses in the month of July last,
+    failed to become a law by reason of the adjournment of Congress before
+    ten days for its consideration had been allowed the Executive.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 27, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    22d instant, calling for a copy of the report of Abram S. Hewitt,
+    commissioner of the United States to the Paris Universal Exhibition of
+    1867, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the papers
+    which accompany it.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 27, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the documents to
+    which it refers, in relation to the formal transfer of territory from
+    Russia to the United States in accordance with the treaty of the 30th
+    of March last.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 28, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to its
+    ratification, an additional article to the treaty of navigation and
+    commerce with Russia of the 18th of December, 1832, which additional
+    article was concluded and signed between the plenipotentiaries of the
+    two Governments at Washington on the 27th instant.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 3, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of State, suggesting
+    the necessity for a further appropriation toward defraying the expense
+    of employing copying clerks, with a view to enable his Department
+    seasonably to answer certain calls for information.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 3, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 27th
+    ultimo, directing the Secretary of State to furnish information in
+    regard to the trial of John H. Surratt, I transmit a report from the
+    Secretary of State.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 3, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report<a href="#note-34"><small>34</small></a>  from the Secretary of State, in answer
+    to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 28th of January.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 10, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Navy,
+    relative to depredations upon and the future care of the reservations
+    of lands for the "purpose of supplying timber for the Navy of the
+    United States."
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>February 10, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 1st
+    instant, I transmit herewith a report from the Postmaster-General, in
+    reference to the appointment of a special agent to take charge of the
+    post-office at Penn Yan, in the State of New York.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 10, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, with the accompanying
+    papers, on the subject of a transfer of the Peninsula and Bay of Samana
+    to the United States. The advice and consent of the Senate to the
+    transfer, upon the terms proposed in the draft of a convention with the
+    Dominican Republic, are requested.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 10, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I submit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+    ratification, the accompanying consular convention between the
+    United States and the Government of His Majesty the King of Italy.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>February 10, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Attorney-General, prepared
+    in compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 30th ultimo,
+    requesting information as to the number of justices of the peace now
+    in commission in each ward, respectively, of the city of Washington.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 10, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 25th
+    of November, 1867, calling for information in relation to the trial and
+    conviction of American citizens in Great Britain and Ireland for the
+    two years last past, I transmit a partial report from the Secretary of
+    State, which is accompanied by a portion of the papers called for by
+    the resolution.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>February 11, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution adopted yesterday by the House of
+    Representatives, requesting any further correspondence the President
+    "may have had with General U.S. Grant, in addition to that heretofore
+    submitted, on the subject of the recent vacation by the latter of the
+    War Office," I transmit herewith a copy of a communication addressed
+    to General Grant on the 10th instant, together with a copy of the
+    accompanying papers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION, <i>February 10, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    General U.S. GRANT,
+<br>
+    <i>Commanding Armies of the United States, Washington, D.C.</i>
+</p>
+<p>
+    GENERAL: The extraordinary character of your letter of the 3d instant<a href="#note-35"><small>35</small></a>
+    would seem to preclude any reply on my part; but the manner in which
+    publicity has been given to the correspondence of which that letter
+    forms a part and the grave questions which are involved induce me to
+    take this mode of giving, as a proper sequel to the communications which
+    have passed between us, the statements of the five members of the
+    Cabinet who were present on the occasion of our conversation on the 14th
+    ultimo. Copies of the letters which they have addressed to me upon the
+    subject are accordingly herewith inclosed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    You speak of my letter of the 31st ultimo<a href="#note-36"><small>36</small></a> as a reiteration of the
+    "many and gross misrepresentations" contained in certain newspaper
+    articles, and reassert the correctness of the statements contained in
+    your communication of the 28th ultimo,<a href="#note-37"><small>37</small></a> adding&mdash;and here I give your
+    own words&mdash;"anything in yours in reply to it to the contrary
+    notwithstanding."
+</p>
+<p>
+    When a controversy upon matters of fact reaches the point to which this
+    has been brought, further assertion or denial between the immediate
+    parties should cease, especially where upon either side it loses
+    the character of the respectful discussion which is required by the
+    relations in which the parties stand to each other and degenerates in
+    tone and temper. In such a case, if there is nothing to rely upon but
+    the opposing statements, conclusions must be drawn from those statements
+    alone and from whatever intrinsic probabilities they afford in favor of
+    or against either of the parties. I should not shrink from this test in
+    this controversy; but, fortunately, it is not left to this test alone.
+    There were five Cabinet officers present at the conversation the detail
+    of which in my letter of the 28th [31st[37]] ultimo you allow yourself
+    to say contains "many and gross misrepresentations." These gentlemen
+    heard that conversation and have read my statement. They speak for
+    themselves, and I leave the proof without a word of comment.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I deem it proper before concluding this communication to notice some of
+    the statements contained in your letter.
+</p>
+<p>
+    You say that a performance of the promises alleged to have been made by
+    you to the President "would have involved a resistance to law and an
+    inconsistency with the whole history of my connection with the
+    suspension of Mr. Stanton." You then state that you had fears the
+    President would, on the removal of Mr. Stanton, appoint someone in his
+    place who would embarrass the Army in carrying out the reconstruction
+    acts, and add:
+</p>
+<p>
+    "It was to prevent such an appointment that I accepted the office of
+    Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, and not for the purpose of enabling you
+    to get rid of Mr. Stanton by withholding it from him in opposition to
+    law, or, not doing so myself, surrendering it to one who would, as the
+    statements and assumptions in your communication plainly indicate was
+    sought."
+</p>
+<p>
+    First of all, you here admit that from the very beginning of what
+    you term "the whole history" of your connection with Mr. Stanton's
+    suspension you intended to circumvent the President. It was to carry out
+    that intent that you accepted the appointment. This was in your mind at
+    the time of your acceptance. It was not, then, in obedience to the order
+    of your superior, as has heretofore been supposed, that you assumed the
+    duties of the office. You knew it was the President's purpose to prevent
+    Mr. Stanton from resuming the office of Secretary of War, and you
+    intended to defeat that purpose. You accepted the office, not in the
+    interest of the President but of Mr. Stanton. If this purpose, so
+    entertained by you, had been confined to yourself; if when accepting
+    the office you had done so with a mental reservation to frustrate the
+    President, it would have been a tacit deception. In the ethics of some
+    persons such a course is allowable. But you can not stand even upon
+    that questionable ground. The "history" of your connection with this
+    transaction, as written by yourself, places you in a different
+    predicament, and shows that you not only concealed your design from
+    the President, but induced him to suppose that you would carry out his
+    purpose to keep Mr. Stanton out of office by retaining it yourself after
+    an attempted restoration by the Senate, so as to require Mr. Stanton to
+    establish his right by judicial decision.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I now give that part of this "history" as written by yourself in your
+    letter of the 28th ultimo:<a href="#note-38"><small>38</small></a>
+</p>
+<p>
+    "Some time after I assumed the duties of Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>
+    the President asked me my views as to the course Mr. Stanton would have
+    to pursue, in case the Senate should not concur in his suspension, to
+    obtain possession of his office. My reply was, in substance, that
+    Mr. Stanton would have to appeal to the courts to reinstate him,
+    illustrating my position by citing the ground I had taken in the case
+    of the Baltimore police commissioners."
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, at that time, as you admit in your letter of the 3d instant,<a href="#note-39"><small>39</small></a>
+    you held the office for the very object of defeating an appeal to the
+    courts. In that letter you say that in accepting the office one motive
+    was to prevent the President from appointing some other person who would
+    retain possession, and thus make judicial proceedings necessary. You
+    knew the President was unwilling to trust the office with anyone who
+    would not by holding it compel Mr. Stanton to resort to the courts.
+    You perfectly understood that in this interview, "some time" after
+    you accepted the office, the President, not content with your silence,
+    desired an expression of your views, and you answered him that Mr.
+    Stanton "would have to appeal to the courts." If the President reposed
+    confidence <i>before</i> he knew your views, and that confidence had been
+    violated, it might have been said he made a mistake; but a violation of
+    confidence reposed <i>after</i> that conversation was no mistake of his nor
+    of yours. It is the fact only that needs be stated, that at the date of
+    this conversation you did not intend to hold the office with the purpose
+    of forcing Mr. Stanton into court, but did hold it then and had accepted
+    it to prevent that course from being carried out. In other words, you
+    said to the President, "That is the proper course," and you said to
+    yourself, "I have accepted this office, and now hold it to defeat that
+    course." The excuse you make in a subsequent paragraph of that letter
+    of the 28th ultimo,<a href="#note-38"><small>38</small></a> that afterwards you changed your views as to
+    what would be a proper course, has nothing to do with the point now
+    under consideration. The point is that <i>before</i> you changed your views
+    you had secretly determined to do the very thing which at last you
+    did&mdash;surrender the office to Mr. Stanton. You may have changed your
+    views as to the law, but you certainly did not change your views as
+    to the course you had marked out for yourself from the beginning.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I will only notice one more statement in your letter of the 3d
+    instant<a href="#note-39"><small>39</small></a>&mdash;that the performance of the promises which it is alleged
+    were made by you would have involved you in the resistance of law. I
+    know of no statute that would have been violated had you, carrying out
+    your promises in good faith, tendered your resignation when you
+    concluded not to be made a party in any legal proceedings. You add:
+</p>
+<p>
+    "I am in a measure confirmed in this conclusion by your recent orders
+    directing me to disobey orders from the Secretary of War, <i>my superior</i>
+    and your subordinate, without having countermanded his authority to
+    issue the orders I am to disobey."
+</p>
+<p>
+    On the 24th<a href="#note-39"><small>39</small></a> ultimo you addressed a note to the President requesting
+    in writing an order given to you verbally five days before to disregard
+    orders from Mr. Stanton as Secretary of War until you "knew from the
+    President himself that they were his orders."
+</p>
+<p>
+    On the 29th,<a href="#note-40"><small>40</small></a> in compliance with your request, I did give you
+    instructions in writing "not to obey any order from the War Department
+    assumed to be issued by the direction of the President unless such order
+    is known by the General Commanding the armies of the United States to
+    have been authorized by the Executive."
+</p>
+<p>
+    There are some orders which a Secretary of War may issue without the
+    authority of the President; there are others which he issues simply as
+    the agent of the President, and which purport to be "by direction" of
+    the President. For such orders the President is responsible, and he
+    should therefore know and understand what they are before giving such
+    "direction." Mr. Stanton states in his letter of the 4th instant,<a href="#note-41"><small>41</small></a>
+    which accompanies the published correspondence, that he "has had no
+    correspondence with the President since the 12th of August last;" and
+    he further says that since he resumed the duties of the office he has
+    continued to discharge them "without any personal or written
+    communication with the President;" and he adds, "No orders have been
+    issued from this Department in the name of the President with my
+    knowledge, and I have received no orders from him."
+</p>
+<p>
+    It thus seems that Mr. Stanton now discharges the duties of the War
+    Department without any reference to the President and without using his
+    name.
+</p>
+<p>
+    My order to you had only reference to orders "assumed to be issued by
+    the direction of the President." It would appear from Mr. Stanton's
+    letter that you have received no such orders from him. However, in your
+    note to the President of the 30th ultimo,<a href="#note-42"><small>42</small></a> in which you acknowledge
+    the receipt of the written order of the 29th,<a href="#note-43"><small>43</small></a> you say that you have
+    been informed by Mr. Stanton that he has not received any order limiting
+    his authority to issue orders to the Army, according to the practice
+    of the Department, and state that "while this authority to the War
+    Department is not countermanded it will be satisfactory evidence to
+    me that any orders issued from the War Department by direction of the
+    President are authorized by the Executive."
+</p>
+<p>
+    The President issues an order to you to obey no order from the War
+    Department purporting to be made "by the direction of the President"
+    until you have referred it to him for his approval. You reply that you
+    have received the President's order and will not obey it, but will obey
+    an order purporting to be given by his direction <i>if it comes from the
+    War Department</i>. You will not obey the direct order of the President,
+    but will obey his indirect order. If, as you say, there has been a
+    practice in the War Department to issue orders in the name of the
+    President without his direction, does not the precise order you have
+    requested and have received change the practice as to the General of
+    the Army? Could not the President countermand any such order issued to
+    you from the War Department? If you should receive an order from that
+    Department, issued in the name of the President, to do a special act,
+    and an order directly from the President himself not to do the act, is
+    there a doubt which you are to obey? You answer the question when you
+    say to the President, in your letter of the 3d instant,<a href="#note-44"><small>44</small></a> the Secretary
+    of War is "my superior and your subordinate," and yet you refuse
+    obedience to the superior out of a deference to the subordinate.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Without further comment upon the insubordinate attitude which you
+    have assumed, I am at a loss to know how you can relieve yourself
+    from obedience to the orders of the President, who is made by the
+    Constitution the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, and is
+    therefore the official superior as well of the General of the Army
+    as of the Secretary of War.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Respectfully, yours,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    [Letter addressed to each of the members of the Cabinet present at the
+    conversation between the President and General Grant on the 14th of
+    January, 1868, and answers thereto.]
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION, <i>Washington, D.C., February 5, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: The Chronicle of this morning contains a correspondence between the
+    President and General Grant reported from the War Department in answer
+    to a resolution of the House of Representatives.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I beg to call your attention to that correspondence, and especially to
+    that part of it which refers to the conversation between the President
+    and General Grant at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the 14th of
+    January, and to request you to state what was said in that conversation.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Very respectfully, yours,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>February 5, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The PRESIDENT.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: Your note of this date was handed to me this evening. My
+    recollection of the conversation at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the
+    14th of January, corresponds with your statement of it in the letter of
+    the 31st ultimo<a href="#note-45"><small>45</small></a> in the published correspondence.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The three points specified in that letter, giving your recollection of
+    the conversation, are correctly stated.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Very respectfully,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    GIDEON WELLES.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    TREASURY DEPARTMENT, <i>February 6, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The PRESIDENT.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: I have received your note of the 5th instant, calling my attention
+    to the correspondence between yourself and General Grant as published in
+    the Chronicle of yesterday, especially to that part of it which relates
+    to what occurred at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the 14th ultimo, and
+    requesting me to state what was said in the conversation referred to.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I can not undertake to state the precise language used, but I have no
+    hesitation in saying that your account of that conversation as given in
+    your letter to General Grant under date of the 31st ultimo<a href="#note-45"><small>45</small></a>
+    substantially and in all important particulars accords with my
+    recollection of it.
+</p>
+<p>
+    With great respect, your obedient servant,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    HUGH McCULLOCH.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, February 6, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The PRESIDENT.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: I am in receipt of your letter of the 5th of February, calling my
+    attention to the correspondence published in the Chronicle between the
+    President and General Grant, and especially to that part of it which
+    refers to the conversation between the President and General Grant at
+    the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the 14th of January, with a request that
+    I state what was said in that conversation.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In reply I have the honor to state that I have read carefully the
+    correspondence in question, and particularly the letter of the President
+    to General Grant dated January 31, 1868.<a href="#note-45"><small>45</small></a> The following extract from
+    your letter of the 31st January to General Grant is, according to my
+    recollection, a correct statement of the conversation that took place
+    between the President and General Grant at the Cabinet meeting on the
+    14th of January last. In the presence of the Cabinet the President
+    asked General Grant whether, "in conversation which took place after his
+    appointment as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, he did not agree either
+    to remain at the head of the War Department and abide any judicial
+    proceedings that might follow the nonconcurrence by the Senate in Mr.
+    Stanton's suspension, or, should he wish not to become involved in such
+    a controversy, to put the President in the same position with respect to
+    the office as he occupied previous to General Grant's appointment, by
+    returning it to the President in time to anticipate such action by the
+    Senate." This General Grant admitted.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The President then asked General Grant if at the conference on the
+    preceding Saturday he had not, to avoid misunderstanding, requested
+    General Grant to state what he intended to do, and, further, if in reply
+    to that inquiry he (General Grant) had not referred to their former
+    conversations, saying that from them the President understood his
+    position, and that his (General Grant's) action would be consistent with
+    the understanding which had been reached.
+</p>
+<p>
+    To these questions General Grant replied in the affirmative.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The President asked General Grant if at the conclusion of their
+    interview on Saturday it was not understood that they were to have
+    another conference on Monday before final action by the Senate in the
+    case of Mr. Stanton.
+</p>
+<p>
+    General Grant replied that such was the understanding, but that he did
+    not suppose the Senate would act so soon; that on Monday he had been
+    engaged in a conference with General Sherman, and was occupied with
+    "many little matters," and asked if General Sherman had not called on
+    that day.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I take this mode of complying with the request contained in the
+    President's letter to me, because my attention had been called to the
+    subject before, when the conversation between the President and General
+    Grant was under consideration.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ALEX W. RANDALL,
+<br>
+    <i>Postmaster-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., February 6, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The PRESIDENT.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: I am in receipt of yours of yesterday, calling my attention to
+    a correspondance between yourself and General Grant published in the
+    Chronicle newspaper, and especially to that part of said correspondence
+    "which refers to the conversation between the President and General
+    Grant at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the 14th of January," and
+    requesting me "to state what was said in that conversation."
+</p>
+<p>
+    In reply I submit the following statement: At the Cabinet meeting on
+    Tuesday, the 14th of January, 1868, General Grant appeared and took his
+    accustomed seat at the board. When he had been reached in the order of
+    business, the President asked him, as usual, if he had anything to
+    present.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In reply the General, after referring to a note which he had that
+    morning addressed to the President, inclosing a copy of the resolution
+    of the Senate refusing to concur in the reasons for the suspension of
+    Mr. Stanton, proceeded to say that he regarded his duties as Secretary
+    of War <i>ad interim</i> terminated by that resolution, and that he could not
+    lawfully exercise such duties for a moment after the adoption of the
+    resolution by the Senate; that the resolution reached him last night,
+    and that this morning he had gone to the War Department, entered the
+    Secretary's room, bolted one door on the inside, locked the other on the
+    outside, delivered the key to the Adjutant-General, and proceeded to the
+    Headquarters of the Army and addressed the note above mentioned to the
+    President, informing him that he (General Grant) was no longer Secretary
+    of War <i>ad interim</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The President expressed great surprise at the course which General
+    Grant had thought proper to pursue, and, addressing himself to the
+    General, proceeded to say, in substance, that he had anticipated such
+    action on the part of the Senate, and, being very desirous to have the
+    constitutionality of the tenure-of-office bill tested and his right
+    to suspend or remove a member of the Cabinet decided by the judicial
+    tribunals of the country, he had some time ago, and shortly after
+    General Grant's appointment as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, asked the
+    General what his action would be in the event that the Senate should
+    refuse to concur in the suspension of Mr. Stanton, and that the General
+    had then agreed either to remain at the head of the War Department till
+    a decision could be obtained from the court or resign the office into
+    the hands of the President before the case was acted upon by the Senate,
+    so as to place the President in the same situation he occupied at the
+    time of his (Grant's) appointment.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The President further said that the conversation was renewed on the
+    preceding Saturday, at which time he asked the General what he intended
+    to do if the Senate should undertake to reinstate Mr. Stanton, in reply
+    to which the General referred to their former conversation upon the same
+    subject and said: "You understand my position, and my conduct will be
+    conformable to that understanding;" that he (the General) then expressed
+    a repugnance to being made a party to a judicial proceeding, saying that
+    he would expose himself to fine and imprisonment by doing so, as his
+    continuing to discharge the duties of Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>
+    after the Senate should have refused to concur in the suspension of Mr.
+    Stanton would be a violation of the tenure-of-office bill; that in reply
+    to this he (the President) informed General Grant he had not suspended
+    Mr. Stanton under the tenure-of-office bill, but by virtue of the powers
+    conferred on him by the Constitution; and that, as to the fine and
+    imprisonment, he (the President) would pay whatever fine was imposed
+    and submit to whatever imprisonment might be adjudged against him (the
+    General); that they continued the conversation for some time, discussing
+    the law at length, and that they finally separated without having
+    reached a definite conclusion, and with the understanding that the
+    General would see the President again on Monday.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In reply General Grant admitted that the conversations had occurred, and
+    said that at the first conversation he had given it as his opinion to
+    the President that in the event of nonconcurrence by the Senate in the
+    action of the President in respect to the Secretary of War the question
+    would have to be decided by the court&mdash;that Mr. Stanton would have to
+    appeal to the court to reinstate him in office; that the <i>ins</i> would
+    remain in till they could be displaced and the <i>outs</i> put in by legal
+    proceedings; and that he <i>then</i> thought so, and had agreed that if he
+    should change his mind he would notify the President in time to enable
+    him to make another appointment, but that at the time of the first
+    conversation he had not looked very closely into the law; that it had
+    recently been discussed by the newspapers, and that this had induced him
+    to examine it more carefully, and that he had come to the conclusion
+    that if the Senate should refuse to concur in the suspension Mr. Stanton
+    would thereby be reinstated, and that he (Grant) could not continue
+    thereafter to act as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i> without subjecting
+    himself to fine and imprisonment, and that he came over on Saturday to
+    inform the President of this change in his views, and did so inform him;
+    that the President replied that he had not suspended Mr. Stanton under
+    the tenure-of-office bill, but under the Constitution, and had appointed
+    him (Grant) by virtue of the authority derived from the Constitution,
+    etc.; that they continued to discuss the matter some time, and finally
+    he left, without any conclusion having been reached, expecting to see
+    the President again on Monday.
+</p>
+<p>
+    He then proceeded to explain why he had not called on the President on
+    Monday, saying that he had had a long interview with General Sherman,
+    that various little matters had occupied his time till it was late, and
+    that he did not think the Senate would act so soon, and asked: "Did not
+    General Sherman call on you on Monday?"
+</p>
+<p>
+    I do not know what passed between the President and General Grant on
+    Saturday, except as I learned it from the conversation between them at
+    the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, and the foregoing is substantially what
+    then occurred. The precise words used on the occasion are not, of
+    course, given exactly in the order in which they were spoken, but the
+    ideas expressed and the facts stated are faithfully preserved and
+    presented.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    O.H. BROWNING.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    DEPARTMENT OF STATE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, February 6, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The PRESIDENT.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: The meeting to which you refer in your letter was a regular Cabinet
+    meeting. While the members were assembling, and before the President had
+    entered the council chamber, General Grant on coming in said to me that
+    he was in attendance there, not as a member of the Cabinet, but upon
+    invitation, and I replied by the inquiry whether there was a change in
+    the War Department. After the President had taken his seat, business
+    went on in the usual way of hearing matters submitted by the several
+    Secretaries. When the time came for the Secretary of War, General Grant
+    said that he was now there, not as Secretary of War, but upon the
+    President's invitation; that he had retired from the War Department. A
+    slight difference then appeared about the supposed invitation, General
+    Grant saying that the officer who had borne his letter to the President
+    that morning announcing his retirement from the War Department had told
+    him that the President desired to see him at the Cabinet, to which the
+    President answered that when General Grant's communication was delivered
+    to him the President simply replied that he supposed General Grant would
+    be very soon at the Cabinet meeting. I regarded the conversation thus
+    begun as an incidental one. It went on quite informally, and consisted
+    of a statement on your part of your views in regard to the understanding
+    of the tenure upon which General Grant had assented to hold the War
+    Department <i>ad interim</i> and of his replies by way of answer and
+    explanation. It was respectful and courteous on both sides. Being in
+    this conversational form, its details could only have been preserved by
+    verbatim report. So far as I know, no such report was made at the time.
+    I can give only the general effect of the conversation. Certainly you
+    stated that, although you had reported the reasons for Mr. Stanton's
+    suspension to the Senate, you nevertheless held that he would not be
+    entitled to resume the office of Secretary of War even if the Senate
+    should disapprove of his suspension, and that you had proposed to have
+    the question tested by judicial process, to be applied to the person who
+    should be the incumbent of the Department under your designation of
+    Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i> in the place of Mr. Stanton. You contended
+    that this was well understood between yourself and General Grant;
+    that when he entered the War Department as Secretary <i>ad interim</i> he
+    expressed his concurrence in a belief that the question of Mr. Stanton's
+    restoration would be a question for the courts; that in a subsequent
+    conversation with General Grant you had adverted to the understanding
+    thus had, and that General Grant expressed his concurrence in it; that
+    at some conversation which had been previously held General Grant said
+    he still adhered to the same construction of the law, but said if he
+    should change his opinion he would give you seasonable notice of it,
+    so that you should in any case be placed in the same position in
+    regard to the War Department that you were while General Grant held
+    it <i>ad interim</i>. I did not understand General Grant as denying nor as
+    explicitly admitting these statements in the form and full extent to
+    which you made them. His admission of them was rather indirect and
+    circumstantial, though I did not understand it to be an evasive one.
+    He said that, reasoning from what occurred in the case of the police in
+    Maryland, which he regarded as a parallel one, he was of opinion, and so
+    assured you, that it would be his right and duty under your instructions
+    to hold the War Office after the Senate should disapprove of Mr.
+    Stanton's suspension until the question should be decided upon by the
+    courts; that he remained until very recently of that opinion, and that
+    on the Saturday before the Cabinet meeting a conversation was held
+    between yourself and him in which the subject was generally discussed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    General Grant's statement was that in that conversation he had stated
+    to you the legal difficulties which might arise, involving fine and
+    imprisonment, under the civil-tenure bill, and that he did not care to
+    subject himself to those penalties; that you replied to this remark that
+    you regarded the civil-tenure bill as unconstitutional and did not think
+    its penalties were to be feared, or that you would voluntarily assume
+    them; and you insisted that General Grant should either retain the
+    office until relieved by yourself, according to what you claimed was
+    the original understanding between yourself and him, or, by seasonable
+    notice of change of purpose on his part, put you in the same situation
+    which you would be if he adhered. You claimed that General Grant finally
+    said in that Saturday's conversation that you understood his views, and
+    his proceedings thereafter would be consistent with what had been so
+    understood. General Grant did not controvert, nor can I say that he
+    admitted, this last statement. Certainly General Grant did not at
+    any time in the Cabinet meeting insist that he had in the Saturday's
+    conversation, either distinctly or finally, advised you of his
+    determination to retire from the charge of the War Department otherwise
+    than under your own subsequent direction. He acquiesced in your
+    statement that the Saturday's conversation ended with an expectation
+    that there would be a subsequent conference on the subject, which he,
+    as well as yourself, supposed could seasonably take place on Monday.
+    You then alluded to the fact that General Grant did not call upon you
+    on Monday, as you had expected from that conversation. General Grant
+    admitted that it was his expectation or purpose to call upon you on
+    Monday. General Grant assigned reasons for the omission. He said he was
+    in conference with General Sherman; that there were many little matters
+    to be attended to; he had conversed upon the matter of the incumbency of
+    the War Department with General Sherman, and he expected that General
+    Sherman would call upon you on Monday. My own mind suggested a further
+    explanation, but I do not remember whether it was mentioned or not,
+    namely, that it was not supposed by General Grant on Monday that the
+    Senate would decide the question so promptly as to anticipate further
+    explanation between yourself and him if delayed beyond that day. General
+    Grant made another explanation&mdash;that he was engaged on Sunday with
+    General Sherman, and I think, also, on Monday, in regard to the War
+    Department matter, with a hope, though he did not say in an effort,
+    to procure an amicable settlement of the affair of Mr. Stanton, and
+    he still hoped that it would be brought about.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>February 11, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The accompanying letter from General Grant, received since the
+    transmission to the House of Representatives of my communication of this
+    date, is submitted to the House as a part of the correspondence referred
+    to in the resolution of the 10th instant.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES.
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., February 11, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    His Excellency A. JOHNSON,
+<br>
+    <i>President of the United States</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication
+    of the 10th instant,<a href="#note-46"><small>46</small></a> accompanied by statements of five Cabinet
+    ministers of their recollection of what occurred in Cabinet meeting on
+    the 14th of January. Without admitting anything in these statements
+    where they differ from anything heretofore stated by me, I propose to
+    notice only that portion of your communication wherein I am charged with
+    insubordination. I think it will be plain to the reader of my letter of
+    the 30th of January<a href="#note-47"><small>47</small></a> that I did not propose to disobey any legal
+    order of the President distinctly given, but only gave an interpretation
+    of what would be regarded as satisfactory evidence of the President's
+    sanction to orders communicated by the Secretary of War. I will say here
+    that your letter of the 10th instant<a href="#note-48"><small>48</small></a> contains the first intimation
+    I have had that you did not accept that interpretation.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now for reasons for giving that interpretation. It was clear to me
+    before my letter of January 30<a href="#note-47"><small>47</small></a> was written that I, the person having
+    more public business to transact with the Secretary of War than any
+    other of the President's subordinates, was the only one who had been
+    instructed to disregard the authority of Mr. Stanton where his authority
+    was derived as agent of the President.
+</p>
+<p>
+    On the 27th of January I received a letter from the Secretary of War
+    (copy herewith) directing me to furnish escort to public treasure from
+    the Rio Grande to New Orleans, etc., at the request of the Secretary
+    of the Treasury to him. I also send two other inclosures, showing
+    recognition of Mr. Stanton as Secretary of War by both the Secretary
+    of the Treasury and the Postmaster-General, in all of which cases the
+    Secretary of War had to call upon me to make the orders requested or
+    give the information desired, and where his authority to do so is
+    derived, in my view, as agent of the President.
+</p>
+<p>
+    With an order so clearly ambiguous as that of the President here
+    referred to, it was my duty to inform the President of my interpretation
+    of it and to abide by that interpretation until I received other orders.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Disclaiming any intention, now or heretofore, of disobeying any legal
+    order of the President distinctly communicated,
+</p>
+<p>
+    I remain, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    U.S. GRANT, <i>General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WAR DEPARTMENT,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington City, January 27, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    General U.S. GRANT,
+<br>
+    <i>Commanding Army United States</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    GENERAL: The Secretary of the Treasury has requested this Department
+    to afford A.F. Randall, special agent of the Treasury Department, such
+    military aid as may be necessary to secure and forward for deposit
+    from Brownsville, Tex., to New Orleans public moneys in possession of
+    custom-house officers at Brownsville, and which are deemed insecure
+    at that place.
+</p>
+<p>
+    You will please give such directions as you may deem proper to the
+    officer commanding at Brownsville to carry into effect the request of
+    the Treasury Department, the instructions to be sent by telegraph to
+    Galveston, to the care of A.F. Randall, special agent, who is at
+    Galveston waiting telegraphic orders, there being no telegraphic
+    communication with Brownsville, and the necessity for military
+    protection to the public moneys represented as urgent.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Please favor me with a copy of such instructions as you may give, in
+    order that they may be communicated to the Secretary of the Treasury.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Yours, truly,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EDWIN M. STANTON,
+<br>
+    <i>Secretary of War</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT, CONTRACT OFFICE,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, February 3, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Honorable the SECRETARY OF WAR.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: It has been represented to this Department that in October last a
+    military commission was appointed to settle upon some general plan of
+    defense for the Texas frontiers, and that the said commission has made
+    a report recommending a line of posts from the Rio Grande to the Red
+    River.
+</p>
+<p>
+    An application is now pending in this Department for a change in the
+    course of the San Antonio and El Paso mail, so as to send it by way
+    of Forts Mason, Griffin, and Stockton instead of Camps Hudson and
+    Lancaster. This application requires immediate decision, but before
+    final action can be had thereon it is desired to have some official
+    information as to the report of the commission above referred to.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Accordingly, I have the honor to request that you will cause this
+    Department to be furnished as early as possible with the information
+    desired in the premises, and also with a copy of the report, if any has
+    been made by the commission.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Very respectfully, etc.,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    GEO. W. McCLELLAN,
+<br>
+    <i>Second Assistant Postmaster-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    FEBRUARY 3, 1868.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Referred to the General of the Army for report.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EDWIN M. STANTON,
+<br>
+    <i>Secretary of War</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    TREASURY DEPARTMENT, <i>January 29, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Honorable SECRETARY OF WAR.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: It is represented to this Department that a band of robbers has
+    obtained such a foothold in the section of country between Humboldt and
+    Lawrence, Kans., committing depredations upon travelers, both by public
+    and private conveyance, that the safety of the public money collected by
+    the receiver of the land office at Humboldt requires that it should be
+    guarded during its transit from Humboldt to Lawrence. I have therefore
+    the honor to request that the proper commanding officer of the district
+    may be instructed by the War Department, if in the opinion of the
+    honorable Secretary of War it can be done without prejudice to the
+    public interests, to furnish a sufficient military guard to protect such
+    moneys as may be <i>in transitu</i> from the above office for the purpose of
+    being deposited to the credit of the Treasurer of the United States. As
+    far as we are now advised, such service will not be necessary oftener
+    than once a month. Will you please advise me of the action taken, that
+    I may instruct the receiver and the Commissioner of the General Land
+    Office in the matter?
+</p>
+<p>
+    Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    H. McCULLOCH,
+<br>
+    <i>Secretary of the Treasury</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Respectfully referred to the General of the Army to give the necessary
+    orders in this case and to furnish this Department a copy for the
+    information of the Secretary of the Treasury.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By order of the Secretary of War:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ED. SCHRIVER,
+<br>
+    <i>Inspector-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    [The following are inserted because they have direct bearing on the two
+    messages from the President of February 11, 1868, and their inclosures.]
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    WAR DEPARTMENT,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington City, February 4, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Hon. SCHUYLER COLFAX,
+<br>
+    <i>Speaker of the House of Representatives</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    3d instant, I transmit herewith copies furnished me by General Grant of
+    correspondence between him and the President relating to the Secretary
+    of War, and which he reports to be all the correspondence he has had
+    with the President on the subject.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have had no correspondence with the President since the 12th of August
+    last. After the action of the Senate on his alleged reason for my
+    suspension from the office of Secretary of War, I resumed the duties of
+    that office, as required by the act of Congress, and have continued to
+    discharge them without any personal or written communication with the
+    President. No orders have been issued from this Department in the name
+    of the President with my knowledge, and I have received no orders from
+    him.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The correspondence sent herewith embraces all the correspondence known
+    to me on the subject referred to in the resolution of the House of
+    Representatives.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EDWIN M. STANTON,
+<br>
+    <i>Secretary of War</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    <i>General Grant to the President</i>.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, January 24, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    His Excellency A. JOHNSON,
+<br>
+    <i>President of the United States</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: I have the honor very respectfully to request to have in writing
+    the order which the President gave me verbally on Sunday, the 19th
+    instant, to disregard the orders of the Hon. E.M. Stanton as Secretary
+    of War until I knew from the President himself that they were his
+    orders.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    U.S. GRANT, <i>General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    <i>General Grant to the President</i>.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., January 28, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    His Excellency A. JOHNSON,
+<br>
+    <i>President of the United States</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: On the 24th instant I requested you to give me in writing the
+    instructions which you had previously given me verbally not to obey any
+    order from Hon. E.M. Stanton, Secretary of War, unless I knew that it
+    came from yourself. To this written request I received a message that
+    has left doubt in my mind of your intentions. To prevent any possible
+    misunderstanding, therefore, I renew the request that you will give me
+    written instructions, and till they are received will suspend action on
+    your verbal ones.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I am compelled to ask these instructions in writing in consequence
+    of the many and gross misrepresentations affecting my personal honor
+    circulated through the press for the last fortnight, purporting to come
+    from the President, of conversations which occurred either with the
+    President privately in his office or in Cabinet meeting. What is written
+    admits of no misunderstanding.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In view of the misrepresentations referred to, it will be well to state
+    the facts in the case.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Some time after I assumed the duties of Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>
+    the President asked me my views as to the course Mr. Stanton would have
+    to pursue, in case the Senate should not concur in his suspension,
+    to obtain possession of his office. My reply was, in substance, that
+    Mr. Stanton would have to appeal to the courts to reinstate him,
+    illustrating my position by citing the ground I had taken in the case
+    of the Baltimore police commissioners.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In that case I did not doubt the technical right of Governor Swann to
+    remove the old commissioners and to appoint their successors. As the old
+    commissioners refused to give up, however, I contended that no resource
+    was left but to appeal to the courts.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Finding that the President was desirous of keeping Mr. Stanton out of
+    office, whether sustained in the suspension or not, I stated that I had
+    not looked particularly into the tenure-of-office bill, but that what
+    I had stated was a general principle, and if I should change my mind in
+    this particular case I would inform him of the fact.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Subsequently, on reading the tenure-of-office bill closely, I found that
+    I could not, without violation of the law, refuse to vacate the office
+    of Secretary of War the moment Mr. Stanton was reinstated by the Senate,
+    even though the President should order me to retain it, which he never
+    did.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Taking this view of the subject, and learning on Saturday, the 11th
+    instant, that the Senate had taken up the subject of Mr. Stanton's
+    suspension, after some conversation with Lieutenant General Sherman and
+    some members of my staff, in which I stated that the law left me no
+    discretion as to my action should Mr. Stanton be reinstated, and that I
+    intended to inform the President, I went to the President for the sole
+    purpose of making this decision known, and did so make it known.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In doing this I fulfilled the promise made in our last preceding
+    conversation on the subject.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The President, however, instead of accepting my view of the requirements
+    of the tenure-of-office bill, contended that he had suspended Mr.
+    Stanton under the authority given by the Constitution, and that the same
+    authority did not preclude him from reporting, as an act of courtesy,
+    his reasons for the suspension to the Senate; that, having appointed me
+    under the authority given by the Constitution, and not under any act of
+    Congress, I could not be governed by the act. I stated that the law was
+    binding on me, constitutional or not, until set aside by the proper
+    tribunal. An hour or more was consumed, each reiterating his views on
+    this subject, until, getting late, the President said he would see me
+    again.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I did not agree to call again on Monday, nor at any other definite time,
+    nor was I sent for by the President until the following Tuesday.
+</p>
+<p>
+    From the 11th to the Cabinet meeting on the 14th instant a doubt never
+    entered my mind about the President's fully understanding my position,
+    namely, that if the Senate refused to concur in the suspension of Mr.
+    Stanton my powers as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i> would cease and Mr.
+    Stanton's right to resume at once the functions of his office would
+    under the law be indisputable, and I acted accordingly. With Mr. Stanton
+    I had no communication, direct nor indirect, on the subject of his
+    reinstatement during his suspension.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I knew it had been recommended to the President to send in the
+    name of Governor Cox, of Ohio, for Secretary of War, and thus save all
+    embarrassment&mdash;a proposition that I sincerely hoped he would entertain
+    favorably; General Sherman seeing the President at my particular request
+    to urge this on the 13th instant.
+</p>
+<p>
+    On Tuesday (the day Mr. Stanton reentered the office of the Secretary of
+    War) General Comstock, who had carried my official letter announcing
+    that with Mr. Stanton's reinstatement by the Senate I had ceased to be
+    Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, and who saw the President open and read
+    the communication, brought back to me from the President a message that
+    he wanted to see me that day at the Cabinet meeting, after I had made
+    known the fact that I was no longer Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    At this meeting, after opening it as though I were a member of the
+    Cabinet, when reminded of the notification already given him that I was
+    no longer Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, the President gave a version of
+    the conversations alluded to already. In this statement it was asserted
+    that in both conversations I had agreed to hold on to the office of
+    Secretary of War until displaced by the courts, or resign, so as to
+    place the President where he would have been had I never accepted the
+    office. After hearing the President through, I stated our conversations
+    substantially as given in this letter. I will add that my conversation
+    before the Cabinet embraced other matter not pertinent here, and is
+    therefore left out.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I in no wise admitted the correctness of the President's statement of
+    our conversations, though, to soften the evident contradiction my
+    statement gave, I said (alluding to our first conversation on the
+    subject) the President might have understood me the way he said, namely,
+    that I had promised to resign if I did not resist the reinstatement.
+    I made no such promise.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    U.S. GRANT, <i>General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES,
+<br>
+    <i>January 30, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Respectfully forwarded to the Secretary of War for his information.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    U.S. GRANT, <i>General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    [Indorsement of the President on General Grant's note of January 24,
+    1868.<a href="#note-49"><small>49</small></a>]
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    JANUARY 29, 1868.
+</p>
+<p>
+    As requested in this communication, General Grant is instructed in
+    writing not to obey any order from the War Department assumed to be
+    issued by the direction of the President unless such order is known by
+    the General Commanding the armies of the United States to have been
+    authorized by the Executive.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    <i>General Grant to the President</i>.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, January 30, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    His Excellency A. JOHNSON,
+<br>
+    <i>President of the United States</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the return of my note of the 24th
+    instant,<a href="#note-49"><small>49</small></a> with your indorsement thereon, that I am not to obey any
+    order from the War Department assumed to be issued by the direction of
+    the President unless such order is known by me to have been authorized
+    by the Executive, and in reply thereto to say that I am informed by the
+    Secretary of War that he has not received from the Executive any order
+    or instructions limiting or impairing his authority to issue orders to
+    the Army, as has heretofore been his practice under the law and the
+    customs of the Department. While this authority to the War Department is
+    not countermanded it will be satisfactory evidence to me that any orders
+    issued from the War Department by direction of the President are
+    authorized by the Executive.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    U.S. GRANT, <i>General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    HEADQUARTERS ARMY UNITED STATES,
+<br>
+    <i>January 30, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Respectfully forwarded to the Secretary of War for his information.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    U.S. GRANT, <i>General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    <i>The President to General Grant</i>.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION, <i>January 31, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    General U.S. GRANT,
+<br>
+    <i>Commanding United States Armies</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    GENERAL: I have received your communication of the 28th instant,<a href="#note-50"><small>50</small></a>
+    renewing your request of the 24th,<a href="#note-49"><small>49</small></a> that I should repeat in a written
+    form my verbal instructions of the 19th instant, viz, that you obey no
+    order from the Hon. Edwin M. Stanton as Secretary of War unless you have
+    information that it was issued by the President's directions.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In submitting this request (with which I complied on the 29th
+    instant<a href="#note-51"><small>51</small></a>) you take occasion to allude to recent publications in
+    reference to the circumstances connected with the vacation by yourself
+    of the office of Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, and with the view of
+    correcting statements which you term "gross misrepresentations" give
+    at length your own recollection of the facts under which, without the
+    sanction of the President, from whom you had received and accepted the
+    appointment, you yielded the Department of War to the present incumbent.
+</p>
+<p>
+    As stated in your communication, some time after you had assumed the
+    duties of Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i> we interchanged views respecting
+    the course that should be pursued in the event of nonconcurrence by the
+    Senate in the suspension from office of Mr. Stanton. I sought that
+    interview, calling myself at the War Department. My sole object in then
+    bringing the subject to your attention was to ascertain definitely
+    what would be your own action should such an attempt be made for his
+    restoration to the War Department. That object was accomplished, for
+    the interview terminated with the distinct understanding that if upon
+    reflection you should prefer not to become a party to the controversy or
+    should conclude that it would be your duty to surrender the Department
+    to Mr. Stanton upon action in his favor by the Senate you were to return
+    the office to me prior to a decision by the Senate, in order that if I
+    desired to do so I might designate someone to succeed you. It must have
+    been apparent to you that had not this understanding been reached it was
+    my purpose to relieve you from the further discharge of the duties of
+    Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i> and to appoint some other person in that
+    capacity.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Other conversations upon this subject ensued, all of them having on my
+    part the same object and leading to the same conclusion as the first.
+    It is not necessary, however, to refer to any of them excepting that of
+    Saturday, the 11th instant, mentioned in your communication. As it was
+    then known that the Senate had proceeded to consider the case of Mr.
+    Stanton, I was anxious to learn your determination. After a protracted
+    interview, during which the provisions of the tenure-of-office bill were
+    freely discussed, you said that, as had been agreed upon in our first
+    conference, you would either return the office to my possession in time
+    to enable me to appoint a successor before final action by the Senate
+    upon Mr. Stanton's suspension, or would remain as its head, awaiting a
+    decision of the question by judicial proceedings. It was then understood
+    that there would be a further conference on Monday, by which time I
+    supposed you would be prepared to inform me of your final decision. You
+    failed, however, to fulfill the engagement, and on Tuesday notified me
+    in writing of the receipt by you of official notification of the action
+    of the Senate in the case of Mr. Stanton, and at the same time informed
+    me that according to the act regulating the tenure of certain civil
+    offices your functions as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i> ceased from
+    the moment of the receipt of the notice. You thus, in disregard of the
+    understanding between us, vacated the office without having given me
+    notice of your intention to do so. It is but just, however, to say that
+    in your communication you claim that you did inform me of your purpose,
+    and thus "fulfilled the promise made in our last preceding conversation
+    on this subject." The fact that such a promise existed is evidence of
+    an arrangement of the kind I have mentioned. You had found in our first
+    conference "that the President was desirous of keeping Mr. Stanton out
+    of office whether sustained in the suspension or not." You knew what
+    reasons had induced the President to ask from you a promise; you
+    also knew that in case your views of duty did not accord with his
+    own convictions it was his purpose to fill your place by another
+    appointment. Even ignoring the existence of a positive understanding
+    between us, these conclusions were plainly deducible from our various
+    conversations. It is certain, however, that even under these
+    circumstances you did not offer to return the place to my possession,
+    but, according to your own statement, placed yourself in a position
+    where, could I have anticipated your action, I would have been compelled
+    to ask of you, as I was compelled to ask of your predecessor in the War
+    Department, a letter of resignation, or else to resort to the more
+    disagreeable expedient of suspending you by a successor.
+</p>
+<p>
+    As stated in your letter, the nomination of Governor Cox, of Ohio, for
+    the office of Secretary of War was suggested to me. His appointment as
+    Mr. Stanton's successor was urged in your name, and it was said that
+    his selection would save further embarrassment. I did not think that
+    in the selection of a Cabinet officer I should be trammeled by such
+    considerations. I was prepared to take the responsibility of deciding
+    the question in accordance with my ideas of constitutional duty, and,
+    having determined upon a course which I deemed right and proper, was
+    anxious to learn the steps you would take should the possession of the
+    War Department be demanded by Mr. Stanton. Had your action been in
+    conformity to the understanding between us, I do not believe that the
+    embarrassment would have attained its present proportions or that the
+    probability of its repetition would have been so great.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I know that, with a view to an early termination of a state of affairs
+    so detrimental to the public interests, you voluntarily offered, both on
+    Wednesday, the 15th instant, and on the succeeding Sunday, to call upon
+    Mr. Stanton and urge upon him that the good of the service required his
+    resignation. I confess that I considered your proposal as a sort of
+    reparation for the failure on your part to act in accordance with an
+    understanding more than once repeated, which I thought had received your
+    full assent, and under which you could have returned to me the office
+    which I had conferred upon you, thus saving yourself from embarrassment
+    and leaving the responsibility where it properly belonged&mdash;with the
+    President, who is accountable for the faithful execution of the laws.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have not yet been informed by you whether, as twice proposed by
+    yourself, you have called upon Mr. Stanton and made an effort to induce
+    him voluntarily to retire from the War Department.
+</p>
+<p>
+    You conclude your communication with a reference to our conversation at
+    the meeting of the Cabinet held on Tuesday, the 14th instant. In your
+    account of what then occurred you say that after the President had given
+    his version of our previous conversations you stated them substantially
+    as given in your letter; that you in no wise admitted the correctness of
+    his statement of them, "though, to soften the evident contradiction my
+    statement gave, I said (alluding to our first conversation on the
+    subject) the President might have understood me the way he said, namely,
+    that I had promised to resign if I did not resist the reinstatement.
+    I made no such promise."
+</p>
+<p>
+    My recollection of what then transpired is diametrically the reverse of
+    your narration. In the presence of the Cabinet I asked you&mdash;
+</p>
+<p>
+    First. If, in a conversation which took place shortly after your
+    appointment as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, you did not agree either
+    to remain at the head of the War Department and abide any judicial
+    proceedings that might follow nonconcurrence by the Senate in Mr.
+    Stanton's suspension, or, should you wish not to become involved in such
+    a controversy, to put me in the same position with respect to the office
+    as I occupied previous to your appointment, by returning it to me in
+    time to anticipate such action by the Senate. This you admitted.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second. I then asked you if, at our conference on the preceding
+    Saturday, I had not, to avoid misunderstanding, requested you to state
+    what you intended to do, and, further, if in reply to that inquiry you
+    had not referred to our former conversations, saying that from them I
+    understood your position, and that your action would be consistent with
+    the understanding which had been reached. To these questions you also
+    replied in the affirmative.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Third. I next asked if at the conclusion of our interview on Saturday
+    it was not understood that we were to have another conference on Monday
+    before final action by the Senate in the case of Mr. Stanton. You
+    replied that such was the understanding, but that you did not suppose
+    the Senate would act so soon; that on Monday you had been engaged in a
+    conference with General Sherman and were occupied with "many little
+    matters," and asked if General Sherman had not called on that day. What
+    relevancy General Sherman's visit to me on Monday had with the purpose
+    for which you were then to have called I am at a loss to perceive,
+    as he certainly did not inform me whether you had determined to retain
+    possession of the office or to afford me an opportunity to appoint a
+    successor in advance of any attempted reinstatement of Mr. Stanton.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This account of what passed between us at the Cabinet meeting on the
+    14th instant widely differs from that contained in your communication,
+    for it shows that instead of having "stated our conversations as given
+    in the letter" which has made this reply necessary you admitted that my
+    recital of them was entirely accurate. Sincerely anxious, however, to
+    be correct in my statements, I have to-day read this narration of what
+    occurred on the 14th instant to the members of the Cabinet who were then
+    present. They, without exception, agree in its accuracy.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is only necessary to add that on Wednesday morning, the 15th instant,
+    you called on me, in company with Lieutenant-General Sherman. After some
+    preliminary conversation, you remarked that an article in the National
+    Intelligencer of that date did you much injustice. I replied that I had
+    not read the Intelligencer of that morning. You then first told me that
+    it was your intention to urge Mr. Stanton to resign his office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    After you had withdrawn I carefully read the article of which you had
+    spoken, and found that its statements of the understanding between us
+    were substantially correct. On the 17th I caused it to be read to four
+    of the five members of the Cabinet who were present at our conference on
+    the 14th, and they concurred in the general accuracy of its statements
+    respecting our conversation upon that occasion.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In reply to your communication, I have deemed it proper, in order to
+    prevent further misunderstanding, to make this simple recital of facts.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Very respectfully, yours,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    <i>General Grant to the President</i>.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., February 3, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    His Excellency A. JOHNSON,
+<br>
+    <i>President of the United States</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication
+    of the 31st ultimo,<a href="#note-52"><small>52</small></a> in answer to mine of the 28th ultimo[53]. After
+    a careful reading and comparison of it with the article in the National
+    Intelligencer of the 15th ultimo and the article over the initials
+    J.B.S. in the New York World of the 27th ultimo, purporting to be based
+    upon your statement and that of the members of your Cabinet therein
+    named, I find it to be but a reiteration, only somewhat more in detail,
+    of the "many and gross misrepresentations" contained in these articles,
+    and which my statement of the facts set forth in my letter of the 28th
+    ultimo<a href="#note-53"><small>53</small></a> was intended to correct; and I here reassert the correctness
+    of my statements in that letter, anything in yours in reply to it to the
+    contrary notwithstanding.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I confess my surprise that the Cabinet officers referred to should so
+    greatly misapprehend the facts in the matter of admissions alleged to
+    have been made by me at the Cabinet meeting of the 14th ultimo as to
+    suffer their names to be made the basis of the charges in the newspaper
+    article referred to, or agree in the accuracy, as you affirm they do,
+    of your account of what occurred at that meeting.
+</p>
+<p>
+    You know that we parted on Saturday, the 11th ultimo, without any
+    promise on my part, either express or implied, to the effect that I
+    would hold on to the office of Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i> against the
+    action of the Senate, or, declining to do so myself, would surrender it
+    to you before such action was had, or that I would see you again at any
+    fixed time on the subject.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The performance of the promises alleged by you to have been made by me
+    would have involved a resistance to law and an inconsistency with the
+    whole history of my connection with the suspension of Mr. Stanton.
+</p>
+<p>
+    From our conversations and my written protest of August 1, 1867,
+    against the removal of Mr. Stanton, you must have known that my greatest
+    objection to his removal or suspension was the fear that someone would
+    be appointed in his stead who would, by opposition to the laws relating
+    to the restoration of the Southern States to their proper relations
+    to the Government, embarrass the Army in the performance of duties
+    especially imposed upon it by these laws; and it was to prevent such an
+    appointment that I accepted the office of Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>,
+    and not for the purpose of enabling you to get rid of Mr. Stanton by my
+    withholding it from him in opposition to law, or, not doing so myself,
+    surrendering it to one who would, as the statement and assumptions in
+    your communication plainly indicate was sought. And it was to avoid this
+    same danger, as well as to relieve you from the personal embarrassment
+    in which Mr. Stanton's reinstatement would place you, that I urged the
+    appointment of Governor Cox, believing that it would be agreeable to you
+    and also to Mr. Stanton, satisfied as I was that it was the good of the
+    country, and not the office, the latter desired.
+</p>
+<p>
+    On the 15th ultimo, in presence of General Sherman, I stated to you that
+    I thought Mr. Stanton would resign, but did not say that I would advise
+    him to do so. On the 18th I did agree with General Sherman to go and
+    advise him to that course, and on the 19th I had an interview alone with
+    Mr. Stanton, which led me to the conclusion that any advice to him of
+    the kind would be useless, and I so informed General Sherman.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Before I consented to advise Mr. Stanton to resign, I understood
+    from him, in a conversation on the subject immediately after his
+    reinstatement, that it was his opinion that the act of Congress entitled
+    "An act temporarily to supply vacancies in the Executive Departments in
+    certain cases," approved February 20, 1863, was repealed by subsequent
+    legislation, which materially influenced my action. Previous to this
+    time I had had no doubt that the law of 1863 was still in force, and,
+    notwithstanding my action, a fuller examination of the law leaves a
+    question in my mind whether it is or is not repealed. This being the
+    case, I could not now advise his resignation, lest the same danger
+    I apprehended on his first removal might follow.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The course you would have it understood I agreed to pursue was in
+    violation of law and without orders from you, while the course I did
+    pursue, and which I never doubted you fully understood, was in
+    accordance with law and not in disobedience of any orders of my
+    superior.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And now, Mr. President, when my honor as a soldier and integrity as a
+    man have been so violently assailed, pardon me for saying that I can but
+    regard this whole matter, from the beginning to the end, as an attempt
+    to involve me in the resistance of law, for which you hesitated to
+    assume the responsibility in orders, and thus to destroy my character
+    before the country. I am in a measure confirmed in this conclusion by
+    your recent orders directing me to disobey orders from the Secretary of
+    War, my superior and your subordinate, without having countermanded his
+    authority to issue the orders I am to disobey.
+</p>
+<p>
+    With the assurance, Mr. President, that nothing less than a vindication
+    of my personal honor and character could have induced this
+    correspondence on my part,
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    U.S. GRANT, <i>General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Respectfully forwarded to the Secretary of War for his information, and
+    to be made a part of correspondence previously furnished on same subject.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    U.S. GRANT, <i>General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 17, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In reply to the resolution adopted by the House of Representatives on
+    the 19th of December last, calling for correspondence and information
+    in relation to Russian America, I transmit reports and accompanying
+    documents from the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury,
+    respectively.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 18, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 17th of
+    January last, calling for information in regard to the execution of the
+    treaty of 1858 with China, for the settlement of claims, I transmit a
+    report of the Secretary of State and the papers which accompany it.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>February 19, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Attorney-General, prepared in
+    compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    26th November, 1867, requesting a list of all pardons "granted since
+    the 14th day of April, 1865, to any person or persons charged with or
+    convicted of making or passing counterfeit money, or having counterfeit
+    money or tools or instruments for making the same in his or their
+    possession, or charged with or convicted of the crime of forgery or
+    criminal alteration of papers, accounts, or other documents, or of the
+    crime of perjury, and that such list be accompanied by a particular
+    statement in each case of the reasons or grounds of the pardon, with a
+    disclosure of the names of persons, if any, who recommended or advised
+    the same."
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>February 19, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Attorney-General, prepared in
+    compliance with a resolution adopted by the Senate on the 2d day of
+    December last, requesting "a full list of the names of all persons
+    pardoned by the President since May 1, 1865, who have been convicted of
+    counterfeiting United States bonds, greenbacks, national-bank currency,
+    fractional currency, or the coin of the United States, with the date of
+    issuing each pardon, reasons for issuing it, and by whom recommended."
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 20, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to a resolution of the Senate of the 18th of December last,
+    requesting information in regard to the island of San Juan, on Puget
+    Sound, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the papers
+    which accompanied it.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 20, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    With reference to the convention between Denmark and the United States
+    concluded on the 24th of October last, I transmit to the Senate a copy
+    in translation of a note of the 19th instant addressed to the Secretary
+    of State by His Danish Majesty's chargé d'affaires, announcing the
+    ratification of the convention by the Government of Denmark and stating
+    his readiness to proceed with the customary exchange of ratifications.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 21, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a communication from the Chief of the Engineer Corps
+    of the Army, accompanied by a report, in reference to ship canals around
+    the Falls of the Ohio River, called for by the resolution of the House
+    of Representatives of the 18th instant.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>February 21, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    On the 12th day of August, 1867, by virtue of the power and authority
+    vested in the President by the Constitution and laws of the United
+    States, I suspended Edwin M. Stanton from the office of Secretary of
+    War.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In further exercise of the power and authority so vested in the
+    President, I have this day removed Mr. Stanton from office and
+    designated the Adjutant-General of the Army to act as Secretary
+    of War <i>ad interim</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Copies of the communications upon this subject addressed to Mr. Stanton
+    and the Adjutant-General are herewith transmitted for the information of
+    the Senate.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>February 22, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have received a copy of the resolution adopted by the Senate on the
+    21st instant, as follows:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Whereas the Senate have received and considered the communication of
+  the President stating that he had removed Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary
+  of War, and had designated the Adjutant-General of the Army to act as
+  Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>: Therefore,
+</p><p class="q">
+  <i>Resolved by the Senate of the United States</i>, That under the
+  Constitution and laws of the United States the President has no power
+  to remove the Secretary of War and designate any other officer to
+  perform the duties of that office <i>ad interim</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This resolution is confined to the power of the President to remove the
+    Secretary of War and to designate another officer to perform the duties
+    of the office <i>ad interim</i>, and by its preamble is made expressly
+    applicable to the removal of Mr. Stanton and the designation to act
+    <i>ad interim</i> of the Adjutant-General of the Army. Without, therefore,
+    attempting to discuss the general power of removal as to all officers,
+    upon which subject no expression of opinion is contained in the
+    resolution, I shall confine myself to the question as thus limited&mdash;the
+    power to remove the Secretary of War.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is declared in the resolution&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  That under the Constitution and laws of the United States the President
+  has no power to remove the Secretary of War and designate any other
+  officer to perform the duties of that office <i>ad interim</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    As to the question of power under the Constitution, I do not propose at
+    present to enter upon its discussion.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The uniform practice from the beginning of the Government, as
+    established by every President who has exercised the office, and the
+    decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States have settled the
+    question in favor of the power of the President to remove all officers
+    excepting a class holding appointments of a judicial character. No
+    practice nor any decision has ever excepted a Secretary of War from this
+    general power of the President to make removals from office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is only necessary, then, that I should refer to the power of the
+    Executive, under the laws of the United States, to remove from office a
+    Secretary of War. The resolution denies that under these laws this power
+    has any existence. In other words, it affirms that no such authority is
+    recognized or given by the statutes of the country.
+</p>
+<p>
+    What, then, are the laws of the United States which deny the President
+    the power to remove that officer? I know but two laws which bear upon
+    this question. The first in order of time is the act of August 7, 1789,
+    creating the Department of War, which, after providing for a Secretary
+    as its principal officer, proceeds as follows:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  SEC. 2. <i>And be it further enacted</i>, That there shall be in the said
+  Department an inferior officer, to be appointed by the said principal
+  officer, to be employed therein as he shall deem proper, and to be
+  called the chief clerk in the Department of War, and who, whenever the
+  said principal officer shall be removed from office by the President of
+  the United States, or in any other case of vacancy, shall during such
+  vacancy have the charge and custody of all records, books, and papers
+  appertaining to the said Department.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is clear that this act, passed by a Congress many of whose members
+    participated in the formation of the Constitution, so far from denying
+    the power of the President to remove the Secretary of War, recognizes
+    it as existing in the Executive alone, without the concurrence of the
+    Senate or of any other department of the Government. Furthermore, this
+    act does not purport to confer the power by legislative authority, nor
+    in fact was there any other existing legislation through which it was
+    bestowed upon the Executive. The recognition of the power by this act is
+    therefore complete as a recognition under the Constitution itself, for
+    there was no other source or authority from which it could be derived.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The other act which refers to this question is that regulating the
+    tenure of certain civil offices, passed by Congress on the 2d day of
+    March, 1867. The first section of that act is in the following words:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  That every person holding any civil office to which he has been
+  appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and every
+  person who shall hereafter be appointed to any such office, and shall
+  become duly qualified to act therein, is and shall be entitled to hold
+  such office until a successor shall have been in like manner appointed
+  and duly qualified, except as herein otherwise provided: <i>Provided</i>,
+  That the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, of the Navy,
+  and of the Interior, the Postmaster-General, and the Attorney-General
+  shall hold their offices, respectively, for and during the term of
+  the President by whom they may have been appointed and for one month
+  thereafter, subject to removal by and with the advice and consent of
+  the Senate.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The fourth section of the same act restricts the term of offices to the
+    limit prescribed by the law creating them.
+</p>
+<p>
+    That part of the first section which precedes the proviso declares that
+    every person holding a civil office to which he has been or may be
+    appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate shall hold
+    such office until a successor shall have been in like manner appointed.
+    It purports to take from the Executive, during the fixed time
+    established for the tenure of the office, the independent power of
+    removal, and to require for such removal the concurrent action of the
+    President and the Senate.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The proviso that follows proceeds to fix the term of office of the seven
+    heads of Departments, whose tenure never had been defined before, by
+    prescribing that they "shall hold their offices, respectively, for and
+    during the term of the President by whom they may have been appointed
+    and for one month thereafter, subject to removal by and with the advice
+    and consent of the Senate."
+</p>
+<p>
+    Thus, as to these enumerated officers, the proviso takes from the
+    President the power of removal except with the advice and consent of the
+    Senate. By its terms, however, before he can be deprived of the power to
+    displace them it must appear that he himself has appointed them. It is
+    only in that case that they have any tenure of office or any independent
+    right to hold during the term of the President and for one month after
+    the cessation of his official functions. The proviso, therefore, gives
+    no tenure of office to any one of these officers who has been appointed
+    by a former President beyond one month after the accession of his
+    successor.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the case of Mr. Stanton, the only appointment under which he
+    held the office of Secretary of War was that conferred upon him by my
+    immediate predecessor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. He has
+    never held from me any appointment as the head of the War Department.
+    Whatever right he had to hold the office was derived from that original
+    appointment and my own sufferance. The law was not intended to protect
+    such an incumbent of the War Department by taking from the President the
+    power to remove him. This, in my judgment, is perfectly clear, and the
+    law itself admits of no other just construction. We find in all that
+    portion of the first section which precedes the proviso that as to civil
+    officers generally the President is deprived of the power of removal,
+    and it is plain that if there had been no proviso that power would just
+    as clearly have been taken from him so far as it applies to the seven
+    heads of Departments. But for reasons which were no doubt satisfactory
+    to Congress these principal officers were specially provided for, and as
+    to them the express and only requirement is that the President who has
+    appointed them shall not without the advice and consent of the Senate
+    remove them from office. The consequence is that as to my Cabinet,
+    embracing the seven officers designated in the first section, the act
+    takes from me the power, without the concurrence of the Senate, to
+    remove any one of them that I have appointed, but it does not protect
+    such of them as I did not appoint, nor give to them any tenure of office
+    beyond my pleasure.
+</p>
+<p>
+    An examination of this act, then, shows that while in one part of the
+    section provision is made for officers generally, in another clause
+    there is a class of officers, designated by their official titles, who
+    are excepted from the general terms of the law, and in reference to whom
+    a clear distinction is made as to the general power of removal limited
+    in the first clause of the section.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This distinction is that as to such of these enumerated officers as hold
+    under the appointment of the President the power of removal can only be
+    exercised by him with the consent of the Senate, while as to those who
+    have not been appointed by him there is no like denial of his power to
+    displace them. It would be a violation of the plain meaning of this
+    enactment to place Mr. Stanton upon the same footing as those heads of
+    Departments who have been appointed by myself. As to him, this law gives
+    him no tenure of office. The members of my Cabinet who have been
+    appointed by me are by this act entitled to hold for one month after the
+    term of my office shall cease; but Mr. Stanton could not, against the
+    wishes of my successor, hold a moment thereafter. If he were permitted
+    by that successor to hold for the first two weeks, would that successor
+    have no power to remove him? But the power of my successor over him
+    could be no greater than my own. If my successor would have the power to
+    remove Mr. Stanton after permitting him to remain a period of two weeks,
+    because he was not appointed by him, but by his predecessor, I, who have
+    tolerated Mr. Stanton for more than two years, certainly have the same
+    right to remove him, and upon the same ground, namely, that he was not
+    appointed by me, but by my predecessor.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Under this construction of the tenure-of-office act, I have never
+    doubted my power to remove Mr. Stanton.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whether the act were constitutional or not, it was always my opinion
+    that it did not secure him from removal. I was, however, aware that
+    there were doubts as to the construction of the law, and from the first
+    I deemed it desirable that at the earliest possible moment those doubts
+    should be settled and the true construction of the act fixed by decision
+    of the Supreme Court of the United States. My order of suspension in
+    August last was intended to place the case in such a position as would
+    make a resort to a judicial decision both necessary and proper. My
+    understanding and wishes, however, under that order of suspension were
+    frustrated, and the late order for Mr. Stanton's removal was a further
+    step toward the accomplishment of that purpose.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I repeat that my own convictions as to the true construction of the law
+    and as to its constitutionality were well settled and were sustained
+    by every member of my Cabinet, including Mr. Stanton himself. Upon the
+    question of constitutionality, each one in turn deliberately advised me
+    that the tenure-of-office act was unconstitutional. Upon the question
+    whether, as to those members who were appointed by my predecessor,
+    that act took from me the power to remove them, one of those members
+    emphatically stated in the presence of the others sitting in Cabinet
+    that they did not come within the provisions of the act, and it was
+    no protection to them. No one dissented from this construction, and
+    I understood them all to acquiesce in its correctness. In a matter of
+    such grave consequence I was not disposed to rest upon my own opinions,
+    though fortified by my constitutional advisers. I have therefore sought
+    to bring the question at as early a day as possible before the Supreme
+    Court of the United States for final and authoritative decision.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In respect to so much of the resolution as relates to the designation
+    of an officer to act as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, I have only to
+    say that I have exercised this power under the provisions of the first
+    section of the act of February 13, 1795, which, so far as they are
+    applicable to vacancies caused by removals, I understand to be still
+    in force.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The legislation upon the subject of <i>ad interim</i> appointments in the
+    Executive Departments stands, as to the War Office, as follows:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The second section of the act of the 7th of August, 1789, makes
+    provision for a vacancy in the very case of a removal of the head of the
+    War Department, and upon such a vacancy gives the charge and custody
+    of the records, books, and papers to the chief clerk. Next, by the act
+    of the 8th of May, 1792, section 8, it is provided that in case of a
+    vacancy occasioned by death, absence from the seat of Government, or
+    sickness of the head of the War Department the President may authorize
+    a person to perform the duties of the office until a successor is
+    appointed or the disability removed. The act, it will be observed, does
+    not provide for the case of a vacancy caused by removal. Then, by the
+    first section of the act of February 13, 1795, it is provided that in
+    case of any vacancy the President may appoint a person to perform the
+    duties while the vacancy exists.
+</p>
+<p>
+    These acts are followed by that of the 20th of February, 1863, by the
+    first section of which provision is again made for a vacancy caused by
+    death, resignation, absence from the seat of Government, or sickness of
+    the head of any Executive Department of the Government, and upon the
+    occurrence of such a vacancy power is given to the President&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  to authorize the head of any other Executive Department, or other
+  officer in either of said Departments whose appointment is vested in
+  the President, at his discretion, to perform the duties of the said
+  respective offices until a successor be appointed or until such absence
+  or inability by sickness shall cease: <i>Provided</i>, That no one vacancy
+  shall be supplied in manner aforesaid for a longer term than six months.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This law, with some modifications, reenacts the act of 1792, and
+    provides, as did that act, for the sort of vacancies so to be filled;
+    but, like the act of 1792, it makes no provision for a vacancy
+    occasioned by removal. It has reference altogether to vacancies arising
+    from other causes.
+</p>
+<p>
+    According to my construction of the act of 1863, while it impliedly
+    repeals the act of 1792 regulating the vacancies therein described, it
+    has no bearing whatever upon so much of the act of 1795 as applies to a
+    vacancy caused by removal. The act of 1795 therefore furnishes the rule
+    for a vacancy occasioned by removal&mdash;one of the vacancies expressly
+    referred to in the act of the 7th of August, 1789, creating the
+    Department of War. Certainly there is no express repeal by the act of
+    1863 of the act of 1795. The repeal, if there is any, is by implication,
+    and can only be admitted so far as there is a clear inconsistency
+    between the two acts. The act of 1795 is inconsistent with that of 1863
+    as to a vacancy occasioned by death, resignation, absence, or sickness,
+    but not at all inconsistent as to a vacancy caused by removal.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is assuredly proper that the President should have the same power to
+    fill temporarily a vacancy occasioned by removal as he has to supply
+    a place made vacant by death or the expiration of a term. If, for
+    instance, the incumbent of an office should be found to be wholly unfit
+    to exercise its functions, and the public service should require his
+    immediate expulsion, a remedy should exist and be at once applied, and
+    time be allowed the President to select and appoint a successor, as is
+    permitted him in case of a vacancy caused by death or the termination of
+    an official term.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The necessity, therefore, for an <i>ad interim</i> appointment is just as
+    great, and, indeed, may be greater in cases of removal than in any
+    others. Before it be held, therefore, that the power given by the act
+    of 1795 in cases of removal is abrogated by succeeding legislation an
+    express repeal ought to appear. So wholesome a power should certainly
+    not be taken away by loose implication.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It may be, however, that in this, as in other cases of implied repeal,
+    doubts may arise. It is confessedly one of the most subtle and debatable
+    questions which arise in the construction of statutes. If upon such a
+    question I have fallen into an erroneous construction, I submit whether
+    it should be characterized as a violation of official duty and of law.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have deemed it proper, in vindication of the course which I have
+    considered it my duty to take, to place before the Senate the reasons
+    upon which I have based my action. Although I have been advised by
+    every member of my Cabinet that the entire tenure-of-office act is
+    unconstitutional, and therefore void, and although I have expressly
+    concurred in that opinion in the veto message which I had the honor
+    to submit to Congress when I returned the bill for reconsideration,
+    I have refrained from making a removal of any officer contrary to the
+    provisions of the law, and have only exercised that power in the case of
+    Mr. Stanton, which, in my judgment, did not come within its provisions.
+    I have endeavored to proceed with the greatest circumspection, and have
+    acted only in an extreme and exceptional case, carefully following the
+    course which I have marked out for myself as a general rule, faithfully
+    to execute all laws, though passed over my objections on the score of
+    constitutionality. In the present instance I have appealed, or sought
+    to appeal, to that final arbiter fixed by the Constitution for the
+    determination of all such questions. To this course I have been impelled
+    by the solemn obligations which rest upon me to sustain inviolate the
+    powers of the high office committed to my hands.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whatever may be the consequences merely personal to myself, I could not
+    allow them to prevail against a public duty so clear to my own mind, and
+    so imperative. If what was possible had been certain, if I had been
+    fully advised when I removed Mr. Stanton that in thus defending the
+    trust committed to my hands my own removal was sure to follow, I could
+    not have hesitated. Actuated by public considerations of the highest
+    character, I earnestly protest against the resolution of the Senate
+    which charges me in what I have done with a violation of the
+    Constitution and laws of the United States.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 25, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In further answer of the resolution of the Senate of the 13th of January
+    last, relative to the appointment of the Hon. Anson Burlingame to a
+    diplomatic or other mission by the Emperor of China, I transmit a report
+    from the Secretary of State and the communication which accompanied it.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>February 26, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the General Commanding the Army of the
+    United States, prepared in compliance with the resolution of the Senate
+    of the 4th instant, requesting copies of all instructions relating to
+    the Third Military District issued to General Pope and General Meade.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 4, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 17th February ultimo,
+    concerning the alleged interference of the United States consul at Rome
+    in the late difficulty in Italy, I transmit a report from the Secretary
+    of State, containing the information called for by the resolution.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 5, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a report of this date from the Secretary of State, and the
+    accompanying papers, in regard to the revolution in the Dominican
+    Republic.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 5, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 21st of February last,
+    in relation to the abduction of one Allan Macdonald from Canada, I
+    transmit a communication from the Secretary of State, accompanied by the
+    papers relating to that subject.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 5, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    7th of January last, in relation to the claim of the late Benjamin W.
+    Perkins against the Russian Government, I transmit a communication from
+    the Secretary of State, which is accompanied by the papers called for
+    by the resolution.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 6, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate the accompanying report<a href="#note-54"><small>54</small></a> of the Secretary of
+    State, in answer to their resolution of the 13th January,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 10, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to
+    ratification, a treaty between the United States and His Majesty the
+    King of Prussia, in the name of the North German Confederation, for the
+    purpose of regulating the citizenship of those persons who emigrate from
+    the Confederation to this country and from the United States to the
+    North German Confederation.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 11, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In further answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of
+    the 25th of November, 1867, calling for information in relation to the
+    trial and conviction of American citizens in Great Britain and Ireland
+    for the last two years, I transmit a continuation of the report from the
+    Secretary of State upon the subject.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 14, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 27th of January
+    last, in relation to the arrest and trial of the Rev. John McMahon,
+    Robert B. Lynch, and John Warren by the Government of Great Britain, and
+    requesting to be informed what action has been taken by this Government
+    in maintaining the rights of American citizens abroad, I transmit a
+    report of the Secretary of State, which is accompanied by a copy of
+    the papers called for by that resolution.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>March 18, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    a treaty made on the 2d day of March, 1868, by and between Nathaniel G.
+    Taylor, Commissioner of Indian Affairs; Alexander C. Hunt, governor and
+    <i>ex officio</i> superintendent of Indian affairs of Colorado Territory, and
+    Kit Carson, on the part of the United States, and the representatives
+    of the Tabeguache, Muache, Capote, Weeminuche, Yampa, Grand River, and
+    Uintah bands of Ute Indians.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 17th instant and the
+    papers therein referred to are also herewith transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 24, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+    ratification, a convention, signed on the 23d instant, for the surrender
+    of criminals, between the United States and the Government of Italy.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 24, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report<a href="#note-55"><small>55</small></a> and accompanying documents, in answer
+    to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 18th ultimo.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 25, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to a resolution
+    of the 9th instant, the accompanying report<a href="#note-56"><small>56</small></a> from the Secretary of
+    State.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 25, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report and accompanying document,<a href="#note-57"><small>57</small></a> in answer
+    to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 18th ultimo.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 25, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 18th
+    ultimo, relating to the report of Mr. Cowdin, I transmit a report of
+    the Secretary of State and the document<a href="#note-58"><small>58</small></a> to which it refers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 2, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the House of Representatives, in further answer to their
+    resolution of the 9th ultimo, the accompanying report<a href="#note-59"><small>59</small></a> from the
+    Secretary of State.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 2, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In further reply to the resolution adopted by the House of Representatives
+    on the 19th of December, 1867, calling for correspondence and information
+    in relation to Russian America, I transmit a report from the Secretary of
+    State and the papers which accompanied it.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 3, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the papers
+    accompanying it, in answer to a resolution of the House of
+    Representatives of the 10th of February last, requesting information
+    relative to the imprisonment and destruction of the property of Antonio
+    Pelletier by the people and authorities of Hayti.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 13, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 5th of February last,
+    calling for the correspondence upon the subject of the murder by the
+    inhabitants of the island of Formosa of the ship's company of the
+    American bark <i>Rover</i>, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State
+    and a report from the Secretary of the Navy, with accompanying papers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 18, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 14th of April instant,
+    calling for information relative to any application by any party for
+    exclusive privileges in connection with hunting, trading, and the
+    fisheries in Alaska, I transmit herewith the report of the Secretary
+    of State on the subject, with its accompanying papers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>April 22, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 28th ultimo,
+    requesting information as to the number and designations of military
+    departments formed since the 1st day of August, 1867, and as to the
+    statute or other authority under which they have been established,
+    I transmit a report from the Adjutant-General's Office showing the
+    organization since that date of the Department of Alaska and the
+    Military Division of the Atlantic.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The orders issued by me upon this subject are in accordance with
+    long-established usage and hitherto unquestioned authority. This will be
+    readily seen from the accompanying report, which shows that, employing
+    the authority vested by the Constitution in the President as Commander
+    in Chief of the Army, it has been customary for my predecessors to
+    create such military divisions and departments as from time to time
+    they deemed advisable.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>April 27, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I submit a report of the Secretary of State, concerning the
+    naturalization treaty recently negotiated between the United States
+    and North Germany.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>May 5, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to Congress the accompanying documents, which I deem it
+    proper to state are all the papers<a href="#note-60"><small>60</small></a> that have been submitted to the
+    President relating to the proceedings to which they refer in the States
+    of South Carolina and Arkansas.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>May 6, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in further answer to their resolution of the
+    14th of April last, the accompanying report<a href="#note-61"><small>61</small></a> from the Secretary of
+    State.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>May 8, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith reports from the Secretary of the Treasury and the
+    Secretary of the Navy, prepared in compliance with a resolution of the
+    House of Representatives of the 12th of December last, requesting
+    information respecting the sale of public vessels since the close of the
+    rebellion. No report upon the subject has yet been received from the
+    Department of War.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>May 9, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their resolution
+    of the 14th ultimo, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+    papers.<a href="#note-62"><small>62</small></a>
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>May 9, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith reports from the Secretary of the Treasury and the
+    Attorney-General, prepared in compliance with the resolution of the
+    Senate of the 17th December last, requesting information in reference to
+    the seizure and confiscation of property. No report upon this subject
+    has yet been received by me from the War Department.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>May 11, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to Congress the accompanying documents,<a href="#note-63"><small>63</small></a> which embrace
+    all the papers that have been submitted to me relating to the proceedings
+    to which they refer in the States of North Carolina and Louisiana.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>May 15, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their
+    resolution of the 8th instant, a report<a href="#note-64"><small>64</small></a> from the Secretary of State,
+    with accompanying papers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>May 18, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to Congress the accompanying document,<a href="#note-65"><small>65</small></a> which is the
+    only paper which has been submitted to me relating to the proceedings
+    to which it refers in the State of Georgia.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>May 23, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate a report from the Secretary of State, with
+    accompaniments, in relation to recent events in the Empire of Japan.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>May 27, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to Congress the accompanying documents,<a href="#note-66"><small>66</small></a> which are the
+    only papers which have been submitted to me relating to the proceedings
+    to which they refer in the State of Florida.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>May 29, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of the Navy, in reply
+    to the resolution of the House of Representatives adopted on the 26th
+    instant, making inquiries relative to a naval force at Hayti.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 2, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I communicate, for the information of the Senate, in confidence, a
+    report of the Secretary of State, accompanied by a copy of a dispatch
+    recently received from the acting consul of the United States at San
+    Jose, Costa Rica.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 2, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I communicate, for the consideration of the Senate, a report from
+    the Secretary of State, accompanied by a copy of a dispatch recently
+    received from the acting United States consul in charge of the legation
+    at San Jose, Costa Rica.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 5, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In further answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of
+    the 25th of November, 1867, calling for information in relation to the
+    trial and conviction of American citizens in Great Britain and Ireland
+    for the last two years, I transmit the accompanying report from the
+    Secretary of State upon the subject.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 8, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 28th ultimo, I
+    transmit herewith a communication from the Postmaster-General, with a
+    copy of the correspondence recently had with the authorities of Great
+    Britain in relation to a new postal treaty.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C. <i>June 10, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+    1st instant, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the
+    Interior, in reference to a treaty now being negotiated between the
+    Great and Little Osage Indians and the special Indian commissioners
+    acting on the part of the United States.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C. <i>June 13, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith submit to the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    a treaty concluded on the 27th ultimo between commissioners on the part
+    of the United States and the Great and Little Osage tribe of Indians of
+    Kansas, together with a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
+    suggesting an amendment to the fourteenth article, and a copy of the
+    report of the commissioners.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>June 15, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Interior, made in
+    reply to the resolution adopted by the House of Representatives on the
+    13th instant.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The treaty recently concluded with the Great and Little Osage Indians,
+    to which the accompanying report refers, was submitted to the Senate
+    prior to the receipt of the resolution of the House upon the subject.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to its
+    ratification, a treaty between the United States and His Majesty the
+    King of Bavaria, signed at Munich on the 26th ultimo, concerning the
+    citizenship of persons emigrating from Bavaria to the United States and
+    from the United States to the Kingdom of Bavaria. I transmit also a copy
+    of the letter of the United States minister communicating the treaty, of
+    the protocol which accompanied it, and a translation of the Bavarian
+    military law referred to in the latter paper.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>June 20, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action
+    thereon, a treaty concluded at Fort Sumner, N. Mex., on the 1st instant,
+    between Lieutenant-General W. T. Sherman and Colonel Samuel F. Tappan,
+    on the part of the United States, and the chiefs and headmen of the
+    Navajo Indians, on the part of the latter. I also transmit a communication
+    upon the subject from the Secretary of the Interior, with the accompanying
+    papers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 22, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 28th
+    ultimo, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+    papers.<a href="#note-67"><small>67</small></a>
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 23, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to a
+    resolution of the House of Representatives of the 15th instant, upon the
+    subject of Messrs. Warren and Costello, who have been convicted and
+    sentenced to penal imprisonment in Great Britain.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 23, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate a copy of a dispatch addressed to the
+    Department of State by the consul of the United States at Bangkok,
+    Siam, dated December 31, 1867, with a view to its consideration and
+    the ratification thereof, of the modification proposed by the royal
+    counselors of the Kingdom of Siam in Article I of the general
+    regulations which form a part of the treaty between the United States
+    and that Kingdom concluded May 29, 1856, of which a printed copy is
+    also herewith transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 29, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to Congress a copy of a dispatch from the United States
+    consul at Elsinore, and of an instruction from the Secretary of State
+    to the United States minister at Copenhagen, relative to an alleged
+    practice of the Danish authorities to banish convicts to this country.
+    The expediency of making it a penal offense to bring such persons to
+    the United States is submitted to your consideration.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 2, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State of the 2d
+    instant, together with accompanying papers.<a href="#note-68"><small>68</small></a>
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>July 7, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    a treaty concluded at Fort Laramie, Dakota Territory, on the 7th of May,
+    1868, between the United States and the chiefs and headmen of the Crow
+    Indians of Montana, and a treaty concluded at Fort Lyaramie, Dakota
+    Territory, on the 10th of May, 1868, between the United States and the
+    chiefs and headmen of the Northern Cheyenne and Northern Arapahoe tribes
+    of Indians.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A letter from the Secretary of the Interior suggesting amendments to
+    said treaties, and the papers to which he refers in his communication,
+    are also herewith transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>July 7, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    a treaty made and concluded at Ottawa, Kans., on the 1st day of June,
+    1868, between the United States and the Swan Creek and Black River
+    Chippewas and the Munsee or Christian Indians of the State of Kansas.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Accompanying the treaty is a letter from the Secretary of the Interior,
+    dated the 30th ultimo, together with the papers therein designated.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 9, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification,
+    additional articles to the treaty between the United States and His
+    Majesty the Emperor of China of the 18th June, 1858, signed in this city
+    on the 4th instant by the plenipotentiaries of the parties.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 10, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification,
+    a convention between the United States and the Mexican Republic, signed
+    in this city by the plenipotentiaries of the parties on the 4th instant,
+    providing for an adjustment of claims of citizens of the United States
+    on the Mexican Government and of Mexican citizens on the Government of
+    the United States.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 10, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Referring to my message to the Senate of the 23d of May last, I herewith
+    transmit a further report from the Secretary of State, with an
+    accompanying document, relative to late occurrences in Japan.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 14, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate a report from the Secretary of State, inclosing
+    a list of the States of the Union whose legislatures have ratified the
+    proposed fourteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the
+    United States, and also a copy of the resolutions of ratification, as
+    called for in the Senate's resolution of the 9th instant, together with
+    a copy of the respective resolutions of the legislatures of Ohio and New
+    Jersey purporting to rescind the resolutions of ratification of said
+    amendment which had previously been adopted by the legislatures of these
+    two States, respectively, or to withdraw their consent to the same.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 15, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I hereby transmit to Congress a report, 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.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 15, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Congress of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I submit herewith a correspondence between the Secretary of State and
+    Mr. Robert B. Van Valkenburgh, minister resident of the United States
+    in Japan. It seems to show the importance of an amendment of the law
+    of the United States prohibiting the cooly trade.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 17, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in compliance with its resolution of the 9th
+    instant, a report from the Secretary of State, communicating a copy of a
+    paper received by him to-day, purporting to be a resolution ratifying on
+    the part of the State of Louisiana the proposed amendment to the
+    Constitution of the United States known as Article XIV.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 18, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in compliance with its resolution of the 9th
+    instant, a report from the Secretary of State, communicating a copy of a
+    paper received by me on the 18th instant, purporting to be a resolution
+    of the senate and house of representatives of the State of South
+    Carolina, ratifying the proposed amendment to the Constitution of the
+    United States known as Article XIV.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>July 18, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Experience has fully demonstrated the wisdom of the framers of the
+    Federal Constitution. Under all circumstances the result of their
+    labors was as near an approximation to perfection as was compatible
+    with the fallibility of man. Such being the estimation in which the
+    Constitution is and has ever been held by our countrymen, it is not
+    surprising that any proposition for its alteration or amendment should
+    be received with reluctance and distrust. While this sentiment deserves
+    commendation and encouragement as a useful preventive of unnecessary
+    attempt to change its provisions, it must be conceded that time has
+    developed imperfections and omissions in the Constitution, the
+    reformation of which has been demanded by the best interests of the
+    country. Some of these have been remedied in the manner provided in
+    the Constitution itself. There are others which, although heretofore
+    brought to the attention of the people, have never been so presented
+    as to enable the popular judgment to determine whether they should
+    be corrected by means of additional amendments. My object in this
+    communication is to suggest certain defects in the Constitution which
+    seem to me to require correction, and to recommend that the judgment
+    of the people be taken on the amendments proposed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The first of the defects to which I desire to direct attention is in
+    that clause of the Constitution which provides for the election of
+    President and Vice-President through the intervention of electors, and
+    not by an immediate vote of the people. The importance of so amending
+    this clause as to secure to the people the election of President and
+    Vice-President by their direct votes was urged with great earnestness
+    and ability by President Jackson in his first annual message, and the
+    recommendation was repeated in five of his subsequent communications to
+    Congress, extending through the eight years of his Administration. In
+    his message of 1829 he said:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  To the people belongs the right of electing their Chief Magistrate; it
+  was never designed that their choice should in any case be defeated,
+  either by the intervention of electoral colleges or by the agency
+  confided, under certain contingencies, to the House of Representatives.
+</p>
+<p>
+    He then proceeded to state the objections to an election of President
+    by the House of Representatives, the most important of which was that
+    the choice of a clear majority of the people might be easily defeated.
+    He then closed the argument with the following communication:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  I would therefore recommend such an amendment of the Constitution as
+  may remove all intermediate agency in the election of the President and
+  Vice-President. The mode may be so regulated as to preserve to each
+  State its present relative weight in the election, and a failure in the
+  first attempt may be provided for by confining the second to a choice
+  between the two highest candidates. In connection with such an amendment
+  it would seem advisable to limit the service of the Chief Magistrate to
+  a single term of either four or six years. If, however, it should not be
+  adopted, it is worthy of consideration whether a provision disqualifying
+  for office the Representatives in Congress on whom such an election may
+  have devolved would not be proper.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Although this recommendation was repeated with undiminished
+    earnestness in several of his succeeding messages, yet the proposed
+    amendment was never adopted and submitted to the people by Congress. The
+    danger of a defeat of the people's choice in an election by the House of
+    Representatives remains unprovided for in the Constitution, and would
+    be greatly increased if the House of Representatives should assume the
+    power arbitrarily to reject the votes of a State which might not be
+    cast in conformity with the wishes of the majority in that body.
+</p>
+<p>
+    But if President Jackson failed to secure the amendment to the
+    Constitution which he urged so persistently, his arguments contributed
+    largely to the formation of party organizations, which have effectually
+    avoided the contingency of an election by the House of Representatives.
+    These organizations, first by a resort to the caucus system of
+    nominating candidates, and afterwards to State and national conventions,
+    have been successful in so limiting the number of candidates as to
+    escape the danger of an election by the House of Representatives.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is clear, however, that in thus limiting the number of candidates
+    the true object and spirit of the Constitution have been evaded and
+    defeated. It is an essential feature in our republican system of
+    government that every citizen possessing the constitutional
+    qualifications has a right to become a candidate for the office of
+    President and Vice-President, and that every qualified elector has a
+    right to cast his vote for any citizen whom he may regard as worthy of
+    these offices. But under the party organizations which have prevailed
+    for years these asserted rights of the people have been as effectually
+    cut off and destroyed as if the Constitution itself had inhibited their
+    exercise.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The danger of a defeat of the popular choice in an election by the House
+    of Representatives is no greater than in an election made nominally by
+    the people themselves, when by the laws of party organizations and by
+    the constitutional provisions requiring the people to vote for electors
+    instead of for the President or Vice-President it is made impracticable
+    for any citizen to be a candidate except through the process of a party
+    nomination, and for any voter to cast his suffrage for any other person
+    than one thus brought forward through the manipulations of a nominating
+    convention. It is thus apparent that by means of party organizations
+    that provision of the Constitution which requires the election of
+    President and Vice-President to be made through the electoral colleges
+    has been made instrumental and potential in defeating the great object
+    of conferring the choice of these officers upon the people. It may be
+    conceded that party organizations are inseparable from republican
+    government, and that when formed and managed in subordination to the
+    Constitution they may be valuable safeguards of popular liberty; but
+    when they are perverted to purposes of bad ambition they are liable
+    to become the dangerous instruments of overthrowing the Constitution
+    itself. Strongly impressed with the truth of these views, I feel
+    called upon by an imperative sense of duty to revive substantially the
+    recommendation so often and so earnestly made by President Jackson,
+    and to urge that the amendment to the Constitution herewith presented,
+    or some similar proposition, may be submitted to the people for their
+    ratification or rejection.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Recent events have shown the necessity of an amendment to the
+    Constitution distinctly defining the persons who shall discharge the
+    duties of President of the United States in the event of a vacancy in
+    that office by the death, resignation, or removal of both the President
+    and Vice-President. It is clear that this should be fixed by the
+    Constitution, and not be left to repealable enactments of doubtful
+    constitutionality. It occurs to me that in the event of a vacancy in the
+    office of President by the death, resignation, disability, or removal of
+    both the President and Vice-President the duties of the office should
+    devolve upon an officer of the executive department of the Government,
+    rather than one connected with the legislative or judicial departments.
+    The objections to designating either the President <i>pro tempore</i> of
+    the Senate or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, especially
+    in the event of a vacancy produced by removal, are so obvious and so
+    unanswerable that they need not be stated in detail. It is enough
+    to state that they are both interested in producing a vacancy, and,
+    according to the provisions of the Constitution, are members of the
+    tribunal by whose decree a vacancy may be produced.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Under such circumstances the impropriety of designating either
+    of these officers to succeed the President so removed is palpable.
+    The framers of the Constitution, when they referred to Congress the
+    settlement of the succession to the office of President in the event of
+    a vacancy in the offices of both President and Vice-President, did not,
+    in my opinion, contemplate the designation of any other than an officer
+    of the executive department, on whom, in such a contingency, the powers
+    and duties of the President should devolve. Until recently the
+    contingency has been remote, and serious attention has not been called
+    to the manifest incongruity between the provisions of the Constitution
+    on this subject and the act of Congress of 1792. Having, however, been
+    brought almost face to face with this important question, it seems an
+    eminently proper time for us to make the legislation conform to the
+    language, intent, and theory of the Constitution, and thus place the
+    executive department beyond the reach of usurpation, and remove from the
+    legislative and judicial departments every temptation to combine for the
+    absorption of all the powers of government.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It has occurred to me that in the event of such a vacancy the duties of
+    President would devolve most appropriately upon some one of the heads of
+    the several Executive Departments, and under this conviction I present
+    for your consideration an amendment to the Constitution on this subject,
+    with the recommendation that it be submitted to the people for their
+    action.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Experience seems to have established the necessity of an amendment
+    of that clause of the Constitution which provides for the election of
+    Senators to Congress by the legislatures of the several States. It would
+    be more consistent with the genius of our form of government if the
+    Senators were chosen directly by the people of the several States.
+    The objections to the election of Senators by the legislatures are
+    so palpable that I deem it unnecessary to do more than submit the
+    proposition for such an amendment, with the recommendation that it
+    be opened to the people for their judgment.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is strongly impressed on my mind that the tenure of office by
+    the judiciary of the United States during good behavior for life is
+    incompatible with the spirit of republican government, and in this
+    opinion I am fully sustained by the evidence of popular judgment upon
+    this subject in the different States of the Union.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I therefore deem it my duty to recommend an amendment to the
+    Constitution by which the terms of the judicial officers would be
+    limited to a period of years, and I herewith present it in the hope that
+    Congress will submit it to the people for their decision.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The foregoing views have long been entertained by me. In 1845, in the
+    House of Representatives, and afterwards, in 1860, in the Senate of the
+    United States, I submitted substantially the same propositions as those
+    to which the attention of Congress is herein invited. Time, observation,
+    and experience have confirmed these convictions; and, as a matter of
+    public duty and a deep sense of my constitutional obligation "to
+    recommend to the consideration of Congress such measures as I deem
+    necessary and expedient," I submit the accompanying propositions, and
+    urge their adoption and submission to the judgment of the people.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  JOINT RESOLUTION proposing amendments to the Constitution of the
+  United States.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Whereas the fifth article of the Constitution of the United States
+  provides for amendments thereto in the manner following, viz:
+</p><p class="q">
+  "The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it
+  necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the
+  application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several States,
+  shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which in either case
+  shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of this Constitution
+  when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States
+  or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode
+  of ratification may be proposed by the Congress: <i>Provided</i>, That no
+  amendment which may be made prior to the year 1808 shall in any manner
+  affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first
+  article, and that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of
+  its equal suffrage in the Senate:"
+</p><p class="q">
+  Therefore,
+</p><p class="q">
+  <i>Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
+  States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of both Houses
+  concurring</i>), That the following amendments to the Constitution of the
+  United States be proposed to the legislatures of the several States,
+  which, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the States,
+  shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution:
+</p><p class="q">
+  "That hereafter the President and Vice-President of the United States
+  shall be chosen for the term of six years, by the people of the
+  respective States, in the manner following: Each State shall be divided
+  by the legislature thereof in districts, equal in number to the whole
+  number of Senators and Representatives to which such State may be
+  entitled in the Congress of the United States; the said districts to
+  be composed of contiguous territory, and to contain, as nearly as may
+  be, an equal number of persons entitled to be represented under the
+  Constitution, and to be laid off for the first time immediately after
+  the ratification of this amendment; that on the first Thursday in August
+  in the year 18&mdash;, and on the same day every sixth year thereafter, the
+  citizens of each State who possess the qualifications requisite for
+  electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures shall
+  meet within their respective districts and vote for a President and
+  Vice-President of the United States; and the person receiving the
+  greatest number of votes for President and the one receiving the
+  greatest number of votes for Vice-President in each district shall
+  be holden to have received one vote, which fact shall be immediately
+  certified by the governor of the State to each of the Senators in
+  Congress from such State and to the President of the Senate and the
+  Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Congress of the United
+  States shall be in session on the second Monday in October in the year
+  18&mdash;, and on the same day in every sixth year thereafter; and the
+  President of the Senate, in the presence of the Senate and House of
+  Representatives, shall open all the certificates, and the votes shall
+  then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes for
+  President shall be President, if such number be equal to a majority of
+  the whole number of votes given; but if no person have such majority,
+  then a second election shall be held on the first Thursday in the month
+  of December then next ensuing between the persons having the two highest
+  numbers for the office of President, which second election shall be
+  conducted, the result certified, and the votes counted in the same
+  manner as in the first, and the person having the greatest number of
+  votes for President shall be President. But if two or more persons shall
+  have received the greatest and an equal number of votes at the second
+  election, then the person who shall have received the greatest number of
+  votes in the greatest number of States shall be President. The person
+  having the greatest number of votes for Vice-President at the first
+  election shall be Vice-President, if such number be equal to a majority
+  of the whole number of votes given; and if no person have such majority,
+  then a second election shall take place between the persons having the
+  two highest numbers on the same day that the second election is held for
+  President, and the person having the highest number of the votes for
+  Vice-President shall be Vice-President. But if there should happen to
+  be an equality of votes between the persons so voted for at the second
+  election, then the person having the greatest number of votes in the
+  greatest number of States shall be Vice-President. But when a second
+  election shall be necessary in the case of Vice-President and not
+  necessary in the case of President, then the Senate shall choose a
+  Vice-President from the persons having the two highest numbers in the
+  first election, as now prescribed in the Constitution: <i>Provided</i>,
+  That after the ratification of this amendment to the Constitution the
+  President and Vice-President shall hold their offices, respectively, for
+  the term of six years, and that no President or Vice-President shall be
+  eligible for reelection to a second term."
+</p><p class="q">
+  Sec. 2. <i>And be it further resolved</i>, That Article II, section I,
+  paragraph 6, of the Constitution of the United States shall be amended
+  so as to read as follows:
+</p><p class="q">
+  "In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death,
+  resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of said
+  office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President; and in the case of
+  the removal, death, resignation, or inability both of the President and
+  Vice-President, the powers and duties of said office shall devolve on
+  the Secretary of State for the time being, and after this officer, in
+  case of vacancy in that or other Department, and in the order in which
+  they are named, on the Secretary of the Treasury, on the Secretary of
+  War, on the Secretary of the Navy, on the Secretary of the Interior, on
+  the Postmaster-General, and on the Attorney-General; and such officer,
+  on whom the powers and duties of President shall devolve in accordance
+  with the foregoing provisions, shall then act as President until the
+  disability shall be removed or a President shall be elected, as is or
+  may be provided for by law."
+</p><p class="q">
+  Sec. 3. <i>And be it further resolved</i>, That Article I, section 3, be
+  amended by striking out the word "legislature," and inserting in lieu
+  thereof the following words, viz: "Persons qualified to vote for members
+  of the most numerous branch of the legislature," so as to make the third
+  section of said article, when ratified by three-fourths of the States,
+  read as follows, to wit:
+</p><p class="q">
+  "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from
+  each State, chosen by the persons qualified to vote for the members of
+  the most numerous branch of the legislature thereof, for six years, and
+  each Senator shall have one vote."
+</p><p class="q">
+  Sec. 4. <i>And be it further resolved</i>, That Article III, section I, be
+  amended by striking out the words "good behavior," and inserting the
+  following words, viz: "the term of twelve years." And further, that said
+  article and section be amended by adding the following thereto, viz:
+  "And it shall be the duty of the President of the United States, within
+  twelve months after the ratification of this amendment by three-fourths
+  of all the States, as provided by the Constitution of the United States,
+  to divide the whole number of judges, as near as may be practicable,
+  into three classes. The seats of the judges of the first class shall be
+  vacated at the expiration of the fourth year from such classification,
+  of the second class at the expiration of the eighth year, and of the
+  third class at the expiration of the twelfth year, so that one-third may
+  be chosen every fourth year thereafter."
+</p><p class="q">
+  The article as amended will read as follows:
+</p><p class="q">
+  Article III.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Sec. I. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one
+  Supreme Court and such inferior courts as the Congress from time to time
+  may ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior
+  courts, shall hold their offices during the term of twelve years, and
+  shall at stated times receive for their services a compensation which
+  shall not be diminished during their continuance in office; and it shall
+  be the duty of the President of the United States, within twelve months
+  after the ratification of this amendment by three-fourths of all the
+  States, as provided by the Constitution of the United States, to divide
+  the whole number of judges, as near as may be practicable, into three
+  classes. The seats of the judges of the first class shall be vacated at
+  the expiration of the fourth year from such classification; of the
+  second class, at the expiration of the eighth year; and of the third
+  class, at the expiration of the twelfth year, so that one-third may be
+  chosen every fourth year thereafter.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>July 18, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the resolution adopted by the House of Representatives
+    on the 13th instant, requesting "copies of all instructions, records,
+    and correspondence connected with the commission authorized to negotiate
+    the late treaty with the Great and Little Osage Indians, and copies of
+    all propositions made to said commission from railroad corporations or
+    by individuals," I transmit the accompanying communications from the
+    Secretary of the Interior, together with the papers to which they have
+    reference.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 20, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in compliance with its resolution of the 9th
+    instant, a report from the Secretary of State, communicating a copy of
+    a paper received by me this day, purporting to be a resolution of the
+    senate and house of representatives of the State of Alabama ratifying
+    the proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States known
+    as Article XIV.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 24, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of the Navy, inclosing a
+    report of a board of naval officers appointed in pursuance of an act of
+    Congress approved May 19, 1868, to select suitable locations for powder
+    magazines.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 27, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their
+    resolution of the 24th instant, the accompanying report<a href="#note-69"><small>69</small></a> from the
+    Secretary of State.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    VETO MESSAGES.
+</h2>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>March 25, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have considered, with such care as the pressure of other duties has
+    permitted, a bill entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to
+    amend the judiciary act, passed the 24th of September, 1789.'" Not being
+    able to approve all of its provisions, I herewith return it to the
+    Senate, in which House it originated, with a brief statement of my
+    objections.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The first section of the bill meets my approbation, as, for the purpose
+    of protecting the rights of property from the erroneous decision of
+    inferior judicial tribunals, it provides means for obtaining uniformity,
+    by appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, in cases which have
+    now become very numerous and of much public interest, and in which such
+    remedy is not now allowed. The second section, however, takes away the
+    right of appeal to that court in cases which involve the life and
+    liberty of the citizen, and leaves them exposed to the judgment of
+    numerous inferior tribunals. It is apparent that the two sections were
+    conceived in a very different spirit, and I regret that my objections
+    to one impose upon me the necessity of withholding my sanction from the
+    other.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I can not give my assent to a measure which proposes to deprive
+    any person "restrained of his or her liberty in violation of the
+    Constitution or of any treaty or law of the United States" from
+    the right of appeal to the highest judicial authority known to our
+    Government. To "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our
+    posterity" is one of the declared objects of the Federal Constitution.
+    To assure these, guaranties are provided in the same instrument, as well
+    against "unreasonable searches and seizures" as against the suspensions
+    of "the privilege of the writ of <i>habeas corpus</i>, * * * unless when, in
+    cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it." It
+    was doubtless to afford the people the means of protecting and enforcing
+    these inestimable privileges that the jurisdiction which this bill
+    proposes to take away was conferred upon the Supreme Court of the
+    nation. The act conferring that jurisdiction was approved on the 5th day
+    of February, 1867, with a full knowledge of the motives that prompted its
+    passage, and because it was believed to be necessary and right. Nothing
+    has since occurred to disprove the wisdom and justness of the measures,
+    and to modify it as now proposed would be to lessen the protection of
+    the citizen from the exercise of arbitrary power and to weaken the
+    safeguards of life and liberty, which can never be made too secure
+    against illegal encroachments.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The bill not only prohibits the adjudication by the Supreme Court
+    of cases in which appeals may hereafter be taken, but interdicts its
+    jurisdiction on appeals which have already been made to that high
+    judicial body. If, therefore, it should become a law, it will by its
+    retroactive operation wrest from the citizen a remedy which he enjoyed
+    at the time of his appeal. It will thus operate most harshly upon those
+    who believe that justice has been denied them in the inferior courts.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The legislation proposed in the second section, it seems to me, is not
+    in harmony with the spirit and intention of the Constitution. It can
+    not fail to affect most injuriously the just equipoise of our system
+    of Government, for it establishes a precedent which, if followed, may
+    eventually sweep away every check on arbitrary and unconstitutional
+    legislation. Thus far during the existence of the Government the Supreme
+    Court of the United States has been viewed by the people as the true
+    expounder of their Constitution, and in the most violent party conflicts
+    its judgments and decrees have always been sought and deferred to with
+    confidence and respect. In public estimation it combines judicial wisdom
+    and impartiality in a greater degree than any other authority known to
+    the Constitution, and any act which may be construed into or mistaken
+    for an attempt to prevent or evade its decision on a question which
+    affects the liberty of the citizens and agitates the country can
+    not fail to be attended with unpropitious consequences. It will be
+    justly held by a large portion of the people as an admission of the
+    unconstitutionally of the act on which its judgment may be forbidden or
+    forestalled, and may interfere with that willing acquiescence in its
+    provisions which is necessary for the harmonious and efficient execution
+    of any law.
+</p>
+<p>
+    For these reasons, thus briefly and imperfectly stated, and for others,
+    of which want of time forbids the enumeration, I deem it my duty to
+    withhold my assent from this bill, and to return it for the
+    reconsideration of Congress.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>June 20, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I return without my signature a bill entitled "An act to admit the State
+    of Arkansas to representation in Congress."
+</p>
+<p>
+    The approval of this bill would be an admission on the part of the
+    Executive that the "Act for the more efficient government of the rebel
+    States," passed March 2, 1867, and the acts supplementary thereto were
+    proper and constitutional. My opinion, however, in reference to those
+    measures has undergone no change, but, on the contrary, has been
+    strengthened by the results which have attended their execution. Even
+    were this not the case, I could not consent to a bill which is based
+    upon the assumption either that by an act of rebellion of a portion
+    of its people the State of Arkansas seceded from the Union, or that
+    Congress may at its pleasure expel or exclude a State from the Union,
+    or interrupt its relations with the Government by arbitrarily depriving
+    it of representation in the Senate and House of Representatives. If
+    Arkansas is a State not in the Union, this bill does not admit it as
+    a State into the Union. If, on the other hand, Arkansas is a State
+    in the Union, no legislation is necessary to declare it entitled
+    "to representation in Congress as one of the States of the Union." The
+    Constitution already declares that "each State shall have at least one
+    Representative;" that the Senate "shall be composed of two Senators from
+    each State," and "that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived
+    of its equal suffrage in the Senate."
+</p>
+<p>
+    That instrument also makes each House "the judge of the elections,
+    returns, and qualifications of its own members," and therefore all that
+    is now necessary to restore Arkansas in all its constitutional relations
+    to the Government is a decision by each House upon the eligibility of
+    those who, presenting their credentials, claim seats in the respective
+    Houses of Congress. This is the plain and simple plan of the
+    Constitution; and believing that had it been pursued when Congress
+    assembled in the month of December, 1865, the restoration of the States
+    would long since have been completed, I once again earnestly recommend
+    that it be adopted by each House in preference to legislation, which I
+    respectfully submit is not only of at least doubtful constitutionality,
+    and therefore unwise and dangerous as a precedent, but is unnecessary,
+    not so effective in its operation as the mode prescribed by the
+    Constitution, involves additional delay, and from its terms may be taken
+    rather as applicable to a Territory about to be admitted as one of the
+    United States than to a State which has occupied a place in the Union
+    for upward of a quarter of a century.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The bill declares the State of Arkansas entitled and admitted to
+    representation in Congress as one of the States of the Union upon the
+    following fundamental condition:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  That the constitution of Arkansas shall never be so amended or changed
+  as to deprive any citizen or class of citizens of the United States of
+  the right to vote who are entitled to vote by the constitution herein
+  recognized, except as a punishment for such crimes as are now felonies
+  at common law, whereof they shall have been duly convicted under laws
+  equally applicable to all the inhabitants of said State: <i>Provided</i>,
+  That any alteration of said constitution, prospective in its effect,
+  may be made in regard to the time and place of residence of voters.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have been unable to find in the Constitution of the United States any
+    warrant for the exercise of the authority thus claimed by Congress.
+    In assuming the power to impose a "fundamental condition" upon a State
+    which has been duly "admitted into the Union upon an equal footing with
+    the original States in all respects whatever," Congress asserts a right
+    to enter a State as it may a Territory, and to regulate the highest
+    prerogative of a free people&mdash;the elective franchise. This question is
+    reserved by the Constitution to the States themselves, and to concede
+    to Congress the power to regulate the subject would be to reverse the
+    fundamental principle of the Republic and to place in the hands of the
+    Federal Government, which is the creature of the States, the sovereignty
+    which justly belongs to the States or the people&mdash;the true source of all
+    political power, by whom our Federal system was created and to whose
+    will it is subordinate.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The bill fails to provide in what manner the State of Arkansas is to
+    signify its acceptance of the "fundamental condition" which Congress
+    endeavors to make unalterable and irrevocable. Nor does it prescribe the
+    penalty to be imposed should the people of the State amend or change the
+    particular portions of the constitution which it is one of the purposes
+    of the bill to perpetuate, but as to the consequences of such action
+    leaves them in uncertainty and doubt. When the circumstances under which
+    this constitution has been brought to the attention of Congress are
+    considered, it is not unreasonable to suppose that efforts will be made
+    to modify its provisions, and especially those in respect to which this
+    measure prohibits any alteration. It is seriously questioned whether the
+    constitution has been ratified by a majority of the persons who, under
+    the act of March 2, 1867, and the acts supplementary thereto, were
+    entitled to registration and to vote upon that issue. Section 10 of
+    the schedule provides that&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  No person disqualified from voting or registering under this
+  constitution shall vote for candidates for any office, nor shall be
+  permitted to vote for the ratification or rejection of the constitution
+  at the polls herein authorized.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Assumed to be in force before its adoption, in disregard of the law of
+    Congress, the constitution undertakes to impose upon the elector other
+    and further conditions. The fifth section of the eighth article provides
+    that "all persons, before registering or voting," must take and
+    subscribe an oath which, among others, contains the following clause:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  That I accept the civil and political equality of all men, and agree
+  not to attempt to deprive any person or persons, on account of race,
+  color, or previous condition, of any political or civil right,
+  privilege, or immunity enjoyed by any other class of men.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is well known that a very large portion of the electors in all the
+    States, if not a large majority of all of them, do not believe in or
+    accept the political equality of Indians, Mongolians, or negroes with
+    the race to which they belong. If the voters in many of the States of
+    the North and West were required to take such an oath as a test of their
+    qualification, there is reason to believe that a majority of them would
+    remain from the polls rather than comply with its degrading conditions.
+    How far and to what extent this test oath prevented the registration of
+    those who were qualified under the laws of Congress it is not possible
+    to know, but that such was its effect, at least sufficient to overcome
+    the small and doubtful majority in favor of this constitution, there
+    can be no reasonable doubt. Should the people of Arkansas, therefore,
+    desiring to regulate the elective franchise so as to make it conform to
+    the constitutions of a large proportion of the States of the North and
+    West, modify the provisions referred to in the "fundamental condition,"
+    what is to be the consequence? Is it intended that a denial of
+    representation shall follow? And if so, may we not dread, at some future
+    day, a recurrence of the troubles which have so long agitated the
+    country? Would it not be the part of wisdom to take for our guide the
+    Federal Constitution, rather than resort to measures which, looking only
+    to the present, may in a few years renew, in an aggravated form, the
+    strife and bitterness caused by legislation which has proved to be
+    so ill timed and unfortunate?
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>June 25, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In returning to the House of Representatives, in which it originated,
+    a bill entitled "An act to admit the States of North Carolina, South
+    Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida to representation
+    in Congress," I do not deem it necessary to state at length the reasons
+    which constrain me to withhold my approval. I will not, therefore,
+    undertake at this time to reopen the discussion upon the grave
+    constitutional questions involved in the act of March 2, 1867, and
+    the acts supplementary thereto, in pursuance of which it is claimed,
+    in the preamble to this bill, these States have framed and adopted
+    constitutions of State government. Nor will I repeat the objections
+    contained in my message of the 20th instant, returning without my
+    signature the bill to admit to representation the State of Arkansas,
+    and which are equally applicable to the pending measure.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Like the act recently passed in reference to Arkansas, this bill
+    supersedes the plain and simple mode prescribed by the Constitution
+    for the admission to seats in the respective Houses of Senators and
+    Representatives from the several States. It assumes authority over six
+    States of the Union which has never been delegated to Congress, or is
+    even warranted by previous unconstitutional legislation upon the subject
+    of restoration. It imposes conditions which are in derogation of the
+    equal rights of the States, and is founded upon a theory which is
+    subversive of the fundamental principles of the Government. In the case
+    of Alabama it violates the plighted faith of Congress by forcing upon
+    that State a constitution which was rejected by the people, according to
+    the express terms of an act of Congress requiring that a majority of the
+    registered electors should vote upon the question of its ratification.
+</p>
+<p>
+    For these objections, and many others that might be presented, I can not
+    approve this bill, and therefore return it for the action of Congress
+    required in such cases by the Federal Constitution.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>July 20, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have given to the joint resolution entitled "A resolution excluding
+    from the electoral college the votes of States lately in rebellion which
+    shall not have been reorganized" as careful examination as I have been
+    able to bestow upon the subject during the few days that have intervened
+    since the measure was submitted for my approval.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Feeling constrained to withhold my consent, I herewith return the
+    resolution to the Senate, in which House it originated, with a brief
+    statement of the reasons which have induced my action. This joint
+    resolution is based upon the assumption that some of the States whose
+    inhabitants were lately in rebellion are not now entitled to
+    representation in Congress and participation in the election of
+    President and Vice-President of the United States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Having heretofore had occasion to give in detail my reasons for
+    dissenting from this view, it is not necessary at this time to repeat
+    them. It is sufficient to state that I continue strong in my conviction
+    that the acts of secession, by which a number of the States sought to
+    dissolve their connection with the other States and to subvert the
+    Union, being unauthorized by the Constitution and in direct violation
+    thereof, were from the beginning absolutely null and void. It follows
+    necessarily that when the rebellion terminated the several States which
+    had attempted to secede continued to be States in the Union, and all
+    that was required to enable them to resume their relations to the Union
+    was that they should adopt the measures necessary to their practical
+    restoration as States. Such measures were adopted, and the legitimate
+    result was that those States, having conformed to all the requirements
+    of the Constitution, resumed their former relations, and became entitled
+    to the exercise of all the rights guaranteed to them by its provisions.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The joint resolution under consideration, however, seems to assume that
+    by the insurrectionary acts of their respective inhabitants those States
+    forfeited their rights as such, and can never again exercise them except
+    upon readmission into the Union on the terms prescribed by Congress.
+    If this position be correct, it follows that they were taken out of the
+    Union by virtue of their acts of secession, and hence that the war waged
+    upon them was illegal and unconstitutional. We would thus be placed in
+    this inconsistent attitude, that while the war was commenced and carried
+    on upon the distinct ground that the Southern States, being component
+    parts of the Union, were in rebellion against the lawful authority of
+    the United States, upon its termination we resort to a policy of
+    reconstruction which assumes that it was not in fact a rebellion, but
+    that the war was waged for the conquest of territories assumed to be
+    outside of the constitutional Union.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The mode and manner of receiving and counting the electoral votes
+    for President and Vice-President of the United States are in plain
+    and simple terms prescribed by the Constitution. That instrument
+    imperatively requires that "the President of the Senate shall, in the
+    presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the
+    certificates, and the votes shall then be counted." Congress has,
+    therefore, no power, under the Constitution, to receive the electoral
+    votes or reject them. The whole power is exhausted when, in the presence
+    of the two Houses, the votes are counted and the result declared.
+    In this respect the power and duty of the President of the Senate are,
+    under the Constitution, purely ministerial. When, therefore, the joint
+    resolution declares that no electoral votes shall be received or counted
+    from States that since the 4th of March, 1867, have not "adopted a
+    constitution of State government under which a State government shall
+    have organized," a power is assumed which is nowhere delegated to
+    Congress, unless upon the assumption that the State governments
+    organized prior to the 4th of March, 1867, were illegal and void.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The joint resolution, by implication at least, concedes that these
+    States were States by virtue of their organization prior to the 4th of
+    March, 1867, but denies to them the right to vote in the election of
+    President and Vice-President of the United States. It follows either
+    that this assumption of power is wholly unauthorized by the Constitution
+    or that the States so excluded from voting were out of the Union by
+    reason of the rebellion, and have never been legitimately restored.
+    Being fully satisfied that they were never out of the Union, and that
+    their relations thereto have been legally and constitutionally restored,
+    I am forced to the conclusion that the joint resolution, which deprives
+    them of the right to have their votes for President and Vice-President
+    received and counted, is in conflict with the Constitution, and that
+    Congress has no more power to reject their votes than those of the
+    States which have been uniformly loyal to the Federal Union.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is worthy of remark that if the States whose inhabitants were
+    recently in rebellion were legally and constitutionally organized and
+    restored to their rights prior to the 4th of March, 1867, as I am
+    satisfied they were, the only legitimate authority under which the
+    election for President and Vice-President can be held therein must be
+    derived from the governments instituted before that period. It clearly
+    follows that all the State governments organized in those States under
+    act of Congress for that purpose, and under military control, are
+    illegitimate and of no validity whatever; and in that view the votes
+    cast in those States for President and Vice-President, in pursuance
+    of acts passed since the 4th of March, 1867, and in obedience to the
+    so-called reconstruction acts of Congress, can not be legally received
+    and counted, while the only votes in those States that can be legally
+    cast and counted will be those cast in pursuance of the laws in force in
+    the several States prior to the legislation by Congress upon the subject
+    of reconstruction.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I can not refrain from directing your special attention to the
+    declaration contained in the joint resolution, that "none of the
+    States whose inhabitants were lately in rebellion shall be entitled to
+    representation in the electoral college," etc. If it is meant by this
+    declaration that no State is to be allowed to vote for President and
+    Vice-President <i>all</i> of whose inhabitants were engaged in the late
+    rebellion, it is apparent that no one of the States will be excluded
+    from voting, since it is well known that in every Southern State there
+    were many inhabitants who not only did not participate in the rebellion,
+    but who actually took part in the suppression, or refrained from giving
+    it any aid or countenance. I therefore conclude that the true meaning of
+    the joint resolution is that no State a <i>portion</i> of whose inhabitants
+    were engaged in the rebellion shall be permitted to participate in the
+    Presidential election, except upon the terms and conditions therein
+    prescribed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Assuming this to be the true construction of the resolution, the
+    inquiry becomes pertinent, May those Northern States a portion of
+    whose inhabitants were actually in the rebellion be prevented, at the
+    discretion of Congress, from having their electoral votes counted? It is
+    well known that a portion of the inhabitants of New York and a portion
+    of the inhabitants of Virginia were alike engaged in the rebellion; yet
+    it is equally well known that Virginia, as well as New York, was at all
+    times during the war recognized by the Federal Government as a State
+    in the Union&mdash;so clearly that upon the termination of hostilities it
+    was not even deemed necessary for her restoration that a provisional
+    governor should be appointed; yet, according to this joint resolution,
+    the people of Virginia, unless they comply with the terms it prescribes,
+    are denied the right of voting for President, while the people of
+    New York, a portion of the inhabitants of which State were also in
+    rebellion, are permitted to have their electoral votes counted without
+    undergoing the process of reconstruction prescribed for Virginia. New
+    York is no more a State than Virginia; the one is as much entitled to
+    representation in the electoral college as the other. If Congress has
+    the power to deprive Virginia of this right, it can exercise the same
+    authority with respect to New York or any other of the States. Thus the
+    result of the Presidential election may be controlled and determined
+    by Congress, and the people be deprived of their right under the
+    Constitution to choose a President and Vice-President of the United
+    States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    If Congress were to provide by law that the votes of none of the States
+    should be received and counted if cast for a candidate who differed in
+    political sentiment with a majority of the two Houses, such legislation
+    would at once be condemned by the country as an unconstitutional and
+    revolutionary usurpation of power. It would, however, be exceedingly
+    difficult to find in the Constitution any more authority for the passage
+    of the joint resolution under consideration than for an enactment
+    looking directly to the rejection of all votes not in accordance with
+    the political preferences of a majority of Congress. No power exists
+    in the Constitution authorizing the joint resolution or the supposed
+    law&mdash;the only difference being that one would be more palpably
+    unconstitutional and revolutionary than the other. Both would rest upon
+    the radical error that Congress has the power to prescribe terms and
+    conditions to the right of the people of the States to cast their votes
+    for President and Vice-President.
+</p>
+<p>
+    For the reasons thus indicated I am constrained to return the joint
+    resolution to the Senate for such further action thereon as Congress
+    may deem necessary.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>July 25, 1868</i>
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Believing that a bill entitled "An act relating to the Freedmen's
+    Bureau, and providing for its discontinuance," interferes with the
+    appointing power conferred by the Constitution upon the Executive, and
+    for other reasons, which at this late period of the session time will
+    not permit me to state, I herewith return it to the Senate, in which
+    House it originated, without my approval.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    PROCLAMATIONS.
+</h2>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas in the month of July, A.D. 1861, in accepting the condition
+    of civil war which was brought about by insurrection and rebellion in
+    several of the States which constitute the United States, the two Houses
+    of Congress did solemnly declare that that war was not waged on the
+    part of the Government in any spirit of oppression, nor for any purpose
+    of conquest or subjugation, nor for any purpose of overthrowing or
+    interfering with the rights or established institutions of the States,
+    but only to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution of the
+    United States and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality,
+    and rights of the several States unimpaired, and that so soon as those
+    objects should be accomplished the war on the part of the Government
+    should cease; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President of the United States has heretofore, in the spirit
+    of that declaration and with the view of securing for it ultimate and
+    complete effect, set forth several proclamations offering amnesty and
+    pardon to persons who had been or were concerned in the aforenamed
+    rebellion, which proclamations, however, were attended with prudential
+    reservations and exceptions then deemed necessary and proper, and which
+    proclamations were respectively issued on the 8th day of December, 1863,
+    on the 26th day of March, 1864, on the 29th day of May, 1865, and on the
+    7th day of September, 1867; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the said lamentable civil war has long since altogether ceased,
+    with an acknowledgment by all the States of the supremacy of the Federal
+    Constitution and of the Government thereunder, and there no longer
+    exists any reasonable ground to apprehend a renewal of the said civil
+    war, or any foreign interference, or any unlawful resistance by any
+    portion of the people of any of the States to the Constitution and laws
+    of the United States; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas it is desirable to reduce the standing army and to bring to a
+    speedy termination military occupation, martial law, military tribunals,
+    abridgment of the freedom of speech and of the press, and suspension
+    of the privilege of <i>habeas corpus</i> and of the right of trial by jury,
+    such encroachments upon our free institutions in time of peace being
+    dangerous to public liberty, incompatible with the individual rights of
+    the citizen, contrary to the genius and spirit of our republican form
+    of government, and exhaustive of the national resources; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas it is believed that amnesty and pardon will tend to secure a
+    complete and universal establishment and prevalence of municipal law
+    and order in conformity with the Constitution of the United States,
+    and to remove all appearances or presumptions of a retaliatory or
+    vindictive policy on the part of the Government attended by unnecessary
+    disqualifications, pains, penalties, confiscations, and
+    disfranchisements, and, on the contrary, to promote and procure complete
+    fraternal reconciliation among the whole people, with due submission to
+    the Constitution and laws:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of
+    the United States, do, by virtue of the Constitution and in the
+    name of the people of the United States, hereby proclaim and declare,
+    unconditionally and without reservation, to all and to every person
+    who, directly or indirectly, participated in the late insurrection or
+    rebellion, excepting such person or persons as may be under presentment
+    or indictment in any court of the United States having competent
+    jurisdiction upon a charge of treason or other felony, a full pardon
+    and amnesty for the offense of treason against the United States or of
+    adhering to their enemies during the late civil war, with restoration of
+    all rights of property, except as to slaves, and except also as to any
+    property of which any person may have been legally divested under the
+    laws of the United States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+    caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, the 4th day of July, A.D. 1868, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas by an act of Congress entitled "An act to admit the States of
+    North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida
+    to representation in Congress," passed on the 25th day of June, 1868,
+    it is declared that it is made the duty of the President, within ten
+    days after receiving official information of the ratification by the
+    legislature of either of said States of a proposed amendment to the
+    Constitution known as article fourteen, to issue a proclamation
+    announcing that fact; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the said act seems to be prospective; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas a paper purporting to be a resolution of the legislature of
+    Florida adopting the amendment of the thirteenth and fourteenth articles
+    of the Constitution of the United States was received at the Department
+    of State on the 16th of June, 1868, prior to the passage of the act of
+    Congress referred to, which paper is attested by the names of Horatio
+    Jenkins, jr., as president <i>pro tempore</i> of the senate, and W.W. Moore
+    as speaker of the assembly, and of William L. Apthoop, as secretary of
+    the senate, and William Forsyth Bynum, as clerk of the assembly, and
+    which paper was transmitted to the Secretary of State in a letter dated
+    Executive Office, Tallahassee, Fla., June 10, 1868, from Harrison Reed,
+    who therein signs himself governor; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas on the 6th day of July, 1868, a paper was received by the
+    President, which paper, being addressed to the President, bears date of
+    the 4th day of July, 1868, and was transmitted by and under the name of
+    W.W. Holden, who therein writes himself governor of the State of North
+    Carolina, which paper certifies that the said proposed amendment, known
+    as article fourteen, did pass the senate and house of representatives of
+    the general assembly of North Carolina on the 2d day of July instant,
+    and is attested by the names of John H. Boner, or Bower, as secretary
+    of the house of representatives, and T.A. Byrnes, as secretary of the
+    senate; and its ratification on the 4th of July, 1868, is attested by
+    Tod R. Caldwell, as lieutenant-governor, president of the senate, and
+    Jo. W. Holden, as speaker house of representatives:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States of America, in compliance with and execution of the act of
+    Congress aforesaid, do issue this proclamation, announcing the fact of
+    the ratification of the said amendment by the legislature of the State
+    of North Carolina in the manner hereinbefore set forth.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+    caused the seal of the United States to be hereto affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 11th day of July, A.D. 1868, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas by an act of Congress entitled "An act to admit the States of
+    North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida
+    to representation in Congress," passed the 25th day of June, 1868,
+    it is declared that it is made the duty of the President, within ten
+    days after receiving official information of the ratification by the
+    legislature of either of said States of a proposed amendment to the
+    Constitution known as article fourteen, to issue a proclamation
+    announcing that fact; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas on the 18th day of July, 1868, a letter was received by the
+    President, which letter, being addressed to the President, bears date of
+    July 15, 1868, and was transmitted by and under the name of R.K. Scott,
+    who therein writes himself governor of South Carolina, in which letter
+    was inclosed and received at the same time by the President a paper
+    purporting to be a resolution of the senate and house of representatives
+    of the general assembly of the State of South Carolina ratifying the
+    said proposed amendment, and also purporting to have passed the two said
+    houses, respectively, on the 7th and 9th of July, 1868, and to have been
+    approved by the said R.K. Scott, as governor of said State, on the 15th
+    of July, 1868, which circumstances are attested by the signatures of
+    D.T. Corbin, as president <i>pro tempore</i> of the senate, and of F.J.
+    Moses, jr., as speaker of the house of representatives of said State,
+    and of the said R.K. Scott, as governor:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States of America, in compliance with and execution of the act of
+    Congress aforesaid, do issue this my proclamation, announcing the fact
+    of the ratification of the said amendment by the legislature of the
+    State of South Carolina in the manner hereinbefore set forth.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+    caused the seal of the United States to be hereto affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 18th day of July, A.D. 1868, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas by an act of Congress entitled "An act to admit the States of
+    North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida
+    to representation in Congress," passed on the 25th day of June, 1868,
+    it is declared that it is made the duty of the President, within ten
+    days after receiving official information of the ratification by the
+    legislature of either of said States of a proposed amendment to the
+    Constitution known as article fourteen, to issue a proclamation
+    announcing that fact; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas a paper was received at the Department of State on the 17th day
+    of July, 1868, which paper, bearing date of the 9th day of July, 1868,
+    purports to be a resolution of the senate and house of representatives
+    of the State of Louisiana in general assembly convened ratifying the
+    aforesaid amendment, and is attested by the signature of George E.
+    Bovee, as secretary of state, under a seal purporting to be the seal
+    of the State of Louisiana:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States of America, in compliance with and execution of the act of
+    Congress before mentioned, do issue this my proclamation, announcing the
+    fact of the ratification of the said amendment by the legislature of the
+    State of Louisiana in the manner hereinbefore set forth.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+    caused the seal of the United States to be hereto affixed,
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 18th day of July, A.D. 1868, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas by an act of Congress entitled "An act to admit the States of
+    North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida
+    to representation in Congress," passed the 25th day of June, 1868,
+    it is declared that it is made the duty of the President, within ten
+    days after receiving official information of the ratification by the
+    legislature of either of said States of a proposed amendment to the
+    Constitution known as article fourteen, to issue a proclamation
+    announcing that fact; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas a letter was received this day by the President, which letter,
+    being addressed to the President, bears date of July 16, 1868, and was
+    transmitted by and under the name of William H. Smith, who therein
+    writes himself governor of Alabama, in which letter was inclosed and
+    received at the same time by the President a paper purporting to be a
+    resolution of the senate and house of representatives of the general
+    assembly of the State of Alabama ratifying the said proposed amendment,
+    which paper is attested by the signature of Charles A. Miller, as
+    secretary of state, under a seal purporting to be the seal of the State
+    of Alabama, and bears the date of approval of July 13, 1868, by William
+    H. Smith, as governor of said State:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States of America, in compliance with and execution of the act of
+    Congress before mentioned, do issue this my proclamation, announcing the
+    fact of the ratification of the said amendment by the legislature of the
+    State of Alabama in the manner hereinbefore set forth.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+    caused the seal of the United States to be hereto affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 20th day of July, A.D. 1868, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas by an act of Congress entitled "An act to admit the States of
+    North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida
+    to representation in Congress," passed the 25th day of June, 1868,
+    it is declared that it is made the duty of the President, within ten
+    days after receiving official information of the ratification by the
+    legislature of either of said States of a proposed amendment to the
+    Constitution known as article fourteen, to issue a proclamation
+    announcing that fact; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas a paper was received at the Department of State this 27th day of
+    July, 1868, purporting to be a joint resolution of the senate and house
+    of representatives of the general assembly of the State of Georgia,
+    ratifying the said proposed amendment and also purporting to have passed
+    the two said houses, respectively, on the 21st of July, 1868, and to
+    have been approved by Rufus B. Bullock, who therein signs himself
+    governor of Georgia, which paper is also attested by the signatures of
+    Benjamin Conley, as president of the senate, and R.L. McWhorters, as
+    speaker of the house of representatives, and is further attested by the
+    signatures of A.E. Marshall, as secretary of the senate, and M.A.
+    Hardin, as clerk of the house of representatives:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States of America, in compliance with and execution of the act of
+    Congress before mentioned, do issue this my proclamation, announcing the
+    fact of the ratification of the said amendment by the legislature of the
+    State of Georgia in the manner hereinbefore set forth.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+    caused the seal of the United States to be hereto affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 27th day of July, A.D. 1868, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    In the year which is now drawing to its end the art, the skill, and the
+    labor of the people of the United States have been employed with greater
+    diligence and vigor and on broader fields than ever before, and the
+    fruits of the earth have been gathered into the granary and the
+    storehouse in marvelous abundance. Our highways have been lengthened,
+    and new and prolific regions have been occupied. We are permitted to
+    hope that long-protracted political and sectional dissensions are at no
+    distant day to give place to returning harmony and fraternal affection
+    throughout the Republic. Many foreign states have entered into liberal
+    agreements with us, while nations which are far off and which heretofore
+    have been unsocial and exclusive have become our friends.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The annual period of rest, which we have reached in health and
+    tranquillity, and which is crowned with so many blessings, is by
+    universal consent a convenient and suitable one for cultivating personal
+    piety and practicing public devotion.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I therefore recommend that Thursday, the 26th day of November next, be
+    set apart and observed by all the people of the United States as a day
+    for public praise, thanksgiving, and prayer to the Almighty Creator and
+    Divine Ruler of the Universe, by whose ever-watchful, merciful, and
+    gracious providence alone states and nations, no less than families and
+    individual men, do live and move and have their being.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
+    the United States to be affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 12th day of October, A.D. 1868,
+    and of the Independence of the United States the ninety-third.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
+</h2>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
+</h3>
+<center>
+    EXECUTIVE ORDER.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 17, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is desired and advised that all communications in writing intended
+    for the executive department of this Government and relating to public
+    business of whatever kind, including suggestions for legislation,
+    claims, contracts, employment, appointments, and removals from office,
+    and pardons, be transmitted directly in the first instance to the head
+    of the Department to which the care of the subject-matter of the
+    communication properly belongs. This regulation has become necessary
+    for the more convenient, punctual, and regular dispatch of the public
+    business.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By order of the President:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+<br>
+    <i>Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    GENERAL ORDERS, No. 104.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+<br>
+    ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, December 28, 1867</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By direction of the President of the United States, the following orders
+    are made:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I. Brevet Major-General E.O.C. Ord will turn over the command of the
+    Fourth Military District to Brevet Major-General A.C. Gillem, and
+    proceed to San Francisco, Cal., to take command of the Department of
+    California.
+</p>
+<p>
+    II. On being relieved by Brevet Major-General Ord, Brevet Major-General
+    Irvin McDowell will proceed to Vicksburg, Miss., and relieve General
+    Gillem in command of the Fourth Military District.
+</p>
+<p>
+    III. Brevet Major-General John Pope is hereby relieved of the command
+    of the Third Military District, and will report without delay at the
+    Headquarters of the Army for further orders, turning over his command
+    to the next senior officer until the arrival of his successor.
+</p>
+<p>
+    IV. Major-General George G. Meade is assigned to the command of
+    the Third Military District, and will assume it without delay. The
+    Department of the East will be commanded by the senior officer now
+    on duty in it until a commander is named by the President.
+</p>
+<p>
+    V. The officers assigned in the foregoing orders to command of military
+    districts will exercise therein any and all powers conferred by acts of
+    Congress upon district commanders, and also any and all powers
+    pertaining to military-department commanders.
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p>
+    By command of General Grant:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    GENERAL ORDERS, No. 10.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+<br>
+    ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, February 12, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The following orders are published for the information and guidance of
+    all concerned:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., February 12, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    General U.S. GRANT,
+<br>
+    <i>Commanding Armies of the United States, Washington, D.C.</i>
+</p>
+<p>
+    GENERAL: You will please issue an order creating a military division, to
+    be called the Military Division of the Atlantic, to be composed of the
+    Department of the Lakes, the Department of the East, and the Department
+    of Washington, and to be commanded by Lieutenant-General William T.
+    Sherman, with his headquarters at Washington.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Until further orders from the President, you will assign no officer to
+    the permanent command of the Military Division of the Missouri.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Respectfully, yours,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>
+    Major-General P.H. Sheridan, the senior officer in the Military Division
+    of the Missouri, will temporarily perform the duties of commander of the
+    Military Division of the Missouri, in addition to his duties of department
+    commander.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By command of General Grant:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C.</i>
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by
+    the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby removed
+    from office as Secretary for the Department of War, and your functions
+    as such will terminate upon the receipt of this communication.
+</p>
+<p>
+    You will transfer to Brevet Major-General Lorenzo Thomas,
+    Adjutant-General of the Army, who has this day been authorized and
+    empowered to act as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, all records, books,
+    papers, and other public property now in your custody and charge.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Respectfully, yours,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Brevet Major-General LORENZO THOMAS,
+<br>
+    <i>Adjutant-General United States Army, Washington, D.C.</i>
+</p>
+<p>
+    SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day removed from office
+    as Secretary for the Department of War, you are hereby authorized and
+    empowered to act as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, and will immediately
+    enter upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all the records,
+    books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and charge.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Respectfully, yours,
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    GENERAL ORDERS, No. 17.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+<br>
+    ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, March 28, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By direction of the President of the United States, Major-General W.S.
+    Hancock is relieved from command of the Fifth Military District and
+    assigned to command of the Military Division of the Atlantic, created
+    by General Orders, No. 10, of February 12, 1868.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By command of General Grant:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., May 28, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The chairman of the committee of arrangements having requested that
+    an opportunity may be given to those employed in the several Executive
+    Departments of the Government to unite with their fellow-citizens in
+    paying a fitting tribute to the memory of the brave men whose remains
+    repose in the national cemeteries, the President directs that as far as
+    may be consistent with law and the public interests persons who desire
+    to participate in the ceremonies be permitted to absent themselves from
+    their duties on Saturday, the 30th instant.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By order of the President:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WM. G. MOORE,
+<br>
+    <i>Secretary</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION,<br>
+    <i>Washington, D.C., June 1, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Major-General John M. Schofield having been appointed, by and with the
+    advice and consent of the Senate, Secretary for the Department of War,
+    is hereby relieved from the command of the First Military District,
+    created by the act of Congress passed March 2, 1867.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Brevet Major-General George Stoneman is hereby assigned, according
+    to his brevet rank of major-general, to the command of the said First
+    District and of the Military Department of Virginia.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Secretary of War will please give the necessary instructions to
+    carry this order into effect.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    GENERAL ORDERS, No. 25.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+<br>
+    ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, June 1, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I. The following order of the President has been received from the War
+    Department:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>June 2, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The President with deep regret announces to the people of the United
+    States the decease, at Wheatland, Pa., on the 1st instant, of his
+    honored predecessor James Buchanan.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This event will occasion mourning in the nation for the loss of an
+    eminent citizen and honored public servant.
+</p>
+<p>
+    As a mark of respect for his memory, it is ordered that the Executive
+    Departments be immediately placed in mourning and all business be
+    suspended on the day of the funeral.
+</p>
+<p>
+    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.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>
+    II. In compliance with the instructions of the President and of the
+    Secretary of War, on the day after the receipt of this order at each
+    military post the troops will be paraded at 10 o'clock a.m. and the
+    order read to them, after which all labors, for the day will cease.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The national flag will be displayed at half-staff.
+</p>
+<p>
+    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-seven guns.
+</p>
+<p>
+    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.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By command of General Grant:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<a name="2H_4_0029"><!-- H2 anchor --></a>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    SPECIAL ORDER.
+</h2>
+<p class="r">
+    NAVY DEPARTMENT,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, June 3, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The death of ex-President James Buchanan is announced in the following
+    order of the President of the United States:
+</p>
+<center>
+    [For order see preceding page.]
+</center>
+<p>
+    In pursuance of the foregoing order, it is hereby directed that thirty
+    minute guns be fired at each of the navy-yards and naval stations on
+    Thursday, the 4th instant, the day designated for the funeral of the
+    late ex-President Buchanan, commencing at noon, and on board the
+    flagships in each squadron upon the day after the receipt of this order.
+    The flags at the several navy-yards, naval stations, and marine barracks
+    will be placed at half-mast until after the funeral, and on board all
+    naval vessels in commission upon the day after this order is received.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    GIDEON WELLES,
+<br>
+    <i>Secretary of the Navy</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    GENERAL ORDERS, No. 33.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+<br>
+    ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, June 30, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By direction of the President of the United States, the following orders
+    are made:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I. Brevet Major-General Irvin McDowell is relieved from the command of
+    the Fourth Military District, and will report in person, without delay,
+    at the War Department.
+</p>
+<p>
+    II. Brevet Major-General Alvan C. Gillem is assigned to the command of
+    the Fourth Military District, and will assume it without delay.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By command of General Grant:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    GENERAL ORDERS, No 44.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+<br>
+    ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, July 13, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By direction of the President, Brigadier and Brevet Major-General Irvin
+    McDowell is assigned to the command of the Department of the East.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The headquarters of the department will be transferred from Philadelphia
+    to New York City.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By command of General Grant:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    GENERAL ORDERS, No. 55.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+<br>
+    ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+<br>
+    <i>Washington, July 28, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The following orders from the War Department, which have been approved
+    by the President, are published for the information and government of
+    the Army and of all concerned:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The commanding generals of the Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Military
+    Districts having officially reported that the States of Arkansas, North
+    Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida have
+    fully complied with the acts of Congress known as the reconstruction
+    acts, including the act passed June 22, 1868, entitled "An act to admit
+    the State of Arkansas to representation in Congress," and the act passed
+    June 25, 1868, entitled "An act to admit the States of North Carolina,
+    South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida to
+    representation in Congress," and that, consequently, so much of the act
+    of March 2, 1867, and the acts supplementary thereto as provides for the
+    organization of military districts, subject to the military authority of
+    the United States, as therein provided, has become inoperative in said
+    States, and that the commanding generals have ceased to exercise in said
+    States the military powers conferred by said acts of Congress: Therefore
+    the following changes will be made in the organization and command of
+    military districts and geographical departments:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I. The Second and Third Military Districts having ceased to exist, the
+    States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida
+    will constitute the Department of the South, Major-General George G.
+    Meade to command. Headquarters at Atlanta, Ga.
+</p>
+<p>
+    II. The Fourth Military District will now consist only of the State of
+    Mississippi, and will continue to be commanded by Brevet Major-General
+    A.C. Gillem.
+</p>
+<p>
+    III. The Fifth Military District will now consist of the State of Texas,
+    and will be commanded by Brevet Major-General J.J. Reynolds.
+    Headquarters at Austin, Tex.
+</p>
+<p>
+    IV. The States of Louisiana and Arkansas will constitute the Department
+    of Louisiana, Brevet Major-General L.H. Rousseau is assigned to the
+    command. Headquarters at New Orleans, La. Until the arrival of General
+    Rousseau at New Orleans, Brevet Major-General Buchanan will command the
+    Department.
+</p>
+<p>
+    V. Brevet Major-General George Crook is assigned, according to his
+    brevet of major-general, to command the Department of the Columbia,
+    in place of Rousseau, relieved.
+</p>
+<p>
+    VI. Brevet Major-General E.R.S. Canby is reassigned to command the
+    Department of Washington.
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p>
+    By command of General Grant:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>
+    Under and in pursuance of the authority vested in the President of the
+    United States by the provisions of the second section of the act of
+    Congress approved on the 27th day of July, 1868, entitled "An act to
+    extend the laws of the United States relating to customs, commerce, and
+    navigation over the territory ceded to the United States by Russia, to
+    establish a collection district therein, and for other purposes," the
+    port of Sitka, in said Territory, is hereby constituted and established
+    as the port of entry for the collection district of Alaska provided for
+    by said act; and under and in pursuance of the authority vested in him
+    by the fourth section of said act the importation and use of firearms,
+    ammunition, and distilled spirits into and within the said Territory,
+    or any portion thereof, except as hereinafter provided, is entirely
+    prohibited, under the pains and penalties specified in said last-named
+    section; <i>Provided, however</i>, That under such regulations as the
+    Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe, in accordance with law, such
+    articles may, in limited quantities, be shipped coastwise from United
+    States ports on the Pacific coast to said port of Sitka, and to that
+    port only in said Territory, on the shipper giving bonds to the
+    collector of customs at the port of shipment, conditioned that such
+    articles will on their arrival at Sitka be delivered to the collector of
+    customs, or the person there acting as such, to remain in his possession
+    and under his control until sold or disposed of to such persons as
+    the military or other chief authority in said Territory may specially
+    designate in permits for that purpose signed by himself or a subordinate
+    duly authorized by him.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, this 22d day of August, A.D. 1868,
+    and of the Independence of the United States the ninety-third.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON,<br>
+    <i>President</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    SPECIAL ORDERS, ORDERS, No. 219.
+</center>
+<p class="r">
+    HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,<br>
+    ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, September 12, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p>
+    18. By direction of the President, Brevet Major-General L.H. Rousseau,
+    brigadier-general, commanding Department of Louisiana, is hereby
+    assigned to duty according to his brevet rank of major-general. This
+    order to take effect when General Rousseau assumes command.
+</p>
+<p>
+    19. By direction of the President, paragraph 12 of Special Orders, No.
+    70, May 23, 1868, from this office, assigning Brevet Major-General R.C.
+    Buchanan, colonel First United States Infantry, to duty according to
+    his brevet rank of major-general, is hereby revoked, and he is hereby
+    assigned to duty according to his brevet rank of brigadier-general,
+    in order that he may command the District of Louisiana. This order to
+    take effect when General Rousseau assumes command of the Department of
+    Louisiana.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By command of General Grant:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    J.C. KELTON,
+<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>
+    GENERAL ORDERS, No. 82.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,<br>
+    ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,<br>
+    <i>Washington, October 10, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The following order has been received from the President, and by his
+    direction is published to the Army:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The following provisions from the Constitution and laws of the United
+    States in relation to the election of a President and Vice-President
+    of the United States, together with an act of Congress prohibiting all
+    persons engaged in the military and naval service from interfering in
+    any general or special election in any State, are published for the
+    information and government of all concerned:
+</p>
+<center>
+    [Extract from Article II, section 1, Constitution of the United States.]
+</center>
+<p class="q">
+  The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States
+  of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years,
+  and, together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be
+  elected as follows:
+</p><p class="q">
+  Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may
+  direct, a number of electors equal to the whole number of Senators and
+  Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress; but
+  no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or
+  profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector.
+</p>
+<center>
+    [Extract from Article XII, amendment to the Constitution of the United
+    States.]
+</center>
+<p class="q">
+  The electors shall meet in their respective States and vote by ballot
+  for President and Vice-President, one of whom at least shall not be an
+  inhabitant of the same State with themselves. They shall name in their
+  ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the
+  person voted for as Vice-President; and they shall make distinct lists
+  of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as
+  Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they
+  shall sign and certify and transmit sealed to the seat of the Government
+  of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The
+  President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House
+  of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then
+  be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes for President
+  shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number
+  of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from
+  the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three, on the list
+  of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall
+  choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the
+  President the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from
+  each State having one vote. A quorum for this purpose shall consist of
+  a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of
+  all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of
+  Representatives shall not choose a President, whenever the right of
+  choice shall devolve upon them, before the 4th day of March next
+  following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the
+  case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.
+</p>
+<center>
+    [Extract from "An act relative to the election of a President and
+    Vice-President of the United States, and declaring the officer who shall
+    act as President in case of vacancies in the offices both of President
+    and Vice-President," approved March 1, 1792.]
+</center>
+<p class="q">
+  Sec. 1. <i>Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
+  of the United States of America in Congress assembled</i>, That * * *
+  electors shall be appointed in each State for the election of a
+  President and Vice-President of the United States * * * in every
+  fourth year succeeding the last election, which electors shall be
+  equal to the number of Senators and Representatives to which the
+  several States may by law be entitled at the time when the President
+  and Vice-President thus to be chosen should come into office:
+  <i>Provided always</i>, That where no apportionment of Representatives
+  shall have been made after any enumeration at the time of choosing
+  electors, then the number of electors shall be according to the
+  existing apportionment of Senators and Representatives.
+</p>
+<center>
+    ["An act to establish a uniform time for holding elections for electors
+    of President and Vice-President in all the States of the Union,"
+    approved January 23, 1845.]
+</center>
+<p class="q">
+  <i>Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
+  States of America in Congress assembled</i>, That the electors of President
+  and Vice-President shall be appointed in each State on the Tuesday next
+  after the first Monday in the month of November of the year in which
+  they are to be appointed: <i>Provided</i>, That each State may by law provide
+  for the filling of any vacancy or vacancies which may occur in its
+  college of electors when such college meets to give its electoral vote:
+  <i>And provided also</i>, When any State shall have held an election for the
+  purpose of choosing electors, and shall fail to make a choice on the day
+  aforesaid, then the electors may be appointed on a subsequent day in
+  such manner as the State shall by law provide.
+</p>
+<center>
+    [Extracts from "An act relative to the election of a President and
+    Vice-President of the United States, and declaring the officer who shall
+    act as President in case of vacancies in the offices both of President
+    and Vice-President," approved March 1, 1792.]
+</center>
+<p class="q">
+  Sec. 2. <i>And be it further enacted</i>, That the electors shall meet and
+  give their votes on the said first Wednesday in December, at such place
+  in each State as shall be directed by the legislature thereof; and the
+  electors in each State shall make and sign three certificates of all the
+  votes by them given, and shall seal up the same, certifying on each that
+  a list of the votes of such State for President and Vice-President is
+  contained therein, and shall, by writing under their hands or under the
+  hands of a majority of them, appoint a person to take charge of and
+  deliver to the President of the Senate, at the seat of Government,
+  before the first Wednesday in January then next ensuing, one of the said
+  certificates; and the said electors shall forthwith forward by the
+  post-office to the President of the Senate, at the seat of Government,
+  one other of the said certificates, and shall forthwith cause the other
+  of the said certificates to be delivered to the judge of that district
+  in which the said electors shall assemble.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Sec. 3. <i>And be it further enacted</i>, That the executive authority of
+  each State shall cause three lists of the names of the electors of such
+  State to be made and certified, and to be delivered to the electors on
+  or before the said first Wednesday in December, and the said electors
+  shall annex one of the said lists to each of the lists of their votes.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Sec. 4. <i>And be it further enacted</i>, That if a list of votes from any
+  State shall not have been received at the seat of Government on the said
+  first Wednesday in January, that then the Secretary of State shall send
+  a special messenger to the district judge in whose custody such list
+  shall have been lodged, who shall forthwith transmit the same to the
+  seat of Government.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Sec. 5. <i>And be it further enacted</i>, That Congress shall be in session
+  on the second Wednesday in February, 1793, and on the second Wednesday
+  in February succeeding every meeting of the electors, and the said
+  certificates, or so many of them as shall have been received, shall then
+  be opened, the votes counted, and the persons who shall fill the offices
+  of President and Vice-President ascertained and declared agreeably to
+  the Constitution.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Sec. 6. <i>And be it further enacted</i>, That in case there shall be no
+  President of the Senate at the seat of Government on the arrival of the
+  persons intrusted with the list of the votes of the electors, then such
+  persons shall deliver the lists of votes in their custody into the
+  office of the Secretary of State, to be safely kept and delivered over
+  as soon as may be to the President of the Senate.
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p class="q">
+  Sec. 8. <i>And be it further enacted</i>, That if any person appointed to
+  deliver the votes of the electors to the President of the Senate shall,
+  after accepting of his appointment, neglect to perform the services
+  required of him by this act, he shall forfeit the sum of $1,000.
+</p>
+<center>
+    [Extract from "An act making compensation to the persons appointed by
+    the electors to deliver the votes for President and Vice-President,"
+    approved February 11, 1825.]
+</center>
+<p class="q">
+  <i>Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
+  States of America in Congress assembled</i>, That the person appointed by
+  the electors to deliver to the President of the Senate a list of the
+  votes for President and Vice-President shall be allowed, on delivery of
+  said list, 25 cents for every mile of the estimated distance by the most
+  usual route from the place of meeting of the electors to the seat of
+  Government of the United States, going and returning.
+</p>
+<center>
+    [Extract from "An act relative to the election of a President and
+    Vice-President of the United States, and declaring the officer who shall
+    act as President in case of vacancies in the offices both of President
+    and Vice-President," approved March 1, 1792.]
+</center>
+<p class="q">
+  Sec. 12. <i>And be it further enacted</i>, That the term of four years for
+  which a President and Vice-President shall be elected shall in all cases
+  commence on the 4th day of March next succeeding the day on which the
+  votes of the electors shall have been given.
+</p>
+<center>
+    ["An act to prevent officers of the Army and Navy, and other persons
+    engaged in the military and naval service of the United States, from
+    interfering in elections in the States," approved February 25, 1865.]
+</center>
+<p class="q">
+  <i>Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
+  States of America in Congress assembled</i>, That it shall not be lawful
+  for any military or naval officer of the United States, or other person
+  engaged in the civil, military, or naval service of the United States,
+  to order, bring, keep, or have under his authority or control any troops
+  or armed men at the place where any general or special election is
+  held in any State of the United States of America, unless it shall be
+  necessary to repel the armed enemies of the United States or to keep the
+  peace at the polls. And that it shall not be lawful for any officer of
+  the Army or Navy of the United States to prescribe or fix, or attempt
+  to prescribe or fix, by proclamation, order, or otherwise, the
+  qualifications of voters in any State of the United States of America,
+  or in any manner to interfere with the freedom of any election in any
+  State or with the exercise of the free right of suffrage in any State of
+  the United States. Any officer of the Army or Navy of the United States,
+  or other person engaged in the civil, military, or naval service of the
+  United States, who violates this section of this act shall for every
+  such offense be liable to indictment as for a misdemeanor in any court
+  of the United States having jurisdiction to hear, try, and determine
+  cases of misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall pay a fine not
+  exceeding $5,000 and suffer imprisonment in the penitentiary not less
+  than three months nor more than five years, at the discretion of the
+  court trying the same; and any person convicted as aforesaid shall,
+  moreover, be disqualified from holding any office of honor, profit,
+  or trust under the Government of the United States: <i>Provided</i>, That
+  nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent any
+  officers, soldiers, sailors, or marines from exercising the right of
+  suffrage in any election district to which he may belong, if otherwise
+  qualified according to the laws of the State in which he shall offer
+  to vote.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Sec. 2. <i>And be it further enacted</i>, That any officer or person in
+  the military or naval service of the United States who shall order or
+  advise, or who shall, directly or indirectly, by force, threat, menace,
+  intimidation, or otherwise, prevent or attempt to prevent any qualified
+  voter of any State of the United States of America from freely
+  exercising the right of suffrage at any general or special election
+  in any State of the United States, or who shall in like manner compel
+  or attempt to compel any officer of an election in any such State to
+  receive a vote from a person not legally qualified to vote, or who shall
+  impose or attempt to impose any rules or regulations for conducting such
+  election different from those prescribed by law, or interfere in any
+  manner with any officer of said election in the discharge of his duties,
+  shall for any such offense be liable to indictment as for a misdemeanor
+  in any court of the United States having jurisdiction to hear, try, and
+  determine cases of misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall pay a
+  fine of not exceeding $5,000 and suffer imprisonment in the penitentiary
+  not exceeding five years, at the discretion of the court trying the
+  same; and any person convicted as aforesaid shall, moreover, be
+  disqualified from holding any office of honor, profit, or trust under
+  the Government of the United States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By command of General Grant:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    E.D. TOWNSEND,<br>
+    <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WAR DEPARTMENT,<br>
+    <i>Washington City, November 4, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By direction of the President, Brevet Major-General E.R.S. Canby is
+    hereby assigned to the command of the Fifth Military District, created
+    by the act of Congress of March 2, 1867, and of the Military Department
+    of Texas, consisting of the State of Texas. He will, without unnecessary
+    delay, turn over his present command to the next officer in rank and
+    proceed to the command to which he is hereby assigned, and on assuming
+    the same will, when necessary to a faithful execution of the laws,
+    exercise any and all powers conferred by acts of Congress upon district
+    commanders and any and all authority pertaining to officers in command
+    of military departments.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Brevet Major-General J.J. Reynolds is hereby relieved from the command
+    of the Fifth Military District.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    J.M. SCHOFIELD,
+<br>
+    <i>Secretary of War</i>.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    FOURTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.
+</h2>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 9, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Upon the reassembling of Congress it again becomes my duty to call your
+    attention to the state of the Union and to its continued disorganized
+    condition under the various laws which have been passed upon the subject
+    of reconstruction.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It may be safely assumed as an axiom in the government of states that
+    the greatest wrongs inflicted upon a people are caused by unjust and
+    arbitrary legislation, or by the unrelenting decrees of despotic rulers,
+    and that the timely revocation of injurious and oppressive measures is
+    the greatest good that can be conferred upon a nation. The legislator or
+    ruler who has the wisdom and magnanimity to retrace his steps when
+    convinced of error will sooner or later be rewarded with the respect and
+    gratitude of an intelligent and patriotic people.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Our own history, although embracing a period less than a century,
+    affords abundant proof that most, if not all, of our domestic troubles
+    are directly traceable to violations of the organic law and excessive
+    legislation. The most striking illustrations of this fact are furnished
+    by the enactments of the past three years upon the question of
+    reconstruction. After a fair trial they have substantially failed and
+    proved pernicious in their results, and there seems to be no good reason
+    why they should longer remain upon the statute book. States to which the
+    Constitution guarantees a republican form of government have been
+    reduced to military dependencies, in each of which the people have been
+    made subject to the arbitrary will of the commanding general. Although
+    the Constitution requires that each State shall be represented in
+    Congress, Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas are yet excluded from the
+    two Houses, and, contrary to the express provisions of that instrument,
+    were denied participation in the recent election for a President and
+    Vice-President of the United States. The attempt to place the white
+    population under the domination of persons of color in the South has
+    impaired, if not destroyed, the kindly relations that had previously
+    existed between them; and mutual distrust has engendered a feeling of
+    animosity which, leading in some instances to collision and bloodshed,
+    has prevented that cooperation between the two races so essential to the
+    success of industrial enterprise in the Southern States. Nor have the
+    inhabitants of those States alone suffered from the disturbed condition
+    of affairs growing out of these Congressional enactments. The entire
+    Union has been agitated by grave apprehensions of troubles which might
+    again involve the peace of the nation; its interests have been
+    injuriously affected by the derangement of business and labor, and the
+    consequent want of prosperity throughout that portion of the country.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Federal Constitution&mdash;the <i>magna charta</i> of American rights, under
+    whose wise and salutary provisions we have successfully conducted all
+    our domestic and foreign affairs, sustained ourselves in peace and in
+    war, and become a great nation among the powers of the earth&mdash;must
+    assuredly be now adequate to the settlement of questions growing out of
+    the civil war, waged alone for its vindication. This great fact is made
+    most manifest by the condition of the country when Congress assembled in
+    the month of December, 1865. Civil strife had ceased, the spirit of
+    rebellion had spent its entire force, in the Southern States the people
+    had warmed into national life, and throughout the whole country a
+    healthy reaction in public sentiment had taken place. By the application
+    of the simple yet effective provisions of the Constitution the executive
+    department, with the voluntary aid of the States, had brought the work
+    of restoration as near completion as was within the scope of its
+    authority, and the nation was encouraged by the prospect of an early
+    and satisfactory adjustment of all its difficulties. Congress, however,
+    intervened, and, refusing to perfect the work so nearly consummated,
+    declined to admit members from the unrepresented States, adopted
+    a series of measures which arrested the progress of restoration,
+    frustrated all that had been so successfully accomplished, and, after
+    three years of agitation and strife, has left the country further from
+    the attainment of union and fraternal feeling than at the inception of
+    the Congressional plan of reconstruction. It needs no argument to show
+    that legislation which has produced such baneful consequences should
+    be abrogated, or else made to conform to the genuine principles of
+    republican government.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Under the influence of party passion and sectional prejudice, other acts
+    have been passed not warranted by the Constitution. Congress has already
+    been made familiar with my views respecting the "tenure-of-office bill."
+    Experience has proved that its repeal is demanded by the best interests
+    of the country, and that while it remains in force the President can not
+    enjoin that rigid accountability of public officers so essential to an
+    honest and efficient execution of the laws. Its revocation would enable
+    the executive department to exercise the power of appointment and
+    removal in accordance with the original design of the Federal
+    Constitution.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The act of March 2, 1867, making appropriations for the support of the
+    Army for the year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes, contains
+    provisions which interfere with the President's constitutional functions
+    as Commander in Chief of the Army and deny to States of the Union
+    the right to protect themselves by means of their own militia. These
+    provisions should be at once annulled; for while the first might, in
+    times of great emergency, seriously embarrass the Executive in efforts
+    to employ and direct the common strength of the nation for its
+    protection and preservation, the other is contrary to the express
+    declaration of the Constitution that "a well-regulated militia being
+    necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to
+    keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is believed that the repeal of all such laws would be accepted by
+    the American people as at least a partial return to the fundamental
+    principles of the Government, and an indication that hereafter the
+    Constitution is to be made the nation's safe and unerring guide. They
+    can be productive of no permanent benefit to the country, and should not
+    be permitted to stand as so many monuments of the deficient wisdom which
+    has characterized our recent legislation.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The condition of our finances demands the early and earnest
+    consideration of Congress. Compared with the growth of our population,
+    the public expenditures have reached an amount unprecedented in our
+    history.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The population of the United States in 1790 was nearly 4,000,000 people.
+    Increasing each decade about 33 per cent, it reached in 1860 31,000,000,
+    an increase of 700 per cent on the population in 1790. In 1869 it is
+    estimated that it will reach 38,000,000, or an increase of 868 per cent
+    in seventy-nine years.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The annual expenditures of the Federal Government in 1791 were
+    $4,200,000; in 1820, $13,200,000; in 1850, forty-one millions; in 1860,
+    sixty-three millions; in 1865, nearly thirteen hundred millions; and
+    in 1869 it is estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury, in his last
+    annual report, that they will be three hundred and seventy-two millions.
+</p>
+<p>
+    By comparing the public disbursements of 1869, as estimated, with those
+    of 1791, it will be seen that the increase of expenditure since the
+    beginning of the Government has been 8,618 per cent, while the increase
+    of the population for the same period was only 868 per cent. Again,
+    the expenses of the Government in 1860, the year of peace immediately
+    preceding the war, were only sixty-three millions, while in 1869, the
+    year of peace three years after the war, it is estimated they will be
+    three hundred and seventy-two millions, an increase of 489 per cent,
+    while the increase of population was only 21 per cent for the same
+    period.
+</p>
+<p>
+    These statistics further show that in 1791 the annual national expenses,
+    compared with the population, were little more than $1 per capita, and
+    in 1860 but $2 per capita; while in 1869 they will reach the extravagant
+    sum of $9.78 per capita.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It will be observed that all these statements refer to and exhibit the
+    disbursements of peace periods. It may, therefore, be of interest to
+    compare the expenditures of the three war periods&mdash;the war with Great
+    Britain, the Mexican War, and the War of the Rebellion.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In 1814 the annual expenses incident to the War of 1812 reached their
+    highest amount&mdash;about thirty-one millions&mdash;while our population slightly
+    exceeded 8,000,000, showing an expenditure of only $3.80 per capita.
+    In 1847 the expenditures growing out of the war with Mexico reached
+    fifty-five millions, and the population about 21,000,000, giving only
+    $2.60 per capita for the war expenses of that year. In 1865 the
+    expenditures called for by the rebellion reached the vast amount of
+    twelve hundred and ninety millions, which, compared with a population
+    of 34,000,000, gives $38.20 per capita.
+</p>
+<p>
+    From the 4th day of March, 1789, to the 30th of June, 1861, the entire
+    expenditures of the Government were $1,700,000,000. During that period
+    we were engaged in wars with Great Britain and Mexico, and were involved
+    in hostilities with powerful Indian tribes; Louisiana was purchased from
+    France at a cost of $15,000,000; Florida was ceded to us by Spain for
+    five millions; California was acquired from Mexico for fifteen millions,
+    and the territory of New Mexico was obtained from Texas for the sum of
+    ten millions. Early in 1861 the War of the Rebellion commenced; and
+    from the 1st of July of that year to the 30th of June, 1865, the public
+    expenditures reached the enormous aggregate of thirty-three hundred
+    millions. Three years of peace have intervened, and during that time the
+    disbursements of the Government have successively been five hundred and
+    twenty millions, three hundred and forty-six millions, and three hundred
+    and ninety-three millions. Adding to these amounts three hundred and
+    seventy-two millions, estimated as necessary for the fiscal year ending
+    the 30th of June, 1869, we obtain a total expenditure of $1,600,000,000
+    during the four years immediately succeeding the war, or nearly as much
+    as was expended during the seventy-two years that preceded the rebellion
+    and embraced the extraordinary expenditures already named.
+</p>
+<p>
+    These startling facts clearly illustrate the necessity of
+    retrenchment in all branches of the public service. Abuses which were
+    tolerated during the war for the preservation of the nation will not be
+    endured by the people, now that profound peace prevails. The receipts
+    from internal revenues and customs have during the past three years
+    gradually diminished, and the continuance of useless and extravagant
+    expenditures will involve us in national bankruptcy, or else make
+    inevitable an increase of taxes, already too onerous and in many
+    respects obnoxious on account of their inquisitorial character. One
+    hundred millions annually are expended for the military force, a large
+    portion of which is employed in the execution of laws both unnecessary
+    and unconstitutional; one hundred and fifty millions are required each
+    year to pay the interest on the public debt; an army of taxgatherers
+    impoverishes the nation, and public agents, placed by Congress beyond
+    the control of the Executive, divert from their legitimate purposes
+    large sums of money which they collect from the people in the name of
+    the Government. Judicious legislation and prudent economy can alone
+    remedy defects and avert evils which, if suffered to exist, can not fail
+    to diminish confidence in the public councils and weaken the attachment
+    and respect of the people toward their political institutions. Without
+    proper care the small balance which it is estimated will remain in the
+    Treasury at the close of the present fiscal year will not be realized,
+    and additional millions be added to a debt which is now enumerated by
+    billions.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is shown by the able and comprehensive report of the Secretary of
+    the Treasury that the receipts for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868,
+    were $405,638,083, and that the expenditures for the same period were
+    $377,340,284, leaving in the Treasury a surplus of $28,297,798. It is
+    estimated that the receipts during the present fiscal year, ending June
+    30, 1869, will be $341,392,868 and the expenditures $336,152,470,
+    showing a small balance of $5,240,398 in favor of the Government. For
+    the fiscal year ending June 30, 1870, it is estimated that the receipts
+    will amount to $327,000,000 and the expenditures to $303,000,000,
+    leaving an estimated surplus of $24,000,000.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It becomes proper in this connection to make a brief reference to our
+    public indebtedness, which has accumulated with such alarming rapidity
+    and assumed such colossal proportions.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In 1789, when the Government commenced operations under the Federal
+    Constitution, it was burdened with an indebtedness of $75,000,000,
+    created during the War of the Revolution. This amount had been reduced
+    to $45,000,000 when, in 1812, war was declared against Great Britain.
+    The three years' struggle that followed largely increased the national
+    obligations, and in 1816 they had attained the sum of $127,000,000. Wise
+    and economical legislation, however, enabled the Government to pay the
+    entire amount within a period of twenty years, and the extinguishment
+    of the national debt filled the land with rejoicing and was one of the
+    great events of President Jackson's Administration. After its redemption
+    a large fund remained in the Treasury, which was deposited for
+    safe-keeping with the several States, on condition that it should be
+    returned when required by the public wants. In 1849&mdash;the year after the
+    termination of an expensive war with Mexico&mdash;we found ourselves involved
+    in a debt of $64,000,000; and this was the amount owed by the Government
+    in 1860, just prior to the outbreak of the rebellion. In the spring of
+    1861 our civil war commenced. Each year of its continuance made an
+    enormous addition to the debt; and when, in the spring of 1865, the
+    nation successfully emerged from the conflict, the obligations of the
+    Government had reached the immense sum of $2,873,992,909. The Secretary
+    of the Treasury shows that on the 1st day of November, 1867, this amount
+    had been reduced to $2,491,504,450; but at the same time his report
+    exhibits an increase during the past year of $35,625,102, for the debt
+    on the 1st day of November last is stated to have been $2,527,129,552.
+    It is estimated by the Secretary that the returns for the past month
+    will add to our liabilities the further sum of $11,000,000, making a
+    total increase during thirteen months of $46,500,000.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In my message to Congress December 4, 1865, it was suggested that a
+    policy should be devised which, without being oppressive to the people,
+    would at once begin to effect a reduction of the debt, and, if persisted
+    in, discharge it fully within a definite number of years. The Secretary
+    of the Treasury forcibly recommends legislation of this character,
+    and justly urges that the longer it is deferred the more difficult
+    must become its accomplishment. We should follow the wise precedents
+    established in 1789 and 1816, and without further delay make provision
+    for the payment of our obligations at as early a period as may be
+    practicable. The fruits of their labors should be enjoyed by our
+    citizens rather than used to build up and sustain moneyed monopolies in
+    our own and other lands. Our foreign debt is already computed by the
+    Secretary of the Treasury at $850,000,000; citizens of foreign countries
+    receive interest upon a large portion of our securities, and American
+    taxpayers are made to contribute large sums for their support. The idea
+    that such a debt is to become permanent should be at all times discarded
+    as involving taxation too heavy to be borne, and payment once in every
+    sixteen years, at the present rate of interest, of an amount equal to
+    the original sum. This vast debt, if permitted to become permanent and
+    increasing, must eventually be gathered into the hands of a few, and
+    enable them to exert a dangerous and controlling power in the affairs of
+    the Government. The borrowers would become servants to the lenders, the
+    lenders the masters of the people. We now pride ourselves upon having
+    given freedom to 4,000,000 of the colored race; it will then be our
+    shame that 40,000,000 of people, by their own toleration of usurpation
+    and profligacy, have suffered themselves to become enslaved, and merely
+    exchanged slave owners for new taskmasters in the shape of bondholders
+    and taxgatherers. Besides, permanent debts pertain to monarchical
+    governments, and, tending to monopolies, perpetuities, and class
+    legislation, are totally irreconcilable with free institutions.
+    Introduced into our republican system, they would gradually but surely
+    sap its foundations, eventually subvert our governmental fabric, and
+    erect upon its ruins a moneyed aristocracy. It is our sacred duty to
+    transmit unimpaired to our posterity the blessings of liberty which were
+    bequeathed to us by the founders of the Republic, and by our example
+    teach those who are to follow us carefully to avoid the dangers which
+    threaten a free and independent people.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Various plans have been proposed for the payment of the public debt.
+    However they may have varied as to the time and mode in which it should
+    be redeemed, there seems to be a general concurrence as to the propriety
+    and justness of a reduction in the present rate of interest. The
+    Secretary of the Treasury in his report recommends 5 per cent; Congress,
+    in a bill passed prior to adjournment on the 27th of July last, agreed
+    upon 4 and 4-1/2 per cent; while by many 3 per cent has been held to be
+    an amply sufficient return for the investment. The general impression as
+    to the exorbitancy of the existing rate of interest has led to an
+    inquiry in the public mind respecting the consideration which the
+    Government has actually received for its bonds, and the conclusion is
+    becoming prevalent that the amount which it obtained was in real money
+    three or four hundred per cent less than the obligations which it issued
+    in return. It can not be denied that we are paying an extravagant
+    percentage for the use of the money borrowed, which was paper currency,
+    greatly depreciated below the value of coin. This fact is made apparent
+    when we consider that bondholders receive from the Treasury upon each
+    dollar they own in Government securities 6 per cent in gold, which is
+    nearly or quite equal to 9 per cent in currency; that the bonds are
+    then converted into capital for the national banks, upon which those
+    institutions issue their circulation, bearing 6 per cent interest; and
+    that they are exempt from taxation by the Government and the States, and
+    thereby enhanced 2 per cent in the hands of the holders. We thus have an
+    aggregate of 17 per cent which may be received upon each dollar by the
+    owners of Government securities. A system that produces such results is
+    justly regarded as favoring a few at the expense of the many, and has
+    led to the further inquiry whether our bondholders, in view of the
+    large profits which they have enjoyed, would themselves be averse to
+    a settlement of our indebtedness upon a plan which would yield them a
+    fair remuneration and at the same time be just to the taxpayers of the
+    nation. Our national credit should be sacredly observed, but in making
+    provision for our creditors we should not forget what is due to the
+    masses of the people. It may be assumed that the holders of our
+    securities have already received upon their bonds a larger amount than
+    their original investment, measured by a gold standard. Upon this
+    statement of facts it would seem but just and equitable that the 6 per
+    cent interest now paid by the Government should be applied to the
+    reduction of the principal in semiannual installments, which in sixteen
+    years and eight months would liquidate the entire national debt. Six per
+    cent in gold would at present rates be equal to 9 per cent in currency,
+    and equivalent to the payment of the debt one and a half times in a
+    fraction less than seventeen years. This, in connection with all the
+    other advantages derived from their investment, would afford to the
+    public creditors a fair and liberal compensation for the use of their
+    capital, and with this they should be satisfied. The lessons of the past
+    admonish the lender that it is not well to be overanxious in exacting
+    from the borrower rigid compliance with the letter of the bond.
+</p>
+<p>
+    If provision be made for the payment of the indebtedness of the
+    Government in the manner suggested, our nation will rapidly recover its
+    wonted prosperity. Its interests require that some measure should be
+    taken to release the large amount of capital invested in the securities
+    of the Government. It is not now merely unproductive, but in taxation
+    annually consumes $150,000,000, which would otherwise be used by our
+    enterprising people in adding to the wealth of the nation. Our commerce,
+    which at one time successfully rivaled that of the great maritime
+    powers, has, rapidly diminished, and our industrial interests are
+    in a depressed and languishing condition. The development of our
+    inexhaustible resources is checked, and the fertile fields of the South
+    are becoming waste for want of means to till them. With the release of
+    capital, new life would be infused into the paralyzed energies of our
+    people and activity and vigor imparted to every branch of industry. Our
+    people need encouragement in their efforts to recover from the effects
+    of the rebellion and of injudicious legislation, and it should be the
+    aim of the Government to stimulate them by the prospect of an early
+    release from the burdens which impede their prosperity. If we can not
+    take the burdens from their shoulders, we should at least manifest
+    a willingness to help to bear them.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In referring to the condition of the circulating medium, I shall merely
+    reiterate substantially that portion of my last annual message which
+    relates to that subject.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The proportion which the currency of any country should bear to
+    the whole value of the annual produce circulated by its means is a
+    question upon which political economists have not agreed. Nor can it
+    be controlled by legislation, but must be left to the irrevocable laws
+    which everywhere regulate commerce and trade. The circulating medium
+    will ever irresistibly flow to those points where it is in greatest
+    demand. The law of demand and supply is as unerring as that which
+    regulates the tides of the ocean; and, indeed, currency, like the tides,
+    has its ebbs and flows throughout the commercial world.
+</p>
+<p>
+    At the beginning of the rebellion the bank-note circulation of the
+    country amounted to not much more than $200,000,000; now the circulation
+    of national-bank notes and those known as "legal-tenders" is nearly
+    seven hundred millions. While it is urged by some that this amount
+    should be increased, others contend that a decided reduction is
+    absolutely essential to the best interests of the country. In view of
+    these diverse opinions, it may be well to ascertain the real value of
+    our paper issues when compared with a metallic or convertible currency.
+    For this purpose let us inquire how much gold and silver could be
+    purchased by the seven hundred millions of paper money now in
+    circulation. Probably not more than half the amount of the latter;
+    showing that when our paper currency is compared with gold and silver
+    its commercial value is compressed into three hundred and fifty
+    millions. This striking fact makes it the obvious duty of the
+    Government, as early as may be consistent with the principles of sound
+    political economy, to take such measures as will enable the holders of
+    its notes and those of the national banks to convert them, without loss,
+    into specie or its equivalent. A reduction of our paper circulating
+    medium need not necessarily follow. This, however, would depend upon the
+    law of demand and supply, though it should be borne in mind that by
+    making legal-tender and bank notes convertible into coin or its
+    equivalent their present specie value in the hands of their holders
+    would be enhanced 100 per cent.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Legislation for the accomplishment of a result so desirable is demanded
+    by the highest public considerations. The Constitution contemplates that
+    the circulating medium of the country shall be uniform in quality and
+    value. At the time of the formation of that instrument the country had
+    just emerged from the War of the Revolution, and was suffering from the
+    effects of a redundant and worthless paper currency. The sages of that
+    period were anxious to protect their posterity from the evils which they
+    themselves had experienced. Hence in providing a circulating medium they
+    conferred upon Congress the power to coin money and regulate the value
+    thereof, at the same time prohibiting the States from making anything
+    but gold and silver a tender in payment of debts.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The anomalous condition of our currency is in striking contrast with
+    that which was originally designed. Our circulation now embraces, first,
+    notes of the national banks, which are made receivable for all dues to
+    the Government, excluding imposts, and by all its creditors, excepting
+    in payment of interest upon its bonds and the securities themselves;
+    second, legal tender, issued by the United States, and which the law
+    requires shall be received as well in payment of all debts between
+    citizens as of all Government dues, excepting imposts; and, third, gold
+    and silver coin. By the operation of our present system of finance,
+    however, the metallic currency, when collected, is reserved only for one
+    class of Government creditors, who, holding its bonds, semiannually
+    receive their interest in coin from the National Treasury. There is no
+    reason which will be accepted as satisfactory by the people why those
+    who defend us on the land and protect us on the sea; the pensioner upon
+    the gratitude of the nation, bearing the scars and wounds received while
+    in its service; the public servants in the various departments of the
+    Government; the farmer who supplies the soldiers of the Army and the
+    sailors of the Navy; the artisan who toils in the nation's workshops,
+    or the mechanics and laborers who build its edifices and construct
+    its forts and vessels of war, should, in payment of their just and
+    hard-earned dues, receive depreciated paper, while another class of
+    their countrymen, no more deserving, are paid in coin of gold and
+    silver. Equal and exact justice requires that all the creditors of the
+    Government should be paid in a currency possessing a uniform value.
+    This can only be accomplished by the restoration of the currency to the
+    standard established by the Constitution, and by this means we would
+    remove a discrimination which may, if it has not already done so, create
+    a prejudice that may become deep-rooted and widespread and imperil the
+    national credit.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The feasibility of making our currency correspond with the
+    constitutional standard may be seen by reference to a few facts derived
+    from our commercial statistics.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The aggregate product of precious metals in the United States from 1849
+    to 1867 amounted to $1,174,000,000, while for the same period the net
+    exports of specie were $741,000,000. This shows an excess of product
+    over net exports of $433,000,000. There are in the Treasury $103,407,985
+    in coin; in circulation in the States on the Pacific Coast about
+    $40,000,000, and a few millions in the national and other banks&mdash;in all
+    less than $160,000,000. Taking into consideration the specie in the
+    country prior to 1849 and that produced since 1867, and we have more
+    than $300,000,000 not accounted for by exportation or by returns of the
+    Treasury, and therefore most probably remaining in the country.
+</p>
+<p>
+    These are important facts, and show how completely the inferior
+    currency will supersede the better, forcing it from circulation among
+    the masses and causing it to be exported as a mere article of trade, to
+    add to the money capital of foreign lands. They show the necessity of
+    retiring our paper money, that the return of gold and silver to the
+    avenues of trade may be invited and a demand created which will cause
+    the retention at home of at least so much of the productions of our
+    rich and inexhaustible gold-bearing fields as may be sufficient for
+    purposes of circulation. It is unreasonable to expect a return to a
+    sound currency so long as the Government and banks, by continuing to
+    issue irredeemable notes, fill the channels of circulation with
+    depreciated paper. Notwithstanding a coinage by our mints since 1849 of
+    $874,000,000, the people are now strangers to the currency which was
+    designed for their use and benefit, and specimens of the precious metals
+    bearing the national device are seldom seen, except when produced to
+    gratify the interest excited by their novelty. If depreciated paper is
+    to be continued as the permanent currency of the country, and all our
+    coin is to become a mere article of traffic and speculation, to the
+    enhancement in price of all that is indispensable to the comfort of the
+    people, it would be wise economy to abolish our mints, thus saving the
+    nation the care and expense incident to such establishments, and let our
+    precious metals be exported in bullion. The time has come, however, when
+    the Government and national banks should be required to take the most
+    efficient steps and make all necessary arrangements for a resumption of
+    specie payments. Let specie payments once be earnestly inaugurated by
+    the Government and banks, and the value of the paper circulation would
+    directly approximate a specie standard.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Specie payments having been resumed by the Government and banks, all
+    notes or bills of paper issued by either of a less denomination than $20
+    should by law be excluded from circulation, so that the people may have
+    the benefit and convenience of a gold and silver currency which in all
+    their business transactions will be uniform in value at home and abroad.
+    Every man of property or industry, every man who desires to preserve
+    what he honestly possesses or to obtain what he can honestly earn, has a
+    direct interest in maintaining a safe circulating medium&mdash;such a medium
+    as shall be real and substantial, not liable to vibrate with opinions,
+    not subject to be blown up or blown down by the breath of speculation,
+    but to be made stable and secure. A disordered currency is one of the
+    greatest political evils. It undermines the virtues necessary for the
+    support of the social system and encourages propensities destructive of
+    its happiness; it wars against industry, frugality, and economy, and it
+    fosters the evil spirits of extravagance and speculation.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It has been asserted by one of our profound and most gifted statesmen
+    that&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Of all the contrivances for cheating the laboring classes of mankind,
+  none has been more effectual than that which deludes them with paper
+  money. This is the most effectual of inventions to fertilize the rich
+  man's fields by the sweat of the poor man's brow. Ordinary tyranny,
+  oppression, excessive taxation&mdash;these bear lightly on the happiness of
+  the mass of the community compared with a fraudulent currency and the
+  robberies committed by depreciated paper. Our own history has recorded
+  for our instruction enough, and more than enough, of the demoralizing
+  tendency, the injustice, and the intolerable oppression on the virtuous
+  and well-disposed of a degraded paper currency authorized by law or in
+  any way countenanced by government.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is one of the most successful devices, in times of peace or war,
+    of expansions or revulsions, to accomplish the transfer of all the
+    precious metals from the great mass of the people into the hands of the
+    few, where they are hoarded in secret places or deposited under bolts
+    and bars, while the people are left to endure all the inconvenience,
+    sacrifice, and demoralization resulting from the use of depreciated and
+    worthless paper.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Secretary of the Interior in his report gives valuable information
+    in reference to the interests confided to the supervision of his
+    Department, and reviews the operations of the Land Office, Pension
+    Office, Patent Office, and Indian Bureau.
+</p>
+<p>
+    During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, 6,655,700 acres of public
+    land were disposed of. The entire cash receipts of the General Land
+    Office for the same period were $1,632,745, being greater by $284,883
+    than the amount realized from the same sources during the previous year.
+    The entries under the homestead law cover 2,328,923 acres, nearly
+    one-fourth of which was taken under the act of June 21, 1866, which
+    applies only to the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas,
+    and Florida.
+</p>
+<p>
+    On the 30th of June, 1868, 169,643 names were borne on the pension
+    rolls, and during the year ending on that day the total amount paid for
+    pensions, including the expenses of disbursement, was $24,010,982, being
+    $5,391,025 greater than that expended for like purposes during the
+    preceding year.
+</p>
+<p>
+    During the year ending the 30th of September last the expenses of the
+    Patent Office exceeded the receipts by $171, and, including reissues
+    and designs, 14,153 patents were issued.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Treaties with various Indian tribes have been concluded, and will be
+    submitted to the Senate for its constitutional action. I cordially
+    sanction the stipulations which provide for reserving lands for the
+    various tribes, where they may be encouraged to abandon their nomadic
+    habits and engage in agricultural and industrial pursuits. This policy,
+    inaugurated many years since, has met with signal success whenever it
+    has been pursued in good faith and with becoming liberality by the
+    United States. The necessity for extending it as far as practicable in
+    our relations with the aboriginal population is greater now than at any
+    preceding period. Whilst we furnish subsistence and instruction to the
+    Indians and guarantee the undisturbed enjoyment of their treaty rights,
+    we should habitually insist upon the faithful observance of their
+    agreement to remain within their respective reservations. This is the
+    only mode by which collisions with other tribes and with the whites can
+    be avoided and the safety of our frontier settlements secured.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The companies constructing the railway from Omaha to Sacramento have
+    been most energetically engaged in prosecuting the work, and it is
+    believed that the line will be completed before the expiration of
+    the next fiscal year. The 6 per cent bonds issued to these companies
+    amounted on the 5th instant to $44,337,000, and additional work had
+    been performed to the extent of $3,200,000.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Secretary of the Interior in August last invited my attention
+    to the report of a Government director of the Union Pacific Railroad
+    Company who had been specially instructed to examine the location,
+    construction, and equipment of their road. I submitted for the opinion
+    of the Attorney-General certain questions in regard to the authority of
+    the Executive which arose upon this report and those which had from time
+    to time been presented by the commissioners appointed to inspect each
+    successive section of the work. After carefully considering the law of
+    the case, he affirmed the right of the Executive to order, if necessary,
+    a thorough revision of the entire road. Commissioners were thereupon
+    appointed to examine this and other lines, and have recently submitted a
+    statement of their investigations, of which the report of the Secretary
+    of the Interior furnishes specific information.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The report of the Secretary of War contains information of interest and
+    importance respecting the several bureaus of the War Department and the
+    operations of the Army. The strength of our military force on the 30th
+    of September last was 48,000 men, and it is computed that by the 1st of
+    January next this number will be decreased to 43,000. It is the opinion
+    of the Secretary of War that within the next year a considerable
+    diminution of the infantry force may be made without detriment to the
+    interests of the country; and in view of the great expense attending the
+    military peace establishment and the absolute necessity of retrenchment
+    wherever it can be applied, it is hoped that Congress will sanction the
+    reduction which his report recommends. While in 1860 sixteen thousand
+    three hundred men cost the nation $16,472,000, the sum of $65,682,000
+    is estimated as necessary for the support of the Army during the fiscal
+    year ending June 30, 1870. The estimates of the War Department for
+    the last two fiscal years were, for 1867, $33,814,461, and for 1868
+    $25,205,669. The actual expenditures during the same periods were,
+    respectively, $95,224,415 and $123,246,648. The estimate submitted in
+    December last for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1869, was $77,124,707;
+    the expenditures for the first quarter, ending the 30th of September
+    last, were $27,219,117, and the Secretary of the Treasury gives
+    $66,000,000 as the amount which will probably be required during the
+    remaining three quarters, if there should be no reduction of the
+    Army&mdash;making its aggregate cost for the year considerably in excess
+    of ninety-three millions. The difference between the estimates and
+    expenditures for the three fiscal years which have been named is thus
+    shown to be $175,545,343 for this single branch of the public service.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The report of the Secretary of the Navy exhibits the operations of that
+    Department and of the Navy during the year. A considerable reduction of
+    the force has been effected. There are 42 vessels, carrying 411 guns, in
+    the six squadrons which are established in different parts of the world.
+    Three of these vessels are returning to the United States and 4 are used
+    as storeslips, leaving the actual cruising force 35 vessels, carrying
+    356 guns. The total number of vessels in the Navy is 206, mounting 1,743
+    guns. Eighty-one vessels of every description are in use, armed with 696
+    guns. The number of enlisted men in the service, including apprentices,
+    has been reduced to 8,500. An increase of navy-yard facilities is
+    recommended as a measure which will in the event of war be promotive
+    of economy and security. A more thorough and systematic survey of the
+    North Pacific Ocean is advised in view of our recent acquisitions, our
+    expanding commerce, and the increasing intercourse between the Pacific
+    States and Asia. The naval pension fund, which consists of a moiety of
+    the avails of prizes captured during the war, amounts to $14,000,000.
+    Exception is taken to the act of 23d July last, which reduces the
+    interest on the fund loaned to the Government by the Secretary, as
+    trustee, to 3 per cent instead of 6 per cent, which was originally
+    stipulated when the investment was made. An amendment of the pension
+    laws is suggested to remedy omissions and defects in existing
+    enactments. The expenditures of the Department during the last fiscal
+    year were $20,120,394, and the estimates for the coming year amount
+    to $20,993,414.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Postmaster-General's report furnishes a full and clear exhibit of
+    the operations and condition of the postal service. The ordinary postal
+    revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, was $16,292,600,
+    the total expenditures, embracing all the service for which special
+    appropriations have been made by Congress, amounted to $22,730,592,
+    showing an excess of expenditures of $6,437,991. Deducting from the
+    expenditures the sum of $1,896,525, the amount of appropriations for
+    ocean-steamship and other special service, the excess of expenditures
+    was $4,541,466. By using an unexpended balance in the Treasury of
+    $3,800,000 the actual sum for which a special appropriation is required
+    to meet the deficiency is $741,466. The causes which produced this large
+    excess of expenditure over revenue were the restoration of service in
+    the late insurgent States and the putting into operation of new service
+    established by acts of Congress, which amounted within the last two
+    years and a half to about 48,700 miles&mdash;equal to more than one-third
+    of the whole amount of the service at the close of the war. New postal
+    conventions with Great Britain, North Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands,
+    Switzerland, and Italy, respectively, have been carried into effect.
+    Under their provisions important improvements have resulted in reduced
+    rates of international postage and enlarged mail facilities with
+    European countries. The cost of the United States transatlantic ocean
+    mail service since January 1, 1868, has been largely lessened under the
+    operation of these new conventions, a reduction of over one-half having
+    been effected under the new arrangements for ocean mail steamship
+    service which went into effect on that date. The attention of Congress
+    is invited to the practical suggestions and recommendations made in his
+    report by the Postmaster-General.
+</p>
+<p>
+    No important question has occurred during the last year in our
+    accustomed cordial and friendly intercourse with Costa Rica, Guatemala,
+    Honduras, San Salvador, France, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal,
+    the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, Rome, Greece, Turkey,
+    Persia, Egypt, Liberia, Morocco, Tripoli, Tunis, Muscat, Siam, Borneo,
+    and Madagascar.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Cordial relations have also been maintained with the Argentine and the
+    Oriental Republics. The expressed wish of Congress that our national
+    good offices might be tendered to those Republics, and also to Brazil
+    and Paraguay, for bringing to an end the calamitous war which has so
+    long been raging in the valley of the La Plata, has been assiduously
+    complied with and kindly acknowledged by all the belligerents. That
+    important negotiation, however, has thus far been without result.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Charles A. Washburn, late United States minister to Paraguay, having
+    resigned, and being desirous to return to the United States, the
+    rear-admiral commanding the South Atlantic Squadron was early directed
+    to send a ship of war to Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, to receive
+    Mr. Washburn and his family and remove them from a situation which was
+    represented to be endangered by faction and foreign war. The Brazilian
+    commander of the allied invading forces refused permission to the <i>Wasp</i>
+    to pass through the blockading forces, and that vessel returned to
+    its accustomed anchorage. Remonstrance having been made against this
+    refusal, it was promptly overruled, and the <i>Wasp</i> therefore resumed
+    her errand, received Mr. Washburn and his family, and conveyed them to
+    a safe and convenient seaport. In the meantime an excited controversy
+    had arisen between the President of Paraguay and the late United States
+    minister, which, it is understood, grew out of his proceedings in
+    giving asylum in the United States legation to alleged enemies of
+    that Republic. The question of the right to give asylum is one always
+    difficult and often productive of great embarrassment. In states well
+    organized and established, foreign powers refuse either to concede or
+    exercise that right, except as to persons actually belonging to the
+    diplomatic service. On the other hand, all such powers insist upon
+    exercising the right of asylum in states where the law of nations is
+    not fully acknowledged, respected, and obeyed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The President of Paraguay is understood to have opposed to Mr.
+    Washburn's proceedings the injurious and very improbable charge of
+    personal complicity in insurrection and treason. The correspondence,
+    however, has not yet reached the United States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Mr. Washburn, in connection with this controversy, represents that two
+    United States citizens attached to the legation were arbitrarily seized
+    at his Side, when leaving the capital of Paraguay, committed to prison,
+    and there subjected to torture for the purpose of procuring confessions
+    of their own criminality and testimony to support the President's
+    allegations against the United States minister. Mr. McMahon, the newly
+    appointed minister to Paraguay, having reached the La Plata, has been
+    instructed to proceed without delay to Asuncion, there to investigate
+    the whole subject. The rear-admiral commanding the United States South
+    Atlantic Squadron has been directed to attend the new minister with a
+    proper naval force to sustain such just demands as the occasion may
+    require, and to vindicate the rights of the United States citizens
+    referred to and of any others who may be exposed to danger in the
+    theater of war. With these exceptions, friendly relations have been
+    maintained between the United States and Brazil and Paraguay.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Our relations during the past year with Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru,
+    and Chile have become especially friendly and cordial. Spain and the
+    Republics of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador have expressed their willingness
+    to accept the mediation of the United States for terminating the war
+    upon the South Pacific coast. Chile has not finally declared upon the
+    question. In the meantime the conflict has practically exhausted itself,
+    since no belligerent or hostile movement has been made by either party
+    during the last two years, and there are no indications of a present
+    purpose to resume hostilities on either side. Great Britain and France
+    have cordially seconded our proposition of mediation, and I do not
+    forego the hope that it may soon be accepted by all the belligerents and
+    lead to a secure establishment of peace and friendly relations between
+    the Spanish American Republics of the Pacific and Spain&mdash;a result
+    which would be attended with common benefits to the belligerents
+    and much advantage to all commercial nations. I communicate, for
+    the consideration of Congress, a correspondence which shows that the
+    Bolivian Republic has established the extremely liberal principle of
+    receiving into its citizenship any citizen of the United States, or
+    of any other of the American Republics, upon the simple condition of
+    voluntary registry.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The correspondence herewith submitted wall be found painfully
+    replete with accounts of the ruin and wretchedness produced by recent
+    earthquakes, of unparalleled severity, in the Republics of Peru,
+    Ecuador, and Bolivia. The diplomatic agents and naval officers of the
+    United States who were present in those countries at the time of those
+    disasters furnished all the relief in their power to the sufferers, and
+    were promptly rewarded with grateful and touching acknowledgments by
+    the Congress of Peru. An appeal to the charity of our fellow-citizens
+    has been answered by much liberality. In this connection I submit an
+    appeal which has been made by the Swiss Republic, whose Government and
+    institutions are kindred to our own, in behalf of its inhabitants, who
+    are suffering extreme destitution, produced by recent devastating
+    inundations.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Our relations with Mexico during the year have been marked by an
+    increasing growth of mutual confidence. The Mexican Government has
+    not yet acted upon the three treaties celebrated here last summer for
+    establishing the rights of naturalized citizens upon a liberal and just
+    basis, for regulating consular powers, and for the adjustment of mutual
+    claims.
+</p>
+<p>
+    All commercial nations, as well as all friends of republican
+    institutions, have occasion to regret the frequent local disturbances
+    which occur in some of the constituent States of Colombia. Nothing has
+    occurred, however, to affect the harmony and cordial friendship which
+    have for several years existed between that youthful and vigorous
+    Republic and our own.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Negotiations are pending with a view to the survey and construction
+    of a ship canal across the Isthmus of Darien, under the auspices of
+    the United States. I hope to be able to submit the results of that
+    negotiation to the Senate during its present session.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The very liberal treaty which was entered into last year by the United
+    States and Nicaragua has been ratified by the latter Republic.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Costa Rica, with the earnestness of a sincerely friendly neighbor,
+    solicits a reciprocity of trade, which I commend to the consideration
+    of Congress.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The convention created by treaty between the United States and Venezuela
+    in July, 1865, for the mutual adjustment of claims, has been held,
+    and its decisions have been received at the Department of State. The
+    heretofore-recognized Government of the United States of Venezuela has
+    been subverted. A provisional government having been instituted under
+    circumstances which promise durability, it has been formally recognized.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have been reluctantly obliged to ask explanation and satisfaction
+    for national injuries committed by the President of Hayti. The political
+    and social condition of the Republics of Hayti and St. Domingo is very
+    unsatisfactory and painful. The abolition of slavery, which has been
+    carried into effect throughout the island of St. Domingo and the entire
+    West Indies, except the Spanish islands of Cuba and Porto Rico, has
+    been followed by a profound popular conviction of the rightfulness
+    of republican institutions and an intense desire to secure them.
+    The attempt, however, to establish republics there encounters many
+    obstacles, most of which may be supposed to result from long-indulged
+    habits of colonial supineness and dependence upon European monarchical
+    powers. While the United States have on all occasions professed a
+    decided unwillingness that any part of this continent or of its adjacent
+    islands shall be made a theater for a new establishment of monarchical
+    power, too little has been done by us, on the other hand, to attach the
+    communities by which we are surrounded to our own country, or to lend
+    even a moral support to the efforts they are so resolutely and so
+    constantly making to secure republican institutions for themselves.
+    It is indeed a question of grave consideration whether our recent and
+    present example is not calculated to check the growth and expansion of
+    free principles, and make those communities distrust, if not dread,
+    a government which at will consigns to military domination States that
+    are integral parts of our Federal Union, and, while ready to resist any
+    attempts by other nations to extend to this hemisphere the monarchical
+    institutions of Europe, assumes to establish over a large portion of
+    its people a rule more absolute, harsh, and tyrannical than any known
+    to civilized powers.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The acquisition of Alaska was made with the view of extending national
+    jurisdiction and republican principles in the American hemisphere.
+    Believing that a further step could be taken in the same direction,
+    I last year entered into a treaty with the King of Denmark for the
+    purchase of the islands of St. Thomas and St. John, on the best terms
+    then attainable, and with the express consent of the people of those
+    islands. This treaty still remains under consideration in the Senate.
+    A new convention has been entered into with Denmark, enlarging the time
+    fixed for final ratification of the original treaty.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Comprehensive national policy would seem to sanction the acquisition and
+    incorporation into our Federal Union of the several adjacent continental
+    and insular communities as speedily as it can be done peacefully,
+    lawfully, and without any violation of national justice, faith, or
+    honor. Foreign possession or control of those communities has hitherto
+    hindered the growth and impaired the influence of the United States.
+    Chronic revolution and anarchy there would be equally injurious. Each
+    one of them, when firmly established as an independent republic, or when
+    incorporated into the United States, would be a new source of strength
+    and power. Conforming my Administration to these principles, I have on
+    no occasion lent support or toleration to unlawful expeditions set on
+    foot upon the plea of republican propagandism or of national extension
+    or aggrandizement. The necessity, however, of repressing such unlawful
+    movements clearly indicates the duty which rests upon us of adapting our
+    legislative action to the new circumstances of a decline of European
+    monarchical power and influence and the increase of American republican
+    ideas, interests, and sympathies.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It can not be long before it will become necessary for this Government
+    to lend some effective aid to the solution of the political and social
+    problems which are continually kept before the world by the two
+    Republics of the island of St. Domingo, and which are now disclosing
+    themselves more distinctly than heretofore in the island of Cuba. The
+    subject is commended to your consideration with all the more earnestness
+    because I am satisfied that the time has arrived when even so direct a
+    proceeding as a proposition for an annexation of the two Republics of
+    the island of St. Domingo would not only receive the consent of the
+    people interested, but would also give satisfaction to all other foreign
+    nations.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I am aware that upon the question of further extending our
+    possessions it is apprehended by some that our political system can not
+    successfully be applied to an area more extended than our continent; but
+    the conviction is rapidly gaining ground in the American mind that with
+    the increased facilities for intercommunication between all portions
+    of the earth the principles of free government, as embraced in our
+    Constitution, if faithfully maintained and carried out, would prove of
+    sufficient strength and breadth to comprehend within their sphere and
+    influence the civilized nations of the world.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The attention of the Senate and of Congress is again respectfully
+    invited to the treaty for the establishment of commercial reciprocity
+    with the Hawaiian Kingdom entered into last year, and already ratified
+    by that Government. The attitude of the United States toward these
+    islands is not very different from that in which they stand toward the
+    West Indies. It is known and felt by the Hawaiian Government and people
+    that their Government and institutions are feeble and precarious; that
+    the United States, being so near a neighbor, would be unwilling to see
+    the islands pass under foreign control. Their prosperity is continually
+    disturbed by expectations and alarms of unfriendly political
+    proceedings, as well from the United States as from other foreign
+    powers. A reciprocity treaty, while it could not materially diminish
+    the revenues of the United States, would be a guaranty of the good will
+    and forbearance of all nations until the people of the islands shall of
+    themselves, at no distant day, voluntarily apply for admission into the
+    Union.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Emperor of Russia has acceded to the treaty negotiated here
+    in January last for the security of trade-marks in the interest
+    of manufacturers and commerce. I have invited his attention to the
+    importance of establishing, now while it seems easy and practicable,
+    a fair and equal regulation of the vast fisheries belonging to the
+    two nations in the waters of the North Pacific Ocean.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The two treaties between the United States and Italy for the regulation
+    of consular powers and the extradition of criminals, negotiated and
+    ratified here during the last session of Congress, have been accepted
+    and confirmed by the Italian Government. A liberal consular convention
+    which has been negotiated with Belgium will be submitted to the Senate.
+    The very important treaties which were negotiated between the United
+    States and North Germany and Bavaria for the regulation of the rights of
+    naturalized citizens have been duly ratified and exchanged, and similar
+    treaties have been entered into with the Kingdoms of Belgium and
+    Wurtemberg and with the Grand Duchies of Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt.
+    I hope soon to be able to submit equally satisfactory conventions of
+    the same character now in the course of negotiation with the respective
+    Governments of Spain, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Examination of claims against the United States by the Hudsons Bay
+    Company and the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, on account of certain
+    possessory rights in the State of Oregon and Territory of Washington,
+    alleged by those companies in virtue of provisions of the treaty
+    between the United States and Great Britain of June 15, 1846, has been
+    diligently prosecuted, under the direction of the joint international
+    commission to which they were submitted for adjudication by treaty
+    between the two Governments of July 1, 1863, and will, it is expected,
+    be concluded at an early day.
+</p>
+<p>
+    No practical regulation concerning colonial trade and the fisheries can
+    be accomplished by treaty between the United States and Great Britain
+    until Congress shall have expressed their judgment concerning the
+    principles involved. Three other questions, however, between the United
+    States and Great Britain remain open for adjustment. These are the
+    mutual rights of naturalized citizens, the boundary question involving
+    the title to the island of San Juan, on the Pacific coast, and mutual
+    claims arising since the year 1853 of the citizens and subjects of the
+    two countries for injuries and depredations committed under the
+    authority of their respective Governments. Negotiations upon these
+    subjects are pending, and I am not without hope of being able to lay
+    before the Senate, for its consideration during the present session,
+    protocols calculated to bring to an end these justly exciting and
+    long-existing controversies.
+</p>
+<p>
+    We are not advised of the action of the Chinese Government upon the
+    liberal and auspicious treaty which was recently celebrated with its
+    plenipotentiaries at this capital.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Japan remains a theater of civil war, marked by religious incidents
+    and political severities peculiar to that long-isolated Empire. The
+    Executive has hitherto maintained strict neutrality among the
+    belligerents, and acknowledges with pleasure that it has been frankly
+    and fully sustained in that course by the enlightened concurrence and
+    cooperation of the other treaty powers, namely, Great Britain, France,
+    the Netherlands, North Germany, and Italy.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Spain having recently undergone a revolution marked by extraordinary
+    unanimity and preservation of order, the provisional government
+    established at Madrid has been recognized, and the friendly intercourse
+    which has so long happily existed between the two countries remains
+    unchanged.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I renew the recommendation contained in my communication to Congress
+    dated the 18th July last&mdash;a copy of which accompanies this message&mdash;that
+    the judgment of the people should be taken on the propriety of so
+    amending the Federal Constitution that it shall provide&mdash;
+</p>
+<p>
+    First. For an election of President and Vice-President by a direct vote
+    of the people, instead of through the agency of electors, and making
+    them ineligible for reelection to a second term.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Second. For a distinct designation of the person who shall discharge
+    the duties of President in the event of a vacancy in that office by the
+    death, resignation, or removal of both the President and Vice-President.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Third. For the election of Senators of the United States directly by
+    the people of the several States, instead of by the legislatures; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Fourth. For the limitation to a period of years of the terms of Federal
+    judges.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Profoundly impressed with the propriety of making these important
+    modifications in the Constitution, I respectfully submit them for
+    the early and mature consideration of Congress. We should, as far
+    as possible, remove all pretext for violations of the organic law,
+    by remedying such imperfections as time and experience may develop,
+    ever remembering that "the constitution which at any time exists until
+    changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people is sacredly
+    obligatory upon all."
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the performance of a duty imposed upon me by the Constitution, I have
+    thus communicated to Congress information of the state of the Union and
+    recommended for their consideration such measures as have seemed to me
+    necessary and expedient. If carried into effect, they will hasten the
+    accomplishment of the great and beneficent purposes for which the
+    Constitution was ordained, and which it comprehensively states were
+    "to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic
+    tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general
+    welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our
+    posterity." In Congress are vested all legislative powers, and upon them
+    devolves the responsibility as well for framing unwise and excessive
+    laws as for neglecting to devise and adopt measures absolutely demanded
+    by the wants of the country. Let us earnestly hope that before the
+    expiration of our respective terms of service, now rapidly drawing
+    to a close, an all-wise Providence will so guide our counsels as to
+    strengthen and preserve the Federal Union, inspire reverence for the
+    Constitution, restore prosperity and happiness to our whole people,
+    and promote "on earth peace, good will toward men."
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    SPECIAL MESSAGES.
+</h2>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 8, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a copy of a note of the 24th of November last addressed to
+    the Secretary of State by the minister of Great Britain, communicating
+    a decree of the district court of the United States for the southern
+    district of New York ordering the payment of certain sums to the
+    defendants in a suit against the English schooner <i>Sibyl</i>, libeled as a
+    prize of war. It is requisite for the fulfillment of the decree that an
+    appropriation of the sums specified therein should be made by Congress.
+    The appropriation is recommended accordingly.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 11, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 7th
+    instant, relating to the correspondence with the American minister at
+    London concerning the so-called <i>Alabama</i> claims, I transmit a report
+    on the subject from the Secretary of State.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 16, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 14th
+    December instant, I transmit the accompanying report<a href="#note-70"><small>70</small></a> of the Secretary
+    of State.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 16, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 14th
+    instant, requesting the correspondence which has taken place between the
+    United States minister at Brazil and Rear-Admiral Davis touching the
+    disposition of the American squadron at Rio Janeiro and the Paraguay
+    difficulties, I transmit a report of the Secretary of State upon that
+    subject.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 16, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 8th instant, concerning
+    recent transactions in the region of the La Plata affecting the
+    political relations of the United States with Paraguay, the Argentine
+    Republic, Uruguay, and Brazil, I transmit a report of the Secretary of
+    State, which is accompanied by a copy of the papers called for by the
+    resolution.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>December 18, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith communicate a report of the Secretary of the Interior, in
+    answer to a resolution adopted by the House of Representatives on the
+    16th instant, making inquiries in reference to the Union Pacific
+    Railroad and requesting the transmission of the report of the special
+    commissioners appointed to examine the construction and equipment of
+    the road.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 4, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in compliance with the request contained
+    in its resolution of the 15th ultimo, a report from the Secretary of
+    State, communicating information in regard to the action of the mixed
+    commission for the adjustment of claims by citizens of the United
+    States against the Government of Venezuela.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 4, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the House of Representatives a report from the Secretary
+    of State, with accompanying papers, in relation to the resolution of
+    Congress approved July 20, 1867, "declaring sympathy with the suffering
+    people of Crete."
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<center>
+    [The same message was sent to the Senate.]
+</center>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 4, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+    ratification, an additional article to the convention of the 24th of
+    October, 1867, between the United States and His Majesty the King of
+    Denmark.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 5, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+    ratification, a convention between the United States and His Hawaiian
+    Majesty, signed in this city on the 28th day of July last, stipulating
+    for an extension of the period for the exchange of the ratifications of
+    the convention between the same parties on the subject of commercial
+    reciprocity.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 7, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith, in answer to a resolution of the House of
+    Representatives of the 16th of December last, a report<a href="#note-71"><small>71</small></a> from the
+    Secretary of State of the 6th instant.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>January 8, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In conformity with the requirements of the sixth section of the act of
+    the 22d of June, 1860, to carry into effect provisions of the treaty
+    with China and certain other Oriental nations, I transmit to Congress a
+    copy of eight rules agreed upon between the Chinese Imperial Government
+    and the minister of the United States and those of other foreign powers
+    accredited to that Government, for conducting the proceedings of the
+    joint tribunal in cases of confiscation and fines for breaches of the
+    revenue laws of that Empire. These rules, which are accompanied by
+    correspondence between our minister and Secretary of State on the
+    subject, are commended to the consideration of Congress with a view
+    to their approval.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 8, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 17th
+    ultimo, a report<a href="#note-72"><small>72</small></a> from the Secretary of State, with an accompanying
+    paper.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 11, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+    ratification, a convention between the United States and Belgium upon
+    the subject of naturalization, which was signed at Brussels on the 16th
+    of November last.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 11, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+    ratification, a convention between the United States and Belgium
+    concerning the rights, privileges, and immunities of consuls in the
+    two countries, signed at Brussels on the 5th ultimo.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 11, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+    ratification, an additional article of the treaty of commerce and
+    navigation between the United States and Belgium of the 17th of July,
+    1858, which was signed at Brussels on the 20th ultimo.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 12, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit a copy of a convention between the United States and Peru,
+    signed at Lima on the 4th of last month, stipulating for a mixed
+    commission for the adjustment of claims of citizens of the two
+    countries. An extract from that part of the dispatch of the minister of
+    the United States at Lima which accompanied the copy referred to, and
+    which relates to it, is also transmitted. It will be seen from this
+    extract that it is desirable that the decision of the Senate upon
+    the instrument should be given as early as may be convenient. It is
+    consequently recommended for consideration with a view to ratification.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>January 13, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    a treaty concluded at Washington, D.C., August 13, 1868, between the
+    United States and the Nez Perce tribe of Indians, which treaty is
+    supplemental to and amendatory of the treaty concluded with said tribe
+    June 9, 1863. A communication from the Secretary of the Interior of the
+    12th instant, inclosing a copy of a report of the Commissioner of Indian
+    Affairs of the 11th instant, is also herewith transmitted.<a href="#note-73"><small>73</small></a>
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 14, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, together with
+    the original papers accompanying the same, submitted in compliance
+    with the resolution of the Senate of the 5th instant, requesting such
+    information as is furnished by the files of the War Department in
+    relation to the erection of fortifications at Lawrence, Kans., in 1864
+    and 1865.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 15, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit, for the opinion of the Senate as to the expediency of
+    concluding a convention based thereupon, a protocol, signed at London on
+    the 9th of October last, for regulating the citizenship of citizens of
+    the United States who have emigrated or who may emigrate from the United
+    States to the British dominions, and of British subjects who have
+    emigrated or who may emigrate from the British dominions to the United
+    States of America.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 15, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to its
+    ratification, a copy of a treaty between the United States and Great
+    Britain, signed yesterday at London, providing for the reference to an
+    arbiter of the question of difference between the United States and
+    Great Britain concerning the northwest line of water boundary between
+    the United States and the British possessions in North America. It is
+    expected that the original of the convention will be forwarded by the
+    steamer which leaves Liverpool to-morrow. Circumstances, however, to
+    which it is unnecessary to advert, in my judgment make it advisable to
+    communicate to the Senate the copy referred to in advance of the arrival
+    of the original instrument.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 15, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view of its
+    ratification, a copy of a convention between the United States and
+    Great Britain, signed yesterday at London, providing for the adjustment
+    of all outstanding claims of the citizens and subjects of the parties,
+    respectively. It is expected that the original of the convention
+    will be forwarded by the steamer which leaves Liverpool to-morrow.
+    Circumstances, however, to which it is unnecessary to advert, in my
+    judgment make it advisable to communicate to the Senate the copy
+    referred to in advance of the arrival of the original instrument.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>January 18, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The resolution adopted on the 5th instant, requesting the President "to
+    transmit to the Senate a copy of any proclamation of amnesty made by him
+    since the last adjournment of Congress, and also to communicate to the
+    Senate by what authority of law the same was made," has been received.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I accordingly transmit herewith a copy of a proclamation dated the 25th
+    day of December last. The authority of law by which it was made is set
+    forth in the proclamation itself, which expressly affirms that it was
+    issued "by virtue of the power and authority in me vested by the
+    Constitution, and in the name of the sovereign people of the United
+    States," and proclaims and declares "unconditionally and without
+    reservation, to all and to every person who, directly or indirectly,
+    participated in the late insurrection or rebellion, a full pardon and
+    amnesty for the offense of treason against the United States, or of
+    adhering to their enemies during the late civil war, with restoration of
+    all rights, privileges, and immunities under the Constitution and the
+    laws which have been made in pursuance thereof."
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Federal Constitution is understood to be and is regarded by the
+    Executive as the supreme law of the land. The second section of article
+    second of that instrument provides that the President "shall have power
+    to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States,
+    except in cases of impeachment." The proclamation of the 25th ultimo is
+    in strict accordance with the judicial expositions of the authority thus
+    conferred upon the Executive, and, as will be seen by reference to the
+    accompanying papers, is in conformity with the precedent established by
+    Washington in 1795, and followed by President Adams in 1800, Madison in
+    1815, and Lincoln in 1863, and by the present Executive in 1865, 1867,
+    and 1868.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 20, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, made in
+    compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 19th ultimo,
+    requesting information in reference to the payment of rent for the use
+    of the building known as the Libby Prison, in the city of Richmond, Va.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 22, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+    ratification, an additional article to the convention between the United
+    States and His Majesty the King of Italy for regulating the jurisdiction
+    of consuls.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 22, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+    ratification, an additional article to the convention between the United
+    States and His Majesty the King of Italy for the mutual extradition of
+    criminals fugitives from justice.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION, <i>January 23, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for the constitutional action of
+    that body, a treaty concluded at the council house on the Cattaraugus
+    Reservation, in Erie County, N.Y., on the 4th day of December, 1868,
+    by Walter R. Irwin, commissioner on the part of the United States, and
+    the duly authorized representatives of the several tribes and bands of
+    Indians residing in the State of New York, A copy of a letter from the
+    Secretary of the Interior, dated the 22d instant, and the papers therein
+    referred to, in relation to the treaty, are also herewith transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 26, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit for the consideration of Congress, in conformity with the
+    requirements of the sixth section of the act of the 22d of June, 1860,
+    a copy of certain regulations for the consular courts in China,
+    prohibiting steamers sailing under the flag of the United States from
+    using or passing through the Straw Shoe Channel on the river Yangtse,
+    decreed by S. Wells Williams, chargé d'affaires, on the 1st of June, and
+    promulgated by George F. Seward, consul-general at Shanghai, on the 25th
+    of July, 1868, with the assent of five of the United States consuls in
+    China, G.H. Colton Salter dissenting. His objections to the regulations
+    are set forth in the accompanying copy of a communication of the 10th of
+    October last, inclosed in Consul-General Seward's dispatch of the 14th
+    of the game month to the Secretary of State, a copy of which is also
+    transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>January 26, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of State, with
+    accompanying documents, in relation to the gold medal presented to Mr.
+    George Peabody pursuant to the resolution of Congress of March 16, 1867.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 27, 1860</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their
+    resolution of the 23d instant, the accompanying report<a href="#note-74"><small>74</small></a> from
+    the Secretary of State.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 27, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War, upon the
+    subject of the resolution of the Senate of the 21st instant, requesting
+    a copy of the report of Brevet Major-General William S. Harney upon the
+    Sioux and other Indians congregated under treaties made with them by the
+    special peace commission.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 29, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to a resolution
+    of the House of Representatives without date, received at the Executive
+    Mansion on the 10th of December, calling for correspondence in relation
+    to the cases of Messrs. Costello and Warren, naturalized citizens of the
+    United States imprisoned in Great Britain, a report from the Secretary
+    of State and the papers to which it refers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION, <i>January 29, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its consideration in connection
+    with the treaty with the New York Indians concluded November 4, 1868,
+    which is now before that body for its constitutional action, an
+    additional article of said treaty as an amendment.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A communication, dated the 28th instant, from the Secretary of the
+    Interior, and a copy of a report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
+    explaining the object of the amendment, are also herewith transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 1, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 16th
+    of December last, in relation to the arrest of American citizens in
+    Paraguay, I transmit a report of the Secretary of State.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 1, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In further answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 8th of December
+    last, concerning recent transactions in the region of the La Plata
+    affecting the political relations of the United States with Paraguay,
+    the Argentine Republic, Uruguay, and Brazil, I transmit a report from
+    the Secretary of State.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION, <i>February 2, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    two treaties made by the commissioners appointed under the act of
+    Congress of 20th July, 1867, to establish peace with certain hostile
+    tribes, viz:
+</p>
+<p>
+    A treaty concluded at Fort Laramie, Dakota Territory, on the 2Qth April,
+    1868, with various bands of the Sioux or Dakota Nation of Indians.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A treaty concluded at Fort Bridger, Utah Territory, on the 3d day of
+    July, 1868, with the Shoshone (eastern band) and Bannock Indians.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A communication from the Secretary of the Interior, dated the 2d
+    instant, inclosing a copy of a letter to him from the Commissioner of
+    Indian Affairs of the 28th ultimo, together with the correspondence
+    therein referred to, relating to said treaties, are also herewith
+    transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 3, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit, for the consideration of Congress, a report from the
+    Secretary of State, and the papers which accompany it, in relation to
+    the encroachments of agents of the Hudsons Bay Company upon the trade
+    and territory of Alaska.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION, <i>February 4, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for the constitutional action of that
+    body thereon, the following treaties, concluded with various bands and
+    tribes of Indians by William I. Cullen, special agent for Indians in
+    Montana, viz:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Treaty concluded at Fort Hawley on the 13th July, 1868, with the Gros
+    Ventres.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Treaty concluded at Fort Hawley on the 15th July, 1868, with the River
+    Crow Indians.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Treaty concluded at Fort Benton September 1, 1868, with the Blackfeet
+    Nation (composed of the tribe of that name and the Blood and Piegan
+    tribes).
+</p>
+<p>
+    Treaty with the mixed bands of Shoshones, Bannocks, and Sheepeaters,
+    concluded at Virginia City September 24, 1868.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A letter of the Secretary of the Interior, dated the 3d instant, and
+    the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, dated the 2d instant,
+    explaining the provisions of the several treaties and suggesting an
+    amendment of some of them, and submitting maps and papers connected with
+    said treaties, are also herewith transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 4, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 23d
+    January ultimo, I transmit a report<a href="#note-75"><small>75</small></a> of the Secretary of State, which is
+    accompanied by a copy of the correspondence called for by the resolution.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 8, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Referring to my communications of the 16th of December, 1868, and of
+    the 1st of February instant, addressed to the Senate in answer to the
+    resolution of that body of the 8th of December last, concerning recent
+    transactions in the region of the La Plata, I transmit a report of the
+    Secretary of State and the papers which accompany it.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 9, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 13th
+    ultimo, requesting information as to expenditures by the northwestern
+    boundary commission, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State on
+    the subject, and the papers which accompanied it.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION, <i>February 9, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for the constitutional action of that
+    body thereon, a treaty concluded on the 2d day of September, 1868,
+    between the United States and the Creek Nation of Indians by their duly
+    authorized delegates.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A letter from the Secretary of the Interior, dated the 8th instant, and
+    a report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, dated the 6th instant,
+    in relation to said treaty, are also herewith transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 11, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 21st
+    ultimo, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying papers,
+    in relation to the establishment of the Robert College at
+    Constantinople.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>February 13, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for their action thereon, a mutual
+    relinquishment of the agreement between the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
+    of Kansas, which agreement is appended to a treaty now before the Senate
+    between the United States and the Swan Creek and Black River Chippewas
+    and the Munsee or Christian Indians, concluded on the 1st of June, 1868.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 11th instant, together
+    with the papers therein referred to, is also herewith transmitted.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 15, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to
+    ratification, a convention between the United States of America arid the
+    United States of Colombia for facilitating and securing the construction
+    of a ship canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the
+    continental isthmus lying without the jurisdiction of the United States
+    of Colombia, which instrument was signed at Bogota on the 14th instant.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION, <i>February 17, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+    a treaty concluded on the 11th instant, in the city of Washington,
+    between the United States and the Sac and Fox Indians of the Missouri
+    and the Iowa tribe of Indians. A letter of the Secretary of the Interior
+    of the 16th instant, together with the letters therein referred to,
+    accompany the treaty. For reasons stated in the accompanying
+    communications, I request to withdraw from the Senate a treaty with the
+    Sac and Fox Indians of the Missouri, concluded February 19, 1867, now
+    pending before that body.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 17, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of State, with
+    accompanying documents, in relation to the gold medal presented to Mr.
+    Cyrus W. Field pursuant to the resolution of Congress of March 2, 1867.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EXECUTIVE MANSION, <i>February 17, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I herewith present, for the consideration of the Senate in connection
+    with the treaty with the Brule and other bands of Sioux Indians now
+    pending before that body, a communication from the Secretary of the
+    Interior, dated the 16th instant, and accompanying letters from the
+    Commissioner of Indian Affairs and P. H. Conger, United States Indian
+    agent for the Yankton Sioux, requesting that the benefits of said treaty
+    may be extended to the Yankton Sioux and all the bands and individuals
+    of the Dakota Sioux.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 17, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 19th
+    ultimo, relating to fisheries, a report from the Secretary of State and
+    the documents which accompanied it.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>February 18, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action, a treaty
+    concluded on the 13th instant between the United States and the Otoe and
+    Missouria tribe of Indians, together with the accompanying papers.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 19, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to Congress a copy of a correspondence which has taken place
+    between the Secretary of State and the minister of the United States at
+    Paris, in relation to the use of passports by citizens of the United
+    States in France.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 20, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit an additional report from the Secretary of State,
+    representing that Messrs. Costello and Warren, citizens of the United
+    States imprisoned in Ireland, have been released.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>February 23, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, on
+    the subject of the resolution of the Senate of the 13th January last,
+    requesting "that the President direct the Secretary of the Treasury to
+    detail an officer to select from the public lands such permanent points
+    upon the coast of Oregon, Washington Territory, and Alaska as in his
+    judgment may be necessary for light-house purposes, in view of the
+    future commercial necessity of the Pacific Coast, and to reserve the
+    same for exclusive use of the United States."
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 23, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Referring to my communication to Congress of the 26th ultimo, concerning
+    a decree made by the United States chargé d'affaires in China, on 1st
+    of June last, prohibiting steamers sailing under the flag of the United
+    States from using or passing through the Straw Shoe Channel on the
+    Yangtse River, I now transmit a copy of a dispatch of the 22d of August
+    last, No. 25, from S. Wells Williams, esq., and of such of the papers
+    accompanying it as were not contained in my former communication. I also
+    transmit a copy of the reply of the 6th instant made by the Secretary of
+    State to the above-named dispatch.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>February 24, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate and House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I transmit to Congress a copy of a convention between the United States
+    and the Mexican Republic, providing for the adjustment of the claims of
+    citizens of either country against the other, signed on the 4th day of
+    July last, and the ratifications of which were exchanged on the 1st
+    instant.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is recommended that such legislation as may be necessary to carry
+    this convention into effect shall receive early consideration.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 1, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In compliance with the request of the Senate of the 27th ultimo,
+    I return herewith their resolution of the 26th February, calling for a
+    statement of internal-revenue stamps issued by the Government since the
+    passage of the act approved July 1, 1862.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    VETO MESSAGES.
+</h2>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>February 13, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The bill entitled "An act transferring the duties of trustees of colored
+    schools of Washington and Georgetown" is herewith returned to the
+    Senate, in which House it originated, without my approval.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The accompanying paper exhibits the fact that the legislation which the
+    bill proposes is contrary to the wishes of the colored residents of
+    Washington and Georgetown, and that they prefer that the schools for
+    their children should be under the management of trustees selected by
+    the Secretary of the Interior, whose term of office is for four years,
+    rather than subject to the control of bodies whose tenure of office,
+    depending merely upon political considerations, may be annually affected
+    by the elections which take place in the two cities.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The colored people of Washington and Georgetown are at present not
+    represented by a person of their own race in either of the boards of
+    trustees of public schools appointed by the municipal authorities.
+    Of the three trustees, however, who, under the act of July 11, 1862,
+    compose the board of trustees of the schools for colored children, two
+    are persons of color. The resolutions transmitted herewith show that
+    they have performed their trust in a manner entirely satisfactory to
+    the colored people of the two cities, and no good reason is known to
+    the Executive why the duties which now devolve upon them should be
+    transferred as proposed in the bill.
+</p>
+<p>
+    With these brief suggestions the bill is respectfully returned, and the
+    consideration of Congress invited to the accompanying preamble and
+    resolutions.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>February 22, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The accompanying bill, entitled "An act regulating the duties on
+    imported copper and copper ores," is, for the following reasons,
+    returned, without my approval, to the House of Representatives, in which
+    branch of Congress it originated.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Its immediate effect will be to diminish the public receipts, for the
+    object of the bill can not be accomplished without seriously affecting
+    the importation of copper and copper ores, from which a considerable
+    revenue is at present derived. While thus impairing the resources of the
+    Government, it imposes an additional tax upon an already overburdened
+    people, who should not be further impoverished that monopolies may be
+    fostered and corporations enriched.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is represented&mdash;and the declaration seems to be sustained by
+    evidence&mdash;that the duties for which this bill provides are nearly or
+    quite sufficient to prohibit the importation of certain foreign ores of
+    copper. Its enactment, therefore, will prove detrimental to the shipping
+    interests of the nation, and at the same time destroy the business, for
+    many years successfully established, of smelting home ores in connection
+    with a smaller amount of the imported articles. This business, it is
+    credibly asserted, has heretofore yielded the larger share of the copper
+    production of the country, and thus the industry which this legislation
+    is designed to encourage is actually less than that which will be
+    destroyed by the passage of this bill.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It seems also to be evident that the effect of this measure will be to
+    enhance by 70 per cent the cost of blue vitriol&mdash;an article extensively
+    used in dyeing and in the manufacture of printed and colored cloths. To
+    produce such an augmentation in the price of this commodity will be to
+    discriminate against other great branches of domestic industry, and by
+    increasing their cost to expose them most unfairly to the effects of
+    foreign competition. Legislation can neither be wise nor just which
+    seeks the welfare of a single interest at the expense and to the injury
+    of many and varied interests at least equally important and equally
+    deserving the consideration of Congress. Indeed, it is difficult to find
+    any reason which will justify the interference of Government with any
+    legitimate industry, except so far as may be rendered necessary by the
+    requirements of the revenue. As has already been stated, however, the
+    legislative intervention proposed in the present instance will diminish,
+    not increase, the public receipts.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The enactment of such a law is urged as necessary for the relief of
+    certain mining interests upon Lake Superior, which, it is alleged,
+    are in a greatly depressed condition, and can only be sustained by an
+    enhancement of the price of copper. If this result should follow the
+    passage of the bill, a tax for the exclusive benefit of a single class
+    would be imposed upon the consumers of copper throughout the entire
+    country, not warranted by any need of the Government, and the avails of
+    which would not in any degree find their way into the Treasury of the
+    nation. If the miners of Lake Superior are in a condition of want, it
+    can not be justly affirmed that the Government should extend charity to
+    them in preference to those of its citizens who in other portions of the
+    country suffer in like manner from destitution. Least of all should the
+    endeavor to aid them be based upon a method so uncertain and indirect as
+    that contemplated by the bill, and which, moreover, proposes to continue
+    the exercise of its benefaction through an indefinite period of years.
+    It is, besides, reasonable to hope that positive suffering from want,
+    if it really exists, will prove but temporary in a region where
+    agricultural labor is so much in demand and so well compensated. A
+    careful examination of the subject appears to show that the present
+    low price of copper, which alone has induced any depression the mining
+    interests of Lake Superior may have recently experienced, is due to
+    causes which it is wholly impolitic, if not impracticable, to contravene
+    by legislation. These causes are, in the main, an increase in the
+    general supply of copper, owing to the discovery and working of
+    remarkably productive mines and to a coincident restriction in the
+    consumption and use of copper by the substitution of other and cheaper
+    metals for industrial purposes. It is now sought to resist by artificial
+    means the action of natural laws; to place the people of the United
+    States, in respect to the enjoyment and use of an essential commodity,
+    upon a different basis from other nations, and especially to compensate
+    certain private and sectional interests for the changes and losses which
+    are always incident to industrial progress.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Although providing for an increase of duties, the proposed law does not
+    even come within the range of protection, in the fair acceptation of the
+    term. It does not look to the fostering of a young and feeble interest
+    with a view to the ultimate attainment of strength and the capacity
+    of self-support. It appears to assume that the present inability for
+    successful production is inherent and permanent, and is more likely
+    to increase than to be gradually overcome; yet in spite of this it
+    proposes, by the exercise of the lawmaking power, to sustain that
+    interest and to impose it in hopeless perpetuity as a tax upon the
+    competent and beneficent industries of the country.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The true method for the mining interests of Lake Superior to
+    obtain relief, if relief is needed, is to endeavor to make their great
+    natural resources fully available by reducing the cost of production.
+    Special or class legislation can not remedy the evils which this bill
+    is designed to meet. They can only be overcome by laws which will effect
+    a wise, honest, and economical administration of the Government, a
+    reestablishment of the specie standard of value, and an early adjustment
+    of our system of State, municipal, and national taxation (especially the
+    latter) upon the fundamental principle that all taxes, whether collected
+    under the internal revenue or under a tariff, shall interfere as little
+    as possible with the productive energies of the people.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The bill is therefore returned, in the belief that the true interests
+    of the Government and of the people require that it should not become
+    a law.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    PROCLAMATION.
+</h2>
+<h3>
+    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    A PROCLAMATION.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Whereas the President of the United States has heretofore set forth
+    several proclamations offering amnesty and pardon to persons who
+    had been or were concerned in the late rebellion against the lawful
+    authority of the Government of the United States, which proclamations
+    were severally issued on the 8th day of December, 1863, on the 26th
+    day of March, 1864, on the 29th day of May, 1865, on the 7th day of
+    September, 1867, and on the 4th day of July, in the present year; and
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereas the authority of the Federal Government having been
+    reestablished in all the States and Territories within the jurisdiction
+    of the United States, it is believed that such prudential reservations
+    and exceptions as at the dates of said several proclamations were deemed
+    necessary and proper may now be wisely and justly relinquished, and that
+    an universal amnesty and pardon for participation in said rebellion
+    extended to all who have borne any part therein will tend to secure
+    permanent peace, order, and prosperity throughout the land, and to renew
+    and fully restore confidence and fraternal feeling among the whole
+    people, and their respect for and attachment to the National Government,
+    designed by its patriotic founders for the general good:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States, by virtue of the power and authority in me vested by the
+    Constitution and in the name of the sovereign people of the United
+    States, do hereby proclaim and declare, unconditionally and without
+    reservation, to all and to every person who, directly or indirectly,
+    participated in the late insurrection or rebellion a full pardon and
+    amnesty for the offense of treason against the United States or of
+    adhering to their enemies during the late civil war, with restoration
+    of all rights, privileges, and immunities under the Constitution and
+    the laws which have been made in pursuance thereof.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+    caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    [SEAL.]
+</p>
+<p>
+    Done at the city of Washington, the 25th day of December, A.D. 1868, and
+    of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+By the President:<br>
+  F.W. SEWARD,<br>
+    <i>Acting Secretary of State</i>.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    IMPEACHMENT OF ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
+</h2>
+<p>
+    On the 24th of February, 1868, the House of Representatives of the
+    Congress of the United States resolved to impeach Andrew Johnson,
+    President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors, of
+    which the Senate was apprised, and arrangements were made for the trial.
+    On the 2d and 3d of March articles of impeachment were agreed upon by
+    the House of Representatives, and on the 4th they were presented to the
+    Senate by the managers on the part of the House, Mr. John A. Bingham,
+    Mr. George S. Boutwell, Mr. James F. Wilson, Mr. Benjamin F. Butler, Mr.
+    Thomas Williams, Mr. John A. Logan, and Mr. Thaddeus Stevens, who were
+    accompanied by the House as a Committee of the Whole. The articles are
+    as follows:
+</p>
+<center>
+    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, UNITED STATES, <i>March 2, 1868</i>.
+</center>
+<p style="text-indent: -2em; padding-left: 2em;">
+    ARTICLES EXHIBITED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES,
+    IN THE NAME OF THEMSELVES AND ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES,
+    AGAINST ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, IN MAINTENANCE
+    AND SUPPORT OF THEIR IMPEACHMENT AGAINST HIM FOR HIGH CRIMES AND
+    MISDEMEANORS IN OFFICE.
+</p>
+<p>
+    ARTICLE I. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+    on the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District
+    of Columbia, unmindful of the high duties of his office, of his oath
+    of office, and of the requirement of the Constitution that he should
+    take care that the laws be faithfully executed, did unlawfully and in
+    violation of the Constitution and laws of the United States issue an
+    order in writing for the removal of Edwin M. Stanton from the office
+    of Secretary for the Department of War, said Edwin M. Stanton having
+    been theretofore duly appointed and commissioned, by and with the advice
+    and consent of the Senate of the United States, as such Secretary;
+    and said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, on the 12th
+    day of August, A.D. 1867, and during the recess of said Senate, having
+    suspended by his order Edwin M. Stanton from said office, and within
+    twenty days after the first day of the next meeting of said Senate&mdash;that
+    is to say, on the 12th day of December, in the year last aforesaid&mdash;having
+    reported to said Senate such suspension, with the evidence and reasons
+    for his action in the case and the name of the person designated to
+    perform the duties of such office temporarily until the next meeting of
+    the Senate; and said Senate thereafterwards, on the 13th day of January,
+    A.D. 1868, having duly considered the evidence and reasons reported by
+    said Andrew Johnson for said suspension, and having refused to concur
+    in said suspension, whereby and by force of the provisions of an act
+    entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed
+    March 2, 1867, said Edwin M. Stanton did forthwith resume the functions
+    of his office, whereof the said Andrew Johnson had then and there due
+    notice; and said Edwin M. Stanton, by reason of the premises, on said
+    21st day of February, being lawfully entitled to hold said office of
+    Secretary for the Department of War; which said order for the removal
+    of said Edwin M. Stanton is in substance as follows; that is to say:
+</p>
+<p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+<br>
+  <i>Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868</i>.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+<br>
+  <i>Washington, D.C.</i>
+</p><p class="q">
+  SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by
+  the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby removed
+  from office as Secretary for the Department of War, and your functions
+  as such will terminate upon the receipt of this communication.
+</p><p class="q">
+  You will transfer to Brevet Major-General Lorenzo Thomas,
+  Adjutant-General of the Army, who has this day been authorized and
+  empowered to act as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, all records, books,
+  papers, and other public property now in your custody and charge.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Respectfully, yours,
+<p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>
+    which order was unlawfully issued with intent then and there to violate
+    the act entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil
+    offices," passed March 2, 1867, and with the further intent, contrary,
+    to the provisions of said act, in violation thereof, and contrary to the
+    provisions of the Constitution of the United States, and without the
+    advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, the said Senate
+    then and there being in session, to remove said Edwin M. Stanton from
+    the office of Secretary for the Department of War, the said Edwin M.
+    Stanton being then and there Secretary for the Department of War, and
+    being then and there in the due and lawful execution and discharge of
+    the duties of said office; whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of
+    the United States, did then and there commit and was guilty of a high
+    misdemeanor in office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    ART. II. That on said 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in
+    the District of Columbia, said Andrew Johnson, President of the United
+    States, unmindful of the high duties of his office, of his oath of
+    office, and in violation of the Constitution of the United States, and
+    contrary to the provisions of an act entitled "An act regulating the
+    tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867, without the
+    advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, said Senate then
+    and there being in session, and without authority of law, did, with
+    intent to violate the Constitution of the United States and the act
+    aforesaid, issue and deliver to one Lorenzo Thomas a letter of authority
+    in substance as follows; that is to say:
+</p>
+<p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+<br>
+  <i>Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868</i>.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Brevet Major-General LORENZO THOMAS,
+<br>
+  <i>Adjutant-General United States Army, Washington, D.C.</i>
+</p><p class="q">
+  SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day removed from office
+  as Secretary for the Department of War, you are hereby authorized and
+  empowered to act as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, and will immediately
+  enter upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all the records,
+  books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and charge.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Respectfully, yours,
+</p><p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>
+    then and there being no vacancy in said office of Secretary for the
+    Department of War; whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United
+    States, did then and there commit and was guilty of a high misdemeanor
+    in office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    ART. III. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, on
+    the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District of
+    Columbia, did commit and was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office in
+    this, that without authority of law, while the Senate of the United
+    States was then and there in session, he did appoint one Lorenzo Thomas
+    to be Secretary for the Department of War <i>ad interim</i>, without the
+    advice and consent of the Senate, and with intent to violate the
+    Constitution of the United States, no vacancy having happened in said
+    office of Secretary for the Department of War during the recess of the
+    Senate, and no vacancy existing in said office at the time, and which
+    said appointment, so made by said Andrew Johnson, of said Lorenzo
+    Thomas, is in substance as follows; that is to say:
+</p>
+<p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+<br>
+  <i>Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868</i>.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Brevet Major-General LORENZO THOMAS,
+<br>
+  <i>Adjutant-General United States Army, Washington, D.C.</i>
+</p><p class="q">
+  SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day removed from office
+  as Secretary for the Department of War, you are hereby authorized and
+  empowered to act as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, and will immediately
+  enter upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all the records,
+  books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and charge.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Respectfully, yours,
+</p><p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>
+    ART. IV. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+    unmindful of the high duties of his office and his oath of office, in
+    violation of the Constitution and laws of the United States, on the 21st
+    day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District of Columbia,
+    did unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo Thomas, and with other persons
+    to the House of Representatives unknown, with intent, by intimidation
+    and threats, unlawfully to hinder and prevent Edwin M. Stanton, then and
+    there the Secretary for the Department of War, duly appointed under the
+    laws of the United States, from holding said office of Secretary for the
+    Department of War, contrary to and in violation of the Constitution of
+    the United States and of the provisions of an act entitled "An act to
+    define and punish certain conspiracies," approved July 31, 1861; whereby
+    said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, did then and there
+    commit and was guilty of a high crime in office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    ART. V. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+    unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office,
+    on the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, and on divers other days and
+    times in said year before the 2d day of March, A.D. 1868, at Washington,
+    in the District of Columbia, did unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo
+    Thomas, and with other persons to the House of Representatives unknown,
+    to prevent and hinder the execution of an act entitled "An act
+    regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867,
+    and in pursuance of said conspiracy did unlawfully attempt to prevent
+    Edwin M. Stanton, then and there being Secretary for the Department
+    of War, duly appointed and commissioned under the laws of the United
+    States, from holding said office; whereby the said Andrew Johnson,
+    President of the United States, did then and there commit and was guilty
+    of a high misdemeanor in office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    ART. VI. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+    unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office,
+    on the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District
+    of Columbia, did unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo Thomas by force
+    to seize, take, and possess the property of the United States in the
+    Department of War, and then and there in the custody and charge of Edwin
+    M. Stanton, Secretary for said Department, contrary to the provisions
+    of an act entitled "An act to define and punish certain conspiracies,"
+    approved July 31, 1861, and with intent to violate and disregard an act
+    entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed
+    March 2, 1867; whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United
+    States, did then and there commit a high crime in office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    ART. VII. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+    unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office, on
+    the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District of
+    Columbia, did unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo Thomas with intent
+    unlawfully to seize, take, and possess the property of the United States
+    in the Department of War, in the custody and charge of Edwin M. Stanton,
+    Secretary for said Department, with intent to violate and disregard the
+    act entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices,"
+    passed March 2, 1867; whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States, did then and there commit a high misdemeanor in office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    ART. VIII. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+    unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office,
+    with intent unlawfully to control the disbursement of the moneys
+    appropriated for the military service and for the Department of War,
+    on the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District
+    of Columbia, did unlawfully, and contrary to the provisions of an act
+    entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed
+    March 2, 1867, and in violation of the Constitution of the United
+    States, and without the advice and consent of the Senate of the United
+    States, and while the Senate was then and there in session, there being
+    no vacancy in the office of Secretary for the Department of War, and
+    with intent to violate and disregard the act aforesaid, then and there
+    issue and deliver to one Lorenzo Thomas a letter of authority, in
+    writing, in substance as follows; that is to say:
+</p>
+<p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+<br>
+  <i>Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868</i>.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Brevet Major-General LORENZO THOMAS,
+<br>
+  <i>Adjutant-General United States Army, Washington, D.C.</i>
+</p><p class="q">
+  SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day removed from office
+  as Secretary for the Department of War, you are hereby authorized and
+  empowered to act as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, and will immediately
+  enter upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all the records,
+  books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and charge.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Respectfully, yours,
+</p><p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>
+    whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, did then
+    and there commit and was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    ART. IX. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, on
+    the 22d day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District of
+    Columbia, in disregard of the Constitution and the laws of the United
+    States duly enacted, as Commander in Chief of the Army of the United
+    States, did bring before himself then and there William H. Emory, a
+    major-general by brevet in the Army of the United States, actually in
+    command of the Department of Washington and the military forces thereof,
+    and did then and there, as such Commander in Chief, declare to and
+    instruct said Emory that part of a law of the United States, passed
+    March 2, 1867, entitled "An act making appropriations for the support
+    of the Army for the year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes,"
+    especially the second section thereof, which provides, among other
+    things, that "all orders and instructions relating to military
+    operations issued by the President or Secretary of War shall be issued
+    through the General of the Army, and in case of his inability through
+    the next in rank," was unconstitutional and in contravention of the
+    commission of said Emory, and which said provision of law had been
+    theretofore duly and legally promulgated by general order for the
+    government and direction of the Army of the United States, as the said
+    Andrew Johnson then and there well knew, with intent thereby to induce
+    said Emory, in his official capacity as commander of the Department of
+    Washington, to violate the provisions of said act and to take and
+    receive, act upon, and obey such orders as he, the said Andrew Johnson,
+    might make and give, and which should not be issued through the General
+    of the Army of the United States, according to the provisions of said
+    act, and with the further intent thereby to enable him, the said Andrew
+    Johnson, to prevent the execution of the act entitled "An act regulating
+    the tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867, and to
+    unlawfully prevent Edwin M. Stanton, then being Secretary for the
+    Department of War, from holding said office and discharging the duties
+    thereof; whereby said "Andrew Johnson, President of the United States"
+    did then and there commit and was guilty of a high misdemeanor in
+    office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And the House of Representatives, by protestation, saving to themselves
+    the liberty of exhibiting at any time hereafter any further articles
+    or other accusation or impeachment against the said Andrew Johnson,
+    President of the United States, and also of replying to his answers
+    which he shall make unto the articles herein preferred against him, and
+    of offering proof to the same, and every part thereof, and to all and
+    every other article, accusation, or impeachment which shall be exhibited
+    by them, as the case shall require, <i>do demand</i> that the said Andrew
+    Johnson may be put to answer the high crimes and misdemeanors in office
+    herein charged against him, and that such proceedings, examinations,
+    trials, and judgments may be thereupon had and given as may be agreeable
+    to law and justice.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    SCHUYLER COLFAX,
+<br>
+    <i>Speaker of the House of Representatives</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Attest:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EDWARD McPHERSON,
+<br>
+    <i>Clerk of the House of Representatives</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, UNITED STATES, <i>March 3, 1868</i>.
+</center>
+<p>
+    The following additional articles of impeachment were agreed to, viz:
+</p>
+<p>
+    ART. X. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+    unmindful of the high duties of his office and the dignity and
+    proprieties thereof, and of the harmony and courtesies which ought to
+    exist and be maintained between the executive and legislative branches
+    of the Government of the United States, designing and intending to
+    set aside the rightful authority and powers of Congress, did attempt
+    to bring into disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt, and reproach the
+    Congress of the United States and the several branches thereof, to
+    impair and destroy the regard and respect of all the good people of
+    the United States for the Congress and legislative power thereof (which
+    all officers of the Government ought inviolably to preserve and
+    maintain), and to excite the odium and resentment of all the good
+    people of the United States against Congress and the laws by it duly and
+    constitutionally enacted; and, in pursuance of his design and intent,
+    openly and publicly, and before divers assemblages of the citizens of
+    the United States, convened in divers parts thereof to meet and receive
+    said Andrew Johnson as the Chief Magistrate of the United States, did,
+    on the 18th day of August, A.D. 1866, and on divers other days and
+    times, as well before as afterwards, make and deliver with a loud voice
+    certain intemperate, inflammatory, and scandalous harangues, and did
+    therein utter loud threats and bitter menaces, as well against Congress
+    as the laws of the United States, duly enacted thereby, amid the cries,
+    jeers, and laughter of the multitudes then assembled and in hearing,
+    which are set forth in the several specifications hereinafter written
+    in substance and effect; that is to say:
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Specification first</i>.&mdash;In this, that at Washington, in the District of
+    Columbia, in the Executive Mansion, to a committee of citizens who
+    called upon the President of the United States, speaking of and
+    concerning the Congress of the United States, said Andrew Johnson,
+    President of the United States, heretofore, to wit, on the 18th day of
+    August, A.D. 1866, did in a loud voice declare in substance and effect,
+    among other things; that is to say:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  So far as the executive department of the Government is concerned, the
+  effort has been made to restore the Union, to heal the breach, to pour
+  oil into the wounds which were consequent upon the struggle, and (to
+  speak in common phrase) to prepare, as the learned and wise physician
+  would, a plaster healing in character and coextensive with the wound.
+  We thought and we think that we had partially succeeded; but as the work
+  progresses, as reconstruction seemed to be taking place and the country
+  was becoming reunited, we found a disturbing and marring element
+  opposing us. In alluding to that element I shall go no further than your
+  convention and the distinguished gentleman who has delivered to me the
+  report of its proceedings. I shall make no reference to it that I do not
+  believe the time and the occasion justify.
+</p><p class="q">
+  We have witnessed in one department of the Government every endeavor
+  to prevent the restoration of peace, harmony, and union. We have seen
+  hanging upon the verge of the Government, as it were, a body called, or
+  which assumes to be, the Congress of the United States, while in fact it
+  is a Congress of only a part of the States. We have seen this Congress
+  pretend to be for the Union, when its every step and act tended to
+  perpetuate disunion and make a disruption of the States inevitable.
+  * * * We have seen Congress gradually encroach, step by step, upon
+  constitutional rights, and violate, day after day and month after month,
+  fundamental principles of the Government. We have seen a Congress that
+  seemed to forget that there was a limit to the sphere and scope of
+  legislation. We have seen a Congress in a minority assume to exercise
+  power which, allowed to be consummated, would result in despotism or
+  monarchy itself.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Specification second</i>.&mdash;In this, that at Cleveland, in the State
+    of Ohio, heretofore, to wit, on the 3d day of September, A.D. 1866,
+    before a public assemblage of citizens and others, said Andrew Johnson,
+    President of the United States, speaking of and concerning the Congress
+    of the United States, did in a loud voice declare in substance and
+    effect, among other things; that is to say:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  I will tell you what I did do. I called upon your Congress that is
+  trying to break up the Government.
+</p><p class="q">
+  In conclusion, besides that, Congress had taken much pains to poison
+  their constituents against him. But what had Congress done? Have they
+  done anything to restore the Union of these States? No. On the contrary,
+  they have done everything to prevent it. And because he stood now where
+  he did when the rebellion commenced, he had been denounced as a traitor.
+  Who had run greater risks or made greater sacrifices than himself? But
+  Congress, factious and domineering, had undertaken to poison the minds
+  of the American people.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Specification third</i>.&mdash;In this, that at St. Louis, in the State of
+    Missouri, heretofore, to wit, on the 8th day of September, A.D. 1866,
+    before a public assemblage of citizens and others, said Andrew Johnson,
+    President of the United States, speaking of and concerning the Congress
+    of the United States, did in a loud voice declare in substance and
+    effect, among other things; that is to say:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Go on. Perhaps if you had a word or two on the subject of New Orleans
+  you might understand more about it than you do. And if you will go
+  back&mdash;if you will go back and ascertain the cause of the riot at New
+  Orleans, perhaps you will not be so prompt in calling out "New Orleans."
+  If you will take up the riot at New Orleans and trace it back to its
+  source or its immediate cause, you will find out who was responsible
+  for the blood that was shed there. If you will take up the riot at New
+  Orleans and trace it back to the Radical Congress, you will find that
+  the riot at New Orleans was substantially planned. If you will take up
+  the proceedings in their caucuses, you will understand that they there
+  knew that a convention was to be called which was extinct by its power
+  having expired; that it was said that the intention was that a new
+  government was to be organized, and on the organization of that
+  government the intention was to enfranchise one portion of the
+  population, called the colored population, who had just been
+  emancipated, and at the same time disfranchise white men. When you
+  design to talk about New Orleans, you ought to understand what you are
+  talking about. When you read the speeches that were made and take up
+  the facts on the Friday and Saturday before that convention sat, you
+  will there find that speeches were made, incendiary in their character,
+  exciting that portion of the population&mdash;the black population&mdash;to arm
+  themselves and prepare for the shedding of blood. You will also find
+  that that convention did assemble, in violation of law, and the
+  intention of that convention was to supersede the reorganized
+  authorities in the State government of Louisiana, which had been
+  recognized by the Government of the United States; and every man engaged
+  in that rebellion in that convention, with the intention of superseding
+  and upturning the civil government which had been recognized by the
+  Government of the United States, I say that he was a traitor to the
+  Constitution of the United States; and hence you find that another
+  rebellion was commenced, <i>having its origin in the Radical Congress</i>.
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p class="q">
+  So much for the New Orleans riot. And there was the cause and the origin
+  of the blood that was shed; and every drop of blood that was shed is
+  upon their skirts, and they are responsible for it. I could test this
+  thing a little closer, but will not do it here to-night. But when you
+  talk about the causes and consequences that resulted from proceedings
+  of that kind, perhaps, as I have been introduced here, and you have
+  provoked questions of this kind&mdash;though it does not provoke me&mdash;I will
+  tell you a few wholesome things that have been done by this Radical
+  Congress in connection with New Orleans and the extension of the
+  elective franchise.
+</p><p class="q">
+  I know that I have been traduced and abused. I know it has come in
+  advance of me, here as elsewhere, that I have attempted to exercise an
+  arbitrary power in resisting laws that were intended to be forced upon
+  the Government; that I had exercised that power; that I had abandoned
+  the party that elected me, and that I was a traitor, because I exercised
+  the veto power in attempting and did arrest for a time a bill that was
+  called a "Freedmen's Bureau" bill; yes, that I was a traitor. And I have
+  been traduced, I have been slandered, I have been maligned, I have been
+  called Judas Iscariot and all that. Now, my countrymen, here to-night,
+  it is very easy to indulge in epithets; it is easy to call a man a Judas
+  and cry out "traitor;" but when he is called upon to give arguments and
+  facts he is very often found wanting. Judas Iscariot&mdash;Judas. There was
+  a Judas, and he was one of the twelve apostles. Oh, yes; the twelve
+  apostles had a Christ. The twelve apostles had a Christ, and he never
+  could have had a Judas unless he had had twelve apostles. If I have
+  played the Judas, who has been my Christ that I have played the Judas
+  with? Was it Thad. Stevens? Was it Wendell Phillips? Was it Charles
+  Sumner? These are the men that stop and compare themselves with the
+  Savior, and everybody that differs with them in opinion, and to try
+  to stay and arrest their diabolical and nefarious policy, is to be
+  denounced as a Judas.
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p class="q">
+  Well, let me say to you, if you will stand by me in this action, if you
+  will stand by me in trying to give the people a fair chance&mdash;soldiers
+  and citizens&mdash;to participate in these offices, God being willing I will
+  kick them out. I will kick them out just as fast as I can.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Let me say to you in concluding that what I have said I intended to say.
+  I was not provoked into this, and I care not for their menaces, the
+  taunts and the jeers. I care not for threats. I do not intend to be
+  bullied by my enemies nor overawed by my friends. But, God willing, with
+  your help I will veto their measures whenever any of them come to me.
+</p>
+<p>
+    which said utterances, declarations, threats, and harangues, highly
+    censurable in any, are peculiarly indecent and unbecoming in the Chief
+    Magistrate of the United States, by means whereof said Andrew Johnson
+    has brought the high office of the President of the United States into
+    contempt, ridicule, and disgrace, to the great scandal of all good
+    citizens; whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+    did commit and was then and there guilty of a high misdemeanor in
+    office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    ART. XI. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+    unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office,
+    and in disregard of the Constitution and laws of the United States, did
+    heretofore, to wit, on the 18th day of August, A.D. 1866, at the city of
+    Washington, in the District of Columbia, by public speech, declare and
+    affirm in substance that the Thirty-ninth Congress of the United States
+    was not a Congress of the United States authorized by the Constitution
+    to exercise legislative power under the same, but, on the contrary, was
+    a Congress of only part of the States; thereby denying and intending to
+    deny that the legislation of said Congress was valid or obligatory upon
+    him, the said Andrew Johnson, except in so far as he saw fit to approve
+    the same, and also thereby denying and intending to deny the power of
+    the said Thirty-ninth Congress to propose amendments to the Constitution
+    of the United States; and in pursuance of said declaration the said
+    Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, afterwards, to wit,
+    on the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at the city of Washington,
+    in the District of Columbia, did unlawfully, and in disregard of the
+    requirement of the Constitution that he should take care that the laws
+    be faithfully executed, attempt to prevent the execution of an act
+    entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed
+    March 2, 1867, by unlawfully devising and contriving, and attempting to
+    devise and contrive, means by which he should prevent Edwin M. Stanton
+    from forthwith resuming the functions of the office of Secretary for the
+    Department of War, notwithstanding the refusal of the Senate to concur
+    in the suspension theretofore made by said Andrew Johnson of said Edwin
+    M. Stanton from said office of Secretary for the Department of War, and
+    also by further unlawfully devising and contriving, and attempting to
+    devise and contrive, means then and there to prevent the execution of
+    an act entitled "An act making appropriations for the support of the
+    Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868 and for other purposes,"
+    approved March 2, 1867, and also to prevent the execution of an act
+    entitled "An act to provide for the more efficient government of the
+    rebel States," passed March 2, 1867, whereby the said Andrew Johnson,
+    President of the United States, did then, to wit, on the 21st day of
+    February, A.D. 1868, at the city of Washington, commit and was guilty
+    of a high misdemeanor in office.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    SCHUYLER COLFAX,
+<br>
+    <i>Speaker of the House of Representatives</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Attest:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EDWARD McPHERSON,
+<br>
+    <i>Clerk of the House of Representatives</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<center>
+    IN THE SENATE, <i>March 4, 1868</i>.
+</center>
+<p>
+    The President <i>pro tempore</i> laid before the Senate the following letter
+    from the Hon. Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the
+    United States:
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>March 4, 1868</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Inasmuch as the sole power to try impeachments is vested by the
+    Constitution in the Senate, and it is made the duty of the Chief Justice
+    to preside when the President is on trial, I take the liberty of
+    submitting, very respectfully, some observations in respect to the
+    proper mode of proceeding upon the impeachment which has been preferred
+    by the House of Representatives against the President now in office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    That when the Senate sits for the trial of an impeachment it sits as a
+    court seems unquestionable.
+</p>
+<p>
+    That for the trial of an impeachment of the President this court must be
+    constituted of the members of the Senate, with the Chief Justice
+    presiding, seems equally unquestionable.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Federalist is regarded as the highest contemporary authority on the
+    construction of the Constitution, and in the sixty-fourth number the
+    functions of the Senate "sitting in their judicial capacity as a court
+    for the trial of impeachments" are examined.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In a paragraph explaining the reasons for not uniting "the Supreme Court
+    with the Senate in the formation of the court of impeachments" it is
+    observed that&mdash;
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  To a certain extent the benefits of that union will be obtained from
+  making the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court the president of the court
+  of impeachments, as is proposed by the plan of the Convention, while the
+  inconveniences of an entire incorporation of the former into the latter
+  will be substantially avoided. This was, perhaps, the prudent mean.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This authority seems to leave no doubt upon either of the propositions
+    just stated; and the statement of them will serve to introduce the
+    question upon which I think it my duty to state the result of my
+    reflections to the Senate, namely, At what period, in the case of
+    an impeachment of the President, should the court of impeachment be
+    organized under oath, as directed by the Constitution?
+</p>
+<p>
+    It will readily suggest itself to anyone who reflects upon the abilities
+    and the learning in the law which distinguish so many Senators that
+    besides the reason assigned in the Federalist there must have been still
+    another for the provision requiring the Chief Justice to preside in the
+    court of impeachment. Under the Constitution, in case of a vacancy in
+    the office of President, the Vice-President succeeds, and it was
+    doubtless thought prudent and befitting that the next in succession
+    should not preside in a proceeding through which a vacancy might be
+    created.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is not doubted that the Senate, while sitting in its ordinary
+    capacity, must necessarily receive from the House of Representatives
+    some notice of its intention to impeach the President at its bar,
+    but it does not seem to me an unwarranted opinion, in view of this
+    constitutional provision, that the organization of the Senate as
+    a court of impeachment, under the Constitution, should precede the
+    actual announcement of the impeachment on the part of the House.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And it may perhaps be thought a still less unwarranted opinion that
+    articles of impeachment should only be presented to a court of
+    impeachment; that no summons or other process should issue except
+    from the organized court, and that rules for the government of the
+    proceedings of such a court should be framed only by the court itself.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I have found myself unable to come to any other conclusions than these.
+    I can assign no reason for requiring the Senate to organize as a court
+    under any other than its ordinary presiding officer for the latter
+    proceedings upon an impeachment of the President which does not seem
+    to me to apply equally to the earlier.
+</p>
+<p>
+    I am informed that the Senate has proceeded upon other views, and it is
+    not my purpose to contest what its superior wisdom may have directed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    All good citizens will fervently pray that no occasion may ever arise
+    when the grave proceedings now in progress will be cited as a precedent;
+    but it is not impossible that such an occasion may come.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Inasmuch, therefore, as the Constitution has charged the Chief Justice
+    with an important function in the trial of an impeachment of the
+    President, it has seemed to me fitting and obligatory, where he is
+    unable to concur in the views of the Senate concerning matters essential
+    to the trial, that his respectful dissent should appear.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    S.P. CHASE,
+<br>
+    <i>Chief Justice of the United States</i>.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h3>
+    PROCEEDINGS OF THE SENATE SITTING FOR THE TRIAL OF THE IMPEACHMENT
+    OF ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
+</h3>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 1868.
+</p>
+<h4>
+    THE UNITED STATES <i>vs</i>. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    The Chief Justice of the United States entered the Senate Chamber and
+    was conducted to the chair by the committee appointed by the Senate for
+    that purpose.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The following oath was administered to the Chief Justice by Associate
+    Justice Nelson, and by the Chief Justice to the members of the Senate:
+</p>
+<p>
+    I do solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of
+    the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, now
+    pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and
+    laws. So help me God.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 1868.
+</p>
+<h4>
+    THE UNITED STATES <i>vs</i>. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    To accord with the conviction of the Chief Justice<a href="#note-76"><small>76</small></a> that the court
+    should adopt its own rules, those adopted on March 2 by the Senate
+    sitting in its legislative capacity were readopted by the Senate sitting
+    as a court of impeachment. The rules are as follows:
+</p>
+<center>
+    RULES OF PROCEDURE AND PRACTICE IN THE SENATE WHEN SITTING ON THE TRIAL
+    OF IMPEACHMENTS.
+</center>
+<p>
+    I. Whensoever the Senate shall receive notice from the House of
+    Representatives that managers are appointed on their part to conduct an
+    impeachment against any person, and are directed to carry articles of
+    impeachment to the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate shall immediately
+    inform the House of Representatives that the Senate is ready to receive
+    the managers for the purpose of exhibiting such articles of impeachment
+    agreeably to said notice.
+</p>
+<p>
+    II. When the managers of an impeachment shall be introduced at the bar
+    of the Senate and shall signify that they are ready to exhibit articles
+    of impeachment against any person, the Presiding Officer of the Senate
+    shall direct the Sergeant-at-Arms to make proclamation, who shall, after
+    making proclamation, repeat the following words, viz:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  All persons are commanded to keep silence, on pain of imprisonment,
+  while the House of Representatives is exhibiting to the Senate of the
+  United States articles of impeachment against &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;.
+</p>
+<p>
+    after which the articles shall be exhibited; and then the Presiding
+    Officer of the Senate shall inform the managers that the Senate will
+    take proper order on the subject of the impeachment, of which due notice
+    shall be given to the House of Representatives.
+</p>
+<p>
+    III. Upon such articles being presented to the Senate, the Senate shall,
+    at 1 o'clock afternoon of the day (Sunday excepted) following such
+    presentation, or sooner if so ordered by the Senate, proceed to the
+    consideration of such articles, and shall continue in session from day
+    to day (Sundays excepted) after the trial shall commence (unless
+    otherwise ordered by the Senate) until final judgment shall be rendered,
+    and so much longer as may in its judgment be needful. Before proceeding
+    to the consideration of the articles of impeachment the Presiding
+    Officer shall administer the oath hereinafter provided to the members of
+    the Senate then present, and to the other members of the Senate as they
+    shall appear, whose duty it shall be to take the same.
+</p>
+<p>
+    IV. When the President of the United States, or the Vice-President
+    of the United States upon whom the powers and duties of the office of
+    President shall have devolved, shall be impeached, the Chief Justice
+    of the Supreme Court of the United States shall preside; and in a case
+    requiring the said Chief Justice to preside notice shall be given to him
+    by the Presiding Officer of the Senate of the time and place fixed for
+    the consideration of the articles of impeachment as aforesaid, with a
+    request to attend; and the said Chief Justice shall preside over the
+    Senate during the consideration of said articles and upon the trial
+    of the person impeached therein.
+</p>
+<p>
+    V. The Presiding Officer shall have power to make and issue, by himself
+    or by the Secretary of the Senate, all orders, mandates, writs, and
+    precepts authorized by these rules or by the Senate, and to make and
+    enforce such other regulations and orders in the premises as the Senate
+    may authorize or provide.
+</p>
+<p>
+    VI. The Senate shall have power to compel the attendance of witnesses,
+    to enforce obedience to its orders, mandates, writs, precepts, and
+    judgments, to preserve order, and to punish in a summary way contempts
+    of and disobedience to its authority, orders, mandates, writs, precepts,
+    or judgments, and to make all lawful orders, rules, and regulations
+    which it may deem essential or conducive to the ends of justice; and the
+    Sergeant-at-Arms, under the direction of the Senate, may employ such aid
+    and assistance as may be necessary to enforce, execute, and carry into
+    effect the lawful orders, mandates, writs, and precepts of the Senate.
+</p>
+<p>
+    VII. The Presiding Officer of the Senate shall direct all necessary
+    preparations in the Senate Chamber, and the presiding officer upon the
+    trial shall direct all the forms of proceeding while the Senate are
+    sitting for the purpose of trying an impeachment and all forms during
+    the trial not otherwise specially provided for. The presiding officer
+    may, in the first instance, submit to the Senate, without a division,
+    all questions of evidence and incidental questions; but the same shall,
+    on the demand of one-fifth of the members present, be decided by yeas
+    and nays.
+</p>
+<p>
+    VIII. Upon the presentation of articles of impeachment and the
+    organization of the Senate as hereinbefore provided, a writ of summons
+    shall issue to the accused, reciting said articles and notifying him to
+    appear before the Senate upon a day and at a place to be fixed by the
+    Senate, and named in such writ, and file his answer to said articles of
+    impeachment, and to stand to and abide the orders and judgments of the
+    Senate thereon, which writ shall be served by such officer or person as
+    shall be named in the precept thereof such number of days prior to the
+    day fixed for such appearance as shall be named in such precept, either
+    by the delivery of an attested copy thereof to the person accused or,
+    if that can not conveniently be done, by leaving such copy at the last
+    known place of abode of such person or at his usual place of business,
+    in some conspicuous place therein; or, if such service shall be, in the
+    judgment of the Senate, impracticable, notice to the accused to appear
+    shall be given in such other manner, by publication or otherwise, as
+    shall be deemed just; and if the writ aforesaid shall fail of service
+    in the manner aforesaid, the proceedings shall not thereby abate, but
+    further service may be made in such manner as the Senate shall direct.
+    If the accused, after service, shall fail to appear, either in person or
+    by attorney, on the day so fixed therefor as aforesaid, or, appearing,
+    shall fail to file his answer to such articles of impeachment, the trial
+    shall proceed, nevertheless, as upon a plea of not guilty. If a plea of
+    guilty shall be entered, judgment may be entered thereon without further
+    proceedings.
+</p>
+<p>
+    IX. At 12 o'clock and 30 minutes afternoon of the day appointed for the
+    return of the summons against the person impeached the legislative and
+    executive business of the Senate shall be suspended and the Secretary of
+    the Senate shall administer an oath to the returning officer in the form
+    following, viz:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  I, &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, do solemnly swear that the return made by me
+  upon the process issued on the &mdash;&mdash; day of &mdash;&mdash; by the Senate of the
+  United States against &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; is truly made, and that I have
+  performed such service as herein described.
+</p><p class="q">
+  So help me God.
+</p>
+<p>
+    which oath shall be entered at large on the records.
+</p>
+<p>
+    X. The person impeached shall then be called to appear and answer the
+    articles of impeachment against him. If he appear, or any person for
+    him, the appearance shall be recorded, stating particularly if by
+    himself or by agent or attorney, naming the person appearing and the
+    capacity in which he appears, If he do not appear, either personally
+    or by agent or attorney, the same shall be recorded.
+</p>
+<p>
+    XI. At 12 o'clock and 30 minutes afternoon of the day appointed for the
+    trial of an impeachment the legislative and executive business of the
+    Senate shall be suspended and the Secretary shall give notice to the
+    House of Representatives that the Senate is ready to proceed upon the
+    impeachment of &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, in the Senate Chamber, which chamber
+    is prepared with accommodations for the reception of the House of
+    Representatives.
+</p>
+<p>
+    XII. The hour of the day at which the Senate shall sit upon the trial of
+    an impeachment shall be (unless otherwise ordered) 12 o'clock m., and
+    when the hour for such sitting shall arrive the Presiding Officer of the
+    Senate shall so announce; and thereupon the presiding officer upon such
+    trial shall cause proclamation to be made, and the business of the trial
+    shall proceed. The adjournment of the Senate sitting in said trial shall
+    not operate as an adjournment of the Senate, but on such adjournment the
+    Senate shall resume the consideration of its legislative and executive
+    business.
+</p>
+<p>
+    XIII. The Secretary of the Senate shall record the proceedings in cases
+    of impeachment as in the case of legislative proceedings, and the same
+    shall be reported in the same manner as the legislative proceedings of
+    the Senate.
+</p>
+<p>
+    XIV. Counsel for the parties shall be admitted to appear and be heard
+    upon an impeachment.
+</p>
+<p>
+    XV. All motions made by the parties or their counsel shall be addressed
+    to the presiding officer, and if he or any Senator shall require it they
+    shall be committed to writing and read at the Secretary's table.
+</p>
+<p>
+    XVI. Witnesses shall be examined by one person on behalf of the party
+    producing them and then cross-examined by one person on the other side.
+</p>
+<p>
+    XVII. If a Senator is called as a witness, he shall be sworn and give
+    his testimony standing in his place.
+</p>
+<p>
+    XVIII. If a Senator wishes a question to be put to a witness, or to
+    offer a motion or order (except a motion to adjourn), it shall be
+    reduced to writing and put by the presiding officer.
+</p>
+<p>
+    XIX. At all times while the Senate is sitting upon the trial of an
+    impeachment the doors of the Senate shall be kept open, unless the
+    Senate shall direct the doors to be closed while deliberating upon
+    its decisions.
+</p>
+<p>
+    XX. All preliminary or interlocutory questions and all motions shall be
+    argued for not exceeding one hour on each side, unless the Senate shall
+    by order extend the time.
+</p>
+<p>
+    XXI. The case on each side shall be opened by one person. The final
+    argument on the merits may be made by two persons on each side (unless
+    otherwise ordered by the Senate, upon application for that purpose),
+    and the argument shall be opened and closed on the part of the House
+    of Representatives.
+</p>
+<p>
+    XXII. On the final question whether the impeachment is sustained the
+    yeas and nays shall be taken on each article of impeachment separately,
+    and if the impeachment shall not, upon any of the articles presented, be
+    sustained by the votes of two-thirds of the members present a judgment
+    of acquittal shall be entered; but if the person accused in such
+    articles of impeachment shall be convicted upon any of said articles by
+    the votes of two-thirds of the members present the Senate shall proceed
+    to pronounce judgment, and a certified copy of such judgment shall be
+    deposited in the office of the Secretary of State.
+</p>
+<p>
+    XXIII. All the orders and decisions shall be made and had by yeas and
+    nays, which shall be entered on the record, and without debate, except
+    when the doors shall be closed for deliberation, and in that case no
+    member shall speak more than once on one question, and for not more than
+    ten minutes on an interlocutory question, and for not more than fifteen
+    minutes on the final question, unless by consent of the Senate, to be
+    had without debate; but a motion to adjourn may be decided without the
+    yeas and nays, unless they be demanded by one-fifth of the members
+    present.
+</p>
+<p>
+    XXIV. Witnesses shall be sworn in the following form, viz:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  You, &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, do swear (or affirm, as the case maybe) that
+  the evidence you shall give in the case now depending between the
+  United States and &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; shall be the truth, the whole
+  truth, and nothing but the truth. So help you God.
+</p>
+<p>
+    which oath shall be administered by the Secretary or any other duly
+    authorized person.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Form of subpoena to be issued on the application of the managers of
+    the impeachment, or of the party impeached, or of his counsel:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  <i>To</i> &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;; <i>greeting</i>:
+</p><p class="q">
+  You and each of you are hereby commanded to appear before the Senate of
+  the United States on the &mdash;&mdash; day of &mdash;&mdash;, at the Senate Chamber, in
+  the city of Washington, then and there to testify your knowledge in the
+  cause which is before the Senate in which the House of Representatives
+  have impeached &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Fail not.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Witness &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, and Presiding Officer of the Senate, at
+  the city of Washington, this &mdash;&mdash; day of &mdash;&mdash;, A.D. &mdash;&mdash;, and of the
+  Independence of the United States the &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Form of direction for the service of said subpoena:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  <i>The Senate of the United States to</i> &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, <i>greeting</i>:
+</p><p class="q">
+  You are hereby commanded to serve and return the within subpoena
+  according to law.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Dated at Washington, this &mdash;&mdash; day of &mdash;&mdash;, A.D. &mdash;&mdash;, and of the
+  Independence of the United States the &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;.
+</p><p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  <i>Secretary of the Senate</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Form of oath to be administered to the members of the Senate sitting in
+    the trial of impeachments:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  I solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that in all things
+  appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, now
+  pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and
+  laws. So help me God.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Form of summons to be issued and served upon the person impeached.
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, <i>ss</i>:
+</p><p class="q">
+  <i>The Senate of the United States to</i> &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, <i>greeting</i>:
+</p><p class="q">
+  Whereas the House of Representatives of the United States of America did
+  on the &mdash;&mdash; day of &mdash;&mdash; exhibit to the Senate articles of impeachment
+  against you, the said &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, in the words following:
+</p><p class="q">
+  [Here insert the articles.]
+</p><p class="q">
+  And demand that you, the said &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, should be put to
+  answer the accusations as set forth in said articles, and that such
+  proceedings, examinations, trials, and judgments might be thereupon
+  had as are agreeable to law and justice:
+</p><p class="q">
+  You, the said &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, are therefore hereby summoned to be
+  and appear before the Senate of the United States of America, at their
+  chamber, in the city of Washington, on the &mdash;&mdash; day of &mdash;&mdash;, at 12
+  o'clock and 30 minutes afternoon, then and there to answer to the said
+  articles of impeachment, and then and there to abide by, obey, and
+  perform such orders, directions, and judgments as the Senate of the
+  United States shall make in the premises, according to the Constitution
+  and laws of the United States.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Hereof you are not to fail.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Witness &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, and Presiding Officer of the said Senate, at
+  the city of Washington, this &mdash;&mdash; day of &mdash;&mdash;, A.D. &mdash;&mdash;, and of the
+  Independence of the United States the &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Form of precept to be indorsed on said writ of summons:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, <i>ss</i>:
+</p><p class="q">
+  <i>The Senate of the United States to</i> &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, <i>greeting</i>:
+</p><p class="q">
+  You are hereby commanded to deliver to and leave with &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;,
+  if conveniently to be found, or, if not, to leave at his usual place of
+  abode or at his usual place of business, in some conspicuous place, a
+  true and attested copy of the within writ of summons, together with a
+  like copy of this precept; and in whichsoever way you perform the
+  service, let it be done at least &mdash;&mdash; days before the appearance day
+  mentioned in said writ of summons.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Fail not, and make return of this writ of summons and precept, with your
+  proceedings thereon indorsed, on or before the appearance day mentioned
+  in the said writ of summons.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Witness &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, and Presiding Officer of the Senate, at
+  the city of Washington, this &mdash;&mdash; day of &mdash;&mdash;, A.D. &mdash;&mdash;, and of the
+  Independence of the United States the &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;.
+</p>
+<p>
+    All process shall be served by the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate unless
+    otherwise ordered by the court.
+</p>
+<p>
+    XXV. If the Senate shall at any time fail to sit for the consideration
+    of articles of impeachment on the day or hour fixed therefor, the Senate
+    may by an order, to be adopted without debate, fix a day and hour for
+    resuming such consideration.
+</p>
+<p>
+    On March 31 Rule VII was amended to read as follows:
+</p>
+<p>
+    VII. The Presiding Officer of the Senate shall direct all necessary
+    preparations in the Senate Chamber, and the presiding officer on the
+    trial shall direct all the forms of proceeding while the Senate are
+    sitting for the purpose of trying an impeachment, and all forms during
+    the trial not otherwise specially provided for, and the presiding
+    officer on the trial may rule all questions of evidence and incidental
+    questions, which ruling shall stand as the judgment of the Senate,
+    unless some member of the Senate shall ask that a formal vote be taken
+    thereon, in which case it shall be submitted to the Senate for decision;
+    or he may, at his option, in the first instance submit any such question
+    to a vote of the members of the Senate.
+</p>
+<p>
+    On April 3 Rule VII was further amended by inserting at the end thereof
+    the following:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Upon all such questions the vote shall be without a division, unless the
+    yeas and nays be demanded by one-fifth of the members present, when the
+    same shall be taken.
+</p>
+<p>
+    On March 13 Rule XXIII was amended to read as follows:
+</p>
+<p>
+    XXIII. All the orders and decisions shall be made and had by yeas and
+    nays, which shall be entered on the record, and without debate, subject,
+    however, to the operation of Rule VII, except when the doors shall be
+    closed for deliberation, and in that case no member shall speak more
+    than once on one question, and for not more than ten minutes on an
+    interlocutory question, and for not more than fifteen minutes on the
+    final question, unless by consent of the Senate, to be had without
+    debate; but a motion to adjourn may be decided without the yeas and
+    nays, unless they be demanded by one-fifth of the members present.
+</p>
+<p>
+    On May 7 Rule XXIII was further amended by adding thereto the following:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The fifteen minutes herein allowed shall be for the whole deliberation
+    on the final question, and not to the final question on each article of
+    impeachment.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 1868.
+</p>
+<h4>
+    THE UNITED STATES <i>vs</i>. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Mr. Henry Stanbery, in behalf of Andrew Johnson, the respondent, read
+    the following paper:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the matter of the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Mr. CHIEF JUSTICE: I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+    having been served with a summons to appear before this honorable court,
+    sitting as a court of impeachment, to answer certain articles of
+    impeachment found and presented against me by the honorable the House
+    of Representatives of the United States, do hereby enter my appearance
+    by my counsel, Henry Stanbery, Benjamin R. Curtis, Jeremiah S. Black,
+    William M. Evarts, and Thomas A.R. Nelson, who have my warrant and
+    authority therefor, and who are instructed by me to ask of this
+    honorable court a reasonable time for the preparation of my answer
+    to said articles. After a careful examination of the articles of
+    impeachment and consultation with my counsel, I am satisfied that at
+    least forty days will be necessary for the preparation of my answer,
+    and I respectfully ask that it be allowed.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Mr. Stanbery then submitted the following motion:
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the matter of the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Henry Stanbery, Benjamin R. Curtis, Jeremiah S. Black, William M.
+    Evarts, and Thomas A.R. Nelson, of counsel for the respondent, move the
+    court for the allowance of forty days for the preparation of the answer
+    to the articles of impeachment, and in support of the motion make the
+    following professional statement:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The articles are eleven in number, involving many questions of law
+    and fact. We have during the limited time and opportunity afforded us
+    considered as far as possible the field of investigation which must be
+    explored in the preparation of the answer, and the conclusion at which
+    we have arrived is that with the utmost diligence the time we have asked
+    is reasonable and necessary.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The precedents as to time for answer upon impeachments before the Senate
+    to which we have had opportunity to refer are those of Judge Chase and
+    Judge Peck.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the case of Judge Chase time was allowed from the 3d of January until
+    the 4th of February next succeeding to put in his answer&mdash;a period of
+    thirty-two days; but in this case there were only eight articles, and
+    Judge Chase had been for a year cognizant of most of the articles, and
+    had been himself engaged in preparing to meet them.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the case of Judge Peck there was but a single article. Judge Peck
+    asked for time from the 10th to the 25th of May to put in his answer,
+    and it was granted. It appears that Judge Peck had been long cognizant
+    of the ground laid for his impeachment, and had been present before the
+    committee of the House upon the examination of the witnesses, and had
+    been permitted by the House of Representatives to present to that body
+    an elaborate answer to the charges.
+</p>
+<p>
+    It is apparent that the President is fairly entitled to more time than
+    was allowed in either of the foregoing cases. It is proper to add that
+    the respondents in these cases were lawyers, fully capable of preparing
+    their own answers, and that no pressing official duties interfered with
+    their attention to that business; whereas the President, not being a
+    lawyer, must rely on his counsel. The charges involve his acts,
+    declarations, and intentions, as to all which his counsel must be fully
+    advised upon consultation with him, step by step, in the preparation of
+    his defense. It is seldom that a case requires such constant
+    communication between client and counsel as this, and yet such
+    communication can only be had at such intervals as are allowed to the
+    President from the usual hours that must be devoted to his high official
+    duties.
+</p>
+<p>
+    We further beg leave to suggest for the consideration of this honorable
+    court that, as counsel careful as well of their own reputation as of
+    the interests of their client in a case of such magnitude as this, so
+    out of the ordinary range of professional experience, where so much
+    responsibility is felt, they submit to the candid consideration of the
+    court that they have a right to ask for themselves such opportunity to
+    discharge their duty as seems to them to be absolutely necessary.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+  HENRY STANBERY,<br>
+  B.R. CURTIS,<br>
+  JEREMIAH S. BLACK, WILLIAM M. EVARTS, } Per H.S.<br>
+  THOMAS A.R. NELSON,<br>
+    <i>Of Counsel for the Respondent</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The above motion was denied, and the Senate adopted the following orders:
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Ordered</i>, That the respondent file answer to the articles of
+    impeachment on or before Monday, the 23d day of March instant.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Ordered</i>, That unless otherwise ordered by the Senate, for cause shown,
+    the trial of the pending impeachment shall proceed immediately after
+    replication shall be filed.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    MONDAY, MARCH 23, 1868.
+</p>
+<h4>
+    THE UNITED STATES <i>vs</i>. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    The answer of the respondent to the articles of impeachment was
+    submitted by his counsel, as follows:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Senate of the United States, sitting as a court of impeachment for the
+    trial of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States.
+</p>
+<p style="text-indent: -2em; padding-left: 2em;">
+    THE ANSWER OF THE SAID ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,
+    TO THE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT EXHIBITED AGAINST HIM BY THE HOUSE OF
+    REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Answer to Article I</i>.&mdash;For answer to the first article he says that
+    Edwin M. Stanton was appointed Secretary for the Department of War on
+    the 15th day of January, A.D. 1862, by Abraham Lincoln, then President
+    of the United States, during the first term of his Presidency, and was
+    commissioned, according to the Constitution and laws of the United
+    States, to hold the said office during the pleasure of the President;
+    that the office of Secretary for the Department of War was created by an
+    act of the First Congress in its first session, passed on the 7th day of
+    August, A.D. 1789, and in and by that act it was provided and enacted
+    that the said Secretary for the Department of War shall perform and
+    execute such duties as shall from time to time be enjoined on and
+    intrusted to him by the President of the United States, agreeably to the
+    Constitution, relative to the subjects within the scope of the said
+    Department; and, furthermore, that the said Secretary shall conduct the
+    business of the said Department in such a manner as the President of the
+    United States shall from time to time order and instruct.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, further answering, says that by force of the act
+    aforesaid and by reason of his appointment aforesaid the said Stanton
+    became the principal officer in one of the Executive Departments of the
+    Government within the true intent and meaning of the second section
+    of the second article of the Constitution of the United States and
+    according to the true intent and meaning of that provision of the
+    Constitution of the United States; and, in accordance with the settled
+    and uniform practice of each and every President of the United States,
+    the said Stanton then became, and so long as he should continue to hold
+    the said office of Secretary for the Department of War must continue to
+    be, one of the advisers of the President of the United States, as well
+    as the person intrusted to act for and represent the President in
+    matters enjoined upon him or intrusted to him by the President touching
+    the Department aforesaid, and for whose conduct in such capacity,
+    subordinate to the President, the President is by the Constitution and
+    laws of the United States made responsible.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, further answering, says he succeeded to the office
+    of President of the United States upon and by reason of the death of
+    Abraham Lincoln, then President of the United States, on the 15th day
+    of April, 1865, and the said Stanton was then holding the said office
+    of Secretary for the Department of War under and by reason of the
+    appointment and commission aforesaid; and not having been removed from
+    the said office by this respondent, the said Stanton continued to hold
+    the same under the appointment and commission aforesaid, at the pleasure
+    of the President, until the time hereinafter particularly mentioned,
+    and at no time received any appointment or commission save as above
+    detailed.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, further answering, says that on and prior to the
+    5th day of August, A.D. 1867, this respondent, the President of the
+    United States, responsible for the conduct of the Secretary for the
+    Department of War, and having the constitutional right to resort to
+    and rely upon the person holding that office for advice concerning
+    the great and difficult public duties enjoined on the President by
+    the Constitution and laws of the United States, became satisfied that
+    he could not allow the said Stanton to continue to hold the office
+    of Secretary for the Department of War without hazard of the public
+    interest; that the relations between the said Stanton and the President
+    no longer permitted the President to resort to him for advice or to be,
+    in the judgment of the President, safely responsible for his conduct of
+    the affairs of the Department of War, as by law required, in accordance
+    with the orders and instructions of the President; and thereupon, by
+    force of the Constitution and laws of the United States, which devolve
+    on the President the power and the duty to control the conduct of the
+    business of that Executive Department of the Government, and by reason
+    of the constitutional duty of the President to take care that the laws
+    be faithfully executed, this respondent did necessarily consider and did
+    determine that the said Stanton ought no longer to hold the said office
+    of Secretary for the Department of War. And this respondent, by virtue
+    of the power and authority vested in him as President of the United
+    States by the Constitution and laws of the United States, to give effect
+    to such his decision and determination, did, on the 5th day of August,
+    A.D. 1867, address to the said Stanton a note of which the following
+    is a true copy:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  SIR: Public considerations of a high character constrain me to say that
+  your resignation as Secretary of War will be accepted.
+</p>
+<p>
+    To which note the said Stanton made the following reply:
+</p>
+<p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  WAR DEPARTMENT,
+<br>
+  <i>Washington, August</i> 5, <i>1867</i>.
+</p><p class="q">
+  SIR: Your note of this day has been received, stating that "public
+  considerations of a high character constrain" you "to say that" my
+  "resignation as Secretary of War will be accepted."
+</p><p class="q">
+  In reply I have the honor to say that public considerations of a high
+  character, which alone have induced me to continue at the head of this
+  Department, constrain me not to resign the office of Secretary of War
+  before the next meeting of Congress.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Very respectfully, yours,
+</p><p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  EDWIN M. STANTON.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This respondent, as President of the United States, was thereon of
+    opinion that, having regard to the necessary official relations and
+    duties of the Secretary for the Department of War to the President of
+    the United States, according to the Constitution and laws of the United
+    States, and having regard to the responsibility of the President for
+    the conduct of the said Secretary, and having regard to the permanent
+    executive authority of the office which the respondent holds under
+    the Constitution and laws of the United States, it was impossible,
+    consistently with the public interests, to allow the said Stanton to
+    continue to hold the said office of Secretary for the Department of War;
+    and it then became the official duty of the respondent, as President of
+    the United States, to consider and decide what act or acts should and
+    might lawfully be done by him, as President of the United States, to
+    cause the said Stanton to surrender the said office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This respondent was informed and verily believed that it was practically
+    settled by the First Congress of the United States, and had been so
+    considered and uniformly and in great numbers of instances acted on by
+    each Congress and President of the United States, in succession, from
+    President Washington to and including President Lincoln, and from the
+    First Congress to the Thirty-ninth Congress, that the Constitution of
+    the United States conferred on the President, as part of the executive
+    power and as one of the necessary means and instruments of performing
+    the executive duty expressly imposed on him by the Constitution of
+    taking care that the laws be faithfully executed, the power at any and
+    all times of removing from office all executive officers for cause to be
+    judged of by the President alone. This respondent had, in pursuance of
+    the Constitution, required the opinion of each principal officer of the
+    Executive Departments upon this question of constitutional executive
+    power and duty, and had been advised by each of them, including
+    the said Stanton, Secretary for the Department of War, that under
+    the Constitution of the United States this power was lodged by
+    the Constitution in the President of the United States, and that,
+    consequently, it could be lawfully exercised by him, and the Congress
+    could not deprive him thereof; and this respondent, in his capacity of
+    President of the United States, and because in that capacity he was both
+    enabled and bound to use his best judgment upon this question, did, in
+    good faith and with an earnest desire to arrive at the truth, come to
+    the conclusion and opinion, and did make the same known to the honorable
+    the Senate of the United States by a message dated on the 2d day of
+    March, 1867 (a true copy whereof is hereunto annexed and marked A), that
+    the power last mentioned was conferred and the duty of exercising it in
+    fit cases was imposed on the President by the Constitution of the United
+    States, and that the President could not be deprived of this power
+    or relieved of this duty, nor could the same be vested by law in the
+    President and the Senate jointly, either in part or whole; and this has
+    ever since remained and was the opinion of this respondent at the time
+    when he was forced as aforesaid to consider and decide what act or acts
+    should and might lawfully be done by this respondent, as President of
+    the United States, to cause the said Stanton to surrender the said
+    office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This respondent was also then aware that by the first section of "An act
+    regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867,
+    by a constitutional majority of both Houses of Congress, it was enacted
+    as follows:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  That every person holding any civil office to which he has been
+  appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and every
+  person who shall hereafter be appointed to any such office and shall
+  become duly qualified to act therein, is and shall be entitled to hold
+  such office until a successor shall have been in like manner appointed
+  and duly qualified, except as herein otherwise provided: <i>Provided</i>,
+  That the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, of the Navy,
+  and of the Interior, the Postmaster-General, and the Attorney-General
+  shall hold their offices, respectively, for and during the term of the
+  President by whom they may have been appointed and one month thereafter,
+  subject to removal by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This respondent was also aware that this act was understood and intended
+    to be an expression of the opinion of the Congress by which that act
+    was passed that the power to remove executive officers for cause might
+    by law be taken from the President and vested in him and the Senate
+    jointly; and although this respondent had arrived at and still retained
+    the opinion above expressed, and verily believed, as he still believes,
+    that the said first section of the last-mentioned act was and is wholly
+    inoperative and void by reason of its conflict with the Constitution of
+    the United States, yet, inasmuch as the same had been enacted by the
+    constitutional majority in each of the two Houses of that Congress, this
+    respondent considered it to be proper to examine and decide whether the
+    particular case of the said Stanton, on which it was this respondent's
+    duty to act, was within or without the terms of that first section of
+    the act, or, if within it, whether the President had not the power,
+    according to the terms of the act, to remove the said Stanton from the
+    office of Secretary for the Department of War; and having, in his
+    capacity of President of the United States, so examined and considered,
+    did form the opinion that the case of the said Stanton and his tenure of
+    office were not affected by the first section of the last-named act.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, further answering, says that although a case thus
+    existed which, in his judgment, as President of the United States,
+    called for the exercise of the executive power to remove the said
+    Stanton from the office of Secretary for the Department of War; and
+    although this respondent was of opinion, as is above shown, that under
+    the Constitution of the United States the power to remove the said
+    Stanton from the said office was vested in the President of the United
+    States; and although this respondent was also of the opinion, as is
+    above shown, that the case of the said Stanton was not affected by
+    the first section of the last-named act; and although each of the
+    said opinions had been formed by this respondent upon an actual case,
+    requiring him, in his capacity of President of the United States, to
+    come to some judgment and determination thereon, yet this respondent,
+    as President of the United States, desired and determined to avoid, if
+    possible, any question of the construction and effect of the said first
+    section of the last-named act, and also the broader question of the
+    executive power conferred upon the President of the United States by
+    the Constitution of the United States to remove one of the principal
+    officers of one of the Executive Departments for cause seeming to him
+    sufficient; and this respondent also desired and determined that if,
+    from causes over which he could exert no control, it should become
+    absolutely necessary to raise and have in some way determined either
+    or both of the said last-named questions, it was in accordance with the
+    Constitution of the United States, and was required of the President
+    thereby, that questions of so much gravity and importance, upon which
+    the legislative and executive departments of the Government had
+    disagreed, which involved powers considered by all branches of the
+    Government, during its entire history down to the year 1867, to have
+    been confided by the Constitution of the United States to the President,
+    and to be necessary for the complete and proper execution of his
+    constitutional duties, should be in some proper way submitted to that
+    judicial department of the Government intrusted by the Constitution
+    with the power, and subjected by it to the duty, not only of
+    determining finally the construction and effect of all acts of Congress,
+    but of comparing them with the Constitution of the United States
+    and pronouncing them inoperative when found in conflict with that
+    fundamental law which the people have enacted for the government of
+    all their servants. And to these ends, first, that through the action
+    of the Senate of the United States the absolute duty of the President
+    to substitute some fit person in place of Mr. Stanton as one of his
+    advisers, and as a principal subordinate officer whose official conduct
+    he was responsible for and had lawful right to control, might, if
+    possible, be accomplished without the necessity of raising any one
+    of the questions aforesaid; and, second, if this duty could not
+    be so performed, then that these questions, or such of them as might
+    necessarily arise, should be judicially determined in manner aforesaid,
+    and for no other end or purpose, this respondent, as President of the
+    United States, on the 12th day of August, 1867, seven days after the
+    reception of the letter of the said Stanton of the 5th of August,
+    hereinbefore stated, did issue to the said Stanton the order
+    following, namely:
+</p>
+<p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+<br>
+  <i>Washington, August 12, 1867</i>.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+<br>
+  <i>Secretary of War</i>.
+</p><p class="q">
+  SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by
+  the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby suspended
+  from office as Secretary of War, and will cease to exercise any and all
+  functions pertaining to the same.
+</p><p class="q">
+  You will at once transfer to General Ulysses S. Grant, who has this day
+  been authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>,
+  all records, books, papers, and other public property now in your
+  custody and charge.
+</p>
+<p>
+    To which said order the said Stanton made the following reply:
+</p>
+<p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  WAR DEPARTMENT,
+<br>
+  <i>Washington City, August 12, 1867</i>.
+</p><p class="q">
+  The PRESIDENT.
+</p><p class="q">
+  SIR: Your note of this date has been received, informing me that by
+  virtue of the powers vested in you as President by the Constitution
+  and laws of the United States I am suspended from office as Secretary
+  of War, and will cease to exercise any and all functions pertaining to
+  the same; and also directing me at once to transfer to General Ulysses
+  S. Grant, who has this day been authorized and empowered to act as
+  Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, all records, books, papers, and other
+  public property now in my custody and charge.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Under a sense of public duty, I am compelled to deny your right under
+  the Constitution and laws of the United States, without the advice and
+  consent of the Senate and without legal cause, to suspend me from office
+  as Secretary of War, or the exercise of any or all functions pertaining
+  to the same, or without such advice and consent to compel me to transfer
+  to any person the records, books, papers, and public property in my
+  custody as Secretary.
+</p><p class="q">
+  But inasmuch as the General Commanding the armies of the United States
+  has been appointed <i>ad interim</i>, and has notified me that he has
+  accepted the appointment, I have no alternative but to submit, under
+  protest, to superior force.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, further answering, says that it is provided in and
+    by the second section of "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil
+    offices" that the President may suspend an officer from the performance
+    of the duties of the office held by him, for certain causes therein
+    designated, until the next meeting of the Senate and until the case
+    shall be acted on by the Senate; that this respondent, as President
+    of the United States, was advised, and he verily believed, and still
+    believes, that the executive power of removal from office confided to
+    him by the Constitution as aforesaid includes the power of suspension
+    from office at the pleasure of the President; and this respondent, by
+    the order aforesaid, did suspend the said Stanton from office, not until
+    the next meeting of the Senate or until the Senate should have acted
+    upon the case, but, by force of the power and authority vested in him by
+    the Constitution and laws of the United States, indefinitely and at the
+    pleasure of the President; and the order, in form aforesaid, was made
+    known to the Senate of the United States on the 12th day of December,
+    A.D. 1867, as will be more fully hereinafter stated.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, further answering, says that in and by the act of
+    February 13, 1795, it was, among other things, provided and enacted that
+    in case of vacancy in the office of Secretary for the Department of
+    War it shall be lawful for the President, in case he shall think it
+    necessary, to authorize any person to perform the duties of that office
+    until a successor be appointed or such vacancy filled, but not exceeding
+    the term of six months; and this respondent, being advised and believing
+    that such law was in full force and not repealed, by an order dated
+    August 12, 1867, did authorize and empower Ulysses S. Grant, General of
+    the armies of the United States, to act as Secretary for the Department
+    of War <i>ad interim</i>, in the form in which similar authority had
+    theretofore been given, not until the next meeting of the Senate and
+    until the Senate should act on the case, but at the pleasure of the
+    President, subject only to the limitation of six months in the said
+    last-mentioned act contained; and a copy of the last-named order was
+    made known to the Senate of the United States on the 12th day of
+    December, A.D. 1867, as will be hereinafter more fully stated; and in
+    pursuance of the design and intention aforesaid, if it should become
+    necessary, to submit the said questions to a judicial determination,
+    this respondent, at or near the date of the last-mentioned order, did
+    make known such his purpose to obtain a judicial decision of the said
+    questions, or such of them as might be necessary.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, further answering, says that in further pursuance
+    of his intention and design, if possible, to perform what he judged to
+    be his imperative duty, to prevent the said Stanton from longer holding
+    the office of Secretary for the Department of War, and at the same time
+    avoiding, if possible, any question respecting the extent of the power
+    of removal from executive office confided to the President by the
+    Constitution of the United States, and any question respecting the
+    construction and effect of the first section of the said "Act regulating
+    the tenure of certain civil offices," while he should not by any act of
+    his abandon and relinquish either a power which he believed the
+    Constitution had conferred on the President of the United States to
+    enable him to perform the duties of his office or a power designedly
+    left to him by the first section of the act of Congress last aforesaid,
+    this respondent did, on the 12th day of December, 1867, transmit to the
+    Senate of the United States a message, a copy whereof is hereunto
+    annexed and marked B, wherein he made known the orders aforesaid and
+    the reasons which had induced the same, so far as this respondent then
+    considered it material and necessary that the same should be set forth,
+    and reiterated his views concerning the constitutional power of removal
+    vested in the President, and also expressed his views concerning the
+    construction of the said first section of the last-mentioned act, as
+    respected the power of the President to remove the said Stanton from
+    the said office of Secretary for the Department of War, well hoping that
+    this respondent could thus perform what he then believed, and still
+    believes, to be his imperative duty in reference to the said Stanton
+    without derogating from the powers which this respondent believed were
+    confided to the President by the Constitution and laws, and without
+    the necessity of raising judicially any questions respecting the same.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, further answering, says that this hope not having
+    been realized, the President was compelled either to allow the said
+    Stanton to resume the said office and remain therein contrary to the
+    settled convictions of the President, formed as aforesaid, respecting
+    the powers confided to him and the duties required of him by the
+    Constitution of the United States, and contrary to the opinion formed
+    as aforesaid that the first section of the last-mentioned act did not
+    affect the case of the said Stanton, and contrary to the fixed belief
+    of the President that he could no longer advise with or trust or be
+    responsible for the said Stanton in the said office of Secretary for the
+    Department of War, or else he was compelled to take such steps as might
+    in the judgment of the President be lawful and necessary to raise for a
+    judicial decision the questions affecting the lawful right of the said
+    Stanton to resume the said office or the power of the said Stanton to
+    persist in refusing to quit the said office if he should persist in
+    actually refusing to quit the same; and to this end, and to this end
+    only, this respondent did, on the 21st day of February, 1868, issue the
+    order for the removal of the said Stanton, in the said first article
+    mentioned and set forth, and the order authorizing the said Lorenzo
+    Thomas to act as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, in the said second
+    article set forth.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, proceeding to answer specifically each substantial
+    allegation in the said first article, says: He denies that the said
+    Stanton, on the 21st day of February, 1868, was lawfully in possession
+    of the said office of Secretary for the Department of War. He denies
+    that the said Stanton, on the day last mentioned, was lawfully entitled
+    to hold the said office against the will of the President of the United
+    States. He denies that the said order for the removal of the said
+    Stanton was unlawfully issued. He denies that the said order was issued
+    with intent to violate the act entitled "An act regulating the tenure of
+    certain civil offices." He denies that the said order was a violation of
+    the last-mentioned act. He denies that the said order was a violation of
+    the Constitution of the United States, or of any law thereof, or of his
+    oath of office. He denies that the said order was issued with an intent
+    to violate the Constitution of the United States, or any law thereof, or
+    this respondent's oath of office; and he respectfully but earnestly
+    insists that not only was it issued by him in the performance of what he
+    believed to be an imperative official duty, but in the performance of
+    what this honorable court will consider was, in point of fact, an
+    imperative official duty. And he denies that any and all substantive
+    matters in the said first article contained, in manner and form as the
+    same are therein stated and set forth, do by law constitute a high
+    misdemeanor in office within the true intent and meaning of the
+    Constitution of the United States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Answer to Article II</i>.&mdash;And for answer to the second article this
+    respondent says that he admits he did issue and deliver to said Lorenzo
+    Thomas the said writing set forth in said second article, bearing
+    date at Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868, addressed to Brevet
+    Major-General Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant-General United States Army,
+    Washington, D.C., and he further admits that the same was so issued
+    without the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, then
+    in session; but he denies that he thereby violated the Constitution of
+    the United States or any law thereof, or that he did thereby intend to
+    violate the Constitution of the United States or the provisions of any
+    act of Congress; and this respondent refers to his answer to said first
+    article for a full statement of the purposes and intentions with which
+    said order was issued, and adopts the same as part of his answer to this
+    article; and he further denies that there was then and there no vacancy
+    in the said office of Secretary for the Department of War, or that he
+    did then and there commit or was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office;
+    and this respondent maintains and will insist&mdash;
+</p>
+<p>
+    1. That at the date and delivery of said writing there was a vacancy
+    existing in the office of Secretary for the Department of War.
+</p>
+<p>
+    2. That notwithstanding the Senate of the United States was then in
+    session, it was lawful and according to long and well-established usage
+    to empower and authorize the said Thomas to act as Secretary of War
+    <i>ad interim</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    3. That if the said act regulating the tenure of civil offices be held
+    to be a valid law, no provision of the same was violated by the issuing
+    of said order or by the designation of said Thomas to act as Secretary
+    of War <i>ad interim</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Answer to Article III</i>.&mdash;And for answer to said third article this
+    respondent says that he abides by his answer to said first and second
+    articles in so far as the same are responsive to the allegations
+    contained in the said third article, and, without here again repeating
+    the same answer, prays the same be taken as an answer to this third
+    article as fully as if here again set out at length; and as to the new
+    allegation contained in said third article, that this respondent did
+    appoint the said Thomas to be Secretary for the Department of War <i>ad
+    interim</i>, this respondent denies that he gave any other authority to
+    said Thomas than such as appears in said written authority, set out in
+    said article, by which he authorized and empowered said Thomas to act
+    as Secretary for the Department of War <i>ad interim</i>; and he denies
+    that the same amounts to an appointment, and insists that it is only
+    a designation of an officer of that Department to act temporarily as
+    Secretary for the Department of War <i>ad interim</i>&mdash;until an appointment
+    should be made. But whether the said written authority amounts to an
+    appointment or to a temporary authority or designation, this respondent
+    denies that in any sense he did thereby intend to violate the
+    Constitution of the United States, or that he thereby intended to
+    give the said order the character or effect of an appointment in the
+    constitutional or legal sense of that term. He further denies that there
+    was no vacancy in said office of Secretary for the Department of War
+    existing at the date of said written authority.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Answer to Article IV</i>.&mdash;And for answer to said fourth article this
+    respondent denies that on the said 21st day of February, 1868, at
+    Washington aforesaid, or at any other time or place, he did unlawfully
+    conspire with the said Lorenzo Thomas, or with the said Thomas and any
+    other person or persons, with intent, by intimidations and threats,
+    unlawfully to hinder and prevent the said Stanton from holding said
+    office of Secretary for the Department of War, in violation of the
+    Constitution of the United States or of the provisions of the said act
+    of Congress in said article mentioned, or that he did then and there
+    commit or was guilty of a high crime in office. On the contrary thereof,
+    protesting that the said Stanton was not then and there lawfully the
+    Secretary for the Department of War, this respondent states that his
+    sole purpose in authorizing the said Thomas to act as Secretary for the
+    Department of War <i>ad interim</i> was, as is fully stated in his answer to
+    the said first article, to bring the question of the right of the said
+    Stanton to hold said office, notwithstanding his said suspension, and
+    notwithstanding the said order of removal, and notwithstanding the said
+    authority of the said Thomas to act as Secretary of War <i>ad interim</i>, to
+    the test of a final decision by the Supreme Court of the United States
+    in the earliest practicable mode by which the question could be brought
+    before that tribunal.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This respondent did not conspire or agree with the said Thomas, or any
+    other person or persons, to use intimidation or threats to hinder or
+    prevent the said Stanton from holding the said office of Secretary for
+    the Department of War, nor did this respondent at any time command
+    or advise the said Thomas, or any other person or persons, to resort
+    to or use either threats or intimidation for that purpose. The only
+    means in the contemplation or purpose of respondent to be used are set
+    forth fully in the said orders of February 21, the first addressed to
+    Mr. Stanton and the second to the said Thomas. By the first order the
+    respondent notified Mr. Stanton that he was removed from the said office
+    and that his functions as Secretary for the Department of War were to
+    terminate upon the receipt of that order; and he also thereby notified
+    the said Stanton that the said Thomas had been authorized to act as
+    Secretary for the Department of War <i>ad interim</i>, and ordered the said
+    Stanton to transfer to him all the records, books, papers, and other
+    public property in his custody and charge; and by the second order this
+    respondent notified the said Thomas of the removal from office of the
+    said Stanton, and authorized him to act as Secretary for the Department
+    of War <i>ad interim</i>, and directed him to immediately enter upon the
+    discharge of the duties pertaining to that office and to receive the
+    transfer of all the records, books, papers, and other public property
+    from Mr. Stanton then in his custody and charge.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Respondent gave no instructions to the said Thomas to use intimidation
+    or threats to enforce obedience to these orders. He gave him no
+    authority to call in the aid of the military or any other force to
+    enable him to obtain possession of the office or of the books, papers,
+    records, or property thereof. The only agency resorted to, or intended
+    to be resorted to, was by means of the said Executive orders requiring
+    obedience. But the Secretary for the Department of War refused to obey
+    these orders, and still holds undisturbed possession and custody of that
+    Department and of the records, books, papers, and other public property
+    therein. Respondent further states that in execution of the orders so by
+    this respondent given to the said Thomas he, the said Thomas, proceeded
+    in a peaceful manner to demand of the said Stanton a surrender to him of
+    the public property in the said Department, and to vacate the possession
+    of the same, and to allow him, the said Thomas, peaceably to exercise
+    the duties devolved upon him by authority of the President. That, as
+    this respondent has been informed and believes, the said Stanton
+    peremptorily refused obedience to the orders so issued. Upon such
+    refusal no force or threat of force was used by the said Thomas, by
+    authority of the President or otherwise, to enforce obedience, either
+    then or at any subsequent time.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This respondent doth here except to the sufficiency of the allegations
+    contained in said fourth article, and states for ground of exception
+    that it is not stated that there was any agreement between this
+    respondent and the said Thomas, or any other person or persons, to use
+    intimidation and threats, nor is there any allegation as to the nature
+    of said intimidation and threats, or that there was any agreement to
+    carry them into execution, or that any step was taken or agreed to be
+    taken to carry them into execution; and that the allegation in said
+    article that the intent of said conspiracy was to use intimidation and
+    threats is wholly insufficient, inasmuch as it is not alleged that the
+    said intent formed the basis or became part of any agreement between the
+    said alleged conspirators; and, furthermore, that there is no allegation
+    of any conspiracy or agreement to use intimidation or threats.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Answer to Article V</i>.&mdash;And for answer to the said fifth article this
+    respondent denies that on the said 21st day of February, 1868, or at
+    any other time or times in the same year before the said 2d day of
+    March, 1868, or at any prior or subsequent time, at Washington
+    aforesaid, or at any other place, this respondent did unlawfully
+    conspire with the said Thomas, or with any other person or persons,
+    to prevent or hinder the execution of the said act entitled "An act
+    regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," or that, in pursuance
+    of said alleged conspiracy, he did unlawfully attempt to prevent the
+    said Edwin M. Stanton from holding the said office of Secretary for the
+    Department of War, or that he did thereby commit, or that he was thereby
+    guilty of, a high misdemeanor in office. Respondent, protesting that
+    said Stanton was not then and there Secretary for the Department of War,
+    begs leave to refer to his answer given to the fourth article and to his
+    answer to the first article as to his intent and purpose in issuing the
+    orders for the removal of Mr. Stanton and the authority given to the
+    said Thomas, and prays equal benefit therefrom as if the same were here
+    again repeated and fully set forth.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent excepts to the sufficiency of the said fifth
+    article, and states his ground for such exception that it is not alleged
+    by what means or by what agreement the said alleged conspiracy was
+    formed or agreed to be carried out, or in what way the same was
+    attempted to be carried out, or what were the acts done in pursuance
+    thereof.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Answer to Article VI</i>.&mdash;And for answer to the said sixth article this
+    respondent denies that on the said 21st day of February, 1868, at
+    Washington aforesaid, or at any other time or place, he did unlawfully
+    conspire with the said Thomas by force to seize, take, or possess the
+    property of the United States in the Department of War, contrary to
+    the provisions of the said acts referred to in the said article, or
+    either of them, or with intent to violate either of them. Respondent,
+    protesting that said Stanton was not then and there Secretary for the
+    Department of War, not only denies the said conspiracy as charged, but
+    also denies any unlawful intent in reference to the custody and charge
+    of the property of the United States in the said Department of War, and
+    again refers to his former answers for a full statement of his intent
+    and purpose in the premises.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Answer to Article VII</i>.&mdash;And for answer to the said seventh article
+    respondent denies that on the said 21st day of February, 1868, at
+    Washington aforesaid, or at any other time and place, he did unlawfully
+    conspire with the said Thomas with intent unlawfully to seize, take, or
+    possess the property of the United States in the Department of War, with
+    intent to violate or disregard the said act in the said seventh article
+    referred to, or that he did then and there commit a high misdemeanor in
+    office. Respondent, protesting that the said Stanton was not then and
+    there Secretary for the Department of War, again refers to his former
+    answers, in so far as they are applicable, to show the intent with which
+    he proceeded in the premises, and prays equal benefit therefrom as
+    if the same were here again fully repeated. Respondent further takes
+    exception to the sufficiency of the allegations of this article as to
+    the conspiracy alleged upon the same grounds as stated in the exception
+    set forth in his answer to said article fourth.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Answer to Article VIII</i>.&mdash;And for answer to the said eighth article
+    this respondent denies that, on the 21st day of February, 1868, at
+    Washington aforesaid, or at any other time and place, he did issue
+    and deliver to the said Thomas the said letter of authority set forth
+    in the said eighth article with the intent unlawfully to control the
+    disbursements of the money appropriated for the military service and
+    for the Department of War. This respondent, protesting that there was
+    a vacancy in the office of Secretary of War, admits that he did issue
+    the said letter of authority, and he denies that the same was with any
+    unlawful intent whatever, either to violate the Constitution of the
+    United States or any act of Congress. On the contrary, this respondent
+    again affirms that his sole intent was to vindicate his authority as
+    President of the United States, and by peaceful means to bring the
+    question of the right of the said Stanton to continue to hold the said
+    office of Secretary of War to a final decision before the Supreme Court
+    of the United States, as has been hereinbefore set forth; and he prays
+    the same benefit from his answer in the premises as if the same were
+    here again repeated at length.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Answer to Article IX</i>.&mdash;And for answer to the said ninth article
+    the respondent states that on the said 22d day of February, 1868, the
+    following note was addressed to the said Emory by the private secretary
+    of the respondent:
+</p>
+<p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+<br>
+  WASHINGTON, D.C.,
+<br>
+  <i>February 22, 1868</i>.
+</p><p class="q">
+  GENERAL: The President directs me to say that he will be pleased to have
+  you call upon him as early as practicable.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Respectfully and truly yours,
+</p><p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  WILLIAM G. MOORE,
+<br>
+  <i>United States Army</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    General Emory called at the Executive Mansion according to this request.
+    The object of respondent was to be advised by General Emory, as
+    commander of the Department of Washington, what changes had been made in
+    the military affairs of the department. Respondent had been informed
+    that various changes had been made which in no wise had been brought to
+    his notice or reported to him from the Department of War or from any
+    other quarter, and desired to ascertain the facts. After the said Emory
+    had explained in detail the changes which had taken place, said Emory
+    called the attention of respondent to a general order which he referred
+    to, and which this respondent then sent for, when it was produced. It is
+    as follows:
+</p>
+<center>
+  GENERAL ORDERS, No, 17.
+</center>
+<p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  WAR DEPARTMENT,
+<br>
+  ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE,
+<br>
+  <i>Washington, March 14, 1867</i>.
+</p><p class="q">
+  The following acts of Congress are published for the information and
+  government of all concerned:
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p class="q">
+  "II.&mdash;PUBLIC&mdash;No. 85.
+</p><p class="q">
+  "An act making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year
+  ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes.
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p class="q">
+  "SEC. 2. <i>And be it further enacted</i>, That the headquarters of the
+  General of the Army of the United States shall be at the city of
+  Washington, and all orders and instructions relating to military
+  operations issued by the President or Secretary of War shall be issued
+  through the General of the Army, and in case of his inability through
+  the next in rank. The General of the Army shall not be removed,
+  suspended, or relieved from command, or assigned to duty elsewhere than
+  at said headquarters, except at his own request, without the previous
+  approval of the Senate; and any orders or instructions relating to
+  military operations issued contrary to the requirements of this section
+  shall be null and void; and any officer who shall issue orders or
+  instructions contrary to the provisions of this section shall be deemed
+  guilty of a misdemeanor in office; and any officer of the Army who shall
+  transmit, convey, or obey any orders or instructions so issued contrary
+  to the provisions of this section, knowing that such orders were so
+  issued, shall be liable to imprisonment for not less than two nor more
+  than twenty years upon conviction thereof in any court of competent
+  jurisdiction.
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p class="q">
+  "Approved, March 2, 1867."
+</p>
+<hr>
+<p class="q">
+  By order of the Secretary of War:
+</p><p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  E.D. TOWNSEND,
+<br>
+  <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p><p class="q">
+  Official:
+</p><p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;,
+<br>
+  <i>Assistant Adjutant-General</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    General Emory not only called the attention of respondent to this order,
+    but to the fact that it was in conformity with a section contained in an
+    appropriation act passed by Congress. Respondent, after reading the
+    order, observed:
+</p>
+<p>
+    This is not in accordance with the Constitution of the United States,
+    which makes me Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, or of the
+    language of the commission which you hold.
+</p>
+<p>
+    General Emory then stated that this order had met the respondent's
+    approval. Respondent then said in reply, in substance:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Am I to understand that the President of the United States can not give
+  an order but through the General in Chief, or General Grant?
+</p>
+<p>
+    General Emory again reiterated the statement that it had met
+    respondent's approval, and that it was the opinion of some of the
+    leading lawyers of the country that this order was constitutional. With
+    some further conversation, respondent then inquired the names of the
+    lawyers who had given the opinion, and he mentioned the names of two.
+    Respondent then said that the object of the law was very evident,
+    referring to the clause in the appropriation act upon which the order
+    purported to be based. This, according to respondent's recollection,
+    was the substance of the conversation had with General Emory.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Respondent denies that any allegations in the said article of any
+    instructions or declarations given to the said Emory then or at any
+    other time contrary to or in addition to what is hereinbefore set forth
+    are true. Respondent denies that in said conversation with said Emory he
+    had any other intent than to express the opinion then given to the said
+    Emory, nor did he then or at any time request or order the said Emory
+    to disobey any law or any order issued in conformity with any law,
+    or intend to offer any inducement to the said Emory to violate any
+    law. What this respondent then said to General Emory was simply the
+    expression of an opinion which he then fully believed to be sound,
+    and which he yet believes to be so, and that is that by the express
+    provisions of the Constitution this respondent, as President, is made
+    the Commander in Chief of the armies of the United States, and as such
+    he is to be respected, and that his orders, whether issued through the
+    War Department, or through the General in Chief, or by any other channel
+    of communication, are entitled to respect and obedience, and that such
+    constitutional power can not be taken from him by virtue of any act of
+    Congress. Respondent doth therefore deny that by the expression of such
+    opinion he did commit or was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office;
+    and the respondent doth further say that the said Article IX lays no
+    foundation whatever for the conclusion stated in the said article, that
+    the respondent, by reason of the allegations therein contained, was
+    guilty of a high misdemeanor in office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In reference to the statement made by General Emory that this respondent
+    had approved of said act of Congress containing the section referred to,
+    the respondent admits that his formal approval was given to said act,
+    but accompanied the same by the following message, addressed and sent
+    with the act to the House of Representatives, in which House the said
+    act originated, and from which it came to respondent:
+</p>
+<p class="q" style="text-align: right;">
+  WASHINGTON, D.C., <i>March 2, 1867</i>.
+</p><p class="q">
+  <i>To the House of Representatives</i>:
+</p><p class="q">
+  The act entitled "An act making appropriations for the support of
+  the Army for the year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes,"
+  contains provisions to which I must call attention. These provisions
+  are contained in the second section, which in certain cases virtually
+  deprives the President of his constitutional functions as Commander in
+  Chief of the Army, and in the sixth section, which denies to ten States
+  of the Union their constitutional right to protect themselves in any
+  emergency by means of their own militia. These provisions are out of
+  place in an appropriation act, but I am compelled to defeat these
+  necessary appropriations if I withhold my signature from the act.
+  Pressed by these considerations, I feel constrained to return the bill
+  with my signature, but to accompany it with my earnest protest against
+  the sections which I have indicated.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Respondent, therefore, did no more than to express to said Emory the
+    same opinion which he had so expressed to the House of Representatives.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Answer to Article X</i>.&mdash;And in answer to the tenth article and
+    specifications thereof the respondent says that on the 14th and 15th
+    days of August, in the year 1866, a political convention of delegates
+    from all or most of the States and Territories of the Union was held
+    in the city of Philadelphia, under the name and style of the National
+    Union Convention, for the purpose of maintaining and advancing certain
+    political views and opinions before the people of the United States, and
+    for their support and adoption in the exercise of the constitutional
+    suffrage in the elections of Representatives and Delegates in Congress
+    which were soon to occur in many of the States and Territories of the
+    Union; which said convention, in the course of its proceedings, and
+    in furtherance of the objects of the same, adopted a "Declaration of
+    principles" and "An address to the people of the United States," and
+    appointed a committee of two of its members from each State and of one
+    from each Territory and one from the District of Columbia to wait upon
+    the President of the United States and present to him a copy of the
+    proceedings of the convention; that on the 18th day of said month of
+    August this committee waited upon the President of the United States
+    at the Executive Mansion, and was received by him in one of the rooms
+    thereof, and by their chairman, Hon. Reverdy Johnson, then and now
+    a Senator of the United States, acting and speaking in their behalf,
+    presented a copy of the proceedings of the convention and addressed the
+    President of the United States in a speech of which a copy (according
+    to a published report of the same, and, as the respondent believes,
+    substantially a correct report) is hereto annexed as a part of this
+    answer, and marked Exhibit C.
+</p>
+<p>
+    That thereupon, and in reply to the address of said committee by their
+    chairman, this respondent addressed the said committee so waiting upon
+    him in one of the rooms of the Executive Mansion; and this respondent
+    believes that this his address to said committee is the occasion
+    referred to in the first specification of the tenth article; but this
+    respondent does not admit that the passages therein set forth, as if
+    extracts from a speech or address of this respondent upon said occasion,
+    correctly or justly present his speech or address upon said occasion,
+    but, on the contrary, this respondent demands and insists that if
+    this honorable court shall deem the said article and the said first
+    specification thereof to contain allegation of matter cognizable by
+    this honorable court as a high misdemeanor in office within the intent
+    and meaning of the Constitution of the United States, and shall receive
+    or allow proof in support of the same, that proof shall be required
+    to be made of the actual speech and address of this respondent on
+    said occasion, which this respondent denies that said article and
+    specification contain or correctly or justly represent.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, further answering the tenth article and the
+    specifications thereof, says that at Cleveland, in the State of Ohio,
+    and on the 3d day of September, in the year 1866, he was attended by a
+    large assemblage of his fellow-citizens, and in deference and obedience
+    to their call and demand he addressed them upon matters of public and
+    political consideration; and this respondent believes that said occasion
+    and address are referred to in the second specification of the tenth
+    article; but this respondent does not admit that the passages therein
+    set forth, as if extracts from a speech of this respondent on said
+    occasion, correctly or justly present his speech or address upon said
+    occasion, but, on the contrary, this respondent demands and insists that
+    if this honorable court shall deem the said article and the said second
+    specification thereof to contain allegation of matter cognizable by this
+    honorable court as a high misdemeanor in office within the intent and
+    meaning of the Constitution of the United States, and shall receive or
+    allow proof in support of the same, that proof shall be required to be
+    made of the actual speech and address of this respondent on said
+    occasion, which this respondent denies that said article and
+    specification contain or correctly or justly represent.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, further answering the tenth article and the
+    specifications thereof, says that at St. Louis, in the State of
+    Missouri, and on the 8th day of September, in the year 1866, he was
+    attended by a numerous assemblage of his fellow-citizens, and in
+    deference and obedience to their call and demand he addressed them upon
+    matters of public and political consideration; and this respondent
+    believes that said occasion and address are referred to in the third
+    specification of the tenth article; but this respondent does not admit
+    that the passages therein set forth, as if extracts from a speech of
+    this respondent on said occasion, correctly or justly present his speech
+    or address upon said occasion, but, on the contrary, this respondent
+    demands and insists that if this honorable court shall deem the said
+    article and the said third specification thereof to contain allegation
+    of matter cognizable by this honorable court as a high misdemeanor in
+    office within the intent and meaning of the Constitution of the United
+    States, and shall receive or allow proof in support of the same, that
+    proof shall be required to be made of the actual speech and address of
+    this respondent on said occasion, which this respondent denies that the
+    said article and specification contain or correctly or justly represent.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, further answering the tenth article, protesting
+    that he has not been unmindful of the high duties of his office or of
+    the harmony or courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained between
+    the executive and legislative branches of the Government of the United
+    States, denies that he has ever intended or designed to set aside the
+    rightful authority or powers of Congress, or attempted to bring into
+    disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt, or reproach the Congress of the
+    United States, or either branch thereof, or to impair or destroy the
+    regard or respect of all or any of the good people of the United States
+    for the Congress or the rightful legislative power thereof, or to excite
+    the odium or resentment of all or any of the good people of the United
+    States against Congress and the laws by it duly and constitutionally
+    enacted. This respondent further says that at all times he has, in his
+    official acts as President, recognized the authority of the several
+    Congresses of the United States as constituted and organized during his
+    administration of the office of President of the United States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, further answering, says that he has from time
+    to time, under his constitutional right and duty as President of the
+    United States, communicated to Congress his views and opinions in
+    regard to such acts or resolutions thereof as, being submitted to him
+    as President of the United States in pursuance of the Constitution,
+    seemed to this respondent to require such communications; and he has
+    from time to time, in the exercise of that freedom of speech which
+    belongs to him as a citizen of the United States, and, in his political
+    relations as President of the United States to the people of the United
+    States, is upon fit occasions a duty of the highest obligation, expressed
+    to his fellow-citizens his views and opinions respecting the measures
+    and proceedings of Congress; and that in such addresses to his
+    fellow-citizens and in such his communications to Congress he has
+    expressed his views, opinions, and judgment of and concerning the actual
+    constitution of the two Houses of Congress, without representation
+    therein of certain States of the Union, and of the effect that in wisdom
+    and justice, in the opinion and judgment of this respondent, Congress
+    in its legislation and proceedings should give to this political
+    circumstance; and whatsoever he has thus communicated to Congress
+    or addressed to his fellow-citizens or any assemblage thereof this
+    respondent says was and is within and according to his right and
+    privilege as an American citizen and his right and duty as President
+    of the United States.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, not waiving or at all disparaging his right
+    of freedom of opinion and of freedom of speech, as hereinbefore or
+    hereinafter more particularly set forth, but claiming and insisting upon
+    the same, further answering the said tenth article, says that the views
+    and opinions expressed by this respondent in his said addresses to
+    the assemblages of his fellow-citizens, as in said articles or in this
+    answer thereto mentioned, are not and were not intended to be other
+    or different from those expressed by him in his communications to
+    Congress&mdash;that the eleven States lately in insurrection never had
+    ceased to be States of the Union, and that they were then entitled
+    to representation in Congress by loyal Representatives and Senators
+    as fully as the other States of the Union, and that consequently the
+    Congress as then constituted was not in fact a Congress of all the
+    States, but a Congress of only a part of the States. This respondent,
+    always protesting against the unauthorized exclusion therefrom of the
+    said eleven States, nevertheless gave his assent to all laws passed by
+    said Congress which did not, in his opinion and judgment, violate the
+    Constitution, exercising his constitutional authority of returning bills
+    to said Congress with his objections when they appeared to him to be
+    unconstitutional or inexpedient.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And further, this respondent has also expressed the opinion, both in
+    his communications to Congress and in his addresses to the people, that
+    the policy adopted by Congress in reference to the States lately in
+    insurrection did not tend to peace, harmony, and union, but, on the
+    contrary, did tend to disunion and the permanent disruption of the
+    States, and that in following its said policy laws had been passed by
+    Congress in violation of the fundamental principles of the Government,
+    and which tended to consolidation and despotism; and such being his
+    deliberate opinions, he would have felt himself unmindful of the
+    high duties of his office if he had failed to express them in his
+    communications to Congress or in his addresses to the people when called
+    upon by them to express his opinions on matters of public and political
+    consideration.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, further answering the tenth article, says that he
+    has always claimed and insisted, and now claims and insists, that both
+    in the personal and private capacity of a citizen of the United States
+    and in the political relations of the President of the United States to
+    the people of the United States, whose servant, under the duties and
+    responsibilities of the Constitution of the United States, the President
+    of the United States is and should always remain, this respondent had
+    and has the full right, and in his office of President of the United
+    States is held to the high duty, of forming, and on fit occasions
+    expressing, opinions of and concerning the legislation of Congress,
+    proposed or completed, in respect of its wisdom, expediency, justice,
+    worthiness, objects, purposes, and public and political motives and
+    tendencies, and within and as a part of such right and duty to form,
+    and on fit occasions to express, opinions of and concerning the public
+    character and conduct, views, purposes, objects, motives, and tendencies
+    of all men engaged in the public service, as well in Congress as
+    otherwise, and under no other rules or limits upon this right of
+    freedom of opinion and of freedom of speech, or of responsibility and
+    amenability for the actual exercise of such freedom of opinion and
+    freedom of speech, than attend upon such rights and their exercise on
+    the part of all other citizens of the United States and on the part of
+    all their public servants.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, further answering said tenth article, says
+    that the several occasions on which, as is alleged in the several
+    specifications of said article, this respondent addressed his
+    fellow-citizens on subjects of public and political considerations were
+    not, nor was any one of them, sought or planned by this respondent, but,
+    on the contrary, each of said occasions arose upon the exercise of a
+    lawful and accustomed right of the people of the United States to call
+    upon their public servants and express to them their opinions, wishes,
+    and feelings upon matters of public and political consideration, and to
+    invite from such their public servants an expression of their opinions,
+    views, and feelings on matters of public and political consideration;
+    and this respondent claims and insists before this honorable court, and
+    before all the people of the United States, that of or concerning this
+    his right of freedom of opinion and of freedom of speech, and this
+    his exercise of such rights on all matters of public and political
+    consideration, and in respect of all public servants or persons
+    whatsoever engaged in or connected therewith, this respondent, as
+    a citizen or as President of the United States, is not subject to
+    question, inquisition, impeachment, or inculpation in any form or
+    manner whatsoever.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent says that neither the said tenth article nor any
+    specification thereof nor any allegation therein contained touches or
+    relates to any official act or doing of this respondent in the office
+    of President of the United States or in the discharge of any of its
+    constitutional or legal duties or responsibilities; but said article and
+    the specifications and allegations thereof, wholly and in every part
+    thereof, question only the discretion or propriety of freedom of opinion
+    or freedom, of speech as exercised by this respondent as a citizen of
+    the United States in his personal right and capacity, and without
+    allegation or imputation against this respondent of the violation of any
+    law of the United States touching or relating to freedom of speech or
+    its exercise by the citizens of the United States or by this respondent
+    as one of the said citizens or otherwise; and he denies that by reason
+    of any matter in said article or its specifications alleged he has said
+    or done anything indecent or unbecoming in the Chief Magistrate of the
+    United States, or that he has brought the high office of President of
+    the United States into contempt, ridicule, or disgrace, or that he has
+    committed or has been guilty of a high misdemeanor in office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Answer to Article XI</i>.&mdash;And in answer to the eleventh article this
+    respondent denies that on the 18th day of August, in the year 1866, at
+    the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, he did, by public
+    speech or otherwise, declare or affirm, in substance or at all, that the
+    Thirty-ninth Congress of the United States was not a Congress of the
+    United States authorized by the Constitution to exercise legislative
+    power under the same, or that he did then and there declare or affirm
+    that the said Thirty-ninth Congress was a Congress of only part of the
+    States in any sense or meaning other than that ten States of the Union
+    were denied representation therein, or that he made any or either of
+    the declarations or affirmations in this behalf in the said article
+    alleged as denying or intending to deny that the legislation of said
+    Thirty-ninth Congress was valid or obligatory upon this respondent
+    except so far as this respondent saw fit to approve the same; and as to
+    the allegation in said article that he did thereby intend or mean to be
+    understood that the said Congress had not power to propose amendments
+    to the Constitution, this respondent says that in said address he said
+    nothing in reference to the subject of amendments of the Constitution,
+    nor was the question of the competency of the said Congress to propose
+    such amendments, without the participation of said excluded States,
+    at the time of said address in any way mentioned or considered or
+    referred to by this respondent, nor in what he did say had he any
+    intent regarding the same; and he denies the allegations so made
+    to the contrary thereof. But this respondent, in further answer to
+    and in respect of the said allegations of the said eleventh article
+    hereinbefore traversed and denied, claims and insists upon his personal
+    and official right of freedom of opinion and freedom of speech, and his
+    duty in his political relations as President of the United States to the
+    people of the United States in the exercise of such freedom of opinion
+    and freedom of speech, in the same manner, form, and effect as he has
+    in this behalf stated the same in his answer to the said tenth article,
+    and with the same effect as if he here repeated the same; and he further
+    claims and insists, as in said answer to said tenth article he has
+    claimed and insisted, that he is not subject to question, inquisition,
+    impeachment or inculpation, in any form or manner, of or concerning such
+    rights of freedom of opinion or freedom of speech, or his said alleged
+    exercise thereof.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent further denies that on the 21st day of February,
+    in the year 1868, or at any other time, at the city of Washington, in
+    the District of Columbia, in pursuance of any such declaration as in
+    that behalf in said eleventh article alleged, or otherwise, he did
+    unlawfully, and in disregard of the requirement of the Constitution that
+    he should take care that the laws should be faithfully executed, attempt
+    to prevent the execution of an act entitled "An act regulating the
+    tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867, by unlawfully
+    devising or contriving, or attempting to devise or contrive, means by
+    which he should prevent Edwin M. Stanton from forthwith resuming the
+    functions of Secretary for the Department of War, or by unlawfully
+    devising or contriving, or attempting to devise or contrive, means to
+    prevent the execution of an act entitled "An act making appropriations
+    for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868,
+    and for other purposes," approved March 2, 1867, or to prevent the
+    execution of an act entitled "An act to provide for the more efficient
+    government of the rebel States," passed March 2, 1867.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, further answering the said eleventh article, says
+    that he has in his answer to the first article set forth in detail the
+    acts, steps, and proceedings done and taken by this respondent to and
+    toward or in the matter of the suspension or removal of the said Edwin
+    M. Stanton in or from the office of Secretary for the Department of War,
+    with the times, modes, circumstances, intents, views, purposes, and
+    opinions of official obligations and duty under and with which such
+    acts, steps, and proceedings were done and taken; and he makes answer to
+    this eleventh article of the matters in his answer to the first article
+    pertaining to the suspension or removal of said Edwin M. Stanton, to the
+    same intent and effect as if they were here repeated and set forth.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, further answering the said eleventh article,
+    denies that by means or reason of anything in said article alleged this
+    respondent, as President of the United States, did, on the 21st day of
+    February, 1868, or at any other day or time, commit or that he was
+    guilty of a high misdemeanor in office.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, further answering the said eleventh article, says
+    that the same and the matters therein contained do not charge or allege
+    the commission of any act whatever by this respondent in his office of
+    President of the United States, nor the omission by this respondent of
+    any act of official obligation or duty in his office of President of
+    the United States; nor does the said article nor the matters therein
+    contained name, designate, describe, or define any act or mode or form
+    of attempt, device, contrivance, or means, or of attempt at device,
+    contrivance, or means, whereby this respondent can know or understand
+    what act or mode or form of attempt, device, contrivance, or means, or
+    of attempt at device, contrivance, or means, are imputed to or charged
+    against this respondent in his office of President of the United States,
+    or intended so to be, or whereby this respondent can more fully or
+    definitely make answer unto the said article than he hereby does.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And this respondent, in submitting to this honorable court this
+    his answer to the articles of impeachment exhibited against him,
+    respectfully reserves leave to amend and add to the same from time to
+    time, as may become necessary or proper, and when and as such necessity
+    and propriety shall appear.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p><br>
+  HENRY STANBERY,<br>
+  B.R. CURTIS,<br>
+  THOMAS A.R. NELSON,<br>
+  WILLIAM M. EVARTS,<br>
+  W.S. GROESBECK,<br>
+    <i>Of Counsel</i>.
+</p>
+<center>
+    [For Exhibits A and B see veto message of March 2, 1867, pp. 492-498,
+    and special message of December 12, 1867, pp. 583-594.]
+</center>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>
+    EXHIBIT C.
+</h3>
+<h4>
+    ADDRESS TO THE PRESIDENT BY HON. REVERDY JOHNSON, AUGUST, 18, 1866.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    Mr. PRESIDENT: We are before you as a committee of the National Union
+    Convention, which met in Philadelphia on Tuesday, the 14th instant,
+    charged with the duty of presenting you with an authentic copy of its
+    proceedings.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Before placing it in your hands you will permit us to congratulate
+    you that in the object for which the convention was called, in the
+    enthusiasm with which in every State and Territory the call was
+    responded to, in the unbroken harmony of its deliberations, in the
+    unanimity with which the principles it has declared were adopted, and
+    more especially in the patriotic and constitutional character of the
+    principles themselves, we are confident that you and the country will
+    find gratifying and cheering evidence that there exists among the people
+    a public sentiment which renders an early and complete restoration of
+    the Union as established by the Constitution certain and inevitable.
+    Party faction, seeking the continuance of its misrule, may momentarily
+    delay it, but the principles of political liberty for which our
+    fathers successfully contended, and to secure which they adopted the
+    Constitution, are so glaringly inconsistent with the condition in
+    which the country has been placed by such misrule that it will not
+    be permitted a much longer duration.
+</p>
+<p>
+    We wish, Mr. President, you could have witnessed the spirit of concord
+    and brotherly affection which animated every member of the convention.
+    Great as your confidence has ever been in the intelligence and
+    patriotism of your fellow-citizens, in their deep devotion to the Union
+    and their present determination to reinstate and maintain it, that
+    confidence would have become a positive conviction could you have seen
+    and heard all that was done and said upon the occasion. Every heart
+    was evidently full of joy; every eye beamed with patriotic animation;
+    despondency gave place to the assurance that, our late dreadful civil
+    strife ended, the blissful reign of peace, under the protection, not of
+    arms, but of the Constitution and laws, would have sway, and be in every
+    part of our land cheerfully acknowledged and in perfect good faith
+    obeyed. You would not have doubted that the recurrence of dangerous
+    domestic insurrections in the future is not to be apprehended.
+</p>
+<p>
+    If you could have seen the men of Massachusetts and South Carolina
+    coming into the convention on the first day of its meeting hand in hand,
+    amid the rapturous applause of the whole body, awakened by heartfelt
+    gratification at the event, filling the eyes of thousands with tears of
+    joy, which they neither could nor desired to repress, you would have
+    felt, as every person present felt, that the time had arrived when all
+    sectional or other perilous dissensions had ceased, and that nothing
+    should be heard in the future but the voice of harmony proclaiming
+    devotion to a common country, of pride in being bound together by a
+    common Union, existing and protected by forms of government proved by
+    experience to be eminently fitted for the exigencies of either war or
+    peace.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the principles announced by the convention and in the feeling there
+    manifested we have every assurance that harmony throughout our entire
+    land will soon prevail. We know that as in former days, as was
+    eloquently declared by Webster, the nation's most gifted statesman,
+    Massachusetts and South Carolina went "shoulder to shoulder through the
+    Revolution" and stood hand in hand "around the Administration of
+    Washington and felt his own great arm lean on them for support," so will
+    they again, with like magnanimity, devotion, and power, stand round your
+    Administration and cause you to feel that you may also lean on them for
+    support.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the proceedings, Mr. President, which we are to place in your hands
+    you will find that the convention performed the grateful duty imposed
+    upon them by their knowledge of your "devotion to the Constitution and
+    laws and interests of your country," as illustrated by your entire
+    Presidential career, of declaring that in you they "recognize a Chief
+    Magistrate worthy of the nation and equal to the great crisis upon
+    which your lot is cast;" and in this declaration it gives us marked
+    pleasure to add we are confident that the convention has but spoken the
+    intelligent and patriotic sentiment of the country. Ever inaccessible to
+    the low influences which often control the mere partisan, governed alone
+    by an honest opinion of constitutional obligations and rights and of the
+    duty of looking solely to the true interests, safety, and honor of the
+    nation, such a class is incapable of resorting to any bait for
+    popularity at the expense of the public good.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the measures which you have adopted for the restoration of the Union
+    the convention saw only a continuance of the policy which for the same
+    purpose was inaugurated by your immediate predecessor. In his reelection
+    by the people, after that policy had been fully indicated and had been
+    made one of the issues of the contest, those of his political friends
+    who are now assailing you for sternly pursuing it are forgetful or
+    regardless of the opinions which their support of his reelection
+    necessarily involved. Being upon the same ticket with that much-lamented
+    public servant, whose foul assassination touched the heart of the
+    civilized world with grief and horror, you would have been false to
+    obvious duty if you had not endeavored to carry out the same policy;
+    and, judging now by the opposite one which Congress has pursued, its
+    wisdom and patriotism are indicated by the fact that that of Congress
+    has but continued a broken Union by keeping ten of the States in which
+    at one time the insurrection existed (as far as they could accomplish
+    it) in the condition of subjugated provinces, denying to them the right
+    to be represented, while subjecting their people to every species of
+    legislation, including that of taxation. That such a state of things is
+    at war with the very genius of our Government, inconsistent with every
+    idea of political freedom, and most perilous to the peace and safety of
+    the country no reflecting man can fail to believe.
+</p>
+<p>
+    We hope, sir, that the proceedings of the convention will cause you to
+    adhere, if possible, with even greater firmness to the course which you
+    are pursuing, by satisfying you that the people are with you, and that
+    the wish which lies nearest to their heart is that a perfect restoration
+    of our Union at the earliest moment be attained, and a conviction that
+    the result can only be accomplished by the measures which you are
+    pursuing. And in the discharge of the duties which these impose upon
+    you we, as did every member of the convention, again for ourselves
+    individually tender to you our profound respect and assurance of our
+    cordial and sincere support.
+</p>
+<p>
+    With a reunited Union, with no foot but that of a freeman treading or
+    permitted to tread our soil, with a nation's faith pledged forever to a
+    strict observance of all its obligations, with kindness and fraternal
+    love everywhere prevailing, the desolations of war will soon be removed;
+    its sacrifices of life, sad as they have been, will, with Christian
+    resignation, be referred to a providential purpose of fixing our beloved
+    country on a firm and enduring basis, which will forever place our
+    liberty and happiness beyond the reach of human peril.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Then, too, and forever, will our Government challenge the admiration and
+    receive the respect of the nations of the world, and be in no danger of
+    any efforts to impeach our honor.
+</p>
+<p>
+    And permit me, sir, in conclusion, to add that, great as is your
+    solicitude for the restoration of our domestic peace and your labors
+    to that end, you have also a watchful eye to the rights of the nation,
+    and that any attempt by an assumed or actual foreign power to enforce
+    an illegal blockade against the Government or citizens of the United
+    States, to use your own mild but expressive words, "will be disallowed."
+    In this determination I am sure you will receive the unanimous approval
+    of your fellow-citizens.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Now, sir, as the chairman of this committee, and in behalf of the
+    convention, I have the honor to present you with an authentic copy
+    of its proceedings.
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Counsel for the respondent submitted the following motion:
+</p><p class="q">
+  <i>To the Senate of the United States sitting as a court of impeachment</i>:
+</p><p class="q">
+  And now, on this 23d day of March, in the year 1868, the counsel for
+  the President of the United States, upon reading and filing his answer
+  to the articles of impeachment exhibited against him, respectfully
+  represent to the honorable court that after the replication shall have
+  been filed to the said answer the due and proper preparation of and for
+  the trial of the cause will require, in the opinion and judgment of such
+  counsel, that a period of not less than thirty days should be allowed to
+  the President of the United States and his counsel for such preparation,
+  and before the said trial should proceed.
+</p><p class="q"><br>
+  HENRY STANBERY,<br>
+  B.R. CURTIS,<br>
+  THOMAS A.R. NELSON,<br>
+  WM. M. EVARTS,<br>
+  W.S. GROESBECK,<br>
+  <i>Of Counsel</i>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 1868.
+</p>
+<h4>
+    UNITED STATES <i>vs</i>. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+</h4>
+<p style="text-indent: -2em; padding-left: 2em;">
+    REPLICATION BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES TO
+    THE ANSWER OF ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, TO THE
+    ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT EXHIBITED AGAINST HIM BY THE HOUSE OF
+    REPRESENTATIVES.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The House of Representatives of the United States have considered the
+    several answers of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, to
+    the several articles of impeachment against him, by them exhibited in
+    the name of themselves and of all the people of the United States, and
+    reserving to themselves all advantage of exception to the insufficiency
+    of his answer to each and all of the several articles of impeachment
+    exhibited against said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+    do deny each and every averment in said several answers, or either
+    of them, which denies or traverses the acts, intents, crimes, or
+    misdemeanors charged against said Andrew Johnson in the said articles of
+    impeachment, or either of them, and for replication to the said answer
+    do say that said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, is
+    guilty of the high crimes and misdemeanors mentioned in said articles,
+    and that the House of Representatives are ready to prove the same.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    SCHUYLER COLFAX,
+<br>
+    <i>Speaker of the House of Representatives</i>.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    EDW'D McPHERSON,
+<br>
+    <i>Clerk of the House of Representatives</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The motion of the counsel for the respondent, submitted on March 23,
+    "that a period of not less than thirty days should be allowed to the
+    President of the United States and his counsel for such preparation and
+    before the said trial should proceed," was denied, and it was
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  <i>Ordered</i>. That the Senate will commence the trial of the President
+  upon the articles of impeachment exhibited against him on Monday, the
+  30th of March instant, and proceed therein with all convenient dispatch
+  under the rules of the Senate sitting upon the trial of an impeachment.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    MONDAY, MAY 11, 1868.
+</p>
+<h4>
+    THE UNITED STATES <i>vs</i>. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    The Chief Justice stated that in compliance with the desire of the
+    Senate he had prepared the question to be addressed to Senators upon
+    each article of impeachment, and that he had reduced his views thereon
+    to writing, which he read, as follows:
+</p>
+<p>
+    SENATORS: In conformity with what seemed to be the general wish of the
+    Senate when it adjourned last Thursday, the Chief Justice, in taking the
+    vote on the articles of impeachment, will adopt the mode sanctioned by
+    the practice in the cases of Chase, Peck, and Humphreys.
+</p>
+<p>
+    He will direct the Secretary to read the several articles successively,
+    and after the reading of each article will put the question of guilty or
+    not guilty to each Senator, rising in his place, in the form used in the
+    case of Judge Chase:
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  Mr. Senator &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, how say you? Is the respondent, Andrew Johnson,
+  President of the United States, guilty or not guilty of a high
+  misdemeanor, as charged in this article?
+</p>
+<p>
+    In putting the question on Articles IV and VI, each of which charges a
+    crime, the word "crime" will be substituted for the word "misdemeanor."
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Chief Justice has carefully considered the suggestion of the Senator
+    from Indiana (Mr. Hendricks), which appeared to meet the approval of the
+    Senate, that in taking the vote on the eleventh article the question
+    should be put on each clause, and has found himself unable to divide the
+    article as suggested. The article charges several facts, but they are so
+    connected that they make but one allegation and they are charged as
+    constituting one misdemeanor.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The first fact charged is, in substance, that the President publicly
+    declared in August, 1866, that the Thirty-ninth Congress was a Congress
+    of only part of the States and not a constitutional Congress, intending
+    thereby to deny its constitutional competency to enact laws or propose
+    amendments of the Constitution; and this charge seems to have been made
+    as introductory, and as qualifying that which follows, namely, that the
+    President, in pursuance of this declaration, attempted to prevent the
+    execution of the tenure-of-office act by contriving and attempting to
+    contrive means to prevent Mr. Stanton from resuming the functions of
+    Secretary of War after the refusal of the Senate to concur in his
+    suspension, and also by contriving and attempting to contrive means to
+    prevent the execution of the appropriation act of March 2, 1867, and
+    also to prevent the execution of the rebel States governments act of
+    the same date.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The gravamen of the article seems to be that the President attempted
+    to defeat the execution of the tenure-of-office act, and that he
+    did this in pursuance of a declaration which was intended to deny
+    the constitutional competency of Congress to enact laws or propose
+    constitutional amendments, and by contriving means to prevent Mr.
+    Stanton from resuming his office of Secretary, and also to prevent the
+    execution of the appropriation act and the rebel States governments act.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The single substantive matter charged is the attempt to prevent the
+    execution of the tenure-of-office act, and the other facts are alleged
+    either as introductory and exhibiting this general purpose or as showing
+    the means contrived in furtherance of that attempt.
+</p>
+<p>
+    This single matter, connected with the other matters previously and
+    subsequently alleged, is charged as the high misdemeanor of which the
+    President is alleged to have been guilty.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The general question, guilty or not guilty of a high misdemeanor as
+    charged, seems fully to cover the whole charge, and will be put as to
+    this article as well as to the others, unless the Senate direct some
+    mode of division.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the tenth article the division suggested by the Senator from New York
+    (Mr. Conkling) may be more easily made. It contains a general allegation
+    to the effect that on the 18th of August and on other days the
+    President, with intent to set aside the rightful authority of Congress
+    and bring it into contempt, delivered certain scandalous harangues, and
+    therein uttered loud threats and bitter menaces against Congress and the
+    laws of the United States enacted by Congress, thereby bringing the
+    office of President into disgrace, to the great scandal of all good
+    citizens, and sets forth in three distinct specifications the harangues,
+    threats, and menaces complained of.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In respect to this article, if the Senate sees fit so to direct, the
+    question of guilty or not guilty of the facts charged may be taken in
+    respect to the several specifications, and then the question of guilty
+    or not guilty of a high misdemeanor, as charged in the article, can also
+    be taken.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Chief Justice, however, sees no objection to putting the general
+    question on this article in the same manner as on the others; for,
+    whether particular questions be put on the specifications or not, the
+    answer to the final question must be determined by the judgment of the
+    Senate whether or not the facts alleged in the specifications have been
+    sufficiently proved, and whether, if sufficiently proved, they amount
+    to a high misdemeanor within the meaning of the Constitution.
+</p>
+<p>
+    On the whole, therefore, the Chief Justice thinks that the better
+    practice will be to put the general question on each article without
+    attempting to make any subdivision, and will pursue this course if no
+    objection is made. He will, however, be pleased to conform to such
+    directions as the Senate may see fit to give in this respect.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Whereupon it was
+</p>
+<p class="q">
+  <i>Ordered</i>, That the question be put as proposed by the Presiding
+  Officer of the Senate, and each Senator shall rise in his place and
+  answer "guilty" or "not guilty" only.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    SATURDAY, MAY 16, 1868.
+</p>
+<h4>
+    THE UNITED STATES <i>vs</i>. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    The Chief Justice stated that, in pursuance of the order of the Senate,
+    he would first proceed to take the judgment of the Senate on the
+    eleventh article. The roll of the Senate was called, with the following
+    result:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Senators who voted "guilty" are Messrs. Anthony, Cameron, Cattell,
+    Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Conness, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds,
+    Ferry, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Howard, Howe, Morgan, Morrill of Maine,
+    Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy,
+    Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Wade,
+    Williams, Willey, Wilson, and Yates&mdash;35.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Senators who voted "not guilty" are Messrs. Bayard, Buckalew, Davis,
+    Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Fowler, Grimes, Henderson, Hendricks,
+    Johnson, McCreery, Norton, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, Saulsbury,
+    Trumbull, Van Winkle, and Vickers&mdash;19.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Chief Justice announced that upon this article thirty-five Senators
+    had voted "guilty" and nineteen Senators "not guilty," and declared that
+    two-thirds of the Senators present not having pronounced him guilty,
+    Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, stood acquitted of the
+    charges contained in the eleventh article of impeachment.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    TUESDAY, MAY 26, 1868.
+</p>
+<h4>
+    THE UNITED STATES <i>vs</i>. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+</h4>
+<p>
+    The Senate ordered that the vote be taken upon the second article of
+    impeachment. The roll of the Senate was called, with the following
+    result:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Senators who voted "guilty" are Messrs. Anthony, Cameron, Cattell,
+    Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Conness, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds,
+    Ferry, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Howard, Howe, Morgan, Morrill of Maine,
+    Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy,
+    Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Wade, Willey,
+    Williams, Wilson, and Yates&mdash;35.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Senators who voted "not guilty" are Messrs. Bayard, Buckalew, Davis,
+    Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Fowler, Grimes, Henderson, Hendricks,
+    Johnson, McCreery, Norton, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, Saulsbury,
+    Trumbull, Van Winkle, and Vickers&mdash;19.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Chief Justice announced that upon this article thirty-five Senators
+    had voted "guilty" and nineteen Senators had voted "not guilty," and
+    declared that two-thirds of the Senators present not having pronounced
+    him guilty, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, stood
+    acquitted of the charges contained in the second article of impeachment.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Senate ordered that the vote be taken upon the third article of
+    impeachment. The roll of the Senate was called, with the following
+    result:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Senators who voted "guilty" are Messrs. Anthony, Cameron, Cattell,
+    Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Conness, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds,
+    Ferry, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Howard, Howe, Morgan, Morrill of Maine,
+    Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy,
+    Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Wade, Willey,
+    Williams, Wilson, and Yates&mdash;35.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Senators who voted "not guilty" are Messrs. Bayard, Buckalew, Davis,
+    Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Fowler, Grimes, Henderson, Hendricks,
+    Johnson, McCreery, Norton, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, Saulsbury,
+    Trumbull, Van Winkle, and Vickers&mdash;19.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Chief Justice announced that upon this article thirty-five Senators
+    had voted "guilty" and nineteen Senators had voted "not guilty," and
+    declared that two-thirds of the Senators present not having pronounced
+    him guilty, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, stood
+    acquitted of the charges contained in the third article.
+</p>
+<p>
+    No objection being made, the secretary, by direction of the Chief
+    Justice, entered the judgment of the Senate upon the second, third,
+    and eleventh articles, as follows:
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Senate having tried Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+    upon articles of impeachment exhibited against him by the House of
+    Representatives, and two-thirds of the Senators present not having found
+    him guilty of the charges contained in the second, third, and eleventh
+    articles of impeachment, it is therefore
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>Ordered and adjudged</i>, That the said Andrew Johnson, President of the
+    United States, be, and he is, acquitted of the charges in said articles
+    made and set forth.
+</p>
+<p>
+    A motion "that the Senate sitting for the trial of the President upon
+    articles of impeachment do now adjourn without day" was adopted by a
+    vote of 34 yeas to 16 nays.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Those who voted in the affirmative are Messrs. Anthony, Cameron,
+    Cattell, Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds,
+    Ferry, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Howard, Morgan, Morrill of Maine, Morrill
+    of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy, Ramsey,
+    Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Van Winkle, Wade,
+    Willey, Williams, Wilson, and Yates.
+</p>
+<p>
+    Those who voted in the negative are Messrs. Bayard, Buckalew, Davis,
+    Dixon, Doolittle, Fowler, Henderson, Hendricks, Johnson, McCreery,
+    Norton, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, Saulsbury, Trumbull, and Vickers.
+</p>
+<p>
+    The Chief Justice declared the Senate sitting as a court of impeachment
+    for the trial of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, upon
+    articles of impeachment exhibited against him by the House of
+    Representatives, adjourned without day.
+</p>
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+<h2>
+    ADDENDA.
+</h2>
+<p>
+    [An injunction of secrecy having been placed upon the following messages
+    by the Senate, they were not printed in the Executive Journal covering
+    their period, but were found in the imprinted Executive Journal of the
+    Forty-first Congress while searching for copy for Volume VII, and
+    consequently too late for insertion in their proper places in this
+    volume.]
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 29, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Referring to the three Executive communications of the 15th instant,
+    with which were transmitted to the Senate, respectively, a copy of a
+    convention between the United States and Great Britain upon the subject
+    of claims, a copy of a convention between the same parties in relation
+    to the question of boundary, and a protocol of a treaty between the same
+    parties concerning the rights of naturalized citizens and subjects of
+    the respective parties, I now transmit a copy of such correspondence
+    upon those subjects as has not been heretofore communicated to the
+    Senate.
+</p>
+<p>
+    In the progress of the negotiation the three subjects became to such a
+    degree associated with each other that it would be difficult to present
+    separately the correspondence upon each. The papers are therefore
+    transmitted in the order in which they are mentioned in the accompanying
+    list.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 30, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Referring to the Executive communication of the 15th instant, which
+    was accompanied by a copy of a convention between the United States
+    and Great Britain for the settlement of all outstanding claims, I now
+    transmit to the Senate the original of that instrument, and a report of
+    the Secretary of State pointing out the differences between the copy as
+    submitted to the Senate and the original as signed by the
+    plenipotentiaries.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="r">
+    WASHINGTON, <i>January 30, 1869</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+    <i>To the Senate of the United States</i>:
+</p>
+<p>
+    Referring to the Executive communication of the 15th instant, which was
+    accompanied by a copy of a convention between the United States and
+    Great Britain providing for the reference to an arbiter of the question
+    of difference between the United States and Great Britain concerning the
+    northwest line of water boundary between the United States and the
+    British possessions in North America, I now transmit to the Senate the
+    original of that instrument, and a report of the Secretary of State
+    pointing out the differences between the copy as submitted to the Senate
+    and the original as signed by the plenipotentiaries.
+</p>
+<p class="r">
+    ANDREW JOHNSON.
+</p>
+<hr class="full">
+<h2>
+    Footnotes
+</h2>
+<a name="note-1"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>1</u> Executive order.
+</p>
+<a name="note-2"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>2</u> Order of Secretary of War.
+</p>
+<a name="note-3"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>3</u> Brevet Brigadier-General James A. Ekin substituted; see
+    Special Orders, No. 216.
+</p>
+<a name="note-4"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>4</u> Brevet Colonel C. H. Tompkins substituted; see Special
+    Orders, No. 216.
+</p>
+<a name="note-5"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>5</u> With the confederated tribes of the Arapahoe and Cheyenne
+    Indians, concluded October 14, 1865; with the Apache, Cheyenne, and
+    Arapahoe tribes, respectively, concluded October 17, 1865; with the
+    several bands of the Comanche tribe, concluded October 18, 1865.
+</p>
+<a name="note-6"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>6</u> Instructing commanders on the southern frontiers within the
+    Department of California "to take the necessary measures to preserve the
+    neutrality of the United States with respect to the parties engaged in
+    the existing war in Mexico, and to suffer no armed parties to pass the
+    frontier from the United States, nor suffer any arms or munitions of war
+    to be sent over the frontier to either belligerent," etc.
+</p>
+<a name="note-7"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>7</u> Addressed to district attorneys and marshals of the United
+    States.
+</p>
+<a name="note-8"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>8</u> Correspondence with Mr. Motley, envoy extraordinary
+    and minister plenipotentiary at Vienna, relative to his reported
+    resignation.
+</p>
+<a name="note-9"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>9</u> Relating to an alleged emigration of citizens of the United
+    States to the dominions of the Sublime Porte for the purpose of settling
+    and acquiring landed property there.
+</p>
+<a name="note-10"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>10</u> Stating that the Department of State has received no
+    information concerning the removal of the Protestant Church or religious
+    assembly meeting at the American embassy from the city of Rome by an
+    order of that Government.
+</p>
+<a name="note-11"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>11</u> Copy of the letter on which the Secretary of State founded
+    his inquiries addressed to Mr. Motley, United States minister at Vienna,
+    with regard to his reported conversation and opinions.
+</p>
+<a name="note-12"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>12</u> Relating to the reported transfer of the United States
+    minister from Stockholm to Bogota.
+</p>
+<a name="note-13"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>13</u> Correspondence relative to the refusal of the United
+    States consul at Cadiz, Spain, to certify invoices of wines shipped
+    from that port, etc.
+</p>
+<a name="note-14"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>14</u> Correspondence with foreign ministers of the United States
+    relative to the policy of the President toward the States lately in
+    rebellion.
+</p>
+<a name="note-15"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>15</u> Correspondence relative to the salary of the United States
+    minister to Portugal.
+</p>
+<a name="note-16"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>16</u> Stating that the correspondence relative to the refusal of
+    the United States consul at Cadiz, Spain, to certify invoices of wines
+    shipped from that port had been sent to the Senate.
+</p>
+<a name="note-17"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>17</u> In 1850.
+</p>
+<a name="note-18"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>18</u> Correspondence since March 4, 1857, touching the claim to
+    military service asserted by France and Prussia in reference to persons
+    born in those countries, but who have since become citizens of the
+    United States.
+</p>
+<a name="note-19"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>19</u> Requesting information "in relation to a removal of the
+    Protestant Church or religious assembly meeting at the American embassy
+    from the city of Rome by an order of that Government."
+</p>
+<a name="note-20"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>20</u> Dispatch from the United States consul at Geneva, with an
+    inclosure, refuting charges against his moral character, etc.
+</p>
+<a name="note-21"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>21</u> Relating to trials in Canada of citizens of the United
+    States for complicity in the Fenian invasion of that country.
+</p>
+<a name="note-22"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>22</u> Relating to the withdrawal of French troops from the
+    Mexican Republic.
+</p>
+<a name="note-23"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>23</u> Relating to the fees of consular agents within the
+    districts of salaried consuls, etc.
+</p>
+<a name="note-24"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>24</u> Relating to the exequatur of the consul of the Grand Duchy
+    of Oldenburg residing at New York.
+</p>
+<a name="note-25"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>25</u> Relating to the absence of Territorial officers from their
+    posts of duty.
+</p>
+<a name="note-26"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>26</u> Relating to the absence of Governor Alexander Cumming from
+    the Territory of Colorado since his appointment as governor.
+</p>
+<a name="note-27"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>27</u> See Executive order of June 20, 1867, pp. 552-556.
+</p>
+<a name="note-28"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>28</u> Pocket veto. Was never sent to Congress, but was deposited
+    in the Department of State.
+</p>
+<a name="note-29"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>29</u> Joint resolution placing certain troops of Missouri on an
+    equal footing with others as to bounties.
+</p>
+<a name="note-30"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>30</u> Relating to the removal of J. Lothrop Motley from his post
+    as minister of the United States at Vienna.
+</p>
+<a name="note-31"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>31</u> Relating to the formation and the functions of the
+    Government of the united States of North Germany.
+</p>
+<a name="note-32"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>32</u> Report of George H. Sharpe relative to the assassination
+    of President Lincoln and the attempted assassination of Secretary
+    Seward.
+</p>
+<a name="note-33"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>33</u> Relating to the removal of Governor Ballard, of the
+    Territory of Idaho.
+</p>
+<a name="note-34"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>34</u> Relating to the famine in Sweden and Norway.
+</p>
+<a name="note-35"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>35</u> See pp. 618-620.
+</p>
+<a name="note-36"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>36</u> See pp. 615-618.
+</p>
+<a name="note-37"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>37</u> See pp. 613-615.
+</p>
+<a name="note-38"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>38</u> See pp. 613-615.
+</p>
+<a name="note-39"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>39</u> See pp. 618-620.
+</p>
+<a name="note-40"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>40</u> See p. 613.
+</p>
+<a name="note-41"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>41</u> See p. 615.
+</p>
+<a name="note-42"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>42</u> See pp. 612-613.
+</p>
+<a name="note-43"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>43</u> See p. 615.
+</p>
+<a name="note-44"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>44</u> See pp. 618-620.
+</p>
+<a name="note-45"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>45</u> See pp. 615-618.
+</p>
+<a name="note-46"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>46</u> See pp. 603-610.
+</p>
+<a name="note-47"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>47</u> See p. 615.
+</p>
+<a name="note-48"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>48</u> See pp. 603-605.
+</p>
+<a name="note-49"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>49</u> See p. 613.
+</p>
+<a name="note-50"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>50</u> See pp. 613-615.
+</p>
+<a name="note-51"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>51</u> See p. 615.
+</p>
+<a name="note-52"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>52</u> See pp. 615-618.
+</p>
+<a name="note-53"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>53</u> See pp. 613-615.
+</p>
+<a name="note-54"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>54</u> Relating to a claim, under the act of Congress of August
+    18, 1856, of citizens of the United States to guano on Alta Vela, an
+    island in the vicinity of Santo Domingo.
+</p>
+<a name="note-55"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>55</u> Relating to unexpended appropriations for contingent
+    expenses of foreign intercourse; amount remaining on deposit with
+    Baring Brothers &amp; Co. September 30, 1867, etc.
+</p>
+<a name="note-56"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>56</u> Declining to transmit copies of correspondence,
+    negotiations, and treaties with German States since January 1, 1868,
+    relative to the rights of naturalized citizens.
+</p>
+<a name="note-57"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>57</u> Statement of amounts paid for legal services by the
+    Department of State during each year since 1860, with names of persons
+    to whom paid.
+</p>
+<a name="note-58"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>58</u> Report of Elliot C. Cowdin, United States commissioner
+    to the Paris Exposition of 1867, on silk and silk manufactures.
+</p>
+<a name="note-59"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>59</u> Transmitting correspondence pertaining to the convention
+    of February 22, 1868, with the North German Confederation, relative to
+    naturalization.
+</p>
+<a name="note-60"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>60</u> Constitutions of South Carolina and Arkansas.
+</p>
+<a name="note-61"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>61</u> Relating to application for exclusive privileges in
+    connection with hunting, trading, and the fisheries in Alaska.
+</p>
+<a name="note-62"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>62</u> Report of Freeman H. Morse, United States consul at
+    Condon, on "The Foreign Maritime Commerce of the United States: Its
+    Past, Present, and Future," etc.
+</p>
+<a name="note-63"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>63</u> Constitutions of North Carolina and Louisiana.
+</p>
+<a name="note-64"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>64</u> Relating to the detention, at the request of the House
+    of Representatives, of the ironclad monitors <i>Oneoto</i> and <i>Catawba</i>,
+    purchased from the United States by Swift &amp; Co., and supposed to be
+    intended for the Government of Peru, then at war with a power friendly
+    to the United States.
+</p>
+<a name="note-65"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>65</u> Constitution of Georgia.
+</p>
+<a name="note-66"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>66</u> Letter from the president of the constitutional convention
+    of Florida, transmitting a copy of the constitution of that State.
+</p>
+<a name="note-67"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>67</u> Correspondence relative to the act of Congress of March
+    27, 1867, prohibiting persons in the diplomatic service of the United
+    States from wearing any uniform or official costume not previously
+    authorized by Congress.
+</p>
+<a name="note-68"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>68</u> Petitions of merchants and shipowners of New York and
+    Boston relative to the detention, at the request of the House of
+    Representatives, of the ironclad monitors <i>Oneoto</i> and <i>Calawba</i>,
+    purchased from the United States by Swift &amp; Co., and supposed to be
+    intended for the Government of Peru, then at war with a power friendly
+    to the United States.
+</p>
+<a name="note-69"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>69</u> Relating to absence from his post of the consul at Panama.
+</p>
+<a name="note-70"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>70</u> Relating to the sending of a commissioner from the United
+    States to Spain.
+</p>
+<a name="note-71"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>71</u> Giving reasons why reductions in the number of officers
+    and employees and in the salaries and expenses of the Department of
+    State should not be made.
+</p>
+<a name="note-72"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>72</u> Relating to the exercise or claim by United States consuls
+    in Japan of judicial powers in cases arising between American citizens
+    and citizens or subjects of any foreign nation ether than Japan, etc.
+</p>
+<a name="note-73"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>73</u> Note by the Executive Clerk of the Senate.&mdash;"The
+    communication from the Secretary of the Interior and this report of the
+    Commissioner of Indian Affairs did not accompany the above communication
+    from the president."
+</p>
+<a name="note-74"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>74</u> Relating to buildings occupied in Washington by
+    Departments of the Government.
+</p>
+<a name="note-75"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>75</u> Relating to the claim of William T. Harris, a United
+    States citizen, to property withheld by the Brazilian Government.
+</p>
+<a name="note-76"><!--Note--></a>
+<p class="foot">
+<u>76</u> See letter from the Chief Justice, pp. 718-720.
+</p>
+<hr class="full">
+<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Compilation of the Messages and
+Papers of the Presidents, by James D. Richardson
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of
+the Presidents, 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
+       Section 2 (of 2) of Volume 6: Andrew Johnson
+
+Author: James D. Richardson
+
+Release Date: June 28, 2004 [EBook #12755]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANDREW JOHNSON ***
+
+
+
+
+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
+
+
+
+
+Andrew Johnson
+
+April 15, 1865, to March 4, 1869
+
+
+
+
+Andrew Johnson
+
+Andrew Johnson was born in Raleigh, N.C., December 29, 1808. His parents
+were very poor. When he was 4 years old his father died of injuries
+received in rescuing a person from drowning. At the age of 10 years
+Andrew was apprenticed to a tailor. His early education was almost
+entirely neglected, and, notwithstanding his natural craving to learn,
+he never spent a day in school. Was taught the alphabet by a
+fellow-workman, borrowed a book, and learned to read. In 1824 removed to
+Laurens Court-House, S.C., where he worked as a journeyman tailor. In
+May, 1826, returned to Raleigh, and in September, with his mother and
+stepfather, set out for Greeneville, Tenn., in a two-wheeled cart drawn
+by a blind pony. Here he married Eliza McCardle, a woman of refinement,
+who taught him to write, and read to him while he was at work during the
+day. It was not until he had been in Congress that he learned to write
+with ease. From Greeneville went to the West, but returned after the
+lapse of a year. In 1828 was elected alderman; was reelected in 1829 and
+1830, and in 1830 was advanced to the mayoralty, which office he held
+for three years. In 1831 was appointed by the county court a trustee
+of Rhea Academy, and about this time participated in the debates of a
+society at Greeneville College. In 1834 advocated the adoption of a new
+State constitution, by which the influence of the large landholders was
+abridged. In 1835 represented Greene and Washington counties in the
+legislature. Was defeated for the legislature in 1837, but in 1839 was
+reelected. In 1836 supported Hugh L. White for the Presidency, and in
+the political altercations between John Bell and James K. Polk, which
+distracted Tennessee at the time, supported the former. Mr. Johnson was
+the only ardent follower of Bell that failed to go over to the Whig
+party. Was an elector for the State at large on the Van Buren ticket in
+1840, and made a State reputation by the force of his oratory. In 1841
+was elected to the State senate from Greene and Hawkins counties, and
+while in that body was one of the "immortal thirteen" Democrats who,
+having it in their power to prevent the election of a Whig Senator, did
+so by refusing to meet the house in joint convention; also proposed that
+the basis of representation should rest upon white votes, without regard
+to the ownership of slaves. Was elected to Congress in 1843 over John A.
+Asken, a United States Bank Democrat, who was supported by the Whigs.
+His first speech was in support of the resolution to restore to General
+Jackson the fine imposed upon him at New Orleans; also supported the
+annexation of Texas. In 1845 was reelected, and supported Polk's
+Administration. Was regularly reelected to Congress until 1853. During
+this period opposed all expenditures for internal improvements that were
+not general; resisted and defeated the proposed contingent tax of 10 per
+cent on tea and coffee; made his celebrated defense of the veto power;
+urged the adoption of the homestead law, which was obnoxious to the
+extreme Southern element of his party; supported the compromise measures
+of 1850 as a matter of expediency, but opposed compromises in general
+as a sacrifice of principle. Was elected governor of Tennessee in 1853
+over Gustavus A. Henry, the "Eagle Orator" of the State. In his message
+to the legislature he dwelt upon the homestead law and other measures
+for the benefit of the working classes, and earned the title of
+the "Mechanic Governor." Opposed the Know-nothing movement with
+characteristic vehemence. Was reelected governor in 1855, defeating
+Meredith P. Gentry, the Whig-American candidate, after a most remarkable
+canvass. The Kansas-Nebraska bill received his earnest support. In 1857
+was elected to the United States Senate, where he urged the passage of
+the homestead bill, and on May 20, 1858, made his greatest speech on
+this subject. Opposed the grant of aid for the construction of a Pacific
+railroad. Was prominent in debate, and frequently clashed with Southern
+supporters of the Administration. His pronounced Unionism estranged him
+from the extremists on the Southern side, while his acceptance of
+slavery as an institution guaranteed by the Constitution caused him
+to hold aloof from the Republicans on the other. At the Democratic
+convention at Charleston, S.C., in 1860 was a candidate for the
+Presidential nomination, but received only the vote of Tennessee, and
+when the convention reassembled in Baltimore withdrew his name. In the
+canvass that followed supported John C. Breckinridge. At the session
+of Congress beginning in December, 1860, took decided and unequivocal
+grounds in opposition to secession, and on December 13 introduced a
+joint resolution proposing to amend the Constitution so as to elect the
+President and Vice-President by district votes, Senators by a direct
+popular vote, and to limit the terms of Federal judges to twelve
+years, the judges to be equally divided between slaveholding and
+non-slaveholding States. In his speech on this resolution, December 18
+and 19, declared his unyielding opposition to secession and announced
+his intention to stand by and act under the Constitution. Retained
+his seat in the Senate until appointed by President Lincoln military
+governor of Tennessee, March 4, 1862. March 12 reached Nashville, and
+organized a provisional government for the State; March 18 issued a
+proclamation in which he appealed to the people to return to their
+allegiance, to uphold the law, and to accept "a full and complete
+amnesty for all past acts and declarations;" April 5 removed the mayor
+and other officials of Nashville for refusing to take the oath of
+allegiance to the United States, and appointed others; urged the holding
+of Union meetings throughout the State, and frequently attended them in
+person; completed the railroad from Nashville to the Tennessee River;
+raised twenty-five regiments for service in the State; December 8, 1862,
+issued a proclamation ordering Congressional elections, and on the 15th
+levied an assessment upon the richer Southern sympathizers "in behalf of
+the many helpless widows, wives, and children in the city of Nashville
+who have been reduced to poverty and wretchedness in consequence of
+their husbands, sons, and fathers having been forced into the armies of
+this unholy and nefarious rebellion." Was nominated for Vice-President
+of the United States at the national Republican convention at Baltimore
+June 8, 1864, and was elected on November 8. In his letter of acceptance
+of the nomination Mr. Johnson virtually disclaimed any departure from
+his principles as a Democrat, but placed his acceptance upon the ground
+of "the higher duty of first preserving the Government." On the night of
+the 14th of April, 1865, President Lincoln was shot by an assassin and
+died the next morning. At 11 o'clock a.m. April 15 Mr. Johnson was sworn
+in as President, at his rooms in the Kirkwood House, Washington, by
+Chief Justice Chase, in the presence of nearly all the Cabinet officers
+and others. April 29, 1865, issued a proclamation for the removal of
+trade restrictions in most of the insurrectionary States, which, being
+in contravention of an act of Congress, was subsequently modified.
+May 9 issued an Executive order restoring Virginia to the Union. May 22
+proclaimed all ports, except four in Texas, opened to foreign commerce
+on July 1, 1865. May 29 issued a general amnesty proclamation, after
+which the fundamental and irreconcilable differences between President
+Johnson and the party that had elevated him to power became more
+apparent. He exercised the veto power to a very great extent, but it was
+generally nullified by the two-thirds votes of both Houses. From May 29
+to July 13, 1865, proclaimed provisional governors for North Carolina,
+Mississippi, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, South Carolina, and Florida, whose
+duties were to reorganize the State governments. The State governments
+were reorganized, but the Republicans claimed that the laws passed were
+so stringent in reference to the negroes that it was a worse form of
+slavery than the old. The thirteenth amendment to the Constitution
+became a law December 18, 1865, with Mr. Johnson's concurrence. The first
+breach between the President and the party in power was the veto of the
+Freedmen's Bureau bill, in February, 1866, which was designed to protect
+the negroes. March 27 vetoed the civil-rights bill, but it was passed
+over his veto. In a message of June 22, 1866, opposed the joint
+resolution proposing the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution. In
+June, 1866, the Republicans in Congress brought forward their plan of
+reconstruction, called the "Congressional plan," in contradistinction
+to that of the President. The chief features of the Congressional plan
+were to give the negroes the right to vote, to protect them in this
+right, and to prevent Confederate leaders from voting. January 5, 1867,
+vetoed the act giving negroes the right of suffrage in the District
+of Columbia, but it was passed over his veto. An attempt was made to
+impeach the President, but it failed. In January, 1867, a bill was
+passed to deprive the President of the power to proclaim general
+amnesty, which he disregarded. Measures were adopted looking to the
+meeting of the Fortieth and all subsequent Congresses immediately after
+the adjournment of the preceding. The President was deprived of the
+command of the Army by a rider to the army appropriation bill, which
+provided that his orders should only be given through the General, who
+was not to be removed without the previous consent of the Senate. The
+bill admitting Nebraska, providing that no law should ever be passed in
+that State denying the right of suffrage to any person because of his
+color or race, was vetoed by the President, but passed over his veto.
+March 2, 1867, vetoed the act to provide for the more efficient
+government of the rebel States, but it was passed over his veto.
+It embodied the Congressional plan of reconstruction, and divided the
+Southern States into five military districts, each under an officer of
+the Army not under the rank of brigadier-general, who was to exercise
+all the functions of government until the citizens had "formed a
+constitution of government in conformity with the Constitution
+of the United States in all respects." On the same day vetoed the
+tenure-of-office act, which was also passed over his veto. It provided
+that civil officers should remain in office until the confirmation of
+their successors; that the members of the Cabinet should be removed
+only with the consent of the Senate, and that when Congress was not in
+session the President could suspend but not remove any official, and in
+case the Senate at the next session should not ratify the suspension the
+suspended official should be reinducted into his office. August 5, 1867,
+requested Edwin M. Stanton to resign his office as Secretary of War.
+Mr. Stanton refused, was suspended, and General Grant was appointed
+Secretary of War _ad interim_. When Congress met, the Senate
+refused to ratify the suspension. General Grant then resigned, and Mr.
+Stanton resumed the duties of his office. The President removed him and
+appointed Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant-General of the Army, Secretary of War
+_ad interim_. The Senate declared this act illegal, and Mr. Stanton
+refused to comply, and notified the Speaker of the House. On February
+24, 1868, the House of Representatives resolved to impeach the
+President, and on March 2 and 3 articles of impeachment were agreed upon
+by the House of Representatives, and on the 4th were presented to the
+Senate. The trial began on March 30. May 16 the test vote was had;
+thirty-five Senators voted for conviction and nineteen for acquittal. A
+change of one vote would have carried conviction. A verdict of acquittal
+was entered, and the Senate sitting as a court of impeachment adjourned
+_sine die_. After the expiration of his term the ex-President
+returned to Tennessee. Was a candidate for the United States Senate, but
+was defeated. In 1872 was an unsuccessful candidate for Congressman from
+the State at large. In January, 1875, was elected to the United States
+Senate, and took his seat at the extra session of that year. Shortly
+after the session began made a speech which was a skillful but bitter
+attack upon President Grant. While visiting his daughter near
+Elizabethton, in Carter County, Tenn., was stricken with paralysis July
+30, 1875, and died the following day. He was buried at Greeneville, Tenn.
+
+
+
+
+INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
+
+[From the Sunday Morning Chronicle, Washington, April 16, 1865, and
+The Sun, Baltimore, April 17, 1865.]
+
+GENTLEMEN: I must be permitted to say that I have been almost
+overwhelmed by the announcement of the sad event which has so recently
+occurred. I feel incompetent to perform duties so important and
+responsible as those which have been so unexpectedly thrown upon me.
+As to an indication of any policy which may be pursued by me in the
+administration of the Government, I have to say that that must be left
+for development as the Administration progresses. The message or
+declaration must be made by the acts as they transpire. The only
+assurance that I can now give of the future is reference to the past.
+The course which I have taken in the past in connection with this
+rebellion must be regarded as a guaranty of the future. My past public
+life, which has been long and laborious, has been founded, as I in good
+conscience believe, upon a great principle of right, which lies at the
+basis of all things. The best energies of my life have been spent in
+endeavoring to establish and perpetuate the principles of free
+government, and I believe that the Government in passing through its
+present perils will settle down upon principles consonant with popular
+rights more permanent and enduring than heretofore. I must be permitted
+to say, if I understand the feelings of my own heart, that I have long
+labored to ameliorate and elevate the condition of the great mass of the
+American people. Toil and an honest advocacy of the great principles of
+free government have been my lot. Duties have been mine; consequences
+are God's. This has been the foundation of my political creed, and I
+feel that in the end the Government will triumph and that these great
+principles will be permanently established.
+
+In conclusion, gentlemen, let me say that I want your encouragement and
+countenance. I shall ask and rely upon you and others in carrying the
+Government through its present perils. I feel in making this request
+that it will be heartily responded to by you and all other patriots
+and lovers of the rights and interests of a free people.
+
+APRIL 15, 1865.
+
+
+
+
+PROCLAMATIONS.
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas, by my direction, the Acting Secretary of State, in a notice to
+the public of the 17th, requested the various religious denominations
+to assemble on the 19th instant, on the occasion of the obsequies of
+Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United States, and to observe the
+same with appropriate ceremonies; but
+
+Whereas our country has become one great house of mourning, where the
+head of the family has been taken away, and believing that a special
+period should be assigned for again humbling ourselves before Almighty
+God, in order that the bereavement may be sanctified to the nation:
+
+Now, therefore, in order to mitigate that grief on earth which can
+only be assuaged by communion with the Father in heaven, and in
+compliance with the wishes of Senators and Representatives in Congress,
+communicated to me by resolutions adopted at the National Capitol,
+I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby appoint
+Thursday, the 25th day of May next, to be observed, wherever in the
+United States the flag of the country may be respected, as a day of
+humiliation and mourning, and I recommend my fellow citizens then to
+assemble in their respective places of worship, there to unite in solemn
+service to Almighty God in memory of the good man who has been removed,
+so that all shall be occupied at the same time in contemplation of his
+virtues and in sorrow for his sudden and violent end.
+
+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, the 25th day of April, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  W. HUNTER,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas by my proclamation of the 25th instant Thursday, the 25th day of
+next month, was recommended as a day for special humiliation and prayer
+in consequence of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, late President
+of the United States; but
+
+Whereas my attention has since been called to the fact that the day
+aforesaid is sacred to large numbers of Christians as one of rejoicing
+for the ascension of the Savior:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, do hereby suggest that the religious services recommended
+as aforesaid should be postponed until Thursday, the 1st day of June
+next.
+
+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 29th day of April, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  W. HUNTER,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas it appears from evidence in the Bureau of Military Justice that
+the atrocious murder of the late President, Abraham Lincoln, and the
+attempted assassination of the Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of
+State, were incited, concerted, and procured by and between Jefferson
+Davis, late of Richmond, Va., and Jacob Thompson, Clement C. Clay,
+Beverley Tucker, George N. Sanders, William C. Cleary, and other rebels
+and traitors against the Government of the United States harbored in
+Canada:
+
+Now, therefore, to the end that justice may be done, I, Andrew Johnson,
+President of the United States, do offer and promise for the arrest of
+said persons, or either of them, within the limits of the United States,
+so that they can be brought to trial, the following rewards:
+
+One hundred thousand dollars for the arrest of Jefferson Davis.
+
+Twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of Clement C. Clay.
+
+Twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of Jacob Thompson, late of
+Mississippi.
+
+Twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of George N. Sanders.
+
+Twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of Beverley Tucker.
+
+Ten thousand dollars for the arrest of William C. Cleary, late clerk of
+Clement C. Clay.
+
+The Provost-Marshal-General of the United States is directed to cause
+a description of said persons, with notice of the above rewards, to be
+published.
+
+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 2d day of May, A.D. 1865, and of
+the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  W. HUNTER,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the President of the United States, by his proclamation of the
+19th day of April, 1861, did declare certain States therein mentioned in
+insurrection against the Government of the United States; and
+
+Whereas armed resistance to the authority of this Government in the said
+insurrectionary States may be regarded as virtually at an end, and the
+persons by whom that resistance, as well as the operations of insurgent
+cruisers, was directed are fugitives or captives; and
+
+Whereas it is understood that some of those cruisers are still infesting
+the high seas and others are preparing to capture, burn, and destroy
+vessels of the United States:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, hereby enjoin all naval, military, and civil officers of
+the United States diligently to endeavor, by all lawful means, to arrest
+the said cruisers and to bring them into a port of the United States, in
+order that they may be prevented from committing further depredations on
+commerce and that the persons on board of them may no longer enjoy
+impunity for their crimes.
+
+And I do further proclaim and declare that if, after a reasonable time
+shall have elapsed for this proclamation to become known in the ports of
+nations claiming to have been neutrals, the said insurgent cruisers and
+the persons on board of them shall continue to receive hospitality in
+the said ports, this Government will deem itself justified in refusing
+hospitality to the public vessels of such nations in ports of the United
+States and in adopting such other measures as may be deemed advisable
+toward vindicating the national sovereignty.
+
+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. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  W. HUNTER,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas by the proclamation of the President of the 11th day of April
+last certain ports of the United States therein specified, which had
+previously been subject to blockade, were, for objects of public safety,
+declared, in conformity with previous special legislation of Congress,
+to be closed against foreign commerce during the national will, to be
+thereafter expressed and made known by the President; and
+
+Whereas events and circumstances have since occurred which, in my
+judgment, render it expedient to remove that restriction, except as to
+the ports of Galveston, La Salle, Brazos de Santiago (Point Isabel), and
+Brownsville, in the State of Texas:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, do hereby declare that the ports aforesaid, not excepted
+as above, shall be open to foreign commerce from and after the 1st day
+of July next; that commercial intercourse with the said ports may from
+that time be carried on, subject to the laws of the United States and in
+pursuance of such regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of
+the Treasury. If, however, any vessel from a foreign port shall enter
+any of the before-named excepted ports in the State of Texas, she will
+continue to be held liable to the penalties prescribed by the act of
+Congress approved on the 13th day of July, 1861, and the persons on
+board of her to such penalties as may be incurred, pursuant to the laws
+of war, for trading or attempting to trade with an enemy.
+
+And I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby declare
+and make known that the United States of America do henceforth disallow
+to all persons trading or attempting to trade in any ports of the United
+States in violation of the laws thereof all pretense of belligerent
+rights and privileges; and I give notice that from the date of this
+proclamation all such offenders will be held and dealt with as pirates.
+
+It is also ordered that all restrictions upon trade heretofore imposed
+in the territory of the United States east of the Mississippi River,
+save those relating to contraband of war, to the reservation of the
+rights of the United States to property purchased in the territory of an
+enemy, and to the 25 per cent upon purchases of cotton be removed. All
+provisions of the internal-revenue law will be carried into effect under
+the proper officers.
+
+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 May, A.D. 1865, and of
+the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  W. HUNTER,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the President of the United States, on the 8th day of December,
+A.D. 1863, and on the 26th day of March, A.D. 1864, did, with the object
+to suppress the existing rebellion, to induce all persons to return to
+their loyalty, and to restore the authority of the United States, issue
+proclamations offering amnesty and pardon to certain persons who had,
+directly or by implication, participated in the said rebellion; and
+
+Whereas many persons who had so engaged in said rebellion have, since
+the issuance of said proclamations, failed or neglected to take the
+benefits offered thereby; and
+
+Whereas many persons who have been justly deprived of all claim to
+amnesty and pardon thereunder by reason of their participation, directly
+or by implication, in said rebellion and continued hostility to the
+Government of the United States since the date of said proclamations now
+desire to apply for and obtain amnesty and pardon.
+
+To the end, therefore, that the authority of the Government of the
+United States may be restored and that peace, order, and freedom may
+be established, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+do proclaim and declare that I hereby grant to all persons who have,
+directly or indirectly, participated in the existing rebellion, except
+as hereinafter excepted, amnesty and pardon, with restoration of all
+rights of property, except as to slaves and except in cases where legal
+proceedings under the laws of the United States providing for the
+confiscation of property of persons engaged in rebellion have been
+instituted; but upon the condition, nevertheless, that every such person
+shall take and subscribe the following oath (or affirmation) 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 (or affirm), 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 laws and proclamations which have been made during the
+  existing rebellion with reference to the emancipation of slaves.
+  So help me God.
+
+
+The following classes of persons are excepted from the benefits of this
+proclamation:
+
+First. All who are or shall have been pretended civil or diplomatic
+officers or otherwise domestic or foreign agents of the pretended
+Confederate government.
+
+Second. All who left judicial stations under the United States to aid
+the rebellion.
+
+Third. All who shall have been military or naval officers of said
+pretended Confederate government above the rank of colonel in the army
+or lieutenant in the navy.
+
+Fourth. All who left seats in the Congress of the United States to aid
+the rebellion.
+
+Fifth. All who resigned or tendered resignations of their commissions in
+the Army or Navy of the United States to evade duty in resisting the
+rebellion.
+
+Sixth. All who have engaged in any way in treating otherwise than
+lawfully as prisoners of war persons found in the United States service
+as officers, soldiers, seamen, or in other capacities.
+
+Seventh. All persons who have been or are absentees from the United
+States for the purpose of aiding the rebellion.
+
+Eighth. All military and naval officers in the rebel service who were
+educated by the Government in the Military Academy at West Point or the
+United States Naval Academy.
+
+Ninth. All persons who held the pretended offices of governors of States
+in insurrection against the United States.
+
+Tenth. All persons who left their homes within the jurisdiction and
+protection of the United States and passed beyond the Federal military
+lines into the pretended Confederate States for the purpose of aiding
+the rebellion.
+
+Eleventh. All persons who have been engaged in the destruction of the
+commerce of the United States upon the high seas and all persons who
+have made raids into the United States from Canada or been engaged in
+destroying the commerce of the United States upon the lakes and rivers
+that separate the British Provinces from the United States.
+
+Twelfth. All persons who, at the time when they seek to obtain the
+benefits hereof by taking the oath herein prescribed, are in military,
+naval, or civil confinement or custody, or under bonds 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.
+
+Thirteenth. All persons who have voluntarily participated in said
+rebellion and the estimated value of whose taxable property is over
+$20,000.
+
+Fourteenth. All persons who have taken the oath of amnesty as prescribed
+in the President's proclamation of December 8, A.D. 1863, or an oath of
+allegiance to the Government of the United States since the date of said
+proclamation and who have not thenceforward kept and maintained the same
+inviolate.
+
+_Provided_, That special application may be made to the President
+for pardon by any person belonging to the excepted classes, and such
+clemency will be liberally extended as may be consistent with the facts
+of the case and the peace and dignity of the United States.
+
+The Secretary of State will establish rules and regulations for
+administering and recording the said amnesty oath, so as to insure its
+benefit to the people and guard the Government against fraud.
+
+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, the 29th day of May, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+the United States declares that the United States shall guarantee to
+every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution made
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+
+Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of North
+Carolina of all civil government; and
+
+Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+obligations of the United States to the people of North Carolina in
+securing them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+
+Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do hereby
+appoint William W. Holden provisional governor of the State of North
+Carolina, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest practicable period, to
+prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for
+convening a convention composed of delegates to be chosen by that
+portion of the people of said State who are loyal to the United States,
+and no others, for the purpose of altering or amending the constitution
+thereof, and with authority to exercise within the limits of said State
+all the powers necessary and proper to enable such loyal people of the
+State of North Carolina to restore said State to its constitutional
+relations to the Federal Government and to present such a republican
+form of State government as will entitle the State to the guaranty of
+the United States therefor and its people to protection by the United
+States against invasion, insurrection, and domestic violence:
+_Provided_, That in any election that may be hereafter held for
+choosing delegates to any State convention as aforesaid no person shall
+be qualified as an elector or shall be eligible as a member of such
+convention unless he shall have previously taken and subscribed the oath
+of amnesty as set forth in the President's proclamation of May 29, A.D.
+1865, and is a voter qualified as prescribed by the constitution and
+laws of the State of North Carolina in force immediately before the 20th
+day of May, A.D. 1861, the date of the so-called ordinance of secession;
+and the said convention, when convened, or the legislature that may be
+thereafter assembled, will prescribe the qualification of electors and
+the eligibility of persons to hold office under the constitution and
+laws of the State--a power the people of the several States composing
+the Federal Union have rightfully exercised from the origin of the
+Government to the present time.
+
+And I do hereby direct--
+
+First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+government as herein authorized.
+
+Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws
+of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+
+Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+
+Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+agents, etc., from other States.
+
+Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which North
+Carolina is included proceed to hold courts within said State in
+accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The
+Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to
+judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and
+enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters
+within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+
+Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+affairs having application to the said State.
+
+Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+limits aforesaid.
+
+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 29th day of May, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+the United States declares that the United States shall guarantee to
+every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution made
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+
+Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of
+Mississippi of all civil government; and
+
+Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+obligations of the United States to the people of Mississippi in
+securing them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+
+Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do
+hereby appoint William L. Sharkey, of Mississippi, provisional governor
+of the State of Mississippi, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest
+practicable period, to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be
+necessary and proper for convening a convention composed of delegates
+to be chosen by that portion of the people of said State who are loyal
+to the United States, and no others, for the purpose of altering or
+amending the constitution thereof, and with authority to exercise within
+the limits of said State all the powers necessary and proper to enable
+such loyal people of the State of Mississippi to restore said State to
+its constitutional relations to the Federal Government and to present
+such a republican form of State government as will entitle the State to
+the guaranty of the United States therefor and its people to protection
+by the United States against invasion, insurrection, and domestic
+violence: _Provided_, That in any election that may be hereafter
+held for choosing delegates to any State convention as aforesaid no
+person shall be qualified as an elector or shall be eligible as a member
+of such convention unless he shall have previously taken and subscribed
+the oath of amnesty as set forth in the President's proclamation of
+May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a voter qualified as prescribed by the
+constitution and laws of the State of Mississippi in force immediately
+before the 9th of January, A.D. 1861, the date of the so-called
+ordinance of secession; and the said convention, when convened, or
+the legislature that may be thereafter assembled, will prescribe the
+qualification of electors and the eligibility of persons to hold office
+under the constitution and laws of the State--a power the people of the
+several States composing the Federal Union have rightfully exercised
+from the origin of the Government to the present time.
+
+And I do hereby direct--
+
+First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+government as herein authorized.
+
+Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws
+of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+
+Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+
+Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+agents, etc., from other States.
+
+Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which
+Mississippi is included proceed to hold courts within said State
+in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The
+Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to
+judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and
+enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters
+within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+
+Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+affairs having application to the said State.
+
+Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+limits aforesaid.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+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, this 13th day of June, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas by my proclamation[1] of the 29th of April, 1865, all
+restrictions upon internal, domestic, and commercial intercourse,
+with certain exceptions therein specified and set forth, were removed
+"in such parts of the States of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina,
+South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and so much of
+Louisiana as lies east of the Mississippi River as shall be embraced
+within the lines of national military occupation;" and
+
+[Footnote 1: Executive order.]
+
+Whereas by my proclamation of the 22d of May, 1865, for reasons therein
+given, it was declared that certain ports of the United States which had
+been previously closed against foreign commerce should, with certain
+specified exceptions, be reopened to such commerce on and after the
+1st day of July next, subject to the laws of the United States, and in
+pursuance of such regulations as might be prescribed by the Secretary
+of the Treasury; and
+
+Whereas I am satisfactorily informed that dangerous combinations against
+the laws of the United States no longer exist within the State of
+Tennessee; that the insurrection heretofore existing within said State
+has been suppressed; that within the boundaries thereof the authority of
+the United States is undisputed, and that such officers of the United
+States as have been duly commissioned are in the undisturbed exercise of
+their official functions:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, do hereby declare that all restrictions upon internal,
+domestic, and coastwise intercourse and trade and upon the removal of
+products of States heretofore declared in insurrection, reserving and
+excepting only those relating to contraband of war, as hereinafter
+recited, and also those which relate to the reservation of the rights
+of the United States to property purchased in the territory of an enemy
+heretofore imposed in the territory of the United States east of the
+Mississippi River, are annulled, and I do hereby direct that they be
+forthwith removed; and that on and after the 1st day of July next all
+restrictions upon foreign commerce with said ports, with the exception
+and reservation aforesaid, be likewise removed; and that the commerce of
+said States shall be conducted under the supervision of the regularly
+appointed officers of the customs provided by law, and such officers of
+the customs shall receive any captured and abandoned property that may
+be turned over to them under the law by the military or naval forces of
+the United States and dispose of such property as shall be directed by
+the Secretary of the Treasury. The following articles, contraband of
+war, are excepted from the effect of this proclamation: Arms,
+ammunition, all articles from which ammunition is made, and gray
+uniforms and cloth.
+
+And I hereby also proclaim and declare that the insurrection, so far as
+it relates to and within the State of Tennessee and the inhabitants of
+the said State of Tennessee as reorganized and constituted under their
+recently adopted constitution and reorganization and accepted by them,
+is suppressed, and therefore, also, that all the disabilities and
+disqualifications attaching to said State and the inhabitants thereof
+consequent upon any proclamation issued by virtue of the fifth section
+of the act entitled "An act further to provide for the collection of
+duties on imports and for other purposes," approved the 13th day of
+July, 1861, are removed.
+
+But nothing herein contained shall be considered or construed as in any
+wise changing or impairing any of the penalties and forfeitures for
+treason heretofore incurred under the laws of the United States or any
+of the provisions, restrictions, or disabilities set forth in my
+proclamation bearing date the 29th day of May, 1865, or as impairing
+existing regulations for the suspension of the _habeas corpus_ and
+the exercise of military law in cases where it shall be necessary for
+the general public safety and welfare during the existing insurrection;
+nor shall this proclamation affect or in any way impair any laws
+heretofore passed by Congress and duly approved by the President or any
+proclamations or orders issued by him during the aforesaid insurrection
+abolishing slavery or in any way affecting the relations of slavery,
+whether of persons or property; but, on the contrary, all such laws and
+proclamations heretofore made or issued are expressly saved and declared
+to be in full force and virtue.
+
+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 13th day of June, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+the United States declares that the United States shall guarantee to
+every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution made
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+
+Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of
+Georgia of all civil government; and
+
+Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+obligations of the United States to the people of Georgia in securing
+them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+
+Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do hereby
+appoint James Johnson, of Georgia, provisional governor of the State of
+Georgia, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest practicable period,
+to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper
+for convening a convention composed of delegates to be chosen by that
+portion of the people of said State who are loyal to the United States,
+and no others, for the purpose of altering or amending the constitution
+thereof, and with authority to exercise within the limits of said State
+all the powers necessary and proper to enable such loyal people of the
+State of Georgia to restore said State to its constitutional relations
+to the Federal Government and to present such a republican form of State
+government as will entitle the State to the guaranty of the United
+States therefor and its people to protection by the United States
+against invasion, insurrection, and domestic violence: _Provided_,
+That in any election that may be hereafter held for choosing delegates
+to any State convention as aforesaid no person shall be qualified as an
+elector or shall be eligible as a member of such convention unless he
+shall have previously taken and subscribed the oath of amnesty as set
+forth in the President's proclamation of May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a
+voter qualified as prescribed by the constitution and laws of the State
+of Georgia in force immediately before the 19th of January, A.D. 1861,
+the date of the so-called ordinance of secession; and the said
+convention, when convened, or the legislature that may be thereafter
+assembled, will prescribe the qualification of electors and the
+eligibility of persons to hold office under the constitution and laws
+of the State--a power the people of the several States composing the
+Federal Union have rightfully exercised from the origin of the
+Government to the present time.
+
+And I do hereby direct--
+
+First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+government as herein authorized.
+
+Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws
+of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+
+Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+
+Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+agents, etc., from other States.
+
+Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which
+Georgia is included proceed to hold courts within said State in
+accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The
+Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to
+judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and
+enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters
+within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+
+Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+affairs having application to the said State.
+
+Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+limits aforesaid.
+
+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 17th day of June, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+the United States declares that the United States shall guarantee to
+every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution
+made Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+
+Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of Texas
+of all civil government; and
+
+Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+obligations of the United States to the people of the State of Texas in
+securing them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+
+Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do hereby
+appoint Andrew J. Hamilton, of Texas, provisional governor of the State
+of Texas, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest practicable period, to
+prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for
+convening a convention composed of delegates to be chosen by that
+portion of the people of said State who are loyal to the United States,
+and no others, for the purpose of altering or amending the constitution
+thereof, and with authority to exercise within the limits of said State
+all the powers necessary and proper to enable such loyal people of the
+State of Texas to restore said State to its constitutional relations to
+the Federal Government and to present such a republican form of State
+government as will entitle the State to the guaranty of the United
+States therefor and its people to protection by the United States
+against invasion, insurrection, and domestic violence: _Provided_,
+That in any election that may be hereafter held for choosing delegates
+to any State convention as aforesaid no person shall be qualified as an
+elector or shall be eligible as a member of such convention unless he
+shall have previously taken and subscribed the oath of amnesty as set
+forth in the President's proclamation of May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a
+voter qualified as prescribed by the constitution and laws of the State
+of Texas in force immediately before the 1st day of February, A.D. 1861,
+the date of the so-called ordinance of secession; and the said
+convention, when convened, or the legislature that may be thereafter
+assembled, will prescribe the qualification of electors and the
+eligibility of persons to hold office under the constitution and laws of
+the State--a power the people of the several States composing the
+Federal Union have rightfully exercised from the origin of the
+Government to the present time.
+
+And I do hereby direct--
+
+First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+government as herein authorized.
+
+Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws
+of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+
+Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+
+Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+agents, etc., from other States.
+
+Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which Texas
+is included proceed to hold courts within said State in accordance with
+the provisions of the act of Congress. The Attorney-General will
+instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to judgment,
+confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and enforce the
+administration of justice within said State in all matters within the
+cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+
+Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+affairs having application to the said State.
+
+Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+limits aforesaid.
+
+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 17th day of June, A.D. 1865, and of
+the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+the United States declares that the United States shall guarantee to
+every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution made
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+
+Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of
+Alabama of all civil government; and
+
+Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+obligations of the United States to the people of Alabama in securing
+them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+
+Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do hereby
+appoint Lewis E. Parsons, of Alabama, provisional governor of the State
+of Alabama, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest practicable period,
+to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper
+for convening a convention composed of delegates to be chosen by that
+portion of the people of said State who are loyal to the United States,
+and no others, for the purpose of altering or amending the constitution
+thereof, and with authority to exercise within the limits of said State
+all the powers necessary and proper to enable such loyal people of the
+State of Alabama to restore said State to its constitutional relations
+to the Federal Government and to present such a republican form of State
+government as will entitle the State to the guaranty of the United
+States therefor and its people to protection by the United States
+against invasion, insurrection, and domestic violence: _Provided_,
+That in any election that may be hereafter held for choosing delegates
+to any State convention as aforesaid no person shall be qualified as an
+elector or shall be eligible as a member of such convention unless he
+shall have previously taken and subscribed the oath of amnesty as set
+forth in the President's proclamation of May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a
+voter qualified as prescribed by the constitution and laws of the State
+of Alabama in force immediately before the 11th day of January, A.D.
+1861, the date of the so-called ordinance of secession; and the said
+convention, when convened, or the legislature that may be thereafter
+assembled, will prescribe the qualification of electors and the
+eligibility of persons to hold office under the constitution and laws of
+the State, a power the people of the several States composing the
+Federal Union have rightfully exercised from the origin of the
+Government to the present time.
+
+And I do hereby direct--
+
+First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+government as herein authorized.
+
+Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws
+of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+
+Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+
+Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+agents, etc., from other States.
+
+Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which
+Alabama is included proceed to hold courts within said State in
+accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The
+Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to
+judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and
+enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters
+within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+
+Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+affairs having application to the said State.
+
+Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+limits aforesaid.
+
+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 21st day of June, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas by the proclamations of the President of the 19th and 27th of
+April, 1861, a blockade of certain ports of the United States was set on
+foot; but
+
+Whereas the reasons for that measure have ceased to exist:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, do hereby declare and proclaim the blockade aforesaid to
+be rescinded as to all the ports aforesaid, including that of Galveston
+and other ports west of the Mississippi River, which ports will be open
+to foreign commerce on the 1st of July next on the terms and conditions
+set forth in my proclamation of the 22d of May last.
+
+It is to be understood, however, that the blockade thus rescinded was an
+international measure for the purpose of protecting the sovereign rights
+of the United States. The greater or less subversion of civil authority
+in the region to which it applied and the impracticability of at once
+restoring that in due efficiency may for a season make it advisable to
+employ the Army and Navy of the United States toward carrying the laws
+into effect wherever such employment may be necessary.
+
+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 23d day of June, A.D. 1865, and of
+the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  W. HUNTER,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas it has been the desire of the General Government of the United
+States to restore unrestricted commercial intercourse between and in the
+several States as soon as the same could be safely done in view of
+resistance to the authority of the United States by combinations of
+armed insurgents; and
+
+Whereas that desire has been shown in my proclamations of the 29th of
+April, 1865, the 13th of June, 1865, and the 23d of June, 1865; and
+
+Whereas it now seems expedient and proper to remove restrictions upon
+internal, domestic, and coastwise trade and commercial intercourse
+between and within the States and Territories west of the Mississippi
+River:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, do hereby declare that all restrictions upon internal,
+domestic, and coastwise intercourse and trade and upon the purchase and
+removal of products of States and parts of States and Territories
+heretofore declared in insurrection, lying west of the Mississippi River
+(excepting only those relating to property heretofore purchased by the
+agents or captured by or surrendered to the forces of the United States
+and to the transportation thereto or therein on private account of arms,
+ammunition, all articles from which ammunition is made, gray uniforms,
+and gray cloth), are annulled; and I do hereby direct that they be
+forthwith removed, and also that the commerce of such States and parts
+of States shall be conducted under the supervision of the regularly
+appointed officers of the customs, [who] shall receive any captured and
+abandoned property that may be turned over to them under the law by the
+military or naval forces of the United States and dispose of the same in
+accordance with instructions on the subject issued by the Secretary of
+the Treasury.
+
+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, this 24th day of June, A.D. 1865, and of
+the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  W. HUNTER,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+the United States declares that the United States shall guarantee to
+every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution made
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+
+Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of South
+Carolina of all civil government; and
+
+Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+obligations of the United States to the people of South Carolina in
+securing them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+
+Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do hereby
+appoint Benjamin F. Perry, of South Carolina, provisional governor of
+the State of South Carolina, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest
+practicable period, to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be
+necessary and proper for convening a convention composed of delegates
+to be chosen by that portion of the people of said State who are loyal
+to the United States, and no others, for the purpose of altering or
+amending the constitution thereof, and with authority to exercise within
+the limits of said State all the powers necessary and proper to enable
+such loyal people of the State of South Carolina to restore said State
+to its constitutional relations to the Federal Government and to present
+such a republican form of State government as will entitle the State to
+the guaranty of the United States therefor and its people to protection
+by the United States against invasion, insurrection, and domestic
+violence: _Provided_, That in any election that may be hereafter
+held for choosing delegates to any State convention as aforesaid no
+person shall be qualified as an elector or shall be eligible as a member
+of such convention unless he shall have previously taken and subscribed
+the oath of amnesty as set forth in the President's proclamation
+of May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a voter qualified as prescribed by
+the constitution and laws of the State of South Carolina in force
+immediately before the 17th day of November, A.D. 1860, the date of
+the so-called ordinance of secession; and the said convention, when
+convened, or the legislature that may be thereafter assembled, will
+prescribe the qualification of electors and the eligibility of persons
+to hold office under the constitution and laws of the State--a power the
+people of the several States composing the Federal Union have rightfully
+exercised from the origin of the Government to the present time.
+
+And I do hereby direct--
+
+First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+government as herein authorized.
+
+Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws
+of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+
+Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+
+Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+agents, etc., from other States.
+
+Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which
+South Carolina is included proceed to hold courts within said
+State in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The
+Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to
+judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and
+enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters
+within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+
+Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+affairs having application to the said State.
+
+Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+limits aforesaid.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+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, this 30th day of June, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of
+the United States declares that the United Stales shall guarantee to
+every State in the Union a republican form of government and shall
+protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States is by the Constitution made
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil
+executive officer of the United States, and is bound by solemn oath
+faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and
+to take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+
+Whereas the rebellion which has been waged by a portion of the people of
+the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the
+Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but whose
+organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has
+in its revolutionary progress deprived the people of the State of
+Florida of all civil government; and
+
+Whereas it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce the
+obligations of the United States to the people of Florida in securing
+them in the enjoyment of a republican form of government:
+
+Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon
+me by the Constitution of the United States and for the purpose of
+enabling the loyal people of said State to organize a State government
+whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity insured, and
+loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, liberty, and
+property, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do hereby
+appoint William Marvin provisional governor of the State of Florida,
+whose duty it shall be, at the earliest practicable period, to prescribe
+such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for convening
+a convention composed of delegates to be chosen by that portion of the
+people of said State who are loyal to the United States, and no others,
+for the purpose of altering or amending the constitution thereof, and
+with authority to exercise within the limits of said State all the
+powers necessary and proper to enable such loyal people of the State of
+Florida to restore said State to its constitutional relations to the
+Federal Government and to present such a republican form of State
+government as will entitle the State to the guaranty of the United
+States therefor and its people to protection by the United States
+against invasion, insurrection, and domestic violence: _Provided_,
+That in any election that may be hereafter held for choosing delegates
+to any State convention as aforesaid no person shall be qualified as an
+elector or shall be eligible as a member of such convention unless he
+shall have previously taken and subscribed the oath of amnesty as set
+forth in the President's proclamation of May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a
+voter qualified as prescribed by the constitution and laws of the State
+of Florida in force immediately before the 10th day of January, A.D.
+1861, the date of the so-called ordinance of secession; and the said
+convention, when convened, or the legislature that may be thereafter
+assembled, will prescribe the qualification of electors and the
+eligibility of persons to hold office under the constitution and laws of
+the State--a power the people of the several States composing the
+Federal Union have rightfully exercised from the origin of the
+Government to the present time.
+
+And I do hereby direct--
+
+First. That the military commander of the department and all officers
+and persons in the military and naval service aid and assist the said
+provisional governor in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they
+are enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or
+discouraging the loyal people from the organization of a State
+government as herein authorized.
+
+Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws of
+the United States the administration whereof belongs to the State
+Department applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+
+Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
+appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal
+revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are
+authorized by law and put in execution the revenue laws of the United
+States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments
+the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within
+the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if
+suitable residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons
+residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
+
+Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish post-offices
+and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United
+States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference
+of appointment; but if suitable residents are not found, then to appoint
+agents, etc., from other States.
+
+Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which
+Florida is included proceed to hold courts within said State in
+accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The
+Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to
+judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation and
+enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters
+within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+
+Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public
+property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+affairs having application to the said State.
+
+Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws
+relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geographical
+limits aforesaid.
+
+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 13th day of July, A.D. 1865, and of
+the Independence of the United States the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+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 13th and 24th of June, 1865, removing
+restrictions, in part, upon internal, domestic, and coastwise
+intercourse and trade with those States recently declared in
+insurrection, certain articles were excepted from the effect of said
+proclamations as contraband of war; and
+
+Whereas the necessity for restricting trade in said articles has now in
+a great measure ceased:
+
+It is hereby ordered that on and after the 1st day of September, 1865.
+all restrictions aforesaid be removed, so that the articles declared by
+the said proclamations to be contraband of war may be imported into and
+sold in said States, subject only to such regulations as the Secretary
+of the Treasury may prescribe.
+
+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 August, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas by a proclamation of the 5th day of July, 1864, the President of
+the United States, when the civil war was flagrant and when combinations
+were in progress in Kentucky for the purpose of inciting insurgent raids
+into that State, directed that the proclamation suspending the privilege
+of the writ of _habeas corpus_ should be made effectual in Kentucky
+and that martial law should be established there and continue until said
+proclamation should be revoked or modified; and
+
+Whereas since then the danger from insurgent raids into Kentucky has
+substantially passed away:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the
+Constitution, do hereby declare that the said proclamation of the 5th
+day of July, 1864, shall be, and is hereby, modified in so far that
+martial law shall be no longer in force in Kentucky from and after the
+date hereof.
+
+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 12th day of October, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  W. HUNTER,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas it has pleased Almighty God during the year which is now coming
+to an end to relieve our beloved country from the fearful scourge of
+civil war and to permit us to secure the blessings of peace, unity, and
+harmony, with a great enlargement of civil liberty; and
+
+Whereas our Heavenly Father has also during the year graciously averted
+from us the calamities of foreign war, pestilence, and famine, while our
+granaries are full of the fruits of an abundant season; and
+
+Whereas righteousness exalteth a nation, while sin is a reproach to any
+people:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, do hereby recommend to the people thereof that they do
+set apart and observe the first Thursday of December next as a day of
+national thanksgiving to the Creator of the Universe for these great
+deliverances and blessings.
+
+And I do further recommend that on that occasion the whole people make
+confession of our national sins against His infinite goodness, and with
+one heart and one mind implore the divine guidance in the ways of
+national virtue and holiness.
+
+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 28th day of October, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas by the proclamation of the President of the United States of the
+15th day of September, 1863, the privilege of the writ of _habeas
+corpus_ was, in certain cases therein set forth, suspended throughout
+the United States; and
+
+Whereas the reasons for that suspension may be regarded as having ceased
+in some of the States and Territories:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, do hereby proclaim and declare that the suspension
+aforesaid and all other proclamations and orders suspending the
+privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ in the States and
+Territories of the United States are revoked and annulled, excepting as
+to the States of Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South
+Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas,
+and Texas, the District of Columbia, and the Territories of New Mexico
+and Arizona.
+
+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 December, A.D. 1865, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
+
+
+EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,
+
+_Washington, April 29, 1865_.
+
+Being desirous to relieve all loyal citizens and well-disposed persons
+residing in insurrectionary States from unnecessary commercial
+restrictions and to encourage them to return to peaceful pursuits--
+
+_It is hereby ordered_, I. That all restrictions upon internal,
+domestic, and coastwise commercial intercourse be discontinued in such
+parts of the States of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, South
+Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and so much of
+Louisiana as lies east of the Mississippi River as shall be embraced
+within the lines of national military occupation, excepting only such
+restrictions as are imposed by acts of Congress and regulations in
+pursuance thereof prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury and
+approved by the President, and excepting also from the effect of this
+order the following articles contraband of war, to wit: Arms,
+ammunition, all articles from which ammunition is manufactured, gray
+uniforms and cloth, locomotives, cars, railroad iron, and machinery for
+operating railroads, telegraph wires, insulators, and instruments for
+operating telegraphic lines.
+
+II. That all existing military and naval orders in any manner
+restricting internal, domestic, and coastwise commercial intercourse and
+trade with or in the localities above named be, and the same are hereby,
+revoked, and that no military or naval officer in any manner interrupt
+or interfere with the same, or with any boats or other vessels engaged
+therein under proper authority, pursuant to the regulations of the
+Secretary of the Treasury.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+
+_Washington City, April 29, 1865_.
+
+The Executive order of January 20, 1865, prohibiting the exportation of
+hay, is rescinded from and after the 1st day of May, 1865.
+
+By order of the President:
+
+EDWIN M STANTON.
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,
+
+_Washington City, May 1, 1865_.
+
+Whereas the Attorney-General of the United States hath given his opinion
+that the persons implicated in the murder of the late President, Abraham
+Lincoln, and the attempted assassination of the Hon. William H. Seward,
+Secretary of State, and in an alleged conspiracy to assassinate other
+officers of the Federal Government at Washington City, and their aiders
+and abettors, are subject to the jurisdiction of and lawfully triable
+before a military commission--
+
+_It is ordered_:
+
+First. That the assistant adjutant-general detail nine competent
+military officers to serve as a commission for the trial of said
+parties, and that the Judge-Advocate-General proceed to prefer charges
+against said parties for their alleged offenses and bring them to trial
+before said military commission; that said trial or trials be conducted
+by the said Judge-Advocate-General, and as recorder thereof, in person,
+aided by such assistant or special judge-advocate as he may designate,
+and that said trials be conducted with all diligence consistent with the
+ends of justice; the said commission to sit without regard to hours.
+
+Second. That Brevet Major-General Hartranft be assigned to duty as
+special provost-marshal-general for the purpose of said trial, and
+attendance upon said commission, and the execution of its mandates.
+
+Third. That the said commission establish such order or rules of
+proceeding as may avoid unnecessary delay and conduce to the ends of
+public justice.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+Official copy:
+
+W.A. NICHOLS,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+
+_Washington, D.C., May 3, 1865_.
+
+Order Rescinding Regulations Prohibiting the Exportation of Arms,
+Ammunition, Horses, Mules, and Live Stock.
+
+The Executive order of November 21, 1862, prohibiting the exportation of
+arms and ammunition from the United States, and the Executive order of
+May 13, 1863,[2] prohibiting the exportation of horses, mules, and live
+stock, being no longer required by public necessities, the aforesaid
+orders are hereby rescinded and annulled.
+
+By order of the President of the United States:
+
+EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+[Footnote 2: Order of Secretary of War.]
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, May 4, 1865_.
+
+This being the day of the funeral of the late President, Abraham
+Lincoln, at Springfield, Ill., the Executive Office and the various
+Departments will be closed at 12 m. to-day.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON,
+
+_President of the United States_.
+
+
+
+SPECIAL ORDERS, No. 211.
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, May 6, 1865_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+4. A military commission is hereby appointed to meet at Washington,
+D.C., on Monday, the 8th day of May, 1865, at 9 o'clock a.m., or as soon
+thereafter as practicable, for the trial of David E. Herold, George A.
+Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward Spangler, Samuel
+Arnold, Mary E. Surratt, Samuel A. Mudd, and such other prisoners as may
+be brought before it, implicated in the murder of the late President,
+Abraham Lincoln, and the attempted assassination of the Hon. William H.
+Seward, Secretary of State, and in an alleged conspiracy to assassinate
+other officers of the Federal Government at Washington City, and their
+aiders and abettors.
+
+_Detail for the court_.
+
+  Major-General David Hunter, United States Volunteers.
+  Major-General Lewis Wallace, United States Volunteers.
+  Brevet Major-General August V. Kautz, United States Volunteers.
+  Brigadier-General Albion P. Howe, United States Volunteers.
+  Brigadier-General Robert S. Foster, United States Volunteers.
+  Brevet Brigadier-General Cyrus B. Comstock,[A] United States Volunteers.
+  Brigadier-General T.M. Harris, United States Volunteers.
+  Brevet Colonel Horace Porter,[B] aid-de-camp.
+  Lieutenant-Colonel David R. Clendenin, Eighth Illinois Cavalry.
+  Brigadier-General Joseph Holt, Judge-Advocate-General, United States
+    Army, is appointed the judge-advocate and recorder of the commission,
+    to be aided by such assistant or special judge-advocate as he may
+    designate.
+
+
+The commission will sit without regard to hours.
+
+By order of the President of the United States:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+[Footnote 3: Brevet Brigadier-General James A. Ekin substituted; see
+Special Orders, No. 216.]
+
+[Footnote 4: Brevet Colonel C. H. Tompkins substituted; see Special
+Orders, No. 216.]
+
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT, _Washington City, May 7, 1865_.
+
+Brigadier-General Holt, Judge-Advocate-General, having designated the
+Hon. John A. Bingham as a special judge-advocate, whose aid he requires
+in the prosecution of Herold and others before the military commission
+of which Major-General Hunter is presiding officer:
+
+_It is ordered_, That the said John A. Bingham be, and he is hereby,
+appointed special judge-advocate for the purpose aforesaid, to aid the
+Judge-Advocate-General, pursuant to the order of the President in
+respect to said military commission.
+
+By order of the President:
+
+EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+
+
+SPECIAL ORDERS. No. 216.
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, May 9, 1865_.
+
+       *       *       *      *       *
+
+91. Brevet Brigadier-General Cyrus B. Comstock, United States
+Volunteers, and Brevet Colonel Horace Porter, aid-de-camp, are hereby
+relieved from duty as members of the military commission appointed in
+Special Orders, No. 211, paragraph 4, dated "War Department,
+Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, May 6, 1865," and Brevet
+Brigadier-General James A. Ekin, United States Volunteers, and Brevet
+Colonel C.H. Tompkins, United States Army, are detailed in their
+places, respectively.
+
+The commission will be composed as follows:
+
+  Major-General David Hunter, United States Volunteers.
+  Major-General Lewis Wallace, United States Volunteers.
+  Brevet Major-General August V. Kautz, United States Volunteers.
+  Brigadier-General Albion P. Howe, United States Volunteers.
+  Brigadier-General Robert S. Poster, United States Volunteers.
+  Brevet Brigadier-General James A. Ekin, United States Volunteers.
+  Brigadier-General T.M. Harris, United States Volunteers.
+  Brevet Colonel C.H. Tompkins, United States Army.
+  Lieutenant-Colonel David R. Clendenin, Eighth Illinois Cavalry.
+  Brigadier-General Joseph Holt, judge-advocate and recorder.
+
+
+By order of the President of the United States:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,
+
+_Washington City, May 9, 1865_.
+
+Executive Order to Reestablish the Authority of the United States and
+Execute the Laws within the Geographical Limits Known as the State of
+Virginia.
+
+_Ordered_, first. That all acts and proceedings of the political,
+military, and civil organizations which have been in a state of
+insurrection and rebellion within the State of Virginia against the
+authority and laws of the United States, and of which Jefferson Davis,
+John Letcher, and William Smith were late the respective chiefs, are
+declared null and void. All persons who shall exercise, claim, pretend,
+or attempt to exercise any political, military, or civil power,
+authority, jurisdiction, or right by, through, or under Jefferson Davis,
+late of the city of Richmond, and his confederates, or under John
+Letcher or William Smith and their confederates, or under any pretended
+political, military, or civil commission or authority issued by them or
+either of them since the 17th day of April, 1861, shall be deemed and
+taken as in rebellion against the United States, and shall be dealt with
+accordingly.
+
+Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws of
+the United States the administration whereof belongs to the Department
+of State applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
+
+Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed without delay to
+nominate for appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs
+and internal revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department
+as are authorized by law, and shall put in execution the revenue laws of
+the United States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making
+appointments the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons
+residing within the districts where their respective duties are to be
+performed; but if suitable persons shall not be found residents of the
+districts, then persons residing in other States or districts shall be
+appointed.
+
+Fourth. That the Postmaster-General shall proceed to establish
+post-offices and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of
+the United States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the
+preference of appointment; but if suitable persons are not found, then
+to appoint agents, etc., from other States.
+
+Fifth. That the district judge of said district proceed to hold courts
+within said State in accordance with the provisions of the act of
+Congress. The Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to
+libel and bring to judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to
+confiscation, and enforce the administration of justice within said
+State in all matters, civil and criminal, within the cognizance and
+jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
+
+Sixth. That the Secretary of War assign such assistant
+provost-marshal-general and such provost-marshals in each district of
+said State as he may deem necessary.
+
+Seventh. The Secretary of the Navy will take possession of all public
+property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical
+limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval
+affairs having application to the said State.
+
+Eighth. The Secretary of the Interior will also put in force the laws
+relating to the Department of the Interior.
+
+Ninth. That to carry into effect the guaranty by the Federal
+Constitution of a republican form of State government and afford the
+advantage and security of domestic laws, as well as to complete the
+reestablishment of the authority and laws of the United States and the
+full and complete restoration of peace within the limits aforesaid,
+Francis H. Peirpoint, governor of the State of Virginia, will be aided
+by the Federal Government so far as may be necessary in the lawful
+measures which he may take for the extension and administration of the
+State government throughout the geographical limits of said State.
+
+In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal
+of the United States to be affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  W. HUNTER,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+
+_Washington City, May 27, 1865_.
+
+_Ordered_, That in all cases of sentences by military tribunals of
+imprisonment during the war the sentence be remitted and that the
+prisoners be discharged. The Adjutant-General will issue immediately the
+necessary instructions to carry this order into effect.
+
+By order of the President of the United States:
+
+EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, D.C., May 31, 1865_.
+
+To-morrow, the 1st of June, being the day appointed for special
+humiliation and prayer in consequence of the assassination of Abraham
+Lincoln, late President of the United States, the Executive Office and
+the various Departments will be closed during the day.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON,
+
+_President of the United States_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 107.
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, June 2, 1865_.
+
+_Ordered_, That all military restrictions upon trade in any of the
+States or Territories of the United States, except in articles
+contraband of war--to wit, arms, ammunition, gray cloth, and all
+articles from which ammunition is manufactured; locomotives, cars,
+railroad iron, and machinery for operating railroads; telegraph wires,
+insulators, and instruments for operating telegraphic lines--shall cease
+from and after the present date.
+
+By order of the President of the United States:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
+
+_Washington, June 2, 1865_.
+
+Whereas, pursuant to the order of the President and as a means required
+by the public safety, 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; and
+
+Whereas the necessities which required the adoption of that measure are
+believed no longer to exist:
+
+Now, therefore, the President directs that from and after this date the
+order above referred to shall be, and the same is hereby, rescinded.
+
+Nothing in this regulation, however, will be construed to relieve from
+due accountability any enemies of the United States or offenders against
+their peace and dignity who may hereafter seek to enter the country or
+at any time be found within its lawful jurisdiction.
+
+WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., June 2, 1865_.
+
+Whereas by an act of Congress approved March 3, 1865, there was
+established in the War Department a Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and
+Abandoned Lands, and to which, in accordance with the said act of
+Congress, is committed the supervision and management of all abandoned
+lands and the control of all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen
+from rebel States, or from any district of country within the territory
+embraced in the operations of the Army, under such rules and regulations
+as may be prescribed by the head of the Bureau and approved by the
+President; and
+
+Whereas it appears that the management of abandoned lands and subjects
+relating to refugees and freedmen, as aforesaid, have been and still
+are, by orders based on military exigencies or legislation based on
+previous statutes, partly in the hands of military officers disconnected
+with said Bureau and partly in charge of officers of the Treasury
+Department: It is therefore
+
+_Ordered_, That all officers of the Treasury Department, all military
+officers, and all others in the service of the United States turn over
+to the authorized officers of said Bureau all abandoned lands and
+property contemplated in said act of Congress approved March 3, 1865,
+establishing the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, that
+may now be under or within their control. They will also turn over to
+such officers all funds collected by tax or otherwise for the benefit of
+refugees or freedmen or accruing from abandoned lands or property set
+apart for their use, and will transfer to them all official records
+connected with the administration of affairs which pertain to said
+Bureau.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 109.
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, June 6, 1865_.
+
+ORDER FOR THE DISCHARGE OF CERTAIN PRISONERS OF WAR.
+
+The prisoners of war at the several depots in the North will be
+discharged under the following regulations and restrictions:
+
+I. All enlisted men of the rebel army and petty officers and seamen of
+the rebel navy will be discharged upon taking the oath of allegiance.
+
+II. Officers of the rebel army not above the grade of captain and of
+the rebel navy not above the grade of lieutenant, except such as have
+graduated at the United States Military or Naval academies and such
+as held a commission in either the United States Army or Navy at the
+beginning of the rebellion, may be discharged upon taking the oath
+of allegiance.
+
+III. When the discharges hereby ordered are completed, regulations will
+be issued in respect to the discharge of officers having higher rank
+than captain in the army or lieutenant in the navy.
+
+IV. The several commanders of prison stations will discharge each day as
+many of the prisoners hereby authorized to be discharged as proper rolls
+can be prepared for, beginning with those who have been longest in
+prison and from the most remote points of the country; and certified
+rolls will be forwarded daily to the Commissary-General of Prisoners of
+those so discharged. The oath of allegiance only will be administered,
+but notice will be given that all who desire will be permitted to take
+the oath of amnesty after their release, in accordance with the
+regulations of the Department of State respecting the amnesty.
+
+V. The Quartermaster's Department will furnish transportation to all
+released prisoners to the nearest accessible point to their homes, by
+rail or by steamboat.
+
+By order of the President of the United States:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, June 6, 1865_.
+
+Whereas circumstances of recent occurrence have made it no longer
+necessary to continue the prohibition of the departure for her
+destination of the gunboat _Fusyama_, built at New York for the Japanese
+Government, it is consequently ordered that that prohibition be removed.
+The Secretary of the Treasury will therefore cause a clearance to be
+issued to the _Fusyama_, and the Secretary of the Navy will not allow
+any obstacle thereto.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+[From the Daily National Intelligencer, June 13, 1865.]
+
+CIRCULAR.
+
+ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, June 7, 1865_.
+
+By direction of the President, all persons belonging to the excepted
+classes enumerated in the President's amnesty proclamation of May 29,
+1865, who may make special applications to the President for pardon are
+hereby notified that before their respective applications will be
+considered it must be shown that they have respectively taken and
+subscribed the oath (or affirmation) in said proclamation prescribed.
+Every such person desiring a special pardon should make personal
+application in writing therefor, and should transmit with such
+application the original oath (or affirmation) as taken and subscribed
+before an officer authorized under the rules and regulations promulgated
+by the Secretary of State to administer the amnesty oath prescribed in
+the said proclamation of the President.
+
+JAMES SPEED,
+
+_Attorney-General_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, D.C., June 9, 1865_.
+
+It is represented to me in a communication from the Secretary of the
+Interior that Indians in New Mexico have been seized and reduced into
+slavery, and it is recommended that the authority of the executive
+branch of the Government should be exercised for the effectual
+suppression of a practice which is alike in violation of the rights
+of the Indians and of the provisions of the organic law of the said
+Territory.
+
+Concurring in this recommendation, I do hereby order that the heads
+of the several Executive Departments do enjoin upon the subordinates,
+agents, and employees under their respective orders or supervision in
+that Territory to discountenance the practice aforesaid and to take all
+lawful means to suppress the same.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+GENERAL COURT-MARTIAL ORDERS, No. 356.
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, July 5, 1865_.
+
+I. Before a military commission which convened at Washington, D.C.,
+May 9, 1865, pursuant to paragraph 4 of Special Orders, No. 211,
+dated May 6, 1865, and paragraph 91 of Special Orders, No. 216, dated
+May 9, 1865, War Department, Adjutant-General's Office, Washington,
+and of which Major-General David Hunter, United States Volunteers, is
+president, were arraigned and tried David E. Herold, G.A. Atzerodt,
+Lewis Payne, Mary E. Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward Spangler,
+Samuel Arnold, and Samuel A. Mudd.
+
+
+CHARGE I.
+
+For maliciously, unlawfully, and traitorously, and in aid of the
+existing armed rebellion against the United States of America, on or
+before the 6th day of March, A.D. 1865, and on divers other days between
+that day and the 15th day of April, A.D. 1865, combining, confederating,
+and conspiring together with one John H. Surratt, John Wilkes Booth,
+Jefferson Davis, George N. Sanders, Beverley Tucker, Jacob Thompson,
+William C. Cleary, Clement C. Clay, George Harper, George Young, and
+others unknown to kill and murder, within the Military Department of
+Washington, and within the fortified and intrenched lines thereof,
+Abraham Lincoln, late, and at the time of said combining, confederating,
+and conspiring, President of the United States of America and Commander
+in Chief of the Army and Navy thereof; Andrew Johnson, now
+Vice-President of the United States aforesaid; William H. Seward,
+Secretary of State of the United States aforesaid; and Ulysses S. Grant,
+Lieutenant-General of the Army of the United States aforesaid, then in
+command of the armies of the United States, under the direction of the
+said Abraham Lincoln; and in pursuance of and in prosecuting said
+malicious, unlawful, and traitorous conspiracy aforesaid, and in aid of
+said rebellion, afterwards, to wit, on the 14th day of April, A.D. 1865,
+within the Military Department of Washington aforesaid, and within the
+fortified and intrenched lines of said military department, together
+with said John Wilkes Booth and John H. Surratt, maliciously,
+unlawfully, and traitorously murdering the said Abraham Lincoln, then
+President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Army and
+Navy of the United States as aforesaid; and maliciously, unlawfully, and
+traitorously assaulting, with intent to kill and murder, the said
+William H. Seward, then Secretary of State of the United States as
+aforesaid; and lying in wait, with intent maliciously, unlawfully, and
+traitorously to kill and murder the said Andrew Johnson, then being
+Vice-President of the United States, and the said Ulysses S. Grant, then
+being Lieutenant-General and in command of the armies of the United
+States as aforesaid.
+
+
+SPECIFICATION FIRST.
+
+In this, that they, the said David E. Herold, Edward Spangler, Lewis
+Payne, Michael O'Laughlin, Samuel Arnold, Mary E. Surratt, George A.
+Atzerodt, and Samuel A. Mudd, together with the said John H. Surratt and
+John Wilkes Booth, incited and encouraged thereunto by Jefferson Davis,
+George N. Sanders, Beverley Tucker, Jacob Thompson, William C. Cleary,
+Clement C. Clay, George Harper, George Young, and, others unknown,
+citizens of the United States aforesaid, and who were then engaged In
+armed rebellion against the United States of America, within the limits
+thereof, did, in aid of said armed rebellion, on or before the 6th day
+of March, A.D. 1865, and on divers other days and times between that day
+and the 15th day of April, A.D. 1865, combine, confederate, and conspire
+together at Washington City, within the Military Department of
+Washington, and within the intrenched fortifications and military lines
+of the said United States there being, unlawfully, maliciously, and
+traitorously to kill and murder Abraham Lincoln, then President of the
+United States aforesaid and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy
+thereof; and unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously to kill and
+murder Andrew Johnson, now Vice-President of the said United States,
+upon whom, on the death of said Abraham Lincoln, after the 4th day of
+March, A.D. 1865, the office of President of the said United States and
+Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy thereof would devolve; and to
+unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously kill and murder Ulysses S.
+Grant, then Lieutenant-General, and, under the direction of the said
+Abraham Lincoln, in command of the armies of the United States
+aforesaid; and unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously to kill and
+murder William H. Seward, then Secretary of State of the United States
+aforesaid, whose duty it was by law, upon the death of said President
+and Vice-President of the United States aforesaid, to cause an election
+to be held for electors of President of the United States--the
+conspirators aforesaid designing and intending by the killing and murder
+of the said Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, and
+William H. Seward, as aforesaid, to deprive the Army and Navy of the
+said United States of a constitutional Commander in Chief, and to
+deprive the armies of the United States of their lawful commander, and
+to prevent a lawful election of President and Vice-President of the
+United States aforesaid, and by the means aforesaid to aid and comfort
+the insurgents engaged in armed rebellion against the said United States
+as aforesaid, and thereby to aid in the subversion and overthrow of the
+Constitution and laws of the said United States.
+
+And being so combined, confederated, and conspiring together in the
+prosecution of said unlawful and traitorous conspiracy, on the night of
+the 14th day of April, A.D. 1865, at the hour of about 10 o'clock and 15
+minutes p.m., at Ford's Theater, on Tenth street, in the city of
+Washington, and within the military department and military lines
+aforesaid, John Wilkes Booth, one of the conspirators aforesaid, in
+pursuance of said unlawful and traitorous conspiracy, did then and there
+unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously, and with intent to kill and
+murder the said Abraham Lincoln, discharge a pistol then held in the
+hands of him, the said Booth, the same being then loaded with powder and
+a leaden ball, against and upon the left and posterior side of the head
+of the said Abraham Lincoln, and did thereby then and there inflict upon
+him, the said Abraham Lincoln, then President of the said United States
+and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy thereof, a mortal wound,
+whereof afterwards, to wit, on the 15th day of April, A.D. 1865, at
+Washington City aforesaid, the said Abraham Lincoln died; and thereby
+then and there, and in pursuance of said conspiracy, the said defendants
+and the said John Wilkes Booth and John H. Surratt did unlawfully,
+traitorously, and maliciously, and with the intent to aid the rebellion
+as aforesaid, kill and murder the said Abraham Lincoln, President of the
+United States as aforesaid.
+
+And in further prosecution of the unlawful and traitorous conspiracy
+aforesaid and of the murderous and traitorous intent of said conspiracy,
+the said Edward Spangler, on said 14th day of April, A.D. 1865, at about
+the same hour of that day as aforesaid, within said military department
+and the military lines aforesaid, did aid and assist the said John
+Wilkes Booth to obtain entrance to the box in said theater in which said
+Abraham Lincoln was sitting at the time he was assaulted and shot, as
+aforesaid, by John Wilkes Booth; and also did then and there aid said
+Booth in barring and obstructing the door of the box of said theater, so
+as to hinder and prevent any assistance to or rescue of the said Abraham
+Lincoln against the murderous assault of the said John Wilkes Booth, and
+did aid and abet him in making his escape after the said Abraham Lincoln
+had been murdered in manner aforesaid.
+
+And in further prosecution of said unlawful, murderous, and traitorous
+conspiracy, and in pursuance thereof, and with the intent as aforesaid,
+the said David B. Herold did, on the night of the 14th of April, A.D.
+1865, within the military department and military lines aforesaid, aid,
+abet, and assist the said John Wilkes Booth in the killing and murder of
+the said Abraham Lincoln, and did then and there aid and abet and assist
+him, the said John Wilkes Booth, in attempting to escape through the
+military lines aforesaid, and did accompany and assist the said John
+Wilkes Booth in attempting to conceal himself and escape from justice
+after killing and murdering said Abraham Lincoln, as aforesaid.
+
+And in further prosecution of said unlawful and traitorous conspiracy
+and of the intent thereof as aforesaid, the said Lewis Payne did, on the
+same night of the 14th day of April, A.D. 1865, about the same hour of
+10 o'clock and 15 minutes p.m., at the city of Washington, and within
+the military department and the military lines aforesaid, unlawfully and
+maliciously make an assault upon the said William H. Seward, Secretary
+of State, as aforesaid, in the dwelling house and bedchamber of him, the
+said William H. Seward, and the said Payne did then and there, with a
+large knife held in his hand, unlawfully, traitorously, and in pursuance
+of said conspiracy, strike, stab, cut, and attempt to kill and murder
+the said William H. Seward, and did thereby then and there, and with the
+intent aforesaid, with said knife, inflict upon the face and throat of
+the said William H. Seward divers grievous wounds; and the said Lewis
+Payne, in further prosecution of said conspiracy, at the same time and
+place last aforesaid, did attempt, with the knife aforesaid and a pistol
+held in his hand, to kill and murder Frederick W. Seward, Augustus H.
+Seward, Emrick W. Hansell, and George F. Robinson, who were then
+striving to protect and rescue the said William H. Seward from murder by
+the said Lewis Payne, and did then and there, with said knife and pistol
+held in his hands, inflict upon the head of said Frederick W. Seward and
+upon the persons of said Augustus H. Seward, Emrick W. Hansell, and
+George F. Robinson divers grievous and dangerous wounds, with intent
+then and there to kill and murder the said Frederick W. Seward, Augustus
+H. Seward, Emrick W. Hansell, and George F. Robinson.
+
+And in further prosecution of said conspiracy and its traitorous and
+murderous designs, the said George A. Atzerodt did, on the night of the
+14th of April, A.D. 1865, and about the same hour of the night
+aforesaid, within the military department and the military lines
+aforesaid, lie in wait for Andrew Johnson, then Vice-President of the
+United States aforesaid, with the intent unlawfully and maliciously to
+kill and murder him, the said Andrew Johnson.
+
+And in the further prosecution of the conspiracy aforesaid and of its
+murderous and treasonable purposes aforesaid, on the nights of the 13th
+and 14th of April, A.D. 1865, at Washington City, and within the
+military department and military lines aforesaid, the said Michael
+O'Laughlin did then and there lie in wait for Ulysses S. Grant, then
+Lieutenant-General and commander of the armies of the United States as
+aforesaid, with intent then and there to kill and murder the said
+Ulysses S. Grant.
+
+And in further prosecution of said conspiracy, the said Samuel Arnold
+did, within the military department and military lines aforesaid, on or
+before the 6th day of March, A.D. 1865, and on divers other days and
+times between that day and the 15th day of April, A.D. 1865, combine,
+conspire with, and aid, counsel, abet, comfort, and support the said
+John Wilkes Booth, Lewis Payne, George A. Atzerodt, Michael O'Laughlin,
+and their confederates in said unlawful, murderous, and traitorous
+conspiracy and in the execution thereof, as aforesaid.
+
+And in further prosecution of the said conspiracy, Mary B. Surratt did,
+at Washington City, and within the military department and military
+lines aforesaid, on or before the 6th day of March, A.D. 1865, and on
+divers other days and times between that day and the 20th day of April,
+A.D. 1865, receive, entertain, harbor and conceal, aid and assist, the
+said John Wilkes Booth, David B. Herold, Lewis Payne, John H. Surratt,
+Michael O'Laughlin, George A. Atzerodt, Samuel Arnold, and their
+confederates, with knowledge of the murderous and traitorous conspiracy
+aforesaid, and with intent to aid, abet, and assist them in the
+execution thereof and in escaping from justice after the murder of the
+said Abraham Lincoln, as aforesaid.
+
+And in further prosecution of said conspiracy, the said Samuel A. Mudd
+did, at Washington City, and within the military department and military
+lines aforesaid, on or before the 6th day of March, A.D. 1865, and on
+divers other days and times between that day and the 20th day of April,
+A.D. 1865, advise, encourage, receive, entertain, harbor and conceal,
+aid and assist, the said John Wilkes Booth, David B. Herold, Lewis
+Payne, John H. Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, George A. Atzerodt, Mary B.
+Surratt, and Samuel Arnold, and their confederates, with knowledge of
+the murderous and traitorous conspiracy aforesaid, and with intent to
+aid, abet, and assist them in the execution thereof and in escaping from
+justice after the murder of the said Abraham Lincoln, in pursuance of
+said conspiracy, in manner aforesaid.
+
+To which charge and specification the accused, David B. Herold, G.A.
+Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Mary B. Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward
+Spangler, Samuel Arnold, and Samuel A. Mudd, pleaded "not guilty."
+
+
+FINDINGS AND SENTENCES.
+
+1. In the case of David B. Herold, the commission, having maturely
+considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+
+Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and
+conspiring with Edward Spangler; as to which part thereof, not guilty."
+
+Of the charge, "Guilty, except the words of the charge that he combined,
+confederated, and conspired with Edward Spangler; as to which part of
+said charge, not guilty."
+
+And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said David B.
+Herold, "To be hanged by the neck until he be dead, at such time and
+place as the President of the United States shall direct; two-thirds of
+the members of the commission concurring therein."
+
+2. In the case of George A. Atzerodt, the commission, having maturely
+considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+
+Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and
+conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring
+with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said George A.
+Atzerodt, "To be hung by the neck until he be dead, at such time and
+place as the President of the United States shall direct; two-thirds of
+the members of the commission concurring therein."
+
+3. In the case of Lewis Payne, the commission, having maturely
+considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+
+Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and
+conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring
+with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Lewis Payne,
+"To be hung by the neck until he be dead, at such time and place as the
+President of the United States shall direct; two-thirds of the members
+of the commission concurring therein."
+
+4. In the case of Mary B. Surratt, the commission, having maturely
+considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+
+Of the specification, "Guilty, except as to receiving, entertaining,
+harboring, and concealing Samuel Arnold and Michael O'Laughlin, and
+except as to combining, confederating, and conspiring with Edward
+Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+Of the charge, "Guilty, except as to combining, confederating, and
+conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+And the commission does therefore sentence her, the said Mary B.
+Surratt, "To be hung by the neck until she be dead, at such time and
+place as the President of the United States shall direct; two-thirds of
+the members of the commission concurring therein."
+
+5. In the case of Michael O'Laughlin, the commission, having maturely
+considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+
+Of the specification, "Guilty, except the words thereof as follows: 'And
+in the further prosecution of the conspiracy aforesaid and of its
+murderous and treasonable purposes aforesaid, on the nights of the 13th
+and 14th of April, A.D. 1865, at Washington City, and within the
+military department and military lines aforesaid, the said Michael
+O'Laughlin did then and there lie in wait for Ulysses S. Grant, then
+Lieutenant-General and commander of the armies of the United States,
+with intent then and there to kill and murder the said Ulysses S.
+Grant;' of said words, not guilty; and except combining, confederating,
+and conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring
+with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Michael
+O'Laughlin, "To be imprisoned at hard labor for life at such
+penitentiary as the President of the United States shall designate."
+
+6. In the case of Edward Spangler, the commission, having maturely
+considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+
+Of the specification, "Not guilty, except as to the words, 'The said
+Edward Spangler, on said 14th day of April, A.D. 1865, at about the same
+hour of that day as aforesaid, within said military department and the
+military lines aforesaid, did aid and abet him (meaning John Wilkes
+Booth) in making his escape after the said Abraham Lincoln had been
+murdered in manner aforesaid;' and of these words, guilty."
+
+Of the charge, "Not guilty, but guilty of having feloniously and
+traitorously aided and abetted John Wilkes Booth in making his escape
+after having killed and murdered Abraham Lincoln, President of the
+United States, he the said Edward Spangler, at the time of aiding and
+abetting as aforesaid, well knowing that the said Abraham Lincoln,
+President as aforesaid, had been murdered by the said John Wilkes Booth,
+as aforesaid."
+
+And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Edward
+Spangler, "To be confined at hard labor for the period of six years at
+such penitentiary as the President of the United States shall
+designate."
+
+7. In the case of Samuel Arnold, the commission, having maturely
+considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+
+Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and
+conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring
+with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Samuel Arnold,
+"To be imprisoned at hard labor for life at such penitentiary as the
+President of the United States shall designate."
+
+8. In the case of Samuel A. Mudd, the commission, having maturely
+considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
+
+Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and
+conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty; and except
+receiving, entertaining, harboring, and concealing Lewis Payne, John H.
+Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, George A. Atzerodt, Mary E. Surratt, and
+Samuel Arnold; of this, not guilty."
+
+Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring
+with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
+
+And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Samuel A. Mudd,
+"To be imprisoned at hard labor for life at such penitentiary as the
+President of the United States shall designate."
+
+
+II. The proceedings, findings, and sentences in the foregoing cases
+having been submitted to the President of the United States, the
+following are his orders:
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _July 5, 1865_.
+
+The foregoing sentences in the cases of David E. Herold, George A.
+Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward Spangler, Samuel
+Arnold, Mary E. Surratt, and Samuel A. Mudd are hereby approved, and it
+is ordered that the sentences in the cases of David E. Herold, G.A.
+Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, and Mary E. Surratt be carried into execution by
+the proper military authority, under the direction of the Secretary of
+War, on the 7th day of July, 1865, between the hours of 10 o'clock a.m.
+and 2 o'clock p.m. of that day. It is further ordered that the prisoners
+Samuel Arnold, Samuel A. Mudd, Edward Spangler, and Michael O'Laughlin
+be confined at hard labor in the penitentiary at Albany, N.Y., during
+the period designated in their respective sentences.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON, _President_.
+
+
+III. Major-General W.S. Hancock, United States Volunteers, commanding
+Middle Military Division, is commanded to cause the foregoing sentences
+in the cases of David E. Herold, G.A. Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, and Mary E.
+Surratt to be duly executed in accordance with the President's order.
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _July 15, 1865_.
+
+IV. The Executive order dated July 5, 1865, approving the sentences in
+the cases of Samuel Arnold, Samuel A. Mudd, Edward Spangler, and Michael
+O'Laughlin, is hereby modified so as to direct that the said Arnold,
+Mudd, Spangler, and O'Laughlin be confined at hard labor in the military
+prison at Dry Tortugas, Florida, during the period designated in their
+respective sentences.
+
+The Adjutant-General of the Army is directed to issue orders for the
+said prisoners to be transported to the Dry Tortugas, and to be confined
+there accordingly.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON, _President_.
+
+
+V. Major-General W.S. Hancock, United States Volunteers, commanding
+Middle Military Division, is commanded to send the prisoners Samuel
+Arnold, Samuel A. Mudd, Edward Spangler, and Michael O'Laughlin, under
+charge of a commissioned officer, with a sufficient guard, to the Dry
+Tortugas, Florida, where they will be delivered to the commanding
+officer of the post, who is hereby ordered to confine the said Arnold,
+Mudd, Spangler, and O'Laughlin at hard labor during the periods
+designated in their respective sentences.
+
+VI. The military commission of which Major-General David Hunter is
+president is hereby dissolved.
+
+By command of the President of the United States:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND, _Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _August 7, 1865_.
+
+An impression seems to prevail that the interests of persons having
+business with the executive government require that they should have
+personal interviews with the President or heads of Departments. As this
+impression is believed to be entirely unfounded, it is expected that
+applications relating to such business will hereafter be made in writing
+to the head of that Department to which the business may have been
+assigned by law. Those applications will in their order be considered
+and disposed of by heads of Departments, subject to the approval of the
+President. This order is made necessary by the unusual numbers of
+persons visiting the seat of Government. It is impracticable to grant
+personal interviews to all of them, and desirable that there should be
+no invidious distinction in this respect. Similar business of persons
+who can not conveniently leave their homes must be neglected if the time
+of the executive officers here is engrossed by personal interviews with
+others.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+[From the Daily National Intelligencer, August 26, 1865.]
+
+DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
+
+_Washington, August 25, 1865_.
+
+Paroled prisoners asking passports as citizens of the United States, and
+against whom no special charges may be pending, will be furnished with
+passports upon application therefor to the Department of State in the
+usual form. Such passports will, however, be issued upon the condition
+that the applicants do not return to the United States without leave of
+the President. Other persons implicated in the rebellion who may wish to
+go abroad will apply to the Department of State for passports, and the
+applications will be disposed of according to the merits of the several
+cases.
+
+By the President of the United States:
+
+WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE OFFICE, _September 7, 1865_.
+
+_It is hereby ordered_, That so much of the Executive order bearing date
+the 7th [2d] day of June, 1865, as made it the duty of all officers
+of the Treasury Department, military officers, and all others in the
+service of the United States to turn over to the authorized officers
+of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands all funds
+collected by tax or otherwise for the benefit of refugees or freedmen,
+or accruing from abandoned lands or property set apart for their use,
+be, and the same is hereby, suspended.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON,
+
+_President_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 138.
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, September 16, 1865_.
+
+To provide for the transportation required by the Bureau of Refugees,
+Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands--
+
+_It is ordered_, That upon the requisition of the Commissioner or the
+assistant commissioners of the Bureau transportation be furnished such
+destitute refugees and freedmen as are dependent upon the Government for
+support to points where they can procure employment and subsistence and
+support themselves, and thus relieve the Government, provided such
+transportation be confined by assistant commissioners within the limits
+of their jurisdiction.
+
+Second. Free transportation on Government transports and United States
+military railroads will be furnished to such teachers only of refugees
+and freedmen, and persons laboring voluntarily in behalf of refugees and
+freedmen, as may be duly accredited by the Commissioner or assistant
+commissioners of the Bureau.
+
+All stores and schoolbooks necessary to the subsistence, comfort, and
+instruction of dependent refugees and freedmen may be transported at
+Government expense, when such stores and books shall be turned over to
+the officers of the Quartermaster's Department, with the approval of the
+assistant commissioners, Commissioner, or department commander, the same
+to be transported as public stores, consigned to the quartermaster of
+the post to which they are destined, who, after inspection, will turn
+them over to the assistant commissioners or Bureau agent for whom they
+are intended for distribution.
+
+All army officers traveling on public duty, under the orders of the
+commissioners, within the limits of their respective jurisdictions, will
+be entitled to mileage or actual cost of transportation, according to
+the revised Army Regulations, when transportation has not been furnished
+them by the Quartermaster's Department.
+
+By order of the President of the United States:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_
+
+
+
+SPECIAL ORDERS, NO. 503.
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, September 19, 1865_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It has been represented to the Department that commanders of
+military posts and districts in Georgia, and particularly Brevet
+Brigadier-General C.H. Grosvenor, provost-marshal-general, and Brevet
+Major-General King, commanding in the district of Augusta, have assumed
+to decide questions of contracts and conflicting claims of property
+between individuals, and to order the delivery, surrender, or transfer
+of property and documents of title as between private persons, in which
+the Government is not concerned.
+
+All such acts and proceedings on the part of military authorities in
+said State are declared by the President to be without authority and
+null and void.
+
+All military commanders and authorities within said State are strictly
+ordered to abstain from any such acts, and not in any way to interfere
+with or assume to adjudicate any right, title, or claim of property
+between private individuals, and to suspend all action upon any orders
+heretofore made in respect to the ownership or delivery of property and
+the validity of contracts between private persons.
+
+They are also forbidden from being directly or indirectly interested in
+any sales or contracts for cotton or other products of said State, and
+from using or suffering to be used any Government transportation for the
+transporting of cotton or other products of said State for or in behalf
+of private persons on any pretense whatever.
+
+Military officers have no authority to interfere in any way in questions
+of sale or contracts of any kind between individuals or to decide any
+question of property between them without special instructions from this
+Department authorizing their action, and the usurpation of such power
+will be treated as a grave military offense.
+
+Major-General Steedman, commanding the Department of Georgia,
+is specially charged with the enforcement of this order, and
+directed to make report as to any acts, proceedings, or orders
+of Brevet Major-General King and Brevet Brigadier-General Grosvenor,
+provost-marshal-general, in regard to contracts or conflicting claims
+of individuals in relation to cotton or other products, and to suspend
+all action upon any such orders until further instructions.
+
+By order of the President of the United States.
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 145.
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, October 9, 1865_.
+
+Whereas certain tracts of land, situated on the coast of South Carolina,
+Georgia, and Florida, at the time for the most part vacant, were set
+apart by Major-General W. T. Sherman's special field order No. 15 for
+the benefit of refugees and freedmen that had been congregated by the
+operations of war or had been left to take care of themselves by their
+former owners; and
+
+Whereas an expectation was thereby created that they would be able to
+retain possession of said lands; and
+
+Whereas a large number of the former owners are earnestly soliciting the
+restoration of the same and promising to absorb the labor and care for
+the freedmen:
+
+_It is ordered_, That Major-General Howard, Commissioner of the
+Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, proceed to the
+several above-named States and endeavor to effect an arrangement
+mutually satisfactory to the freedmen and the landowners, and make
+report. And in case a mutually satisfactory arrangement can be effected,
+he is duly empowered and directed to issue such orders as may become
+necessary, after a full and careful investigation of the interests of
+the parties concerned.
+
+By order of the President of the United States:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE OFFICE, _October 11, 1865_.
+
+Whereas the following-named persons, to wit, John A. Campbell, of
+Alabama; John H. Reagan, of Texas; Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia;
+George A. Trenholm, of South Carolina, and Charles Clark, of
+Mississippi, lately engaged in rebellion against the United States
+Government, who are now in close custody, have made their submission to
+the authority of the United States and applied to the President for
+pardon under his proclamation; and
+
+Whereas the authority of the Federal Government is sufficiently restored
+in the aforesaid States to admit of the enlargement of said persons from
+close custody:
+
+_It is ordered_, That they be released on giving their respective
+paroles to appear at such time and place as the President may designate
+to answer any charge that he may direct to be preferred against them,
+and also that they will respectively abide until further orders in the
+places herein designated, and not depart therefrom, to wit:
+
+John A. Campbell, in the State of Alabama; John H. Reagan, in the State
+of Texas; Alexander H. Stephens, in the State of Georgia; George A.
+Trenholm, in the State of South Carolina; and Charles Clark, in the
+State of Mississippi. And if the President should grant his pardon to
+any of said persons, such person's parole will be thereby discharged.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON,
+
+_President_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE OFFICE,
+
+_Washington City, November 11, 1865_.
+
+_Ordered_, That the civil and military agents of the Government transfer
+to the assistant commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and
+Abandoned Lands for Alabama the use and custody of all real estate,
+buildings, or other property, except cotton, seized or held by them in
+that State as belonging to the late rebel government, together with
+all such funds as may arise or have arisen from the rent, sale, or
+disposition of such property which have not been finally paid into
+the Treasury of the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON,
+
+_President_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, N0. 164.
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, November 24, 1865_.
+
+_Ordered_, That--
+
+I. All persons claiming reward for the apprehension of John Wilkes
+Booth, Lewis Payne, G.A. Atzerodt, and David E. Herold, and Jefferson
+Davis, or either of them, are notified to file their claims and their
+proofs with the Adjutant-General for final adjudication by the special
+commission appointed to award and determine upon the validity of such
+claims before the 1st day of January next, after which time no claims
+will be received.
+
+II. The rewards offered for the arrest of Jacob Thompson, Beverley
+Tucker, George N. Sanders, William G. Cleary, and John H. Surratt are
+revoked.
+
+By order of the President of the United States:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+
+FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE.
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 4, 1865_.
+
+_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+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.
+His removal cast upon me a heavier weight of cares than ever devolved
+upon any one of his predecessors. To fulfill my trust I need the support
+and confidence of all who are associated with me in the various
+departments of Government and the support and confidence of the people.
+There is but one way in which I can hope to gain their necessary aid.
+It is to state with frankness the principles which guide my conduct, and
+their application to the present state of affairs, well aware that the
+efficiency of my labors will in a great measure depend on your and their
+undivided approbation.
+
+The Union of the United States of America was intended by its authors to
+last as long as the States themselves shall last. "The Union shall be
+perpetual" are the words of the Confederation. "To form a more perfect
+Union," by an ordinance of the people of the United States, is the
+declared purpose of the Constitution. The hand of Divine Providence was
+never more plainly visible in the affairs of men than in the framing and
+the adopting of that instrument. It is beyond comparison the greatest
+event in American history, and, indeed, is it not of all events in
+modern times the most pregnant with consequences for every people of the
+earth? The members of the Convention which prepared it brought to their
+work the experience of the Confederation, of their several States, and
+of other republican governments, old and new; but they needed and they
+obtained a wisdom superior to experience. And when for its validity it
+required the approval of a people that occupied a large part of a
+continent and acted separately in many distinct conventions, what is
+more wonderful than that, after earnest contention and long discussion,
+all feelings and all opinions were ultimately drawn in one way to its
+support? The Constitution to which life was thus imparted contains
+within itself ample resources for its own preservation. It has power
+to enforce the laws, punish treason, and insure domestic tranquillity.
+In case of the usurpation of the government of a State by one man or
+an oligarchy, it becomes a duty of the United States to make good the
+guaranty to that State of a republican form of government, and so to
+maintain the homogeneousness of all. Does the lapse of time reveal
+defects? A simple mode of amendment is provided in the Constitution
+itself, so that its conditions can always be made to conform to the
+requirements of advancing civilization. No room is allowed even for the
+thought of a possibility of its coming to an end. And these powers of
+self-preservation have always been asserted in their complete integrity
+by every patriotic Chief Magistrate--by Jefferson and Jackson not less
+than by Washington and Madison. The parting advice of the Father of his
+Country, while yet President, to the people of the United States was
+that the free Constitution, which was the work of their hands, might be
+sacredly maintained; and the inaugural words of President Jefferson
+held up "the preservation of the General Government in its whole
+constitutional vigor as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety
+abroad." The Constitution is the work of "the people of the United
+States," and it should be as indestructible as the people.
+
+It is not strange that the framers of the Constitution, which had no
+model in the past, should not have fully comprehended the excellence of
+their own work. Fresh from a struggle against arbitrary power, many
+patriots suffered from harassing fears of an absorption of the State
+governments by the General Government, and many from a dread that the
+States would break away from their orbits. But the very greatness
+of our country should allay the apprehension of encroachments by the
+General Government, The subjects that come unquestionably within its
+jurisdiction are so numerous that it must ever naturally refuse to be
+embarrassed by questions that lie beyond it. Were it otherwise the
+Executive would sink beneath the burden, the channels of justice would
+be choked, legislation would be obstructed by excess, so that there is
+a greater temptation to exercise some of the functions of the General
+Government through the States than to trespass on their rightful sphere.
+The "absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority" was at the
+beginning of the century enforced by Jefferson as "the vital principle
+of republics;" and the events of the last four years have established,
+we will hope forever, that there lies no appeal to force.
+
+The maintenance of the Union brings with it "the support of the State
+governments in all their rights," but it is not one of the rights of any
+State government to renounce its own place in the Union or to nullify
+the laws of the Union. The largest liberty is to be maintained in the
+discussion of the acts of the Federal Government, but there is no appeal
+from its laws except to the various branches of that Government itself,
+or to the people, who grant to the members of the legislative and of the
+executive departments no tenure but a limited one, and in that manner
+always retain the powers of redress.
+
+"The sovereignty of the States" is the language of the Confederacy, and
+not the language of the Constitution. The latter contains the emphatic
+words--
+
+  This Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made
+  in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made or which shall be made under
+  the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the
+  land, and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in
+  the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.
+
+
+Certainly the Government of the United States is a limited government,
+and so is every State government a limited government. With us this idea
+of limitation spreads through every form of administration--general,
+State, and municipal--and rests on the great distinguishing principle of
+the recognition of the rights of man. The ancient republics absorbed
+the individual in the state--prescribed his religion and controlled
+his activity. The American system rests on the assertion of the equal
+right of every man to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, to
+freedom of conscience, to the culture and exercise of all his faculties.
+As a consequence the State government is limited--as to the General
+Government in the interest of union, as to the individual citizen in the
+interest of freedom.
+
+States, with proper limitations of power, are essential to the existence
+of the Constitution of the United States. At the very commencement, when
+we assumed a place among the powers of the earth, the Declaration of
+Independence was adopted by States; so also were the Articles of
+Confederation; and when "the people of the United States" ordained and
+established the Constitution it was the assent of the States, one by
+one, which gave it vitality. In the event, too, of any amendment to the
+Constitution, the proposition of Congress needs the confirmation of
+States. Without States one great branch of the legislative government
+would be wanting. And if we look beyond the letter of the Constitution
+to the character of our country, its capacity for comprehending within
+its jurisdiction a vast continental empire is due to the system of
+States. The best security for the perpetual existence of the States is
+the "supreme authority" of the Constitution of the United States. The
+perpetuity of the Constitution brings with it the perpetuity of the
+States; their mutual relation makes us what we are, and in our political
+system their connection is indissoluble. The whole can not exist without
+the parts, nor the parts without the whole. So long as the Constitution
+of the United States endures, the States will endure. The destruction of
+the one is the destruction of the other; the preservation of the one is
+the preservation of the other.
+
+I have thus explained my views of the mutual relations of the
+Constitution and the States, because they unfold the principles on
+which I have sought to solve the momentous questions and overcome the
+appalling difficulties that met me at the very commencement of my
+Administration. It has been my steadfast object to escape from the
+sway of momentary passions and to derive a healing policy from the
+fundamental and unchanging principles of the Constitution.
+
+I found the States suffering from the effects of a civil war. Resistance
+to the General Government appeared to have exhausted itself. The United
+States had recovered possession of their forts and arsenals, and their
+armies were in the occupation of every State which had attempted to
+secede. Whether the territory within the limits of those States should
+be held as conquered territory, under military authority emanating from
+the President as the head of the Army, was the first question that
+presented itself for decision.
+
+Now military governments, established for an indefinite period, would
+have offered no security for the early suppression of discontent, would
+have divided the people into the vanquishers and the vanquished, and
+would have envenomed hatred rather than have restored affection. Once
+established, no precise limit to their continuance was conceivable. They
+would have occasioned an incalculable and exhausting expense. Peaceful
+emigration to and from that portion of the country is one of the best
+means that can be thought of for the restoration of harmony, and that
+emigration would have been prevented; for what emigrant from abroad,
+what industrious citizen at home, would place himself willingly under
+military rule? The chief persons who would have followed in the train of
+the Army would have been dependents on the General Government or men who
+expected profit from the miseries of their erring fellow-citizens. The
+powers of patronage and rule which would have been exercised, under the
+President, over a vast and populous and naturally wealthy region are
+greater than, unless under extreme necessity, I should be willing to
+intrust to any one man. They are such as, for myself, I could never,
+unless on occasions of great emergency, consent to exercise. The willful
+use of such powers, if continued through a period of years, would have
+endangered the purity of the general administration and the liberties of
+the States which remained loyal.
+
+Besides, the policy of military rule over a conquered territory would
+have implied that the States whose inhabitants may have taken part in
+the rebellion had by the act of those inhabitants ceased to exist. But
+the true theory is that all pretended acts of secession were from the
+beginning null and void. The States can not commit treason nor screen
+the individual citizens who may have committed treason any more than
+they can make valid treaties or engage in lawful commerce with any
+foreign power. The States attempting to secede placed themselves in a
+condition where their vitality was impaired, but not extinguished; their
+functions suspended, but not destroyed.
+
+But if any State neglects or refuses to perform its offices there is the
+more need that the General Government should maintain all its authority
+and as soon as practicable resume the exercise of all its functions.
+On this principle I have acted, and have gradually and quietly, and by
+almost imperceptible steps, sought to restore the rightful energy of the
+General Government and of the States. To that end provisional governors
+have been appointed for the States, conventions called, governors
+elected, legislatures assembled, and Senators and Representatives chosen
+to the Congress of the United States. At the same time the courts of the
+United States, as far as could be done, have been reopened, so that the
+laws of the United States may be enforced through their agency. The
+blockade has been removed and the custom-houses reestablished in ports
+of entry, so that the revenue of the United States may be collected. The
+Post-Office Department renews its ceaseless activity, and the General
+Government is thereby enabled to communicate promptly with its officers
+and agents. The courts bring security to persons and property; the
+opening of the ports invites the restoration of industry and commerce;
+the post-office renews the facilities of social intercourse and of
+business. And is it not happy for us all that the restoration of each
+one of these functions of the General Government brings with it a
+blessing to the States over which they are extended? Is it not a sure
+promise of harmony and renewed attachment to the Union that after all
+that has happened the return of the General Government is known only as
+a beneficence?
+
+I know very well that this policy is attended with some risk; that for
+its success it requires at least the acquiescence of the States which it
+concerns; that it implies an invitation to those States, by renewing
+their allegiance to the United States, to resume their functions as
+States of the Union. But it is a risk that must be taken. In the choice
+of difficulties it is the smallest risk; and to diminish and if possible
+to remove all danger, I have felt it incumbent on me to assert one other
+power of the General Government--the power of pardon. As no State can
+throw a defense over the crime of treason, the power of pardon is
+exclusively vested in the executive government of the United States. In
+exercising that power I have taken every precaution to connect it with
+the clearest recognition of the binding force of the laws of the United
+States and an unqualified acknowledgment of the great social change of
+condition in regard to slavery which has grown out of the war.
+
+The next step which I have taken to restore the constitutional relations
+of the States has been an invitation to them to participate in the high
+office of amending the Constitution. Every patriot must wish for a
+general amnesty at the earliest epoch consistent with public safety. For
+this great end there is need of a concurrence of all opinions and the
+spirit of mutual conciliation. All parties in the late terrible conflict
+must work together in harmony. It is not too much to ask, in the name of
+the whole people, that on the one side the plan of restoration shall
+proceed in conformity with a willingness to cast the disorders of the
+past into oblivion, and that on the other the evidence of sincerity in
+the future maintenance of the Union shall be put beyond any doubt by the
+ratification of the proposed amendment to the Constitution, which
+provides for the abolition of slavery forever within the limits of our
+country. So long as the adoption of this amendment is delayed, so long
+will doubt and jealousy and uncertainty prevail. This is the measure
+which will efface the sad memory of the past: this is the measure which
+will most certainly call population and capital and security to those
+parts of the Union that need them most. Indeed, it is not too much to
+ask of the States which are now resuming their places in the family of
+the Union to give this pledge of perpetual loyalty and peace. Until it
+is done the past, however much we may desire it, will not be forgotten.
+The adoption of the amendment reunites us beyond all power of
+disruption; it heals the wound that is still imperfectly closed; it
+removes slavery, the element which has so long perplexed and divided the
+country; it makes of us once more a united people, renewed and
+strengthened, bound more than ever to mutual affection and support.
+
+The amendment to the Constitution being adopted, it would remain for the
+States whose powers have been so long in abeyance to resume their places
+in the two branches of the National Legislature, and thereby complete
+the work of restoration. Here it is for you, fellow-citizens of the
+Senate, and for you, fellow-citizens of the House of Representatives,
+to judge, each of you for yourselves, of the elections, returns, and
+qualifications of your own members.
+
+The full assertion of the powers of the General Government requires the
+holding of circuit courts of the United States within the districts
+where their authority has been interrupted. In the present posture of
+our public affairs strong objections have been urged to holding those
+courts in any of the States where the rebellion has existed; and it was
+ascertained by inquiry that the circuit court of the United States would
+not be held within the district of Virginia during the autumn or early
+winter, nor until Congress should have "an opportunity to consider and
+act on the whole subject." To your deliberations the restoration of
+this branch of the civil authority of the United States is therefore
+necessarily referred, with the hope that early provision will be made
+for the resumption of all its functions. It is manifest that treason,
+most flagrant in character, has been committed. Persons who are charged
+with its commission should have fair and impartial trials in the highest
+civil tribunals of the country, in order that the Constitution and the
+laws may be fully vindicated, the truth clearly established and affirmed
+that treason is a crime, that traitors should be punished and the
+offense made infamous, and, at the same time, that the question may be
+judicially settled, finally and forever, that no State of its own will
+has the right to renounce its place in the Union.
+
+The relations of the General Government toward the 4,000,000 inhabitants
+whom the war has called into freedom have engaged my most serious
+consideration. On the propriety of attempting to make the freed-men
+electors by the proclamation of the Executive I took for my counsel the
+Constitution itself, the interpretations of that instrument by its
+authors and their contemporaries, and recent legislation by Congress.
+When at the first movement toward independence, the Congress of the
+United States instructed the several States to institute governments of
+their own, they left each State to decide for itself the conditions for
+the enjoyment of the elective franchise. During the period of the
+Confederacy there continued to exist a very great diversity in the
+qualifications of electors in the several States, and even within a
+State a distinction of qualifications prevailed with regard to the
+officers who were to be chosen. The Constitution of the United States
+recognizes these diversities when it enjoins that in the choice of
+members of the House of Representatives of the United States "the
+electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for
+electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature." After
+the formation of the Constitution it remained, as before, the uniform
+usage for each State to enlarge the body of its electors according to
+its own judgment, and under this system one State after another has
+proceeded to increase the number of its electors, until now universal
+suffrage, or something very near it, is the general rule. So fixed was
+this reservation of power in the habits of the people and so
+unquestioned has been the interpretation of the Constitution that during
+the civil war the late President never harbored the purpose--certainly
+never avowed the purpose--of disregarding it; and in the acts of
+Congress during that period nothing can be found which, during the
+continuance of hostilities, much less after their close, would have
+sanctioned any departure by the Executive from a policy which has so
+uniformly obtained. Moreover, a concession of the elective franchise to
+the freedmen by act of the President of the United States must have been
+extended to all colored men, wherever found, and so must have
+established a change of suffrage in the Northern, Middle, and Western
+States, not less than in the Southern and Southwestern. Such an act
+would have created a new class of voters, and would have been an
+assumption of power by the President which nothing in the Constitution
+or laws of the United States would have warranted.
+
+On the other hand, every danger of conflict is avoided when the
+settlement of the question is referred to the several States. They can,
+each for itself, decide on the measure, and whether it is to be adopted
+at once and absolutely or introduced gradually and with conditions. In
+my judgment the freedmen, if they show patience and manly virtues, will
+sooner obtain a participation in the elective franchise through the
+States than through the General Government, even if it had power to
+intervene. When the tumult of emotions that have been raised by the
+suddenness of the social change shall have subsided, it may prove that
+they will receive the kindest usage from some of those on whom they have
+heretofore most closely depended.
+
+But while I have no doubt that now, after the close of the war, it
+is not competent for the General Government to extend the elective
+franchise in the several States, it is equally clear that good faith
+requires the security of the freedmen in their liberty and their
+property, their right to labor, and their right to claim the just return
+of their labor. I can not too strongly urge a dispassionate treatment
+of this subject, which should be carefully kept aloof from all party
+strife. We must equally avoid hasty assumptions of any natural
+impossibility for the two races to live side by side in a state of
+mutual benefit and good will. The experiment involves us in no
+inconsistency; let us, then, go on and make that experiment in good
+faith, and not be too easily disheartened. The country is in need of
+labor, and the freedmen are in need of employment, culture, and
+protection. While their right of voluntary migration and expatriation
+is not to be questioned, I would not advise their forced removal and
+colonization. Let us rather encourage them to honorable and useful
+industry, where it may be beneficial to themselves and to the country;
+and, instead of hasty anticipations of the certainty of failure,
+let there be nothing wanting to the fair trial of the experiment.
+The change in their condition is the substitution of labor by contract
+for the status of slavery. The freedman can not fairly be accused of
+unwillingness to work so long as a doubt remains about his freedom
+of choice in his pursuits and the certainty of his recovering his
+stipulated wages. In this the interests of the employer and the employed
+coincide. The employer desires in his workmen spirit and alacrity, and
+these can be permanently secured in no other way. And if the one ought
+to be able to enforce the contract, so ought the other. The public
+interest will be best promoted if the several States will provide
+adequate protection and remedies for the freedmen. Until this is in some
+way accomplished there is no chance for the advantageous use of their
+labor, and the blame of ill success will not rest on them.
+
+I know that sincere philanthropy is earnest for the immediate
+realization of its remotest aims; but time is always an element in
+reform. It is one of the greatest acts on record to have brought
+4,000,000 people into freedom. The career of free industry must be
+fairly opened to them, and then their future prosperity and condition
+must, after all, rest mainly on themselves. If they fail, and so perish
+away, let us be careful that the failure shall not be attributable to
+any denial of justice. In all that relates to the destiny of the
+freedmen we need not be too anxious to read the future; many incidents
+which, from a speculative point of view, might raise alarm will quietly
+settle themselves. Now that slavery is at an end, or near its end, the
+greatness of its evil in the point of view of public economy becomes
+more and more apparent. Slavery was essentially a monopoly of labor, and
+as such locked the States where it prevailed against the incoming of
+free industry. Where labor was the property of the capitalist, the white
+man was excluded from employment, or had but the second best chance of
+finding it; and the foreign emigrant turned away from the region where
+his condition would be so precarious. With the destruction of the
+monopoly free labor will hasten from all parts of the civilized world to
+assist in developing various and immeasurable resources which have
+hitherto lain dormant. The eight or nine States nearest the Gulf of
+Mexico have a soil of exuberant fertility, a climate friendly to long
+life, and can sustain a denser population than is found as yet in any
+part of our country. And the future influx of population to them will
+be mainly from the North or from the most cultivated nations in Europe.
+From the sufferings that have attended them during our late struggle let
+us look away to the future, which is sure to be laden for them with
+greater prosperity than has ever before been known. The removal of the
+monopoly of slave labor is a pledge that those regions will be peopled
+by a numerous and enterprising population, which will vie with any in
+the Union in compactness, inventive genius, wealth, and industry.
+
+Our Government springs from and was made for the people--not the people
+for the Government. To them it owes allegiance; from them it must derive
+its courage, strength, and wisdom. But while the Government is thus
+bound to defer to the people, from whom it derives its existence, it
+should, from the very consideration of its origin, be strong in its
+power of resistance to the establishment of inequalities. Monopolies,
+perpetuities, and class legislation are contrary to the genius of free
+government, and ought not to be allowed. Here there is no room for
+favored classes or monopolies; the principle of our Government is that
+of equal laws and freedom of industry. Wherever monopoly attains a
+foothold, it is sure to be a source of danger, discord, and trouble. We
+shall but fulfill our duties as legislators by according "equal and
+exact justice to all men," special privileges to none. The Government is
+subordinate to the people; but, as the agent and representative of the
+people, it must be held superior to monopolies, which in themselves
+ought never to be granted, and which, where they exist, must be
+subordinate and yield to the Government.
+
+The Constitution confers on Congress the right to regulate commerce
+among the several States. It is of the first necessity, for the
+maintenance of the Union, that that commerce should be free and
+unobstructed. No State can be justified in any device to tax the transit
+of travel and commerce between States. The position of many States is
+such that if they were allowed to take advantage of it for purposes of
+local revenue the commerce between States might be injuriously burdened,
+or even virtually prohibited. It is best, while the country is still
+young and while the tendency to dangerous monopolies of this kind is
+still feeble, to use the power of Congress so as to prevent any selfish
+impediment to the free circulation of men and merchandise. A tax on
+travel and merchandise in their transit constitutes one of the worst
+forms of monopoly, and the evil is increased if coupled with a denial of
+the choice of route. When the vast extent of our country is considered,
+it is plain that every obstacle to the free circulation of commerce
+between the States ought to be sternly guarded against by appropriate
+legislation within the limits of the Constitution.
+
+The report of the Secretary of the Interior explains the condition of
+the public lands, the transactions of the Patent Office and the Pension
+Bureau, the management of our Indian affairs, the progress made in the
+construction of the Pacific Railroad, and furnishes information in
+reference to matters of local interest in the District of Columbia. It
+also presents evidence of the successful operation of the homestead act,
+under the provisions of which 1,160,533 acres of the public lands were
+entered during the last fiscal year--more than one-fourth of the whole
+number of acres sold or otherwise disposed of during that period. It is
+estimated that the receipts derived from this source are sufficient to
+cover the expenses incident to the survey and disposal of the lands
+entered under this act, and that payments in cash to the extent of from
+40 to 50 per cent will be made by settlers who may thus at any time
+acquire title before the expiration of the period at which it would
+otherwise vest. The homestead policy was established only after long and
+earnest resistance; experience proves its wisdom. The lands in the hands
+of industrious settlers, whose labor creates wealth and contributes to
+the public resources, are worth more to the United States than if they
+had been reserved as a solitude for future purchasers.
+
+The lamentable events of the last four years and the sacrifices made by
+the gallant men of our Army and Navy have swelled the records of the
+Pension Bureau to an unprecedented extent. On the 30th day of June last
+the total number of pensioners was 85,986, requiring for their annual
+pay, exclusive of expenses, the sum of $8,023,445. The number of
+applications that have been allowed since that date will require a large
+increase of this amount for the next fiscal year, The means for the
+payment of the stipends due under existing laws to our disabled soldiers
+and sailors and to the families of such as have perished in the service
+of the country will no doubt be cheerfully and promptly granted.
+A grateful people will not hesitate to sanction any measures having
+for their object the relief of soldiers mutilated and families made
+fatherless in the efforts to preserve our national existence.
+
+The report of the Postmaster-General presents an encouraging exhibit
+of the operations of the Post-Office Department during the year. The
+revenues of the past year, from the loyal States alone, exceeded the
+maximum annual receipts from all the States previous to the rebellion
+in the sum of $6,038,091; and the annual average increase of revenue
+during the last four years, compared with the revenues of the four
+years immediately preceding the rebellion, was $3,533,845. The revenues
+of the last fiscal year amounted to $14,556,158 and the expenditures
+to $13,694,728, leaving a surplus of receipts over expenditures of
+$861,430. Progress has been made in restoring the postal service in the
+Southern States. The views presented by the Postmaster-General against
+the policy of granting subsidies to the ocean mail steamship lines upon
+established routes and in favor of continuing the present system, which
+limits the compensation for ocean service to the postage earnings, are
+recommended to the careful consideration of Congress.
+
+It appears from the report of the Secretary of the Navy that while at
+the commencement of the present year there were in commission 530
+vessels of all classes and descriptions, armed with 3,000 guns and
+manned by 51,000 men, the number of vessels at present in commission is
+117, with 830 guns and 12,128 men. By this prompt reduction of the naval
+forces the expenses of the Government have been largely diminished, and
+a number of vessels purchased for naval purposes from the merchant
+marine have been returned to the peaceful pursuits of commerce. Since
+the suppression of active hostilities our foreign squadrons have been
+reestablished, and consist of vessels much more efficient than those
+employed on similar service previous to the rebellion. The suggestion
+for the enlargement of the navy-yards, and especially for the
+establishment of one in fresh water for ironclad vessels, is deserving
+of consideration, as is also the recommendation for a different location
+and more ample grounds for the Naval Academy.
+
+In the report of the Secretary of War a general summary is given of the
+military campaigns of 1864 and 1865, ending in the suppression of armed
+resistance to the national authority in the insurgent States. The
+operations of the general administrative bureaus of the War Department
+during the past year are detailed and an estimate made of the
+appropriations that will be required for military purposes in the fiscal
+year commencing the 1st day of July, 1866. The national military force
+on the 1st of May, 1865, numbered 1,000,516 men. It is proposed to
+reduce the military establishment to a peace footing, comprehending
+50,000 troops of all arms, organized so as to admit of an enlargement
+by filling up the ranks to 82,600 if the circumstances of the country
+should require an augmentation of the Army. The volunteer force has
+already been reduced by the discharge from service of over 800,000
+troops, and the Department is proceeding rapidly in the work of further
+reduction. The war estimates are reduced from $516,240,131 to
+$33,814,461, which amount, in the opinion of the Department, is adequate
+for a peace establishment. The measures of retrenchment in each bureau
+and branch of the service exhibit a diligent economy worthy of
+commendation. Reference is also made in the report to the necessity of
+providing for a uniform militia system and to the propriety of making
+suitable provision for wounded and disabled officers and soldiers.
+
+The revenue system of the country is a subject of vital interest to its
+honor and prosperity, and should command the earnest consideration of
+Congress. The Secretary of the Treasury will lay before you a full and
+detailed report of the receipts and disbursements of the last fiscal
+year, of the first quarter of the present fiscal year, of the probable
+receipts and expenditures for the other three quarters, and the
+estimates for the year following the 30th of June, 1866. I might content
+myself with a reference to that report, in which you will find all the
+information required for your deliberations and decision, but the
+paramount importance of the subject so presses itself on my own mind
+that I can not but lay before you my views of the measures which are
+required for the good character, and I might almost say for the
+existence, of this people. The life of a republic lies certainly in the
+energy, virtue, and intelligence of its citizens; but it is equally true
+that a good revenue system is the life of an organized government. I
+meet you at a time when the nation has voluntarily burdened itself with
+a debt unprecedented in our annals. Vast as is its amount, it fades away
+into nothing when compared with the countless blessings that will be
+conferred upon our country and upon man by the preservation of the
+nation's life. Now, on the first occasion of the meeting of Congress
+since the return of peace, it is of the utmost importance to inaugurate
+a just policy, which shall at once be put in motion, and which shall
+commend itself to those who come after us for its continuance. We must
+aim at nothing less than the complete effacement of the financial evils
+that necessarily followed a state of civil war. We must endeavor to
+apply the earliest remedy to the deranged state of the currency, and not
+shrink from devising a policy which, without being oppressive to the
+people, shall immediately begin to effect a reduction of the debt, and,
+if persisted in, discharge it fully within a definitely fixed number of
+years.
+
+It is our first duty to prepare in earnest for our recovery from the
+ever-increasing evils of an irredeemable currency without a sudden
+revulsion, and yet without untimely procrastination. For that end we
+must each, in our respective positions, prepare the way. I hold it the
+duty of the Executive to insist upon frugality in the expenditures, and
+a sparing economy is itself a great national resource. Of the banks to
+which authority has been given to issue notes secured by bonds of the
+United States we may require the greatest moderation and prudence, and
+the law must be rigidly enforced when its limits are exceeded. We may
+each one of us counsel our active and enterprising countrymen to be
+constantly on their guard, to liquidate debts contracted in a paper
+currency, and by conducting business as nearly as possible on a system
+of cash payments or short credits to hold themselves prepared to return
+to the standard of gold and silver. To aid our fellow-citizens in the
+prudent management of their monetary affairs, the duty devolves on us to
+diminish by law the amount of paper money now in circulation. Five years
+ago the bank-note circulation of the country amounted to not much more
+than two hundred millions; now the circulation, bank and national,
+exceeds seven hundred millions. The simple statement of the fact
+recommends more strongly than any words of mine could do the necessity
+of our restraining this expansion. The gradual reduction of the currency
+is the only measure that can save the business of the country from
+disastrous calamities, and this can be almost imperceptibly accomplished
+by gradually funding the national circulation in securities that may be
+made redeemable at the pleasure of the Government.
+
+Our debt is doubly secure--first in the actual wealth and still greater
+undeveloped resources of the country, and next in the character of our
+institutions. The most intelligent observers among political economists
+have not failed to remark that the public debt of a country is safe in
+proportion as its people are free; that the debt of a republic is the
+safest of all. Our history confirms and establishes the theory, and is,
+I firmly believe, destined to give it a still more signal illustration.
+The secret of this superiority springs not merely from the fact that in
+a republic the national obligations are distributed more widely through
+countless numbers in all classes of society; it has its root in the
+character of our laws. Here all men contribute to the public welfare and
+bear their fair share of the public burdens. During the war, under the
+impulses of patriotism, the men of the great body of the people, without
+regard to their own comparative want of wealth, thronged to our armies
+and filled our fleets of war, and held themselves ready to offer their
+lives for the public good. Now, in their turn, the property and income
+of the country should bear their just proportion of the burden of
+taxation, while in our impost system, through means of which increased
+vitality is incidentally imparted to all the industrial interests of
+the nation, the duties should be so adjusted as to fall most heavily
+on articles of luxury, leaving the necessaries of life as free from
+taxation as the absolute wants of the Government economically
+administered will justify. No favored class should demand freedom from
+assessment, and the taxes should be so distributed as not to fall unduly
+on the poor, but rather on the accumulated wealth of the country. We
+should look at the national debt just as it is--not as a national
+blessing, but as a heavy burden on the industry of the country, to be
+discharged without unnecessary delay.
+
+It is estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury that the expenditures
+for the fiscal year ending the 30th of June, 1866, will exceed the
+receipts $112,194,947. It is gratifying, however, to state that it is
+also estimated that the revenue for the year ending the 30th of June,
+1867, will exceed the expenditures in the sum of $111,682,818. This
+amount, or so much as may be deemed sufficient for the purpose, may be
+applied to the reduction of the public debt, which on the 31st day of
+October, 1865, was $2,740,854,750. Every reduction will diminish the
+total amount of interest to be paid, and so enlarge the means of still
+further reductions, until the whole shall be liquidated; and this, as
+will be seen from the estimates of the Secretary of the Treasury, may be
+accomplished by annual payments even within a period not exceeding
+thirty years. I have faith that we shall do all this within a reasonable
+time; that as we have amazed the world by the suppression of a civil war
+which was thought to be beyond the control of any government, so we
+shall equally show the superiority of our institutions by the prompt and
+faithful discharge of our national obligations.
+
+The Department of Agriculture under its present direction is
+accomplishing much in developing and utilizing the vast agricultural
+capabilities of the country, and for information respecting the details
+of its management reference is made to the annual report of the
+Commissioner.
+
+I have dwelt thus fully on our domestic affairs because of their
+transcendent importance. Under any circumstances our great extent of
+territory and variety of climate, producing almost everything that is
+necessary for the wants and even the comforts of man, make us singularly
+independent of the varying policy of foreign powers and protect us
+against every temptation to "entangling alliances," while at the present
+moment the reestablishment of harmony and the strength that comes from
+harmony will be our best security against "nations who feel power and
+forget right." For myself, it has been and it will be my constant aim to
+promote peace and amity with all foreign nations and powers, and I have
+every reason to believe that they all, without exception, are animated
+by the same disposition. Our relations with the Emperor of China, so
+recent in their origin, are most friendly. Our commerce with his
+dominions is receiving new developments, and it is very pleasing to find
+that the Government of that great Empire manifests satisfaction with our
+policy and reposes just confidence in the fairness which marks our
+intercourse. The unbroken harmony between the United States and the
+Emperor of Russia is receiving a new support from an enterprise designed
+to carry telegraphic lines across the continent of Asia, through his
+dominions, and so to connect us with all Europe by a new channel of
+intercourse. Our commerce with South America is about to receive
+encouragement by a direct line of mail steamships to the rising Empire
+of Brazil. The distinguished party of men of science who have recently
+left our country to make a scientific exploration of the natural history
+and rivers and mountain ranges of that region have received from the
+Emperor that generous welcome which was to have been expected from his
+constant friendship for the United States and his well-known zeal in
+promoting the advancement of knowledge. A hope is entertained that our
+commerce with the rich and populous countries that border the
+Mediterranean Sea may be largely increased. Nothing will be wanting on
+the part of this Government to extend the protection of our flag over
+the enterprise of our fellow-citizens. We receive from the powers in
+that region assurances of good will; and it is worthy of note that a
+special envoy has brought us messages of condolence on the death of our
+late Chief Magistrate from the Bey of Tunis, whose rule includes the old
+dominions of Carthage, on the African coast.
+
+Our domestic contest, now happily ended, has left some traces in our
+relations with one at least of the great maritime powers. The formal
+accordance of belligerent rights to the insurgent States was
+unprecedented, and has not been justified by the issue. But in the
+systems of neutrality pursued by the powers which made that concession
+there was a marked difference. The materials of war for the insurgent
+States were furnished, in a great measure, from the workshops of Great
+Britain, and British ships, manned by British subjects and prepared for
+receiving British armaments, sallied from the ports of Great Britain to
+make war on American commerce under the shelter of a commission from the
+insurgent States. These ships, having once escaped from British ports,
+ever afterwards entered them in every part of the world to refit, and so
+to renew their depredations. The consequences of this conduct were most
+disastrous to the States then in rebellion, increasing their desolation
+and misery by the prolongation of our civil contest. It had, moreover,
+the effect, to a great extent, to drive the American flag from the sea,
+and to transfer much of our shipping and our commerce to the very power
+whose subjects had created the necessity for such a change. These events
+took place before I was called to the administration of the Government.
+The sincere desire for peace by which I am animated led me to approve
+the proposal, already made, to submit the question which had thus arisen
+between the countries to arbitration. These questions are of such moment
+that they must have commanded the attention of the great powers, and are
+so interwoven with the peace and interests of every one of them as to
+have insured an impartial decision. I regret to inform you that Great
+Britain declined the arbitrament, but, on the other hand, invited us to
+the formation of a joint commission to settle mutual claims between the
+two countries, from which those for the depredations before mentioned
+should be excluded. The proposition, in that very unsatisfactory form,
+has been declined.
+
+The United States did not present the subject as an impeachment of the
+good faith of a power which was professing the most friendly
+dispositions, but as involving questions of public law of which the
+settlement is essential to the peace of nations; and though pecuniary
+reparation to their injured citizens would have followed incidentally
+on a decision against Great Britain, such compensation was not their
+primary object. They had a higher motive, and it was in the interests of
+peace and justice to establish important principles of international
+law. The correspondence will be placed before you. The ground on which
+the British minister rests his justification is, substantially, that the
+municipal law of a nation and the domestic interpretations of that law
+are the measure of its duty as a neutral, and I feel bound to declare my
+opinion before you and before the world that that justification can not
+be sustained before the tribunal of nations. At the same time, I do not
+advise to any present attempt at redress by acts of legislation. For the
+future, friendship between the two countries must rest on the basis of
+mutual justice.
+
+From the moment of the establishment of our free Constitution the
+civilized world has been convulsed by revolutions in the interests of
+democracy or of monarchy, but through all those revolutions the United
+States have wisely and firmly refused to become propagandists of
+republicanism. It is the only government suited to our condition; but
+we have never sought to impose it on others, and we have consistently
+followed the advice of Washington to recommend it only by the careful
+preservation and prudent use of the blessing. During all the intervening
+period the policy of European powers and of the United States has, on
+the whole, been harmonious. Twice, indeed, rumors of the invasion of
+some parts of America in the interest of monarchy have prevailed; twice
+my predecessors have had occasion to announce the views of this nation
+in respect to such interference. On both occasions the remonstrance of
+the United States was respected from a deep conviction on the part of
+European Governments that the system of noninterference and mutual
+abstinence from propagandism was the true rule for the two hemispheres.
+Since those times we have advanced in wealth and power, but we retain
+the same purpose to leave the nations of Europe to choose their own
+dynasties and form their own systems of government. This consistent
+moderation may justly demand a corresponding moderation. We should
+regard it as a great calamity to ourselves, to the cause of good
+government, and to the peace of the world should any European power
+challenge the American people, as it were, to the defense of
+republicanism against foreign interference. We can not foresee and are
+unwilling to consider what opportunities might present themselves, what
+combinations might offer to protect ourselves against designs inimical
+to our form of government. The United States desire to act in the
+future as they have ever acted heretofore; they never will be driven
+from that course but by the aggression of European powers, and we
+rely on the wisdom and justice of those powers to respect the system of
+noninterference which has so long been sanctioned by time, and which by
+its good results has approved itself to both continents.
+
+The correspondence between the United States and France in reference to
+questions which have become subjects of discussion between the two
+Governments will at a proper time be laid before Congress.
+
+When, on the organization of our Government under the Constitution, the
+President of the United States delivered his inaugural address to the
+two Houses of Congress, he said to them, and through them to the country
+and to mankind, that--
+
+  The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the
+  republican model of government are justly considered, perhaps, as
+  _deeply_, as _finally_, staked on the experiment intrusted to the hands
+  of the American people.
+
+
+And the House of Representatives answered Washington by the voice of
+Madison:
+
+  We adore the Invisible Hand which has led the American people, through
+  so many difficulties, to cherish a conscious responsibility for the
+  destiny of republican liberty.
+
+
+More than seventy-six years have glided away since these words were
+spoken; the United States have passed through severer trials than were
+foreseen; and now, at this new epoch in our existence as one nation,
+with our Union purified by sorrows and strengthened by conflict and
+established by the virtue of the people, the greatness of the occasion
+invites us once more to repeat with solemnity the pledges of our fathers
+to hold ourselves answerable before our fellow-men for the success of
+the republican form of government. Experience has proved its sufficiency
+in peace and in war; it has vindicated its authority through dangers and
+afflictions, and sudden and terrible emergencies, which would have
+crushed any system that had been less firmly fixed in the hearts of the
+people. At the inauguration of Washington the foreign relations of the
+country were few and its trade was repressed by hostile regulations; now
+all the civilized nations of the globe welcome our commerce, and their
+governments profess toward us amity. Then our country felt its way
+hesitatingly along an untried path, with States so little bound together
+by rapid means of communication as to be hardly known to one another,
+and with historic traditions extending over very few years; now
+intercourse between the States is swift and intimate; the experience of
+centuries has been crowded into a few generations, and has created an
+intense, indestructible nationality. Then our jurisdiction did not reach
+beyond the inconvenient boundaries of the territory which had achieved
+independence; now, through cessions of lands, first colonized by Spain
+and France, the country has acquired a more complex character, and has
+for its natural limits the chain of lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, and on
+the east and the west the two great oceans. Other nations were wasted by
+civil wars for ages before they could establish for themselves the
+necessary degree of unity; the latent conviction that our form of
+government is the best ever known to the world has enabled us to emerge
+from civil war within four years with a complete vindication of the
+constitutional authority of the General Government and with our local
+liberties and State institutions unimpaired.
+
+The throngs of emigrants that crowd to our shores are witnesses of the
+confidence of all peoples in our permanence. Here is the great land of
+free labor, where industry is blessed with unexampled rewards and the
+bread of the workingman is sweetened by the consciousness that the cause
+of the country "is his own cause, his own safety, his own dignity." Here
+everyone enjoys the free use of his faculties and the choice of activity
+as a natural right. Here, under the combined influence of a fruitful
+soil, genial climes, and happy institutions, population has increased
+fifteen-fold within a century. Here, through the easy development of
+boundless resources, wealth has increased with twofold greater rapidity
+than numbers, so that we have become secure against the financial
+vicissitudes of other countries and, alike in business and in opinion,
+are self-centered and truly independent. Here more and more care is
+given to provide education for everyone born on our soil. Here religion,
+released from political connection with the civil government, refuses to
+subserve the craft of statesmen, and becomes in its independence the
+spiritual life of the people. Here toleration is extended to every
+opinion, in the quiet certainty that truth needs only a fair field to
+secure the victory. Here the human mind goes forth unshackled in the
+pursuit of science, to collect stores of knowledge and acquire an
+ever-increasing mastery over the forces of nature. Here the national
+domain is offered and held in millions of separate freeholds, so that
+our fellow-citizens, beyond the occupants of any other part of the
+earth, constitute in reality a people. Here exists the democratic form
+of government; and that form of government, by the confession of
+European statesmen, "gives a power of which no other form is capable,
+because it incorporates every man with the state and arouses everything
+that belongs to the soul."
+
+Where in past history does a parallel exist to the public happiness
+which is within the reach of the people of the United States? Where in
+any part of the globe can institutions be found so suited to their
+habits or so entitled to their love as their own free Constitution?
+Every one of them, then, in whatever part of the land he has his home,
+must wish its perpetuity. Who of them will not now acknowledge, in the
+words of Washington, that "every step by which the people of the United
+States have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to
+have been distinguished by some token of providential agency"? Who will
+not join with me in the prayer that the Invisible Hand which has led us
+through the clouds that gloomed around our path will so guide us onward
+to a perfect restoration of fraternal affection that we of this day may
+be able to transmit our great inheritance of State governments in all
+their rights, of the General Government in its whole constitutional
+vigor, to our posterity, and they to theirs through countless
+generations?
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+SPECIAL MESSAGES.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 11, 1865_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+I transmit a report of this date from the Secretary of State, and the
+papers referred to therein, concerning the Universal Exposition to be
+held at Paris in the year 1867, in which the United States have been
+invited by the Government of France to take part. I commend the subject
+to your early and favorable consideration.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 13, 1865_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 11th instant,
+requesting information on the subject of a decree of the so-called
+Emperor of Mexico of the 3d of October last, I transmit a report from
+the Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 14, 1865_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+11th instant, requesting information relative to a so-called decree
+concerning the reestablishment of slavery or peonage in the Republic
+of Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the
+documents by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _December 18, 1865_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the requirements of the third section of the act
+approved March 3, 1865, I transmit herewith a communication from the
+Secretary of War, with the accompanying report and estimates of the
+Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 18, 1865_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In reply to the resolution adopted by the Senate on the 12th instant,
+I have the honor to state that the rebellion waged by a portion of the
+people against the properly constituted authority of the Government of
+the United States has been suppressed; that the United States are in
+possession of every State in which the insurrection existed, and that,
+as far as it could be done, the courts of the United States have been
+restored, post-offices reestablished, and steps taken to put into
+effective operation the revenue laws of the country.
+
+As the result of the measures instituted by the Executive with the view
+of inducing a resumption of the functions of the States comprehended in
+the inquiry of the Senate, the people of North Carolina, South Carolina,
+Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee have
+reorganized their respective State governments, and "are yielding
+obedience to the laws and Government of the United States" with more
+willingness and greater promptitude than under the circumstances could
+reasonably have been anticipated. The proposed amendment to the
+Constitution, providing for the abolition of slavery forever within the
+limits of the country, has been ratified by each one of those States,
+with the exception of Mississippi, from which no official information
+has been received, and in nearly all of them measures have been adopted
+or are now pending to confer upon freedmen the privileges which are
+essential to their comfort, protection, and security. In Florida and
+Texas the people are making commendable progress in restoring their
+State governments, and no doubt is entertained that they will at an
+early period be in a condition to resume all of their practical
+relations with the General Government.
+
+In "that portion of the Union lately in rebellion" the aspect of affairs
+is more promising than, in view of all the circumstances, could well
+have been expected. The people throughout the entire South evince a
+laudable desire to renew their allegiance to the Government and to
+repair the devastations of war by a prompt and cheerful return to
+peaceful pursuits, and abiding faith is entertained that their actions
+will conform to their professions, and that in acknowledging the
+supremacy of the Constitution and laws of the United States their
+loyalty will be unreservedly given to the Government, whose leniency
+they can not fail to appreciate and whose fostering care will soon
+restore them to a condition of prosperity. It is true that in some of
+the States the demoralizing effects of the war are to be seen in
+occasional disorders; but these are local in character, not frequent in
+occurrence, and are rapidly disappearing as the authority of civil law
+is extended and sustained. Perplexing questions are naturally to be
+expected from the great and sudden change in the relations between the
+two races; but systems are gradually developing themselves under which
+the freedman will receive the protection to which he is justly entitled,
+and, by means of his labor, make himself a useful and independent member
+in the community in which he has a home.
+
+From all the information in my possession and from that which I have
+recently derived from the most reliable authority I am induced to
+cherish the belief that sectional animosity is surely and rapidly
+merging itself into a spirit of nationality, and that representation,
+connected with a properly adjusted system of taxation, will result in
+a harmonious restoration of the relation of the States to the National
+Union.
+
+The report of Carl Schurz is herewith transmitted, as requested by the
+Senate. No reports from the Hon. John Covode have been received by the
+President. The attention of the Senate is invited to the accompanying
+report from Lieutenant-General Grant, who recently made a tour of
+inspection through several of the States whose inhabitants participated
+in the rebellion.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 20, 1865_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In reply to the resolution of the Senate of the 19th instant, requesting
+that the President, if not inconsistent with the public service,
+communicate to the Senate the "report of General Howard of his
+observations of the condition of the seceded States and the operation of
+the Freedmen's Bureau therein," I have to state that the report of the
+Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands
+was yesterday transmitted to both Houses of Congress, as required by the
+third section of the act approved March 3, 1865.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 21, 1865_.
+
+_To the Senate_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 11th instant,
+respecting the occupation by the French troops of the Republic of Mexico
+and the establishment of a monarchy there, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 5, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 19th ultimo,
+requesting information in regard to any plans to induce the immigration
+of dissatisfied citizens of the United States into Mexico, their
+organization there with the view to create disturbances in the United
+States, and especially in regard to the plans of Dr. William M. Gwin and
+M.F. Maury, and to the action taken by the Government of the United
+States to prevent the success of such schemes, I transmit a report from
+the Acting Secretary of State and the papers by which it was
+accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 5, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I have received the following preamble and resolution, adopted by the
+Senate on the 21st ultimo:
+
+  Whereas the Constitution declares that "in all criminal prosecutions
+  the accused shall enjoy the right of a speedy and public trial by an
+  impartial jury of the State or district wherein the crime shall have
+  been committed;" and
+
+  Whereas several months have elapsed since Jefferson Davis, late
+  president of the so-called Confederate States, was captured and confined
+  for acts notoriously done by him as such, which acts, if duly proved,
+  render him guilty of treason against the United States and liable to the
+  penalties thereof; and
+
+  Whereas hostilities between the Government of the United States and the
+  insurgents have ceased, and not one of the latter, so far as is known to
+  the Senate, is now held in confinement for the part he may have acted in
+  the rebellion except said Jefferson Davis: Therefore,
+
+  _Resolved_, That the President be respectfully requested, if compatible
+  with the public safety, to inform the Senate upon what charges or for
+  what reasons said Jefferson Davis is still held in confinement, and why
+  he has not been put upon his trial.
+
+
+In reply to the resolution I transmit the accompanying reports from the
+Secretary of War and the Attorney-General, and at the same time invite
+the attention of the Senate to that portion of my message dated the 4th
+day of December last which refers to Congress the questions connected
+with the holding of circuit courts of the United States within the
+districts where their authority has been interrupted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 5, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of
+the 18th ultimo, requesting information in regard to steps taken by the
+so-called Emperor of Mexico or by any European power to obtain from the
+United States a recognition of the so-called Empire of Mexico, and what
+action has been taken in the premises by the Government of the United
+States, I transmit a report from the Acting Secretary of State and the
+papers by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 10, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 8th
+instant, asking for information in regard to the alleged kidnaping in
+Mexico of the child of an American lady, I transmit a report from the
+Acting Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 12, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a communication addressed to me by Messrs. John
+Evans and J.B. Chaifee as "United States Senators elect from the State
+of Colorado," together with the accompanying documents.
+
+Under authority of the act of Congress approved the 21st day of
+March, 1864, the people of Colorado, through a convention, formed a
+constitution making provision for a State government, which, when
+submitted to the qualified voters of the Territory, was rejected.
+
+In the summer of 1865 a second convention was called by the executive
+committees of the several political parties in the Territory, which
+assembled at Denver on the 8th of August, 1865. On the 12th of that
+month this convention adopted a State constitution, which was submitted
+to the people on the 5th of September, 1865, and ratified by a majority
+of 155 of the qualified voters. The proceedings in the second instance
+for the formation of a State government having differed in time and mode
+from those specified in the act of March 21, 1864, I have declined to
+issue the proclamation for which provision is made in the fifth section
+of the law, and therefore submit the question for the consideration and
+further action of Congress.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE OFFICE, _January 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I communicate to the Senate herewith, for its constitutional action
+thereon, the several treaties[5] with the Indians of the Southwest
+referred to in the accompanying communication from the Secretary of
+the Interior.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 5: With the confederated tribes of the Arapahoe and Cheyenne
+Indians, concluded October 14, 1865; with the Apache, Cheyenne, and
+Arapahoe tribes, respectively, concluded October 17, 1865; with the
+several bands of the Comanche tribe, concluded October 18, 1865.]
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE OFFICE, _January 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I communicate to the Senate herewith, for its constitutional action
+thereon, the several treaties with bands of the Sioux Nation of Indians
+which are referred to in the accompanying communication from the
+Secretary of the Interior.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I communicate to the Senate herewith, for its constitutional action
+thereon, the treaties with the Omaha and Winnebago Indians referred to
+in the accompanying communication from the Secretary of the Interior.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 26, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 11th instant,
+requesting information in regard to a negotiation for the transit of
+United States troops in 1861 through Mexican territory, I transmit a
+report from the Acting Secretary of State and the papers by which it
+was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 26, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention between the United States and the Empire of
+Japan for the reduction of import duties, which was signed at Yedo the
+28th of January, 1864.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 26, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention between the Empire of Japan and the
+Governments of the United States, Great Britain, France, and Holland,
+providing for the payment to said Governments of the sum of $3,000,000
+for indemnities and expenses, which was signed by the respective parties
+at Yokohama on the 22d of October, 1864.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 26, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 17th instant,
+requesting the President "to communicate to the Senate, if in his
+opinion not inconsistent with the public interest, any letters from
+Major-General Sheridan, commanding the Military Division of the Gulf,
+or from any other officer of the Department of Texas, in regard to the
+present condition of affairs on the southeastern frontier of the United
+States, and especially in regard to any violation of neutrality on the
+part of the army now occupying the right bank of the Rio Grande,"
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, bearing date
+the 24th instant.
+
+Concurring in his opinion that the publication of the correspondence
+at this time is not consistent with the public interest, the papers
+referred to in the accompanying report are for the present withheld.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 26, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+22d instant, requesting the communication of any correspondence or other
+information in regard to a demonstration by the Congress of the United
+States of Colombia, or any other country, in honor of President Juarez,
+of the Republic of Mexico, I transmit herewith a report from the Acting
+Secretary of State, with the papers by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 26, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 8th
+instant, asking for information in regard to the reported surrender of
+the rebel pirate vessel called the _Shenandoah_, I transmit a report
+from the Acting Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 30, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+Believing that the commercial interests of our country would be promoted
+by a formal recognition of the independence of the Dominican Republic,
+while such a recognition would be in entire conformity with the settled
+policy of the United States, I have with that view nominated to the
+Senate an officer of the same grade with the one now accredited to the
+Republic of Hayti; and I recommend that an appropriation be made by
+Congress toward providing for his compensation.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 1, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+10th ultimo, requesting information in regard to the organization in the
+city of New York of the "Imperial Mexican Express Company" under a grant
+from the so-called Emperor of Mexico, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State and the papers by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 2, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+The accompanying correspondence is transmitted to the Senate in
+compliance with its resolution of the 16th ultimo, requesting the
+President, "if not inconsistent with the public interest, to communicate
+to the Senate any correspondence which may have taken place between
+himself and any of the judges of the Supreme Court touching the holding
+of the civil courts of the United States in the insurrectionary States
+for the trial of crimes against the United States."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 2, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 30th ultimo, requesting
+the President, "if not incompatible with the public interests, to
+communicate to the Senate a copy of the late report of Major-General
+Sherman upon the condition of the States in his department, in which he
+has lately made a tour of inspection," I transmit herewith a copy of a
+communication, dated December 22, 1865, addressed to the Headquarters of
+the Army by Major-General Sherman, commanding the Military Division of
+the Mississippi.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 9, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+10th ultimo, requesting the President of the United States, "if not
+incompatible with the public interest, to communicate to the House
+any report or reports made by the Judge-Advocate-General or any other
+officer of the Government as to the grounds, facts, or accusations upon
+which Jefferson Davis, Clement C. Clay, jr., Stephen R. Mallory, and
+David L. Yulee, or either of them, are held in confinement," I transmit
+herewith reports from the Secretary of War and the Attorney-General,
+and concur in the opinion therein expressed that the publication of
+the papers called for by the resolution is not at the present time
+compatible with the public interest.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 10, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit, for the consideration of Congress, a correspondence between
+the Secretary of State and the minister of France accredited to this
+Government, and also other papers, relative to a proposed international
+conference at Constantinople upon the subject of cholera.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 5, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit the accompanying report from the Secretary of War, in answer
+to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 27th ultimo,
+requesting information in regard to the distribution of the rewards
+offered by the Government for the arrest of the assassins of the late
+President Lincoln.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 5, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 27th ultimo, I
+transmit, herewith a communication from the Secretary of War, together
+with the reports of the assistant commissioners of the Freedmen's Bureau
+made since December 1, 1865.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 6, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolutions of the Senate of the 5th of January and
+27th of February last, requesting information in regard to provisional
+governors of States, I transmit reports from the Secretary of State and
+the Secretary of War, to whom the resolutions were referred.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 6, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, a
+treaty with the Utah, Yampah-Ute, Pah-Vant, San-Pete-Ute, Tim-p-nogs,
+and Cum-um-bah bands of the Utah Indians, referred to in the
+accompanying papers from the Secretary of the Interior.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 6, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+12th of January last, requesting information in regard to provisional
+governments of certain States, I transmit a report from the Secretary
+of State, to whom the resolution was referred.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 6, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 27th
+ultimo, requesting certain information in relation to President Benito
+Juarez, of Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 8, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate, a copy of a letter of
+the 21st ultimo from the governor of the Territory of Colorado to the
+Secretary of State, with the memorial to which it refers, relative to
+the location of the Pacific Railroad.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 12, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit, for your consideration, a copy of two communications from
+the minister of the United States at Paris, in regard to a proposed
+exhibition of fishery and water culture, to be held at Arcachon, near
+Bordeaux, in France, in July next.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 15, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 5th instant, upon the
+subject of the supposed kidnaping of colored persons in the Southern
+States for the purpose of selling them as slaves in Cuba, I transmit a
+report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 19, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives dated
+January 5, 1866, requesting information as to the number of men and
+officers in the regular and volunteer service of the United States,
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, with the papers by which
+it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+11th of December last, requesting information upon the present condition
+of affairs in the Republic of Mexico, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State and the papers by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 21, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty made with the Great and Little Osage Indians on the 29th
+September, 1865, together with the accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 21, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, a
+treaty made with the Woll-pah-pe tribe of Snake Indians on the 12th of
+August, 1865, together with the accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 26, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate a memorial of the legislature of Alabama,
+asking an extension of time for the completion of certain railroads in
+said State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 30, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate,
+a treaty negotiated with the Shawnee Indians, dated March 1, 1866,
+with supplemental article, dated March 14, 1866, with accompanying
+communications from the honorable Secretary of the Interior and
+Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 3, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report by the Secretary of War, in compliance with
+the Senate resolution of the 7th March, 1866, respecting the improvement
+of the Washington City Canal, to promote the health of the metropolis.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _April 3, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, dated the
+22d ultimo, together with a letter addressed to him by the governor of
+Alabama, asking that the State of Alabama may be allowed to assume and
+pay in State bonds the direct tax now due from that State to the United
+States, or that delay of payment may be authorized until the State can
+by the sale of its bonds or by taxation make provision for the
+liquidation of the indebtedness.
+
+I concur in the opinion of the Secretary of the Treasury "that it is
+desirable that the State of Alabama and the other Southern States should
+be allowed to assume and pay their proportion of the direct taxes now
+due," and therefore recommend the necessary legislation by Congress.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 4, 1866_.
+
+_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 British vessel _Magicienne_, and recommend an
+appropriation for the satisfaction of the claim, pursuant to the award
+of the arbitrators.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 5, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I herewith transmit communications from the Secretary of the Treasury
+and the Postmaster-General, suggesting a modification of the oath of
+office prescribed by the act of Congress approved July 2, 1862. I fully
+concur in their recommendation, and as the subject pertains to the
+efficient administration of the revenue and postal laws in the Southern
+States I earnestly commend it to the early consideration of Congress.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 6, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a supplemental
+article to the Pottawatomie treaty of November 15, 1861, concluded on
+the 29th ultimo, together with the accompanying communications from the
+Secretary of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _April 7, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+I transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Interior, with the
+accompanying papers, in reference to grants of land made by acts of
+Congress passed in the years 1850, 1853, and 1856 to the States of
+Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Louisiana, to aid in
+the construction of certain railroads. As these acts will expire by
+limitation on the 11th day of August, 1866, leaving the roads for
+whose benefit they were conferred in an unfinished condition, it is
+recommended that the time within which they may be completed be extended
+for a period of five years.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 11, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 27th ultimo,
+in relation to the seizure and detention at New York of the steamship
+_Meteor_, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State and
+the papers by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 13, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a
+treaty concluded with the Bois Forte band of Chippewa Indians on the
+7th instant, together with the accompanying communications from the
+Secretary of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 13, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 10th
+instant, requesting information in regard to the rights and interests
+of American citizens in the fishing grounds adjacent to the British
+Provinces, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the
+resolution was referred.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the Senate's resolution of the 8th January, 1866, I
+transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War of the 19th
+instant, covering copies of the correspondence respecting General
+Orders, No. 17,[6] issued by the commander of the Department of
+California, and also the Attorney-General's opinion as to the question
+whether the order involves a breach of neutrality toward Mexico.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 6: Instructing commanders on the southern frontiers within the
+Department of California "to take the necessary measures to preserve the
+neutrality of the United States with respect to the parties engaged in
+the existing war in Mexico, and to suffer no armed parties to pass the
+frontier from the United States, nor suffer any arms or munitions of war
+to be sent over the frontier to either belligerent," etc.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _April 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 2d
+instant, requesting information respecting the collection of the remains
+of officers and soldiers killed and buried on the various battlefields
+about Atlanta, I transmit herewith a report on the subject from the
+Secretary of War.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 21, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a communication of this date from the Secretary
+of War, covering a copy of the proceedings of a board of officers in
+relation to brevet appointments in the Regular Army, requested in the
+Senate's resolution of the 18th April, 1866.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 23, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention which was signed at Tangier on the 31st of
+May last between the United States and other powers on the one part and
+the Sultan of Morocco on the other part, concerning the administration
+and maintenance of a light-house on Cape Spartel.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 23, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 16th
+instant, requesting information relative to the proposed evacuation of
+Mexico by French military forces, I transmit a report from the Secretary
+of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., April 24, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I submit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, the accompanying
+communication from the Secretary of the Interior, in relation to the
+Union Pacific Railroad Company, eastern division.
+
+It appears that the company were required to complete 100 miles of
+their road within three years after their acceptance of the conditions
+of the original act of Congress. This period expired December 22, 1865.
+Sixty-two miles had been previously accepted by the Government. Since
+that date an additional section of 23 miles has been completed.
+Commissioners appointed for that purpose have examined and reported
+upon it, and an application has been made for its acceptance.
+
+The failure to complete 100 miles of road within the period prescribed
+renders it questionable whether the executive officers of the Government
+are authorized to issue the bonds and patents to which the company would
+be entitled if this as well as the other requirements of the act had
+been faithfully observed.
+
+This failure may to some extent be ascribed to the financial condition
+of the country incident to the recent civil war. As the company appear
+to be engaged in the energetic prosecution of their work and manifest a
+disposition to comply with the conditions of the grant, I recommend that
+the time for the completion of this part of the road be extended and
+that authority be given for the issue of bonds and patents on account of
+the section now offered for acceptance notwithstanding such failure,
+should the company in other respects be thereunto entitled.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _April 28, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a
+treaty this day concluded with the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations of
+Indians.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 30, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 25th
+instant, requesting information in regard to the rebel debt known as the
+cotton loan, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom
+the resolution was referred.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 2, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 23d
+ultimo, I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, from which it
+will be perceived that it is not deemed compatible with the public
+interests to communicate to the House the report made by General Smith
+and the Hon. James T. Brady of their investigations at New Orleans, La.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 4, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 5th
+of March, 1866, requesting the names of persons worth more than $20,000
+to whom special pardons have been issued, and a statement of the amount
+of property which has been seized as belonging to the enemies of the
+Government, or as abandoned property, and returned to those who claimed
+to be the original owners, I transmit herewith reports from the
+Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of
+War, and the Attorney-General, together with a copy of the amnesty
+proclamation of the 29th of May, 1865, and a copy of the warrants issued
+in cases in which special pardons are granted. The second, third, and
+fourth conditions of the warrant prescribe the terms, so far as property
+is concerned, upon which all such pardons are granted and accepted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 4, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+Referring to my message of the 12th of March last, communicating
+information in regard to a proposed exposition of fishery and water
+culture at Arcachon, in France, I communicate a copy of another dispatch
+from the minister of the United States in Paris to the Secretary of
+State, and again invite the attention of Congress to the subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 7, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 19th ultimo,
+I transmit herewith a report from Benjamin C. Truman, relative to the
+condition of the Southern people and the States in which the rebellion
+existed.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 9, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a copy of a correspondence between the Secretary
+of State and the acting charge d'affaires of the United States at
+Guayaquil, in the Republic of Ecuador, from which it appears that the
+Government of that Republic has failed to pay the first installment of
+the award of the commissioners under the convention between the United
+States and Ecuador of the 25th November, 1862, which installment was due
+on the 17th of February last.
+
+As debts of this character from one government to another are justly
+regarded as of a peculiarly sacred character, and as further diplomatic
+measures are not in this instance likely to be successful, the
+expediency of authorizing other proceedings in case they should
+ultimately prove to be indispensable is submitted to your consideration.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 10, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, in
+answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 3d
+instant, requesting information concerning discriminations made by the
+so-called Maximilian Government of Mexico against American commerce,
+or against commerce from particular American ports.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 11, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to that part
+of the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 7th instant
+which calls for information in regard to the clerks employed in the
+Department of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 16, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a copy of the correspondence between the
+Secretary of State and Cornelius Vanderbilt, of New York, relative to
+the joint resolution of the 28th of January, 1864, upon the subject of
+the gift of the steamer _Vanderbilt_ to the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, May 7, 1866_.
+
+Hon. SCHUYLER COLFAX,
+
+_Speaker of the House of Representatives_.
+
+SIR: I have the honor to submit herewith a communication of the
+Secretary of War, inclosing one from the Lieutenant-General, relative
+to the necessity for legislation upon the subject of the Army.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 17, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In further response to the resolution of the House of Representatives of
+the 7th instant, calling for information in regard to clerks employed in
+the several Executive Departments, I transmit herewith reports from the
+Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of the Interior and the
+Postmaster-General.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 22, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, made in
+compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+7th instant, calling for information in respect to clerks employed in
+the several Executive Departments of the Government.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 22, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 27th
+ultimo, requesting a collation of the provisions in reference to
+freedmen contained in the amended constitutions of the Southern States
+and in the laws of those States passed since the suppression of the
+rebellion, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the
+resolution was referred.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 24, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Postmaster-General, made in answer
+to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 14th instant,
+calling for information relative to the proposed mail steamship service
+between the United States and Brazil.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 25, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+21st instant, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War,
+with the accompanying papers, in reference to the operations of the
+Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 30, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+With sincere regret I announce to Congress that Winfield Scott, late
+Lieutenant-General in the Army of the United States, departed this life
+at West Point, in the State of New York, on the 29th day of May instant,
+at 11 o'clock in the forenoon. I feel well assured that Congress will
+share in the grief of the nation which must result from its bereavement
+of a citizen whose high fame is identified with the military history of
+the Republic.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 30, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a communication from the Secretary of War, covering a
+supplemental report to that already made to the House of
+Representatives, in answer to its resolution of the 21st instant,
+requesting the reports of General Steedman and others in reference to
+the operations of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 5, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention between the United States and the Republic of
+Venezuela on the subject of the claims of citizens of the United States
+upon the Government of that Republic, which convention was signed by the
+plenipotentiaries of the parties at the city of Caracas on the 25th of
+April last.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 9, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Acting Secretary of the Interior,
+communicating the information requested by a resolution of the House of
+Representatives of the 21st ultimo, in relation to the removal of the
+Sioux Indians of Minnesota and the provisions made for their
+accommodation in the Territory of Nebraska.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 9, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with a call of the Senate, as expressed in a resolution
+adopted on the 6th instant, I transmit a copy of the report of the Board
+of Visitors to the United States Naval Academy for the year 1866.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 11, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 10th
+ultimo, calling for information relative to the claims of citizens of
+the United States against the Republic of Venezuela, I transmit a report
+from the Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 11, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+It is proper that I should inform Congress that a copy of an act of the
+legislature of Georgia of the 10th of March last has been officially
+communicated to me, by which that State accepts the donation of lands
+for the benefit of colleges for agriculture and the mechanic arts, which
+donation was provided for by the acts of Congress of the 2d of July,
+1862, and 14th of April, 1864.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 11, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I communicate and invite the attention of Congress to a copy of joint
+resolutions of the senate and house of representatives of the State
+of Georgia, requesting a suspension of the collection of the
+internal-revenue tax due from that State pursuant to the act of Congress
+of the 5th of August, 1861.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 13, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 11th
+instant, requesting information concerning the provisions of the laws
+and ordinances of the late insurgent States on the subject of the rebel
+debt, so called, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the
+document by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 14, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 28th
+of May, requesting information as to what progress has been made in
+completing the maps connected with the boundary survey under the treaty
+of Washington, with copies of any correspondence on this subject not
+heretofore printed, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State
+and the documents which accompanied it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 15, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 13th instant,
+calling for information in regard to the departure of troops from
+Austria to Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and
+the documents by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 16, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I communicate herewith a report from the Acting Secretary of the
+Interior, furnishing, as requested by a resolution of the Senate of the
+25th ultimo, information touching the transactions of the executive
+branch of the Government respecting the transportation, settlement,
+and colonization of persons of the African race.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 18, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In reply to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 11th
+instant, requesting information in regard to the dispatch of military
+forces from Austria for service in Mexico, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State on the subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+21st ultimo, requesting information as to the collection of the direct
+tax in the States whose inhabitants participated in the rebellion, I
+transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, accompanied
+by a report from the Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 22, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I submit to Congress a report of the Secretary of State, to whom was
+referred the concurrent resolution of the 18th instant, respecting a
+submission to the legislatures of the States of an additional article to
+the Constitution of the United States. It will be seen from this report
+that the Secretary of State had, on the 16th instant, transmitted to the
+governors of the several States certified copies of the joint resolution
+passed on the 13th instant, proposing an amendment to the Constitution.
+
+Even in ordinary times any question of amending the Constitution must be
+justly regarded as of paramount importance. This importance is at the
+present time enhanced by the fact that the joint resolution was not
+submitted by the two Houses for the approval of the President and that
+of the thirty-six States which constitute the Union eleven are excluded
+from representation in either House of Congress, although, with the
+single exception of Texas, they have been entirely restored to all their
+functions as States in conformity with the organic law of the land, and
+have appeared at the national capital by Senators and Representatives,
+who have applied for and have been refused admission to the vacant
+seats. Nor have the sovereign people of the nation been afforded an
+opportunity of expressing their views upon the important questions which
+the amendment involves. Grave doubts, therefore, may naturally and
+justly arise as to whether the action of Congress is in harmony with
+the sentiments of the people, and whether State legislatures, elected
+without reference to such an issue, should be called upon by Congress
+to decide respecting the ratification of the proposed amendment.
+
+Waiving the question as to the constitutional validity of the
+proceedings of Congress upon the joint resolution proposing the
+amendment or as to the merits of the article which it submits through
+the executive department to the legislatures of the States, I deem it
+proper to observe that the steps taken by the Secretary of State, as
+detailed in the accompanying report, are to be considered as purely
+ministerial, and in no sense whatever committing the Executive to an
+approval or a recommendation of the amendment to the State legislatures
+or to the people. On the contrary, a proper appreciation of the letter
+and spirit of the Constitution, as well as of the interests of national
+order, harmony, and union, and a due deference for an enlightened public
+judgment may at this time well suggest a doubt whether any amendment to
+the Constitution ought to be proposed by Congress and pressed upon the
+legislatures of the several States for final decision until after the
+admission of such loyal Senators and Representatives of the now
+unrepresented States as have been or as may hereafter be chosen in
+conformity with the Constitution and laws of the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 22, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+In further answer to recent resolutions of the Senate and House of
+Representatives, requesting information in regard to the employment of
+European troops in Mexico, I transmit to Congress a copy of a dispatch
+of the 4th of this month addressed to the Secretary of State by the
+minister of the United States at Paris.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 22, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+18th instant, calling for information in regard to the arrest and
+imprisonment in Ireland of American citizens, I transmit herewith
+a report from the Secretary of State on the subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, _June 23, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Interior,
+communicating in part the information requested by a resolution of the
+House of Representatives of the 23d of April last, in relation to
+appropriations and expenditures connected with the Indian service.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 28, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Navy and the
+accompanying copy of a report and maps prepared by a board of examiners
+appointed under authority of the joint resolution approved June 1, 1866,
+"to examine a site for a fresh-water basin for ironclad vessels of the
+United States Navy."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 28, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith reports from the heads of the several Executive
+Departments, made in answer to the resolution of the House of
+Representatives of the 4th instant, requesting information as to whether
+any of the civil or military employees of the Government have assisted
+in the rendition of public honors to the rebel living or dead.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 7, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+The accompanying report of the Secretary of the Treasury is transmitted
+to the Senate in compliance with its resolution of the 20th ultimo,
+calling for a statement of the expenditures of the United States for the
+various public works of the Government in each State and Territory of
+the Union and in the District of Columbia from the year 1860 to the
+close of the year 1865.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 7, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a
+treaty concluded with the Seminole Nation of Indians on the 21st day of
+March, 1866, together with the accompanying communications from the
+Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 7, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a
+treaty concluded with the Creek Nation of Indians on the 14th day of
+June, 1866, together with the accompanying communications from the
+Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 17, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of yesterday,
+requesting information relative to proposed international movements in
+connection with the Paris Universal Exposition for the reform of systems
+of coinage, weights, and measures, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 17, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I herewith transmit to Congress a report, dated 12th 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.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for the constitutional action of the Senate, certain
+articles of agreement made at the Delaware Agency, Kans., on the 4th
+instant between the United States and the Delaware Indians.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate_:
+
+I herewith submit, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a treaty
+negotiated at the city of Washington, D.C., on the 19th instant, between
+the United States, represented by Dennis N. Cooley, Commissioner of
+Indian Affairs, and Elijah Sells, superintendent of Indian affairs for
+the southern superintendency, and the Cherokee Nation of Indians;
+represented by its delegates, James McDaniel, Smith Christie, White
+Catcher, L.H. Benge, J.B. Jones, and Daniel H. Ross.
+
+The distracted condition of the Cherokee Nation and the peculiar
+relation of many of its members to this Government during the rebellion
+presented almost insuperable difficulties to treating with them. The
+treaty now submitted is a result of protracted negotiations. Its
+stipulations are, it is believed, as satisfactory to the contracting
+parties and furnish as just provisions for the welfare of the Indians
+and as strong guaranties for the maintenance of peaceful relations with
+them as under the circumstances could be expected.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 24, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I hereby transmit, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a treaty
+concluded on the 15th of November, 1865, between the United States and
+the confederate tribes and bands of Indians of middle Oregon, the same
+being amendatory and supplemental to the treaty with said Indians of the
+25th of June, 1855.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 24, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+The following "Joint resolution, restoring Tennessee to her relations in
+the Union," was last evening presented for my approval:
+
+Whereas in the year 1861 the government of the State of Tennessee was
+seized upon and taken possession of by persons in hostility to the
+United States, and the inhabitants of said State, in pursuance of an act
+of Congress, were declared to be in a state of insurrection against the
+United States; and
+
+Whereas said State government can only be restored to its former
+political relations in the Union by the consent of the lawmaking power
+of the United States; and
+
+Whereas the people of said State did, on the 22d day of February, 1865,
+by a large popular vote, adopt and ratify a constitution of government
+whereby slavery was abolished and all ordinances and laws of secession
+and debts contracted under the same were declared void; and
+
+Whereas a State government has been organized under said constitution
+which has ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the United
+States abolishing slavery, also the amendment proposed by the
+Thirty-ninth Congress, and has done other acts proclaiming and denoting
+loyalty: Therefore,
+
+_Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
+States in Congress assembled_, That the State of Tennessee is hereby
+restored to her former proper practical relations to the Union, and is
+again entitled to be represented by Senators and Representatives in
+Congress.
+
+The preamble simply consists of statements, some of which are assumed,
+while the resolution is merely a declaration of opinion. It comprises no
+legislation, nor does it confer any power which is binding upon the
+respective Houses, the Executive, or the States. It does not admit to
+their seats in Congress the Senators and Representatives from the State
+of Tennessee, for, notwithstanding the passage of the resolution, each
+House, in the exercise of the constitutional right to judge for itself
+of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its members, may, at
+its discretion, admit them or continue to exclude them. If a joint
+resolution of this kind were necessary and binding as a condition
+precedent to the admission of members of Congress, it would happen, in
+the event of a veto by the Executive, that Senators and Representatives
+could only be admitted to the halls of legislation by a two-thirds vote
+of each of the Houses.
+
+Among other reasons recited in the preamble for the declaration
+contained in the resolution is the ratification by the State government
+of Tennessee of "the amendment to the Constitution of the United States
+abolishing slavery, also the amendment proposed by the Thirty-ninth
+Congress." If, as is also declared in the preamble, "said State
+government can only be restored to its former political relations in the
+Union by the consent of the lawmaking power of the United States," it
+would really seem to follow that the joint resolution which at this late
+day has received the sanction of Congress should have been passed,
+approved, and placed on the statute books before any amendment to the
+Constitution was submitted to the legislature of Tennessee for
+ratification. Otherwise the inference is plainly deducible that while,
+in the opinion of Congress, the people of a State may be too strongly
+disloyal to be entitled to representation, they may nevertheless, during
+the suspension of their "former proper practical relations to the
+Union," have an equally potent voice with other and loyal States in
+propositions to amend the Constitution, upon which so essentially depend
+the stability, prosperity, and very existence of the nation.
+
+A brief reference to my annual message of the 4th of December last will
+show the steps taken by the Executive for the restoration to their
+constitutional relations to the Union of the States that had been
+affected by the rebellion. Upon the cessation of active hostilities
+provisional governors were appointed, conventions called, governors
+elected by the people, legislatures assembled, and Senators and
+Representatives chosen to the Congress of the United States. At the same
+time the courts of the United States were reopened, the blockade
+removed, the custom-houses reestablished, and postal operations resumed.
+The amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery forever within the
+limits of the country was also submitted to the States, and they were
+thus invited to and did participate in its ratification, thus exercising
+the highest functions pertaining to a State. In addition nearly all of
+these States, through their conventions and legislatures, had adopted
+and ratified constitutions "of government whereby slavery was abolished
+and all ordinances and laws of secession and debts contracted under the
+same were declared void." So far, then, the political existence of the
+States and their relations to the Federal Government had been fully and
+completely recognized and acknowledged by the executive department of
+the Government; and the completion of the work of restoration, which had
+progressed so favorably, was submitted to Congress, upon which devolved
+all questions pertaining to the admission to their seats of the Senators
+and Representatives chosen from the States whose people had engaged in
+the rebellion.
+
+All these steps had been taken when, on the 4th day of December, 1865,
+the Thirty-ninth Congress assembled. Nearly eight months have elapsed
+since that time; and no other plan of restoration having been proposed
+by Congress for the measures instituted by the Executive, it is now
+declared, in the joint resolution submitted for my approval, "that the
+State of Tennessee is hereby restored to her former proper practical
+relations to the Union, and is again entitled to be represented by
+Senators and Representatives in Congress." Thus, after the lapse of
+nearly eight months, Congress proposes to pave the way to the admission
+to representation of one of the eleven States whose people arrayed
+themselves in rebellion against the constitutional authority of the
+Federal Government.
+
+Earnestly desiring to remove every cause of further delay, whether real
+or imaginary, on the part of Congress to the admission to seats of loyal
+Senators and Representatives from the State of Tennessee, I have,
+notwithstanding the anomalous character of this proceeding, affixed
+my signature to the resolution. My approval, however, is not to be
+construed as an acknowledgment of the right of Congress to pass laws
+preliminary to the admission of duly qualified Representatives from any
+of the States. Neither is it to be considered as committing me to all
+the statements made in the preamble, some of which are, in my opinion,
+without foundation in fact, especially the assertion that the State of
+Tennessee has ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the United
+States proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress. No official notice of such
+ratification has been received by the Executive or filed in the
+Department of State; on the contrary, unofficial information from the
+most reliable sources induces the belief that the amendment has not yet
+been constitutionally sanctioned by the legislature of Tennessee. The
+right of each House under the Constitution to judge of the elections,
+returns, and qualifications of its own members is undoubted, and my
+approval or disapproval of the resolution could not in the slightest
+degree increase or diminish the authority in this respect conferred
+upon the two branches of Congress.
+
+In conclusion I can not too earnestly repeat my recommendation for the
+admission of Tennessee, and all other States, to a fair and equal
+participation in national legislation when they present themselves in
+the persons of loyal Senators and Representatives who can comply with
+all the requirements of the Constitution and the laws. By this means
+harmony and reconciliation will be effected, the practical relations of
+all the States to the Federal Government reestablished, and the work of
+restoration, inaugurated upon the termination of the war, successfully
+completed.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 25, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I nominate Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant to be General of the Army
+of the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 26, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to two resolutions of the House of Representatives of the 23d
+instant, in the following words, respectively--
+
+  _Resolved_, That the House of Representatives respectfully request the
+  President of the United States to urge upon the Canadian authorities,
+  and also the British Government, the release of the Fenian prisoners
+  recently captured in Canada;
+
+  _Resolved_, That this House respectfully request the President to cause
+  the prosecutions instituted in the United States courts against the
+  Fenians to be discontinued, if compatible with the public interest--
+
+
+I transmit a report on the subject from the Secretary of State, together
+with the documents which accompany it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+VETO MESSAGES.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 19, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I have examined with care the bill, which originated in the Senate and
+has been passed by the two Houses of Congress, to amend an act entitled
+"An act to establish a bureau for the relief of freedmen and refugees,"
+and for other purposes. Having with much regret come to the conclusion
+that it would not be consistent with the public welfare to give my
+approval to the measure, I return the bill to the Senate with my
+objections to its becoming a law.
+
+I might call to mind in advance of these objections that there is no
+immediate necessity for the proposed measure. The act to establish a
+bureau for the relief of freedmen and refugees, which was approved in
+the month of March last, has not yet expired. It was thought stringent
+and extensive enough for the purpose in view in time of war. Before it
+ceases to have effect further experience may assist to guide us to a
+wise conclusion as to the policy to be adopted in time of peace.
+
+I share with Congress the strongest desire to secure to the freedmen
+the full enjoyment of their freedom and property and their entire
+independence and equality in making contracts for their labor, but the
+bill before me contains provisions which in my opinion are not warranted
+by the Constitution and are not well suited to accomplish the end in
+view.
+
+The bill proposes to establish by authority of Congress military
+jurisdiction over all parts of the United States containing refugees and
+freedmen. It would by its very nature apply with most force to those
+parts of the United States in which the freedmen most abound, and it
+expressly extends the existing temporary jurisdiction of the Freedmen's
+Bureau, with greatly enlarged powers, over those States "in which the
+ordinary course of judicial proceedings has been interrupted by the
+rebellion." The source from which this military jurisdiction is to
+emanate is none other than the President of the United States, acting
+through the War Department and the Commissioner of the Freedmen's
+Bureau. The agents to carry out this military jurisdiction are to be
+selected either from the Army or from civil life; the country is to be
+divided into districts and subdistricts, and the number of salaried
+agents to be employed may be equal to the number of counties or parishes
+in all the United States where freedmen and refugees are to be found.
+
+The subjects over which this military jurisdiction is to extend in every
+part of the United States include protection to "all employees, agents,
+and officers of this bureau in the exercise of the duties imposed" upon
+them by the bill. In eleven States it is further to extend over all
+cases affecting freedmen and refugees discriminated against "by local
+law, custom, or prejudice." In those eleven States the bill subjects any
+white person who may be charged with depriving a freedman of "any civil
+rights or immunities belonging to white persons" to imprisonment or
+fine, or both, without, however, defining the "civil rights and
+immunities" which are thus to be secured to the freedmen by military
+law. This military jurisdiction also extends to all questions that may
+arise respecting contracts. The agent who is thus to exercise the office
+of a military judge may be a stranger, entirely ignorant of the laws of
+the place, and exposed to the errors of judgment to which all men are
+liable. The exercise of power over which there is no legal supervision
+by so vast a number of agents as is contemplated by the bill must, by
+the very nature of man, be attended by acts of caprice, injustice, and
+passion.
+
+The trials having their origin under this bill are to take place without
+the intervention of a jury and without any fixed rules of law or
+evidence. The rules on which offenses are to be "heard and determined"
+by the numerous agents are such rules and regulations as the President,
+through the War Department, shall prescribe. No previous presentment is
+required nor any indictment charging the commission of a crime against
+the laws; but the trial must proceed on charges and specifications. The
+punishment will be, not what the law declares, but such as a
+court-martial may think proper; and from these arbitrary tribunals there
+lies no appeal, no writ of error to any of the courts in which the
+Constitution of the United States vests exclusively the judicial power
+of the country.
+
+While the territory and the classes of actions and offenses that are
+made subject to this measure are so extensive, the bill itself, should
+it become a law, will have no limitation in point of time, but will form
+a part of the permanent legislation of the country. I can not reconcile
+a system of military jurisdiction of this kind with the words of the
+Constitution which declare that "no person shall be held to answer
+for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or
+indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval
+forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or
+public danger," and that "in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall
+enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the
+State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed." The
+safeguards which the experience and wisdom of ages taught our fathers
+to establish as securities for the protection of the innocent, the
+punishment of the guilty, and the equal administration of justice are
+to be set aside, and for the sake of a more vigorous interposition in
+behalf of justice we are to take the risks of the many acts of injustice
+that would necessarily follow from an almost countless number of agents
+established in every parish or county in nearly a third of the States of
+the Union, over whose decisions there is to be no supervision or control
+by the Federal courts. The power that would be thus placed in the hands
+of the President is such as in time of peace certainly ought never to be
+intrusted to any one man.
+
+If it be asked whether the creation of such a tribunal within a State is
+warranted as a measure of war, the question immediately presents itself
+whether we are still engaged in war. Let us not unnecessarily disturb
+the commerce and credit and industry of the country by declaring to the
+American people and to the world that the United States are still in a
+condition of civil war. At present there is no part of our country in
+which the authority of the United States is disputed. Offenses that may
+be committed by individuals should not work a forfeiture of the rights
+of whole communities. The country has returned, or is returning, to a
+state of peace and industry, and the rebellion is in fact at an end.
+The measure, therefore, seems to be as inconsistent with the actual
+condition of the country as it is at variance with the Constitution of
+the United States.
+
+If, passing from general considerations, we examine the bill in detail,
+it is open to weighty objections.
+
+In time of war it was eminently proper that we should provide for
+those who were passing suddenly from a condition of bondage to a state
+of freedom. But this bill proposes to make the Freedmen's Bureau,
+established by the act of 1865 as one of many great and extraordinary
+military measures to suppress a formidable rebellion, a permanent branch
+of the public administration, with its powers greatly enlarged. I have
+no reason to suppose, and I do not understand it to be alleged, that
+the act of March, 1865, has proved deficient for the purpose for which
+it was passed, although at that time and for a considerable period
+thereafter the Government of the United States remained unacknowledged
+in most of the States whose inhabitants had been involved in the
+rebellion. The institution of slavery, for the military destruction of
+which the Freedmen's Bureau was called into existence as an auxiliary,
+has been already effectually and finally abrogated throughout the whole
+country by an amendment of the Constitution of the United States, and
+practically its eradication has received the assent and concurrence of
+most of those States in which it at any time had an existence. I am not,
+therefore, able to discern in the condition of the country anything to
+justify an apprehension that the powers and agencies of the Freedmen's
+Bureau, which were effective for the protection of freedmen and refugees
+during the actual continuance of hostilities and of African servitude,
+will now, in a time of peace and after the abolition of slavery, prove
+inadequate to the same proper ends. If I am correct in these views,
+there can be no necessity for the enlargement of the powers of the
+Bureau, for which provision is made in the bill.
+
+The third section of the bill authorizes a general and unlimited grant
+of support to the destitute and suffering refugees and freedmen, their
+wives and children. Succeeding sections make provision for the rent or
+purchase of landed estates for freedmen, and for the erection for their
+benefit of suitable buildings for asylums and schools, the expenses to
+be defrayed from the Treasury of the whole people. The Congress of the
+United States has never heretofore thought itself empowered to establish
+asylums beyond the limits of the District of Columbia, except for the
+benefit of our disabled soldiers and sailors. It has never founded
+schools for any class of our own people, not even for the orphans of
+those who have fallen in the defense of the Union, but has left the care
+of education to the much more competent and efficient control of the
+States, of communities, of private associations, and of individuals.
+It has never deemed itself authorized to expend the public money for
+the rent or purchase of homes for the thousands, not to say millions,
+of the white race who are honestly toiling from day to day for their
+subsistence. A system for the support of indigent persons in the United
+States was never contemplated by the authors of the Constitution; nor
+can any good reason be advanced why, as a permanent establishment,
+it should be founded for one class or color of our people more than
+another. Pending the war many refugees and freedmen received support
+from the Government, but it was never intended that they should
+thenceforth be fed, clothed, educated, and sheltered by the United
+States. The idea on which the slaves were assisted to freedom was that
+on becoming free they would be a self-sustaining population. Any
+legislation that shall imply that they are not expected to attain a
+self-sustaining condition must have a tendency injurious alike to their
+character and their prospects.
+
+The appointment of an agent for every county and parish will create an
+immense patronage, and the expense of the numerous officers and their
+clerks, to be appointed by the President, will be great in the
+beginning, with a tendency steadily to increase. The appropriations
+asked by the Freedmen's Bureau as now established, for the year 1866,
+amount to $11,745,000. It may be safely estimated that the cost to be
+incurred under the pending bill will require double that amount--more
+than the entire sum expended in any one year under the Administration of
+the second Adams. If the presence of agents in every parish and county
+is to be considered as a war measure, opposition, or even resistance,
+might be provoked; so that to give effect to their jurisdiction troops
+would have to be stationed within reach of every one of them, and thus a
+large standing force be rendered necessary. Large appropriations would
+therefore be required to sustain and enforce military jurisdiction in
+every county or parish from the Potomac to the Rio Grande. The condition
+of our fiscal affairs is encouraging, but in order to sustain the
+present measure of public confidence it is necessary that we practice
+not merely customary economy, but, as far as possible, severe
+retrenchment.
+
+In addition to the objections already stated, the fifth section of the
+bill proposes to take away land from its former owners without any
+legal proceedings being first had, contrary to that provision of the
+Constitution which declares that no person shall "be deprived of life,
+liberty, or property without due process of law." It does not appear
+that a part of the lands to which this section refers may not be owned
+by minors or persons of unsound mind, or by those who have been faithful
+to all their obligations as citizens of the United States. If any
+portion of the land is held by such persons, it is not competent for
+any authority to deprive them of it. If, on the other hand, it be found
+that the property is liable to confiscation, even then it can not be
+appropriated to public purposes until by due process of law it shall
+have been declared forfeited to the Government.
+
+There is still further objection to the bill, on grounds seriously
+affecting the class of persons to whom it is designed to bring relief.
+It will tend to keep the mind of the freedman in a state of uncertain
+expectation and restlessness, while to those among whom he lives it will
+be a source of constant and vague apprehension.
+
+Undoubtedly the freedman should be protected, but he should be protected
+by the civil authorities, especially by the exercise of all the
+constitutional powers of the courts of the United States and of the
+States. His condition is not so exposed as may at first be imagined.
+He is in a portion of the country where his labor can not well be
+spared. Competition for his services from planters, from those who
+are constructing or repairing railroads, and from capitalists in his
+vicinage or from other States will enable him to command almost his own
+terms. He also possesses a perfect right to change his place of abode,
+and if, therefore, he does not find in one community or State a mode of
+life suited to his desires or proper remuneration for his labor, he can
+move to another where that labor is more esteemed and better rewarded.
+In truth, however, each State, induced by its own wants and interests,
+will do what is necessary and proper to retain within its borders all
+the labor that is needed for the development of its resources. The laws
+that regulate supply and demand will maintain their force, and the wages
+of the laborer will be regulated thereby. There is no danger that the
+exceedingly great demand for labor will not operate in favor of the
+laborer.
+
+Neither is sufficient consideration given to the ability of the freedmen
+to protect and take care of themselves. It is no more than justice to
+them to believe that as they have received their freedom with moderation
+and forbearance, so they will distinguish themselves by their industry
+and thrift, and soon show the world that in a condition of freedom they
+are self-sustaining, capable of selecting their own employment and
+their own places of abode, of insisting for themselves on a proper
+remuneration, and of establishing and maintaining their own asylums and
+schools. It is earnestly hoped that instead of wasting away they will by
+their own efforts establish for themselves a condition of respectability
+and prosperity. It is certain that they can attain to that condition
+only through their own merits and exertions.
+
+In this connection the query presents itself whether the system proposed
+by the bill will not, when put into complete operation, practically
+transfer the entire care, support, and control of 4,000,000 emancipated
+slaves to agents, overseers, or taskmasters, who, appointed at
+Washington, are to be located in every county and parish throughout the
+United States containing freedmen and refugees. Such a system would
+inevitably tend to a concentration of power in the Executive which would
+enable him, if so disposed, to control the action of this numerous class
+and use them for the attainment of his own political ends.
+
+I can not but add another very grave objection to this bill. The
+Constitution imperatively declares, in connection with taxation, that
+each State _shall_ have at least one Representative, and fixes the rule
+for the number to which, in future times, each State shall be entitled.
+It also provides that the Senate of the United States _shall_ be
+composed of two Senators from each State, and adds with peculiar force
+"that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal
+suffrage in the Senate." The original act was necessarily passed in the
+absence of the States chiefly to be affected, because their people were
+then contumaciously engaged in the rebellion. Now the case is changed,
+and some, at least, of those States are attending Congress by loyal
+representatives, soliciting the allowance of the constitutional right
+for representation. At the time, however, of the consideration and the
+passing of this bill there was no Senator or Representative in Congress
+from the eleven States which are to be mainly affected by its
+provisions. The very fact that reports were and are made against the
+good disposition of the people of that portion of the country is an
+additional reason why they need and should have representatives of their
+own in Congress to explain their condition, reply to accusations,
+and assist by their local knowledge in the perfecting of measures
+immediately affecting themselves. While the liberty of deliberation
+would then be free and Congress would have full power to decide
+according to its judgment, there could be no objection urged that the
+States most interested had not been permitted to be heard. The principle
+is firmly fixed in the minds of the American people that there should be
+no taxation without representation. Great burdens have now to be borne
+by all the country, and we may best demand that they shall be borne
+without murmur when they are voted by a majority of the representatives
+of all the people. I would not interfere with the unquestionable right
+of Congress to judge, each House for itself, "of the elections, returns,
+and qualifications of its own members;" but that authority can not be
+construed as including the right to shut out in time of peace any State
+from the representation to which it is entitled by the Constitution.
+At present all the people of eleven States are excluded--those who
+were most faithful during the war not less than others. The State of
+Tennessee, for instance, whose authorities engaged in rebellion, was
+restored to all her constitutional relations to the Union by the
+patriotism and energy of her injured and betrayed people. Before the war
+was brought to a termination they had placed themselves in relations
+with the General Government, had established a State government of their
+own, and, as they were not included in the emancipation proclamation,
+they by their own act had amended their constitution so as to abolish
+slavery within the limits of their State. I know no reason why the State
+of Tennessee, for example, should not fully enjoy "all her
+constitutional relations to the United States."
+
+The President of the United States stands toward the country in
+a somewhat different attitude from that of any member of Congress.
+Each member of Congress is chosen from a single district or State;
+the President is chosen by the people of all the States. As eleven
+States are not at this time represented in either branch of Congress, it
+would seem to be his duty on all proper occasions to present their just
+claims to Congress. There always will be differences of opinion in the
+community, and individuals may be guilty of transgressions of the law,
+but these do not constitute valid objections against the right of a
+State to representation. I would in no wise interfere with the
+discretion of Congress with regard to the qualifications of members; but
+I hold it my duty to recommend to you, in the interests of peace and the
+interests of union, the admission of every State to its share in public
+legislation when, however insubordinate, insurgent, or rebellious its
+people may have been, it presents itself, not only in an attitude of
+loyalty and harmony, but in the persons of representatives whose loyalty
+can not be questioned under any existing constitutional or legal test.
+It is plain that an indefinite or permanent exclusion of any part of the
+country from representation must be attended by a spirit of disquiet and
+complaint. It is unwise and dangerous to pursue a course of measures
+which will unite a very large section of the country against another
+section of the country, however much the latter may preponderate. The
+course of emigration, the development of industry and business, and
+natural causes will raise up at the South men as devoted to the Union as
+those of any other part of the land; but if they are all excluded from
+Congress, if in a permanent statute they are declared not to be in full
+constitutional relations to the country, they may think they have cause
+to become a unit in feeling and sentiment against the Government. Under
+the political education of the American people the idea is inherent and
+ineradicable that the consent of the majority of the whole people is
+necessary to secure a willing acquiescence in legislation.
+
+The bill under consideration refers to certain of the States as though
+they had not "been fully restored in all their constitutional relations
+to the United States." If they have not, let us at once act together to
+secure that desirable end at the earliest possible moment. It is hardly
+necessary for me to inform Congress that in my own judgment most of
+those States, so far, at least, as depends upon their own action, have
+already been fully restored, and are to be deemed as entitled to enjoy
+their constitutional rights as members of the Union. Reasoning from the
+Constitution itself and from the actual situation of the country, I feel
+not only entitled but bound to assume that with the Federal courts
+restored and those of the several States in the full exercise of their
+functions the rights and interests of all classes of people will,
+with the aid of the military in cases of resistance to the laws,
+be essentially protected against unconstitutional infringement or
+violation. Should this expectation unhappily fail, which I do not
+anticipate, then the Executive is already fully armed with the powers
+conferred by the act of March, 1865, establishing the Freedmen's Bureau,
+and hereafter, as heretofore, he can employ the land and naval forces of
+the country to suppress insurrection or to overcome obstructions to the
+laws.
+
+In accordance with the Constitution, I return the bill to the Senate,
+in the earnest hope that a measure involving questions and interests so
+important to the country will not become a law, unless upon deliberate
+consideration by the people it shall receive the sanction of an
+enlightened public judgment.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 27, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I regret that the bill, which has passed both Houses of Congress,
+entitled "An act to protect all persons in the United States in their
+civil rights and furnish the means of their vindication," contains
+provisions which I can not approve consistently with my sense of duty to
+the whole people and my obligations to the Constitution of the United
+States. I am therefore constrained to return it to the Senate, the House
+in which it originated, with my objections to its becoming a law.
+
+By the first section of the bill all persons born in the United States
+and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are
+declared to be citizens of the United States. This provision comprehends
+the Chinese of the Pacific States, Indians subject to taxation, the
+people called gypsies, as well as the entire race designated as blacks,
+people of color, negroes, mulattoes, and persons of African blood. Every
+individual of these races born in the United States is by the bill made
+a citizen of the United States. It does not purport to declare or confer
+any other right of citizenship than Federal citizenship. It does not
+purport to give these classes of persons any status as citizens of
+States, except that which may result from their status as citizens of
+the United States. The power to confer the right of State citizenship is
+just as exclusively with the several States as the power to confer the
+right of Federal citizenship is with Congress.
+
+The right of Federal citizenship thus to be conferred on the several
+excepted races before mentioned is now for the first time proposed to be
+given by law. If, as is claimed by many, all persons who are native born
+already are, by virtue of the Constitution, citizens of the United
+States, the passage of the pending bill can not be necessary to make
+them such. If, on the other hand, such persons are not citizens, as may
+be assumed from the proposed legislation to make them such, the grave
+question presents itself whether, when eleven of the thirty-six States
+are unrepresented in Congress at the present time, it is sound policy
+to make our entire colored population and all other excepted classes
+citizens of the United States. Four millions of them have just emerged
+from slavery into freedom. Can it be reasonably supposed that they
+possess the requisite qualifications to entitle them to all the
+privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States? Have the
+people of the several States expressed such a conviction? It may also be
+asked whether it is necessary that they should be declared citizens in
+order that they may be secured in the enjoyment of the civil rights
+proposed to be conferred by the bill. Those rights are, by Federal as
+well as State laws, secured to all domiciled aliens and foreigners, even
+before the completion of the process of naturalization; and it may
+safely be assumed that the same enactments are sufficient to give like
+protection and benefits to those for whom this bill provides special
+legislation. Besides, the policy of the Government from its origin to
+the present time seems to have been that persons who are strangers to
+and unfamiliar with our institutions and our laws should pass through
+a certain probation, at the end of which, before attaining the coveted
+prize, they must give evidence of their fitness to receive and to
+exercise the rights of citizens as contemplated by the Constitution of
+the United States. The bill in effect proposes a discrimination against
+large numbers of intelligent, worthy, and patriotic foreigners, and in
+favor of the negro, to whom, after long years of bondage, the avenues to
+freedom and intelligence have just now been suddenly opened. He must of
+necessity, from his previous unfortunate condition of servitude, be less
+informed as to the nature and character of our institutions than he who,
+coming from abroad, has, to some extent at least, familiarized himself
+with the principles of a Government to which he voluntarily intrusts
+"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Yet it is now proposed,
+by a single legislative enactment, to confer the rights of citizens upon
+all persons of African descent born within the extended limits of the
+United States, while persons of foreign birth who make our land their
+home must undergo a probation of five years, and can only then become
+citizens upon proof that they are "of good moral character, attached to
+the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well
+disposed to the good order and happiness of the same."
+
+The first section of the bill also contains an enumeration of the rights
+to be enjoyed by these classes so made citizens "in every State and
+Territory in the United States." These rights are "to make and enforce
+contracts; to sue, be parties, and give evidence; to inherit, purchase,
+lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property," and to have
+"full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of
+person and property as is enjoyed by white citizens." So, too, they are
+made subject to the same punishment, pains, and penalties in common with
+white citizens, and to none other. Thus a perfect equality of the white
+and colored races is attempted to be fixed by Federal law in every State
+of the Union over the vast field of State jurisdiction covered by these
+enumerated rights. In no one of these can any State ever exercise any
+power of discrimination between the different races. In the exercise of
+State policy over matters exclusively affecting the people of each State
+it has frequently been thought expedient to discriminate between the
+two races. By the statutes of some of the States, Northern as well
+as Southern, it is enacted, for instance, that no white person shall
+intermarry with a negro or mulatto. Chancellor Kent says, speaking of
+the blacks, that--
+
+  Marriages between them and the whites are forbidden in some of the
+  States where slavery does not exist, and they are prohibited in all the
+  slaveholding States; and when not absolutely contrary to law, they are
+  revolting, and regarded as an offense against public decorum.
+
+I do not say that this bill repeals State laws on the subject of
+marriage between the two races, for as the whites are forbidden to
+intermarry with the blacks, the blacks can only make such contracts as
+the whites themselves are allowed to make, and therefore can not under
+this bill enter into the marriage contract with the whites. I cite this
+discrimination, however, as an instance of the State policy as to
+discrimination, and to inquire whether if Congress can abrogate all
+State laws of discrimination between the two races in the matter of real
+estate, of suits, and of contracts generally Congress may not also
+repeal the State laws as to the contract of marriage between the two
+races. Hitherto every subject embraced in the enumeration of rights
+contained in this bill has been considered as exclusively belonging to
+the States. They all relate to the internal police and economy of the
+respective States. They are matters which in each State concern the
+domestic condition of its people, varying in each according to its own
+peculiar circumstances and the safety and well-being of its own
+citizens. I do not mean to say that upon all these subjects there are
+not Federal restraints--as, for instance, in the State power of
+legislation over contracts there is a Federal limitation that no State
+shall pass a law impairing the obligations of contracts; and, as to
+crimes, that no State shall pass an _ex post facto_ law; and, as to
+money, that no State shall make anything but gold and silver a legal
+tender; but where can we find a Federal prohibition against the power
+of any State to discriminate, as do most of them, between aliens and
+citizens, between artificial persons, called corporations, and natural
+persons, in the right to hold real estate? If it be granted that
+Congress can repeal all State laws discriminating between whites and
+blacks in the subjects covered by this bill, why, it may be asked, may
+not Congress repeal in the same way all State laws discriminating
+between the two races on the subjects of suffrage and office? If
+Congress can declare by law who shall hold lands, who shall testify, who
+shall have capacity to make a contract in a State, then Congress can by
+law also declare who, without regard to color or race, shall have the
+right to sit as a juror or as a judge, to hold any office, and, finally,
+to vote "in every State and Territory of the United States." As respects
+the Territories, they come within the power of Congress, for as to them
+the lawmaking power is the Federal power; but as to the States no
+similar provision exists vesting in Congress the power "to make rules
+and regulations" for them.
+
+The object of the second section of the bill is to afford discriminating
+protection to colored persons in the full enjoyment of all the rights
+secured to them by the preceding section. It declares--
+
+  That any person who, under color of any law, statute, ordinance,
+  regulation, or custom, shall subject, or cause to be subjected, any
+  inhabitant of any State or Territory to the deprivation of any right
+  secured or protected by this act, or to different punishment, pains, or
+  penalties on account of such person having at any time been held in a
+  condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment
+  for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, or by reason
+  of his color or race, than is prescribed for the punishment of white
+  persons, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction
+  shall be punished by fine not exceeding $1,000, or imprisonment not
+  exceeding one year, or both, in the discretion of the court.
+
+
+This section seems to be designed to apply to some existing or future
+law of a State or Territory which may conflict with the provisions of
+the bill now under consideration. It provides for counteracting such
+forbidden legislation by imposing fine and imprisonment upon the
+legislators who may pass such conflicting laws, or upon the officers or
+agents who shall put or attempt to put them into execution. It means an
+official offense, not a common crime committed against law upon the
+persons or property of the black race. Such an act may deprive the black
+man of his property, but not of the _right_ to hold property. It means
+a deprivation of the right itself, either by the State judiciary or
+the State legislature. It is therefore assumed that under this section
+members of State legislatures who should vote for laws conflicting with
+the provisions of the bill, that judges of the State courts who should
+render judgments in antagonism with its terms, and that marshals and
+sheriffs who should, as ministerial officers, execute processes
+sanctioned by State laws and issued by State judges in execution of
+their judgments could be brought before other tribunals and there
+subjected to fine and imprisonment for the performance of the duties
+which such State laws might impose. The legislation thus proposed
+invades the judicial power of the State. It says to every State court or
+judge, If you decide that this act is unconstitutional; if you refuse,
+under the prohibition of a State law, to allow a negro to testify; if
+you hold that over such a subject-matter the State law is paramount, and
+"under color" of a State law refuse the exercise of the right to the
+negro, your error of judgment, however conscientious, shall subject
+you to fine and imprisonment. I do not apprehend that the conflicting
+legislation which the bill seems to contemplate is so likely to occur as
+to render it necessary at this time to adopt a measure of such doubtful
+constitutionality.
+
+In the next place, this provision of the bill seems to be unnecessary,
+as adequate judicial remedies could be adopted to secure the desired end
+without invading the immunities of legislators, always important to be
+preserved in the interest of public liberty; without assailing the
+independence of the judiciary, always essential to the preservation of
+individual rights; and without impairing the efficiency of ministerial
+officers, always necessary for the maintenance of public peace and
+order. The remedy proposed by this section seems to be in this respect
+not only anomalous, but unconstitutional; for the Constitution
+guarantees nothing with certainty if it does not insure to the several
+States the right of making and executing laws in regard to all matters
+arising within their jurisdiction, subject only to the restriction that
+in cases of conflict with the Constitution and constitutional laws of
+the United States the latter should be held to be the supreme law of the
+land.
+
+The third section gives the district courts of the United States
+exclusive "cognizance of all crimes and offenses committed against the
+provisions of this act," and concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit
+courts of the United States of all civil and criminal cases "affecting
+persons who are denied or can not enforce in the courts or judicial
+tribunals of the State or locality where they may be any of the rights
+secured to them by the first section." The construction which I have
+given to the second section is strengthened by this third section, for
+it makes clear what kind of denial or deprivation of the rights secured
+by the first section was in contemplation. It is a denial or deprivation
+of such rights "in the courts or judicial tribunals of the State." It
+stands, therefore, clear of doubt that the offense and the penalties
+provided in the second section are intended for the State judge who, in
+the clear exercise of his functions as a judge, not acting ministerially
+but judicially, shall decide contrary to this Federal law. In other
+words, when a State judge, acting upon a question involving a conflict
+between a State law and a Federal law, and bound, according to his own
+judgment and responsibility, to give an impartial decision between the
+two, comes to the conclusion that the State law is valid and the Federal
+law is invalid, he must not follow the dictates of his own judgment, at
+the peril of fine and imprisonment. The legislative department of the
+Government of the United States thus takes from the judicial department
+of the States the sacred and exclusive duty of judicial decision, and
+converts the State judge into a mere ministerial officer, bound to
+decide according to the will of Congress.
+
+It is clear that in States which deny to persons whose rights are
+secured by the first section of the bill any one of those rights all
+criminal and civil cases affecting them will, by the provisions of the
+third section, come under the exclusive cognizance of the Federal
+tribunals. It follows that if, in any State which denies to a colored
+person any one of all those rights, that person should commit a crime
+against the laws of a State--murder, arson, rape, or any other
+crime--all protection and punishment through the courts of the State are
+taken away, and he can only be tried and punished in the Federal courts.
+How is the criminal to be tried? If the offense is provided for and
+punished by Federal law, that law, and not the State law, is to govern.
+It is only when the offense does not happen to be within the purview of
+Federal law that the Federal courts are to try and punish him under any
+other law. Then resort is to be had to "the common law, as modified and
+changed" by State legislation, "so far as the same is not inconsistent
+with the Constitution and laws of the United States." So that over this
+vast domain of criminal jurisprudence provided by each State for the
+protection of its own citizens and for the punishment of all persons who
+violate its criminal laws, Federal law, whenever it can be made to
+apply, displaces State law. The question here naturally arises, from
+what source Congress derives the power to transfer to Federal tribunals
+certain classes of cases embraced in this section. The Constitution
+expressly declares that the judicial power of the United States "shall
+extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution,
+the laws of the United States, and treaties made or which shall be made
+under their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public
+ministers, and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime
+jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall be a
+party; to controversies between two or more States, between a State and
+citizens of another State, between citizens of different States, between
+citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of different
+States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign
+states, citizens, or subjects." Here the judicial power of the United
+States is expressly set forth and defined; and the act of September 24,
+1789, establishing the judicial courts of the United States, in
+conferring upon the Federal courts jurisdiction over cases originating
+in State tribunals, is careful to confine them to the classes enumerated
+in the above-recited clause of the Constitution. This section of the
+bill undoubtedly comprehends cases and authorizes the exercise of powers
+that are not, by the Constitution, within the jurisdiction of the courts
+of the United States. To transfer them to those courts would be an
+exercise of authority well calculated to excite distrust and alarm on
+the part of all the States, for the bill applies alike to all of
+them--as well to those that have as to those that have not been engaged
+in rebellion.
+
+It may be assumed that this authority is incident to the power granted
+to Congress by the Constitution, as recently amended, to enforce, by
+appropriate legislation, the article declaring that--
+
+  Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for
+  crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist
+  within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
+
+
+It can not, however, be justly claimed that, with a view to the
+enforcement of this article of the Constitution, there is at present any
+necessity for the exercise of all the powers which this bill confers.
+Slavery has been abolished, and at present nowhere exists within the
+jurisdiction of the United States; nor has there been, nor is it likely
+there will be, any attempt to revive it by the people or the States.
+If, however, any such attempt shall be made, it will then become the
+duty of the General Government to exercise any and all incidental powers
+necessary and proper to maintain inviolate this great constitutional law
+of freedom.
+
+The fourth section of the bill provides that officers and agents of the
+Freedmen's Bureau shall be empowered to make arrests, and also that
+other officers may be specially commissioned for that purpose by the
+President of the United States. It also authorizes circuit courts of the
+United States and the superior courts of the Territories to appoint,
+without limitation, commissioners, who are to be charged with the
+performance of _quasi_ judicial duties. The fifth section empowers the
+commissioners so to be selected by the courts to appoint in writing,
+under their hands, one or more suitable persons from time to time to
+execute warrants and other processes described by the bill. These
+numerous official agents are made to constitute a sort of police,
+in addition to the military, and are authorized to summon a _posse
+comitatus_, and even to call to their aid such portion of the land
+and naval forces of the United States, or of the militia, "as may be
+necessary to the performance of the duty with which they are charged."
+This extraordinary power is to be conferred upon agents irresponsible to
+the Government and to the people, to whose number the discretion of the
+commissioners is the only limit, and in whose hands such authority might
+be made a terrible engine of wrong, oppression, and fraud. The general
+statutes regulating the land and naval forces of the United States, the
+militia, and the execution of the laws are believed to be adequate for
+every emergency which can occur in time of peace. If it should prove
+otherwise, Congress can at any time amend those laws in such manner as,
+while subserving the public welfare, not to jeopard the rights,
+interests, and liberties of the people.
+
+The seventh section provides that a fee of $10 shall be paid to each
+commissioner in every case brought before him, and a fee of $5 to his
+deputy or deputies "for each person he or they may arrest and take
+before any such commissioner," "with such other fees as may be deemed
+reasonable by such commissioner," "in general for performing such other
+duties as may be required in the premises." All these fees are to be
+"paid out of the Treasury of the United States," whether there is a
+conviction or not; but in case of conviction they are to be recoverable
+from the defendant. It seems to me that under the influence of such
+temptations bad men might convert any law, however beneficent, into an
+instrument of persecution and fraud.
+
+By the eighth section of the bill the United States courts, which sit
+only in one place for white citizens, must migrate with the marshal and
+district attorney (and necessarily with the clerk, although he is not
+mentioned) to any part of the district upon the order of the President,
+and there hold a court, "for the purpose of the more speedy arrest and
+trial of persons charged with a violation of this act;" and there the
+judge and officers of the court must remain, upon the order of the
+President, "for the time therein designated."
+
+The ninth section authorizes the President, or such person as he may
+empower for that purpose, "to employ such part of the land or naval
+forces of the United States, or of the militia, as shall be necessary
+to prevent the violation and enforce the due execution of this act."
+This language seems to imply a permanent military force, that is to be
+always at hand, and whose only business is to be the enforcement of this
+measure over the vast region where it is intended to operate.
+
+I do not propose to consider the policy of this bill. To me the details
+of the bill seem fraught with evil. The white race and the black race of
+the South have hitherto lived together under the relation of master and
+slave--capital owning labor. Now, suddenly, that relation is changed,
+and as to ownership capital and labor are divorced. They stand now each
+master of itself. In this new relation, one being necessary to the
+other, there will be a new adjustment, which both are deeply interested
+in making harmonious. Each has equal power in settling the terms, and
+if left to the laws that regulate capital and labor it is confidently
+believed that they will satisfactorily work out the problem. Capital, it
+is true, has more intelligence, but labor is never so ignorant as not to
+understand its own interests, not to know its own value, and not to see
+that capital must pay that value.
+
+This bill frustrates this adjustment. It intervenes between capital and
+labor and attempts to settle questions of political economy through the
+agency of numerous officials whose interest it will be to foment discord
+between the two races, for as the breach widens their employment will
+continue, and when it is closed their occupation will terminate.
+
+In all our history, in all our experience as a people living under
+Federal and State law, no such system as that contemplated by the
+details of this bill has ever before been proposed or adopted. They
+establish for the security of the colored race safeguards which go
+infinitely beyond any that the General Government has ever provided for
+the white race. In fact, the distinction of race and color is by the
+bill made to operate in favor of the colored and against the white race.
+They interfere with the municipal legislation of the States, with the
+relations existing exclusively between a State and its citizens, or
+between inhabitants of the same State--an absorption and assumption of
+power by the General Government which, if acquiesced in, must sap and
+destroy our federative system of limited powers and break down the
+barriers which preserve the rights of the States. It is another step,
+or rather stride, toward centralization and the concentration of all
+legislative powers in the National Government. The tendency of the
+bill must be to resuscitate the spirit of rebellion and to arrest the
+progress of those influences which are more closely drawing around the
+States the bonds of union and peace.
+
+My lamented predecessor, in his proclamation of the 1st of January,
+1863, ordered and declared that all persons held as slaves within
+certain States and parts of States therein designated were and
+thenceforward should be free; and further, that the executive government
+of the United States, including the military and naval authorities
+thereof, would recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons.
+This guaranty has been rendered especially obligatory and sacred by the
+amendment of the Constitution abolishing slavery throughout the United
+States. I therefore fully recognize the obligation to protect and
+defend that class of our people whenever and wherever it shall become
+necessary, and to the full extent compatible with the Constitution of
+the United States.
+
+Entertaining these sentiments, it only remains for me to say that I will
+cheerfully cooperate with Congress in any measure that may be necessary
+for the protection of the civil rights of the freedmen, as well as those
+of all other classes of persons throughout the United States, by
+judicial process, under equal and impartial laws, in conformity with the
+provisions of the Federal Constitution.
+
+I now return the bill to the Senate, and regret that in considering the
+bills and joint resolutions--forty-two in number--which have been thus
+far submitted for my approval I am compelled to withhold my assent from
+a second measure that has received the sanction of both Houses of
+Congress.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 15, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I return to the Senate, in which House it originated, the bill, which
+has passed both Houses of Congress, entitled "An act for the admission
+of the State of Colorado into the Union," with my objections to its
+becoming a law at this time.
+
+First. From the best information which I have been able to obtain
+I do not consider the establishment of a State government at present
+necessary for the welfare of the people of Colorado. Under the existing
+Territorial government all the rights, privileges, and interests of the
+citizens are protected and secured. The qualified voters choose their
+own legislators and their own local officers, and are represented in
+Congress by a Delegate of their own selection. They make and execute
+their own municipal laws, subject only to revision by Congress--an
+authority not likely to be exercised unless in extreme or extraordinary
+cases. The population is small, some estimating it so low as 25,000,
+while advocates of the bill reckon the number at from 35,000 to 40,000
+souls. The people are principally recent settlers, many of whom are
+understood to be ready for removal to other mining districts beyond
+the limits of the Territory if circumstances shall render them more
+inviting. Such a population can not but find relief from excessive
+taxation if the Territorial system, which devolves the expenses of the
+executive, legislative, and judicial departments upon the United States,
+is for the present continued. They can not but find the security of
+person and property increased by their reliance upon the national
+executive power for the maintenance of law and order against the
+disturbances necessarily incident to all newly organized communities.
+
+Second. It is not satisfactorily established that a majority of the
+citizens of Colorado desire or are prepared for an exchange of a
+Territorial for a State government. In September, 1864, under the
+authority of Congress, an election was lawfully appointed and held for
+the purpose of ascertaining the views of the people upon this particular
+question. Six thousand one hundred and ninety-two votes were cast, and
+of this number a majority of 3,152 was given against the proposed
+change. In September, 1865, without any legal authority, the question
+was again presented to the people of the Territory, with the view of
+obtaining a reconsideration of the result of the election held in
+compliance with the act of Congress approved March 21, 1864. At this
+second election 5,905 votes were polled, and a majority of 155 was given
+in favor of a State organization. It does not seem to me entirely safe
+to receive this, the last-mentioned, result, so irregularly obtained, as
+sufficient to outweigh the one which had been legally obtained in the
+first election. Regularity and conformity to law are essential to the
+preservation of order and stable government, and should, as far as
+practicable, always be observed in the formation of new States.
+
+Third. The admission of Colorado at this time as a State into the
+Federal Union appears to me to be incompatible with the public interests
+of the country. While it is desirable that Territories, when
+sufficiently matured, should be organized as States, yet the spirit of
+the Constitution seems to require that there should be an approximation
+toward equality among the several States composing the Union. No State
+can have less or more than two Senators in Congress. The largest State
+has a population of 4,000,000; several of the States have a population
+exceeding 2,000,000, and many others have a population exceeding
+1,000,000. A population of 127,000 is the ratio of apportionment of
+Representatives among the several States.
+
+If this bill should become a law, the people of Colorado, 30,000 in
+number, would have in the House of Representatives one member, while New
+York, with a population of 4,000,000, has but thirty-one; Colorado would
+have in the electoral college three votes, while New York has only
+thirty-three; Colorado would have in the Senate two votes, while New
+York has no more.
+
+Inequalities of this character have already occurred, but it is believed
+that none have happened where the inequality was so great. When such
+inequality has been allowed, Congress is supposed to have permitted it
+on the ground of some high public necessity and under circumstances
+which promised that it would rapidly disappear through the growth and
+development of the newly admitted State. Thus, in regard to the several
+States in what was formerly called the "Northwest Territory," lying east
+of the Mississippi, their rapid advancement in population rendered it
+certain that States admitted with only one or two Representatives in
+Congress would in a very short period be entitled to a great increase
+of representation. So, when California was admitted, on the ground of
+commercial and political exigencies, it was well foreseen that that
+State was destined rapidly to become a great, prosperous, and important
+mining and commercial community. In the case of Colorado, I am not aware
+that any national exigency, either of a political or commercial nature,
+requires a departure from the law of equality which has been so
+generally adhered to in our history.
+
+If information submitted in connection with this bill is reliable,
+Colorado, instead of increasing, has declined in population. At an
+election for members of a Territorial legislature held in 1861, 10,580
+votes were cast; at the election before mentioned, in 1864, the number
+of votes cast was 6,192; while at the irregular election held in 1865,
+which is assumed as a basis for legislative action at this time, the
+aggregate of votes was 5,905. Sincerely anxious for the welfare and
+prosperity of every Territory and State, as well as for the prosperity
+and welfare of the whole Union, I regret this apparent decline of
+population in Colorado; but it is manifest that it is due to emigration
+which is going on from that Territory into other regions within the
+United States, which either are in fact or are believed by the
+inhabitants of Colorado to be richer in mineral wealth and agricultural
+resources. If, however, Colorado has not really declined in population,
+another census or another election under the authority of Congress would
+place the question beyond doubt, and cause but little delay in the
+ultimate admission of the Territory as a State if desired by the people.
+
+The tenor of these objections furnishes the reply which may be expected
+to an argument in favor of the measure derived from the enabling act
+which was passed by Congress on the 21st day of March, 1864. Although
+Congress then supposed that the condition of the Territory was such as
+to warrant its admission as a State, the result of two years' experience
+shows that every reason which existed for the institution of a
+Territorial instead of a State government in Colorado at its first
+organization still continues in force.
+
+The condition of the Union at the present moment is calculated to
+inspire caution in regard to the admission of new States. Eleven of the
+old States have been for some time, and still remain, unrepresented
+in Congress. It is a common interest of all the States, as well those
+represented as those unrepresented, that the integrity and harmony of
+the Union should be restored as completely as possible, so that all
+those who are expected to bear the burdens of the Federal Government
+shall be consulted concerning the admission of new States; and that
+in the meantime no new State shall be prematurely and unnecessarily
+admitted to a participation in the political power which the Federal
+Government wields, not for the benefit of any individual State or
+section, but for the common safety, welfare, and happiness of the whole
+country.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 15, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+The bill entitled "An act to enable the New York and Montana Iron Mining
+and Manufacturing Company to purchase a certain amount of the public
+lands not now in market" is herewith returned to the Senate, in which it
+originated, with the objections which induce me to withhold my approval.
+
+By the terms of this bill the New York and Montana Iron Mining and
+Manufacturing Company are authorized, at any time within one year after
+the date of approval, to _preempt_ two tracts of land in the Territory
+of Montana, not exceeding in the aggregate twenty sections, and not
+included in any Indian reservation or in any Government reservation for
+military or other purposes. Three of these sections may be selected from
+lands containing _iron ore and coal_, and the remainder from _timber_
+lands lying near thereto. These selections are to be made under
+regulations from the Secretary of the Interior and be subject to his
+approval. The company, on the selection of the lands, may acquire
+immediate possession by permanently marking their boundaries and
+publishing description thereof in any two newspapers of general
+circulation in the Territory of Montana. Patents are to be issued on
+the performance, within two years, of the following conditions:
+
+First. The lands to be surveyed at the expense of the company, and each
+tract to be "as nearly in a square form as may be practicable."
+
+Second. The company to furnish evidence satisfactory to the Secretary of
+the Interior that they have erected and have in operation in one or more
+places on said lands iron works capable of manufacturing at least 1,500
+tons of iron per annum.
+
+Third. The company to have paid for said lands the minimum price of
+$1.25 per acre.
+
+It is also provided that the "patents shall convey no title to any
+mineral lands except iron and coal, or to any lands held by right of
+possession, or by any other title, _except Indian title_, valid at
+the time of the selection of the said lands." The company are to have
+the privileges of _ordinary preemptors_ and be subject to the same
+restrictions as such preemptors with reference to wood and timber on the
+lands, with the exception of so much as may be necessarily used in the
+erection of buildings and in the legitimate business of manufacturing
+iron.
+
+The parties upon whom these privileges are conferred are designated in
+the bill as "The New York and Montana Iron Mining and Manufacturing
+Company." Their names and residence not being disclosed, it must be
+inferred that this company is a corporation, which, under color of
+corporate powers derived from some State or Territorial legislative
+authority, proposes to carry on the business of mining and manufacturing
+iron, and to accomplish these ends seeks this grant of public land in
+Montana. Two questions thus arise, viz, whether the privileges the bill
+would confer should be granted to any person or persons, and, secondly,
+whether, if unobjectionable in other respects, they should be conferred
+upon a corporation.
+
+The public domain is a national trust, set apart and held for the
+general welfare upon principles of equal justice, and not to be bestowed
+as a special privilege upon a favored class. The proper rules for the
+disposal of public land have from the earliest period been the subject
+of earnest inquiry, grave discussion, and deliberate judgment. The
+purpose of _direct_ revenue was the first object, and this was attained
+by public sale to the highest bidder, and subsequently by the right of
+private purchase at a fixed minimum. It was soon discovered that the
+surest and most speedy means of promoting the wealth and prosperity of
+the country was by encouraging actual settlement and occupation, and
+hence a system of preemption rights, resulting most beneficially, in all
+the Western Territories. By progressive steps it has advanced to the
+homestead principle, securing to every head of a family, widow, and
+single man 21 years of age and to every soldier who has borne arms for
+his country a landed estate sufficient, with industry, for the purpose
+of independent support.
+
+Without tracing the system of preemption laws through the several
+stages, it is sufficient to observe that it rests upon certain just
+and plain principles, firmly established in all our legislation. The
+object of these laws is to encourage the expansion of population and
+the development of agricultural interests, and hence they have been
+invariably restricted to settlers. Actual residence and cultivation are
+made indispensable conditions; and, to guard the privilege from abuses
+of speculation or monopoly, the law is rigid as to the mode of
+establishing claims by adequate testimony, with penalties for perjury.
+Mining, trading, or any pursuit other than culture of the soil is
+interdicted, mineral lands being expressly excluded from preemption
+privileges, excepting those containing coal, which, in quantities not
+exceeding 160 acres, are restricted to individuals in actual possession
+and commerce, with an enhanced minimum of $20 per acre.
+
+For a quarter of a century the quantity of land subject to agricultural
+preemption has been limited so as not to exceed a quarter section, or
+160 acres; and, still further to guard against monopoly, the privilege
+of preemption is not allowed to any person who owns 320 acres of land in
+any State or Territory of the United States, nor is any person entitled
+to more than one preemptive right, nor is it extended to lands to which
+the Indian usufruct has not been extinguished. To restrict the
+privilege within reasonable limits, credit to the ordinary preemptor on
+_offered_ land is not extended beyond twelve months, within which time
+the minimum price must be paid. Where the settlement is upon _unoffered_
+territory, the time for payment is limited to the day of public offering
+designated by proclamation of the President; while, to prevent
+depreciation of the land by waste or destruction of what may constitute
+its value, penal enactments have been made for the punishment of persons
+depredating upon public timber.
+
+Now, supposing the New York and Montana Iron Mining and Manufacturing
+Company to be entitled to all the preemption rights which it has been
+found just and expedient to bestow upon natural persons, it will be seen
+that the privileges conferred by the bill in question are in direct
+conflict with every principle heretofore observed in respect to the
+disposal of the public lands.
+
+The bill confers preemption right to _mineral lands_, which, excepting
+coal lands, at an enhanced minimum, have heretofore, as a general
+principle, been carefully excluded from preemption. The object of the
+company is not to cultivate the soil or to promote agriculture, but is
+for the sole purpose of mining and manufacturing iron. The company is
+not limited, like ordinary preemptors, to one preemptive claim of a
+quarter section, but may preempt two bodies of land, amounting in
+the aggregate to twenty sections, containing 12,800 acres, or eighty
+ordinary individual preemption rights. The timber is not protected, but,
+on the contrary, is devoted to speedy destruction; for even before the
+consummation of title the company are allowed to consume whatever may be
+necessary in the erection of buildings and the business of manufacturing
+iron. For these special privileges, in contravention of the land policy
+of so many years, the company are required to pay only the minimum price
+of $1.25 per acre, or one-sixteenth of the established minimum, and are
+granted a credit of two years, or twice the time allowed ordinary
+preemptors on offered lands.
+
+Nor is this all. The preemption right in question covers three sections
+of land containing iron ore and _coal_. The act passed on the 1st of
+July, 1864, made it lawful for the President to cause tracts embracing
+coal beds or coal fields to be offered at public sale in suitable legal
+subdivisions to the highest bidder, after public notice of not less than
+three months, at a minimum price of $20 per acre, and any lands not thus
+disposed of were thereafter to be liable to private entry at said
+minimum. By the act of March 3, 1865, the right of preemption to coal
+lands is granted to any citizen of the United States who at that date
+was engaged in the business of coal mining on the public domain for
+purposes of commerce; and he is authorized to enter, according to legal
+subdivisions, at the minimum price of $20 per acre, a quantity of land
+not exceeding 160 acres, to embrace his improvements and mining
+premises. Under these acts the minimum price of three sections of coal
+lands would be thirty-eight thousand four hundred dollars ($38,400).
+
+By the bill now in question these sections containing _coal and iron_
+are bestowed on this company at the nominal price of $1.25 per acre, or
+two thousand four hundred dollars ($2,400), thus making a gratuity or
+gift to the New York and Montana Iron Mining and Manufacturing Company
+of thirty-six thousand dollars ($36,000).
+
+On what ground can such a gratuity to this company be justified,
+especially at a time when the burdens of taxation bear so heavily upon
+all classes of the people?
+
+Less than two years ago it appears to have been the deliberate judgment
+of Congress that tracts of land containing coal beds or coal fields
+should be sold, after three months' notice, to the bidder at public
+auction who would give the highest price over $20 per acre, and that
+a citizen engaged in the business of actual coal mining on the public
+domain should only secure a tract of 160 acres, at private entry, upon
+payment of $20 per acre and formal and satisfactory proof that he in all
+respects came within the requirements of the statute. It can not be that
+the coal fields of Montana have depreciated nearly twenty fold in value
+since July, 1864. So complete a revolution in the land policy as is
+manifested by this act can only be ascribed, therefore, to an
+inadvertence, which Congress will, I trust, promptly correct.
+
+Believing that the preemption policy--so deliberately adopted, so long
+practiced, so carefully guarded with a view to the disposal of the
+public lands in a manner that would promote the population and
+prosperity of the country--should not be perverted to the purposes
+contemplated by this bill, I would be constrained to withhold my
+sanction even if this company were, as natural persons, entitled to the
+privileges of ordinary preemptors; for if a corporation, as the name and
+the absence of any designation of individuals would denote, the measure
+before me is liable to another fatal objection.
+
+Why should incorporated companies have the privileges of individual
+preemptors? What principle of justice requires such a policy? What
+motive of public welfare can fail to condemn it? Lands held by
+corporations were regarded by ancient laws as held in mortmain, or by
+"dead hand," and from the time of Magna Charta corporations required
+the royal license to hold land, because such holding was regarded as in
+derogation of public policy and common right. Preemption is itself a
+special privilege, only authorized by its supposed public benefit in
+promoting the settlement and cultivation of vacant territory and in
+rewarding the enterprise of the persons upon whom the privilege is
+bestowed. "Preemption rights," as declared by the Supreme Court of the
+United States, "are founded in an enlightened public policy, rendered
+necessary by the enterprise of our citizens. The adventurous pioneer,
+who is found in advance of our settlements, encounters many hardships,
+and not unfrequently dangers from savage incursions. He is generally
+poor, and it is fit that his enterprise should be rewarded by the
+privilege of purchasing the spot selected by him, not to exceed 160
+acres."
+
+It may be said that this company, before they obtain a patent, must
+prove that within two years they "have erected and have in operation
+in one or more places on the said lands iron works with a capacity for
+manufacturing at least 1,500 tons of iron per annum." On the other hand,
+they are to have possession for two years of more than 12,000 acres of
+the choice land of the Territory, of which nearly 2,000 acres are to
+contain _iron ore and coal_ and over 10,000 acres to be of _timber_
+land selected by themselves. They will thus have the first and exclusive
+choice. In fact, they are the only parties who at this time would have
+any privilege whatever in the way of obtaining titles in that Territory.
+Inasmuch as Montana has not yet been organized into a land district, the
+general preemption laws for the benefit of individual settlers have not
+yet been extended to that country, nor has a single acre of public
+land in the Territory yet been surveyed. With such exclusive and
+extraordinary privileges, how many companies would be willing to
+undertake furnaces that would produce 5 tons per day in much less time
+than two years?
+
+It is plain the pretended consideration on which the patent is to issue
+bears no just proportion to that of the ordinary preemptor, and that
+this bill is but the precursor of a system of land distribution to a
+privileged class, unequal, unjust, and which ought not to receive the
+sanction of the General Government. Many thousand pioneers have turned
+their steps to the Western Territories, seeking, with their wives and
+children, homesteads to be acquired by sturdy industry under the
+preemption laws. On their arrival they should not find the timbered
+lands and the tracts containing iron ore and coal already surveyed and
+claimed by corporate companies, favored by the special legislation of
+Congress, and with boundaries fixed even in advance of the public
+surveys--a departure from the salutary provision requiring a settler
+upon unsurveyed lands to limit the boundaries of his claim to the lines
+of the public survey after they shall have been established. He receives
+a title only to a legal subdivision, including his residence and
+improvements. The survey of the company may not accord with that which
+will hereafter be made by the Government, while the patent that issues
+will be descriptive of and confer a title to the tract as surveyed by
+the company.
+
+I am aware of no precedent for granting such exclusive rights to a
+manufacturing company for a nominal consideration. Congress have made
+concessions to railway companies of alternate sections within given
+limits of the lines of their roads. This policy originated in the belief
+that the facilities afforded by reaching the parts of the country remote
+from the great centers of population would expedite the settlement and
+sale of the public domain. These incidental advantages were secured
+without pecuniary loss to the Government, by reason of the enhanced
+value of the reserved sections, which are held at the double minimum.
+Mining and manufacturing companies, however, have always been
+distinguished from public-improvement corporations. The former are, in
+law and in fact, only private associations for trade and business on
+individual account and for personal benefit. Admitting the proposition
+that railroad grants can stand on sound principle, it is plain that such
+can not be the case with concessions to companies like that contemplated
+by this measure. In view of the strong temptation to monopolize the
+public lands, with the pernicious results, it would seem at least of
+doubtful expediency to lift corporations above all competition with
+actual settlers by authorizing them to become purchasers of public lands
+in the Territories for any purpose, and particularly when clothed with
+the special benefits of this bill. For myself, I am convinced that the
+privileges of ordinary preemptors ought not to be extended to
+incorporated companies.
+
+A third objection may be mentioned, as it exemplifies the spirit in
+which special privileges are sought by incorporated companies.
+
+Land subject to Indian occupancy has always been scrupulously guarded by
+law from preemption settlement or encroachment under any pretext until
+the Indian title should be extinguished. In the fourth section of this
+act, however, lands held by "Indian title" are excepted from prohibition
+against the patent to be issued to the New York and Montana Iron Mining
+and Manufacturing Company.
+
+The bill provides that the patent "shall convey no title to any mineral
+lands _except iron and coal_, or to any lands held by right of
+possession, or by any other title, _except Indian title_, valid at
+the time of the selection of the said lands." It will be seen that by
+the first section lands in "Indian reservations" are excluded from
+individual preemption right, but by the fourth section the patent may
+cover any Indian title except a _reservation_; so that no matter what
+may be the nature of the Indian title, unless it be in a reservation,
+it is unprotected from the privilege conceded by this bill.
+
+Without further pursuing the subject, I return the bill to the Senate
+without my signature, and with the following as prominent objections to
+its becoming a law:
+
+First. That it gives to the New York and Montana Iron Mining and
+Manufacturing Company preemption privileges to iron and coal lands on a
+large scale and at the ordinary minimum--a privilege denied to ordinary
+preemptors. It bestows upon the company large tracts of _coal_ lands at
+one-sixteenth of the minimum price required from ordinary preemptors.
+It also relieves the company from restrictions imposed upon ordinary
+preemptors in respect to _timber lands_; allows double the time for
+payment granted to preemptors on offered lands; and these privileges are
+for purposes not heretofore authorized by the preemption laws, but for
+trade and manufacturing.
+
+Second. Preemption rights on such a scale to private corporations are
+unequal and hostile to the policy and principles which sanction
+preemption laws.
+
+Third. The bill allows this company to take possession of land, use it,
+and acquire a patent thereto before the Indian title is extinguished,
+and thus violates the good faith of the Government toward the aboriginal
+tribes.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 16, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+A careful examination of the bill passed by the two Houses of Congress
+entitled "An act to continue in force and to amend 'An act to establish
+a bureau for the relief of freedmen and refugees, and for other
+purposes'" has convinced me that the legislation which it proposes would
+not be consistent with the welfare of the country, and that it falls
+clearly within the reasons assigned in my message of the 19th of
+February last, returning, without my signature, a similar measure which
+originated in the Senate. It is not my purpose to repeat the objections
+which I then urged. They are yet fresh in your recollection, and can be
+readily examined as a part of the records of one branch of the National
+Legislature. Adhering to the principles set forth in that message, I now
+reaffirm them and the line of policy therein indicated.
+
+The only ground upon which this kind of legislation can be justified is
+that of the war-making power. The act of which this bill is intended
+as amendatory was passed during the existence of the war. By its own
+provisions it is to terminate within one year from the cessation of
+hostilities and the declaration of peace. It is therefore yet in
+existence, and it is likely that it will continue in force as long
+as the freedmen may require the benefit of its provisions. It will
+certainly remain in operation as a law until some months subsequent to
+the meeting of the next session of Congress, when, if experience shall
+make evident the necessity of additional legislation, the two Houses
+will have ample time to mature and pass the requisite measures. In the
+meantime the questions arise, Why should this war measure be continued
+beyond the period designated in the original act, and why in time of
+peace should military tribunals be created to continue until each
+"State shall be fully restored in its constitutional relations to the
+Government and shall be duly represented in the Congress of the United
+States"?
+
+It was manifest, with respect to the act approved March 3, 1865, that
+prudence and wisdom alike required that jurisdiction over all cases
+concerning the free enjoyment of the immunities and rights of
+citizenship, as well as the protection of person and property, should
+be conferred upon some tribunal in every State or district where the
+ordinary course of judicial proceedings was interrupted by the
+rebellion, and until the same should be fully restored. At that time,
+therefore, an urgent necessity existed for the passage of some such
+law. Now, however, war has substantially ceased; the ordinary course of
+judicial proceedings is no longer interrupted; the courts, both State
+and Federal, are in full, complete, and successful operation, and
+through them every person, regardless of race and color, is entitled to
+and can be heard. The protection granted to the white citizen is already
+conferred by law upon the freedman; strong and stringent guards, by way
+of penalties and punishments, are thrown around his person and property,
+and it is believed that ample protection will be afforded him by due
+process of law, without resort to the dangerous expedient of "military
+tribunals," now that the war has been brought to a close. The necessity
+no longer existing for such tribunals, which had their origin in the
+war, grave objections to their continuance must present themselves to
+the minds of all reflecting and dispassionate men. Independently of the
+danger, in representative republics, of conferring upon the military,
+in time of peace, extraordinary powers--so carefully guarded against
+by the patriots and statesmen of the earlier days of the Republic,
+so frequently the ruin of governments founded upon the same free
+principles, and subversive of the rights and liberties of the
+citizen--the question of practical economy earnestly commends itself to
+the consideration of the lawmaking power. With an immense debt already
+burdening the incomes of the industrial and laboring classes, a due
+regard for their interests, so inseparably connected with the welfare of
+the country, should prompt us to rigid economy and retrenchment, and
+influence us to abstain from all legislation that would unnecessarily
+increase the public indebtedness. Tested by this rule of sound political
+wisdom, I can see no reason for the establishment of the "military
+jurisdiction" conferred upon the officials of the Bureau by the
+fourteenth section of the bill.
+
+By the laws of the United States and of the different States competent
+courts, Federal and State, have been established and are now in full
+practical operation. By means of these civil tribunals ample redress is
+afforded for all private wrongs, whether to the person or the property
+of the citizen, without denial or unnecessary delay. They are open to
+all, without regard to color or race. I feel well assured that it will
+be better to trust the rights, privileges, and immunities of the citizen
+to tribunals thus established, and presided over by competent and
+impartial judges, bound by fixed rules of law and evidence, and where
+the right of trial by jury is guaranteed and secured, than to the
+caprice or judgment of an officer of the Bureau, who it is possible
+may be entirely ignorant of the principles that underlie the just
+administration of the law. There is danger, too, that conflict of
+jurisdiction will frequently arise between the civil courts and these
+military tribunals, each having concurrent jurisdiction over the person
+and the cause of action--the one judicature administered and controlled
+by civil law, the other by the military. How is the conflict to be
+settled, and who is to determine between the two tribunals when it
+arises? In my opinion, it is wise to guard against such conflict by
+leaving to the courts and juries the protection of all civil rights
+and the redress of all civil grievances.
+
+The fact can not be denied that since the actual cessation of
+hostilities many acts of violence, such, perhaps, as had never been
+witnessed in their previous history, have occurred in the States
+involved in the recent rebellion. I believe, however, that public
+sentiment will sustain me in the assertion that such deeds of wrong are
+not confined to any particular State or section, but are manifested over
+the entire country, demonstrating that the cause that produced them
+does not depend upon any particular locality, but is the result of
+the agitation and derangement incident to a long and bloody civil war.
+While the prevalence of such disorders must be greatly deplored, their
+occasional and temporary occurrence would seem to furnish no necessity
+for the extension of the Bureau beyond the period fixed in the original
+act.
+
+Besides the objections which I have thus briefly stated, I may urge upon
+your consideration the additional reason that recent developments in
+regard to the practical operations of the Bureau in many of the States
+show that in numerous instances it is used by its agents as a means of
+promoting their individual advantage, and that the freedmen are employed
+for the advancement of the personal ends of the officers instead of
+their own improvement and welfare, thus confirming the fears originally
+entertained by many that the continuation of such a Bureau for any
+unnecessary length of time would inevitably result in fraud, corruption,
+and oppression. It is proper to state that in cases of this character
+investigations have been promptly ordered, and the offender punished
+whenever his guilt has been satisfactorily established.
+
+As another reason against the necessity of the legislation contemplated
+by this measure, reference may be had to the "civil-rights bill," now a
+law of the land, and which will be faithfully executed so long as it
+shall remain unrepealed and may not be declared unconstitutional by
+courts of competent jurisdiction. By that act it is enacted--
+
+  That all persons born in the United States and not subject to any
+  foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to
+  be citizens of the United States; and such citizens, of every race
+  and color, without regard to any previous condition of slavery or
+  involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the
+  party shall have been duly convicted, shall have the same right in every
+  State and Territory in the United States to make and enforce contracts;
+  to sue, be parties, and give evidence; to inherit, purchase, lease,
+  sell, hold, and convey real and personal property, and to full and equal
+  benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and
+  property, as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like
+  punishment, pains, and penalties, and to none other, any law, statute,
+  ordinance, regulation, or custom to the contrary notwithstanding.
+
+
+By the provisions of the act full protection is afforded through the
+district courts of the United States to all persons injured, and whose
+privileges, as thus declared, are in any way impaired; and heavy
+penalties are denounced against the person who willfully violates the
+law. I need not state that that law did not receive my approval; yet its
+remedies are far more preferable than those proposed in the present
+bill--the one being civil and the other military.
+
+By the sixth section of the bill herewith returned certain proceedings
+by which the lands in the "parishes of St. Helena and St. Luke, South
+Carolina," were sold and bid in, and afterwards disposed of by the tax
+commissioners, are ratified and confirmed. By the seventh, eighth,
+ninth, tenth, and eleventh sections provisions by law are made for the
+disposal of the lands thus acquired to a particular class of citizens.
+While the quieting of titles is deemed very important and desirable, the
+discrimination made in the bill seems objectionable, as does also the
+attempt to confer upon the commissioners judicial powers by which
+citizens of the United States are to be deprived of their property in a
+mode contrary to that provision of the Constitution which declares that
+no person shall "be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due
+process of law." As a general principle, such legislation is unsafe,
+unwise, partial, and unconstitutional. It may deprive persons of their
+property who are equally deserving objects of the nation's bounty as
+those whom by this legislation Congress seeks to benefit. The title to
+the land thus to be portioned out to a favored class of citizens must
+depend upon the regularity of the tax sales under the law as it existed
+at the time of the sale, and no subsequent legislation can give
+validity to the right thus acquired as against the original claimants.
+The attention of Congress is therefore invited to a more mature
+consideration of the measures proposed in these sections of the bill.
+
+In conclusion I again urge upon Congress the danger of class
+legislation, so well calculated to keep the public mind in a state of
+uncertain expectation, disquiet, and restlessness and to encourage
+interested hopes and fears that the National Government will continue to
+furnish to classes of citizens in the several States means for support
+and maintenance regardless of whether they pursue a life of indolence or
+of labor, and regardless also of the constitutional limitations of the
+national authority in times of peace and tranquillity.
+
+The bill is herewith returned to the House of Representatives, in which
+it originated, for its final action.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 28, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I herewith return, without my approval, the bill entitled "An act
+erecting the Territory of Montana into a surveying district, and for
+other purposes."
+
+The bill contains four sections, the first of which erects the Territory
+into a surveying district and authorizes the appointment of a
+surveyor-general; the second constitutes the Territory a land district;
+the third authorizes the appointment of a register and receiver for said
+district; and the fourth requires the surveyor-general to--
+
+  select and survey eighteen alternate odd sections of nonmineral timber
+  lands within said district for the New York and Montana Iron Mining and
+  Manufacturing Company, incorporated under the laws of the State of New
+  York, which lands the said company shall have immediate possession of on
+  the payment of _$1.25_ per acre, and shall have a patent for the same
+  whenever, within two years after their selection, they shall have
+  furnished evidence satisfactory to the Secretary of the Interior that
+  they have erected and have in operation on the said lands iron works
+  with a capacity for manufacturing 1,500 tons of iron per annum:
+  _Provided_, That the said lands shall revert to the United States in
+  case the above-mentioned iron works be not erected within the specified
+  time: _And provided_, That until the title to the said lands shall have
+  been perfected the timber shall not be cut off from more than one
+  section of the said lands.
+
+To confer the special privileges specified in this fourth section
+appears to be the chief object of the bill, the provisions of which are
+subject to some of the most important objections that induced me to
+return to the Senate with my disapproval the bill entitled "An act to
+enable the New York and Montana Iron Mining and Manufacturing Company
+to purchase a certain amount of the public lands not now in market."
+That bill authorized the same corporation to select and survey in the
+Territory of Montana, in square form, twenty-one sections of land, three
+of which might contain coal and iron ore, for which the minimum rate of
+$1.25 per acre was to be paid. The present bill omits these sections of
+mineral lands, and directs the surveyor-general to select and survey the
+timber lands; but it contains the objectionable feature of granting
+to a private mining and manufacturing corporation exclusive rights and
+privileges in the public domain which are by law denied to individuals.
+The first choice of timber land in the Territory is bestowed upon a
+corporation foreign to the Territory and over which Congress has no
+control. The surveyor-general of the district, a public officer who
+should have no connection with any purchase of public land, is made the
+agent of the corporation to select the land, the selections to be made
+in the absence of all competition; and over 11,000 acres are bestowed
+at the lowest price of public lands. It is by no means certain that
+the substitution of alternate sections for the compact body of lands
+contemplated by the other bill is any less injurious to the public
+interest, for alternate sections stripped of timber are not likely
+to enhance the value of those reserved by the Government. Be this as
+it may, this bill bestows a large monopoly of public lands without
+adequate consideration; confers a right and privilege in quantity
+equivalent to seventy-two preemption rights; introduces a dangerous
+system of privileges to private trading corporations; and is an unjust
+discrimination in favor of traders and speculators against individual
+settlers and pioneers who are seeking homes and improving our Western
+Territories. Such a departure from the long-established, wise, and just
+policy which has heretofore governed the disposition of the public funds
+[lands] can not receive my sanction. The objections enumerated apply to
+the fourth section of the bill. The first, second, and third sections,
+providing for the appointment of a surveyor-general, register, and
+receiver, are unobjectionable if any necessity requires the creation
+of these offices and the additional expenses of a new surveying land
+district. But they appear in this instance to be only needed as a part
+of the machinery to enable the "New York and Montana Iron Mining and
+Manufacturing Company" to secure these privileges; for I am informed by
+the proper Department, in a communication hereto annexed, that there is
+no public necessity for a surveyor-general, register, or receiver in
+Montana Territory, since it forms part of an existing surveying and land
+district, wherein the public business is, under present laws, transacted
+with adequate facility, so that the provisions of the first, second, and
+third sections would occasion needless expense to the General
+Government.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+PROCLAMATIONS.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+_To all whom it may concern_:
+
+An exequatur, bearing date the 13th day of October, 1864, having been
+issued to Esteban Rogers, recognizing him as consul _ad interim_ of the
+Republic of Chile for the port of New York and its dependencies and
+declaring him free to exercise and enjoy such functions, powers, and
+privileges as are allowed to consuls by the law of nations or by the
+laws of the United States and existing treaty stipulations between the
+Government of Chile and the United States; but as it is deemed advisable
+that the said Esteban Rogers 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
+Esteban Rogers as consul _ad interim_ of the Republic of Chile for
+the port of New York and its dependencies and will not permit him to
+exercise or enjoy any of the functions, powers, or privileges allowed to
+a consular officer 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 12th day of February, A.D.
+1866, and of the Independence of the United States of America the
+ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+_To all whom it may concern_:
+
+An exequatur, bearing date the 7th day of October, 1864, having been
+issued to Claudius Edward Habicht, recognizing him as consul of Sweden
+and Norway at New York and declaring him free to exercise and enjoy such
+functions, powers, and privileges as are allowed to consuls by the law
+of nations or by the laws of the United States and existing treaty
+stipulations between the Government of Sweden and Norway and the United
+States; but as it is deemed advisable that the said Claudius Edward
+Habicht 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
+Claudius Edward Habicht as consul of Sweden and Norway at New York and
+will not permit him to exercise or enjoy any of the functions, powers,
+or privileges allowed to a consular officer 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, the 26th day of March, A.D. 1866,
+and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+_To all whom it may concern_:
+
+An exequatur, bearing date the 1st day of July, 1865, having been issued
+to S.M. Svenson, recognizing him as vice-consul of Sweden and Norway at
+New Orleans and declaring him free to exercise and enjoy such functions,
+powers, and privileges as are allowed to vice-consuls by the law of
+nations or by the laws of the United States and existing treaty
+stipulations between the Government of Sweden and Norway and the United
+States; but as it is deemed advisable that the said S.M. Svenson 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 S.M.
+Svenson as vice-consul of Sweden and Norway at New Orleans and will
+not permit him to exercise or enjoy any of the functions, powers, or
+privileges allowed to a consular officer 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, the 26th day of March, A.D. 1866,
+and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas by proclamations of the 15th and 19th of April, 1861, the
+President of the United States, in virtue of the power vested in him by
+the Constitution and the laws, declared that the laws of the United
+States were 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; and
+
+Whereas by another proclamation, made on the 16th day of August, in the
+same year, in pursuance of an act of Congress approved July 13, 1861,
+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 the
+State of Virginia lying west of the Alleghany Mountains and of such
+other parts of that State and the other States before named as might
+maintain a loyal 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 insurgents) were declared to be in a state
+of insurrection against the United States; and
+
+Whereas by another proclamation, of the 1st day of July, 1862, issued in
+pursuance of an act of Congress approved June 7, in the same year, the
+insurrection was declared to be still existing in the States aforesaid,
+with the exception of certain specified counties in the State of
+Virginia; and
+
+Whereas by another proclamation, made on the 2d day of April, 1863, in
+pursuance of the act of Congress of July 13, 1861, the exceptions named
+in the proclamation of August 16, 1861, were revoked and 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 the ports of New Orleans, Key West, Port Royal, and Beaufort, in
+North Carolina) were declared to be still in a state of insurrection
+against the United States; and
+
+Whereas the House of Representatives, on the 22d day of July, 1861,
+adopted a resolution in the words following, namely:
+
+  _Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United
+  States_, That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon the
+  country by the disunionists of the Southern States now in revolt against
+  the constitutional Government and in arms around the capital; that in
+  this national emergency Congress, banishing all feelings of mere passion
+  or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole country; that
+  this war is not waged upon our part in any spirit of oppression, nor for
+  any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor purpose of overthrowing or
+  interfering with the rights or established institutions of those States,
+  but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution and to
+  preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the
+  several States unimpaired; and that as soon as these objects are
+  accomplished the war ought to cease.
+
+
+And whereas the Senate of the United States, on the 25th day of July,
+1861, adopted a resolution in the words following, to wit:
+
+  _Resolved_, That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon
+  the country by the disunionists of the Southern States now in revolt
+  against the constitutional Government and in arms around the capital;
+  that in this national emergency Congress, banishing all feeling of
+  mere passion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole
+  country; that this war is not prosecuted upon our part in any spirit
+  of oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor
+  purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established
+  institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy
+  of the Constitution and all laws made in pursuance thereof and to
+  preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality, and rights of
+  the several States unimpaired; that as soon as these objects are
+  accomplished the war ought to cease.
+
+
+And whereas these resolutions, though not joint or concurrent in form,
+are substantially identical, and as such may be regarded as having
+expressed the sense of Congress upon the subject to which they relate;
+and
+
+Whereas by my proclamation of the 13th day of June last the insurrection
+in the State of Tennessee was declared to have been suppressed, the
+authority of the United States therein to be undisputed, and such United
+States officers as had been duly commissioned to be in the undisturbed
+exercise of their official functions; and
+
+Whereas there now exists no organized armed resistance of misguided
+citizens or others to the authority of the United States in the States
+of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee,
+Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Florida, and the laws can
+be sustained and enforced therein by the proper civil authority, State
+or Federal, and the people of said States are well and loyally disposed
+and have conformed or will conform in their legislation to the condition
+of affairs growing out of the amendment to the Constitution of the
+United States prohibiting slavery within the limits and jurisdiction of
+the United States; and
+
+Whereas, in view of the before-recited premises, it is the manifest
+determination of the American people that no State of its own will has
+the right or the power to go out of, or separate itself from, or be
+separated from, the American Union, and that therefore each State ought
+to remain and constitute an integral part of the United States; and
+
+Whereas the people of the several before-mentioned States have, in the
+manner aforesaid, given satisfactory evidence that they acquiesce in
+this sovereign and important resolution of national unity; and
+
+Whereas it is believed to be a fundamental principle of government that
+people who have revolted and who have been overcome and subdued must
+either be dealt with so as to induce them voluntarily to become friends
+or else they must be held by absolute military power or devastated so as
+to prevent them from ever again doing harm as enemies, which last-named
+policy is abhorrent to humanity and to freedom; and
+
+Whereas the Constitution of the United States provides for constituent
+communities only as States, and not as Territories, dependencies,
+provinces, or protectorates; and
+
+Whereas such constituent States must necessarily be, and by the
+Constitution and laws of the United States are, made equals and placed
+upon a like footing as to political rights, immunities, dignity, and
+power with the several States with which they are united; and
+
+Whereas the observance of political equality, as a principle of right
+and justice, is well calculated to encourage the people of the aforesaid
+States to be and become more and more constant and persevering in their
+renewed allegiance; and
+
+Whereas standing armies, military occupation, martial law, military
+tribunals, and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of _habeas
+corpus_ are in time of peace dangerous to public liberty, incompatible
+with the individual rights of the citizen, contrary to the genius and
+spirit of our free institutions, and exhaustive of the national
+resources, and ought not, therefore, to be sanctioned or allowed except
+in cases of actual necessity for repelling invasion or suppressing
+insurrection or rebellion; and
+
+Whereas the policy of the Government of the United States from the
+beginning of the insurrection to its overthrow and final suppression has
+been in conformity with the principles herein set forth and enumerated:
+
+Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do
+hereby proclaim and declare that the insurrection which heretofore
+existed in the States of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, North
+Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and
+Florida is at an end and is henceforth to be so regarded.
+
+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 2d day of April, A.D. 1866, and of
+the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+_To all whom it may concern_:
+
+Whereas the exequatur of Claudius Edward Habicht, recognizing him as
+consul of Sweden and Norway at New York, and that of S.M. Svenson as
+vice-consul of Sweden and Norway at New Orleans were formally revoked on
+the 26th day of March last; and
+
+Whereas representations have been made to me since that date which have
+effectually relieved those gentlemen from the charges of unlawful and
+unfriendly conduct heretofore entertained against them:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of
+the United States of America, do hereby annul the revocation of the
+exequaturs of the said Claudius Edward Habicht and S.M. Svenson and
+restore to them the right to exercise the functions and privileges
+heretofore granted as consular officers of the Government of Sweden
+and Norway.
+
+In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name and caused the seal
+of the United States to be affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, this 30th day of May, A.D. 1866, and of
+the Independence of the United States the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas it has become known to me that certain evil-disposed persons
+have, within the territory and jurisdiction of the United States, begun
+and set on foot and have provided and prepared, and are still engaged in
+providing and preparing, means for a military expedition and enterprise,
+which expedition and enterprise is to be carried on from the territory
+and jurisdiction of the United States against colonies, districts, and
+people of British North America, within the dominions of the United
+Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with which said colonies,
+districts, and people and Kingdom the United States are at peace; and
+
+Whereas the proceedings aforesaid constitute a high misdemeanor,
+forbidden by the laws of the United States as well as by the law of
+nations:
+
+Now, therefore, for the purpose of preventing the carrying on of the
+unlawful expedition and enterprise aforesaid from the territory and
+jurisdiction of the United States and to maintain the public peace as
+well as the national honor and enforce obedience and respect to the laws
+of the United States, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+do admonish and warn all good citizens of the United States against
+taking part in or in any wise aiding, countenancing, or abetting said
+unlawful proceedings; and I do exhort all judges, magistrates, marshals,
+and officers in the service of the United States to employ all their
+lawful authority and power to prevent and defeat the aforesaid unlawful
+proceedings and to arrest and bring to justice all persons who may be
+engaged therein.
+
+And, pursuant to the act of Congress in such case made and provided,
+I do furthermore authorize and empower Major-General George G. Meade,
+commander of the Military Division of the Atlantic, to employ the land
+and naval forces of the United States and the militia thereof to arrest
+and prevent the setting on foot and carrying on the expedition and
+enterprise aforesaid.
+
+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 6th day of June, A.D. 1866, and of
+the Independence of the United States the ninetieth.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas a war is existing in the Republic of Mexico, aggravated by
+foreign military intervention; and
+
+Whereas the United States, in accordance with their settled habits and
+policy, are a neutral power in regard to the war which thus afflicts the
+Republic of Mexico; and
+
+Whereas it has become known that one of the belligerents in the said
+war, namely, the Prince Maximilian, who asserts himself to be Emperor in
+Mexico, has issued a decree in regard to the port of Matamoras and other
+Mexican ports which are in the occupation and possession of another of
+the said belligerents, namely, the United States of Mexico, which decree
+is in the following words:
+
+  The port of Matamoras and all those of the northern frontier which have
+  withdrawn from their obedience to the Government are closed to foreign
+  and coasting traffic during such time as the empire of the law shall not
+  be therein reinstated.
+
+  ART. 2. Merchandise proceeding from the said ports, on arriving at any
+  other where the excise of the Empire is collected, shall pay the duties
+  on importation, introduction, and consumption, and, on satisfactory
+  proof of contravention, shall be irremissibly confiscated. Our minister
+  of the treasury is charged with the punctual execution of this decree.
+
+  Given at Mexico, the 9th of July, 1866.
+
+
+And whereas the decree thus recited, by declaring a belligerent blockade
+unsupported by competent military or naval force, is in violation of the
+neutral rights of the United States as defined by the law of nations as
+well as of the treaties existing between the United States of America
+and the aforesaid United States of Mexico:
+
+Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do
+hereby proclaim and declare that the aforesaid decree is held and will
+be held by the United States to be absolutely null and void as against
+the Government and citizens of the United States, and that any attempt
+which shall be made to enforce the same against the Government or the
+citizens of the United States will be disallowed.
+
+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, the 17th day of August, A.D. 1866, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas by proclamations of the 15th and 19th of April, 1861, the
+President of the United States, in virtue of the power vested in him
+by the Constitution and the laws, declared that the laws of the United
+States were 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; and
+
+Whereas by another proclamation, made on the 16th day of August, in the
+same year, in pursuance of an act of Congress approved July 13, 1861,
+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 the
+State of Virginia lying west of the Alleghany Mountains, and except also
+the inhabitants of such other parts of that State and the other States
+before named as might maintain a loyal 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 insurgents)
+were declared to be in a state of insurrection against the United
+States; and
+
+Whereas by another proclamation, of the 1st day of July, 1862, issued in
+pursuance of an act of Congress approved June 7, in the same year, the
+insurrection was declared to be still existing in the States aforesaid,
+with the exception of certain specified counties in the State of
+Virginia; and
+
+Whereas by another proclamation, made on the 2d day of April, 1863, in
+pursuance of the act of Congress of July 13, 1861, the exceptions named
+in the proclamation of August 16, 1861, were revoked and 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 the ports of New Orleans, Key West, Port Royal, and Beaufort, in
+North Carolina) were declared to be still in a state of insurrection
+against the United States; and
+
+Whereas by another proclamation, of the 15th day of September, 1863,
+made in pursuance of the act of Congress approved March 3, 1863, the
+rebellion was declared to be still existing and the privilege of the
+writ of _habeas corpus_ was in certain specified cases suspended
+throughout the United States, said suspension to continue throughout
+the duration of the rebellion or until said proclamation should, by
+a subsequent one to be issued by the President of the United States,
+be modified or revoked; and
+
+Whereas the House of Representatives, on the 22d day of July, 1861,
+adopted a resolution in the words following, namely:
+
+  _Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United
+  States_, That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon
+  the country by the dis-unionists of the Southern States now in revolt
+  against the constitutional Government and in arms around the capital;
+  that in this national emergency Congress, banishing all feelings of
+  mere passion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole
+  country; that this war is not waged upon our part in any spirit of
+  oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor
+  purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established
+  institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy
+  of the Constitution and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity,
+  equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired; and that as
+  soon as these objects are accomplished the war ought to cease.
+
+
+And whereas the Senate of the United States, on the 25th day of July,
+1861, adopted a resolution in the words following, to wit:
+
+  _Resolved_, That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon
+  the country by the disunionists of the Southern States now in revolt
+  against the constitutional Government and in arms around the capital;
+  that in this national emergency Congress, banishing all feeling of
+  mere passion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole
+  country; that this war is not prosecuted upon our part in any spirit
+  of oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor
+  purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established
+  institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy
+  of the Constitution and all laws made in pursuance thereof and to
+  preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality, and rights of
+  the several States unimpaired; that as soon as these objects are
+  accomplished the war ought to cease.
+
+
+And whereas these resolutions, though not joint or concurrent in form,
+are substantially identical, and as such have hitherto been and yet are
+regarded as having expressed the sense of Congress upon the subject to
+which they relate; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States, by proclamation of the 13th
+of June, 1865, declared that the insurrection in the State of Tennessee
+had been suppressed, and that the authority of the United States therein
+was undisputed, and that such United States officers as had been duly
+commissioned were in the undisturbed exercise of their official
+functions; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States, by further proclamation,
+issued on the 2d day of April, 1866, did promulgate and declare that
+there no longer existed any armed resistance of misguided citizens or
+others to the authority of the United States in any or in all the States
+before mentioned, excepting only the State of Texas, and did further
+promulgate and declare that the laws could be sustained and enforced in
+the several States before mentioned, except Texas, by the proper civil
+authorities, State or Federal, and that the people of the said States,
+except Texas, are well and loyally disposed and have conformed or will
+conform in their legislation to the condition of affairs growing out of
+the amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibiting
+slavery within the limits and jurisdiction of the United States;
+
+And did further declare in the same proclamation that it is the manifest
+determination of the American people that no State, of its own will, has
+a right or power to go out of, or separate itself from, or be separated
+from, the American Union; and that, therefore, each State ought to
+remain and constitute an integral part of the United States;
+
+And did further declare in the same last-mentioned proclamation that
+the several aforementioned States, excepting Texas, had in the manner
+aforesaid given satisfactory evidence that they acquiesce in this
+sovereign and important resolution of national unity; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States in the same proclamation did
+further declare that it is believed to be a fundamental principle of
+government that the people who have revolted and who have been overcome
+and subdued must either be dealt with so as to induce them voluntarily
+to become friends or else they must be held by absolute military power
+or devastated so as to prevent them from ever again doing harm as
+enemies, which last-named policy is abhorrent to humanity and to
+freedom; and
+
+Whereas the President did in the same proclamation further declare
+that the Constitution of the United States provides for constituent
+communities only as States, and not as Territories, dependencies,
+provinces, or protectorates;
+
+And further, that such constituent States must necessarily be, and by
+the Constitution and laws of the United States are, made equals and
+placed upon a like footing as to political rights, immunities, dignity,
+and power with the several States with which they are united;
+
+And did further declare that the observance of political equality, as
+a principle of right and justice, is well calculated to encourage the
+people of the before named States, except Texas, to be and to become
+more and more constant and persevering in their renewed allegiance; and
+
+Whereas the President did further declare that standing armies,
+military occupation, martial law, military tribunals, and the suspension
+of the writ of _habeas corpus_ are in time of peace dangerous to public
+liberty, incompatible with the individual rights of the citizen,
+contrary to the genius and spirit of our free institutions, and
+exhaustive of the national resources, and ought not, therefore, to be
+sanctioned or allowed except in cases of actual necessity for repelling
+invasion or suppressing insurrection or rebellion;
+
+And the President did further, in the same proclamation, declare that
+the policy of the Government of the United States from the beginning
+of the insurrection to its overthrow and final suppression had been
+conducted in conformity with the principles in the last-named
+proclamation recited; and
+
+Whereas the President, in the said proclamation of the 13th of June,
+1865, upon the grounds therein stated and hereinbefore recited, did then
+and thereby proclaim and declare that the insurrection which heretofore
+existed in the several States before named, except in Texas, was at an
+end and was henceforth to be so regarded; and
+
+Whereas subsequently to the said 2d day of April, 1866, the insurrection
+in the State of Texas has been completely and everywhere suppressed and
+ended and the authority of the United States has been successfully and
+completely established in the said State of Texas and now remains
+therein unresisted and undisputed, and such of the proper United States
+officers as have been duly commissioned within the limits of the said
+State are now in the undisturbed exercise of their official functions;
+and
+
+Whereas the laws can now be sustained and enforced in the said State of
+Texas by the proper civil authority, State or Federal, and the people
+of the said State of Texas, like the people of the other States before
+named, are well and loyally disposed and have conformed or will conform
+in their legislation to the condition of affairs growing out of the
+amendment of the Constitution of the United States prohibiting slavery
+within the limits and jurisdiction of the United States; and
+
+Whereas all the reasons and conclusions set forth in regard to the
+several States therein specially named now apply equally and in all
+respects to the State of Texas, as well as to the other States which
+had been involved in insurrection; and
+
+Whereas adequate provision has been made by military orders to enforce
+the execution of the acts of Congress, aid the civil authorities, and
+secure obedience to the Constitution and laws of the United States
+within the State of Texas if a resort to military force for such purpose
+should at any time become necessary:
+
+Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do
+hereby proclaim and declare that the insurrection which heretofore
+existed in the State of Texas is at an end and is to be henceforth so
+regarded in that State as in the other States before named in which the
+said insurrection was proclaimed to be at an end by the aforesaid
+proclamation of the 2d day of April, 1866.
+
+And I do further proclaim that the said insurrection is at an end and
+that peace, order, tranquillity, and civil authority now exist in and
+throughout the whole of the United States of America.
+
+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 August, A.D. 1866, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, has been pleased to vouchsafe to us
+as a people another year of that national life which is an indispensable
+condition of peace, security, and progress. That year has, moreover,
+been crowned with many peculiar blessings.
+
+The civil war that so recently closed among us has not been anywhere
+reopened; foreign intervention has ceased to excite alarm or
+apprehension; intrusive pestilence has been benignly mitigated; domestic
+tranquillity has improved, sentiments of conciliation have largely
+prevailed, and affections of loyalty and patriotism have been widely
+renewed; our fields have yielded quite abundantly, our mining industry
+has been richly rewarded, and we have been allowed to extend our
+railroad system far into the interior recesses of the country, while
+our commerce has resumed its customary activity in foreign seas.
+
+These great national blessings demand a national acknowledgment.
+
+Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson. President of the United States, do
+hereby recommend that Thursday, the 29th day of November next, be set
+apart and be observed everywhere in the several States and Territories
+of the United States by the people thereof as a day of thanksgiving and
+praise to Almighty God, with due remembrance that "in His temple doth
+every man speak of His honor." I recommend also that on the same solemn
+occasion they do humbly and devoutly implore Him to grant to our
+national councils and to our whole people that divine wisdom which
+alone can lead any nation into the ways of all good.
+
+In offering these national thanksgivings, praises, and supplications we
+have the divine assurance that "the Lord remaineth a king forever; them
+that are meek shall He guide in judgment and such as are gentle shall He
+learn His way; the Lord shall give strength to His people, and the Lord
+shall give to His people the blessing of 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 8th day of October, A.D. 1866, and
+of the Independence of the United States the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
+
+
+[From the Daily National Intelligencer, April 9, 1866.]
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 7, 1866_.
+
+It is eminently right and proper that the Government of the United
+States should give earnest and substantial evidence of its just
+appreciation of the services of the patriotic men who when the life of
+the nation was imperiled entered the Army and Navy to preserve the
+integrity of the Union, defend the Government, and maintain and
+perpetuate unimpaired its free institutions.
+
+_It is therefore directed_--
+
+First. That in appointments to office in the several Executive
+Departments of the General Government and the various branches of
+the public service connected with said Departments preference shall
+be given to such meritorious and honorably discharged soldiers and
+sailors--particularly those who have been disabled by wounds received
+or diseases contracted in the line of duty--as may possess the proper
+qualifications.
+
+Second. That in all promotions in said Departments and the several
+branches of the public service connected therewith such persons shall
+have preference, when equally eligible and qualified, over those who
+have not faithfully and honorably served in the land or naval forces
+of the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
+
+_Washington, April 13, 1866_.
+
+On the 14th of April, 1865, great affliction was brought upon the
+American people by the assassination of the lamented Abraham Lincoln,
+then President of the United States. The undersigned is therefore
+directed by the President to announce that in commemoration of that
+event the public offices will be closed to-morrow, the 14th instant.
+
+WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 26.
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE.
+    _Washington, May 1, 1866_.
+
+ORDER IN RELATION TO TRIALS BY MILITARY COURTS AND COMMISSIONS.
+
+Whereas some military commanders are embarrassed by doubts as to the
+operation of the proclamation of the President dated the 2d day of
+April, 1866, upon trials by military courts-martial and military
+officers; to remove such doubts--
+
+_It is ordered by the President_, That hereafter, whenever offenses
+committed by civilians are to be tried where civil tribunals are in
+existence which can try them, their cases are not authorized to be, and
+will not be, brought before military courts-martial or commissions, but
+will be committed to the proper civil authorities. This order is not
+applicable to camp followers, as provided for under the sixtieth article
+of war, or to contractors and others specified in section 16, act of
+July 17, 1862, and sections 1 and 2, act of March 2, 1863. Persons and
+offenses cognizable by the Rules and Articles of War and by the acts of
+Congress above cited will continue to be tried and punished by military
+tribunals as prescribed by the Rules and Articles of War and acts of
+Congress hereinafter cited, to wit:
+
+  [Sixtieth of the Rules and Articles of War.]
+
+  60. All sutlers and retainers to the camp, and all persons whatsoever
+  serving with the armies of the United States in the field, though not
+  enlisted soldiers, are to be subject to orders, according to the rules
+  and discipline of war.
+
+
+  [Extract from "An act to define the pay and emoluments of certain
+  officers of the Army, and for other purposes," approved July 17, 1862.]
+
+  SEC. 16. _And be it further enacted_, That whenever any contractor for
+  subsistence, clothing, arms, ammunition, munitions of war, and for every
+  description of supplies for the Army or Navy of the United States, shall
+  be found guilty by a court-martial of fraud or willful neglect of duty,
+  he shall be punished by fine, imprisonment, or such other punishment as
+  the court-martial shall adjudge; and any person who shall contract to
+  furnish supplies of any kind or description for the Army or Navy, _he_
+  shall be deemed and taken as a part of the land or naval forces of the
+  United States for which he shall contract to furnish said supplies, and
+  be subject to the rules and regulations for the government of the land
+  and naval forces of the United States.
+
+
+  [Extract from "An act to prevent and punish frauds upon the Government
+  of the United States," approved March 2, 1863.]
+
+  _Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
+  States of America in Congress assembled_, That any person in the land or
+  naval forces of the United States, or in the militia in actual service
+  of the United States in time of war, who shall make or cause to be made,
+  or present or cause to be presented for payment or approval to or by any
+  person or officer in the civil or military service of the United States,
+  any claim upon or against the Government of the United States, or
+  any department or officer thereof, knowing such claim to be false,
+  fictitious, or fraudulent; any person in such forces or service who
+  shall, for the purpose of obtaining or aiding in obtaining the approval
+  or payment of such claim, make, use, or cause to be made or used, any
+  false bill, receipt, voucher, entry, roll, account, claim, statement,
+  certificate, affidavit, or deposition, knowing the same to contain any
+  false or fraudulent statement or entry; any person in said forces or
+  service who shall make or procure to be made, or knowingly advise the
+  making of, any false oath to any fact, statement, or certificate,
+  voucher or entry, for the purpose of obtaining or of aiding to obtain
+  any approval or payment of any claim against the United States, or any
+  department or officer thereof; any person in said forces or service who,
+  for the purpose of obtaining or enabling any other person to obtain
+  from the Government of the United States, or any department or officer
+  thereof, any payment or allowance, or the approval or signature of any
+  person in the military, naval, or civil service of the United States
+  of or to any false, fraudulent, or fictitious claim, shall forge or
+  counterfeit, or cause or procure to be forged or counterfeited, any
+  signature upon any bill, receipt, voucher, account, claim, roll,
+  statement, affidavit, or deposition; and any person in said forces or
+  service who shall utter or use the same as true or genuine, knowing the
+  same to have been forged or counterfeited; any person in said forces or
+  service who shall enter into any agreement, combination, or conspiracy
+  to cheat or defraud the Government of the United States, or any
+  department or officer thereof, by obtaining or aiding and assisting to
+  obtain the payment or allowance of any false or fraudulent claim; any
+  person in said forces or service who shall steal, embezzle, or knowingly
+  and willfully misappropriate or apply to his own use or benefit, or who
+  shall wrongfully and knowingly sell, convey, or dispose of any ordnance,
+  arms, ammunition, clothing, subsistence stores, money, or other property
+  of the United States, furnished or to be used for the military or naval
+  service of the United States; any contractor, agent, paymaster,
+  quartermaster, or other person whatsoever in said forces or service
+  having charge, possession, custody, or control of any money or other
+  public property used or to be used in the military or naval service of
+  the United States, who shall, with intent to defraud the United States,
+  or willfully to conceal such money or other property, deliver or cause
+  to be delivered to any other person having authority to receive the same
+  any amount of such money or other public property less than that for
+  which he shall receive a certificate or receipt; any person in said
+  forces or service who is or shall be authorized to make or deliver any
+  certificate, voucher, or receipt, or other paper certifying the receipt
+  of arms, ammunition, provisions, clothing, or other public property so
+  used or to be used, who shall make or deliver the same to any person
+  without having full knowledge of the truth of the facts stated therein,
+  and with intent to cheat, defraud, or injure the United States; any
+  person in said forces or service who shall knowingly purchase or
+  receive, in pledge for any obligation or indebtedness, from any soldier,
+  officer, or other person called into or employed in said forces or
+  service, any arms, equipments, ammunition, clothes, or military stores,
+  or other public property, such soldier, officer, or other person not
+  having the lawful right to pledge or sell the same, shall be deemed
+  guilty of a criminal offense, and shall be subject to the rules and
+  regulations made for the government of the military and naval forces of
+  the United States, and of the militia when called into and employed in
+  the actual service of the United States in time of war, and to the
+  provisions of this act. And every person so offending may be arrested
+  and held for trial by a court-martial, and if found guilty shall be
+  punished by fine and imprisonment, or such other punishment as the
+  court-martial may adjudge, save the punishment of death.
+
+  SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That any person heretofore called
+  or hereafter to be called into or employed in such forces or service who
+  shall commit any violation of this act, and shall afterwards receive his
+  discharge or be dismissed from the service, shall, notwithstanding such
+  discharge or dismissal, continue to be liable to be arrested and held
+  for trial and sentence by a court-martial in the same manner and to the
+  same extent as if he had not received such discharge or been dismissed.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+By order of the Secretary of War:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 29, 1866_.
+
+The President with profound sorrow announces to the people of the United
+States the death of Winfield Scott, the late Lieutenant-General of the
+Army. On the day which may be appointed for his funeral the several
+Executive Departments of the Government will be closed.
+
+The heads of the War and Navy Departments will respectively give orders
+for paying appropriate honors to the memory of the deceased.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+[From the Daily National Intelligencer, June 6, 1866.]
+
+ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, D.C., June 5, 1866_.
+
+By direction of the President, you[7] are hereby instructed to cause
+the arrest of all prominent, leading, or conspicuous persons called
+"Fenians" who you may have probable cause to believe have been or may
+be guilty of violations of the neutrality laws of the United States.
+
+JAMES SPEED,
+
+_Attorney-General_.
+
+[Footnote 7: Addressed to district attorneys and marshals of the United
+States.]
+
+
+
+DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
+
+_Washington, June 18, 1866_.
+
+The President directs the undersigned to perform the painful duty
+of announcing to the people of the United States that Lewis Cass,
+distinguished not more by faithful service in varied public trusts than
+by exalted patriotism at a recent period of political disorder, departed
+this life at 4 o'clock yesterday morning. The several Executive
+Departments of the Government will cause appropriate honors to be
+rendered to the memory of the deceased at home and abroad wherever the
+national name and authority are acknowledged.
+
+WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., October 26, 1866_.
+
+Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+SIR: Recent advices indicate an early evacuation of Mexico by the French
+expeditionary forces and that the time has arrived when our minister to
+Mexico should place himself in communication with that Republic.
+
+In furtherance of the objects of his mission and as evidence of the
+earnest desire felt by the United States for the proper adjustment of
+the questions involved, I deem it of great importance that General Grant
+should by his presence and advice cooperate with our minister.
+
+I have therefore to ask that you will request General Grant to proceed
+to some point on our Mexican frontier most suitable and convenient for
+communication with our minister, or (if General Grant deems it best) to
+accompany him to his destination in Mexico, and to give him the aid of
+his advice in carrying out the instructions of the Secretary of State,
+a copy of which is herewith sent for the General's information.
+
+General Grant will make report to the Secretary of War of such matters
+as, in his discretion, ought to be communicated to the Department.
+
+Very respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., October 30, 1866_.
+
+Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+SIR: General Ulysses S. Grant having found it inconvenient to assume
+the duties specified in my letter to you of the 26th instant, you will
+please relieve him from the same and assign them in all respects to
+William T. Sherman, Lieutenant-General of the Army of the United States.
+By way of guiding General Sherman in the performance of his duties, you
+will furnish him with a copy of your special orders to General Grant,
+made in compliance with my letter of the 26th instant, together with a
+copy of the instructions of the Secretary of State to Lewis D. Campbell,
+esq., therein mentioned. The Lieutenant-General will proceed to the
+execution of his duties without delay.
+
+Very respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., November 1, 1866_.
+
+Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+SIR: In the report of General Grant of the 27th ultimo, inclosed in your
+communication of that date, reference is made to the force at present
+stationed in the Military Department of Washington (which embraces the
+District of Columbia, the counties of Alexander and Fairfax, Va., and
+the States of Maryland and Delaware), and it is stated that the entire
+number of troops comprised in the command is 2,224, of which only 1,550
+are enumerated as "effective." In view of the prevalence in various
+portions of the country of a revolutionary and turbulent disposition,
+which might at any moment assume insurrectionary proportions and lead to
+serious disorders, and of the duty of the Government to be at all times
+prepared to act with decision and effect, this force is not deemed
+adequate for the protection and security of the seat of Government.
+
+I therefore request that you will at once take such measures as will
+insure its safety, and thus discourage any attempt for its possession
+by insurgent or other illegal combinations.
+
+Very respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., November 2, 1866_.
+
+Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+SIR: There is ground to apprehend danger of an insurrection in Baltimore
+against the constituted authorities of the State of Maryland on or about
+the day of the election soon to be held in that city, and that in such
+contingency the aid of the United States might be invoked under the acts
+of Congress which pertain to that subject. While I am averse to any
+military demonstration that would have a tendency to interfere with the
+free exercise of the elective franchise in Baltimore or be construed
+into any interference in local questions, I feel great solicitude that
+should an insurrection take place the Government should be prepared to
+meet and promptly put it down. I accordingly desire you to call General
+Grant's attention to the subject, leaving to his own discretion and
+judgment the measures of preparation and precaution that should be
+adopted.
+
+Very respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 3, 1866_.
+
+_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+After a brief interval the Congress of the United States resumes its
+annual legislative labors. An all-wise and merciful Providence has
+abated the pestilence which visited our shores, leaving its calamitous
+traces upon some portions of our country. Peace, order, tranquillity,
+and civil authority have been formally declared to exist throughout the
+whole of the United States. In all of the States civil authority has
+superseded the coercion of arms, and the people, by their voluntary
+action, are maintaining their governments in full activity and complete
+operation. The enforcement of the laws is no longer "obstructed in any
+State by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary
+course of judicial proceedings," and the animosities engendered by the
+war are rapidly yielding to the beneficent influences of our free
+institutions and to the kindly effects of unrestricted social and
+commercial intercourse. An entire restoration of fraternal feeling
+must be the earnest wish of every patriotic heart; and we will have
+accomplished our grandest national achievement when, forgetting the sad
+events of the past and remembering only their instructive lessons, we
+resume our onward career as a free, prosperous, and united people.
+
+In my message of the 4th of December, 1865, Congress was informed of the
+measures which had been instituted by the Executive with a view to the
+gradual restoration of the States in which the insurrection occurred to
+their relations with the General Government. Provisional governors had
+been appointed, conventions called, governors elected, legislatures
+assembled, and Senators and Representatives chosen to the Congress
+of the United States. Courts had been opened for the enforcement of
+laws long in abeyance. The blockade had been removed, custom-houses
+reestablished, and the internal-revenue laws put in force, in order that
+the people might contribute to the national income. Postal operations
+had been renewed, and efforts were being made to restore them to their
+former condition of efficiency. The States themselves had been asked to
+take part in the high function of amending the Constitution, and of thus
+sanctioning the extinction of African slavery as one of the legitimate
+results of our internecine struggle.
+
+Having progressed thus far, the executive department found that it had
+accomplished nearly all that was within the scope of its constitutional
+authority. One thing, however, yet remained to be done before the work
+of restoration could be completed, and that was the admission to
+Congress of loyal Senators and Representatives from the States whose
+people had rebelled against the lawful authority of the General
+Government. This question devolved upon the respective Houses, which
+by the Constitution are made the judges of the elections, returns, and
+qualifications of their own members, and its consideration at once
+engaged the attention of Congress.
+
+In the meantime the executive department--no other plan having been
+proposed by Congress--continued its efforts to perfect, as far as was
+practicable, the restoration of the proper relations between the
+citizens of the respective States, the States, and the Federal
+Government, extending from time to time, as the public interests seemed
+to require, the judicial, revenue, and postal systems of the country.
+With the advice and consent of the Senate, the necessary officers were
+appointed and appropriations made by Congress for the payment of their
+salaries. The proposition to amend the Federal Constitution, so as to
+prevent the existence of slavery within the United States or any place
+subject to their jurisdiction, was ratified by the requisite number
+of States, and on the 18th day of December, 1865, it was officially
+declared to have become valid as a part of the Constitution of the
+United States. All of the States in which the insurrection had existed
+promptly amended their constitutions so as to make them conform to the
+great change thus effected in the organic law of the land; declared null
+and void all ordinances and laws of secession; repudiated all pretended
+debts and obligations created for the revolutionary purposes of the
+insurrection, and proceeded in good faith to the enactment of measures
+for the protection and amelioration of the condition of the colored
+race. Congress, however, yet hesitated to admit any of these States to
+representation, and it was not until toward the close of the eighth
+month of the session that an exception was made in favor of Tennessee
+by the admission of her Senators and Representatives.
+
+I deem it a subject of profound regret that Congress has thus far
+failed to admit to seats loyal Senators and Representatives from the
+other States whose inhabitants, with those of Tennessee, had engaged
+in the rebellion. Ten States--more than one-fourth of the whole
+number--remain without representation; the seats of fifty members in the
+House of Representatives and of twenty members in the Senate are yet
+vacant, not by their own consent, not by a failure of election, but by
+the refusal of Congress to accept their credentials. Their admission,
+it is believed, would have accomplished much toward the renewal and
+strengthening of our relations as one people and removed serious cause
+for discontent on the part of the inhabitants of those States. It would
+have accorded with the great principle enunciated in the Declaration
+of American Independence that no people ought to bear the burden of
+taxation and yet be denied the right of representation. It would have
+been in consonance with the express provisions of the Constitution that
+"each State shall have at least one Representative" and "that no State,
+without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the
+Senate." These provisions were intended to secure to every State and
+to the people of every State the right of representation in each House
+of Congress; and so important was it deemed by the framers of the
+Constitution that the equality of the States in the Senate should be
+preserved that not even by an amendment of the Constitution can any
+State, without its consent, be denied a voice in that branch of the
+National Legislature.
+
+It is true it has been assumed that the existence of the States was
+terminated by the rebellious acts of their inhabitants, and that, the
+insurrection having been suppressed, they were thenceforward to be
+considered merely as conquered territories. The legislative, executive,
+and judicial departments of the Government have, however, with great
+distinctness and uniform consistency, refused to sanction an assumption
+so incompatible with the nature of our republican system and with the
+professed objects of the war. Throughout the recent legislation of
+Congress the undeniable fact makes itself apparent that these ten
+political communities are nothing less than States of this Union. At the
+very commencement of the rebellion each House declared, with a unanimity
+as remarkable as it was significant, that the war was not "waged upon
+our part in any spirit of oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or
+subjugation, nor purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights
+or established institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain
+the supremacy of the Constitution and all laws made in pursuance
+thereof, and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality,
+and rights of the several States unimpaired; and that as soon as these
+objects" were "accomplished the war ought to cease." In some instances
+Senators were permitted to continue their legislative functions, while
+in other instances Representatives were elected and admitted to seats
+after their States had formally declared their right to withdraw from
+the Union and were endeavoring to maintain that right by force of arms.
+All of the States whose people were in insurrection, as States, were
+included in the apportionment of the direct tax of $20,000,000 annually
+laid upon the United States by the act approved 5th August, 1861.
+Congress, by the act of March 4, 1862, and by the apportionment of
+representation thereunder also recognized their presence as States in
+the Union; and they have, for judicial purposes, been divided into
+districts, as States alone can be divided. The same recognition appears
+in the recent legislation in reference to Tennessee, which evidently
+rests upon the fact that the functions of the State were not destroyed
+by the rebellion, but merely suspended; and that principle is of course
+applicable to those States which, like Tennessee, attempted to renounce
+their places in the Union.
+
+The action of the executive department of the Government upon this
+subject has been equally definite and uniform, and the purpose of the
+war was specifically stated in the proclamation issued by my predecessor
+on the 22d day of September, 1862. It was then solemnly proclaimed and
+declared "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."
+
+The recognition of the States by the judicial department of the
+Government has also been clear and conclusive in all proceedings
+affecting them as States had in the Supreme, circuit, and district
+courts.
+
+In the admission of Senators and Representatives from any and all of the
+States there can be no just ground of apprehension that persons who are
+disloyal will be clothed with the powers of legislation, for this could
+not happen when the Constitution and the laws are enforced by a vigilant
+and faithful Congress. Each House is made the "judge of the elections,
+returns, and qualifications of its own members," and may, "with the
+concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member." When a Senator or
+Representative presents his certificate of election, he may at once
+be admitted or rejected; or, should there be any question as to his
+eligibility, his credentials may be referred for investigation to the
+appropriate committee. If admitted to a seat, it must be upon evidence
+satisfactory to the House of which he thus becomes a member that
+he possesses the requisite constitutional and legal qualifications.
+If refused admission as a member for want of due allegiance to the
+Government and returned to his constituents, they are admonished that
+none but persons loyal to the United States will be allowed a voice
+in the legislative councils of the nation, and the political power
+and moral influence of Congress are thus effectively exerted in the
+interests of loyalty to the Government and fidelity to the Union. Upon
+this question, so vitally affecting the restoration of the Union and the
+permanency of our present form of government, my convictions, heretofore
+expressed, have undergone no change, but, on the contrary, their
+correctness has been confirmed by reflection and time. If the admission
+of loyal members to seats in the respective Houses of Congress was wise
+and expedient a year ago, it is no less wise and expedient now. If this
+anomalous condition is right now--if in the exact condition of these
+States at the present time it is lawful to exclude them from
+representation--I do not see that the question will be changed by the
+efflux of time. Ten years hence, if these States remain as they are, the
+right of representation will be no stronger, the right of exclusion will
+be no weaker.
+
+The Constitution of the United States makes it the duty of the President
+to recommend to the consideration of Congress "such measures as he shall
+judge necessary and expedient." I know of no measure more imperatively
+demanded by every consideration of national interest, sound policy,
+and equal justice than the admission of loyal members from the now
+unrepresented States. This would consummate the work of restoration
+and exert a most salutary influence in the reestablishment of peace,
+harmony, and fraternal feeling. It would tend greatly to renew the
+confidence of the American people in the vigor and stability of their
+institutions. It would bind us more closely together as a nation and
+enable us to show to the world the inherent and recuperative power of a
+government founded upon the will of the people and established upon the
+principles of liberty, justice, and intelligence. Our increased strength
+and enhanced prosperity would irrefragably demonstrate the fallacy of
+the arguments against free institutions drawn from our recent national
+disorders by the enemies of republican government. The admission of
+loyal members from the States now excluded from Congress, by allaying
+doubt and apprehension, would turn capital now awaiting an opportunity
+for investment into the channels of trade and industry. It would
+alleviate the present troubled condition of those States, and by
+inducing emigration aid in the settlement of fertile regions now
+uncultivated and lead to an increased production of those staples which
+have added so greatly to the wealth of the nation and commerce of the
+world. New fields of enterprise would be opened to our progressive
+people, and soon the devastations of war would be repaired and all
+traces of our domestic differences effaced from the minds of our
+countrymen.
+
+In our efforts to preserve "the unity of government which constitutes
+us one people" by restoring the States to the condition which they held
+prior to the rebellion, we should be cautious, lest, having rescued
+our nation from perils of threatened disintegration, we resort to
+consolidation, and in the end absolute despotism, as a remedy for the
+recurrence of similar troubles. The war having terminated, and with it
+all occasion for the exercise of powers of doubtful constitutionality,
+we should hasten to bring legislation within the boundaries prescribed
+by the Constitution and to return to the ancient landmarks established
+by our fathers for the guidance of succeeding generations.
+
+  The constitution which at any time exists till changed by an explicit
+  and authentic act of the whole people is sacredly obligatory upon all.
+  * * * If in the opinion of the people the distribution or modification
+  of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be
+  corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates;
+  but let there be no change by usurpation, for * * * it is the customary
+  weapon by which free governments are destroyed.
+
+
+Washington spoke these words to his countrymen when, followed by their
+love and gratitude, he voluntarily retired from the cares of public
+life. "To keep in all things within the pale of our constitutional
+powers and cherish the Federal Union as the only rock of safety" were
+prescribed by Jefferson as rules of action to endear to his "countrymen
+the true principles of their Constitution and promote a union of
+sentiment and action, equally auspicious to their happiness and safety."
+Jackson held that the action of the General Government should always be
+strictly confined to the sphere of its appropriate duties, and justly
+and forcibly urged that our Government is not to be maintained nor our
+Union preserved "by invasions of the rights and powers of the several
+States. In thus attempting to make our General Government strong we make
+it weak. Its true strength consists in leaving individuals and States as
+much as possible to themselves; in making itself felt, not in its power,
+but in its beneficence; not in its control, but in its protection; not
+in binding the States more closely to the center, but leaving each to
+move unobstructed in its proper constitutional orbit." These are the
+teachings of men whose deeds and services have made them illustrious,
+and who, long since withdrawn from the scenes of life, have left to
+their country the rich legacy of their example, their wisdom, and their
+patriotism. Drawing fresh inspiration from their lessons, let us emulate
+them in love of country and respect for the Constitution and the laws.
+
+The report of the Secretary of the Treasury affords much information
+respecting the revenue and commerce of the country. His views upon
+the currency and with reference to a proper adjustment of our revenue
+system, internal as well as impost, are commended to the careful
+consideration of Congress. In my last annual message I expressed my
+general views upon these subjects. I need now only call attention to the
+necessity of carrying into every department of the Government a system
+of rigid accountability, thorough retrenchment, and wise economy.
+With no exceptional nor unusual expenditures, the oppressive burdens of
+taxation can be lessened by such a modification of our revenue laws as
+will be consistent with the public faith and the legitimate and
+necessary wants of the Government.
+
+The report presents a much more satisfactory condition of our finances
+than one year ago the most sanguine could have anticipated. During the
+fiscal year ending the 30th June, 1865 (the last year of the war), the
+public debt was increased $941,902,537, and on the 31st of October,
+1865, it amounted to $2,740,854,750. On the 31st day of October, 1866,
+it had been reduced to $2,551,310,006, the diminution during a period of
+fourteen months, commencing September 1, 1865, and ending October 31,
+1866, having been $206,379,565. In the last annual report on the state
+of the finances it was estimated that during the three quarters of the
+fiscal year ending the 30th of June last the debt would be increased
+$112,194,947. During that period, however, it was reduced $31,196,387,
+the receipts of the year having been $89,905,905 more and the
+expenditures $200,529,235 less than the estimates. Nothing could more
+clearly indicate than these statements the extent and availability of
+the national resources and the rapidity and safety with which, under
+our form of government, great military and naval establishments can be
+disbanded and expenses reduced from a war to a peace footing.
+
+During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1866, the receipts were
+$558,032,620 and the expenditures $520,750,940, leaving an available
+surplus of $37,281,680. It is estimated that the receipts for the fiscal
+year ending the 30th June, 1867, will be $475,061,386, and that the
+expenditures will reach the sum of $316,428,078, leaving in the Treasury
+a surplus of $158,633,308. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1886, it
+is estimated that the receipts will amount to $436,000,000 and that the
+expenditures will be $350,247,641, showing an excess of $85,752,359 in
+favor of the Government. These estimated receipts may be diminished
+by a reduction of excise and import duties, but after all necessary
+reductions shall have been made the revenue of the present and of
+following years will doubtless be sufficient to cover all legitimate
+charges upon the Treasury and leave a large annual surplus to be applied
+to the payment of the principal of the debt. There seems now to be no
+good reason why taxes may not be reduced as the country advances in
+population and wealth, and yet the debt be extinguished within the
+next quarter of a century.
+
+The report of the Secretary of War furnishes valuable and important
+information in reference to the operations of his Department during the
+past year. Few volunteers now remain in the service, and they are being
+discharged as rapidly as they can be replaced by regular troops. The
+Army has been promptly paid, carefully provided with medical treatment,
+well sheltered and subsisted, and is to be furnished with breech-loading
+small arms. The military strength of the nation has been unimpaired
+by the discharge of volunteers, the disposition of unserviceable or
+perishable stores, and the retrenchment of expenditure. Sufficient war
+material to meet any emergency has been retained, and from the disbanded
+volunteers standing ready to respond to the national call large armies
+can be rapidly organized, equipped, and concentrated. Fortifications on
+the coast and frontier have received or are being prepared for more
+powerful armaments; lake surveys and harbor and river improvements are
+in course of energetic prosecution. Preparations have been made for the
+payment of the additional bounties authorized during the recent session
+of Congress, under such regulations as will protect the Government from
+fraud and secure to the honorably discharged soldier the well-earned
+reward of his faithfulness and gallantry. More than 6,000 maimed
+soldiers have received artificial limbs or other surgical apparatus,
+and 41 national cemeteries, containing the remains of 104,526 Union
+soldiers, have already been established. The total estimate of military
+appropriations is $25,205,669.
+
+It is stated in the report of the Secretary of the Navy that the naval
+force at this time consists of 278 vessels, armed with 2,351 guns. Of
+these, 115 vessels, carrying 1,029 guns, are in commission, distributed
+chiefly among seven squadrons. The number of men in the service is
+13,600. Great activity and vigilance have been displayed by all the
+squadrons, and their movements have been judiciously and efficiently
+arranged in such manner as would best promote American commerce and
+protect the rights and interests of our countrymen abroad. The vessels
+unemployed are undergoing repairs or are laid up until their services
+may be required. Most of the ironclad fleet is at League Island, in the
+vicinity of Philadelphia, a place which, until decisive action should be
+taken by Congress, was selected by the Secretary of the Navy as the most
+eligible location for that class of vessels. It is important that a
+suitable public station should be provided for the ironclad fleet.
+It is intended that these vessels shall be in proper condition for any
+emergency, and it is desirable that the bill accepting League Island for
+naval purposes, which passed the House of Representatives at its last
+session, should receive final action at an early period, in order that
+there may be a suitable public station for this class of vessels, as
+well as a navy-yard of area sufficient for the wants of the service
+on the Delaware River. The naval pension fund amounts to $11,750,000,
+having been increased $2,750,000 during the year. The expenditures
+of the Department for the fiscal year ending 30th June last were
+$43,324,526, and the estimates for the coming year amount to
+$23,568,436. Attention is invited to the condition of our seamen and the
+importance of legislative measures for their relief and improvement. The
+suggestions in behalf of this deserving class of our fellow-citizens are
+earnestly recommended to the favorable attention of Congress.
+
+The report of the Postmaster-General presents a most satisfactory
+condition of the postal service and submits recommendations which
+deserve the consideration of Congress. The revenues of the Department
+for the year ending June 30, 1866, were $14,386,986 and the expenditures
+$15,352,079, showing an excess of the latter of $965,093. In
+anticipation of this deficiency, however, a special appropriation was
+made by Congress in the act approved July 28, 1866. Including the
+standing appropriation of $700,000 for free mail matter as a legitimate
+portion of the revenues, yet remaining unexpended, the actual deficiency
+for the past year is only $265,093--a sum within $51,141 of the amount
+estimated in the annual report of 1864. The decrease of revenue compared
+with the previous year was 1-1/5 per cent, and the increase of
+expenditures, owing principally to the enlargement of the mail service
+in the South, was 12 per cent. On the 30th of June last there were in
+operation 6,930 mail routes, with an aggregate length of 180,921 miles,
+an aggregate annual transportation of 71,837,914 miles, and an aggregate
+annual cost, including all expenditures, of $8,410,184. The length of
+railroad routes is 32,092 miles and the annual transportation 30,609,467
+miles. The length of steamboat routes is 14,346 miles and the annual
+transportation 3,411,962 miles. The mail service is rapidly increasing
+throughout the whole country, and its steady extension in the Southern
+States indicates their constantly improving condition. The growing
+importance of the foreign service also merits attention. The post-office
+department of Great Britain and our own have agreed upon a preliminary
+basis for a new postal convention, which it is believed will prove
+eminently beneficial to the commercial interests of the United States,
+inasmuch as it contemplates a reduction of the international letter
+postage to one-half the existing rates; a reduction of postage with
+all other countries to and from which correspondence is transmitted
+in the British mail, or in closed mails through the United Kingdom;
+the establishment of uniform and reasonable charges for the sea
+and territorial transit of correspondence in closed mails; and an
+allowance to each post-office department of the right to use all mail
+communications established under the authority of the other for the
+dispatch of correspondence, either in open or closed mails, on the same
+terms as those applicable to the inhabitants of the country providing
+the means of transmission.
+
+The report of the Secretary of the Interior exhibits the condition
+of those branches of the public service which are committed to his
+supervision. During the last fiscal year 4,629,312 acres of public
+land were disposed of, 1,892,516 acres of which were entered under the
+homestead act. The policy originally adopted relative to the public
+lands has undergone essential modifications. Immediate revenue, and not
+their rapid settlement, was the cardinal feature of our land system.
+Long experience and earnest discussion have resulted in the conviction
+that the early development of our agricultural resources and the
+diffusion of an energetic population over our vast territory are objects
+of far greater importance to the national growth and prosperity than the
+proceeds of the sale of the land to the highest bidder in open market.
+The preemption laws confer upon the pioneer who complies with the terms
+they impose the privilege of purchasing a limited portion of "unoffered
+lands" at the minimum price. The homestead enactments relieve the
+settler from the payment of purchase money, and secure him a permanent
+home upon the condition of residence for a term of years. This liberal
+policy invites emigration from the Old and from the more crowded
+portions of the New World. Its propitious results are undoubted, and
+will be more signally manifested when time shall have given to it a
+wider development.
+
+Congress has made liberal grants of public land to corporations in
+aid of the construction of railroads and other internal improvements.
+Should this policy hereafter prevail, more stringent provisions will
+be required to secure a faithful application of the fund. The title to
+the lands should not pass, by patent or otherwise, but remain in the
+Government and subject to its control until some portion of the road has
+been actually built. Portions of them might then from time to time be
+conveyed to the corporation, but never in a greater ratio to the whole
+quantity embraced by the grant than the completed parts bear to the
+entire length of the projected improvement. This restriction would not
+operate to the prejudice of any undertaking conceived in good faith
+and executed with reasonable energy, as it is the settled practice to
+withdraw from market the lands falling within the operation of such
+grants, and thus to exclude the inception of a subsequent adverse right.
+A breach of the conditions which Congress may deem proper to impose
+should work a forfeiture of claim to the lands so withdrawn but
+unconveyed, and of title to the lands conveyed which remain unsold.
+
+Operations on the several lines of the Pacific Railroad have been
+prosecuted with unexampled vigor and success. Should no unforeseen
+causes of delay occur, it is confidently anticipated that this great
+thoroughfare will be completed before the expiration of the period
+designated by Congress.
+
+During the last fiscal year the amount paid to pensioners, including the
+expenses of disbursement, was $13,459,996, and 50,177 names were added
+to the pension rolls. The entire number of pensioners June 30, 1866,
+was 126,722. This fact furnishes melancholy and striking proof of
+the sacrifices made to vindicate the constitutional authority of the
+Federal Government and to maintain inviolate the integrity of the Union.
+They impose upon us corresponding obligations. It is estimated that
+$33,000,000 will be required to meet the exigencies of this branch of
+the service during the next fiscal year.
+
+Treaties have been concluded with the Indians, who, enticed into armed
+opposition to our Government at the outbreak of the rebellion, have
+unconditionally submitted to our authority and manifested an earnest
+desire for a renewal of friendly relations.
+
+During the year ending September 30, 1866, 8,716 patents for useful
+inventions and designs were issued, and at that date the balance in
+the Treasury to the credit of the patent fund was $228,297.
+
+As a subject upon which depends an immense amount of the production and
+commerce of the country, I recommend to Congress such legislation as
+may be necessary for the preservation of the levees of the Mississippi
+River. It is a matter of national importance that early steps should
+be taken, not only to add to the efficiency of these barriers against
+destructive inundations, but for the removal of all obstructions to the
+free and safe navigation of that great channel of trade and commerce.
+
+The District of Columbia under existing laws is not entitled to that
+representation in the national councils which from our earliest history
+has been uniformly accorded to each Territory established from time to
+time within our limits. It maintains peculiar relations to Congress, to
+whom the Constitution has granted the power of exercising exclusive
+legislation over the seat of Government. Our fellow-citizens residing
+in the District, whose interests are thus confided to the special
+guardianship of Congress, exceed in number the population of several of
+our Territories, and no just reason is perceived why a Delegate of their
+choice should not be admitted to a seat in the House of Representatives.
+No mode seems so appropriate and effectual of enabling them to make
+known their peculiar condition and wants and of securing the local
+legislation adapted to them. I therefore recommend the passage of a
+law authorizing the electors of the District of Columbia to choose a
+Delegate, to be allowed the same rights and privileges as a Delegate
+representing a Territory. The increasing enterprise and rapid progress
+of improvement in the District are highly gratifying, and I trust that
+the efforts of the municipal authorities to promote the prosperity of
+the national metropolis will receive the efficient and generous
+cooperation of Congress.
+
+The report of the Commissioner of Agriculture reviews the operations of
+his Department during the past year, and asks the aid of Congress in
+its efforts to encourage those States which, scourged by war, are now
+earnestly engaged in the reorganization of domestic industry.
+
+It is a subject of congratulation that no foreign combinations
+against our domestic peace and safety or our legitimate influence
+among the nations have been formed or attempted. While sentiments of
+reconciliation, loyalty, and patriotism have increased at home, a more
+just consideration of our national character and rights has been
+manifested by foreign nations.
+
+The entire success of the Atlantic telegraph between the coast of
+Ireland and the Province of Newfoundland is an achievement which has
+been justly celebrated in both hemispheres as the opening of an era in
+the progress of civilization. There is reason to expect that equal
+success will attend and even greater results follow the enterprise for
+connecting the two continents through the Pacific Ocean by the projected
+line of telegraph between Kamchatka and the Russian possessions in
+America.
+
+The resolution of Congress protesting against pardons by foreign
+governments of persons convicted of infamous offenses on condition of
+emigration to our country has been communicated to the states with which
+we maintain intercourse, and the practice, so justly the subject of
+complaint on our part, has not been renewed.
+
+The congratulations of Congress to the Emperor of Russia upon his escape
+from attempted assassination have been presented to that humane and
+enlightened ruler and received by him with expressions of grateful
+appreciation.
+
+The Executive, warned of an attempt by Spanish American adventurers to
+induce the emigration of freedmen of the United States to a foreign
+country, protested against the project as one which, if consummated,
+would reduce them to a bondage even more oppressive than that from
+which they have just been relieved. Assurance has been received from
+the Government of the State in which the plan was matured that the
+proceeding will meet neither its encouragement nor approval. It is
+a question worthy of your consideration whether our laws upon this
+subject are adequate to the prevention or punishment of the crime
+thus meditated.
+
+In the month of April last, as Congress is aware, a friendly
+arrangement was made between the Emperor of France and the President
+of the United States for the withdrawal from Mexico of the French
+expeditionary military forces. This withdrawal was to be effected in
+three detachments, the first of which, it was understood, would leave
+Mexico in November, now past, the second in March next, and the third
+and last in November, 1867. Immediately upon the completion of the
+evacuation the French Government was to assume the same attitude of
+nonintervention in regard to Mexico as is held by the Government of the
+United States. Repeated assurances have been given by the Emperor since
+that agreement that he would complete the promised evacuation within
+the period mentioned, or sooner.
+
+It was reasonably expected that the proceedings thus contemplated would
+produce a crisis of great political interest in the Republic of Mexico.
+The newly appointed minister of the United States, Mr. Campbell, was
+therefore sent forward on the 9th day of November last to assume his
+proper functions as minister plenipotentiary of the United States to
+that Republic. It was also thought expedient that he should be attended
+in the vicinity of Mexico by the Lieutenant-General of the Army of the
+United States, with the view of obtaining such information as might be
+important to determine the course to be pursued by the United States in
+reestablishing and maintaining necessary and proper intercourse with the
+Republic of Mexico. Deeply interested in the cause of liberty and
+humanity, it seemed an obvious duty on our part to exercise whatever
+influence we possessed for the restoration and permanent establishment
+in that country of a domestic and republican form of government.
+
+Such was the condition of our affairs in regard to Mexico when, on the
+22d of November last, official information was received from Paris that
+the Emperor of France had some time before decided not to withdraw a
+detachment of his forces in the month of November past, according to
+engagement, but that this decision was made with the purpose of
+withdrawing the whole of those forces in the ensuing spring. Of this
+determination, however, the United States had not received any notice
+or intimation, and so soon as the information was received by the
+Government care was taken to make known its dissent to the Emperor of
+France.
+
+I can not forego the hope that France will reconsider the subject and
+adopt some resolution in regard to the evacuation of Mexico which will
+conform as nearly as practicable with the existing engagement, and thus
+meet the just expectations of the United States. The papers relating
+to the subject will be laid before you. It is believed that with the
+evacuation of Mexico by the expeditionary forces no subject for serious
+differences between France and the United States would remain. The
+expressions of the Emperor and people of France warrant a hope that the
+traditionary friendship between the two countries might in that case be
+renewed and permanently restored.
+
+A claim of a citizen of the United States for indemnity for spoliations
+committed on the high seas by the French authorities in the exercise of
+a belligerent power against Mexico has been met by the Government of
+France with a proposition to defer settlement until a mutual convention
+for the adjustment of all claims of citizens and subjects of both
+countries arising out of the recent wars on this continent shall
+be agreed upon by the two countries. The suggestion is not deemed
+unreasonable, but it belongs to Congress to direct the manner in which
+claims for indemnity by foreigners as well as by citizens of the United
+States arising out of the late civil war shall be adjudicated and
+determined. I have no doubt that the subject of all such claims will
+engage your attention at a convenient and proper time.
+
+It is a matter of regret that no considerable advance has been made
+toward an adjustment of the differences between the United States and
+Great Britain arising out of the depredations upon our national commerce
+and other trespasses committed during our civil war by British subjects,
+in violation of international law and treaty obligations. The delay,
+however, may be believed to have resulted in no small degree from the
+domestic situation of Great Britain. An entire change of ministry
+occurred in that country during the last session of Parliament. The
+attention of the new ministry was called to the subject at an early day,
+and there is some reason to expect that it will now be considered in a
+becoming and friendly spirit. The importance of an early disposition of
+the question can not be exaggerated. Whatever might be the wishes of the
+two Governments, it is manifest that good will and friendship between
+the two countries can not be established until a reciprocity in the
+practice of good faith and neutrality shall be restored between the
+respective nations.
+
+On the 6th of June last, in violation of our neutrality laws, a military
+expedition and enterprise against the British North American colonies
+was projected and attempted to be carried on within the territory and
+jurisdiction of the United States. In obedience to the obligation
+imposed upon the Executive by the Constitution to see that the laws are
+faithfully executed, all citizens were warned by proclamation against
+taking part in or aiding such unlawful proceedings, and the proper
+civil, military, and naval officers were directed to take all necessary
+measures for the enforcement of the laws. The expedition failed, but it
+has not been without its painful consequences. Some of our citizens who,
+it was alleged, were engaged in the expedition were captured, and have
+been brought to trial as for a capital offense in the Province of
+Canada. Judgment and sentence of death have been pronounced against
+some, while others have been acquitted. Fully believing in the maxim of
+government that severity of civil punishment for misguided persons who
+have engaged in revolutionary attempts which have disastrously failed is
+unsound and unwise, such representations have been made to the British
+Government in behalf of the convicted persons as, being sustained by
+an enlightened and humane judgment, will, it is hoped, induce in their
+cases an exercise of clemency and a judicious amnesty to all who were
+engaged in the movement. Counsel has been employed by the Government to
+defend citizens of the United States on trial for capital offenses in
+Canada, and a discontinuance of the prosecutions which were instituted
+in the courts of the United States against those who took part in the
+expedition has been directed.
+
+I have regarded the expedition as not only political in its nature, but
+as also in a great measure foreign from the United States in its causes,
+character, and objects. The attempt was understood to be made in
+sympathy with an insurgent party in Ireland, and by striking at a
+British Province on this continent was designed to aid in obtaining
+redress for political grievances which, it was assumed, the people of
+Ireland had suffered at the hands of the British Government during a
+period of several centuries. The persons engaged in it were chiefly
+natives of that country, some of whom had, while others had not, become
+citizens of the United States under our general laws of naturalization.
+Complaints of misgovernment in Ireland continually engage the attention
+of the British nation, and so great an agitation is now prevailing in
+Ireland that the British Government have deemed it necessary to suspend
+the writ of _habeas corpus_ in that country. These circumstances must
+necessarily modify the opinion which we might otherwise have entertained
+in regard to an expedition expressly prohibited by our neutrality laws.
+So long as those laws remain upon our statute books they should be
+faithfully executed, and if they operate harshly, unjustly, or
+oppressively Congress alone can apply the remedy by their modification
+or repeal.
+
+Political and commercial interests of the United States are not unlikely
+to be affected in some degree by events which are transpiring in the
+eastern regions of Europe, and the time seems to have come when our
+Government ought to have a proper diplomatic representation in Greece.
+
+This Government has claimed for all persons not convicted or accused or
+suspected of crime an absolute political right of self-expatriation and
+a choice of new national allegiance. Most of the European States have
+dissented from this principle, and have claimed a right to hold such of
+their subjects as have emigrated to and been naturalized in the United
+States and afterwards returned on transient visits to their native
+countries to the performance of military service in like manner as
+resident subjects. Complaints arising from the claim in this respect
+made by foreign states have heretofore been matters of controversy
+between the United States and some of the European powers, and the
+irritation consequent upon the failure to settle this question increased
+during the war in which Prussia, Italy, and Austria were recently
+engaged. While Great Britain has never acknowledged the right of
+expatriation, she has not for some years past practically insisted
+upon the opposite doctrine. France has been equally forbearing, and
+Prussia has proposed a compromise, which, although evincing increased
+liberality, has not been accepted by the United States. Peace is now
+prevailing everywhere in Europe, and the present seems to be a favorable
+time for an assertion by Congress of the principle so long maintained by
+the executive department that naturalization by one state fully exempts
+the native-born subject of any other state from the performance of
+military service under any foreign government, so long as he does not
+voluntarily renounce its rights and benefits.
+
+In the performance of a duty imposed upon me by the Constitution
+I have thus submitted to the representatives of the States and of the
+people such information of our domestic and foreign affairs as the
+public interests seem to require. Our Government is now undergoing its
+most trying ordeal, and my earnest prayer is that the peril may be
+successfully and finally passed without impairing its original strength
+and symmetry. The interests of the nation are best to be promoted by the
+revival of fraternal relations, the complete obliteration of our past
+differences, and the reinauguration of all the pursuits of peace.
+Directing our efforts to the early accomplishment of these great
+ends, let us endeavor to preserve harmony between the coordinate
+departments of the Government, that each in its proper sphere may
+cordially cooperate with the other in securing the maintenance of
+the Constitution, the preservation of the Union, and the perpetuity
+of our free institutions.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+SPECIAL MESSAGES.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 8, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In reply to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 5th
+instant, inquiring if any portion of Mexican territory has been occupied
+by United States troops, I transmit the accompanying report upon the
+subject from the Secretary of War.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 8, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I have the honor to communicate a report of the Secretary of State
+relating to the discovery and arrest of John H. Surratt.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _December 11, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith reports from the Secretary of War and the
+Attorney-General, in compliance with a resolution of the 3d instant,
+requesting the President to communicate to the House, "if not in his
+opinion incompatible with the public interests, the information asked
+for in a resolution of this House dated the 23d June last, and which
+resolution he has up to this time failed to answer, as to whether any
+application has been made to him for the pardon of G.E. Pickett, who
+acted as a major-general of the rebel forces in the late war for the
+suppression of insurrection, and, if so, what has been the action
+thereon; and also to communicate copies of all papers, entries,
+indorsements, and other documentary evidence in relation to any
+proceeding in connection with such application; and that he also inform
+this House whether, since the adjournment at Raleigh, N.C., on the
+30th of March last, of the last board or court of inquiry convened to
+investigate the facts attending the hanging of a number of United States
+soldiers for alleged desertion from the rebel army, any further measures
+have been taken to bring the said Pickett or other perpetrators of that
+crime to punishment."
+
+In transmitting the accompanying papers containing the information
+requested by the House of Representatives it is proper to state that,
+instead of bearing date the 23d of June last, the first resolution was
+dated the 23d of July, and was received by the Executive only four days
+before the termination of the session.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 14, 1866_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I communicate a translation of a letter of the 17th of August last
+addressed to me by His Majesty Alexander, Emperor of Russia, in reply to
+the joint resolution of Congress approved on the 16th day of May, 1866,
+relating to the attempted assassination of the Emperor, a certified copy
+of which was, in compliance with the request of Congress, forwarded to
+His Majesty by the hands of Gustavus V. Fox, late Assistant Secretary of
+the Navy of the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 15, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Interior, in
+answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 10th
+instant, in relation to the Atchison and Pikes Peak Railroad Company.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 20, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of
+December 4 last, requesting information "relating to the attempt of
+Santa Anna and Ortega to organize armed expeditions within the United
+States for the purpose of overthrowing the National Government of the
+Republic of Mexico," I transmit a report from the Secretary of State
+and the papers accompanying it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 21, 1866_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 19th
+instant, calling for a copy of certain correspondence relating to the
+joint occupancy of the island of San Juan, in Washington Territory,
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State on the subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 3, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I have the honor to communicate an additional report of the Secretary of
+State relating to the discovery and arrest of John H. Surratt.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 8, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War and the
+accompanying papers, in reply to the resolution of the House of
+Representatives of the 13th ultimo, requesting copies of all official
+documents, orders, letters, and papers of every description relative to
+the trial by a military commission and conviction of Crawford Keys and
+others for the murder of Emory Smith and others, and to the respite
+of the sentence in the case of said Crawford Keys or either of his
+associates, their transfer to Fort Delaware, and subsequent release
+upon a writ of _habeas corpus_.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 8, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit the accompanying report from the Attorney-General as a
+partial reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+10th ultimo, requesting a "list of names of all persons engaged in the
+late rebellion against the United States Government who have been
+pardoned by the President from April 15, 1865, to this date; that said
+list shall also state the rank of each person who has been so pardoned,
+if he has been engaged in the military service of the so-called
+Confederate government, and the position if he shall have held any civil
+office under said so-called Confederate government; and shall also
+further state whether such person has at any time prior to April 14,
+1861, held any office under the United States Government, and, if so,
+what office, together with the reasons for granting such pardons and
+also the names of the person or persons at whose solicitation such
+pardon was granted."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 9, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Navy, in
+answer to a resolution of the House of the 19th ultimo, requesting a
+statement of the amounts charged to the State Department since May 1,
+1865, for services rendered by naval vessels.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 9, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Navy,
+with the accompanying documents, in answer to a resolution of the Senate
+of the 5th ultimo, calling for copies of orders, instructions, and
+directions issued from that Department in relation to the employment of
+officers and others in the navy-yards of the United States, and all
+communications received in relation to employment at the Norfolk
+Navy-Yard.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 10, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to a resolution of
+the 17th ultimo, calling for information relative to the revolution in
+Candia, a report of the Secretary of State, with accompanying documents.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, January 14, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of the 19th ultimo,
+requesting information regarding the occupation of Mexican territory by
+the troops of the United States, I transmit a report of the Secretary of
+State and one of the Secretary of War, and the documents by which they
+were accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 18, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with a resolution of the 19th ultimo, requesting certain
+information in regard to the Universal Exposition to be held at Paris
+during the present year, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State
+and the documents to which it refers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 19, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I herewith communicate a report from the Secretary of the Interior,
+in answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 16th
+instant, in relation to the clerks of the Federal courts and the marshal
+of the United States for the district of North Carolina.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War and the
+accompanying papers, in compliance with the resolution of the House of
+Representatives of the 19th ultimo, requesting copies of all papers in
+possession of the President touching the case of George St. Leger
+Grenfel.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+JANUARY 21, 1867.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 23, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 21st
+instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+papers.[8]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 8: Correspondence with Mr. Motley, envoy extraordinary
+and minister plenipotentiary at Vienna, relative to his reported
+resignation.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 28, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report[9] from the Secretary of State, with
+accompanying papers, in answer to the Senate's resolution of the
+7th instant.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 9: Relating to an alleged emigration of citizens of the United
+States to the dominions of the Sublime Porte for the purpose of settling
+and acquiring landed property there.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 28, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+7th instant, in relation to the attempted compromise of certain suits
+instituted in the English courts in behalf of the United States against
+Fraser, Trenholm & Co., alleged agents of the so-called Confederate
+government, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the
+documents by which it was accompanied.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 29, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report[10] from the Secretary of State, in answer
+to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 24th instant.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 10: Stating that the Department of State has received no
+information concerning the removal of the Protestant Church or religious
+assembly meeting at the American embassy from the city of Rome by an
+order of that Government.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 29, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+12th ultimo and its request of the 28th instant for all correspondence,
+reports, and information in my possession in relation to the riot which
+occurred in the city of New Orleans on the 30th day of July last, I
+transmit herewith copies of telegraphic dispatches upon the subject,
+and reports from the Secretary of War, with the papers accompanying
+the same.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 29, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+4th of December last, requesting information upon the present condition
+of affairs in the Republic of Mexico, and of one of the 18th of the same
+month, desiring me to communicate to the House of Representatives copies
+of all correspondence on the subject of the evacuation of Mexico by the
+French troops not before officially published, I transmit a report from
+the Secretary of State and the papers accompanying it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 31, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith reports from the heads of the several Executive
+Departments, containing the information in reference to appointments
+to office requested in the resolution adopted by the House of
+Representatives on the 6th of December last.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 31, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report by the Secretary of War of January 30,
+containing the information asked for in a resolution of the House of
+Representatives of January 25, 1867, hereto annexed, respecting the
+execution of "An act providing for the appointment of a commissioner to
+examine and report upon certain claims of the State of Iowa," approved
+July 25, 1866.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 31, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+The accompanying reports from the heads of the several Executive
+Departments of the Government are submitted in compliance with a
+resolution of the Senate dated the 12th ultimo, inquiring whether any
+person appointed to an office required by law to be filled by and with
+the advice and consent of the Senate, and who was commissioned during
+the recess of the Senate, previous to the assembling of the present
+Congress, to fill a vacancy, has been continued in such office and
+permitted to discharge its functions, either by the granting of a new
+commission or otherwise, since the end of the session of the Senate on
+the 28th day of July last, without the submission of the name of such
+person to the Senate for its confirmation; and particularly whether a
+surveyor or naval officer of the port of Philadelphia has thus been
+continued in office without the consent of the Senate, and, if any such
+officer has performed the duties of that office, whether he has received
+any salary or compensation therefor.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 7, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded the 29th day of August, 1866, between Alexander
+Cummings, governor of Colorado Territory and _ex officio_ superintendent
+of Indian affairs, Hon. A.C. Hunt, and D.C. Oakes, United States Indian
+agent, duly authorized and appointed as commissioners for the purpose,
+and the chiefs and warriors of the Uintah Jampa, or Grand River, bands
+of Utah Indians.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 31st of January, with
+copy of letter from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 28th of
+January, 1867, together with a map showing the tract of country claimed
+by said Indians, accompany the treaty.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 4, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 2d instant, requesting
+the Secretary of State to report what steps have been taken him to
+secure to the United States the right to make the necessary surveys for
+an interoceanic ship canal through the territory of Colombia, I transmit
+herewith the report of the Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 4, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith communicate a report from the Secretary of the Interior of
+this date, in answer to a resolution of the Senate of the 31st ultimo,
+in relation to the deputy marshals, bailiffs, and criers in the District
+of Columbia who have received compensation for the year 1866.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 4, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit a report of the Secretary of the Treasury, in answer to a
+resolution of the Senate of the 31st ultimo, on the subject of a treaty
+of reciprocity with the Hawaiian Islands.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 5, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith, in answer to the Senate's resolution of the 2d
+instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with an accompanying
+document.[11]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 11: Copy of the letter on which the Secretary of State founded
+his inquiries addressed to Mr. Motley, United States minister at Vienna,
+with regard to his reported conversation and opinions.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 5, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to a
+resolution of the House of Representatives of yesterday, making inquiry
+as to the States which have ratified the amendment to the Constitution
+proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 7, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+4th instant, requesting me to communicate to that body any official
+correspondence which may have taken place with regard to the visit of
+Professor Agassiz to Brazil, I transmit herewith the report of the
+Secretary of State and the papers accompanying it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 7, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I herewith communicate a report of the Secretary of the Interior,
+in answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 22d
+ultimo, requesting information relative to the condition, occupancy,
+and area of the Hot Springs Reservation, in the State of Arkansas.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 9, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith, in answer to the Senate's resolution of the 7th
+instant, a report[12] from the Secretary of State, with an accompanying
+document.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 12: Relating to the reported transfer of the United States
+minister from Stockholm to Bogota.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 11, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 6th of February,
+1867, requesting me to transmit copies of all correspondence not
+heretofore communicated on the subject of grants to American citizens
+for railroad and telegraph lines across the territory of the Republic of
+Mexico, I submit herewith the report of the Secretary of State and the
+papers accompanying it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 16, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to a
+resolution of the House of Representatives of yesterday, making further
+inquiry as to the States which have ratified the amendment to the
+Constitution proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 16, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 27th of July last,
+relative to the practicability of establishing equal reciprocal
+relations between the United States and the British North American
+Provinces and to the actual condition of the question of the fisheries,
+I transmit a report on the subject from the Secretary of State, with
+the papers to which it refers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 18, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I have received a resolution of the Senate dated the 8th day of January
+last, requesting the President to inform the Senate if any violations of
+the act entitled "An act to protect all persons in the United States in
+their civil rights and furnish the means of their vindication" have come
+to his knowledge, and, if so, what steps, if any, have been taken by him
+to enforce the law and punish the offenders.
+
+Not being cognizant of any cases which came within the purview of the
+resolution, in order that the inquiry might have the fullest range I
+referred it to the heads of the several Executive Departments, whose
+reports are herewith communicated for the information of the Senate.
+
+With the exception of the cases mentioned in the reports of the
+Secretary of War and the Attorney-General, no violations, real or
+supposed, of the act to which the resolution refers have at any time
+come to the knowledge of the Executive. The steps taken in these cases
+to enforce the law appear in these reports.
+
+The Secretary of War, under date of the 15th instant, submitted a series
+of reports from the General Commanding the armies of the United States
+and other military officers as to supposed violations of the act alluded
+to in the resolution, with the request that they should be referred to
+the Attorney-General "for his investigation and report, to the end that
+the cases may be designated which are cognizant by the civil authorities
+and such as are cognizant by military tribunals." I have directed the
+reference so to be made.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 18, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a letter of the 26th ultimo, addressed to me by W.F.M. Arny,
+secretary and acting governor of the Territory of New Mexico, with the
+memorials to Congress by which it was accompanied, requesting certain
+appropriations for that Territory. The attention of the House of
+Representatives is invited to the subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 19, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit the accompanying reports from the Secretary of the Treasury
+and the Secretary of War, in answer to the resolution of the House of
+Representatives of the 28th May last, requesting certain information in
+regard to captured and forfeited cotton.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 20, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, giving information of
+States which have ratified the amendment to the Constitution proposed by
+the Thirty-ninth Congress in addition to those named in his report which
+was communicated in my message of the 16th instant, in answer to a
+resolution of the House of Representatives of the 15th instant.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 21, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 11th
+instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+documents.[13]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 13: Correspondence relative to the refusal of the United
+States consul at Cadiz, Spain, to certify invoices of wines shipped
+from that port, etc.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 21, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 31st ultimo,
+a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying documents.[14]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 14: Correspondence with foreign ministers of the United States
+relative to the policy of the President toward the States lately in
+rebellion.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 21, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 19th
+instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+documents.[15]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 15: Correspondence relative to the salary of the United States
+minister to Portugal.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 21, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their
+resolution of the 14th instant, a report[16] from the Secretary of
+State of this date.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 16: Stating that the correspondence relative to the refusal of
+the United States consul at Cadiz, Spain, to certify invoices of wines
+shipped from that port had been sent to the Senate.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 21, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+For the reasons stated[16] in the accompanying communication from the
+Secretary of the Interior, I withdraw the treaty concluded with the
+New York Indians in Kansas and submitted to the Senate in the month of
+December, 1863, but upon which I am informed no action has yet been
+taken.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 16: For the purpose of concluding a new treaty.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _February 23, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded in the city of Washington on the 19th of February,
+1867, between the United States and the Sac and Fox tribes of Indians
+of Missouri.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 23d and copy of a
+letter of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 19th of February,
+1867, accompany the treaty.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _February 23, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded in the city of Washington on the 18th February, 1867,
+between the United States and the Sac and Fox tribes of Indians of the
+Mississippi.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 23d and a copy of a
+letter of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 19th February, 1867,
+accompany the treaty.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _February 23, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded on the 19th February, 1867, between the United States
+and the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands of Indians.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 23d instant and
+accompanying copies of letters of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs
+and Major T.R. Brown, in relation to said treaty, are also herewith
+transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 23, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a copy of a letter of the 12th instant addressed to me by His
+Excellency Lucius Fairchild, governor of the State of Wisconsin, and of
+the memorial to Congress concerning the Paris Exposition adopted by the
+legislature of that State during its present session.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 25, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Interior, in
+reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 11th
+instant, calling for certain information relative to removals and
+appointments in his Department since the adjournment of the first
+session of the Thirty-ninth Congress.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 26, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a copy of a correspondence between the Secretary
+of State and G.V. Fox, esq., relative to the presentation by the latter
+to the Emperor of Russia of the resolution of Congress expressive of
+the feelings of the people of the United States in reference to the
+providential escape of that sovereign from an attempted assassination.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 26, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, with a view to ratification, a general
+convention of amity, commerce, and navigation and for the surrender of
+fugitive criminals between the United States and the Dominican Republic,
+signed by the plenipotentiaries of the parties at the city of St.
+Domingo on the 8th of this month.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 27, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Navy,
+in answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 21st
+instant, calling for a copy of a letter addressed by Richard M. Boynton
+and Harriet M. Fisher to the Secretary of the Navy in the month of
+February, 1863, together with the indorsement made thereon by the Chief
+of the Bureau of Ordnance.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 2, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report of the Attorney-General, additional to the
+one submitted by him December 13, 1866, in reply to the resolution of
+the House of Representatives of December 10, 1866, requesting "a list of
+names of all persons who have been engaged in the late rebellion against
+the United States Government who have been pardoned by the President
+from April 15, 1865, to this date; that said list shall also state the
+rank of each person who has been so pardoned, if he has been engaged
+in the military service of the so-called Confederate States, and the
+position if he shall have held any civil office under said so-called
+Confederate government; and shall also further state whether such person
+has at any time prior to April 14, 1861, held any office under the
+United States Government, and, if so, what office, together with the
+reasons for granting such pardons, and also the names of the person or
+persons at whose solicitation such pardon was granted."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+MARCH 2, 1867.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+The act entitled "An act making appropriations for the support of the
+Army for the year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes" contains
+provisions to which I must call attention. Those provisions are
+contained in the second section, which in certain cases virtually
+deprives the President of his constitutional functions as Commander in
+Chief of the Army, and in the sixth section, which denies to ten States
+of this Union their constitutional right to protect themselves in any
+emergency by means of their own militia. Those provisions are out of
+place in an appropriation act. I am compelled to defeat these necessary
+appropriations if I withhold my signature to the act. Pressed by these
+considerations, I feel constrained to return the bill with my signature,
+but to accompany it with my protest against the sections which I have
+indicated.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+VETO MESSAGES.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 5, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I have received and considered a bill entitled "An act to regulate the
+elective franchise in the District of Columbia," passed by the Senate
+on the 13th of December and by the House of Representatives on the
+succeeding day. It was presented for my approval on the 26th ultimo--six
+days after the adjournment of Congress--and is now returned with my
+objections to the Senate, in which House it originated.
+
+Measures having been introduced at the commencement of the first session
+of the present Congress for the extension of the elective franchise to
+persons of color in the District of Columbia, steps were taken by the
+corporate authorities of Washington and Georgetown to ascertain and make
+known the opinion of the people of the two cities upon a subject so
+immediately affecting their welfare as a community. The question was
+submitted to the people at special elections held in the month of
+December, 1865, when the qualified voters of Washington and Georgetown,
+with great unanimity of sentiment, expressed themselves opposed to
+the contemplated legislation. In Washington, in a vote of 6,556--the
+largest, with but two exceptions, ever polled in that city--only
+thirty-five ballots were cast for negro suffrage, while in Georgetown,
+in an aggregate of 813 votes--a number considerably in excess of the
+average vote at the four preceding annual elections--but one was given
+in favor of the proposed extension of the elective franchise. As these
+elections seem to have been conducted with entire fairness, the result
+must be accepted as a truthful expression of the opinion of the people
+of the District upon the question which evoked it. Possessing, as an
+organized community, the same popular right as the inhabitants of a
+State or Territory to make known their will upon matters which affect
+their social and political condition, they could have selected no more
+appropriate mode of memorializing Congress upon the subject of this
+bill than through the suffrages of their qualified voters.
+
+Entirely disregarding the wishes of the people of the District of
+Columbia, Congress has deemed it right and expedient to pass the measure
+now submitted for my signature. It therefore becomes the duty of the
+Executive, standing between the legislation of the one and the will of
+the other, fairly expressed, to determine whether he should approve the
+bill, and thus aid in placing upon the statute books of the nation a law
+against which the people to whom it is to apply have solemnly and with
+such unanimity protested, or whether he should return it with his
+objections in the hope that upon reconsideration Congress, acting as
+the representatives of the inhabitants of the seat of Government, will
+permit them to regulate a purely local question as to them may seem best
+suited to their interests and condition.
+
+The District of Columbia was ceded to the United States by Maryland and
+Virginia in order that it might become the permanent seat of Government
+of the United States. Accepted by Congress, it at once became subject to
+the "exclusive legislation" for which provision is made in the Federal
+Constitution. It should be borne in mind, however, that in exercising
+its functions as the lawmaking power of the District of Columbia the
+authority of the National Legislature is not without limit, but that
+Congress is bound to observe the letter and spirit of the Constitution
+as well in the enactment of local laws for the seat of Government as
+in legislation common to the entire Union. Were it to be admitted that
+the right "to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever"
+conferred upon Congress unlimited power within the District of Columbia,
+titles of nobility might be granted within its boundaries; laws might be
+made "respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free
+exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press,
+or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the
+Government for a redress of grievances." Despotism would thus reign at
+the seat of government of a free republic, and as a place of permanent
+residence it would be avoided by all who prefer the blessings of liberty
+to the mere emoluments of official position.
+
+It should also be remembered that in legislating for the District of
+Columbia under the Federal Constitution the relation of Congress to
+its inhabitants is analogous to that of a legislature to the people
+of a State under their own local constitution. It does not, therefore,
+seem to be asking too much that in matters pertaining to the District
+Congress should have a like respect for the will and interest of its
+inhabitants as is entertained by a State legislature for the wishes
+and prosperity of those for whom they legislate. The spirit of our
+Constitution and the genius of our Government require that in regard to
+any law which is to affect and have a permanent bearing upon a people
+their will should exert at least a reasonable influence upon those who
+are acting in the capacity of their legislators. Would, for instance,
+the legislature of the State of New York, or of Pennsylvania, or of
+Indiana, or of any State in the Union, in opposition to the expressed
+will of a large majority of the people whom they were chosen to
+represent, arbitrarily force upon them as voters all persons of the
+African or negro race and make them eligible for office without any
+other qualification than a certain term of residence within the State?
+In neither of the States named would the colored population, when acting
+together, be able to produce any great social or political result.
+Yet in New York, before he can vote, the man of color must fulfill
+conditions that are not required of the white citizen; in Pennsylvania
+the elective franchise is restricted to white freemen, while in Indiana
+negroes and mulattoes are expressly excluded from the right of suffrage.
+It hardly seems consistent with the principles of right and justice that
+representatives of States where suffrage is either denied the colored
+man or granted to him on qualifications requiring intelligence or
+property should compel the people of the District of Columbia to
+try an experiment which their own constituents have thus far shown
+an unwillingness to test for themselves. Nor does it accord with our
+republican ideas that the principle of self-government should lose its
+force when applied to the residents of the District merely because their
+legislators are not, like those of the States, responsible through the
+ballot to the people for whom they are the lawmaking power.
+
+The great object of placing the seat of Government under the exclusive
+legislation of Congress was to secure the entire independence of the
+General Government from undue State influence and to enable it to
+discharge without danger of interruption or infringement of its
+authority the high functions for which it was created by the people.
+For this important purpose it was ceded to the United States by Maryland
+and Virginia, and it certainly never could have been contemplated
+as one of the objects to be attained by placing it under the exclusive
+jurisdiction of Congress that it would afford to propagandists or
+political parties a place for an experimental test of their principles
+and theories. While, indeed, the residents of the seat of Government are
+not citizens of any State and are not, therefore, allowed a voice in the
+electoral college or representation in the councils of the nation, they
+are, nevertheless, American citizens, entitled as such to every guaranty
+of the Constitution, to every benefit of the laws, and to every right
+which pertains to citizens of our common country. In all matters, then,
+affecting their domestic affairs, the spirit of our democratic form of
+government demands that their wishes should be consulted and respected
+and they taught to feel that although not permitted practically to
+participate in national concerns, they are, nevertheless, under a
+paternal government regardful of their rights, mindful of their wants,
+and solicitous for their prosperity. It was evidently contemplated that
+all local questions would be left to their decision, at least to an
+extent that would not be incompatible with the object for which Congress
+was granted exclusive legislation over the seat of Government. When the
+Constitution was yet under consideration, it was assumed by Mr. Madison
+that its inhabitants would be allowed "a municipal legislature for local
+purposes, derived from their own suffrages." When for the first time
+Congress, in the year 1800, assembled at Washington, President Adams, in
+his speech at its opening, reminded the two Houses that it was for them
+to consider whether the local powers over the District of Columbia,
+vested by the Constitution in the Congress of the United States, should
+be immediately exercised, and he asked them to "consider it as the
+capital of a great nation, advancing with unexampled rapidity in arts,
+in commerce, in wealth, and in population, and possessing within itself
+those resources which, if not thrown away or lamentably misdirected,
+would secure to it a long course of prosperity and self-government."
+Three years had not elapsed when Congress was called upon to determine
+the propriety of retroceding to Maryland and Virginia the jurisdiction
+of the territory which they had respectively relinquished to the
+Government of the United States. It was urged on the one hand that
+exclusive jurisdiction was not necessary or useful to the Government;
+that it deprived the inhabitants of the District of their political
+rights; that much of the time of Congress was consumed in legislation
+pertaining to it; that its government was expensive; that Congress was
+not competent to legislate for the District, because the members were
+strangers to its local concerns; and that it was an example of a
+government without representation--an experiment dangerous to the
+liberties of the States. On the other hand it was held, among other
+reasons, and successfully, that the Constitution, the acts of cession
+of Virginia and Maryland, and the act of Congress accepting the grant
+all contemplated the exercise of exclusive legislation by Congress,
+and that its usefulness, if not its necessity, was inferred from the
+inconvenience which was felt for want of it by the Congress of the
+Confederation; that the people themselves, who, it was said, had been
+deprived of their political rights, had not complained and did not
+desire a retrocession; that the evil might be remedied by giving them a
+representation in Congress when the District should become sufficiently
+populous, and in the meantime a local legislature; that if the
+inhabitants had not political rights they had great political influence;
+that the trouble and expense of legislating for the District would not
+be great, but would diminish, and might in a great measure be avoided
+by a local legislature; and that Congress could not retrocede the
+inhabitants without their consent. Continuing to live substantially
+under the laws that existed at the time of the cession, and such changes
+only having been made as were suggested by themselves, the people of the
+District have not sought by a local legislature that which has generally
+been willingly conceded by the Congress of the nation.
+
+As a general rule sound policy requires that the legislature should
+yield to the wishes of a people, when not inconsistent with the
+constitution and the laws. The measures suited to one community might
+not be well adapted to the condition of another; and the persons best
+qualified to determine such questions are those whose interests are
+to be directly affected by any proposed law. In Massachusetts, for
+instance, male persons are allowed to vote without regard to color,
+provided they possess a certain degree of intelligence. In a population
+in that State of 1,231,066 there were, by the census of 1860, only 9,602
+persons of color, and of the males over 20 years of age there were
+339,086 white to 2,602 colored. By the same official enumeration there
+were in the District of Columbia 60,764 whites to 14,316 persons of the
+colored race. Since then, however, the population of the District has
+largely increased, and it is estimated that at the present time there
+are nearly 100,000 whites to 30,000 negroes. The cause of the augmented
+numbers of the latter class needs no explanation. Contiguous to Maryland
+and Virginia, the District during the war became a place of refuge for
+those who escaped from servitude, and it is yet the abiding place of a
+considerable proportion of those who sought within its limits a shelter
+from bondage. Until then held in slavery and denied all opportunities
+for mental culture, their first knowledge of the Government was acquired
+when, by conferring upon them freedom, it became the benefactor of their
+race. The test of their capability for improvement began when for the
+first time the career of free industry and the avenues to intelligence
+were opened to them. Possessing these advantages but a limited time--the
+greater number perhaps having entered the District of Columbia during
+the later years of the war, or since its termination--we may well
+pause to inquire whether, after so brief a probation, they are as a
+class capable of an intelligent exercise of the right of suffrage and
+qualified to discharge the duties of official position. The people
+who are daily witnesses of their mode of living, and who have become
+familiar with their habits of thought, have expressed the conviction
+that they are not yet competent to serve as electors, and thus become
+eligible for office in the local governments under which they live.
+Clothed with the elective franchise, their numbers, already largely in
+excess of the demand for labor, would be soon increased by an influx
+from the adjoining States. Drawn from fields where employment is
+abundant, they would in vain seek it here, and so add to the
+embarrassments already experienced from the large class of idle persons
+congregated in the District. Hardly yet capable of forming correct
+judgments upon the important questions that often make the issues
+of a political contest, they could readily be made subservient to the
+purposes of designing persons. While in Massachusetts, under the census
+of 1860, the proportion of white to colored males over 20 years of age
+was 130 to 1, here the black race constitutes nearly one-third of the
+entire population, whilst the same class surrounds the District on all
+sides, ready to change their residence at a moment's notice, and with
+all the facility of a nomadic people, in order to enjoy here, after a
+short residence, a privilege they find nowhere else. It is within their
+power in one year to come into the District in such numbers as to have
+the supreme control of the white race, and to govern them by their own
+officers and by the exercise of all the municipal authority--among
+the rest, of the power of taxation over property in which they have
+no interest. In Massachusetts, where they have enjoyed the benefits
+of a thorough educational system, a qualification of intelligence
+is required, while here suffrage is extended to all without
+discrimination--as well to the most incapable who can prove a
+residence in the District of one year as to those persons of color who,
+comparatively few in number, are permanent inhabitants, and, having
+given evidence of merit and qualification, are recognized as useful and
+responsible members of the community. Imposed upon an unwilling people
+placed by the Constitution under the exclusive legislation of Congress,
+it would be viewed as an arbitrary exercise of power and as an
+indication by the country of the purpose of Congress to compel the
+acceptance of negro suffrage by the States. It would engender a feeling
+of opposition and hatred between the two races, which, becoming deep
+rooted and ineradicable, would prevent them from living together in
+a state of mutual friendliness. Carefully avoiding every measure that
+might tend to produce such a result, and following the clear and
+well-ascertained popular will, we should assiduously endeavor to promote
+kindly relations between them, and thus, when that popular will leads
+the way, prepare for the gradual and harmonious introduction of this
+new element into the political power of the country.
+
+It can not be urged that the proposed extension of suffrage in the
+District of Columbia is necessary to enable persons of color to protect
+either their interests or their rights. They stand here precisely as
+they stand in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. Here as elsewhere, in all
+that pertains to civil rights, there is nothing to distinguish this
+class of persons from citizens of the United States, for they possess
+the "full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security
+of person and property as is enjoyed by white citizens," and are made
+"subject to like punishment, pains, and penalties, and to none other,
+any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom to the contrary
+notwithstanding." Nor, as has been assumed, are their suffrages
+necessary to aid a loyal sentiment here, for local governments already
+exist of undoubted fealty to the Government, and are sustained by
+communities which were among the first to testify their devotion to the
+Union, and which during the struggle furnished their full quotas of men
+to the military service of the country.
+
+The exercise of the elective franchise is the highest attribute of an
+American citizen, and when guided by virtue, intelligence, patriotism,
+and a proper appreciation of our institutions constitutes the true basis
+of a democratic form of government, in which the sovereign power is
+lodged in the body of the people. Its influence for good necessarily
+depends upon the elevated character and patriotism of the elector, for
+if exercised by persons who do not justly estimate its value and who are
+indifferent as to its results it will only serve as a means of placing
+power in the hands of the unprincipled and ambitious, and must eventuate
+in the complete destruction of that liberty of which it should be the
+most powerful conservator. Great danger is therefore to be apprehended
+from an untimely extension of the elective franchise to any new class
+in our country, especially when the large majority of that class, in
+wielding the power thus placed in their hands, can not be expected
+correctly to comprehend the duties and responsibilities which pertain
+to suffrage. Yesterday, as it were, 4,000,000 persons were held in a
+condition of slavery that had existed for generations; to-day they are
+freemen and are assumed by law to be citizens. It can not be presumed,
+from their previous condition of servitude, that as a class they are as
+well informed as to the nature of our Government as the intelligent
+foreigner who makes our land the home of his choice. In the case of
+the latter neither a residence of five years and the knowledge of our
+institutions which it gives nor attachment to the principles of the
+Constitution are the only conditions upon which he can be admitted to
+citizenship; he must prove in addition a good moral character, and thus
+give reasonable ground for the belief that he will be faithful to the
+obligations which he assumes as a citizen of the Republic. Where a
+people--the source of all political power--speak by their suffrages
+through the instrumentality of the ballot box, it must be carefully
+guarded against the control of those who are corrupt in principle and
+enemies of free institutions, for it can only become to our political
+and social system a safe conductor of healthy popular sentiment when
+kept free from demoralizing influences. Controlled through fraud and
+usurpation by the designing, anarchy and despotism must inevitably
+follow.
+
+In the hands of the patriotic and worthy our Government will be
+preserved upon the principles of the Constitution inherited from our
+fathers. It follows, therefore, that in admitting to the ballot box
+a new class of voters not qualified for the exercise of the elective
+franchise we weaken our system of government instead of adding to its
+strength and durability.
+
+In returning this bill to the Senate I deeply regret that there should
+be any conflict of opinion between the legislative and executive
+departments of the Government in regard to measures that vitally affect
+the prosperity and peace of the country. Sincerely desiring to reconcile
+the States with one another and the whole people to the Government of
+the United States, it has been my earnest wish to cooperate with
+Congress in all measures having for their object a proper and complete
+adjustment of the questions resulting from our late civil war. Harmony
+between the coordinate branches of the Government, always necessary for
+the public welfare, was never more demanded than at the present time,
+and it will therefore be my constant aim to promote as far as possible
+concert of action between them. The differences of opinion that have
+already occurred have rendered me only the more cautious, lest the
+Executive should encroach upon any of the prerogatives of Congress,
+or by exceeding in any manner the constitutional limit of his duties
+destroy the equilibrium which should exist between the several
+coordinate departments, and which is so essential to the harmonious
+working of the Government. I know it has been urged that the executive
+department is more likely to enlarge the sphere of its action than
+either of the other two branches of the Government, and especially in
+the exercise of the veto power conferred upon it by the Constitution. It
+should be remembered, however, that this power is wholly negative and
+conservative in its character, and was intended to operate as a check
+upon unconstitutional, hasty, and improvident legislation and as a means
+of protection against invasions of the just powers of the executive and
+judicial departments. It is remarked by Chancellor Kent that--
+
+  To enact laws is a transcendent power, and if the body that possesses
+  it be a full and equal representation of the people there is danger of
+  its pressing with destructive weight upon all the other parts of the
+  machinery of Government. It has therefore been thought necessary by the
+  most skillful and most experienced artists in the science of civil
+  polity that strong barriers should be erected for the protection and
+  security of the other necessary powers of the Government. Nothing has
+  been deemed more fit and expedient for the purpose than the provision
+  that the head of the executive department should be so constituted as
+  to secure a requisite share of independence and that he should have a
+  negative upon the passing of laws; and that the judiciary power, resting
+  on a still more permanent basis, should have the right of determining
+  upon the validity of laws by the standard of the Constitution.
+
+
+The necessity of some such check in the hands of the Executive is shown
+by reference to the most eminent writers upon our system of government,
+who seem to concur in the opinion that encroachments are most to be
+apprehended from the department in which all legislative powers are
+vested by the Constitution. Mr. Madison, in referring to the difficulty
+of providing some practical security for each against the invasion of
+the others, remarks that "the legislative department is everywhere
+extending the sphere of its activity and drawing all power into its
+impetuous vortex." "The founders of our Republic * * * seem never to
+have recollected the danger from legislative usurpations, which by
+assembling all power in the same hands must lead to the same tyranny as
+is threatened by Executive usurpations." "In a representative republic,
+where the executive magistracy is carefully limited both in the extent
+and the duration of its power, and where the legislative power is
+exercised by an assembly which is inspired, by a supposed influence over
+the people, with an intrepid confidence in its own strength, which
+is sufficiently numerous to feel all the passions which actuate a
+multitude, yet not so numerous as to be incapable of pursuing the
+objects of its passions by means which reason prescribes, it is against
+the enterprising ambition of this department that the people ought to
+indulge all their jealousy and exhaust all their precautions." "The
+legislative department derives a superiority in our governments from
+other circumstances. Its constitutional powers being at once more
+extensive and less susceptible of precise limits, it can with the
+greater facility mask, under complicated and indirect measures, the
+encroachments which it makes on the coordinate departments." "On the
+other side, the Executive power being restrained within a narrower
+compass and being more simple in its nature, and the judiciary being
+described by landmarks still less uncertain, projects of usurpation
+by either of these departments would immediately betray and defeat
+themselves. Nor is this all. As the legislative department alone has
+access to the pockets of the people and has in some constitutions full
+discretion and in all a prevailing influence over the pecuniary rewards
+of those who fill the other departments, a dependence is thus created in
+the latter which gives still greater facility to encroachments of the
+former." "We have seen that the tendency of republican governments is
+to an aggrandizement of the legislative at the expense of the other
+departments."
+
+Mr. Jefferson, in referring to the early constitution of
+Virginia, objected that by its provisions all the powers of
+government--legislative, executive, and judicial--resulted to the
+legislative body, holding that "the concentrating these in the same
+hands is precisely the definition of despotic government. It will be no
+alleviation that these powers will be exercised by a plurality of hands,
+and not by a single one. One hundred and seventy-three despots would
+surely be as oppressive as one." "As little will it avail us that they
+are chosen by ourselves. An elective despotism was not the government we
+fought for, but one which should not only be founded on free principles,
+but in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced
+among several bodies of magistracy as that no one could transcend their
+legal limits without being effectually checked and restrained by the
+others. For this reason that convention which passed the ordinance of
+government laid its foundation on this basis, that the legislative,
+executive, and judicial departments should be separate and distinct,
+so that no person should exercise the powers of more than one of them
+at the same time. But no barrier was provided between these several
+powers. The judiciary and executive members were left dependent on the
+legislative for their subsistence in office, and some of them for their
+continuance in it. If, therefore, the legislature assumes executive and
+judiciary powers, no opposition is likely to be made, nor, if made, can
+be effectual, because in that case they may put their proceedings into
+the form of an act of assembly, which will render them obligatory on the
+other branches. They have accordingly in many instances decided rights
+which should have been left to judiciary controversy; and the direction
+of the executive, during the whole time of their session, is becoming
+habitual and familiar."
+
+Mr. Justice Story, in his Commentaries on the Constitution, reviews the
+same subject, and says:
+
+  The truth is that the legislative power is the great and overruling
+  power in every free government. * * * The representatives of the people
+  will watch with jealousy every encroachment of the executive magistrate,
+  for it trenches upon their own authority. But who shall watch the
+  encroachment of these representatives themselves? Will they be as
+  jealous of the exercise of power by themselves as by others? * * *
+
+  There are many reasons which may be assigned for the engrossing
+  influence of the legislative department. In the first place, its
+  constitutional powers are more extensive, and less capable of being
+  brought within precise limits than those of either the other
+  departments. The bounds of the executive authority are easily marked
+  out and defined. It reaches few objects, and those are known. It can
+  not transcend them without being brought in contact with the other
+  departments. Laws may check and restrain and bound its exercise. The
+  same remarks apply with still greater force to the judiciary. The
+  jurisdiction is, or may be, bounded to a few objects or persons; or,
+  however general and unlimited, its operations are necessarily confined
+  to the mere administration of private and public justice. It can not
+  punish without law. It can not create controversies to act upon. It can
+  decide only upon rights and cases as they are brought by others before
+  it. It can do nothing for itself. It must do everything for others. It
+  must obey the laws, and if it corruptly administers them it is subjected
+  to the power of impeachment. On the other hand, the legislative power
+  except in the few cases of constitutional prohibition, is unlimited. It
+  is forever varying its means and its ends. It governs the institutions
+  and laws and public policy of the country. It regulates all its vast
+  interests. It disposes of all its property. Look but at the exercise
+  of two or three branches of its ordinary powers. It levies all taxes;
+  it directs and appropriates all supplies; it gives the rules for the
+  descent, distribution, and devises of all property held by individuals;
+  it controls the sources and the resources of wealth; it changes at its
+  will the whole fabric of the laws; it molds at its pleasure almost all
+  the institutions which give strength and comfort and dignity to society.
+
+  In the next place, it is the direct visible representative of the will
+  of the people in all the changes of times and circumstances. It has the
+  pride as well as the power of numbers. It is easily moved and steadily
+  moved by the strong impulses of popular feeling and popular odium. It
+  obeys without reluctance the wishes and the will of the majority for the
+  time being. The path to public favor lies open by such obedience, and it
+  finds not only support but impunity in whatever measures the majority
+  advises, even though they transcend the constitutional limits. It has no
+  motive, therefore, to be jealous or scrupulous in its own use of power;
+  and it finds its ambition stimulated and its arm strengthened by the
+  countenance and the courage of numbers. These views are not alone those
+  of men who look with apprehension upon the fate of republics, but they
+  are also freely admitted by some of the strongest advocates for popular
+  rights and the permanency of republican institutions. * * *
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+  * * * Each department should have a will of its own. * * * Each should
+  have its own independence secured beyond the power of being taken away
+  by either or both of the others. But at the same time the relations of
+  each to the other should be so strong that there should be a mutual
+  interest to sustain and protect each other. There should not only be
+  constitutional means, but personal motives to resist encroachments of
+  one or either of the others. Thus ambition would be made to counteract
+  ambition, the desire of power to check power, and the pressure of
+  interest to balance an opposing interest.
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+  * * * The judiciary is naturally and almost necessarily, as has been
+  already said, the weakest department. It can have no means of influence
+  by patronage. Its powers can never be wielded for itself. It has no
+  command over the purse or the sword of the nation. It can neither lay
+  taxes, nor appropriate money, nor command armies, nor appoint to office.
+  It is never brought into contact with the people by constant appeals and
+  solicitations and private intercourse, which belong to all the other
+  departments of Government. It is seen only in controversies or in trials
+  and punishments. Its rigid justice and impartiality give it no claims to
+  favor, however they may to respect. It stands solitary and unsupported,
+  except by that portion of public opinion which is interested only in the
+  strict administration of justice. It can rarely secure the sympathy or
+  zealous support either of the Executive or the Legislature. If they
+  are not, as is not unfrequently the case, jealous of its prerogatives,
+  the constant necessity of scrutinizing the acts of each, upon the
+  application of any private person, and the painful duty of pronouncing
+  judgment that these acts are a departure from the law or Constitution
+  can have no tendency to conciliate kindness or nourish influence. It
+  would seem, therefore, that some additional guards would, under the
+  circumstances, be necessary to protect this department from the absolute
+  dominion of the others. Yet rarely have any such guards been applied,
+  and every attempt to introduce them has been resisted with a pertinacity
+  which demonstrates how slow popular leaders are to introduce checks upon
+  their own power and how slow the people are to believe that the
+  judiciary is the real bulwark of their liberties. * * *
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+  * * * If any department of the Government has undue influence or
+  absorbing power, it certainly has not been the executive or judiciary.
+
+
+In addition to what has been said by these distinguished writers,
+it may also be urged that the dominant party in each House may, by the
+expulsion of a sufficient number of members or by the exclusion from
+representation of a requisite number of States, reduce the minority to
+less than one-third. Congress by these means might be enabled to pass a
+law, the objections of the President to the contrary notwithstanding,
+which would render impotent the other two departments of the Government
+and make inoperative the wholesome and restraining power which it was
+intended by the framers of the Constitution should be exerted by them.
+This would be a practical concentration of all power in the Congress
+of the United States; this, in the language of the author of the
+Declaration of Independence, would be "precisely the definition of
+despotic government."
+
+I have preferred to reproduce these teachings of the great statesmen
+and constitutional lawyers of the early and later days of the Republic
+rather than to rely simply upon an expression of my own opinions.
+We can not too often recur to them, especially at a conjuncture like
+the present. Their application to our actual condition is so apparent
+that they now come to us a living voice, to be listened to with more
+attention than at any previous period of our history. We have been and
+are yet in the midst of popular commotion. The passions aroused by a
+great civil war are still dominant. It is not a time favorable to that
+calm and deliberate judgment which is the only safe guide when radical
+changes in our institutions are to be made. The measure now before me is
+one of those changes. It initiates an untried experiment for a people
+who have said, with one voice, that it is not for their good. This alone
+should make us pause, but it is not all. The experiment has not been
+tried, or so much as demanded, by the people of the several States for
+themselves. In but few of the States has such an innovation been allowed
+as giving the ballot to the colored population without any other
+qualification than a residence of one year, and in most of them the
+denial of the ballot to this race is absolute and by fundamental law
+placed beyond the domain of ordinary legislation. In most of those
+States the evil of such suffrage would be partial, but, small as it
+would be, it is guarded by constitutional barriers. Here the innovation
+assumes formidable proportions, which may easily grow to such an extent
+as to make the white population a subordinate element in the body
+politic.
+
+After full deliberation upon this measure, I can not bring myself to
+approve it, even upon local considerations, nor yet as the beginning of
+an experiment on a larger scale. I yield to no one in attachment to that
+rule of general suffrage which distinguishes our policy as a nation.
+But there is a limit, wisely observed hitherto, which makes the ballot
+a privilege and a trust, and which requires of some classes a time
+suitable for probation and preparation. To give it indiscriminately to
+a new class, wholly unprepared by previous habits and opportunities to
+perform the trust which it demands, is to degrade it, and finally to
+destroy its power, for it may be safely assumed that no political truth
+is better established than that such indiscriminate and all-embracing
+extension of popular suffrage must end at last in its destruction.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 28, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I return to the Senate, in which House it originated, a bill entitled
+"An act to admit the State of Colorado into the Union," to which I can
+not, consistently with my sense of duty, give my approval. With the
+exception of an additional section, containing new provisions, it is
+substantially the same as the bill of a similar title passed by Congress
+during the last session, submitted to the President for his approval,
+returned with the objections contained in a message bearing date the
+15th of May last, and yet awaiting the reconsideration of the Senate.
+
+A second bill, having in view the same purpose, has now passed both
+Houses of Congress and been presented for my signature. Having again
+carefully considered the subject, I have been unable to perceive any
+reason for changing the opinions which have already been communicated to
+Congress. I find, on the contrary, that there are many objections to the
+proposed legislation of which I was not at that time aware, and that
+while several of those which I then assigned have in the interval gained
+in strength, yet others have been created by the altered character of
+the measures now submitted.
+
+The constitution under which the State government is proposed to be
+formed very properly contains a provision that all laws in force at the
+time of its adoption and the admission of the State into the Union shall
+continue as if the constitution had not been adopted. Among those laws
+is one absolutely prohibiting negroes and mulattoes from voting. At the
+recent session of the Territorial legislature a bill for the repeal of
+this law, introduced into the council, was almost unanimously rejected;
+and at the very time when Congress was engaged in enacting the bill now
+under consideration the legislature passed an act excluding negroes and
+mulattoes from the right to sit as jurors. This bill was vetoed by the
+governor of the Territory, who held that by the laws of the United
+States negroes and mulattoes are citizens, and subject to the duties, as
+well as entitled to the rights, of citizenship. The bill, however, was
+passed, the objections of the governor to the contrary notwithstanding,
+and is now a law of the Territory. Yet in the bill now before me, by
+which it is proposed to admit the Territory as a State, it is provided
+that "there shall be no denial of the elective franchise or any other
+rights to any person by reason of race or color, excepting Indians not
+taxed."
+
+The incongruity thus exhibited between the legislation of Congress and
+that of the Territory, taken in connection with the protest against the
+admission of the State hereinafter referred to, would seem clearly to
+indicate the impolicy and injustice of the proposed enactment.
+
+It might, indeed, be a subject of grave inquiry, and doubtless will
+result in such inquiry if this bill becomes a law, whether it does not
+attempt to exercise a power not conferred upon Congress by the Federal
+Constitution. That instrument simply declares that Congress may admit
+new States into the Union. It nowhere says that Congress may make new
+States for the purpose of admitting them into the Union or for any other
+purpose; and yet this bill is as clear an attempt to make the
+institutions as any in which the people themselves could engage.
+
+In view of this action of Congress, the house of representatives of the
+Territory have earnestly protested against being forced into the Union
+without first having the question submitted to the people. Nothing could
+be more reasonable than the position which they thus assume; and it
+certainly can not be the purpose of Congress to force upon a community
+against their will a government which they do not believe themselves
+capable of sustaining.
+
+The following is a copy of the protest alluded to as officially
+transmitted to me:
+
+  Whereas it is announced in the public prints that it is the intention
+  of Congress to admit Colorado as a State into the Union: Therefore,
+
+  _Resolved by the house of representatives of the Territory_, That,
+  representing, as we do, the last and only legal expression of public
+  opinion on this question, we earnestly protest against the passage of a
+  law admitting the State without first having the question submitted to
+  a vote of the people, for the reasons, first, that we have a right to a
+  voice in the selection of the character of our government; second, that
+  we have not a sufficient population to support the expenses of a State
+  government. For these reasons we trust that Congress will not force upon
+  us a government against our will.
+
+
+Upon information which I considered reliable, I assumed in my message of
+the 15th of May last that the population of Colorado was not more than
+30,000, and expressed the opinion that this number was entirely too
+small either to assume the responsibilities or to enjoy the privileges
+of a State.
+
+It appears that previous to that time the legislature, with a view
+to ascertain the exact condition of the Territory, had passed a law
+authorizing a census of the population to be taken. The law made it
+the duty of the assessors in the several counties to take the census
+in connection with the annual assessments, and, in order to secure
+a correct enumeration of the population, allowed them a liberal
+compensation for the service by paying them for every name returned,
+and added to their previous oath of office an oath to perform this
+duty with fidelity.
+
+From the accompanying official report it appears that returns have been
+received from fifteen of the eighteen counties into which the State is
+divided, and that their population amounts in the aggregate to 24,909.
+The three remaining counties are estimated to contain 3,000, making a
+total population of 27,909.
+
+This census was taken in the summer season, when it is claimed that the
+population is much larger than at any other period, as in the autumn
+miners in large numbers leave their work and return to the East with the
+results of their summer enterprise.
+
+The population, it will be observed, is but slightly in excess of
+one-fifth of the number required as the basis of representation for a
+single Congressional district in any of the States--the number being
+127,000.
+
+I am unable to perceive any good reason for such great disparity in the
+right of representation, giving, as it would, to the people of Colorado
+not only this vast advantage in the House of Representatives, but an
+equality in the Senate, where the other States are represented by
+millions. With perhaps a single exception, no such inequality as this
+has ever before been attempted. I know that it is claimed that the
+population of the different States at the time of their admission has
+varied at different periods, but it has not varied much more than the
+population of each decade and the corresponding basis of representation
+for the different periods.
+
+The obvious intent of the Constitution was that no State should be
+admitted with a less population than the ratio for a Representative at
+the time of application. The limitation in the second section of the
+first article of the Constitution, declaring that "each State shall have
+at least one Representative," was manifestly designed to protect the
+States which originally composed the Union from being deprived, in
+the event of a waning population, of a voice in the popular branch of
+Congress, and was never intended as a warrant to force a new State into
+the Union with a representative population far below that which might at
+the time be required of sister members of the Confederacy. This bill, in
+view of the prohibition of the same section, which declares that "the
+number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every 30,000," is at
+least a violation of the spirit if not the letter of the Constitution.
+
+It is respectfully submitted that however Congress, under the pressure
+of circumstances, may have admitted two or three States with less than
+a representative population at the time, there has been no instance in
+which an application for admission has ever been entertained when the
+population, as officially ascertained, was below 30,000.
+
+Were there any doubt of this being the true construction of the
+Constitution, it would be dispelled by the early and long-continued
+practice of the Federal Government. For nearly sixty years after the
+adoption of the Constitution no State was admitted with a population
+believed at the time to be less than the current ratio for a
+Representative, and the first instance in which there appears to have
+been a departure from the principle was in 1845, in the case of Florida.
+Obviously the result of sectional strife, we would do well to regard it
+as a warning of evil rather than as an example for imitation; and I
+think candid men of all parties will agree that the inspiring cause of
+the violation of this wholesome principle of restraint is to be found
+in a vain attempt to balance these antagonisms, which refused to be
+reconciled except through the bloody arbitrament of arms. The plain
+facts of our history will attest that the great and leading States
+admitted since 1845, viz, Iowa, Wisconsin, California, Minnesota, and
+Kansas, including Texas, which was admitted that year, have all come
+with an ample population for one Representative, and some of them with
+nearly or quite enough for two.
+
+To demonstrate the correctness of my views on this question, I subjoin
+a table containing a list of the States admitted since the adoption
+of the Federal Constitution, with the date of admission, the ratio of
+representation, and the representative population when admitted, deduced
+from the United States census tables, the calculation being made for the
+period of the decade corresponding with the date of admission.
+
+Colorado, which it is now proposed to admit as a State, contains, as has
+already been stated, a population less than 28,000, while the present
+ratio of representation is 127,000.
+
+There can be no reason that I can perceive for the admission of
+Colorado that would not apply with equal force to nearly every other
+Territory now organized; and I submit whether, if this bill become a
+law, it will be possible to resist the logical conclusion that such
+Territories as Dakota, Montana, and Idaho must be received as States
+whenever they present themselves, without regard to the number of
+inhabitants they may respectively contain. Eight or ten new Senators and
+four or five new members of the House of Representatives would thus be
+admitted to represent a population scarcely exceeding that which in any
+other portion of the nation is entitled to but a single member of the
+House of Representatives, while the average for two Senators in the
+Union, as now constituted, is at least 1,000,000 people. It would surely
+be unjust to all other sections of the Union to enter upon a policy with
+regard to the admission of new States which might result in conferring
+such a disproportionate share of influence in the National Legislature
+upon communities which, in pursuance of the wise policy of our fathers,
+should for some years to come be retained under the fostering care
+and protection of the National Government. If it is deemed just and
+expedient now to depart from the settled policy of the nation during
+all its history, and to admit all the Territories to the rights and
+privileges of States, irrespective of their population or fitness
+for such government, it is submitted whether it would not be well to
+devise such measures as will bring the subject before the country for
+consideration and decision. This would seem to be eminently wise,
+because, as has already been stated, if it is right to admit Colorado
+now there is no reason for the exclusion of the other Territories.
+
+It is no answer to these suggestions that an enabling act was passed
+authorizing the people of Colorado to take action on this subject. It is
+well known that that act was passed in consequence of representations
+that the population reached, according to some statements, as high as
+80,000, and to none less than 50,000, and was growing with a rapidity
+which by the time the admission could be consummated would secure a
+population of over 100,000. These representations proved to have been
+wholly fallacious, and in addition the people of the Territory by a
+deliberate vote decided that they would not assume the responsibilities
+of a State government. By that decision they utterly exhausted all power
+that was conferred by the enabling act, and there has been no step taken
+since in relation to the admission that has had the slightest sanction
+or warrant of law.
+
+The proceeding upon which the present application is based was in the
+utter absence of all law in relation to it, and there is no evidence
+that the votes on the question of the formation of a State government
+bear any relation whatever to the sentiment of the Territory. The
+protest of the house of representatives previously quoted is conclusive
+evidence to the contrary.
+
+But if none of these reasons existed against this proposed enactment,
+the bill itself, besides being inconsistent in its provisions in
+conferring power upon a person unknown to the laws and who may never
+have a legal existence, is so framed as to render its execution almost
+impossible. It is, indeed, a question whether it is not in itself a
+nullity. To say the least, it is of exceedingly doubtful propriety to
+confer the power proposed in this bill upon the "governor elect," for as
+by its own terms the constitution is not to take effect until after the
+admission of the State, he in the meantime has no more authority than
+any other private citizen. But even supposing him to be clothed with
+sufficient authority to convene the legislature, what constitutes the
+"State legislature" to which is to be referred the submission of the
+conditions imposed by Congress? Is it a new body to be elected and
+convened by proclamation of the "governor elect," or is it that body
+which met more than a year ago under the provisions of the State
+constitution? By reference to the second section of the schedule and to
+the eighteenth section of the fourth article of the State constitution
+it will be seen that the term of the members of the house of
+representatives and that of one-half of the members of the senate
+expired on the first Monday of the present month. It is clear that if
+there were no intrinsic objections to the bill itself in relation to
+purposes to be accomplished this objection would be fatal, as, it is
+apparent that the provisions of the third section of the bill to admit
+Colorado have reference to a period and a state of facts entirely
+different from the present and affairs as they now exist, and if carried
+into effect must necessarily lead to confusion.
+
+Even if it were settled that the old and not a new body were to act, it
+would be found impracticable to execute the law, because a considerable
+number of the members, as I am informed, have ceased to be residents of
+the Territory, and in the sixty days within which the legislature is to
+be convened after the passage of the act there would not be sufficient
+time to fill the vacancies by new elections, were there any authority
+under which they could be held.
+
+It may not be improper to add that if these proceedings were all regular
+and the result to be obtained were desirable, simple justice to the
+people of the Territory would require a longer period than sixty days
+within which to obtain action on the conditions proposed by the third
+section of the bill. There are, as is well known, large portions of the
+Territory with which there is and can be no general communication, there
+being several counties which from November to May can only be reached by
+persons traveling on foot, while with other regions of the Territory,
+occupied by a large portion of the population, there is very little more
+freedom of access. Thus, if this bill should become a law, it would be
+impracticable to obtain any expression of public sentiment in reference
+to its provisions, with a view to enlighten the legislature, if the old
+body were called together, and, of course, equally impracticable to
+procure the election of a new body. This defect might have been remedied
+by an extension of the time and a submission of the question to the
+people, with a fair opportunity to enable them to express their
+sentiments.
+
+The admission of a new State has generally been regarded as an epoch in
+our history marking the onward progress of the nation; but after the
+most careful and anxious inquiry on the subject I can not perceive that
+the proposed proceeding is in conformity with the policy which from the
+origin of the Government has uniformly prevailed in the admission of new
+States. I therefore return the bill to the Senate without my signature.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+  States                                 Admitted. Ratio. Population.
+  Vermont................................... 1791  33,000   92,320
+  Kentucky.................................. 1792  33,000   95,638
+  Tennessee................................. 1796  33,000   73,864
+  Ohio...................................... 1802  33,000   82,443
+  Louisiana................................. 1812  35,000   75,212
+  Indiana................................... 1816  35,000   98,110
+  Mississippi............................... 1817  35,000   53,677
+  Illinois.................................. 1818  35,000   46,274
+  Alabama................................... 1819  35,000  111,150
+  Maine..................................... 1820  35,000  298,335
+  Missouri.................................. 1821  35,000   69,260
+  Arkansas.................................. 1836  47,700   65,175
+  Michigan.................................. 1837  47,700  158,073
+  Florida................................... 1845  70,680   57,951
+  Texas..................................... 1845  70,680  189,327 [17]
+  Iowa...................................... 1846  70,680  132,527
+  Wisconsin................................. 1848  70,680  250,497
+  California................................ 1850  70,680   92,597
+  Oregon.................................... 1858  93,492   44,630
+  Minnesota................................. 1859  93,492  138,909
+  Kansas.................................... 1861  93,492  107,206
+  West Virginia............................. 1862  93,492  349,628
+  Nevada.................................... 1864 127,000  Not known.
+
+
+[Footnote 17: In 1850.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 29, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I return for reconsideration a bill entitled "An act for the admission
+of the State of Nebraska into the Union," which originated in the Senate
+and has received the assent of both Houses of Congress. A bill having in
+view the same object was presented for my approval a few hours prior to
+the adjournment of the last session, but, submitted at a time when there
+was no opportunity for a proper consideration of the subject, I withheld
+my signature and the measure failed to become a law.
+
+It appears by the preamble of this bill that the people of Nebraska,
+availing themselves of the authority conferred upon them by the act
+passed on the 19th day of April, 1864, "have adopted a constitution
+which, upon due examination, is found to conform to the provisions and
+comply with the conditions of said act, and to be republican in its form
+of government, and that they now ask for admission into the Union."
+This proposed law would therefore seem to be based upon the declaration
+contained in the enabling act that upon compliance with its terms the
+people of Nebraska should be admitted into the Union upon an equal
+footing with the original States. Reference to the bill, however, shows
+that while by the first section Congress distinctly accepts, ratifies,
+and confirms the Constitution and State government which the people of
+the Territory have formed for themselves, declares Nebraska to be one
+of the United States of America, and admits her into the Union upon an
+equal footing with the original States in all respects whatsoever, the
+third section provides that this measure "shall not take effect except
+upon the fundamental condition that within the State of Nebraska there
+shall be no denial of the elective franchise, or of any other right,
+to any person by reason of race or color, excepting Indians not
+taxed; and upon the further fundamental condition that the legislature
+of said State, by a solemn public act, shall declare the assent of
+said State to the said fundamental condition, and shall transmit to
+the President of the United States an authentic copy of said act, upon
+receipt whereof the President, by proclamation, shall forthwith announce
+the fact, whereupon said fundamental condition shall be held as a part
+of the organic law of the State; and thereupon, and without any further
+proceeding on the part of Congress, the admission of said State into the
+Union shall be considered as complete." This condition is not mentioned
+in the original enabling act; was not contemplated at the time of its
+passage; was not sought by the people themselves; has not heretofore
+been applied to the inhabitants of any State asking admission, and is in
+direct conflict with the constitution adopted by the people and declared
+in the preamble "to be republican in its form of government," for in
+that instrument the exercise of the elective franchise and the right
+to hold office are expressly limited to white citizens of the United
+States. Congress thus undertakes to authorize and compel the legislature
+to change a constitution which, it is declared in the preamble, has
+received the sanction of the people, and which by this bill is
+"accepted, ratified, and confirmed" by the Congress of the nation.
+
+The first and third sections of the bill exhibit yet further
+incongruity. By the one Nebraska is "admitted into the Union upon an
+equal footing with the original States in all respects whatsoever,"
+while by the other Congress demands as a condition precedent to her
+admission requirements which in our history have never been asked of
+any people when presenting a constitution and State government for the
+acceptance of the lawmaking power. It is expressly declared by the third
+section that the bill "shall not take effect except upon the fundamental
+condition that within the State of Nebraska there shall be no denial of
+the elective franchise, or of any other right, to any person by reason
+of race or color, excepting Indians not taxed." Neither more nor less
+than the assertion of the right of Congress to regulate the elective
+franchise of any State hereafter to be admitted, this condition is in
+clear violation of the Federal Constitution, under the provisions of
+which, from the very foundation of the Government, each State has been
+left free to determine for itself the qualifications necessary for
+the exercise of suffrage within its limits. Without precedent in our
+legislation, it is in marked contrast with those limitations which,
+imposed upon States that from time to time have become members of the
+Union, had for their object the single purpose of preventing any
+infringement of the Constitution of the country.
+
+If Congress is satisfied that Nebraska at the present time possesses
+sufficient population to entitle her to full representation in the
+councils of the nation, and that her people desire an exchange of a
+Territorial for a State government, good faith would seem to demand that
+she should be admitted without further requirements than those expressed
+in the enabling act, with all of which, it is asserted in the preamble,
+her inhabitants have complied. Congress may, under the Constitution,
+admit new States or reject them, but the people of a State can alone
+make or change their organic law and prescribe the qualifications
+requisite for electors. Congress, however, in passing the bill in the
+shape in which it has been submitted for my approval, does not merely
+reject the application of the people of Nebraska for present admission
+as a State into the Union, on the ground that the constitution which
+they have submitted restricts the exercise of the elective franchise to
+the white population, but imposes conditions which, if accepted by the
+legislature, may, without the consent of the people, so change the
+organic law as to make electors of all persons within the State without
+distinction of race or color. In view of this fact, I suggest for the
+consideration of Congress whether it would not be just, expedient, and
+in accordance with the principles of our Government to allow the people,
+by popular vote or through a convention chosen by themselves for that
+purpose, to declare whether or not they will accept the terms upon which
+it is now proposed to admit them into the Union. This course would
+not occasion much greater delay than that which the bill contemplates
+when it requires that the legislature shall be convened within thirty
+days after this measure shall have become a law for the purpose of
+considering and deciding the conditions which it imposes, and gains
+additional force when we consider that the proceedings attending the
+formation of the State constitution were not in conformity with the
+provisions of the enabling act; that in an aggregate vote of 7,776 the
+majority in favor of the constitution did not exceed 100; and that it is
+alleged that, in consequence of frauds, even this result can not be
+received as a fair expression of the wishes of the people. As upon them
+must fall the burdens of a State organization, it is but just that they
+should be permitted to determine for themselves a question which so
+materially affects their interests. Possessing a soil and a climate
+admirably adapted to those industrial pursuits which bring prosperity
+and greatness to a people, with the advantage of a central position
+on the great highway that will soon connect the Atlantic and Pacific
+States, Nebraska is rapidly gaining in numbers and wealth, and may
+within a very brief period claim admission on grounds which will
+challenge and secure universal assent. She can therefore wisely and
+patiently afford to wait. Her population is said to be steadily and
+even rapidly increasing, being now generally conceded as high as 40,000,
+and estimated by some whose judgment is entitled to respect at a still
+greater number. At her present rate of growth she will in a very short
+time have the requisite population for a Representative in Congress,
+and, what is far more important to her own citizens, will have realized
+such an advance in material wealth as will enable the expenses of a
+State government to be borne without oppression to the taxpayer. Of new
+communities it may be said with special force--and it is true of old
+ones--that the inducement to emigrants, other things being equal, is in
+almost the precise ratio of the rate of taxation. The great States of
+the Northwest owe their marvelous prosperity largely to the fact that
+they were continued as Territories until they had growth to be wealthy
+and populous communities.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 2, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I have carefully examined the bill "to regulate the tenure of certain
+civil offices." The material portion of the bill is contained in the
+first section, and is of the effect following, namely:
+
+  That every person holding any civil office to which he has been
+  appointed, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and every
+  person who shall hereafter be appointed to any such office and shall
+  become duly qualified to act therein, is and shall be entitled
+  to hold such office until a successor shall have been appointed
+  by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and duly
+  qualified; and that the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War,
+  of the Navy, and of the Interior, the Postmaster-General, and the
+  Attorney-General shall hold their offices respectively for and during
+  the term of the President by whom they may have been appointed and for
+  one month thereafter, subject to removal by and with the advice and
+  consent of the Senate.
+
+
+These provisions are qualified by a reservation in the fourth section,
+"that nothing contained in the bill shall be construed to extend the
+term of any office the duration of which is limited by law." In effect
+the bill provides that the President shall not remove from their places
+any of the civil officers whose terms of service are not limited by law
+without the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States. The
+bill in this respect conflicts, in my judgment, with the Constitution
+of the United States. The question, as Congress is well aware, is by no
+means a new one. That the power of removal is constitutionally vested
+in the President of the United States is a principle which has been not
+more distinctly declared by judicial authority and judicial commentators
+than it has been uniformly practiced upon by the legislative and
+executive departments of the Government. The question arose in the House
+of Representatives so early as the 16th of June, 1789, on the bill for
+establishing an Executive Department denominated "the Department of
+Foreign Affairs." The first clause of the bill, after recapitulating
+the functions of that officer and defining his duties, had these words:
+"To be removable from office by the President of the United States."
+It was moved to strike out these words and the motion was sustained
+with great ability and vigor. It was insisted that the President could
+not constitutionally exercise the power of removal exclusively of the
+Senate; that the Federalist so interpreted the Constitution when arguing
+for its adoption by the several States; that the Constitution had
+nowhere given the President power of removal, either expressly or by
+strong implication, but, on the contrary, had distinctly provided for
+removals from office by impeachment only.
+
+A construction which denied the power of removal by the President was
+further maintained by arguments drawn from the danger of the abuse of
+the power; from the supposed tendency of an exposure of public officers
+to capricious removal to impair the efficiency of the civil service;
+from the alleged injustice and hardship of displacing incumbents
+dependent upon their official stations without sufficient consideration;
+from a supposed want of responsibility on the part of the President, and
+from an imagined defect of guaranties against a vicious President who
+might incline to abuse the power. On the other hand, an exclusive power
+of removal by the President was defended as a true exposition of the
+text of the Constitution. It was maintained that there are certain
+causes for which persons ought to be removed from office without being
+guilty of treason, bribery, or malfeasance, and that the nature of
+things demands that it should be so. "Suppose," it was said, "a man
+becomes insane by the visitation of God and is likely to ruin our
+affairs; are the hands of the Government to be confined from warding off
+the evil? Suppose a person in office not possessing the talents he was
+judged to have at the time of the appointment; is the error not to be
+corrected? Suppose he acquires vicious habits and incurable indolence or
+total neglect of the duties of his office, which shall work mischief to
+the public welfare; is there no way to arrest the threatened danger?
+Suppose he becomes odious and unpopular by reason of the measures he
+pursues--and this he may do without committing any positive offense
+against the law; must he preserve his office in despite of the popular
+will? Suppose him grasping for his own aggrandizement and the elevation
+of his connections by every means short of the treason defined by the
+Constitution, hurrying your affairs to the precipice of destruction,
+endangering your domestic tranquillity, plundering you of the means of
+defense, alienating the affections of your allies and promoting the
+spirit of discord; must the tardy, tedious, desultory road by way of
+impeachment be traveled to overtake the man who, barely confining
+himself within the letter of the law, is employed in drawing off the
+vital principle of the Government? The nature of things, the great
+objects of society, the express objects of the Constitution itself,
+require that this thing should be otherwise. To unite the Senate with
+the President in the exercise of the power," it was said, "would involve
+us in the most serious difficulty. Suppose a discovery of any of those
+events should take place when the Senate is not in session; how is the
+remedy to be applied? The evil could be avoided in no other way than by
+the Senate sitting always." In regard to the danger of the power being
+abused if exercised by one man it was said "that the danger is as great
+with respect to the Senate, who are assembled from various parts of the
+continent, with different impressions and opinions;" "that such a body
+is more likely to misuse the power of removal than the man whom the
+united voice of America calls to the Presidential chair. As the nature
+of government requires the power of removal," it was maintained "that it
+should be exercised in this way by the hand capable of exerting itself
+with effect; and the power must be conferred on the President by the
+Constitution as the executive officer of the Government."
+
+Mr. Madison, whose adverse opinion in the Federalist had been relied
+upon by those who denied the exclusive power, now participated in the
+debate. He declared that he had reviewed his former opinions, and he
+summed up the whole case as follows:
+
+  The Constitution affirms that the executive power is vested in the
+  President. Are there exceptions to this proposition? Yes; there are.
+  The Constitution says that in appointing to office the Senate shall be
+  associated with the President, unless in the case of inferior officers,
+  when the law shall otherwise direct. Have we (that is, Congress) a
+  right to extend this exception? I believe not. If the Constitution has
+  invested all executive power in the President, I venture to assert
+  that the Legislature has no right to diminish or modify his executive
+  authority. The question now resolves itself into this: Is the power of
+  displacing an executive power? I conceive that if any power whatsoever
+  is in the Executive it is the power of appointing, overseeing, and
+  controlling those who execute the laws. If the Constitution had not
+  qualified the power of the President in appointing to office by
+  associating the Senate with him in that business, would it not be clear
+  that he would have the right by virtue of his executive power to make
+  such appointment? Should we be authorized in defiance of that clause
+  in the Constitution, "The executive power shall be vested in the
+  President," to unite the Senate with the President in the appointment
+  to office? I conceive not. If it is admitted that we should not be
+  authorized to do this, I think it may be disputed whether we have a
+  right to associate them in removing persons from office, the one power
+  being as much of an executive nature as the other; and the first one is
+  authorized by being excepted out of the general rule established by the
+  Constitution in these words: "The executive power shall be vested in the
+  President."
+
+
+The question, thus ably and exhaustively argued, was decided by the
+House of Representatives, by a vote of 34 to 20, in favor of the
+principle that the executive power of removal is vested by the
+Constitution in the Executive, and in the Senate by the casting vote
+of the Vice-President.
+
+The question has often been raised in subsequent times of high
+excitement, and the practice of the Government has, nevertheless,
+conformed in all cases to the decision thus early made.
+
+The question was revived during the Administration of President Jackson,
+who made, as is well recollected, a very large number of removals, which
+were made an occasion of close and rigorous scrutiny and remonstrance.
+The subject was long and earnestly debated in the Senate, and the early
+construction of the Constitution was, nevertheless, freely accepted as
+binding and conclusive upon Congress.
+
+The question came before the Supreme Court of the United States in
+January, 1839, _ex parte_ Hennen. It was declared by the court on that
+occasion that the power of removal from office was a subject much
+disputed, and upon which a great diversity of opinion was entertained in
+the early history of the Government. This related, however, to the power
+of the President to remove officers appointed with the concurrence of
+the Senate, and the great question was whether the removal was to be
+by the President alone or with the concurrence of the Senate, both
+constituting the appointing power. No one denied the power of the
+President and Senate jointly to remove where the tenure of the office
+was not fixed by the Constitution, which was a full recognition of the
+principle that the power of removal was incident to the power of
+appointment; but it was very early adopted as a practical construction
+of the Constitution that this power was vested in the President alone,
+and such would appear to have been the legislative construction of the
+Constitution, for in the organization of the three great Departments of
+State, War, and Treasury, in the year 1789, provision was made for the
+appointment of a subordinate officer by the head of the Department, who
+should have charge of the records, books, and papers appertaining to the
+office when the head of the Department should be removed from office
+by the President of the United States. When the Navy Department was
+established, in the year 1798, provision was made for the charge and
+custody of the books, records, and documents of the Department in case
+of vacancy in the office of Secretary by removal or otherwise. It is not
+here said "by removal of the President," as is done with respect to the
+heads of the other Departments, yet there can be no doubt that he holds
+his office with the same tenure as the other Secretaries and is
+removable by the President. The change of phraseology arose, probably,
+from its having become the settled and well-understood construction of
+the Constitution that the power of removal was vested in the President
+alone in such cases, although the appointment of the officer is by the
+President and Senate. (13 Peters, p. 139.)
+
+Our most distinguished and accepted commentators upon the Constitution
+concur in the construction thus early given by Congress, and thus
+sanctioned by the Supreme Court. After a full analysis of the
+Congressional debate to which I have referred, Mr. Justice Story comes
+to this conclusion:
+
+  After a most animated discussion, the vote finally taken in the House
+  of Representatives was affirmative of the power of removal in the
+  President, without any cooperation of the Senate, by the vote of 34
+  members against 20. In the Senate the clause in the bill affirming the
+  power was carried by the casting vote of the Vice-President. That the
+  final decision of this question so made was greatly influenced by the
+  exalted character of the President then in office was asserted at the
+  time and has always been believed; yet the doctrine was opposed as well
+  as supported by the highest talents and patriotism of the country. The
+  public have acquiesced in this decision, and it constitutes, perhaps,
+  the most extraordinary case in the history of the Government of a power
+  conferred by implication on the Executive by the assent of a bare
+  majority of Congress which has not been questioned on many other
+  occasions.
+
+
+The commentator adds:
+
+  Nor is this general acquiescence and silence without a satisfactory
+  explanation.
+
+
+Chancellor Kent's remarks on the subject are as follows:
+
+  On the first organization of the Government it was made a question
+  whether the power of removal in case of officers appointed to hold
+  at pleasure resided nowhere but in the body which appointed, and, of
+  course, whether the consent of the Senate was not requisite to remove.
+  This was the construction given to the Constitution, while it was
+  pending for ratification before the State conventions, by the author of
+  the Federalist. But the construction which was given to the Constitution
+  by Congress, after great consideration and discussion, was different.
+  The words of the act [establishing the Treasury Department] are: "And
+  whenever the same shall be removed from office by the President of
+  the United States, or in any other case of vacancy in the office, the
+  assistant shall act." This amounted to a legislative construction of the
+  Constitution, and it has ever since been acquiesced in and acted upon
+  as a decisive authority in the case. It applies equally to every other
+  officer of the Government appointed by the President, whose term of
+  duration is not specially declared. It is supported by the weighty
+  reason that the subordinate officers in the executive department ought
+  to hold at the pleasure of the head of the department, because he is
+  invested generally with the executive authority, and the participation
+  in that authority by the Senate was an exception to a general principle
+  and ought to be taken strictly. The President is the great responsible
+  officer for the faithful execution of the law, and the power of removal
+  was incidental to that duty, and might often be requisite to fulfill it.
+
+
+Thus has the important question presented by this bill been settled, in
+the language of the late Daniel Webster (who, while dissenting from it,
+admitted that it was settled), by construction, settled by precedent,
+settled by the practice of the Government, and settled by statute. The
+events of the last war furnished a practical confirmation of the wisdom
+of the Constitution as it has hitherto been maintained in many of its
+parts, including that which is now the subject of consideration. When
+the war broke out, rebel enemies, traitors, abettors, and sympathizers
+were found in every Department of the Government, as well in the civil
+service as in the land and naval military service. They were found in
+Congress and among the keepers of the Capitol; in foreign missions; in
+each and all the Executive Departments; in the judicial service; in the
+post-office, and among the agents for conducting Indian affairs. Upon
+probable suspicion they were promptly displaced by my predecessor, so
+far as they held their offices under executive authority, and their
+duties were confided to new and loyal successors. No complaints against
+that power or doubts of its wisdom were entertained in any quarter. I
+sincerely trust and believe that no such civil war is likely to occur
+again. I can not doubt, however, that in whatever form and on whatever
+occasion sedition can raise an effort to hinder or embarrass or defeat
+the legitimate action of this Government, whether by preventing the
+collection of revenue, or disturbing the public peace, or separating the
+States, or betraying the country to a foreign enemy, the power of
+removal from office by the Executive, as it has heretofore existed and
+been practiced, will be found indispensable.
+
+Under these circumstances, as a depositary of the executive authority of
+the nation, I do not feel at liberty to unite with Congress in reversing
+it by giving my approval to the bill. At the early day when this
+question was settled, and, indeed, at the several periods when it has
+subsequently been agitated, the success of the Constitution of the
+United States, as a new and peculiar system of free representative
+government, was held doubtful in other countries, and was even a subject
+of patriotic apprehension among the American people themselves. A trial
+of nearly eighty years, through the vicissitudes of foreign conflicts
+and of civil war, is confidently regarded as having extinguished all
+such doubts and apprehensions for the future. During that eighty years
+the people of the United States have enjoyed a measure of security,
+peace, prosperity, and happiness never surpassed by any nation. It can
+not be doubted that the triumphant success of the Constitution is due
+to the wonderful wisdom with which the functions of government were
+distributed between the three principal departments--the legislative,
+the executive, and the judicial--and to the fidelity with which each
+has confined itself or been confined by the general voice of the nation
+within its peculiar and proper sphere. While a just, proper, and
+watchful jealousy of executive power constantly prevails, as it ought
+ever to prevail, yet it is equally true that an efficient Executive,
+capable, in the language of the oath prescribed to the President, of
+executing the laws and, within the sphere of executive action, of
+preserving, protecting, and defending the Constitution of the United
+States, is an indispensable security for tranquillity at home and peace,
+honor, and safety abroad. Governments have been erected in many
+countries upon our model. If one or many of them have thus far failed in
+fully securing to their people the benefits which we have derived from
+our system, it may be confidently asserted that their misfortune has
+resulted from their unfortunate failure to maintain the integrity of
+each of the three great departments while preserving harmony among
+them all.
+
+Having at an early period accepted the Constitution in regard to the
+Executive office in the sense in which it was interpreted with the
+concurrence of its founders, I have found no sufficient grounds in the
+arguments now opposed to that construction or in any assumed necessity
+of the times for changing those opinions. For these reasons I return
+the bill to the Senate, in which House it originated, for the further
+consideration of Congress which the Constitution prescribes. Insomuch as
+the several parts of the bill which I have not considered are matters
+chiefly of detail and are based altogether upon the theory of the
+Constitution from which I am obliged to dissent, I have not thought
+it necessary to examine them with a view to make them an occasion of
+distinct and special objections.
+
+Experience, I think, has shown that it is the easiest, as it is
+also the most attractive, of studies to frame constitutions for the
+self-government of free states and nations. But I think experience has
+equally shown that it is the most difficult of all political labors to
+preserve and maintain such free constitutions of self-government when
+once happily established. I know no other way in which they can be
+preserved and maintained except by a constant adherence to them through
+the various vicissitudes of national existence, with such adaptations
+as may become necessary, always to be effected, however, through the
+agencies and in the forms prescribed in the original constitutions
+themselves.
+
+Whenever administration fails or seems to fail in securing any of the
+great ends for which republican government is established, the proper
+course seems to be to renew the original spirit and forms of the
+Constitution itself.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 2, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I have examined the bill "to provide for the more efficient government
+of the rebel States" with the care and anxiety which its transcendent
+importance is calculated to awaken. I am unable to give it my assent,
+for reasons so grave that I hope a statement of them may have some
+influence on the minds of the patriotic and enlightened men with whom
+the decision must ultimately rest.
+
+The bill places all the people of the ten States therein named under the
+absolute domination of military rulers; and the preamble undertakes to
+give the reason upon which the measure is based and the ground upon
+which it is justified. It declares that there exists in those States no
+legal governments and no adequate protection for life or property, and
+asserts the necessity of enforcing peace and good order within their
+limits. Is this true as matter of fact?
+
+It is not denied that the States in question have each of them
+an actual government, with all the powers--executive, judicial, and
+legislative--which properly belong to a free state. They are organized
+like the other States of the Union, and, like them, they make,
+administer, and execute the laws which concern their domestic affairs.
+An existing _de facto_ government, exercising such functions as these,
+is itself the law of the state upon all matters within its jurisdiction.
+To pronounce the supreme law-making power of an established state
+illegal is to say that law itself is unlawful.
+
+The provisions which these governments have made for the preservation
+of order, the suppression of crime, and the redress of private injuries
+are in substance and principle the same as those which prevail in the
+Northern States and in other civilized countries. They certainly have
+not succeeded in preventing the commission of all crime, nor has this
+been accomplished anywhere in the world. There, as well as elsewhere,
+offenders sometimes escape for want of vigorous prosecution, and
+occasionally, perhaps, by the inefficiency of courts or the prejudice of
+jurors. It is undoubtedly true that these evils have been much increased
+and aggravated, North and South, by the demoralizing influences of civil
+war and by the rancorous passions which the contest has engendered. But
+that these people are maintaining local governments for themselves which
+habitually defeat the object of all government and render their own
+lives and property insecure is in itself utterly improbable, and the
+averment of the bill to that effect is not supported by any evidence
+which has come to my knowledge. All the information I have on the
+subject convinces me that the masses of the Southern people and those
+who control their public acts, while they entertain diverse opinions
+on questions of Federal policy, are completely united in the effort to
+reorganize their society on the basis of peace and to restore their
+mutual prosperity as rapidly and as completely as their circumstances
+will permit.
+
+The bill, however, would seem to show upon its face that the
+establishment of peace and good order is not its real object. The fifth
+section declares that the preceding sections shall cease to operate in
+any State where certain events shall have happened. These events are,
+first, the selection of delegates to a State convention by an election
+at which negroes shall be allowed to vote; second, the formation of a
+State constitution by the convention so chosen; third, the insertion
+into the State constitution of a provision which will secure the right
+of voting at all elections to negroes and to such white men as may
+not be disfranchised for rebellion or felony; fourth, the submission
+of the constitution for ratification to negroes and white men not
+disfranchised, and its actual ratification by their vote; fifth, the
+submission of the State constitution to Congress for examination and
+approval, and the actual approval of it by that body; sixth, the
+adoption of a certain amendment to the Federal Constitution by a vote
+of the legislature elected under the new constitution; seventh, the
+adoption of said amendment by a sufficient number of other States to
+make it a part of the Constitution of the United States. All these
+conditions must be fulfilled before the people of any of these States
+can be relieved from the bondage of military domination; but when they
+are fulfilled, then immediately the pains and penalties of the bill are
+to cease, no matter whether there be peace and order or not, and without
+any reference to the security of life or property. The excuse given for
+the bill in the preamble is admitted by the bill itself not to be real.
+The military rule which it establishes is plainly to be used, not for
+any purpose of order or for the prevention of crime, but solely as
+a means of coercing the people into the adoption of principles and
+measures to which it is known that they are opposed, and upon which
+they have an undeniable right to exercise their own judgment.
+
+I submit to Congress whether this measure is not in its whole character,
+scope, and object without precedent and without authority, in palpable
+conflict with the plainest provisions of the Constitution, and utterly
+destructive to those great principles of liberty and humanity for which
+our ancestors on both sides of the Atlantic have shed so much blood and
+expended so much treasure.
+
+The ten States named in the bill are divided into five districts.
+For each district an officer of the Army, not below the rank of a
+brigadier-general, is to be appointed to rule over the people; and he
+is to be supported with an efficient military force to enable him to
+perform his duties and enforce his authority. Those duties and that
+authority, as defined by the third section of the bill, are "to protect
+all persons in their rights of person and property, to suppress
+insurrection, disorder, and violence, and to punish or cause to be
+punished all disturbers of the public peace or criminals." The power
+thus given to the commanding officer over all the people of each
+district is that of an absolute monarch. His mere will is to take the
+place of all law. The law of the States is now the only rule applicable
+to the subjects placed under his control, and that is completely
+displaced by the clause which declares all interference of State
+authority to be null and void. He alone is permitted to determine what
+are rights of person or property, and he may protect them in such way as
+in his discretion may seem proper. It places at his free disposal all
+the lands and goods in his district, and he may distribute them without
+let or hindrance to whom he pleases. Being bound by no State law, and
+there being no other law to regulate the subject, he may make a criminal
+code of his own; and he can make it as bloody as any recorded in
+history, or he can reserve the privilege of acting upon the impulse of
+his private passions in each case that arises. He is bound by no rules
+of evidence; there is, indeed, no provision by which he is authorized or
+required to take any evidence at all. Everything is a crime which he
+chooses to call so, and all persons are condemned whom he pronounces to
+be guilty. He is not bound to keep any record or make any report of his
+proceedings. He may arrest his victims wherever he finds them, without
+warrant, accusation, or proof of probable cause. If he gives them a
+trial before he inflicts the punishment, he gives it of his grace and
+mercy, not because he is commanded so to do.
+
+To a casual reader of the bill it might seem that some kind of trial was
+secured by it to persons accused of crime, but such is not the case.
+The officer "may allow local civil tribunals to try offenders," but
+of course this does not require that he shall do so. If any State or
+Federal court presumes to exercise its legal jurisdiction by the trial
+of a malefactor without his special permission, he can break it up and
+punish the judges and jurors as being themselves malefactors. He can
+save his friends from justice, and despoil his enemies contrary to
+justice.
+
+It is also provided that "he shall have power to organize military
+commissions or tribunals:" but this power he is not commanded to
+exercise. It is merely permissive, and is to be used only "when in his
+judgment it may be necessary for the trial of offenders." Even if the
+sentence of a commission were made a prerequisite to the punishment
+of a party, it would be scarcely the slightest check upon the officer,
+who has authority to organize it as he pleases, prescribe its mode of
+proceeding, appoint its members from his own subordinates, and revise
+all its decisions. Instead of mitigating the harshness of his single
+rule, such a tribunal would be used much more probably to divide the
+responsibility of making it more cruel and unjust.
+
+Several provisions dictated by the humanity of Congress have
+been inserted in the bill, apparently to restrain the power of the
+commanding officer; but it seems to me that they are of no avail for
+that purpose. The fourth section provides: First. That trials shall not
+be unnecessarily delayed; but I think I have shown that the power is
+given to punish without trial; and if so, this provision is practically
+inoperative. Second. Cruel or unusual punishment is not to be inflicted;
+but who is to decide what is cruel and what is unusual? The words have
+acquired a legal meaning by long use in the courts. Can it be expected
+that military officers will understand or follow a rule expressed in
+language so purely technical and not pertaining in the least degree
+to their profession? If not, then each officer may define cruelty
+according to his own temper, and if it is not usual he will make it
+usual. Corporal punishment, imprisonment, the gag, the ball and chain,
+and all the almost insupportable forms of torture invented for military
+punishment lie within the range of choice. Third. The sentence of
+a commission is not to be executed without being approved by the
+commander, if it affects life or liberty, and a sentence of death must
+be approved by the President. This applies to cases in which there has
+been a trial and sentence. I take it to be clear, under this bill, that
+the military commander may condemn to death without even the form of a
+trial by a military commission, so that the life of the condemned may
+depend upon the will of two men instead of one.
+
+It is plain that the authority here given to the military officer
+amounts to absolute despotism. But to make it still more unendurable,
+the bill provides that it may be delegated to as many subordinates as he
+chooses to appoint, for it declares that he shall "punish or cause to be
+punished." Such a power has not been wielded by any monarch in England
+for more than five hundred years. In all that time no people who speak
+the English language have borne such servitude. It reduces the whole
+population of the ten States--all persons, of every color, sex, and
+condition, and every stranger within their limits--to the most abject
+and degrading slavery. No master ever had a control so absolute over the
+slaves as this bill gives to the military officers over both white and
+colored persons.
+
+It may be answered to this that the officers of the Army are too
+magnanimous, just, and humane to oppress and trample upon a subjugated
+people. I do not doubt that army officers are as well entitled to this
+kind of confidence as any other class of men. But the history of the
+world has been written in vain if it does not teach us that unrestrained
+authority can never be safely trusted in human hands. It is almost sure
+to be more or less abused under any circumstances, and it has always
+resulted in gross tyranny where the rulers who exercise it are strangers
+to their subjects and come among them as the representatives of a
+distant power, and more especially when the power that sends them is
+unfriendly. Governments closely resembling that here proposed have been
+fairly tried in Hungary and Poland, and the suffering endured by those
+people roused the sympathies of the entire world. It was tried in
+Ireland, and, though tempered at first by principles of English law,
+it gave birth to cruelties so atrocious that they are never recounted
+without just indignation. The French Convention armed its deputies with
+this power and sent them to the southern departments of the Republic.
+The massacres, murders, and other atrocities which they committed show
+what the passions of the ablest men in the most civilized society will
+tempt them to do when wholly unrestrained by law.
+
+The men of our race in every age have struggled to tie up the hands
+of their governments and keep them within the law, because their own
+experience of all mankind taught them that rulers could not be relied
+on to concede those lights which they were not legally bound to respect.
+The head of a great empire has sometimes governed it with a mild and
+paternal sway, but the kindness of an irresponsible deputy never yields
+what the law does not extort from him. Between such a master and the
+people subjected to his domination there can be nothing but enmity; he
+punishes them if they resist his authority, and if they submit to it
+he hates them for their servility.
+
+I come now to a question which is, if possible, still more important.
+Have we the power to establish and carry into execution a measure like
+this? I answer, Certainly not, if we derive our authority from the
+Constitution and if we are bound by the limitations which it imposes.
+
+This proposition is perfectly clear, that no branch of the Federal
+Government--executive, legislative, or judicial--can have any just
+powers except those which it derives through and exercises under the
+organic law of the Union. Outside of the Constitution we have no legal
+authority more than private citizens, and within it we have only so
+much as that instrument gives us. This broad principle limits all our
+functions and applies to all subjects. It protects not only the citizens
+of States which are within the Union, but it shields every human being
+who comes or is brought under our jurisdiction. We have no right to do
+in one place more than in another that which the Constitution says we
+shall not do at all. If, therefore, the Southern States were in truth
+out of the Union, we could not treat their people in a way which the
+fundamental law forbids.
+
+Some persons assume that the success of our arms in crushing the
+opposition which was made in some of the States to the execution of the
+Federal laws reduced those States and all their people--the innocent as
+well as the guilty--to the condition of vassalage and gave us a power
+over them which the Constitution does not bestow or define or limit.
+No fallacy can be more transparent than this. Our victories subjected
+the insurgents to legal obedience, not to the yoke of an arbitrary
+despotism. When an absolute sovereign reduces his rebellious subjects,
+he may deal with them according to his pleasure, because he had that
+power before. But when a limited monarch puts down an insurrection, he
+must still govern according to law. If an insurrection should take place
+in one of our States against the authority of the State government and
+end in the overthrow of those who planned it, would that take away the
+rights of all the people of the counties where it was favored by a part
+or a majority of the population? Could they for such a reason be wholly
+outlawed and deprived of their representation in the legislature? I have
+always contended that the Government of the United States was sovereign
+within its constitutional sphere; that it executed its laws, like
+the States themselves, by applying its coercive power directly to
+individuals, and that it could put down insurrection with the same
+effect as a State and no other. The opposite doctrine is the worst
+heresy of those who advocated secession, and can not be agreed to
+without admitting that heresy to be right.
+
+Invasion, insurrection, rebellion, and domestic violence were
+anticipated when the Government was framed, and the means of repelling
+and suppressing them were wisely provided for in the Constitution; but
+it was not thought necessary to declare that the States in which they
+might occur should be expelled from the Union. Rebellions, which were
+invariably suppressed, occurred prior to that out of which these
+questions grow; but the States continued to exist and the Union remained
+unbroken. In Massachusetts, in Pennsylvania, in Rhode Island, and in New
+York, at different periods in our history, violent and armed opposition
+to the United States was carried on; but the relations of those States
+with the Federal Government were not supposed to be interrupted or
+changed thereby after the rebellious portions of their population were
+defeated and put down. It is true that in these earlier cases there was
+no formal expression of a determination to withdraw from the Union, but
+it is also true that in the Southern States the ordinances of secession
+were treated by all the friends of the Union as mere nullities and are
+now acknowledged to be so by the States themselves. If we admit that
+they had any force or validity or that they did in fact take the States
+in which they were passed out of the Union, we sweep from under our feet
+all the grounds upon which we stand in justifying the use of Federal
+force to maintain the integrity of the Government.
+
+This is a bill passed by Congress in time of peace. There is not
+in any one of the States brought under its operation either war or
+insurrection. The laws of the States and of the Federal Government are
+all in undisturbed and harmonious operation. The courts, State and
+Federal, are open and in the full exercise of their proper authority.
+Over every State comprised in these five military districts, life,
+liberty, and property are secured by State laws and Federal laws, and
+the National Constitution is everywhere in force and everywhere obeyed.
+What, then, is the ground on which this bill proceeds? The title of the
+bill announces that it is intended "for the more efficient government"
+of these ten States. It is recited by way of preamble that no legal
+State governments "nor adequate protection for life or property" exist
+in those States, and that peace and good order should be thus enforced.
+The first thing which arrests attention upon these recitals, which
+prepare the way for martial law, is this, that the only foundation
+upon which martial law can exist under our form of government is not
+stated or so much as pretended. Actual war, foreign invasion, domestic
+insurrection--none of these appear; and none of these, in fact, exist.
+It is not even recited that any sort of war or insurrection is
+threatened. Let us pause here to consider, upon this question of
+constitutional law and the power of Congress, a recent decision of
+the Supreme Court of the United States in _ex parte_ Milligan.
+
+I will first quote from the opinion of the majority of the court:
+
+  Martial law can not arise from a threatened invasion. The necessity
+  must be actual and present, the invasion real, such as effectually
+  closes the courts and deposes the civil administration.
+
+
+We see that martial law comes in only when actual war closes the courts
+and deposes the civil authority; but this bill, in time of peace, makes
+martial law operate as though we were in actual war, and becomes the
+_cause_ instead of the _consequence_ of the abrogation of civil
+authority. One more quotation:
+
+  It follows from what has been said on this subject that there are
+  occasions when martial law can be properly applied. If in foreign
+  invasion or civil war the courts are actually closed, and it is
+  impossible to administer criminal justice according to law, _then_, on
+  the theater of active military operations, where war really prevails,
+  there is a necessity to furnish a substitute for the civil authority
+  thus overthrown, to preserve the safety of the army and society; and as
+  no power is left but the military, it is allowed to govern by martial
+  rule until the laws can have their free course.
+
+
+I now quote from the opinion of the minority of the court, delivered by
+Chief Justice Chase:
+
+  We by no means assert that Congress can establish and apply the laws of
+  war where no war has been declared or exists. Where peace exists, the
+  laws of peace must prevail.
+
+
+This is sufficiently explicit. Peace exists in all the territory to
+which this bill applies. It asserts a power in Congress, in time of
+peace, to set aside the laws of peace and to substitute the laws of war.
+The minority, concurring with the majority, declares that Congress does
+not possess that power. Again, and, if possible, more emphatically, the
+Chief Justice, with remarkable clearness and condensation, sums up the
+whole matter as follows:
+
+  There are under the Constitution three kinds of military
+  jurisdiction--one to be exercised both in peace and war; another to be
+  exercised in time of foreign war without the boundaries of the United
+  States, or in time of rebellion and civil war within States or districts
+  occupied by rebels treated as belligerents; and a third to be exercised
+  in time of invasion or insurrection within the limits of the United
+  States, or during rebellion within the limits of the States maintaining
+  adhesion to the National Government, when the public danger requires its
+  exercise. The first of these may be called jurisdiction under military
+  law, and is found in acts of Congress prescribing rules and articles of
+  war or otherwise providing for the government of the national forces;
+  the second may be distinguished as military government, superseding
+  as far as may be deemed expedient the local law, and exercised by
+  the military commander under the direction of the President, with
+  the express or implied sanction of Congress; while the third may be
+  denominated martial law proper, and is called into action by Congress,
+  or temporarily, when the action of Congress can not be invited, and in
+  the case of justifying or excusing peril, by the President, in times of
+  insurrection or invasion or of civil or foreign war, within districts
+  or localities where ordinary law no longer adequately secures public
+  safety and private rights.
+
+
+It will be observed that of the three kinds of military jurisdiction
+which can be exercised or created under our Constitution there is but
+one that can prevail in time of peace, and that is the code of laws
+enacted by Congress for the government of the national forces. That body
+of military law has no application to the citizen, nor even to the
+citizen soldier enrolled in the militia in time of peace. But this bill
+is not a part of that sort of military law, for that applies only to the
+soldier and not to the citizen, whilst, contrariwise, the military law
+provided by this bill applies only to the citizen and not to the
+soldier.
+
+I need not say to the representatives of the American people that their
+Constitution forbids the exercise of judicial power in any way but
+one--that is, by the ordained and established courts. It is equally well
+known that in all criminal cases a trial by jury is made indispensable
+by the express words of that instrument. I will not enlarge on the
+inestimable value of the right thus secured to every freeman or speak
+of the danger to public liberty in all parts of the country which must
+ensue from a denial of it anywhere or upon any pretense. A very recent
+decision of the Supreme Court has traced the history, vindicated the
+dignity, and made known the value of this great privilege so clearly
+that nothing more is needed. To what extent a violation of it might be
+excused in time of war or public danger may admit of discussion, but we
+are providing now for a time of profound peace, when there is not an
+armed soldier within our borders except those who are in the service
+of the Government. It is in such a condition of things that an act of
+Congress is proposed which, if carried out, would deny a trial by the
+lawful courts and juries to 9,000,000 American citizens and to their
+posterity for an indefinite period. It seems to be scarcely possible
+that anyone should seriously believe this consistent with a Constitution
+which declares in simple, plain, and unambiguous language that all
+persons shall have that right and that no person shall ever in any case
+be deprived of it. The Constitution also forbids the arrest of the
+citizen without judicial warrant, founded on probable cause. This bill
+authorizes an arrest without warrant, at the pleasure of a military
+commander. The Constitution declares that "no person shall be held to
+answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on presentment
+by a grand jury." This bill holds every person not a soldier answerable
+for all crimes and all charges without any presentment. The Constitution
+declares that "no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property
+without due process of law." This bill sets aside all process of law,
+and makes the citizen answerable in his person and property to the
+will of one man, and as to his life to the will of two. Finally, the
+Constitution declares that "the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_
+shall not be suspended unless when, in case of rebellion or invasion,
+the public safety may require it;" whereas this bill declares martial
+law (which of itself suspends this great writ) in time of peace, and
+authorizes the military to make the arrest, and gives to the prisoner
+only one privilege, and that is a trial "without unnecessary delay."
+He has no hope of release from custody, except the hope, such as it is,
+of release by acquittal before a military commission.
+
+The United States are bound to guarantee to each State a republican form
+of government. Can it be pretended that this obligation is not palpably
+broken if we carry out a measure like this, which wipes away every
+vestige of republican government in ten States and puts the life,
+property, liberty, and honor of all the people in each of them under
+the domination of a single person clothed with unlimited authority?
+
+The Parliament of England, exercising the omnipotent power which it
+claimed, was accustomed to pass bills of attainder; that is to say, it
+would convict men of treason and other crimes by legislative enactment.
+The person accused had a hearing, sometimes a patient and fair one, but
+generally party prejudice prevailed instead of justice. It often became
+necessary for Parliament to acknowledge its error and reverse its own
+action. The fathers of our country determined that no such thing should
+occur here. They withheld the power from Congress, and thus forbade its
+exercise by that body, and they provided in the Constitution that no
+State should pass any bill of attainder. It is therefore impossible for
+any person in this country to be constitutionally convicted or punished
+for any crime by a legislative proceeding of any sort. Nevertheless,
+here is a bill of attainder against 9,000,000 people at once. It is
+based upon an accusation so vague as to be scarcely intelligible and
+found to be true upon no credible evidence. Not one of the 9,000,000 was
+heard in his own defense. The representatives of the doomed parties were
+excluded from all participation in the trial. The conviction is to be
+followed by the most ignominious punishment ever inflicted on large
+masses of men. It disfranchises them by hundreds of thousands and
+degrades them all, even those who are admitted to be guiltless, from
+the rank of freemen to the condition of slaves.
+
+The purpose and object of the bill--the general intent which pervades it
+from beginning to end--is to change the entire structure and character
+of the State governments and to compel them by force to the adoption of
+organic laws and regulations which they are unwilling to accept if left
+to themselves. The negroes have not asked for the privilege of voting;
+the vast majority of them have no idea what it means. This bill not only
+thrusts it into their hands, but compels them, as well as the whites, to
+use it in a particular way. If they do not form a constitution with
+prescribed articles in it and afterwards elect a legislature which will
+act upon certain measures in a prescribed way, neither blacks nor whites
+can be relieved from the slavery which the bill imposes upon them.
+Without pausing here to consider the policy or impolicy of Africanizing
+the southern part of our territory, I would simply ask the attention of
+Congress to that manifest, well-known, and universally acknowledged rule
+of constitutional law which declares that the Federal Government has no
+jurisdiction, authority, or power to regulate such subjects for any
+State. To force the right of suffrage out of the hands of the white
+people and into the hands of the negroes is an arbitrary violation of
+this principle.
+
+This bill imposes martial law at once, and its operations will begin
+so soon as the general and his troops can be put in place. The dread
+alternative between its harsh rule and compliance with the terms of this
+measure is not suspended, nor are the people afforded any time for free
+deliberation. The bill says to them, take martial law first, _then_
+deliberate. And when they have done all that this measure requires them
+to do other conditions and contingencies over which they have no control
+yet remain to be fulfilled before they can be relieved from martial law.
+Another Congress must first approve the Constitution made in conformity
+with the will of this Congress and must declare these States entitled to
+representation in both Houses. The whole question thus remains open and
+unsettled and must again occupy the attention of Congress; and in the
+meantime the agitation which now prevails will continue to disturb all
+portions of the people.
+
+The bill also denies the legality of the governments of ten of the
+States which participated in the ratification of the amendment to the
+Federal Constitution abolishing slavery forever within the jurisdiction
+of the United States and practically excludes them from the Union. If
+this assumption of the bill be correct, their concurrence can not be
+considered as having been legally given, and the important fact is made
+to appear that the consent of three-fourths of the States--the requisite
+number--has not been constitutionally obtained to the ratification of
+that amendment, thus leaving the question of slavery where it stood
+before the amendment was officially declared to have become a part of
+the Constitution.
+
+That the measure proposed by this bill does violate the Constitution
+in the particulars mentioned and in many other ways which I forbear
+to enumerate is too clear to admit of the least doubt. It only remains
+to consider whether the injunctions of that instrument ought to be
+obeyed or not. I think they ought to be obeyed, for reasons which I will
+proceed to give as briefly as possible.
+
+In the first place, it is the only system of free government which we
+can hope to have as a nation. When it ceases to be the rule of our
+conduct, we may perhaps take our choice between complete anarchy, a
+consolidated despotism, and a total dissolution of the Union; but
+national liberty regulated by law will have passed beyond our reach.
+
+It is the best frame of government the world ever saw. No other is or
+can be so well adapted to the genius, habits, or wants of the American
+people. Combining the strength of a great empire with unspeakable
+blessings of local self-government, having a central power to defend the
+general interests, and recognizing the authority of the States as the
+guardians of industrial rights, it is "the sheet anchor of our safety
+abroad and our peace at home." It was ordained "to form a more perfect
+union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, promote the
+general welfare, provide for the common defense, and secure the
+blessings of liberty to ourselves and to our posterity." These great
+ends have been attained heretofore, and will be again by faithful
+obedience to it; but they are certain to be lost if we treat with
+disregard its sacred obligations.
+
+It was to punish the gross crime of defying the Constitution and to
+vindicate its supreme authority that we carried on a bloody war of four
+years' duration. Shall we now acknowledge that we sacrificed a million
+of lives and expended billions of treasure to enforce a Constitution
+which is not worthy of respect and preservation?
+
+Those who advocated the right of secession alleged in their own
+justification that we had no regard for law and that their rights of
+property, life, and liberty would not be safe under the Constitution as
+administered by us. If we now verify their assertion, we prove that they
+were in truth and in fact fighting for their liberty, and instead of
+branding their leaders with the dishonoring name of traitors against a
+righteous and legal government we elevate them in history to the rank
+of self-sacrificing patriots, consecrate them to the admiration of the
+world, and place them by the side of Washington, Hampden, and Sidney.
+No; let us leave them to the infamy they deserve, punish them as they
+should be punished, according to law, and take upon ourselves no share
+of the odium which they should bear alone.
+
+It is a part of our public history which can never be forgotten that
+both Houses of Congress, in July, 1861, declared in the form of a solemn
+resolution that the war was and should be carried on for no purpose of
+subjugation, but solely to enforce the Constitution and laws, and that
+when this was yielded by the parties in rebellion the contest should
+cease, with the constitutional rights of the States and of individuals
+unimpaired. This resolution was adopted and sent forth to the world
+unanimously by the Senate and with only two dissenting voices in the
+House. It was accepted by the friends of the Union in the South as well
+as in the North as expressing honestly and truly the object of the war.
+On the faith of it many thousands of persons in both sections gave their
+lives and their fortunes to the cause. To repudiate it now by refusing
+to the States and to the individuals within them the rights which the
+Constitution and laws of the Union would secure to them is a breach of
+our plighted honor for which I can imagine no excuse and to which I
+cannot voluntarily become a party.
+
+The evils which spring from the unsettled state of our Government will
+be acknowledged by all. Commercial intercourse is impeded, capital is in
+constant peril, public securities fluctuate in value, peace itself is
+not secure, and the sense of moral and political duty is impaired. To
+avert these calamities from our country it is imperatively required that
+we should immediately decide upon some course of administration which
+can be steadfastly adhered to. I am thoroughly convinced that any
+settlement or compromise or plan of action which is inconsistent with
+the principles of the Constitution will not only be unavailing, but
+mischievous; that it will but multiply the present evils, instead of
+removing them. The Constitution, in its whole integrity and vigor,
+throughout the length and breadth of the land, is the best of all
+compromises. Besides, our duty does not, in my judgment, leave us a
+choice between that and any other. I believe that it contains the remedy
+that is so much needed, and that if the coordinate branches of the
+Government would unite upon its provisions they would be found broad
+enough and strong enough to sustain in time of peace the nation which
+they bore safely through the ordeal of a protracted civil war. Among the
+most sacred guaranties of that instrument are those which declare that
+"each State shall have at least one Representative," and that "no
+State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in
+the Senate." Each House is made the "judge of the elections, returns,
+and qualifications of its own members," and may, "with the concurrence
+of two-thirds, expel a member." Thus, as heretofore urged, "in the
+admission of Senators and Representatives from any and all of the
+States there can be no just ground of apprehension that persons who are
+disloyal will be clothed with the powers of legislation, for this could
+not happen when the Constitution and the laws are enforced by a vigilant
+and faithful Congress." "When a Senator or Representative presents his
+certificate of election, he may at once be admitted or rejected; or,
+should there be any question as to his eligibility, his credentials may
+be referred for investigation to the appropriate committee. If admitted
+to a seat, it must be upon evidence satisfactory to the House of which
+he thus becomes a member that he possesses the requisite constitutional
+and legal qualifications. If refused admission as a member for want of
+due allegiance to the Government, and returned to his constituents, they
+are admonished that none but persons loyal to the United States will be
+allowed a voice in the legislative councils of the nation, and the
+political power and moral influence of Congress are thus effectively
+exerted in the interests of loyalty to the Government and fidelity to
+the Union." And is it not far better that the work of restoration should
+be accomplished by simple compliance with the plain requirements of the
+Constitution than by a recourse to measures which in effect destroy the
+States and threaten the subversion of the General Government? All that
+is necessary to settle this simple but important question without
+further agitation or delay is a willingness on the part of all to
+sustain the Constitution and carry its provisions into practical
+operation. If to-morrow either branch of Congress would declare that
+upon the presentation of their credentials members constitutionally
+elected and loyal to the General Government would be admitted to seats
+in Congress, while all others would be excluded and their places remain
+vacant until the selection by the people of loyal and qualified persons,
+and if at the same time assurance were given that this policy would be
+continued until all the States were represented in Congress, it would
+send a thrill of joy throughout the entire land, as indicating the
+inauguration of a system which must speedily bring tranquillity to the
+public mind.
+
+While we are legislating upon subjects which are of great importance to
+the whole people, and which must affect all parts of the country, not
+only during the life of the present generation, but for ages to come, we
+should remember that all men are entitled at least to a hearing in the
+councils which decide upon the destiny of themselves and their children.
+At present ten States are denied representation, and when the Fortieth
+Congress assembles on the 4th day of the present month sixteen States
+will be without a voice in the House of Representatives. This grave
+fact, with the important questions before us, should induce us to pause
+in a course of legislation which, looking solely to the attainment of
+political ends, fails to consider the rights it transgresses, the law
+which it violates, or the institutions which it imperils.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+PROCLAMATIONS.
+
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+_To all whom it may concern_:
+
+Whereas exequaturs were heretofore issued to the following-named persons
+at the dates mentioned and for the places specified, recognizing them as
+consular officers, respectively, of the Kingdom of Hanover, of the
+Electorate of Hesse, of the Duchy of Nassau, and of the city of
+Frankfort, and declaring them free to exercise and enjoy functions,
+powers, and privileges under the said exequaturs, viz:
+
+  FOR THE KINGDOM OF HANOVER.
+
+  Julius Frederich, consul at Galveston, Tex., July 28, 1848.
+  Otto Frank, consul at San Francisco, Cal., July 9, 1850.
+  Augustus Reichard, consul at New Orleans, La., January 22, 1853.
+  Kauffmann H. Muller, consul at Savannah, Ga., June 28, 1854.
+  G.C. Baurmeister, consul at Charleston, S.C., April 21, 1856.
+  Adolph Gosling, consul-general at New York, November 7, 1859.
+  G.W. Hennings, vice-consul at New York, July 2, 1860.
+  George Papendiek, consul at Boston, November 3, 1863.
+  Francis A. Hoffmann, consul at Chicago, July 26, 1864.
+  Carl C. Schoettler, consul at Philadelphia, Pa., September 23, 1864.
+  A. Rettberg, consul at Cleveland, Ohio, September 27, 1864.
+  A.C. Wilmaus, consul at Milwaukee, Wis., October 7, 1864.
+  Adolph Meier, consul at St. Louis, Mo., October 7, 1864.
+  Theodor Schwartz, consul at Louisville, Ky., October 12, 1864.
+  Carl F. Adae, consul at Cincinnati, Ohio, October 20, 1864.
+  Werner Dresel, consul at Baltimore, Md., July 25, 1866.
+
+  FOR THE ELECTORATE OF HESSE.
+
+  Theodor Wagner, consul at Galveston, Tex., March 7, 1857.
+  Clamor Friedrich Hagedorn, consul at Philadelphia, February 14, 1862.
+  Werner Dresel, consul at Baltimore, Md., September 26, 1864.
+  Friedrich Kuhne, consul at New York, September 30, 1864.
+  Richard Thiele, consul at New Orleans, La., October 18, 1864.
+  Carl Adae, consul at Cincinnati, Ohio, October 20, 1864.
+  Robert Barth, consul at St. Louis, Mo., April 11, 1865.
+  C.F. Mebius, consul at San Francisco, Cal., May 3, 1865.
+
+  FOR THE DUCHY OF NASSAU.
+
+  Wilhelm A. Kobbe, consul-general for the United States at New York,
+    November 19, 1846.
+  Friedrich Wilhelm Freudenthal, consul for Louisiana at New Orleans,
+    January 22, 1852.
+  Franz Moureau, consul for the western half of Texas at New Braunfels,
+    April 6, 1857.
+  Carl C. Finkler, consul for California at San Francisco, May 21, 1864.
+  Ludwig von Baumbach, consul for Wisconsin, September 27, 1864.
+  Otto Cuntz, consul for Massachusetts at Boston, October 7, 1864.
+  Friedrich Kuhne, consul at New York, September 30, 1864.
+  Carl F. Adae, consul for the State of Ohio, October 20, 1864.
+  Robert Barth, consul for Missouri, April 18, 1865.
+
+
+  FOR THE CITY OF FRANKFORT.
+
+  John H. Harjes, consul at Philadelphia, Pa., September 27, 1864.
+  F.A. Reuss, consul at St. Louis, Mo., September 30, 1864.
+  A.C. Wilmanns, consul for Wisconsin at Milwaukee, October 7, 1864.
+  Francis A. Hoffmann, consul for Chicago, Ill., October 12, 1864.
+  Carl F. Adae, consul for Ohio and Indiana, October 20, 1864.
+  Jacob Julius de Neufville, consul in New York, July 3, 1866.
+
+
+And whereas the said countries, namely, the Kingdom of Hanover, the
+Electorate of Hesse, the Duchy of Nassau, and the city of Frankfort,
+have, in consequence of the late war between Prussia and Austria, been
+united to the Crown of Prussia; and
+
+Whereas His Majesty the King of Prussia has requested of the President
+of the United States that the aforesaid exequaturs may, in consequence
+of the before-recited premises, be revoked:
+
+Now, therefore, these presents do declare that the above-named consular
+officers are no longer recognized, and that the exequaturs heretofore
+granted to them are hereby declared 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 the city of Washington, this 19th day of
+December, A.D. 1866, and of the Independence of the United States
+of America the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+_To all whom it may concern_:
+
+An exequatur, bearing date the 22d day of March, 1866, having been
+issued to Gerhard Janssen, recognizing him as consul of Oldenburg for
+New York and declaring him free to exercise and enjoy such functions,
+powers, and privileges as are allowed to consuls by the law of nations
+or by the laws of the United States and existing treaty stipulations
+between the Government of Oldenburg and the United States, and the said
+Janssen having refused to appear in the supreme court of the State of
+New York to answer in a suit there pending against himself and others on
+the plea that he is a consular officer of Oldenburg, thus seeking to use
+his official position to defeat the ends of justice, it is deemed
+advisable that the said Gerhard Janssen 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
+Gerhard Janssen as consul of Oldenburg for New York 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 26th day of December, A.D. 1866,
+and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas satisfactory evidence has been received by me from His Imperial
+Majesty the Emperor of France, through the Marquis de Montholon, his
+envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, that vessels belonging
+to citizens of the United States entering any port of France or of its
+dependencies on or after the 1st day of January, 1867, will not be
+subjected to the payment of higher duties on tonnage than are levied
+upon vessels belonging to citizens of France entering the said ports:
+
+Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States
+of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by an act of
+Congress of the 7th day of January, 1824, entitled "An act concerning
+discriminating duties of tonnage and impost," and by an act in addition
+thereto of the 24th day of May, 1828, do hereby declare and proclaim
+that on and after the said 1st day of January, 1867, so long as vessels
+of the United States shall be admitted to French ports on the terms
+aforesaid, French vessels entering ports of the United States will be
+subject to no higher rates of duty on tonnage than are levied upon
+vessels of the United States in the ports thereof.
+
+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 28th day of December, A.D. 1866,
+and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+
+Whereas, in virtue of the power conferred by the act of Congress
+approved June 22, 1860, sections 15 and 24 of which act were designed by
+proper provisions to secure the strict neutrality of citizens of the
+United States residing in or visiting the Empires of China and Japan, a
+notification was issued on the 4th of August last by the legation of the
+United States in Japan, through the consulates of the open ports of that
+Empire, requesting American shipmasters not to approach the coasts of
+Suwo and Nagato pending the then contemplated hostilities between the
+Tycoon of Japan and the Daimio of the said Provinces; and
+
+Whereas authentic information having been received by the said legation
+that such hostilities had actually commenced, a regulation in
+furtherance of the aforesaid notification and pursuant to the act
+referred to was issued by the minister resident of the United States in
+Japan forbidding American merchant vessels from stopping or anchoring at
+any port or roadstead in that country except the three opened ports,
+viz, Kanagawa (Yokohama), Nagasaki, and Hakodate, unless in distress or
+forced by stress of weather, as provided by treaty, and giving notice
+that masters of vessels committing a breach of the regulation would
+thereby render themselves liable to prosecution and punishment and also
+to forfeiture of the protection of the United States if the visit to
+such nonopened port or roadstead should either involve a breach of
+treaty or be construed as an act in aid of insurrection or rebellion:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States of America, with a view to prevent acts which might
+injuriously affect the relations existing between the Government of the
+United States and that of Japan, do hereby call public attention to the
+aforesaid notification and regulation, which are hereby sanctioned and
+confirmed.
+
+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 12th day of January, A.D. 1867, and
+of the Independence of the United States the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+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 from
+His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands, through an official
+communication of His Majesty's minister of foreign relations under date
+of the 10th of December, 1866, that no other or higher duties of tonnage
+and impost are imposed or levied in the ports of the Hawaiian Islands
+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
+Hawaiian ships and their cargoes in the same ports under like
+circumstances:
+
+Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, 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 the Hawaiian Islands and the produce, manufactures,
+and merchandise imported into the United States in the same from the
+dominions of the Hawaiian Islands and from any other foreign country
+whatever, the said suspension to take effect from the said 10th day
+of December 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 the
+Hawaiian Islands in the same, as aforesaid, shall be continued on the
+part of the Government of His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands.
+
+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, the 29th day of January, A.D. 1867, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+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 did by an act approved on
+the 19th day of April, 1864, authorize the people of the Territory
+of Nebraska 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 upon certain conditions in said act specified; and
+
+Whereas said people did adopt a constitution conforming to the
+provisions and conditions of said act and ask admission into the Union;
+and
+
+Whereas the Congress of the United States did on the 8th and 9th days
+of February, 1867, in mode prescribed by the Constitution, pass a
+further act for the admission of the State of Nebraska into the Union,
+in which last-named act it was provided that it should not take effect
+except upon the fundamental condition that within the State of Nebraska
+there should be no denial of the elective franchise or of any other
+right to any person by reason of race or color, excepting Indians not
+taxed, and upon the further fundamental condition that the legislature
+of said State, by a solemn public act, should declare the assent of
+said State to the said fundamental condition and should transmit to
+the President of the United States an authenticated copy of said act
+of the legislature of said State, upon receipt whereof the President,
+by proclamation, should forthwith announce the fact, whereupon said
+fundamental condition should be held as a part of the organic law of
+the State, and thereupon, and without any further proceeding on the
+part of Congress, the admission of said State into the Union should
+be considered as complete; and
+
+Whereas within the time prescribed by said act of Congress of the 8th
+and 9th of February, 1867, the legislature of the State of Nebraska did
+pass an act ratifying the said act of Congress of the 8th and 9th of
+February, 1867, and declaring that the aforenamed provisions of the
+third section of said last-named act of Congress should be a part of
+the organic law of the State of Nebraska; and
+
+Whereas a duly authenticated copy of said act of the legislature of the
+State of Nebraska has been received by me:
+
+Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States of
+America, do, in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress
+last herein named, declare and proclaim the fact that the fundamental
+conditions imposed by Congress on the State of Nebraska to entitle that
+State to admission to the Union have been ratified and accepted and that
+the admission of the said State into the Union is now complete.
+
+In testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand and have caused the seal
+of the United States to be affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, this 1st day of March, A.D. 1867, and of
+the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+[Note.--The Fortieth Congress, first session, met March 4, 1867,
+in accordance with the act of January 22, 1867, and on March 30, in
+accordance with the concurrent resolution of March 29, adjourned to
+July 3. The Senate met in special session April 1, in conformity to the
+proclamation of the President of the United States of March 30, and on
+April 20 adjourned without day. The Fortieth Congress, first session,
+again met July 3, and on July 20, in accordance with the concurrent
+resolution of the latter date, adjourned to November 21; again met
+November 21, and on December 2, 1867, in accordance with the concurrent
+resolution of November 26, adjourned without day.]
+
+
+
+
+SPECIAL MESSAGES.
+
+
+MARCH 11, 1867.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 28th of
+July last, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+documents.[18]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 18: Correspondence since March 4, 1857, touching the claim to
+military service asserted by France and Prussia in reference to persons
+born in those countries, but who have since become citizens of the
+United States.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, _March 13, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded this day between the United States and the chiefs and
+headmen of the Kickapoo tribe of Indians.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior and a copy of a letter of the
+Commissioner of Indian Affairs, explanatory of said treaty, are also
+herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _March 13, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded in this city on the 15th instant [ultimo] between the
+United States and the Stockbridge and Munsee tribes of Indians.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 25th instant [ultimo]
+and a copy of a communication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of
+the 19th instant [ultimo], explanatory of the said treaty, are also
+herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _March 13, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded in this city on the 23d instant [ultimo] between the
+United States and the following tribes of Indians, viz: The Senecas,
+the confederated Senecas and Shawnees, the Quapaws, the Ottawas, the
+confederated Peorias, Kaskaskias, Weas and Piankeshaws, and the Miamis.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 26th instant [ultimo]
+and a copy of a letter of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 25th
+instant [ultimo], explanatory of said treaty, are also herewith
+transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _March 13, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded on the 2d March, 1866, between the United States and
+the Shawnee tribe of Indians of Kansas.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 6th instant and a copy
+of a communication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 2d
+instant, explanatory of the said treaty, are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _March 13, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded on the 27th instant [ultimo] between the United
+States and the Pottawatomie tribe of Indians.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 28th instant [ultimo]
+and a copy of a communication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of
+the 27th instant [ultimo], explanatory of the said treaty, are also
+herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _March 13, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon
+a treaty concluded in this city on the 13th instant [ultimo] between the
+United States and the Kansas or Kaw tribe of Indians.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 25th instant [ultimo]
+and a copy of a communication of the 19th instant [ultimo] from the
+Commissioner of Indian Affairs, explanatory of said treaty, are also
+herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, _March 13, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty this day concluded between the United States and the Cherokee
+Nation of Indians, providing for the sale of their lands in Kansas,
+known as the "Cherokee neutral lands."
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior and accompanying copy of a
+letter from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of this date, in relation
+to the treaty, are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 14, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, in further
+answer to the resolution[19] of the House of Representatives of the 24th
+of January last.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 19: Requesting information "in relation to a removal of the
+Protestant Church or religious assembly meeting at the American embassy
+from the city of Rome by an order of that Government."]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 15, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in further answer to their resolution of the
+31st of January last, a report from the Secretary of State, with
+accompanying documents.[20]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 20: Dispatch from the United States consul at Geneva, with an
+inclosure, refuting charges against his moral character, etc.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 20, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their resolution
+of the 18th instant, a report[21] from the Secretary of State, with its
+accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 21: Relating to trials in Canada of citizens of the United
+States for complicity in the Fenian invasion of that country.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 20, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their
+resolution of the 18th instant, a report[22]from the Secretary of State,
+with an accompanying paper.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 22: Relating to the withdrawal of French troops from the
+Mexican Republic.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 20, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 15th
+instant, reports[23] from the Secretary of State and the Secretary of
+the Treasury, with accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 23: Relating to the fees of consular agents within the
+districts of salaried consuls, etc.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 20, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 7th
+instant, relative to the arrest, imprisonment, and treatment of American
+citizens in Great Britain or its Provinces, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State on the subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 21, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded on the 19th of March, 1867, between the United States
+and the Chippewa tribe of Indians of the Mississippi.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior and a copy of a letter of Hon.
+Lewis V. Bogy, special commissioner, of the 20th instant, explanatory of
+the said treaty, are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 30, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In giving my approval to the joint resolution providing for the expenses
+of carrying into full effect an act entitled "An act to provide for the
+more efficient government of the rebel States," I am moved to do so for
+the following reason: The seventh section of the act supplementary to
+the act for the more efficient government of the rebel States provides
+that the expenses incurred under or by virtue of that act shall be paid
+out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. This
+provision is wholly unlimited as to the amount to be expended, whereas
+the resolution now before me limits the appropriation to $500,000. I
+consider this limitation as a very necessary check against unlimited
+expenditure and liabilities. Yielding to that consideration, I feel
+bound to approve this resolution, without modifying in any manner any
+objections heretofore stated against the original and supplemental acts.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 30, 1867_.
+
+_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 His Majesty the
+Emperor of all the Russias upon the subject of a cession of territory by
+the latter to the former, which treaty was this day signed in this city
+by the plenipotentiaries of the parties.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+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 Monday, the 1st day of April next,
+to receive and act upon such communications as may be made to it on the
+part of the Executive.
+
+Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, 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 Monday, the 1st day of April next, at 12 o'clock 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.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Given under my hand and the seal of the United States, at Washington,
+the 30th day of March, A.D. 1867, and of the Independence of the United
+States of America the ninety-first.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+
+SPECIAL MESSAGES.
+
+[The following messages were sent to the special session of the Senate.]
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 28, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 20th
+instant, a report[24] from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+documents.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 24: Relating to the exequatur of the consul of the Grand Duchy
+of Oldenburg residing at New York.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 12, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 10th
+instant, calling for information relative to prisoners of war taken by
+belligerents in the Mexican Republic, a report from the Secretary of
+State, with accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 13, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 28th of January
+last, requesting certain information in regard to governors,
+secretaries, and judges of Territories, I transmit herewith reports[25]
+from the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Interior, and the
+Attorney-General.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 25: Relating to the absence of Territorial officers from their
+posts of duty.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 15, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 13th
+instant, a report[26] from the Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 26: Relating to the absence of Governor Alexander Cumming from
+the Territory of Colorado since his appointment as governor.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 16, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith reports from the heads of the several Executive
+Departments, in answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 11th
+instant, requesting "copies of any official opinions which may have been
+given by the Attorney-General, the Solicitor of the Treasury, or by any
+other officer of the Government on the interpretation of the act of
+Congress regulating the tenure of office, and especially with regard to
+appointments by the President during the recess of Congress."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+[The following messages were sent to the Fortieth Congress, first session.]
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 5, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention for commercial reciprocity between the
+United States and His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands, which
+convention was signed by the plenipotentiaries of the parties in the
+city of San Francisco on the 21st day of May last.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 5, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a copy of a convention between the United States
+and the Republic of Venezuela for the adjustment of claims of citizens
+of the United States on the Government of that Republic. The
+ratifications of this convention were exchanged at Caracas on the 10th
+of April last. As its first article stipulates that the commissioners
+shall meet in that city within four months from that date, the
+expediency of passing the usual act for the purpose of carrying the
+convention into effect will, of course, engage the attention of
+Congress.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 6, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a copy of a treaty between the United States and
+His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, the ratifications of which
+were exchanged in this city on the 20th day of June last.
+
+This instrument provides for a cession of territory to the United States
+in consideration of the payment of $7,200,000 in gold. The attention of
+Congress is invited to the subject of an appropriation for this payment,
+and also to that of proper legislation for the occupation and government
+of the territory as a part of the dominion of the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 6, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention between the United States, Great Britain,
+France, the Netherlands, and Japan, concluded at Yedo on the 25th of
+June, 1866.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 8, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Attorney-General, additional to
+the reports submitted by him December 31, 1866, and March 2, 1867, in
+reply to a resolution of the House of Representatives of December 10,
+1866, requesting "a list of names of all persons engaged in the late
+rebellion against the United States Government who have been pardoned by
+the President from April 15, 1865, to this date; that said list shall
+also state the rank of each person who has been so pardoned, if he has
+been engaged in the military service of the so-called Confederate
+government, and the position if he shall have held any civil office
+under said so-called Confederate government; and shall also further
+state whether such person has at any time prior to April 14, 1861, held
+any office under the United States Government, and, if so, what office,
+together with the reasons for granting such pardon, and also the names
+of the person or persons at whose solicitation such pardon was granted."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 9, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+5th of July, requesting the President "to inform the House what States
+have ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the United States
+proposed by concurrent resolution of the two Houses of Congress, June
+16, 1866," I transmit a report from the Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 10, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with so much of the resolution of the House of
+Representatives of the 8th instant as requests information in regard to
+certain agreements said to have been entered into between the United
+States, European and West Virginia Land and Mining Company and certain
+reputed agents of the Republic of Mexico, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State and the papers accompanying it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 11, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+3d instant, requesting me to transmit all the official correspondence
+between the Department of State and the Hon. Lewis D. Campbell, late
+minister to Mexico, and also that with his successor, I communicate a
+report from the Secretary of State and the papers accompanying it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 12, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 8th instant,
+requesting me to transmit "all the official correspondence between the
+Department of State and the Hon. Lewis D. Campbell, late minister
+of the United States to the Republic of Mexico, from the time of his
+appointment, also the correspondence of the Department with his
+successor," I communicate herewith a report on the subject from the
+Secretary of State, from which it appears that the correspondence
+called for by the Senate has already been communicated to the House
+of Representatives.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 15, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith reports from the Secretary of War and the
+Attorney-General, containing the information called for by the
+resolution of the Senate of the 3d instant, requesting the President "to
+communicate to the Senate copies of all orders, instructions, circular
+letters, or letters of advice issued to the respective military officers
+assigned to the command of the several military districts under the act
+passed March 2, 1867, entitled 'An act to provide for the more efficient
+government of the rebel States,' and the act supplementary thereto,
+passed March 23, 1867; also copies of all opinions given to him by the
+Attorney-General of the United States touching the construction and
+interpretation of said acts, and of all correspondence relating to the
+operation, construction, or execution of said acts that may have taken
+place between himself and any of said commanders, or between him and the
+General of the Army, or between the latter and any of said commanders,
+touching the same subjects; also copies of all orders issued by any of
+said commanders in carrying out the provisions of said acts or either of
+them; also that he inform the Senate what progress has been made in the
+matter of registration under said acts, and whether the sum of money
+heretofore appropriated for carrying them out is probably sufficient."
+
+In answer to that portion of the resolution which inquires whether the
+sum of money heretofore appropriated for carrying these acts into effect
+is probably sufficient, reference is made to the accompanying report
+of the Secretary of War. It will be seen from that report that the
+appropriation of $500,000 made in the act approved March 30, 1867, for
+the purpose of carrying into effect the "Act to provide for the more
+efficient government of the rebel States," passed March 2, 1867, and the
+act supplementary thereto, passed March 23, 1867, has already been
+expended by the commanders of the several military districts, and that,
+in addition, the sum of $1,648,277 is required for present purposes.
+
+It is exceedingly difficult at the present time to estimate the probable
+expense of carrying into full effect the two acts of March last and the
+bill which passed the two Houses of Congress on the 13th instant. If the
+existing governments of ten States of the Union are to be deposed and
+their entire machinery is to be placed under the exclusive control and
+authority of the respective district commanders, all the expenditures
+incident to the administration of such governments must necessarily be
+incurred by the Federal Government. It is believed that, in addition to
+the $2,100,000 already expended or estimated for, the sum which would
+be required for this purpose would not be less than $14,000,000--the
+aggregate amount expended prior to the rebellion in the administration
+of their respective governments by the ten States embraced in the
+provisions of these acts. This sum would no doubt be considerably
+augmented if the machinery of these States is to be operated by the
+Federal Government, and would be largely increased if the United States,
+by abolishing the existing State governments, should become responsible
+for liabilities incurred by them before the rebellion in laudable
+efforts to develop their resources, and in no wise created for
+insurrectionary or revolutionary purposes. The debts of these States,
+thus legitimately incurred, when accurately ascertained will, it is
+believed, approximate $100,000,000; and they are held not only by our
+own citizens, among whom are residents of portions of the country which
+have ever remained loyal to the Union, but by persons who are the
+subjects of foreign governments. It is worthy the consideration of
+Congress and the country whether, if the Federal Government by its
+action were to assume such obligations, so large an addition to our
+public expenditures would not seriously impair the credit of the nation,
+or, on the other hand, whether the refusal of Congress to guarantee
+the payment of the debts of these States, after having displaced or
+abolished their State governments, would not be viewed as a violation of
+good faith and a repudiation by the national legislature of liabilities
+which these States had justly and legally incurred.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 18, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 8th instant,
+requesting me to furnish to that body copies of any correspondence on
+the files of the Department of State relating to any recent events in
+Mexico, I communicate a report from the Secretary of State, with the
+papers accompanying it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 18, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with that part of the resolution of the House of
+Representatives of the 8th instant which requests me to transmit to
+the House of Representatives any official correspondence or other
+information relating to the capture and execution of Maximilian and
+the arrest and reported execution of Santa Anna in Mexico, I inclose
+herewith a report from the Secretary of State, from which it appears
+that the correspondence called for by the House of Representatives has
+already been communicated to the Senate of the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 20, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I have received a resolution adopted by the House of Representatives
+on the 8th instant, inquiring "whether the publication which appeared
+in the National Intelligencer and other public prints on the 21st of
+June last, and which contained a statement of the proceedings of the
+President and Cabinet in respect to an interpretation of the acts of
+Congress commonly known as the reconstruction acts, was made by the
+authority of the President or with his knowledge and consent," and
+"whether the full and complete record or minute of all the proceedings,
+conclusions, and determinations of the President and Cabinet relating to
+said acts of Congress and their interpretation is embraced or given in
+said publication," and also requesting that "a true copy of the full
+and complete record or minute of such proceedings, conclusions, and
+determinations in regard to the interpretation of said reconstruction
+acts" be furnished to the House.
+
+In compliance with the request of the House of Representatives, I have
+to state that the publication to which the resolution refers was made
+by proper authority, and that it comprises the proceedings in Cabinet
+relating to the acts of Congress mentioned in the inquiry, upon which,
+after taking the opinions of the heads of the several Executive
+Departments of the Government, I had announced my own conclusions. Other
+questions arising from these acts have been under consideration, upon
+which, however, no final conclusion has been reached. No publication in
+reference to them has, therefore, been authorized by me; but should it
+at any time be deemed proper and advantageous to the interests of the
+country to make public those or any other proceedings of the Cabinet,
+authority for their promulgation will be given by the President.
+
+A correct copy of the record of the proceedings, published in the
+National Intelligencer and other newspapers on the 21st ultimo, is
+herewith transmitted, together with a copy of the instructions based
+upon the conclusions of the President and Cabinet and sent to the
+commanders of the several military districts created by act of Congress
+of March 2, 1867.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+  IN CABINET, _June 18, 1867_.
+
+  Present: The President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of
+  the Treasury, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, the
+  Postmaster-General, the Attorney-General, the Acting Secretary of
+  the Interior.
+
+  The President announced that he had under consideration the two opinions
+  from the Attorney-General as to the legal questions arising upon the
+  acts of Congress commonly known as the reconstruction acts, and that in
+  view of the great magnitude of the subject and of the various interests
+  involved he deemed it proper to have it considered fully in the Cabinet
+  and to avail himself of all the light which could be afforded by the
+  opinions and advice of the members of the Cabinet, to enable him to see
+  that these laws be faithfully executed and to decide what orders and
+  instructions are necessary and expedient to be given to the military
+  commanders.
+
+  The President said further that the branch of the subject that seemed to
+  him first in order for consideration was as to the instructions to be
+  sent to the military commanders for their guidance and for the guidance
+  of persons offering for registration. The instructions proposed by the
+  Attorney-General, as set forth in the summary contained in his last
+  opinion, will therefore be now considered.
+
+  The summary was then read at length.
+
+  The reading of the summary having been concluded, each section was then
+  considered, discussed, and voted upon as follows:
+
+  1. The oath prescribed in the supplemental act defines all the
+  qualifications required, and every person who can take that oath is
+  entitled to have his name entered upon the list of voters.
+
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who votes "nay."
+
+  2. The board of registration have no authority to administer any other
+  oath to the person applying for registration than this prescribed
+  oath, nor to administer any oath to any other person touching the
+  qualifications of the applicant or the falsity of the oath so taken
+  by him.
+
+  No provision is made for challenging the qualifications of the applicant
+  or entering upon any trial or investigation of his qualifications,
+  either by witnesses or any other form of proof.
+
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who votes "nay."
+
+  3. As to citizenship and residence:
+
+  The applicant for registration must be a citizen of the State and of the
+  United States, and must be a resident of a county or parish included in
+  the election district. He may be registered if he has been such citizen
+  for a period less than twelve months at the time he applies for
+  registration, but he can not vote at any election unless his citizenship
+  has then extended to the full term of one year. As to such a person, the
+  exact length of his citizenship should be noted opposite his name on the
+  list, so that it may appear on the day of election, upon reference to
+  the list, whether the full term has then been accomplished.
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+  4. An unnaturalized person can not take this oath, but an alien who has
+  been naturalized can take it, and no other proof of naturalization can
+  be required from him.
+
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who votes "nay."
+
+  5. No one who is not 21 years of age at the time of registration can
+  take the oath, for he must swear that he has then attained that age.
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+  6. No one who has been disfranchised for participation in any rebellion
+  against the United States or for felony committed against the laws of
+  any State or of the United States can take this oath.
+
+  The actual participation in a rebellion or the actual commission of a
+  felony does not amount to disfranchisement. The sort of disfranchisement
+  here meant is that which is declared by law passed by competent
+  authority, or which has been fixed upon the criminal by the sentence of
+  the court which tried him for the crime.
+
+  No law of the United States has declared the penalty of disfranchisement
+  for participation in rebellion alone; nor is it known that any such law
+  exists in either of these ten States, except, perhaps, Virginia, as to
+  which State special instructions will be given.
+
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who dissents as to the
+  second and third paragraphs.
+
+  7. As to disfranchisement arising from having held office followed by
+  participation in rebellion:
+
+  This is the most important part of the oath, and requires strict
+  attention to arrive at its meaning. The applicant must swear or affirm
+  as follows:
+
+  "That I have never been a member of any State legislature, nor held any
+  executive or judicial office in any State, and afterwards engaged in an
+  insurrection or rebellion against the United States or given aid or
+  comfort to the enemies thereof; that I have never taken an oath as a
+  member of Congress of the United States, or as an officer of the United
+  States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or
+  judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United
+  States, and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the
+  United States or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."
+
+  Two elements must concur in order to disqualify a person under these
+  clauses: First, the office and official oath to support the Constitution
+  of the United States; second, engaging afterwards in rebellion. Both
+  must exist to work disqualification, and must happen in the order of
+  time mentioned.
+
+  A person who has held an office and taken the oath to support the
+  Federal Constitution and has not afterwards engaged in rebellion is not
+  disqualified. So, too, a person who has engaged in rebellion, but has
+  not theretofore held an office and taken that oath, is not disqualified.
+
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who votes "nay."
+
+  8. Officers of the United States:
+
+  As to these the language is without limitation. The person who has at
+  any time prior to the rebellion held any office, civil or military,
+  under the United States, and has taken an official oath to support the
+  Constitution of the United States, is subject to disqualification.
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+  9. Militia officers of any State prior to the rebellion are not subject
+  to disqualification.
+
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who votes "nay."
+
+  10. Municipal officers--that is to say, officers of incorporated cities,
+  towns, and villages, such as mayors, aldermen, town council, police, and
+  other city or town officers--are not subject to disqualification.
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+  11. Persons who have prior to the rebellion been members of the Congress
+  of the United States or members of a State legislature are subject to
+  disqualification, but those who have been members of conventions framing
+  or amending the constitution of a State prior to the rebellion are not
+  subject to disqualification.
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+  12. All the executive or judicial officers of any State who took an
+  oath to support the Constitution of the United States are subject
+  to disqualification, including county officers. They are subject to
+  disqualification if they were required to take as a part of their
+  official oath the oath to support the Constitution of the United States.
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+  13. Persons who exercised mere employments under State authority are
+  not disqualified; such as commissioners to lay out roads, commissioners
+  of public works, visitors of State institutions, directors of State
+  institutions, examiners of banks, notaries public, commissioners to
+  take acknowledgments of deeds.
+
+  Concurred in unanimously; but the Secretary of State, the Secretary of
+  the Treasury, and the Secretary of War express the opinion that lawyers
+  are such officers as are disqualified if they participated in the
+  rebellion. Two things must exist as to any person to disqualify him from
+  voting: First, the office held prior to the rebellion, and, afterwards,
+  participation in the rebellion.
+
+  14. An act to fix upon a person the offense of engaging in rebellion
+  under this law must be an overt and voluntary act, done with the intent
+  of aiding or furthering the common unlawful purpose. A person forced
+  into the rebel service by conscription or under a paramount authority
+  which he could not safely disobey, and who would not have entered such
+  service if left to the free exercise of his own will, can not be held
+  to be disqualified from voting.
+
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who votes "nay" as the
+  proposition is stated.
+
+  15. Mere acts of charity, where the intent is to relieve the wants of
+  the object of such charity, and not done in aid of the cause in which he
+  may have been engaged, do not disqualify; but organized contributions
+  of food and clothing for the general relief of persons engaged in the
+  rebellion, and not of a merely sanitary character, but contributed to
+  enable them to perform their unlawful object, maybe classed with acts
+  which do disqualify. Forced contributions to the rebel cause in the form
+  of taxes or military assessments, which a person was compelled to pay or
+  contribute, do not disqualify; but voluntary contributions to the rebel
+  cause, even such indirect contributions as arise from the voluntary loan
+  of money to the rebel authorities or purchase of bonds or securities
+  created to afford the means of carrying on the rebellion, will work
+  disqualification.
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+  16. All those who in legislative or other official capacity were engaged
+  in the furtherance of the common unlawful purpose, where the duties of
+  the office necessarily had relation to the support of the rebellion,
+  such as members of the rebel conventions, congresses, and legislatures,
+  diplomatic agents of the rebel Confederacy, and other officials whose
+  offices were created for the purpose of more effectually carrying on
+  hostilities or whose duties appertained to the support of the rebel
+  cause, must be held to be disqualified; but officers who during the
+  rebellion discharged official duties not incident to war, but only such
+  duties as belong even to a state of peace and were necessary to the
+  preservation of order and the administration of law, are not to be
+  considered as thereby engaging in rebellion or as disqualified. Disloyal
+  sentiments, opinions, or sympathies would not disqualify, but where a
+  person has by speech or writing incited others to engage in rebellion he
+  must come under the disqualification.
+
+  All vote "aye" except the Secretary of War, who dissents to the second
+  paragraph, with the exception of the words "where a person has by speech
+  or by writing incited others to engage in rebellion he must come under
+  the disqualification."
+
+  17. The duties of the board appointed to superintend the elections.
+
+  This board, having the custody of the list of registered voters in the
+  district for which it is constituted, must see that the name of the
+  person offering to vote is found upon the registration list, and if such
+  proves to be the fact it is the duty of the board to receive his vote if
+  then qualified by residence. They can not receive the vote of any person
+  whose name is not upon the list, though he may be ready to take the
+  registration oath, and although he may satisfy them that he was unable
+  to have his name registered at the proper time, in consequence of
+  absence, sickness, or other cause.
+
+  The board can not enter into any inquiry as to the qualifications of
+  any person whose name is not on the registration list, or as to the
+  qualifications of any person whose name is on that list..
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+  18. The mode of voting is provided in the act to be by ballot. The board
+  will keep a record and poll book of the election, showing the votes,
+  list of voters, and the persons elected by a plurality of the votes cast
+  at the election, and make returns of these to the commanding general of
+  the district.
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+  19. The board appointed for registration and for superintending the
+  elections must take the oath prescribed by the act of Congress approved
+  July 2, 1862, entitled "An act to prescribe an oath of office."
+
+  Concurred in unanimously.
+
+
+  IN CABINET, _June 20, 1867_.
+
+  Present: The same Cabinet officers as on the 18th, except the Acting
+  Secretary of the Interior.
+
+  The President announced to the Cabinet that after full deliberation he
+  concurred with the majority upon the sections of the summary upon which
+  the Secretary of War expressed his dissent, and that he concurred with
+  the Cabinet upon those sections approved by unanimous vote; that as it
+  appeared the military commanders entertained doubts upon the points
+  covered by the summary, and as their action hitherto had not been
+  uniform, he deemed it proper, without further delay, to communicate in
+  a general order[27] to the respective commanders the points set forth
+  in the summary.
+
+
+[Footnote 27: See Executive order of June 20, 1867, pp. 552-556.]
+
+
+
+
+VETO MESSAGES.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 23, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I have considered the bill entitled "An act supplementary to an act
+entitled 'An act to provide for the more efficient government of the
+rebel States,' passed March 2, 1867, and to facilitate restoration,"
+and now return it to the House of Representatives with my objections.
+
+This bill provides for elections in the ten States brought under the
+operation of the original act to which it is supplementary. Its details
+are principally directed to the elections for the formation of the State
+constitutions, but by the sixth section of the bill "all elections"
+in these States occurring while the original act remains in force are
+brought within its purview. Referring to these details, it will be found
+that, first of all, there is to be a registration of the voters. No one
+whose name has not been admitted on the list is to be allowed to vote at
+any of these elections. To ascertain who is entitled to registration,
+reference is made necessary, by the express language of the supplement,
+to the original act and to the pending bill. The fifth section of the
+original act provides, as to voters, that they shall be "male citizens
+of the State, 21 years old and upward, of whatever race, color, or
+previous condition, who have been residents of said State for one
+year." This is the general qualification, followed, however, by many
+exceptions. No one can be registered, according to the original act,
+"who may be disfranchised for participation in the rebellion"--a
+provision which left undetermined the question as to what amounted to
+disfranchisement, and whether without a judicial sentence the act
+itself produced that effect. This supplemental bill superadds an oath,
+to be taken by every person before his name can be admitted upon the
+registration, that he has "not been disfranchised for participation in
+any rebellion or civil war against the United States." It thus imposes
+upon every person the necessity and responsibility of deciding for
+himself, under the peril of punishment by a military commission if
+he makes a mistake, what works disfranchisement by participation in
+rebellion and what amounts to such participation. Almost every man--the
+negro as well as the white--above 21 years of age who was resident in
+these ten States during the rebellion, voluntarily or involuntarily, at
+some time and in some way did participate in resistance to the lawful
+authority of the General Government. The question with the citizen to
+whom this oath is to be proposed must be a fearful one, for while the
+bill does not declare that perjury may be assigned for such false
+swearing nor fix any penalty for the offense, we must not forget that
+martial law prevails; that every person is answerable to a military
+commission, without previous presentment by a grand jury, for any charge
+that may be made against him, and that the supreme authority of the
+military commander determines the question as to what is an offense
+and what is to be the measure of punishment.
+
+The fourth section of the bill provides "that the commanding general of
+each district shall appoint as many boards of registration as may be
+necessary, consisting of three loyal officers or persons." The only
+qualification stated for these officers is that they must be "loyal."
+They may be persons in the military service or civilians, residents of
+the State or strangers. Yet these persons are to exercise most important
+duties and are vested with unlimited discretion. They are to decide what
+names shall be placed upon the register and from their decision there is
+to be no appeal. They are to superintend the elections and to decide all
+questions which may arise. They are to have the custody of the ballots
+and to make return of the persons elected. Whatever frauds or errors
+they may commit must pass without redress. All that is left for the
+commanding general is to receive the returns of the elections, open the
+same, and ascertain who are chosen "according to the returns of the
+officers who conducted said elections." By such means and with this
+sort of agency are the conventions of delegates to be constituted.
+
+As the delegates are to speak for the people, common justice would seem
+to require that they should have authority from the people themselves.
+No convention so constituted will in any sense represent the wishes of
+the inhabitants of these States, for under the all-embracing exceptions
+of these laws, by a construction which the uncertainty of the clause as
+to disfranchisement leaves open to the board of officers, the great body
+of the people may be excluded from the polls and from all opportunity of
+expressing their own wishes or voting for delegates who will faithfully
+reflect their sentiments.
+
+I do not deem it necessary further to investigate the details of this
+bill. No consideration could induce me to give my approval to such an
+election law for any purpose, and especially for the great purpose of
+framing the constitution of a State. If ever the American citizen should
+be left to the free exercise of his own judgment it is when he is
+engaged in the work of forming the fundamental law under which he is to
+live. That work is his work, and it can not properly be taken out of his
+hands. All this legislation proceeds upon the contrary assumption that
+the people of each of these States shall have no constitution except
+such as may be arbitrarily dictated by Congress and formed under the
+restraint of military rule. A plain statement of facts makes this
+evident.
+
+In all these States there are existing constitutions, framed in the
+accustomed way by the people. Congress, however, declares that these
+constitutions are not "loyal and republican," and requires the people to
+form them anew. What, then, in the opinion of Congress, is necessary to
+make the constitution of a State "loyal and republican"? The original
+act answers the question: It is universal negro suffrage--a question
+which the Federal Constitution leaves exclusively to the States
+themselves. All this legislative machinery of martial law, military
+coercion, and political disfranchisement is avowedly for that purpose
+and none other. The existing constitutions of the ten States conform to
+the acknowledged standards of loyalty and republicanism. Indeed, if
+there are degrees in republican forms of government, their constitutions
+are more republican now than when these States, four of which were
+members of the original thirteen, first became members of the Union.
+
+Congress does not now demand that a single provision of their
+constitutions be changed except such as confine suffrage to the white
+population. It is apparent, therefore, that these provisions do not
+conform to the standard of republicanism which Congress seeks to
+establish. That there may be no mistake, it is only necessary that
+reference should be made to the original act, which declares "such
+constitution shall provide that the elective franchise shall be enjoyed
+by all such persons as have the qualifications herein stated for
+electors of delegates." What class of persons is here meant clearly
+appears in the same section; that is to say, "the male citizens of said
+State 21 years old and upward, of whatever race, color, or previous
+condition, who have been resident in said State for one year previous
+to the day of such election."
+
+Without these provisions no constitution which can be framed in any one
+of the ten States will be of any avail with Congress. This, then, is the
+test of what the constitution of a State of this Union must contain to
+make it republican. Measured by such a standard, how few of the States
+now composing the Union have republican constitutions! If in the
+exercise of the constitutional guaranty that Congress shall secure to
+every State a republican form of government universal suffrage for
+blacks as well as whites is a _sine qua non_, the work of reconstruction
+may as well begin in Ohio as in Virginia, in Pennsylvania as in North
+Carolina.
+
+When I contemplate the millions of our fellow-citizens of the South
+with no alternative left but to impose upon themselves this fearful
+and untried experiment of complete negro enfranchisement--and white
+disfranchisement, it may be, almost as complete--or submit indefinitely
+to the rigor of martial law, without a single attribute of freemen,
+deprived of all the sacred guaranties of our Federal Constitution, and
+threatened with even worse wrongs, if any worse are possible, it seems
+to me their condition is the most deplorable to which any people can be
+reduced. It is true that they have been engaged in rebellion and that
+their object being a separation of the States and a dissolution of the
+Union there was an obligation resting upon every loyal citizen to treat
+them as enemies and to wage war against their cause.
+
+Inflexibly opposed to any movement imperiling the integrity of the
+Government, I did not hesitate to urge the adoption of all measures
+necessary for the suppression of the insurrection. After a long and
+terrible struggle the efforts of the Government were triumphantly
+successful, and the people of the South, submitting to the stern
+arbitrament, yielded forever the issues of the contest. Hostilities
+terminated soon after it became my duty to assume the responsibilities
+of the chief executive officer of the Republic, and I at once endeavored
+to repress and control the passions which our civil strife had
+engendered, and, no longer regarding these erring millions as enemies,
+again acknowledged them as our friends and our countrymen. The war had
+accomplished its objects. The nation was saved and that seminal
+principle of mischief which from the birth of the Government had
+gradually but inevitably brought on the rebellion was totally
+eradicated. Then, it seemed to me, was the auspicious time to commence
+the work of reconciliation; then, when these people sought once more our
+friendship and protection, I considered it our duty generously to meet
+them in the spirit of charity and forgiveness and to conquer them even
+more effectually by the magnanimity of the nation than by the force of
+its arms. I yet believe that if the policy of reconciliation then
+inaugurated, and which contemplated an early restoration of these people
+to all their political rights, had received the support of Congress,
+every one of these ten States and all their people would at this moment
+be fast anchored in the Union and the great work which gave the war all
+its sanction and made it just and holy would have been accomplished.
+Then over all the vast and fruitful regions of the South peace and its
+blessings would have prevailed, while now millions are deprived of
+rights guaranteed by the Constitution to every citizen and after nearly
+two years of legislation find themselves placed under an absolute
+military despotism. "A military republic, a government founded on mock
+elections and supported only by the sword," was nearly a quarter of a
+century since pronounced by Daniel Webster, when speaking of the South
+American States, as "a movement, indeed, but a retrograde and disastrous
+movement, from the regular and old-fashioned monarchical systems;" and
+he added:
+
+  If men would enjoy the blessings of republican government, they must
+  govern themselves by reason, by mutual counsel and consultation, by a
+  sense and feeling of general interest, and by the acquiescence of the
+  minority in the will of the majority, properly expressed; and, above
+  all, the military must be kept, according to the language of our bill of
+  rights, in strict subordination to the civil authority. Wherever this
+  lesson is not both learned and practiced there can be no political
+  freedom. Absurd, preposterous is it, a scoff and a satire on free forms
+  of constitutional liberty, for frames of government to be prescribed by
+  military leaders and the right of suffrage to be exercised at the point
+  of the sword.
+
+I confidently believe that a time will come when these States will again
+occupy their true positions in the Union. The barriers which now seem so
+obstinate must yield to the force of an enlightened and just public
+opinion, and sooner or later unconstitutional and oppressive legislation
+will be effaced from our statute books. When this shall have been
+consummated, I pray God that the errors of the past may be forgotten and
+that once more we shall be a happy, united, and prosperous people, and
+that at last, after the bitter and eventful experience through which the
+nation has passed, we shall all come to know that our only safety is in
+the preservation of our Federal Constitution and in according to every
+American citizen and to every State the rights which that Constitution
+secures.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _April 10, 1867_.[28]
+
+The first session of the Fortieth Congress adjourned on the 30th day
+of March, 1867. This bill,[29] which was passed during that session,
+was not presented for my approval by the Hon. Edmund G. Ross, of the
+Senate of the United States, and a member of the Committee on Enrolled
+Bills, until Monday, the 1st day of April, 1867, two days after the
+adjournment. It is not believed that the approval of any bill after
+the adjournment of Congress, whether presented before or after such
+adjournment, is authorized by the Constitution of the United States,
+that instrument expressly declaring that no bill shall become a law the
+return of which may have been prevented by the adjournment of Congress.
+To concede that under the Constitution the President, after the
+adjournment of Congress, may, without limitation in respect to time,
+exercise the power of approval, and thus determine at his discretion
+whether or not bills shall become laws, might subject the executive and
+legislative departments of the Government to influences most pernicious
+to correct legislation and sound public morals, and--with a single
+exception, occurring during the prevalence of civil war--would be
+contrary to the established practice of the Government from its
+inauguration to the present time. This bill will therefore be filed
+in the office of the Secretary of State without my approval.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 28: Pocket veto. Was never sent to Congress, but was deposited
+in the Department of State.]
+
+[Footnote 29: Joint resolution placing certain troops of Missouri on an
+equal footing with others as to bounties.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 19, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+I return herewith the bill entitled "An act supplementary to an act
+entitled 'An act to provide for the more efficient government of the
+rebel States,' passed on the 2d day of March, 1867, and the act
+supplementary thereto, passed, on the 23d day of March, 1867," and will
+state as briefly as possible some of the reasons which prevent me from
+giving it my approval.
+
+This is one of a series of measures passed by Congress during the last
+four months on the subject of reconstruction. The message returning the
+act of the 2d of March last states at length my objections to the
+passage of that measure. They apply equally well to the bill now before
+me, and I am content merely to refer to them and to reiterate my
+conviction that they are sound and unanswerable.
+
+There are some points peculiar to this bill, which I will proceed at
+once to consider.
+
+The first section purports to declare "the true intent and meaning,"
+in some particulars, of the two prior acts upon this subject.
+
+It is declared that the intent of those acts was, first, that the
+existing governments in the ten "rebel States" "were not legal State
+governments," and, second, "that thereafter said governments, if
+continued, were to be continued subject in all respects to the military
+commanders of the respective districts and to the paramount authority
+of Congress."
+
+Congress may by a declaratory act fix upon a prior act a
+construction altogether at variance with its apparent meaning, and
+from the time, at least, when such a construction is fixed the original
+act will be construed to mean exactly what it is stated to mean by the
+declaratory statute. There will be, then, from the time this bill may
+become a law no doubt, no question, as to the relation in which the
+"existing governments" in those States, called in the original act "the
+provisional governments," stand toward the military authority. As those
+relations stood before the declaratory act, these "governments," it is
+true, were made subject to absolute military authority in many important
+respects, but not in all, the language of the act being "subject to the
+military authority of the United States, as hereinafter prescribed."
+By the sixth section of the original act these governments were made
+"in all respects subject to the paramount authority of the United
+States."
+
+Now by this declaratory act it appears that Congress did not by the
+original act intend to limit the military authority to any particulars
+or subjects therein "prescribed," but meant to make it universal. Thus
+over all of these ten States this military government is now declared to
+have unlimited authority. It is no longer confined to the preservation
+of the public peace, the administration of criminal law, the
+registration of voters, and the superintendence of elections, but
+"in all respects" is asserted to be paramount to the existing civil
+governments.
+
+It is impossible to conceive any state of society more intolerable than
+this; and yet it is to this condition that 12,000,000 American citizens
+are reduced by the Congress of the United States. Over every foot of the
+immense territory occupied by these American citizens the Constitution
+of the United States is theoretically in full operation. It binds all
+the people there and should protect them; yet they are denied every
+one of its sacred guaranties.
+
+Of what avail will it be to any one of these Southern people when
+seized by a file of soldiers to ask for the cause of arrest or for the
+production of the warrant? Of what avail to ask for the privilege of
+bail when in military custody, which knows no such thing as bail? Of
+what avail to demand a trial by jury, process for witnesses, a copy of
+the indictment, the privilege of counselor that greater privilege, the
+writ of _habeas corpus_?
+
+The veto of the original bill of the 2d of March was based on two
+distinct grounds--the interference of Congress in matters strictly
+appertaining to the reserved powers of the States and the establishment
+of military tribunals for the trial of citizens in time of peace.
+The impartial reader of that message will understand that all that
+it contains with respect to military despotism and martial law has
+reference especially to the fearful power conferred on the district
+commanders to displace the criminal courts and assume jurisdiction to
+try and to punish by military boards; that, potentially, the suspension
+of the _habeas corpus_ was martial law and military despotism. The act
+now before me not only declares that the intent was to confer such
+military authority, but also to confer unlimited military authority over
+all the other courts of the State and over all the officers of the
+State--legislative, executive, and judicial. Not content with the
+general grant of power, Congress, in the second section of this bill,
+specifically gives to each military commander the power "to suspend or
+remove from office, or from the performance of official duties and
+the exercise of official powers, any officer or person holding or
+exercising, or professing to hold or exercise, any civil or military
+office or duty in such district under any power, election, appointment,
+or authority derived from, or granted by, or claimed under any so-called
+State, or the government thereof, or any municipal or other division
+thereof."
+
+A power that hitherto all the departments of the Federal Government,
+acting in concert or separately, have not dared to exercise is here
+attempted to be conferred on a subordinate military officer. To him,
+as a military officer of the Federal Government, is given the power,
+supported by "a sufficient military force," to remove every civil
+officer of the State. What next? The district commander, who has thus
+displaced the civil officer, is authorized to fill the vacancy by the
+detail of an officer or soldier of the Army, or by the appointment of
+"some other person."
+
+This military appointee, whether an officer, a soldier, or "some
+other person," is to perform "the duties of such officer or person so
+suspended or removed." In other words, an officer or soldier of the Army
+is thus transformed into a civil officer. He may be made a governor,
+a legislator, or a judge. However unfit he may deem himself for such
+civil duties, he must obey the order. The officer of the Army must, if
+"detailed," go upon the supreme bench of the State with the same prompt
+obedience as if he were detailed to go upon a court-martial. The
+soldier, if detailed to act as a justice of the peace, must obey as
+quickly as if he were detailed for picket duty.
+
+What is the character of such a military civil officer? This bill
+declares that he shall perform the duties of the civil office to which
+he is detailed. It is clear, however, that he does not lose his position
+in the military service. He is still an officer or soldier of the Army;
+he is still subject to the rules and regulations which govern it, and
+must yield due deference, respect, and obedience toward his superiors.
+
+The clear intent of this section is that the officer or soldier
+detailed to fill a civil office must execute its duties according to the
+laws of the State. If he is appointed a governor of a State, he is to
+execute the duties as provided by the laws of that State, and for the
+time being his military character is to be suspended in his new civil
+capacity. If he is appointed a State treasurer, he must at once assume
+the custody and disbursement of the funds of the State, and must perform
+those duties precisely according to the laws of the State, for he is
+intrusted with no other official duty or other official power. Holding
+the office of treasurer and intrusted with funds, it happens that he is
+required by the State laws to enter into bond with security and to take
+an oath of office; yet from the beginning of the bill to the end there
+is no provision for any bond or oath of office, or for any single
+qualification required under the State law, such as residence,
+citizenship, or anything else. The only oath is that provided for in the
+ninth section, by the terms of which everyone detailed or appointed to
+any civil office in the State is required "to take and to subscribe the
+oath of office prescribed by law for officers of the United States."
+Thus an officer of the Army of the United States detailed to fill a
+civil office in one of these States gives no official bond and takes
+no official oath for the performance of his new duties, but as a civil
+officer of the State only takes the same oath which he had already taken
+as a military officer of the United States. He is, at last, a military
+officer performing civil duties, and the authority under which he acts
+is Federal authority only; and the inevitable result is that the Federal
+Government, by the agency of its own sworn officers, in effect assumes
+the civil government of the State.
+
+A singular contradiction is apparent here. Congress declares these local
+State governments to be illegal governments, and then provides that
+these illegal governments shall be carried on by Federal officers, who
+are to perform the very duties imposed on its own officers by this
+illegal State authority. It certainly would be a novel spectacle if
+Congress should attempt to carry on a _legal_ State government by the
+agency of its own officers. It is yet more strange that Congress
+attempts to sustain and carry on an _illegal_ State government by the
+same Federal agency.
+
+In this connection I must call attention to the tenth and eleventh
+sections of the bill, which provide that none of the officers or
+appointees of these military commanders "shall be bound in his action by
+any opinion of any civil officer of the United States," and that all the
+provisions of the act "shall be construed liberally, to the end that all
+the intents thereof may be fully and perfectly carried out."
+
+It seems Congress supposed that this bill might require construction,
+and they fix, therefore, the rule to be applied. But where is the
+construction to come from? Certainly no one can be more in want of
+instruction than a soldier or an officer of the Army detailed for a
+civil service, perhaps the most important in a State, with the duties of
+which he is altogether unfamiliar. This bill says he shall not be bound
+in his action by the opinion of any civil officer of the United States.
+The duties of the office are altogether civil, but when he asks for an
+opinion he can only ask the opinion of another military officer, who,
+perhaps, understands as little of his duties as he does himself; and as
+to his "action," he is answerable to the military authority, and to the
+military authority alone. Strictly, no opinion of any civil officer
+other than a judge has a binding force.
+
+But these military appointees would not be bound even by a judicial
+opinion. They might very well say, even when their action is in conflict
+with the Supreme Court of the United States, "That court is composed of
+civil officers of the United States, and we are not bound to conform our
+action to any opinion of any such authority."
+
+This bill and the acts to which it is supplementary are all founded upon
+the assumption that these ten communities are not States and that their
+existing governments are not legal. Throughout the legislation upon this
+subject they are called "rebel States," and in this particular bill they
+are denominated "so-called States," and the vice of illegality is
+declared to pervade all of them. The obligations of consistency bind a
+legislative body as well as the individuals who compose it. It is now
+too late to say that these ten political communities are not States of
+this Union. Declarations to the contrary made in these three acts are
+contradicted again and again by repeated acts of legislation enacted by
+Congress from the year 1861 to the year 1867.
+
+During that period, while these States were in actual rebellion, and
+after that rebellion was brought to a close, they have been again and
+again recognized as States of the Union. Representation has been
+apportioned to them as States. They have been divided into judicial
+districts for the holding of district and circuit courts of the United
+States, as States of the Union only can be districted. The last act on
+this subject was passed July 23, 1866, by which every one of these ten
+States was arranged into districts and circuits.
+
+They have been called upon by Congress to act through their legislatures
+upon at least two amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
+As States they have ratified one amendment, which required the vote
+of twenty-seven States of the thirty-six then composing the Union.
+When the requisite twenty-seven votes were given in favor of that
+amendment--seven of which votes were given by seven of these ten
+States--it was proclaimed to be a part of the Constitution of the United
+States, and slavery was declared no longer to exist within the United
+States or any place subject to their jurisdiction. If these seven States
+were not legal States of the Union, it follows as an inevitable
+consequence that in some of the States slavery yet exists. It does not
+exist in these seven States, for they have abolished it also in their
+State constitutions; but Kentucky not having done so, it would still
+remain in that State. But, in truth, if this assumption that these
+States have no legal State governments be true, then the abolition of
+slavery by these illegal governments binds no one, for Congress now
+denies to these States the power to abolish slavery by denying to them
+the power to elect a legal State legislature, or to frame a constitution
+for any purpose, even for such a purpose as the abolition of slavery.
+
+As to the other constitutional amendment, having reference to suffrage,
+it happens that these States have not accepted it. The consequence is
+that it has never been proclaimed or understood, even by Congress, to be
+a part of the Constitution of the United States. The Senate of the
+United States has repeatedly given its sanction to the appointment of
+judges, district attorneys, and marshals for every one of these States;
+yet, if they are not legal States, not one of these judges is authorized
+to hold a court. So, too, both Houses of Congress have passed
+appropriation bills to pay all these judges, attorneys, and officers of
+the United States for exercising their functions in these States. Again,
+in the machinery of the internal-revenue laws all these States are
+districted, not as "Territories," but as "States."
+
+So much for continuous legislative recognition. The instances cited,
+however, fall far short of all that might be enumerated. Executive
+recognition, as is well known, has been frequent and unwavering. The
+same maybe said as to judicial recognition through the Supreme Court of
+the United States. That august tribunal, from first to last, in the
+administration of its duties _in banc_ and upon the circuit, has never
+failed to recognize these ten communities as legal States of the Union.
+The cases depending in that court upon appeal and writ of error from
+these States when the rebellion began have not been dismissed upon any
+idea of the cessation of jurisdiction. They were carefully continued
+from term to term until the rebellion was entirely subdued and peace
+reestablished, and then they were called for argument and consideration
+as if no insurrection had intervened. New cases, occurring since the
+rebellion, have come from these States before that court by writ of
+error and appeal, and even by original suit, where only "a State" can
+bring such a suit. These cases are entertained by that tribunal in the
+exercise of its acknowledged jurisdiction, which could not attach to
+them if they had come from any political body other than a State of the
+Union. Finally, in the allotment of their circuits made by the judges at
+the December term, 1865, every one of these States is put on the same
+footing of legality with all the other States of the Union. Virginia
+and North Carolina, being a part of the fourth circuit, are allotted to
+the Chief Justice. South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and
+Florida constitute the fifth circuit, and are allotted to the late Mr.
+Justice Wayne. Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas are allotted to the sixth
+judicial circuit, as to which there is a vacancy on the bench.
+
+The Chief Justice, in the exercise of his circuit duties, has recently
+held a circuit court in the State of North Carolina. If North Carolina
+is not a State of this Union, the Chief Justice had no authority to hold
+a court there, and every order, judgment, and decree rendered by him in
+that court were _coram non judice_ and void.
+
+Another ground on which these reconstruction acts are attempted to be
+sustained is this: That these ten States are conquered territory; that
+the constitutional relation in which they stood as States toward the
+Federal Government prior to the rebellion has given place to a new
+relation; that their territory is a conquered country and their citizens
+a conquered people, and that in this new relation Congress can govern
+them by military power.
+
+A title by conquest stands on clear ground; it is a new title acquired
+by war; it applies only to territory; for goods or movable things
+regularly captured in war are called "booty," or, if taken by individual
+soldiers, "plunder."
+
+There is not a foot of the land in any one of these ten States which
+the United States holds by conquest, save only such land as did not
+belong to either of these States or to any individual owner. I mean such
+lands as did belong to the pretended government called the Confederate
+States. These lands we may claim to hold by conquest. As to all other
+land or territory, whether belonging to the States or to individuals,
+the Federal Government has now no more title or right to it than
+it had before the rebellion. Our own forts, arsenals, navy-yards,
+custom-houses, and other Federal property situate in those States we
+now hold, not by the title of conquest, but by our old title, acquired
+by purchase or condemnation for public use, with compensation to
+former owners. We have not conquered these places, but have simply
+"repossessed" them.
+
+If we require more sites for forts, custom-houses, or other public use,
+we must acquire the title to them by purchase or appropriation in the
+regular mode. At this moment the United States, in the acquisition of
+sites for national cemeteries in these States, acquires title in the
+same way. The Federal courts sit in court-houses owned or leased by the
+United States, not in the court-houses of the States. The United States
+pays each of these States for the use of its jails. Finally, the United
+States levies its direct taxes and its internal revenue upon the
+property in these States, including the productions of the lands within
+their territorial limits, not by way of levy and contribution in the
+character of a conqueror, but in the regular way of taxation, under the
+same laws which apply to all the other States of the Union.
+
+From first to last, during the rebellion and since, the title of each of
+these States to the lands and public buildings owned by them has never
+been disturbed, and not a foot of it has ever been acquired by the
+United States, even under a title by confiscation, and not a foot of
+it has ever been taxed under Federal law.
+
+In conclusion I must respectfully ask the attention of Congress to the
+consideration of one more question arising under this bill. It vests in
+the military commander, subject only to the approval of the General of
+the Army of the United States, an unlimited power to remove from office
+any civil or military officer in each of these ten States, and the
+further power, subject to the same approval, to detail or appoint any
+military officer or soldier of the United States to perform the duties
+of the officer so removed, and to fill all vacancies occurring in those
+States by death, resignation, or otherwise.
+
+The military appointee thus required to perform the duties of a
+civil office according to the laws of the State, and, as such, required
+to take an oath, is for the time being a civil officer. What is his
+character? Is he a civil officer of the State or a civil officer of the
+United States? If he is a civil officer of the State, where is the
+Federal power under our Constitution which authorizes his appointment by
+any Federal officer? If, however, he is to be considered a civil officer
+of the United States, as his appointment and oath would seem to
+indicate, where is the authority for his appointment vested by the
+Constitution? The power of appointment of all officers of the United
+States, civil or military, where not provided for in the Constitution,
+is vested in the President, by and with the advice and consent of the
+Senate, with this exception, that Congress "may by law vest the
+appointment of such inferior officers as they think proper in the
+President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of Departments."
+But this bill, if these are to be considered inferior officers within
+the meaning of the Constitution, does not provide for their appointment
+by the President alone, or by the courts of law, or by the heads of
+Departments, but vests the appointment in one subordinate executive
+officer, subject to the approval of another subordinate executive
+officer. So that, if we put this question and fix the character of this
+military appointee either way, this provision of the bill is equally
+opposed to the Constitution.
+
+Take the case of a soldier or officer appointed to perform the office
+of judge in one of these States, and, as such, to administer the
+proper laws of the State. Where is the authority to be found in the
+Constitution for vesting in a military or an executive officer strict
+judicial functions to be exercised under State law? It has been again
+and again decided by the Supreme Court of the United States that acts
+of Congress which have attempted to vest _executive_ powers in the
+_judicial_ courts or judges of the United States are not warranted by
+the Constitution. If Congress can not clothe _a judge_ with merely
+_executive_ duties, how can they clothe _an officer_ or _soldier_ of the
+Army with _judicial_ duties over citizens of the United States who are
+not in the military or naval service? So, too, it has been repeatedly
+decided that Congress can not require a State officer, executive or
+judicial, to perform any duty enjoined upon him by a law of the United
+States. How, then, can Congress confer power upon an executive officer
+of the United States to perform such duties in a State? If Congress
+could not vest in a judge of one of these States any judicial authority
+under the United States by direct enactment, how can it accomplish the
+same thing indirectly, by removing the State judge and putting an
+officer of the United States in his place?
+
+To me these considerations are conclusive of the unconstitutionality
+of this part of the bill now before me, and I earnestly commend their
+consideration to the deliberate judgment of Congress.
+
+Within a period less than a year the legislation of Congress has
+attempted to strip the executive department of the Government of some
+of its essential powers. The Constitution and the oath provided in it
+devolve upon the President the power and duty to see that the laws are
+faithfully executed. The Constitution, in order to carry out this power,
+gives him the choice of the agents, and makes them subject to his
+control and supervision. But in the execution of these laws the
+constitutional obligation upon the President remains, but the power
+to exercise that constitutional duty is effectually taken away. The
+military commander is as to the power of appointment made to take the
+place of the President, and the General of the Army the place of the
+Senate; and any attempt on the part of the President to assert his own
+constitutional power may, under pretense of law, be met by official
+insubordination. It is to be feared that these military officers,
+looking to the authority given by these laws rather than to the letter
+of the Constitution, will recognize no authority but the commander of
+the district and the General of the Army.
+
+If there were no other objection than this to this proposed legislation,
+it would be sufficient. Whilst I hold the chief executive authority of
+the United States, whilst the obligation rests upon me to see that all
+the laws are faithfully executed, I can never willingly surrender that
+trust or the powers given for its execution. I can never give my assent
+to be made responsible for the faithful execution of laws, and at the
+same time surrender that trust and the powers which accompany it to any
+other executive officer, high or low, or to any number of executive
+officers. If this executive trust, vested by the Constitution in the
+President, is to be taken from him and vested in a subordinate officer,
+the responsibility will be with Congress in clothing the subordinate
+with unconstitutional power and with the officer who assumes its
+exercise.
+
+This interference with the constitutional authority of the executive
+department is an evil that will inevitably sap the foundations of our
+federal system; but it is not the worst evil of this legislation. It is
+a great public wrong to take from the President powers conferred on him
+alone by the Constitution, but the wrong is more flagrant and more
+dangerous when the powers so taken from the President are conferred upon
+subordinate executive officers, and especially upon military officers.
+Over nearly one-third of the States of the Union military power,
+regulated by no fixed law, rules supreme. Each one of the five district
+commanders, though not chosen by the people or responsible to them,
+exercises at this hour more executive power, military and civil, than
+the people have ever been willing to confer upon the head of the
+executive department, though chosen by and responsible to themselves.
+The remedy must come from the people themselves. They know what it is
+and how it is to be applied. At the present time they can not, according
+to the forms of the Constitution, repeal these laws; they can not remove
+or control this military despotism. The remedy is, nevertheless, in
+their hands; it is to be found in the ballot, and is a sure one if
+not controlled by fraud, overawed by arbitrary power, or, from apathy
+on their part, too long delayed. With abiding confidence in their
+patriotism, wisdom, and integrity, I am still hopeful of the future, and
+that in the end the rod of despotism will be broken, the armed heel of
+power lifted from the necks of the people, and the principles of a
+violated Constitution preserved.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 19, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+For reasons heretofore stated in my several veto messages to Congress
+upon the subject of reconstruction, I return without my approval the
+"Joint resolution to carry into effect the several acts providing for
+the more efficient government of the rebel States," and appropriating
+for that purpose the sum of $1,000,000.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+PROCLAMATIONS.
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas by the Constitution of the United States the executive power is
+vested in a President of the United States of America, who is bound by
+solemn oath faithfully to execute the office of President and to the
+best of his ability to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of
+the United States, and is by the same instrument made Commander in Chief
+of the Army and Navy of the United States and is required to take care
+that the laws be faithfully executed; and
+
+Whereas by the same Constitution it is provided that the said
+Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made in
+pursuance thereof shall be the supreme law of the land, and the judges
+in every State shall be bound thereby; and
+
+Whereas in and by the same Constitution the judicial power of the United
+States is vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as
+Congress may from time to time ordain and establish, and the aforesaid
+judicial power is declared to extend to all cases in law and equity
+arising under the Constitution, the laws of the United States, and the
+treaties which shall be made under their authority; and
+
+Whereas all officers, civil and military, are bound by oath that they
+will support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign
+and domestic, and will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and
+
+Whereas all officers of the Army and Navy of the United States, in
+accepting their commissions under the laws of Congress and the Rules and
+Articles of War, incur an obligation to observe, obey, and follow such
+directions as they shall from time to time receive from the President or
+the General or other superior officers set over them according to the
+rules and discipline of war; and
+
+Whereas it is provided by law that whenever, by reason of unlawful
+obstructions, combinations, or assemblages of persons or rebellion
+against the authority of the Government of the United States, it shall
+become impracticable, in the judgment of the President of the United
+States, to enforce by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings the
+laws of the United States within any State or Territory, the Executive
+in that case is authorized and required to secure their faithful
+execution by the employment of the land and naval forces; and
+
+Whereas impediments and obstructions, serious in their character, have
+recently been interposed in the States of North Carolina and South
+Carolina, hindering and preventing for a time a proper enforcement there
+of the laws of the United States and of the judgments and decrees of a
+lawful court thereof, in disregard of the command of the President of
+the United States; and
+
+Whereas reasonable and well-founded apprehensions exist that such
+ill-advised and unlawful proceedings may be again attempted there or
+elsewhere:
+
+Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do
+hereby warn all persons against obstructing or hindering in any manner
+whatsoever the faithful execution of the Constitution and the laws; and
+I do solemnly enjoin and command all officers of the Government, civil
+and military, to render due submission and obedience to said laws and to
+the judgments and decrees of the courts of the United States, and to
+give all the aid in their power necessary to the prompt enforcement and
+execution of such laws, decrees, judgments, and processes.
+
+And I do hereby enjoin upon the officers of the Army and Navy to assist
+and sustain the courts and other civil authorities of the United States
+in a faithful administration of the laws thereof and in the judgments,
+decrees, mandates, and processes of the courts of the United States; and
+I call upon all good and well-disposed citizens of the United States
+to remember that upon the said Constitution and laws, and upon the
+judgments, decrees, and processes of the courts made in accordance with
+the same, depend the protection of the lives, liberty, property, and
+happiness of the people. And I exhort them everywhere to testify their
+devotion to their country, their pride in its prosperity and greatness,
+and their determination to uphold its free institutions by a hearty
+cooperation in the efforts of the Government to sustain the authority of
+the law, to maintain the supremacy of the Federal Constitution, and to
+preserve unimpaired the integrity of the National Union.
+
+In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be
+affixed to these presents and sign the same with my hand.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, the 3d day of September, in the year
+1867.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas in the month of July, A.D. 1861, the two Houses of Congress,
+with extraordinary unanimity, solemnly declared that the war then
+existing was not waged on the part of the Government in any spirit of
+oppression nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor purpose
+of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established
+institutions of the States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy
+of the Constitution and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity,
+equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired, and that as soon
+as these objects should be accomplished the war ought to cease; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States, on the 8th day of December,
+A.D. 1863, and on the 26th day of March, A.D. 1864, did, with the
+objects of suppressing the then existing rebellion, of inducing all
+persons to return to their loyalty, and of restoring the authority of
+the United States, issue proclamations offering amnesty and pardon to
+all persons who had, directly or indirectly, participated in the then
+existing rebellion, except as in those proclamations was specified and
+reserved; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States did on the 29th day of May,
+A.D. 1865, issue a further proclamation, with the same objects before
+mentioned, and to the end that the authority of the Government of the
+United States might be restored and that peace, order, and freedom might
+be established, and the President did by the said last-mentioned
+proclamation proclaim and declare that he thereby granted to all persons
+who had, directly or indirectly, participated in the then existing
+rebellion, except as therein excepted, amnesty and pardon, with
+restoration of all rights of property, except as to slaves, and except
+in certain cases where legal proceedings had been instituted, but upon
+condition that such persons should take and subscribe an oath therein
+prescribed, which oath should be registered for permanent preservation;
+and
+
+Whereas in and by the said last-mentioned proclamation of the 29th
+day of May, A.D. 1865, fourteen extensive classes of persons therein
+specially described were altogether excepted and excluded from the
+benefits thereof; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States did, on the 2d day of April,
+A.D. 1866, issue a proclamation declaring that the insurrection was at
+an end and was thenceforth to be so regarded; and
+
+Whereas there now exists no organized armed resistance of misguided
+citizens or others to the authority of the United States in the
+States of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee,
+Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Florida, and Texas, and the
+laws can be sustained and enforced therein by the proper civil
+authority, State or Federal, and the people of said States are well and
+loyally disposed, and have conformed, or, if permitted to do so, will
+conform in their legislation to the condition of affairs growing out
+of the amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibiting
+slavery within the limits and jurisdiction of the United States; and
+
+Whereas there no longer exists any reasonable ground to apprehend within
+the States which were involved in the late rebellion any renewal thereof
+or any unlawful resistance by the people of said States to the
+Constitution and laws of the United States; and
+
+Whereas large standing armies, military occupation, martial law,
+military tribunals, and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of
+_habeas corpus_ and the right of trial by jury are in time of peace
+dangerous to public liberty, incompatible with the individual rights of
+the citizen, contrary to the genius and spirit of our free institutions,
+and exhaustive of the national resources, and ought not, therefore,
+to be sanctioned or allowed except in cases of actual necessity for
+repelling invasion or suppressing insurrection or rebellion; and
+
+Whereas a retaliatory or vindictive policy, attended by unnecessary
+disqualifications, pains, penalties, confiscations, and disfranchisements,
+now, as always, could only tend to hinder reconciliation among the people
+and national restoration, while it must seriously embarrass, obstruct,
+and repress popular energies and national industry and enterprise; and
+
+Whereas for these reasons it is now deemed essential to the public
+welfare and to the more perfect restoration of constitutional law and
+order that the said last-mentioned proclamation so as aforesaid issued
+on the 29th day of May, A.D. 1865, should be modified, and that the full
+and beneficent pardon conceded thereby should be opened and further
+extended to a large number of the persons who by its aforesaid
+exceptions have been hitherto excluded from Executive clemency:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, do hereby proclaim and declare that the full pardon
+described in the said proclamation of the 29th day of May, A.D. 1865,
+shall henceforth be opened and extended to all persons who, directly or
+indirectly, participated in the late rebellion, with the restoration
+of all privileges, immunities, and rights of property, except as to
+property with regard to slaves, and except in cases of legal proceedings
+under the laws of the United States; but upon this condition,
+nevertheless, that every such person who shall seek to avail himself of
+this proclamation shall take and subscribe the following oath and shall
+cause the same to be registered for permanent preservation in the same
+manner and with the same effect as with the oath prescribed in the said
+proclamation of the 29th day of May, 1865, namely:
+
+  I, ---- ----, do solemnly swear (or affirm), 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 laws and proclamations which have been made during the late
+  rebellion with reference to the emancipation of slaves. So help me God.
+
+
+The following persons, and no others, are excluded from the benefits of
+this proclamation and of the said proclamation of the 29th day of May,
+1865, namely:
+
+First. The chief or pretended chief executive officers, including the
+President, the Vice-President, and all heads of departments of the
+pretended Confederate or rebel government, and all who were agents
+thereof in foreign states and countries, and all who held or pretended
+to hold in the service of the said pretended Confederate government a
+military rank or title above the grade of brigadier-general or naval
+rank or title above that of captain, and all who were or pretended to be
+governors of States while maintaining, aiding, abetting, or submitting
+to and acquiescing in the rebellion.
+
+Second. All persons who in any way treated otherwise than as lawful
+prisoners of war persons who in any capacity were employed or engaged in
+the military or naval service of the United States.
+
+Third. All persons who at the time they may seek to obtain the benefits
+of this proclamation are actually in civil, military, or naval
+confinement or custody, or legally held to bail, either before or after
+conviction, and all persons who were engaged, directly or indirectly, in
+the assassination of the late President of the United States or in any
+plot or conspiracy in any manner therewith connected.
+
+In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, the 7th day of September, A.D. 1867, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-second.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+
+Whereas it has been ascertained that in the nineteenth paragraph of
+the proclamation of the President of the United States of the 20th of
+August, 1866, declaring the insurrection at an end which had theretofore
+existed in the State of Texas, the previous proclamation of the 13th of
+June, 1865, instead of that of the 2d day of April, 1866, was referred
+to:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, do hereby declare and proclaim that the said words
+"13th of June, 1865," are to be regarded as erroneous in the paragraph
+adverted to, and that the words "2d day of April, 1866," are to be
+considered as substituted therefor.
+
+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 October, A.D. 1867, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-second.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+In conformity with a recent custom that may now be regarded as
+established on national consent and approval, I, Andrew Johnson,
+President of the United States, do hereby recommend to my
+fellow-citizens that Thursday, the 28th day of November next, be set
+apart and observed throughout the Republic as a day of national
+thanksgiving and praise to the Almighty Ruler of Nations, with whom are
+dominion and fear, who maketh peace in His high places.
+
+Resting and refraining from secular labors on that day, let us
+reverently and devoutly give thanks to our Heavenly Father for the
+mercies and blessings with which He has crowned the now closing year.
+Especially let us remember that He has covered our land through all
+its extent with greatly needed and very abundant harvests; that He has
+caused industry to prosper, not only in our fields, but also in our
+workshops, in our mines, and in our forests. He has permitted us to
+multiply ships upon our lakes and rivers and upon the high seas, and at
+the same time to extend our iron roads so far into the secluded places
+of the continent as to guarantee speedy overland intercourse between
+the two oceans. He has inclined our hearts to turn away from domestic
+contentions and commotions consequent upon a distracting and desolating
+civil war, and to walk more and more in the ancient ways of loyalty,
+conciliation, and brotherly love. He has blessed the peaceful efforts
+with which we have established new and important commercial treaties
+with foreign nations, while we have at the same time strengthened our
+national defenses and greatly enlarged our national borders.
+
+While thus rendering the unanimous and heartfelt tribute of national
+praise and thanksgiving which is so justly due to Almighty God, let us
+not fail to implore Him that the same divine protection and care which
+we have hitherto so undeservedly and yet so constantly enjoyed may be
+continued to our country and our people throughout all their generations
+forever.
+
+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 26th day of October, A.D. 1867, and
+of the Independence of the United States the ninety-second.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 10.
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, March 11, 1867_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+II. In pursuance of the act of Congress entitled "An act to provide for
+the more efficient government of the rebel States," the President
+directs the following assignments to be made:
+
+First District, State of Virginia, to be commanded by Brevet
+Major-General J.M. Schofield. Headquarters, Richmond, Va.
+
+Second District, consisting of North Carolina and South Carolina, to be
+commanded by Major-General D.E. Sickles. Headquarters, Columbia, S.C.
+
+Third District, consisting of the States of Georgia, Florida, and
+Alabama, to be commanded by Major-General G.H. Thomas. Headquarters,
+Montgomery, Ala.
+
+Fourth District, consisting of the States of Mississippi and Arkansas,
+to be commanded by Brevet Major-General E.O.C. Ord. Headquarters,
+Vicksburg, Miss.
+
+Fifth District, consisting of the States of Louisiana and Texas, to be
+commanded by Major-General P.H. Sheridan. Headquarters, New Orleans, La.
+
+The powers of departmental commanders are hereby delegated to the
+above-named district commanders.
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 18.
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, March 15, 1867_.
+
+The President directs that the following change be made, at the request
+of Major-General Thomas, in the assignment announced in General Orders,
+No. 10, of March 11, 1867, of commanders of districts, under the act of
+Congress entitled "An act to provide for the more efficient government
+of the rebel States," and of the Department of the Cumberland, created
+in General Orders, No. 14, of March 12, 1867:
+
+Brevet Major-General John Pope to command the Third District, consisting
+of the States of Georgia, Florida, and Alabama; and Major-General George
+H. Thomas to command the Department of the Cumberland
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+    _Washington, June 20, 1867_.
+
+Whereas several commanders of military districts created by the acts of
+Congress known as the reconstruction acts have expressed doubts as to
+the proper construction thereof and in respect to some of their powers
+and duties under said acts, and have applied to the Executive for
+information in relation thereto; and
+
+Whereas the said acts of Congress have been referred to the
+Attorney-General for his opinion thereon, and the said acts and the
+opinion of the Attorney-General have been fully and carefully considered
+by the President in conference with the heads of the respective
+Departments:
+
+The President accepts the following as a practical interpretation of the
+aforesaid acts of Congress on the points therein presented, and directs
+the same to be transmitted to the respective military commanders for
+their information, in order that there may be uniformity in the
+execution of said acts:
+
+1. The oath prescribed in the supplemental act defines all the
+qualifications required, and every person who can take that oath is
+entitled to have his name entered upon the list of voters.
+
+2. The board of registration have no authority to administer any other
+oath to the person applying for registration than this prescribed oath,
+nor to administer an oath to any other person touching the
+qualifications of the applicant or the falsity of the oath so taken by
+him. The act, to guard against falsity in the oath, provides that if
+false the person taking it shall be tried and punished for perjury.
+
+No provision is made for challenging the qualifications of the applicant
+or entering upon any trial or investigation of his qualifications,
+either by witnesses or any other form of proof.
+
+3. _As to citizenship and residence_:
+
+The applicant for registration must be a citizen of the State and of the
+United States, and must be a resident of a county or parish included in
+the election district. He may be registered if he has been such citizen
+for a period less than twelve months at the time he applies for
+registration, but he can not vote at any election unless his citizenship
+has _then_ extended to the full term of one year. As to such a person,
+the exact length of his citizenship should be noted opposite his name on
+the list, so that it may appear on the day of election, upon reference
+to the list, whether the full term has then been accomplished.
+
+4. An unnaturalized person can not take this oath, but an alien who has
+been naturalized can take it, and no other proof of naturalization can
+be required from him.
+
+5. No one who is not 21 years of age at the time of registration can
+take the oath, for he must swear that he has then attained that age.
+
+6. No one who has been disfranchised for participation in any rebellion
+against the United States or for felony committed against the laws of
+any State or of the United States can take this oath.
+
+The actual participation in a rebellion or the actual commission of a
+felony does not amount to disfranchisement. The sort of disfranchisement
+here meant is that which is declared by law passed by competent
+authority, or which has been fixed upon the criminal by the sentence of
+the court which tried him for the crime.
+
+No law of the United States has declared the penalty of disfranchisement
+for participation in rebellion alone; nor is it known that any such law
+exists in either of these ten States, except, perhaps, Virginia, as to
+which State special instructions will be given.
+
+7. _As to disfranchisement arising from having held office followed by
+participation in rebellion_:
+
+This is the most important part of the oath, and requires strict
+attention to arrive at its meaning. The applicant must swear or affirm
+as follows:
+
+  That I have never been a member of any State legislature, nor held any
+  executive or judicial office in any State, and afterwards engaged in
+  an insurrection or rebellion against the United States or given aid or
+  comfort to the enemies thereof; that I have never taken an oath as a
+  member of Congress of the United States, or as an officer of the United
+  States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive
+  or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the
+  United States, and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion
+  against the United States or given aid or comfort to the enemies
+  thereof.
+
+
+Two elements must concur in order to disqualify a person under these
+clauses: First, the office and official oath to support the Constitution
+of the United States; second, engaging afterwards in rebellion. Both
+must exist to work disqualification, and must happen in the order of
+time mentioned.
+
+A person who has held an office and taken the oath to support the
+Federal Constitution and has not afterwards engaged in rebellion is not
+disqualified. So, too, a person who has engaged in rebellion, but has
+not theretofore held an office and taken that oath, is not disqualified.
+
+8. _Officers of the United States_:
+
+As to these the language is without limitation. The person who has at
+any time prior to the rebellion held an office, civil or military, under
+the United States, and has taken an official oath to support the
+Constitution of the United States, is subject to disqualification.
+
+9. _Militia officers_ of any State prior to the rebellion are not
+subject to disqualification.
+
+10. _Municipal officers_--that is to say, officers of incorporated
+cities, towns, and villages, such as mayors, aldermen, town council,
+police, and other city or town officers--are not subject to
+disqualification.
+
+11. Persons who have prior to the rebellion been members of the Congress
+of the United States or members of a State legislature are subject to
+disqualification, but those who have been members of conventions framing
+or amending the Constitution of a State prior to the rebellion are not
+subject to disqualification.
+
+12. All the executive or judicial officers of any State who took an oath
+to support the Constitution of the United States are subject to
+disqualification, including county officers. They are subject to
+disqualification if they were required to take as a part of their
+official oath _the oath to support the Constitution of the United
+States_.
+
+13. Persons who exercised mere employment under State authority are not
+disqualified; such as commissioners to lay out roads, commissioners of
+public works, visitors of State institutions, directors of State
+institutions, examiners of banks, notaries public, and commissioners to
+take acknowledgments of deeds.
+
+
+ENGAGING IN REBELLION.
+
+Having specified what offices held by anyone prior to the rebellion come
+within the meaning of the law, it is necessary next to set forth what
+subsequent conduct fixes upon such person the offense of engaging in
+rebellion. Two things must exist as to any person to disqualify him from
+voting: First, the office held prior to the rebellion, and, afterwards,
+participation in the rebellion.
+
+14. An act to fix upon a person the offense of engaging in the rebellion
+under this law must be an overt and voluntary act, done with the intent
+of aiding or furthering the common unlawful purpose. A person forced
+into the rebel service by conscription or under a paramount authority
+which he could not safely disobey, and who would not have entered such
+service if left to the free exercise of his own will, can not be held
+to be disqualified from voting.
+
+15. Mere acts of charity, where the intent is to relieve the wants of
+the object of such charity, and not done in aid of the cause in which he
+may have been engaged, do not disqualify; but organized contributions
+of food and clothing for the general relief of persons engaged in the
+rebellion, and not of a merely sanitary character, but contributed to
+enable them to perform their unlawful object, may be classed with acts
+which do disqualify.
+
+Forced contributions to the rebel cause in the form of taxes or military
+assessments, which a person was compelled to pay or contribute, do not
+disqualify; but voluntary contributions to the rebel cause, even such
+indirect contributions as arise from the voluntary loan of money to
+rebel authorities or purchase of bonds or securities created to afford
+the means of carrying on the rebellion, will work disqualification.
+
+16. All those who in legislative or other official capacity were engaged
+in the furtherance of the common unlawful purpose, where the duties of
+the office necessarily had relation to the support of the rebellion,
+such as members of the rebel conventions, congresses, and legislatures,
+diplomatic agents of the rebel Confederacy, and other officials whose
+offices were created for the purpose of more effectually carrying on
+hostilities or whose duties appertained to the support of the rebel
+cause, must be held to be disqualified.
+
+But officers who during the rebellion discharged official duties not
+incident to war, but only such duties as belong even to a state of peace
+and were necessary to the preservation of order and the administration
+of law, are not to be considered as thereby engaging in rebellion or as
+disqualified. Disloyal sentiments, opinions, or sympathies would not
+disqualify, but where a person has by speech or by writing incited
+others to engage in rebellion he must come under the disqualification.
+
+17. _The duties of the board appointed to superintend the elections_:
+
+This board, having the custody of the list of registered voters in the
+district for which it is constituted, must see that the name of the
+person offering to vote is found upon the registration list, and if such
+proves to be the fact it is the duty of the board to receive his vote if
+then qualified by residence. They can not receive the vote of any person
+whose name is not upon the list, though he may be ready to take the
+registration oath, and although he may satisfy them that he was unable
+to have his name registered at the proper time, in consequence of
+absence, sickness, or other cause.
+
+The board can not enter into any inquiry as to the qualifications of any
+person whose name is not on the registration list, or as to the
+qualifications of any person whose name is on the list.
+
+18. _The mode of voting_ is provided in the act to be _by ballot_. The
+board will keep a record and poll book of the election, showing the
+votes, list of voters, and the persons elected by a plurality of the
+votes cast at the election, and make returns of these to the commanding
+general of the district.
+
+19. The board appointed for registration and for superintending the
+elections must take the oath prescribed by the act of Congress approved
+July 2, 1862, entitled "An act to prescribe an oath of office."
+
+By order of the President:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, August 12, 1867_,
+
+Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by
+the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby suspended
+from office as Secretary of War, and will cease to exercise any and all
+functions pertaining to the same.
+
+You will at once transfer to General Ulysses S. Grant, who has this day
+been authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_,
+all records, books, and other property now in your custody and charge.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., August 12, 1867_.
+
+General ULYSSES S. GRANT,
+
+_Washington, D.C._
+
+SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day suspended as
+Secretary of War, you are hereby authorized and empowered to act as
+Secretary of War _ad interim_, and will at once enter upon the discharge
+of the duties of the office.
+
+The Secretary of War has been instructed to transfer to you all the
+records, books, papers, and other public property now in his custody
+and charge.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., August 17, 1867_.
+
+Major-General George H. Thomas is hereby assigned to the command of the
+Fifth Military District, created by the act of Congress passed on the 2d
+day of March, 1867.
+
+Major-General P.H. Sheridan is hereby assigned to the command of the
+Department of the Missouri.
+
+Major-General Winfield S. Hancock is hereby assigned to the command of
+the Department of the Cumberland.
+
+The Secretary of War _ad interim_ will give the necessary instructions
+to carry this order into effect.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., August 26, 1867_.
+
+General U.S. GRANT,
+
+_Secretary of War ad interim_.
+
+SIR: In consequence of the unfavorable condition of the health of
+Major-General George H. Thomas, as reported to you in Surgeon Hasson's
+dispatch of the 21st instant, my order dated August 17, 1867, is hereby
+modified so as to assign Major-General Winfield S. Hancock to the
+command of the Fifth Military District, created by the act of Congress
+passed March 2, 1867, and of the military department comprising the
+States of Louisiana and Texas. On being relieved from the command
+of the Department of the Missouri by Major-General P. H. Sheridan,
+Major-General Hancock will proceed directly to New Orleans, La.,
+and, assuming the command to which he is hereby assigned, will, when
+necessary to a faithful execution of the laws, exercise any and all
+powers conferred by acts of Congress upon district commanders and any
+and all authority pertaining to officers in command of military
+departments.
+
+Major-General P.H. Sheridan will at once turn over his present command
+to the officer next in rank to himself, and, proceeding without delay
+to Fort Leavenworth, Kans., will relieve Major-General Hancock of the
+command of the Department of the Missouri.
+
+Major-General George H. Thomas will until further orders remain in
+command of the Department of the Cumberland.
+
+Very respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., August 26, 1867_.
+
+Brevet Major-General Edward R.S. Canby is hereby assigned to the command
+of the Second Military District, created by the act of Congress of March
+2, 1867, and of the Military Department of the South, embracing the
+States of North Carolina and South Carolina. He will, as soon as
+practicable, relieve Major-General Daniel E. Sickles, and, on assuming
+the command to which he is hereby assigned, will, when necessary to a
+faithful execution of the laws, exercise any and all powers conferred by
+acts of Congress upon district commanders and any and all authority
+pertaining to officers in command of military departments.
+
+Major-General Daniel E. Sickles is hereby relieved from the command of
+the Second Military District.
+
+The Secretary of War _ad interim_ will give the necessary instructions
+to carry this order into effect.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., September 4, 1867_.
+
+The heads of the several Executive Departments of the Government are
+instructed to furnish each person holding an appointment in their
+respective Departments with an official copy of the proclamation of the
+President bearing date the 3d instant, with directions strictly to
+observe its requirements for an earnest support of the Constitution of
+the United States and a faithful execution of the laws which have been
+made in pursuance thereof.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+[Note.--The Fortieth Congress, second session, met December 2, 1867, in
+conformity to the Constitution of the United States, and on July 27,
+1868, in accordance with the concurrent resolution of July 24, adjourned
+to September 21; again met September 21, and adjourned to October 16;
+again met October 16, and adjourned to November 10; again met November
+10 and adjourned to December 7, 1868; the latter meetings and
+adjournments being in accordance with the concurrent resolution of
+September 21.]
+
+
+
+
+THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 3, 1867_.
+
+_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+The continued disorganization of the Union, to which the President has
+so often called the attention of Congress, is yet a subject of profound
+and patriotic concern. We may, however, find some relief from that
+anxiety in the reflection that the painful political situation, although
+before untried by ourselves, is not new in the experience of nations.
+Political science, perhaps as highly perfected in our own time and
+country as in any other, has not yet disclosed any means by which civil
+wars can be absolutely prevented. An enlightened nation, however, with a
+wise and beneficent constitution of free government, may diminish their
+frequency and mitigate their severity by directing all its proceedings
+in accordance with its fundamental law.
+
+When a civil war has been brought to a close, it is manifestly the first
+interest and duty of the state to repair the injuries which the war has
+inflicted, and to secure the benefit of the lessons it teaches as fully
+and as speedily as possible. This duty was, upon the termination of the
+rebellion, promptly accepted, not only by the executive department, but
+by the insurrectionary States themselves, and restoration in the first
+moment of peace was believed to be as easy and certain as it was
+indispensable. The expectations, however, then so reasonably and
+confidently entertained were disappointed by legislation from which
+I felt constrained by my obligations to the Constitution to withhold
+my assent.
+
+It is therefore a source of profound regret that in complying with the
+obligation imposed upon the President by the Constitution to give to
+Congress from time to time information of the state of the Union I am
+unable to communicate any definitive adjustment, satisfactory to the
+American people, of the questions which since the close of the rebellion
+have agitated the public mind. On the contrary, candor compels me to
+declare that at this time there is no Union as our fathers understood
+the term, and as they meant it to be understood by us. The Union which
+they established can exist only where all the States are represented in
+both Houses of Congress; where one State is as free as another to
+regulate its internal concerns according to its own will, and where the
+laws of the central Government, strictly confined to matters of national
+jurisdiction, apply with equal force to all the people of every section.
+That such is not the present "state of the Union" is a melancholy fact,
+and we must all acknowledge that the restoration of the States to their
+proper legal relations with the Federal Government and with one another,
+according to the terms of the original compact, would be the greatest
+temporal blessing which God, in His kindest providence, could bestow
+upon this nation. It becomes our imperative duty to consider whether
+or not it is impossible to effect this most desirable consummation.
+
+The Union and the Constitution are inseparable. As long as one is obeyed
+by all parties, the other will be preserved; and if one is destroyed,
+both must perish together. The destruction of the Constitution will be
+followed by other and still greater calamities. It was ordained not only
+to form a more perfect union between the States, but to "establish
+justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense,
+promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to
+ourselves and our posterity." Nothing but implicit obedience to its
+requirements in all parts of the country will accomplish these great
+ends. Without that obedience we can look forward only to continual
+outrages upon individual rights, incessant breaches of the public peace,
+national weakness, financial dishonor, the total loss of our prosperity,
+the general corruption of morals, and the final extinction of popular
+freedom. To save our country from evils so appalling as these, we should
+renew our efforts again and again.
+
+To me the process of restoration seems perfectly plain and simple. It
+consists merely in a faithful application of the Constitution and laws.
+The execution of the laws is not now obstructed or opposed by physical
+force. There is no military or other necessity, real or pretended, which
+can prevent obedience to the Constitution, either North or South.
+All the rights and all the obligations of States and individuals
+can be protected and enforced by means perfectly consistent with the
+fundamental law. The courts may be everywhere open, and if open their
+process would be unimpeded. Crimes against the United States can be
+prevented or punished by the proper judicial authorities in a manner
+entirely practicable and legal. There is therefore no reason why the
+Constitution should not be obeyed, unless those who exercise its powers
+have determined that it shall be disregarded and violated. The mere
+naked will of this Government, or of some one or more of its branches,
+is the only obstacle that can exist to a perfect union of all the
+States.
+
+On this momentous question and some of the measures growing out of it
+I have had the misfortune to differ from Congress, and have expressed
+my convictions without reserve, though with becoming deference to the
+opinion of the legislative department. Those convictions are not only
+unchanged, but strengthened by subsequent events and further reflection.
+The transcendent importance of the subject will be a sufficient excuse
+for calling your attention to some of the reasons which have so strongly
+influenced my own judgment. The hope that we may all finally concur in a
+mode of settlement consistent at once with our true interests and with
+our sworn duties to the Constitution is too natural and too just to be
+easily relinquished.
+
+It is clear to my apprehension that the States lately in rebellion are
+still members of the National Union. When did they cease to be so? The
+"ordinances of secession" adopted by a portion (in most of them a very
+small portion) of their citizens were mere nullities. If we admit now
+that they were valid and effectual for the purpose intended by their
+authors, we sweep from under our feet the whole ground upon which we
+justified the war. Were those States afterwards expelled from the Union
+by the war? The direct contrary was averred by this Government to be its
+purpose, and was so understood by all those who gave their blood and
+treasure to aid in its prosecution. It can not be that a successful
+war, waged for the preservation of the Union, had the legal effect of
+dissolving it. The victory of the nation's arms was not the disgrace
+of her policy; the defeat of secession on the battlefield was not the
+triumph of its lawless principle. Nor could Congress, with or without
+the consent of the Executive, do anything which would have the effect,
+directly or indirectly, of separating the States from each other.
+To dissolve the Union is to repeal the Constitution which holds it
+together, and that is a power which does not belong to any department
+of this Government, or to all of them united.
+
+This is so plain that it has been acknowledged by all branches of the
+Federal Government. The Executive (my predecessor as well as myself) and
+the heads of all the Departments have uniformly acted upon the principle
+that the Union is not only undissolved, but indissoluble. Congress
+submitted an amendment of the Constitution to be ratified by the
+Southern States, and accepted their acts of ratification as a necessary
+and lawful exercise of their highest function. If they were not States,
+or were States out of the Union, their consent to a change in the
+fundamental law of the Union would have been nugatory, and Congress in
+asking it committed a political absurdity. The judiciary has also given
+the solemn sanction of its authority to the same view of the case. The
+judges of the Supreme Court have included the Southern States in their
+circuits, and they are constantly, _in banc_ and elsewhere, exercising
+jurisdiction which does not belong to them unless those States are
+States of the Union.
+
+If the Southern States are component parts of the Union, the
+Constitution is the supreme law for them, as it is for all the other
+States. They are bound to obey it, and so are we. The right of the
+Federal Government, which is clear and unquestionable, to enforce the
+Constitution upon them implies the correlative obligation on our part
+to observe its limitations and execute its guaranties. Without the
+Constitution we are nothing; by, through, and under the Constitution we
+are what it makes us. We may doubt the wisdom of the law, we may not
+approve of its provisions, but we can not violate it merely because it
+seems to confine our powers within limits narrower than we could wish.
+It is not a question of individual or class or sectional interest, much
+less of party predominance, but of duty--of high and sacred duty--which
+we are all sworn to perform. If we can not support the Constitution with
+the cheerful alacrity of those who love and believe in it, we must give
+to it at least the fidelity of public servants who act under solemn
+obligations and commands which they dare not disregard.
+
+The constitutional duty is not the only one which requires the States
+to be restored. There is another consideration which, though of minor
+importance, is yet of great weight. On the 22d day of July, 1861,
+Congress declared by an almost unanimous vote of both Houses that the
+war should be conducted solely for the purpose of preserving the Union
+and maintaining the supremacy of the Federal Constitution and laws,
+without impairing the dignity, equality, and rights of the States or of
+individuals, and that when this was done the war should cease. I do not
+say that this declaration is personally binding on those who joined in
+making it; any more than individual members of Congress are personally
+bound to pay a public debt created under a law for which they voted.
+But it was a solemn, public, official pledge of the national honor,
+and I can not imagine upon what grounds the repudiation of it is to
+be justified. If it be said that we are not bound to keep faith with
+rebels, let it be remembered that this promise was not made to rebels
+only. Thousands of true men in the South were drawn to our standard by
+it, and hundreds of thousands in the North gave their lives in the
+belief that it would be carried out. It was made on the day after the
+first great battle of the war had been fought and lost. All patriotic
+and intelligent men then saw the necessity of giving such an assurance,
+and believed that without it the war would end in disaster to our cause.
+Having given that assurance in the extremity of our peril, the violation
+of it now, in the day of our power, would be a rude rending of that good
+faith which holds the moral world together; our country would cease to
+have any claim upon the confidence of men; it would make the war not
+only a failure, but a fraud.
+
+Being sincerely convinced that these views are correct, I would be
+unfaithful to my duty if I did not recommend the repeal of the acts of
+Congress which place ten of the Southern States under the domination of
+military masters. If calm reflection shall satisfy a majority of your
+honorable bodies that the acts referred to are not only a violation of
+the national faith, but in direct conflict with the Constitution, I dare
+not permit myself to doubt that you will immediately strike them from
+the statute book.
+
+To demonstrate the unconstitutional character of those acts I need do no
+more than refer to their general provisions. It must be seen at once
+that they are not authorized. To dictate what alterations shall be made
+in the constitutions of the several States; to control the elections of
+State legislators and State officers, members of Congress and electors
+of President and Vice-President, by arbitrarily declaring who shall
+vote and who shall be excluded from that privilege; to dissolve State
+legislatures or prevent them from assembling; to dismiss judges and
+other civil functionaries of the State and appoint others without regard
+to State law; to organize and operate all the political machinery of the
+States; to regulate the whole administration of their domestic and local
+affairs according to the mere will of strange and irresponsible agents,
+sent among them for that purpose--these are powers not granted to the
+Federal Government or to any one of its branches. Not being granted, we
+violate our trust by assuming them as palpably as we would by acting in
+the face of a positive interdict; for the Constitution forbids us to do
+whatever it does not affirmatively authorize, either by express words or
+by clear implication. If the authority we desire to use does not come to
+us through the Constitution, we can exercise it only by usurpation, and
+usurpation is the most dangerous of political crimes. By that crime the
+enemies of free government in all ages have worked out their designs
+against public liberty and private right. It leads directly and
+immediately to the establishment of absolute rule, for undelegated
+power is always unlimited and unrestrained.
+
+The acts of Congress in question are not only objectionable for their
+assumption of ungranted power, but many of their provisions are in
+conflict with the direct prohibitions of the Constitution. The
+Constitution commands that a republican form of government shall be
+guaranteed to all the States; that no person shall be deprived of life,
+liberty, or property without due process of law, arrested without a
+judicial warrant, or punished without a fair trial before an impartial
+jury; that the privilege of _habeas corpus_ shall not be denied in time
+of peace, and that no bill of attainder shall be passed even against a
+single individual. Yet the system of measures established by these acts
+of Congress does totally subvert and destroy the form as well as the
+substance of republican government in the ten States to which they
+apply. It binds them hand and foot in absolute slavery, and subjects
+them to a strange and hostile power, more unlimited and more likely to
+be abused than any other now known among civilized men. It tramples down
+all those rights in which the essence of liberty consists, and which a
+free government is always most careful to protect. It denies the _habeas
+corpus_ and the trial by jury. Personal freedom, property, and life, if
+assailed by the passion, the prejudice, or the rapacity of the ruler,
+have no security whatever. It has the effect of a bill of attainder or
+bill of pains and penalties, not upon a few individuals, but upon whole
+masses, including the millions who inhabit the subject States, and even
+their unborn children. These wrongs, being expressly forbidden, can not
+be constitutionally inflicted upon any portion of our people, no matter
+how they may have come within our jurisdiction, and no matter whether
+they live in States, Territories, or districts.
+
+I have no desire to save from the proper and just consequences of their
+great crime those who engaged in rebellion against the Government, but
+as a mode of punishment the measures under consideration are the most
+unreasonable that could be invented. Many of those people are perfectly
+innocent; many kept their fidelity to the Union untainted to the last;
+many were incapable of any legal offense; a large proportion even of the
+persons able to bear arms were forced into rebellion against their will,
+and of those who are guilty with their own consent the degrees of guilt
+are as various as the shades of their character and temper. But these
+acts of Congress confound them all together in one common doom.
+Indiscriminate vengeance upon classes, sects, and parties, or upon whole
+communities, for offenses committed by a portion of them against the
+governments to which they owed obedience was common in the barbarous
+ages of the world; but Christianity and civilization have made such
+progress that recourse to a punishment so cruel and unjust would meet
+with the condemnation of all unprejudiced and right-minded men. The
+punitive justice of this age, and especially of this country, does not
+consist in stripping whole States of their liberties and reducing all
+their people, without distinction, to the condition of slavery. It deals
+separately with each individual, confines itself to the forms of law,
+and vindicates its own purity by an impartial examination of every case
+before a competent judicial tribunal. If this does not satisfy all our
+desires with regard to Southern rebels, let us console ourselves by
+reflecting that a free Constitution, triumphant in war and unbroken in
+peace, is worth far more to us and our children than the gratification
+of any present feeling.
+
+I am aware it is assumed that this system of government for the
+Southern States is not to be perpetual. It is true this military
+government is to be only provisional, but it is through this temporary
+evil that a greater evil is to be made perpetual. If the guaranties
+of the Constitution can be broken provisionally to serve a temporary
+purpose, and in a part only of the country, we can destroy them
+everywhere and for all time. Arbitrary measures often change, but they
+generally change for the worse. It is the curse of despotism that it has
+no halting place. The intermitted exercise of its power brings no sense
+of security to its subjects, for they can never know what more they will
+be called to endure when its red right hand is armed to plague them
+again. Nor is it possible to conjecture how or where power, unrestrained
+by law, may seek its next victims. The States that are still free may be
+enslaved at any moment; for if the Constitution does not protect all, it
+protects none.
+
+It is manifestly and avowedly the object of these laws to confer upon
+negroes the privilege of voting and to disfranchise such a number of
+white citizens as will give the former a clear majority at all elections
+in the Southern States. This, to the minds of some persons, is so
+important that a violation of the Constitution is justified as a means
+of bringing it about. The morality is always false which excuses a wrong
+because it proposes to accomplish a desirable end. We are not permitted
+to do evil that good may come. But in this case the end itself is evil,
+as well as the means. The subjugation of the States to negro domination
+would be worse than the military despotism under which they are now
+suffering. It was believed beforehand that the people would endure any
+amount of military oppression for any length of time rather than degrade
+themselves by subjection to the negro race. Therefore they have been
+left without a choice. Negro suffrage was established by act of
+Congress, and the military officers were commanded to superintend the
+process of clothing the negro race with the political privileges torn
+from white men.
+
+The blacks in the South are entitled to be well and humanely governed,
+and to have the protection of just laws for all their rights of person
+and property. If it were practicable at this time to give them a
+Government exclusively their own, under which they might manage their
+own affairs in their own way, it would become a grave question whether
+we ought to do so, or whether common humanity would not require us to
+save them from themselves. But under the circumstances this is only a
+speculative point. It is not proposed merely that they shall govern
+themselves, but that they shall rule the white race, make and administer
+State laws, elect Presidents and members of Congress, and shape to a
+greater or less extent the future destiny of the whole country. Would
+such a trust and power be safe in such hands?
+
+The peculiar qualities which should characterize any people who are fit
+to decide upon the management of public affairs for a great state have
+seldom been combined. It is the glory of white men to know that they
+have had these qualities in sufficient measure to build upon this
+continent a great political fabric and to preserve its stability for
+more than ninety years, while in every other part of the world all
+similar experiments have failed. But if anything can be proved by known
+facts, if all reasoning upon evidence is not abandoned, it must be
+acknowledged that in the progress of nations negroes have shown less
+capacity for government than any other race of people. No independent
+government of any form has ever been successful in their hands. On the
+contrary, wherever they have been left to their own devices they have
+shown a constant tendency to relapse into barbarism. In the Southern
+States, however, Congress has undertaken to confer upon them the
+privilege of the ballot. Just released from slavery, it may be doubted
+whether as a class they know more than their ancestors how to organize
+and regulate civil society. Indeed, it is admitted that the blacks of
+the South are not only regardless of the rights of property, but so
+utterly ignorant of public affairs that their voting can consist in
+nothing more than carrying a ballot to the place where they are directed
+to deposit it. I need not remind you that the exercise of the elective
+franchise is the highest attribute of an American citizen, and that when
+guided by virtue, intelligence, patriotism, and a proper appreciation of
+our free institutions it constitutes the true basis of a democratic form
+of government, in which the sovereign power is lodged in the body of the
+people. A trust artificially created, not for its own sake, but solely
+as a means of promoting the general welfare, its influence for good must
+necessarily depend upon the elevated character and true allegiance of
+the elector. It ought, therefore, to be reposed in none except those who
+are fitted morally and mentally to administer it well; for if conferred
+upon persons who do not justly estimate its value and who are
+indifferent as to its results, it will only serve as a means of placing
+power in the hands of the unprincipled and ambitious, and must eventuate
+in the complete destruction of that liberty of which it should be the
+most powerful conservator. I have therefore heretofore urged upon your
+attention the great danger--
+
+  to be apprehended from an untimely extension of the elective franchise
+  to any new class in our country, especially when the large majority of
+  that class, in wielding the power thus placed in their hands, can not be
+  expected correctly to comprehend the duties and responsibilities which
+  pertain to suffrage. Yesterday, as it were, 4,000,000 persons were held
+  in a condition of slavery that had existed for generations; to-day they
+  are freemen and are assumed by law to be citizens. It can not be
+  presumed, from their previous condition of servitude, that as a class
+  they are as well informed as to the nature of our Government as the
+  intelligent foreigner who makes our land the home of his choice. In the
+  case of the latter neither a residence of five years and the knowledge
+  of our institutions which it gives nor attachment to the principles of
+  the Constitution are the only conditions upon which he can be admitted
+  to citizenship; he must prove in addition a good moral character, and
+  thus give reasonable ground for the belief that he will be faithful to
+  the obligations which he assumes as a citizen of the Republic. Where
+  a people--the source of all political power--speak by their suffrages
+  through the instrumentality of the ballot box, it must be carefully
+  guarded against the control of those who are corrupt in principle and
+  enemies of free institutions, for it can only become to our political
+  and social system a safe conductor of healthy popular sentiment when
+  kept free from demoralizing influences. Controlled through fraud and
+  usurpation by the designing, anarchy and despotism must inevitably
+  follow. In the hands of the patriotic and worthy our Government will be
+  preserved upon the principles of the Constitution inherited from our
+  fathers. It follows, therefore, that in admitting to the ballot box
+  a new class of voters not qualified for the exercise of the elective
+  franchise we weaken our system of government instead of adding to its
+  strength and durability.
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+  I yield to no one in attachment to that rule of general suffrage which
+  distinguishes our policy as a nation. But there is a limit, wisely
+  observed hitherto, which makes the ballot a privilege and a trust,
+  and which requires of some classes a time suitable for probation
+  and preparation. To give it indiscriminately to a new class, wholly
+  unprepared by previous habits and opportunities to perform the trust
+  which it demands, is to degrade it, and finally to destroy its power,
+  for it may be safely assumed that no political truth is better
+  established than that such indiscriminate and all-embracing extension
+  of popular suffrage must end at last in its destruction.
+
+
+I repeat the expression of my willingness to join in any plan within
+the scope of our constitutional authority which promises to better the
+condition of the negroes in the South, by encouraging them in industry,
+enlightening their minds, improving their morals, and giving protection
+to all their just rights as freedmen. But the transfer of our political
+inheritance to them would, in my opinion, be an abandonment of a duty
+which we owe alike to the memory of our fathers and the rights of our
+children.
+
+The plan of putting the Southern States wholly and the General
+Government partially into the hands of negroes is proposed at a time
+peculiarly unpropitious. The foundations of society have been broken
+up by civil war. Industry must be reorganized, justice reestablished,
+public credit maintained, and order brought out of confusion. To
+accomplish these ends would require all the wisdom and virtue of the
+great men who formed our institutions originally. I confidently believe
+that their descendants will be equal to the arduous task before them,
+but it is worse than madness to expect that negroes will perform it for
+us. Certainly we ought not to ask their assistance till we despair of
+our own competency.
+
+The great difference between the two races in physical, mental,
+and moral characteristics will prevent an amalgamation or fusion
+of them together in one homogeneous mass. If the inferior obtains the
+ascendency over the other, it will govern with reference only to its own
+interests--for it will recognize no common interest--and create such a
+tyranny as this continent has never yet witnessed. Already the negroes
+are influenced by promises of confiscation and plunder. They are taught
+to regard as an enemy every white man who has any respect for the rights
+of his own race. If this continues it must become worse and worse, until
+all order will be subverted, all industry cease, and the fertile fields
+of the South grow up into a wilderness. Of all the dangers which our
+nation has yet encountered, none are equal to those which must result
+from the success of the effort now making to Africanize the half of
+our country.
+
+I would not put considerations of money in competition with justice and
+right; but the expenses incident to "reconstruction" under the system
+adopted by Congress aggravate what I regard as the intrinsic wrong of
+the measure itself. It has cost uncounted millions already, and if
+persisted in will add largely to the weight of taxation, already too
+oppressive to be borne without just complaint, and may finally reduce
+the Treasury of the nation to a condition of bankruptcy. We must not
+delude ourselves. It will require a strong standing army and probably
+more than $200,000,000 per annum to maintain the supremacy of negro
+governments after they are established. The sum thus thrown away would,
+if properly used, form a sinking fund large enough to pay the whole
+national debt in less than fifteen years. It is vain to hope that
+negroes will maintain their ascendency themselves. Without military
+power they are wholly incapable of holding in subjection the white
+people of the South.
+
+I submit to the judgment of Congress whether the public credit may not
+be injuriously affected by a system of measures like this. With our debt
+and the vast private interests which are complicated with it, we can not
+be too cautious of a policy which might by possibility impair the
+confidence of the world in our Government. That confidence can only be
+retained by carefully inculcating the principles of justice and honor
+on the popular mind and by the most scrupulous fidelity to all our
+engagements of every sort. Any serious breach of the organic law,
+persisted in for a considerable time, can not but create fears for the
+stability of our institutions. Habitual violation of prescribed rules,
+which we bind ourselves to observe, must demoralize the people. Our only
+standard of civil duty being set at naught, the sheet anchor of our
+political morality is lost, the public conscience swings from its
+moorings and yields to every impulse of passion and interest. If we
+repudiate the Constitution, we will not be expected to care much for
+mere pecuniary obligations. The violation of such a pledge as we made on
+the 22d day of July, 1861, will assuredly diminish the market value of
+our other promises. Besides, if we acknowledge that the national debt
+was created, not to hold the States in the Union, as the taxpayers were
+led to suppose, but to expel them from it and hand them over to be
+governed by negroes, the moral duty to pay it may seem much less clear.
+I say it may _seem_ so, for I do not admit that this or any other
+argument in favor of repudiation can be entertained as sound; but
+its influence on some classes of minds may well be apprehended. The
+financial honor of a great commercial nation, largely indebted and with
+a republican form of government administered by agents of the popular
+choice, is a thing of such delicate texture and the destruction of it
+would be followed by such unspeakable calamity that every true patriot
+must desire to avoid whatever might expose it to the slightest danger.
+
+The great interests of the country require immediate relief from these
+enactments. Business in the South is paralyzed by a sense of general
+insecurity, by the terror of confiscation, and the dread of negro
+supremacy. The Southern trade, from which the North would have derived
+so great a profit under a government of law, still languishes, and can
+never be revived until it ceases to be fettered by the arbitrary power
+which makes all its operations unsafe. That rich country--the richest in
+natural resources the world ever saw--is worse than lost if it be not
+soon placed under the protection of a free constitution. Instead of
+being, as it ought to be, a source of wealth and power, it will become
+an intolerable burden upon the rest of the nation.
+
+Another reason for retracing our steps will doubtless be seen by
+Congress in the late manifestations of public opinion upon this subject.
+We live in a country where the popular will always enforces obedience
+to itself, sooner or later. It is vain to think of opposing it with
+anything short of legal authority backed by overwhelming force. It can
+not have escaped your attention that from the day on which Congress
+fairly and formally presented the proposition to govern the Southern
+States by military force, with a view to the ultimate establishment of
+negro supremacy, every expression of the general sentiment has been more
+or less adverse to it. The affections of this generation can not be
+detached from the institutions of their ancestors. Their determination
+to preserve the inheritance of free government in their own hands and
+transmit it undivided and unimpaired to their own posterity is too
+strong to be successfully opposed. Every weaker passion will disappear
+before that love of liberty and law for which the American people are
+distinguished above all others in the world.
+
+How far the duty of the President "to preserve, protect, and defend
+the Constitution" requires him to go in opposing an unconstitutional
+act of Congress is a very serious and important question, on which
+I have deliberated much and felt extremely anxious to reach a proper
+conclusion. Where an act has been passed according to the forms of the
+Constitution by the supreme legislative authority, and is regularly
+enrolled among the public statutes of the country, Executive resistance
+to it, especially in times of high party excitement, would be likely to
+produce violent collision between the respective adherents of the two
+branches of the Government. This would be simply civil war, and civil
+war must be resorted to only as the last remedy for the worst of evils.
+Whatever might tend to provoke it should be most carefully avoided.
+A faithful and conscientious magistrate will concede very much to honest
+error, and something even to perverse malice, before he will endanger
+the public peace; and he will not adopt forcible measures, or such as
+might lead to force, as long as those which are peaceable remain open to
+him or to his constituents. It is true that cases may occur in which the
+Executive would be compelled to stand on its rights, and maintain them
+regardless of all consequences. If Congress should pass an act which is
+not only in palpable conflict with the Constitution, but will certainly,
+if carried out, produce immediate and irreparable injury to the organic
+structure of the Government, and if there be, neither judicial remedy
+for the wrongs it inflicts nor power in the people to protect themselves
+without the official aid of their elected defender--if, for instance,
+the legislative department should pass an act even through all the forms
+of law to abolish a coordinate department of the Government--in such a
+case the President must take the high responsibilities of his office and
+save the life of the nation at all hazards. The so-called reconstruction
+acts, though as plainly unconstitutional as any that can be imagined,
+were not believed to be within the class last mentioned. The people were
+not wholly disarmed of the power of self-defense. In all the Northern
+States they still held in their hands the sacred right of the ballot,
+and it was safe to believe that in due time they would come to the
+rescue of their own institutions. It gives me pleasure to add that the
+appeal to our common constituents was not taken in vain, and that my
+confidence in their wisdom and virtue seems not to have been misplaced.
+
+It is well and publicly known that enormous frauds have been perpetrated
+on the Treasury and that colossal fortunes have been made at the public
+expense. This species of corruption has increased, is increasing, and
+if not diminished will soon bring us into total ruin and disgrace. The
+public creditors and the taxpayers are alike interested in an honest
+administration of the finances, and neither class will long endure the
+large-handed robberies of the recent past. For this discreditable state
+of things there are several causes. Some of the taxes are so laid as
+to present an irresistible temptation to evade payment. The great sums
+which officers may win by connivance at fraud create a pressure which is
+more than the virtue of many can withstand, and there can be no doubt
+that the open disregard of constitutional obligations avowed by some of
+the highest and most influential men in the country has greatly weakened
+the moral sense of those who serve in subordinate places. The expenses
+of the United States, including interest on the public debt, are more
+than six times as much as they were seven years ago. To collect and
+disburse this vast amount requires careful supervision as well as
+systematic vigilance. The system, never perfected, was much disorganized
+by the "tenure-of-office bill," which has almost destroyed official
+accountability. The President may be thoroughly convinced that an
+officer is incapable, dishonest, or unfaithful to the Constitution, but
+under the law which I have named the utmost he can do is to complain to
+the Senate and ask the privilege of supplying his place with a better
+man. If the Senate be regarded as personally or politically hostile to
+the President, it is natural, and not altogether unreasonable, for the
+officer to expect that it will take his part as far as possible, restore
+him to his place, and give him a triumph over his Executive superior.
+The officer has other chances of impunity arising from accidental
+defects of evidence, the mode of investigating it, and the secrecy of
+the hearing. It is not wonderful that official malfeasance should become
+bold in proportion as the delinquents learn to think themselves safe.
+I am entirely persuaded that under such a rule the President can not
+perform the great duty assigned to him of seeing the laws faithfully
+executed, and that it disables him most especially from enforcing that
+rigid accountability which is necessary to the due execution of the
+revenue laws.
+
+The Constitution invests the President with authority to _decide_
+whether a removal should be made in any given case; the act of Congress
+declares in substance that he shall only _accuse_ such as he supposes to
+be unworthy of their trust. The Constitution makes him _sole judge_ in
+the premises, but the statute takes away his jurisdiction, transfers
+it to the Senate, and leaves him nothing but the odious and sometimes
+impracticable duty of becoming a _prosecutor_. The prosecution is to be
+conducted before a tribunal whose members are not, like him, responsible
+to the whole people, but to separate constituent bodies, and who may
+hear his accusation with great disfavor. The Senate is absolutely
+without any known standard of decision applicable to such a case. Its
+judgment can not be anticipated, for it is not governed by any rule.
+The law does not define what shall be deemed good cause for removal.
+It is impossible even to conjecture what may or may not be so considered
+by the Senate. The nature of the subject forbids clear proof. If the
+charge be incapacity, what evidence will support it? Fidelity to the
+Constitution may be understood or misunderstood in a thousand different
+ways, and by violent party men, in violent party times, unfaithfulness
+to the Constitution may even come to be considered meritorious. If the
+officer be accused of dishonesty, how shall it be made out? Will it be
+inferred from acts unconnected with public duty, from private history,
+or from general reputation, or must the President await the commission
+of an actual misdemeanor in office? Shall he in the meantime risk the
+character and interest of the nation in the hands of men to whom he
+can not give his confidence? Must he forbear his complaint until the
+mischief is done and can not be prevented? If his zeal in the public
+service should impel him to anticipate the overt act, must he move at
+the peril of being tried himself for the offense of slandering his
+subordinate? In the present circumstances of the country someone must be
+held responsible for official delinquency of every kind. It is extremely
+difficult to say where that responsibility should be thrown if it be
+not left where it has been placed by the Constitution. But all just men
+will admit that the President ought to be entirely relieved from such
+responsibility if he can not meet it by reason of restrictions placed
+by law upon his action.
+
+The unrestricted power of removal from office is a very great one to be
+trusted even to a magistrate chosen by the general suffrage of the whole
+people and accountable directly to them for his acts. It is undoubtedly
+liable to abuse, and at some periods of our history perhaps has been
+abused. If it be thought desirable and constitutional that it should be
+so limited as to make the President merely a common informer against
+other public agents, he should at least be permitted to act in that
+capacity before some open tribunal, independent of party politics, ready
+to investigate the merits of every case, furnished with the means of
+taking evidence, and bound to decide according to established rules.
+This would guarantee the safety of the accuser when he acts in good
+faith, and at the same time secure the rights of the other party. I
+speak, of course, with all proper respect for the present Senate, but it
+does not seem to me that any legislative body can be so constituted as
+to insure its fitness for these functions.
+
+It is not the theory of this Government that public offices are the
+property of those who hold them. They are given merely as a trust for
+the public benefit, sometimes for a fixed period, sometimes during good
+behavior, but generally they are liable to be terminated at the pleasure
+of the appointing power, which represents the collective majesty and
+speaks the will of the people. The forced retention in office of a
+single dishonest person may work great injury to the public interests.
+The danger to the public service comes not from the power to remove,
+but from the power to appoint. Therefore it was that the framers of the
+Constitution left the power of removal unrestricted, while they gave
+the Senate a right to reject all appointments which in its opinion were
+not fit to be made. A little reflection on this subject will probably
+satisfy all who have the good of the country at heart that our best
+course is to take the Constitution for our guide, walk in the path
+marked out by the founders of the Republic, and obey the rules made
+sacred by the observance of our great predecessors.
+
+The present condition of our finances and circulating medium is one to
+which your early consideration is invited.
+
+The proportion which the currency of any country should bear to
+the whole value of the annual produce circulated by its means is a
+question upon which political economists have not agreed. Nor can it
+be controlled by legislation, but must be left to the irrevocable laws
+which everywhere regulate commerce and trade. The circulating medium
+will ever irresistibly flow to those points where it is in greatest
+demand. The law of demand and supply is as unerring as that which
+regulates the tides of the ocean; and, indeed, currency, like the
+tides, has its ebbs and flows throughout the commercial world.
+
+At the beginning of the rebellion the bank-note circulation of the
+country amounted to not much more than $200,000,000; now the circulation
+of national-bank notes and those known as "legal-tenders" is nearly
+seven hundred millions. While it is urged by some that this amount
+should be increased, others contend that a decided reduction is
+absolutely essential to the best interests of the country. In view of
+these diverse opinions, it may be well to ascertain the real value of
+our paper issues when compared with a metallic or convertible currency.
+For this purpose let us inquire how much gold and silver could be
+purchased by the seven hundred millions of paper money now in
+circulation. Probably not more than half the amount of the latter,
+showing that when our paper currency is compared with gold and silver
+its commercial value is compressed into three hundred and fifty
+millions. This striking fact makes it the obvious duty of the
+Government, as early as may be consistent with the principles of sound
+political economy, to take such measures as will enable the holder of
+its notes and those of the national banks to convert them without loss
+into specie or its equivalent. A reduction of our paper circulating
+medium need not necessarily follow. This, however, would depend upon
+the law of demand and supply, though it should be borne in mind that
+by making legal-tender and bank notes convertible into coin or its
+equivalent their present specie value in the hands of their holders
+would be enhanced 100 per cent.
+
+Legislation for the accomplishment of a result so desirable is demanded
+by the highest public considerations. The Constitution contemplates that
+the circulating medium of the country shall be uniform in quality and
+value. At the time of the formation of that instrument the country had
+just emerged from the War of the Revolution, and was suffering from the
+effects of a redundant and worthless paper currency. The sages of that
+period were anxious to protect their posterity from the evils that they
+themselves had experienced. Hence in providing a circulating medium they
+conferred upon Congress the power to coin money and regulate the value
+thereof, at the same time prohibiting the States from making anything
+but gold and silver a tender in payment of debts.
+
+The anomalous condition of our currency is in striking contrast with
+that which was originally designed. Our circulation now embraces, first,
+notes of the national banks, which are made receivable for all dues to
+the Government, excluding imposts, and by all its creditors, excepting
+in payment of interest upon its bonds and the securities themselves;
+second, legal-tender notes, issued by the United States, and which the
+law requires shall be received as well in payment of all debts between
+citizens as of all Government dues, excepting imposts; and, third, gold
+and silver coin. By the operation of our present system of finance,
+however, the metallic currency, when collected, is reserved only for one
+class of Government creditors, who, holding its bonds, semiannually
+receive their interest in coin from the National Treasury. They are thus
+made to occupy an invidious position, which may be used to strengthen
+the arguments of those who would bring into disrepute the obligations
+of the nation. In the payment of all its debts the plighted faith of
+the Government should be inviolably maintained. But while it acts with
+fidelity toward the bondholder who loaned his money that the integrity
+of the Union might be preserved, it should at the same time observe good
+faith with the great masses of the people, who, having rescued the Union
+from the perils of rebellion, now bear the burdens of taxation, that the
+Government may be able to fulfill its engagements. There is no reason
+which will be accepted as satisfactory by the people why those who
+defend us on the land and protect us on the sea; the pensioner upon the
+gratitude of the nation, bearing the scars and wounds received while
+in its service; the public servants in the various Departments of the
+Government; the farmer who supplies the soldiers of the Army and the
+sailors of the Navy; the artisan who toils in the nation's workshops,
+or the mechanics and laborers who build its edifices and construct
+its forts and vessels of war, should, in payment of their just and
+hard-earned dues, receive depreciated paper, while another class of
+their countrymen, no more deserving, are paid in coin of gold and
+silver. Equal and exact justice requires that all the creditors of the
+Government should be paid in a currency possessing a uniform value.
+This can only be accomplished by the restoration of the currency to the
+standard established by the Constitution; and by this means we would
+remove a discrimination which may, if it has not already done so, create
+a prejudice that may become deep rooted and widespread and imperil the
+national credit.
+
+The feasibility of making our currency correspond with the
+constitutional standard may be seen by reference to a few facts derived
+from our commercial statistics.
+
+The production of precious metals in the United States from 1849
+to 1857, inclusive, amounted to $579,000,000; from 1858 to 1860,
+inclusive, to $137,500,000, and from 1861 to 1867, inclusive, to
+$457,500,000--making the grand aggregate of products since 1849
+$1,174,000,000. The amount of specie coined from 1849 to 1857 inclusive,
+was $439,000,000; from 1858 to 1860, inclusive, $125,000,000, and from
+1861 to 1867, inclusive, $310,000,000--making the total coinage since
+1849 $874,000,000. From 1849 to 1857, inclusive, the net exports of
+specie amounted to $271,000,000; from 1858 to 1860, inclusive, to
+$148,000,000, and from 1861 to 1867, inclusive, $322,000,000--making the
+aggregate of net exports since 1849 $741,000,000. These figures show an
+excess of product over net exports of $433,000,000. There are in the
+Treasury $111,000,000 in coin, something more than $40,000,000 in
+circulation on the Pacific Coast, and a few millions in the national
+and other banks--in all about $160,000,000. This, however, taking into
+account the specie in the country prior to 1849, leaves more than
+$300,000,000 which have not been accounted for by exportation, and
+therefore may yet remain in the country.
+
+These are important facts and show how completely the inferior currency
+will supersede the better, forcing it from circulation among the masses
+and causing it to be exported as a mere article of trade, to add to the
+money capital of foreign lands. They show the necessity of retiring our
+paper money, that the return of gold and silver to the avenues of trade
+may be invited and a demand created which will cause the retention
+at home of at least so much of the productions of our rich and
+inexhaustible gold-bearing fields as may be sufficient for purposes
+of circulation. It is unreasonable to expect a return to a sound
+currency so long as the Government by continuing to issue irredeemable
+notes fills the channels of circulation with depreciated paper.
+Notwithstanding a coinage by our mints, since 1849, of $874,000,000,
+the people are now strangers to the currency which was designed for
+their use and benefit, and specimens of the precious metals bearing
+the national device are seldom seen, except when produced to gratify
+the interest excited by their novelty. If depreciated paper is to be
+continued as the permanent currency of the country, and all our coin is
+to become a mere article of traffic and speculation, to the enhancement
+in price of all that is indispensable to the comfort of the people, it
+would be wise economy to abolish our mints, thus saving the nation the
+care and expense incident to such establishments, and let all our
+precious metals be exported in bullion. The time has come, however, when
+the Government and national banks should be required to take the most
+efficient steps and make all necessary arrangements for a resumption
+of specie payments at the earliest practicable period. Specie payments
+having been once resumed by the Government and banks, all notes or bills
+of paper issued by either of a less denomination than $20 should by law
+be excluded from circulation, so that the people may have the benefit
+and convenience of a gold and silver currency which in all their
+business transactions will be uniform in value at home and abroad.
+
+  Every man of property or industry, every man who desires to preserve
+  what he honestly possesses or to obtain what he can honestly earn, has a
+  direct interest in maintaining a safe circulating medium--such a medium
+  as shall be real and substantial, not liable to vibrate with opinions,
+  not subject to be blown up or blown down by the breath of speculation,
+  but to be made stable and secure. A disordered currency is one of the
+  greatest political evils. It undermines the virtues necessary for the
+  support of the social system and encourages propensities destructive of
+  its happiness; it wars against industry, frugality, and economy, and it
+  fosters the evil spirits of extravagance and speculation.
+
+
+It has been asserted by one of our profound and most gifted statesmen
+that--
+
+  Of all the contrivances for cheating the laboring classes of mankind,
+  none has been more effectual than that which deludes them with paper
+  money. This is the most effectual of inventions to fertilize the rich
+  man's fields by the sweat of the poor man's brow. Ordinary tyranny,
+  oppression, excessive taxation--these bear lightly on the happiness of
+  the mass of the community compared with a fraudulent currency and the
+  robberies committed by depreciated paper. Our own history has recorded
+  for our instruction enough, and more than enough, of the demoralizing
+  tendency, the injustice, and the intolerable oppression on the virtuous
+  and well disposed of a degraded paper currency authorized by law or in
+  any way countenanced by government.
+
+
+It is one of the most successful devices, in times of peace or war,
+expansions or revulsions, to accomplish the transfer of all the precious
+metals from the great mass of the people into the hands of the few,
+where they are hoarded in secret places or deposited in strong boxes
+under bolts and bars, while the people are left to ensure all the
+inconvenience, sacrifice, and demoralization resulting from the use
+of a depreciated and worthless paper money.
+
+The condition of our finances and the operations of our revenue
+system are set forth and fully explained in the able and instructive
+report of the Secretary of the Treasury. On the 30th of June, 1866,
+the public debt amounted to $2,783,425,879; on the 30th of June last
+it was $2,692,199,215, showing a reduction during the fiscal year of
+$91,226,664. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1867, the receipts
+were $490,634,010 and the expenditures $346,729,129, leaving an
+available surplus of $143,904,880. It is estimated that the receipts for
+the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, will be $417,161,928 and that the
+expenditures will reach the sum of $393,269,226, leaving in the Treasury
+a surplus of $23,892,702. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1869, it
+is estimated that the receipts will amount to $381,000,000 and that the
+expenditures will be $372,000,000, showing an excess of $9,000,000 in
+favor of the Government.
+
+The attention of Congress is earnestly invited to the necessity of a
+thorough revision of our revenue system. Our internal-revenue laws and
+impost system should be so adjusted as to bear most heavily on articles
+of luxury, leaving the necessaries of life as free from taxation as
+may be consistent with the real wants of the Government, economically
+administered. Taxation would not then fall unduly on the man of moderate
+means; and while none would be entirely exempt from assessment, all, in
+proportion to their pecuniary abilities, would contribute toward the
+support of the State. A modification of the internal-revenue system, by
+a large reduction in the number of articles now subject to tax, would
+be followed by results equally advantageous to the citizen and the
+Government. It would render the execution of the law less expensive and
+more certain, remove obstructions to industry, lessen the temptations to
+evade the law, diminish the violations and frauds perpetrated upon its
+provisions, make its operations less inquisitorial, and greatly reduce
+in numbers the army of taxgatherers created by the system, who "take
+from the mouth of honest labor the bread it has earned." Retrenchment,
+reform, and economy should be carried into every branch of the public
+service, that the expenditures of the Government may be reduced and the
+people relieved from oppressive taxation; a sound currency should be
+restored, and the public faith in regard to the national debt sacredly
+observed. The accomplishment of these important results, together with
+the restoration of the Union of the States upon the principles of
+the Constitution, would inspire confidence at home and abroad in the
+stability of our institutions and bring to the nation prosperity,
+peace, and good will.
+
+The report of the Secretary of War _ad interim_ exhibits the operations
+of the Army and of the several bureaus of the War Department. The
+aggregate strength of our military force on the 30th of September
+last was 56,315. The total estimate for military appropriations is
+$77,124,707, including a deficiency in last year's appropriation of
+$13,600,000. The payments at the Treasury on account of the service
+of the War Department from January 1 to October 29, 1867--a period of
+ten months--amounted to $109,807,000. The expenses of the military
+establishment, as well as the numbers of the Army, are now three
+times as great as they have ever been in time of peace, while the
+discretionary power is vested in the Executive to add millions to this
+expenditure by an increase of the Army to the maximum strength allowed
+by the law.
+
+The comprehensive report of the Secretary of the Interior furnishes
+interesting information in reference to the important branches of the
+public service connected with his Department. The menacing attitude of
+some of the warlike bands of Indians inhabiting the district of country
+between the Arkansas and Platte rivers and portions of Dakota Territory
+required the presence of a large military force in that region.
+Instigated by real or imaginary grievances, the Indians occasionally
+committed acts of barbarous violence upon emigrants and our frontier
+settlements; but a general Indian war has been providentially averted.
+The commissioners under the act of 20th July, 1867, were invested with
+full power to adjust existing difficulties, negotiate treaties with the
+disaffected bands, and select for them reservations remote from the
+traveled routes between the Mississippi and the Pacific. They entered
+without delay upon the execution of their trust, but have not yet made
+any official report of their proceedings. It is of vital importance that
+our distant Territories should be exempt from Indian outbreaks, and
+that the construction of the Pacific Railroad, an object of national
+importance, should not be interrupted by hostile tribes. These objects,
+as well as the material interests and the moral and intellectual
+improvement of the Indians, can be most effectually secured by
+concentrating them upon portions of country set apart for their
+exclusive use and located at points remote from our highways and
+encroaching white settlements.
+
+Since the commencement of the second session of the Thirty-ninth
+Congress 510 miles of road have been constructed on the main line
+and branches of the Pacific Railway. The line from Omaha is rapidly
+approaching the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, while the terminus
+of the last section of constructed road in California, accepted by the
+Government on the 24th day of October last, was but 11 miles distant
+from the summit of the Sierra Nevada. The remarkable energy evinced by
+the companies offers the strongest assurance that the completion of the
+road from Sacramento to Omaha will not be long deferred.
+
+During the last fiscal year 7,041,114 acres of public land were
+disposed of, and the cash receipts from sales and fees exceeded by
+one-half million dollars the sum realized from those sources during the
+preceding year. The amount paid to pensioners, including expenses of
+disbursements, was $18,619,956, and 36,482 names were added to the
+rolls. The entire number of pensioners on the 30th of June last was
+155,474. Eleven thousand six hundred and fifty-five patents and designs
+were issued during the year ending September 30, 1867, and at that
+date the balance in the Treasury to the credit of the patent fund
+was $286,607.
+
+The report of the Secretary of the Navy states that we have seven
+squadrons actively and judiciously employed, under efficient and able
+commanders, in protecting the persons and property of American citizens,
+maintaining the dignity and power of the Government, and promoting the
+commerce and business interests of our countrymen in every part of the
+world. Of the 238 vessels composing the present Navy of the United
+States, 56, carrying 507 guns, are in squadron service. During the year
+the number of vessels in commission has been reduced 12, and there
+are 13 less on squadron duty than there were at the date of the last
+report. A large number of vessels were commenced and in the course of
+construction when the war terminated, and although Congress had made the
+necessary appropriations for their completion, the Department has either
+suspended work upon them or limited the slow completion of the steam
+vessels, so as to meet the contracts for machinery made with private
+establishments. The total expenditures of the Navy Department for the
+fiscal year ending June 30, 1867, were $31,034,011. No appropriations
+have been made or required since the close of the war for the
+construction and repair of vessels, for steam machinery, ordnance,
+provisions and clothing, fuel, hemp, etc., the balances under these
+several heads having been more than sufficient for current expenditures.
+It should also be stated to the credit of the Department that, besides
+asking no appropriations for the above objects for the last two years,
+the Secretary of the Navy, on the 30th of September last, in accordance
+with the act of May 1, 1820, requested the Secretary of the Treasury to
+carry to the surplus fund the sum of $65,000,000, being the amount
+received from the sales of vessels and other war property and the
+remnants of former appropriations.
+
+The report of the Postmaster-General shows the business of the
+Post-Office Department and the condition of the postal service in a
+very favorable light, and the attention of Congress is called to its
+practical recommendations. The receipts of the Department for the
+year ending June 30, 1867, including all special appropriations for
+sea and land service and for free mail matter, were $19,978,693. The
+expenditures for all purposes were $19,235,483, leaving an unexpended
+balance in favor of the Department of $743,210, which can be applied
+toward the expenses of the Department for the current year. The increase
+of postal revenue, independent of specific appropriations, for the year
+1867 over that of 1866 was $850,040. The increase of revenue from the
+sale of stamps and stamped envelopes was $783,404. The increase of
+expenditures for 1867 over those of the previous year was owing chiefly
+to the extension of the land and ocean mail service. During the past
+year new postal conventions have been ratified and exchanged with the
+United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands,
+Switzerland, the North German Union, Italy, and the colonial government
+at Hong Kong, reducing very largely the rates of ocean and land postages
+to and from and within those countries.
+
+The report of the Acting Commissioner of Agriculture concisely presents
+the condition, wants, and progress of an interest eminently worthy the
+fostering care of Congress, and exhibits a large measure of useful
+results achieved during the year to which it refers.
+
+The reestablishment of peace at home and the resumption of extended
+trade, travel, and commerce abroad have served to increase the number
+and variety of questions in the Department for Foreign Affairs. None of
+these questions, however, have seriously disturbed our relations with
+other states.
+
+The Republic of Mexico, having been relieved from foreign intervention,
+is earnestly engaged in efforts to reestablish her constitutional system
+of government. A good understanding continues to exist between our
+Government and the Republics of Hayti and San Domingo, and our cordial
+relations with the Central and South American States remain unchanged.
+The tender, made in conformity with a resolution of Congress, of the
+good offices of the Government with a view to an amicable adjustment
+of peace between Brazil and her allies on one side and Paraguay on the
+other, and between Chile and her allies on the one side and Spain on the
+other, though kindly received, has in neither case been fully accepted
+by the belligerents. The war in the valley of the Parana is still
+vigorously maintained. On the other hand, actual hostilities between
+the Pacific States and Spain have been more than a year suspended.
+I shall, on any proper occasion that may occur, renew the conciliatory
+recommendations which have been already made. Brazil, with enlightened
+sagacity and comprehensive statesmanship, has opened the great channels
+of the Amazon and its tributaries to universal commerce. One thing more
+seems needful to assure a rapid and cheering progress in South America.
+I refer to those peaceful habits without which states and nations can
+not in this age well expect material prosperity or social advancement.
+
+The Exposition of Universal Industry at Paris has passed, and seems to
+have fully realized the high expectations of the French Government. If
+due allowance be made for the recent political derangement of industry
+here, the part which the United States has borne in this exhibition of
+invention and art may be regarded with very high satisfaction. During
+the exposition a conference was held of delegates from several nations,
+the United States being one, in which the inconveniences of commerce and
+social intercourse resulting from the diverse standards of money value
+were very fully discussed, and plans were developed for establishing
+by universal consent a common principle for the coinage of gold. These
+conferences are expected to be renewed, with the attendance of many
+foreign states not hitherto represented. A report of these interesting
+proceedings will be submitted to Congress, which will, no doubt, justly
+appreciate the great object and be ready to adopt any measure which may
+tend to facilitate its ultimate accomplishment.
+
+On the 25th of February, 1862, Congress declared by law that Treasury
+notes, without interest, authorized by that act should be legal tender
+in payment of all debts, public and private, within the United States.
+An annual remittance of $30,000, less stipulated expenses, accrues
+to claimants under the convention made with Spain in 1834. These
+remittances, since the passage of that act, have been paid in such
+notes. The claimants insist that the Government ought to require
+payment in coin. The subject may be deemed worthy of your attention.
+
+No arrangement has yet been reached for the settlement of our claims
+for British depredations upon the commerce of the United States. I have
+felt it my duty to decline the proposition of arbitration made by
+Her Majesty's Government, because it has hitherto been accompanied by
+reservations and limitations incompatible with the rights, interest, and
+honor of our country. It is not to be apprehended that Great Britain
+will persist in her refusal to satisfy these just and reasonable claims,
+which involve the sacred principle of nonintervention--a principle
+henceforth not more important to the United States than to all other
+commercial nations.
+
+The West India islands were settled and colonized by European States
+simultaneously with the settlement and colonization of the American
+continent. Most of the colonies planted here became independent nations
+in the close of the last and the beginning of the present century. Our
+own country embraces communities which at one period were colonies of
+Great Britain, France, Spain, Holland, Sweden, and Russia. The people
+in the West Indies, with the exception of those of the island of Hayti,
+have neither attained nor aspired to independence, nor have they become
+prepared for self-defense. Although possessing considerable commercial
+value, they have been held by the several European States which
+colonized or at some time conquered them, chiefly for purposes of
+military and naval strategy in carrying out European policy and designs
+in regard to this continent. In our Revolutionary War ports and harbors
+in the West India islands were used by our enemy, to the great injury
+and embarrassment of the United States. We had the same experience in
+our second war with Great Britain. The same European policy for a long
+time excluded us even from trade with the West Indies, while we were at
+peace with all nations. In our recent civil war the rebels and their
+piratical and blockade-breaking allies found facilities in the same
+ports for the work, which they too successfully accomplished, of
+injuring and devastating the commerce which we are now engaged in
+rebuilding. We labored especially under this disadvantage, that
+European steam vessels employed by our enemies found friendly shelter,
+protection, and supplies in West Indian ports, while our naval
+operations were necessarily carried on from our own distant shores.
+There was then a universal feeling of the want of an advanced naval
+outpost between the Atlantic coast and Europe. The duty of obtaining
+such an outpost peacefully and lawfully, while neither doing nor
+menacing injury to other states, earnestly engaged the attention of the
+executive department before the close of the war, and it has not been
+lost sight of since that time. A not entirely dissimilar naval want
+revealed itself during the same period on the Pacific coast. The
+required foothold there was fortunately secured by our late treaty with
+the Emperor of Russia, and it now seems imperative that the more obvious
+necessities of the Atlantic coast should not be less carefully provided
+for. A good and convenient port and harbor, capable of easy defense,
+will supply that want. With the possession of such a station by the
+United States, neither we nor any other American nation need longer
+apprehend injury or offense from any transatlantic enemy. I agree with
+our early statesmen that the West Indies naturally gravitate to, and
+may be expected ultimately to be absorbed by, the continental States,
+including our own. I agree with them also that it is wise to leave the
+question of such absorption to this process of natural political
+gravitation. The islands of St. Thomas and St. John, which constitute
+a part of the group called the Virgin Islands, seemed to offer us
+advantages immediately desirable, while their acquisition could be
+secured in harmony with the principles to which I have alluded. A treaty
+has therefore been concluded with the King of Denmark for the cession of
+those islands, and will be submitted to the Senate for consideration.
+
+It will hardly be necessary to call the attention of Congress to the
+subject of providing for the payment to Russia of the sum stipulated in
+the treaty for the cession of Alaska. Possession having been formally
+delivered to our commissioner, the territory remains for the present in
+care of a military force, awaiting such civil organization as shall be
+directed by Congress.
+
+The annexation of many small German States to Prussia and the
+reorganization of that country under a new and liberal constitution have
+induced me to renew the effort to obtain a just and prompt settlement of
+the long-vexed question concerning the claims of foreign states for
+military service from their subjects naturalized in the United States.
+
+In connection with this subject the attention of Congress is
+respectfully called to a singular and embarrassing conflict of laws.
+The executive department of this Government has hitherto uniformly held,
+as it now holds, that naturalization in conformity with the Constitution
+and laws of the United States absolves the recipient from his native
+allegiance. The courts of Great Britain hold that allegiance to the
+British Crown is indefeasible, and is not absolved by our laws of
+naturalization. British judges cite courts and law authorities of the
+United States in support of that theory against the position held by the
+executive authority of the United States. This conflict perplexes the
+public mind concerning the rights of naturalized citizens and impairs
+the national authority abroad. I called attention to this subject in my
+last annual message, and now again respectfully appeal to Congress to
+declare the national will unmistakably upon this important question.
+
+The abuse of our laws by the clandestine prosecution of the African
+slave trade from American ports or by American citizens has altogether
+ceased, and under existing circumstances no apprehensions of its renewal
+in this part of the world are entertained. Under these circumstances
+it becomes a question whether we shall not propose to Her Majesty's
+Government a suspension or discontinuance of the stipulations for
+maintaining a naval force for the suppression of that trade.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+SPECIAL MESSAGES.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 3, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for consideration with a view to ratification, a treaty
+between the United States and His Majesty the King of Denmark,
+stipulating for the cession of the islands of St. Thomas and St. John,
+in the West Indies.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 3, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for consideration with a view to ratification, a treaty of
+friendship, commerce, and navigation between the United States and the
+Republic of Nicaragua, signed at the city of Managua on the 21st day of
+June last. This instrument has been framed pursuant to the amendments
+of the Senate of the United States to the previous treaty between the
+parties of the 16th of March, 1859.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 4, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a final report from the Attorney-General, additional
+to the reports submitted by him December 31, 1866, March 2, 1867, and
+July 8, 1867, in reply to a resolution of the House of Representatives
+December 10, 1866, requesting "a list of the names of all persons
+engaged in the late rebellion against the United States Government who
+have been pardoned by the President from April 15, 1865, to this date;
+that said list shall also state the rank of each person who has been
+so pardoned, if he has been engaged in the military service of the
+so-called Confederate government, and the position if he shall have held
+any civil office under said so-called Confederate government; and shall
+also state whether such person has at anytime prior to April 14, 1861,
+held any office under the United States Government, and, if so, what
+office, together with the reason for granting such pardon, and also the
+names of the person or persons at whose solicitation such pardon was
+granted."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 4, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 26th
+ultimo, a report[30] from the Secretary of State, with accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 30: Relating to the removal of J. Lothrop Motley from his post
+as minister of the United States at Vienna.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 5, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+17th July last, requesting me to communicate all information received
+at the several Departments of the Government touching the organization
+within or near the territory of the United States of armed bodies of men
+for the purpose of avenging the death of the Archduke Maximilian or of
+intervening in Mexican affairs, and what measures have been taken to
+prevent the organization or departure of such organized bodies for the
+purpose of carrying out such objects, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State and the papers accompanying it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 5, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I submit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a commercial treaty between the United States of America
+and Her Majesty the Queen of Madagascar, signed at Antananarivo on the
+14th of February last.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 10, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 25th
+ultimo, a report[31] from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 31: Relating to the formation and the functions of the
+Government of the united States of North Germany.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 10, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit a copy of a dispatch of the 17th of July last, addressed to
+the Secretary of State, and of the papers which accompanied it, from
+Anson Burlingame, esq., minister of the United States to China, relating
+to a proposed modification of the existing treaty between this
+Government and that of China.
+
+The Senate is aware that the original treaty is chiefly _ex parte_
+in its character. The proposed modification, though not of sufficient
+importance to warrant all the usual forms, does not seem to be
+objectionable; but it can not be legally accepted by the executive
+government without the advice and consent of the Senate. If this
+should be given, it may be indicated by a resolution, upon the adoption
+of which the United States minister to China will be instructed to
+inform the Government of that country that the modification has been
+assented to.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 12, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+On the 12th of August last I suspended Mr. Stanton from the exercise of
+the office of Secretary of War, and on the same day designated General
+Grant to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_.
+
+The following are copies of the Executive orders:
+
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+    _Washington, August 12, 1867_.
+
+  Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+    _Secretary of War_.
+
+  SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by
+  the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby suspended
+  from office as Secretary of War, and will cease to exercise any and all
+  functions pertaining to the same.
+
+  You will at once transfer to General Ulysses S. Grant, who has this day
+  been authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_,
+  all records, books, and other property now in your custody and charge.
+
+
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+    _Washington, D.C., August 12, 1867_.
+
+  General ULYSSES S. GRANT,
+    _Washington, D.C._
+
+  SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day suspended as
+  Secretary of War, you are hereby authorized and empowered to act as
+  Secretary of War _ad interim_, and will at once enter upon the discharge
+  of the duties of the office.
+
+  The Secretary of War has been instructed to transfer to you all the
+  records, books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and
+  charge.
+
+
+The following communication was received from Mr. Stanton:
+
+
+  WAR DEPARTMENT,
+    _Washington City, August 12, 1867_.
+
+  The PRESIDENT.
+
+  SIR: Your note of this date has been received, informing me that by
+  virtue of the powers and authority vested in you as President by the
+  Constitution and laws of the United States I am suspended from office
+  as Secretary of War, and will cease to exercise any and all functions
+  pertaining to the same, and also directing me at once to transfer to
+  General Ulysses S. Grant, who has this day been authorized and empowered
+  to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, all records, books, papers, and
+  other public property now in my custody and charge.
+
+  Under a sense of public duty I am compelled to deny your right under
+  the Constitution and laws of the United States, without the advice and
+  consent of the Senate and without any legal cause, to suspend me from
+  office as Secretary of War or the exercise of any or all functions
+  pertaining to the same, or without such advice and consent to compel
+  me to transfer to any person the records, books, papers, and public
+  property in my custody as Secretary.
+
+  But inasmuch as the General Commanding the armies of the United States
+  has been appointed _ad interim_, and has notified me that he has
+  accepted the appointment, I have no alternative but to submit, under
+  protest, to superior force.
+
+
+The suspension has not been revoked, and the business of the War
+Department is conducted by the Secretary _ad interim_.
+
+Prior to the date of this suspension I had come to the conclusion that
+the time had arrived when it was proper Mr. Stanton should retire from
+my Cabinet. The mutual confidence and general accord which should exist
+in such a relation had ceased. I supposed that Mr. Stanton was well
+advised that his continuance in the Cabinet was contrary to my wishes,
+for I had repeatedly given him so to understand by every mode short of
+an express request that he should resign. Having waited full time for
+the voluntary action of Mr. Stanton, and seeing no manifestation on his
+part of an intention to resign, I addressed him the following note on
+the 5th of August:
+
+
+  SIR: Public considerations of a high character constrain me to say
+  that your resignation as Secretary of War will be accepted.
+
+
+To this note I received the following reply:
+
+
+  WAR DEPARTMENT,
+    _Washington, August 5, 1867_.
+
+  SIR: Your note of this day has been received, stating that public
+  considerations of a high character constrain you to say that my
+  resignation as Secretary of War will be accepted.
+
+  In reply I have the honor to say that public considerations of a high
+  character, which alone have induced me to continue at the head of this
+  Department, constrain me not to resign the office of Secretary of War
+  before the next meeting of Congress.
+
+
+This reply of Mr. Stanton was not merely a disinclination of compliance
+with the request for his resignation; it was a defiance, and something
+more. Mr. Stanton does not content himself with assuming that public
+considerations bearing upon his continuance in office form as fully
+a rule of action for himself as for the President, and that upon so
+delicate a question as the fitness of an officer for continuance in his
+office the officer is as competent and as impartial to decide as his
+superior, who is responsible for his conduct. But he goes further, and
+plainly intimates what he means by "public considerations of a high
+character," and this is nothing else than his loss of confidence in his
+superior. He says that these public considerations have "alone induced
+me to continue at the head of this Department," and that they "constrain
+me not to resign the office of Secretary of War before the next meeting
+of Congress."
+
+This language is very significant. Mr. Stanton holds the position
+unwillingly. He continues in office only under a sense of high public
+duty. He is ready to leave when it is safe to leave, and as the danger
+he apprehends from his removal then will not exist when Congress is
+here, he is constrained to remain during the interim. What, then, is
+that danger which can only be averted by the presence of Mr. Stanton or
+of Congress? Mr. Stanton does not say that "public considerations of a
+high character" constrain him to hold on to the office indefinitely. He
+does not say that no one other than himself can at any time be found to
+take his place and perform its duties. On the contrary, he expresses a
+desire to leave the office at the earliest moment consistent with these
+high public considerations. He says, in effect, that while Congress is
+away he must remain, but that when Congress is here he can go. In other
+words, he has lost confidence in the President. He is unwilling to leave
+the War Department in his hands or in the hands of anyone the President
+may appoint or designate to perform its duties. If he resigns, the
+President may appoint a Secretary of War that Mr. Stanton does not
+approve; therefore he will not resign. But when Congress is in session
+the President can not appoint a Secretary of War which the Senate does
+not approve; consequently when Congress meets Mr. Stanton is ready to
+resign.
+
+Whatever cogency these "considerations" may have had on Mr. Stanton,
+whatever right he may have had to entertain such considerations,
+whatever propriety there might be in the expression of them to others,
+one thing is certain, it was official misconduct, to say the least of
+it, to parade them before his superior officer.
+
+Upon the receipt of this extraordinary note I only delayed the order of
+suspension long enough to make the necessary arrangements to fill the
+office. If this were the only cause for his suspension, it would be
+ample. Necessarily it must end our most important official relations,
+for I can not imagine a degree of effrontery which would embolden the
+head of a Department to take his seat at the council table in the
+Executive Mansion after such an act; nor can I imagine a President so
+forgetful of the proper respect and dignity which belong to his office
+as to submit to such intrusion. I will not do Mr. Stanton the wrong to
+suppose that he entertained any idea of offering to act as one of my
+constitutional advisers after that note was written. There was an
+interval of a week between that date and the order of suspension, during
+which two Cabinet meetings were held. Mr. Stanton did not present
+himself at either, nor was he expected.
+
+On the 12th of August Mr. Stanton was notified of his suspension and
+that General Grant had been authorized to take charge of the Department.
+In his answer to this notification, of the same date, Mr. Stanton
+expresses himself as follows:
+
+  Under a sense of public duty I am compelled to deny your right under
+  the Constitution and laws of the United States, without the advice and
+  consent of the Senate and without any legal cause, to suspend me from
+  office as Secretary of War or the exercise of any or all functions
+  pertaining to the same, or without such advice and consent to compel
+  me to transfer to any person the records, books, papers, and public
+  property in my custody as Secretary.
+
+  But inasmuch as the General Commanding the armies of the United States
+  has been appointed _ad interim_, and has notified me that he has
+  accepted the appointment, I have no alternative but to submit, under
+  protest, to superior force.
+
+
+It will not escape attention that in his note of August 5 Mr. Stanton
+stated that he had been constrained to continue in the office, even
+before he was requested to resign, by considerations of a high public
+character. In this note of August 12 a new and different sense of public
+duty compels him to deny the President's right to suspend him from
+office without the consent of the Senate. This last is the public duty
+of resisting an act contrary to law, and he charges the President with
+violation of the law in ordering his suspension.
+
+Mr. Stanton refers generally to the Constitution and laws of the "United
+States," and says that a sense of public duty "under" these compels him
+to deny the right of the President to suspend him from office. As to his
+sense of duty under the Constitution, that will be considered in the
+sequel. As to his sense of duty under "the laws of the United States,"
+he certainly can not refer to the law which creates the War Department,
+for that expressly confers upon the President the unlimited right to
+remove the head of the Department. The only other law bearing upon
+the question is the tenure-of-office act, passed by Congress over the
+Presidential veto March 2, 1867. This is the law which, under a sense
+of public duty, Mr. Stanton volunteers to defend.
+
+There is no provision in this law which compels any officer coming
+within its provisions to remain in office. It forbids removals--not
+resignations. Mr. Stanton was perfectly free to resign at any moment,
+either upon his own motion or in compliance with a request or an order.
+It was a matter of choice or of taste. There was nothing compulsory in
+the nature of legal obligation. Nor does he put his action upon that
+imperative ground. He says he acts under a "sense of public duty," not
+of legal obligation, compelling him to hold on and leaving him no
+choice. The public duty which is upon him arises from the respect which
+he owes to the Constitution and the laws, violated in his own case.
+He is therefore compelled by this sense of public duty to vindicate
+violated law and to stand as its champion.
+
+This was not the first occasion in which Mr. Stanton, in discharge of
+a public duty, was called upon to consider the provisions of that law.
+That tenure-of-office law did not pass without notice. Like other acts,
+it was sent to the President for approval. As is my custom, I submitted
+its consideration to my Cabinet for their advice upon the question
+whether I should approve it or not. It was a grave question of
+constitutional law, in which I would, of course, rely most upon the
+opinion of the Attorney-General and of Mr. Stanton, who had once been
+Attorney-General.
+
+Every member of my Cabinet advised me that the proposed law was
+unconstitutional. All spoke without doubt or reservation, but Mr.
+Stanton's condemnation of the law was the most elaborate and emphatic.
+He referred to the constitutional provisions, the debates in Congress,
+especially to the speech of Mr. Buchanan when a Senator, to the
+decisions of the Supreme Court, and to the usage from the beginning of
+the Government through every successive Administration, all concurring
+to establish the right of removal as vested by the Constitution in the
+President. To all these he added the weight of his own deliberate
+judgment, and advised me that it was my duty to defend the power of
+the President from usurpation and to veto the law.
+
+I do not know when a sense of public duty is more imperative upon a head
+of Department than upon such an occasion as this. He acts then under the
+gravest obligations of law, for when he is called upon by the President
+for advice it is the Constitution which speaks to him. All his other
+duties are left by the Constitution to be regulated by statute, but this
+duty was deemed so momentous that it is imposed by the Constitution
+itself.
+
+After all this I was not prepared for the ground taken by Mr. Stanton in
+his note of August 12. I was not prepared to find him compelled by a new
+and indefinite sense of public duty, under "the Constitution," to assume
+the vindication of a law which, under the solemn obligations of public
+duty imposed by the Constitution itself, he advised me was a violation
+of that Constitution. I make great allowance for a change of opinion,
+but such a change as this hardly falls within the limits of greatest
+indulgence.
+
+Where our opinions take the shape of advice, and influence the action
+of others, the utmost stretch of charity will scarcely justify us in
+repudiating them when they come to be applied to ourselves.
+
+But to proceed with the narrative. I was so much struck with the full
+mastery of the question manifested by Mr. Stanton, and was at the time
+so fully occupied with the preparation of another veto upon the pending
+reconstruction act, that I requested him to prepare the veto upon this
+tenure-of-office bill. This he declined, on the ground of physical
+disability to undergo at the time the labor of writing, but stated his
+readiness to furnish what aid might be required in the preparation of
+materials for the paper.
+
+At the time this subject was before the Cabinet it seemed to be taken
+for granted that as to those members of the Cabinet who had been
+appointed by Mr. Lincoln their tenure of office was not fixed by the
+provisions of the act. I do not remember that the point was distinctly
+decided, but I well recollect that it was suggested by one member of the
+Cabinet who was appointed by Mr. Lincoln, and that no dissent was
+expressed.
+
+Whether the point was well taken or not did not seem to me of any
+consequence, for the unanimous expression of opinion against the
+constitutionality and policy of the act was so decided that I felt no
+concern, so far as the act had reference to the gentlemen then present,
+that I would be embarrassed in the future. The bill had not then become
+a law. The limitation upon the power of removal was not yet imposed, and
+there was yet time to make any changes. If any one of these gentlemen
+had then said to me that he would avail himself of the provisions of
+that bill in case it became a law, I should not have hesitated a moment
+as to his removal. No pledge was then expressly given or required.
+But there are circumstances when to give an expressed pledge is not
+necessary, and when to require it is an imputation of possible bad
+faith. I felt that if these gentlemen came within the purview of the
+bill it was as to them a dead letter, and that none of them would ever
+take refuge under its provisions.
+
+I now pass to another subject. When, on the 15th of April, 1865, the
+duties of the Presidential office devolved upon me, I found a full
+Cabinet of seven members, all of them selected by Mr. Lincoln.
+I made no change. On the contrary, I shortly afterwards ratified a
+change determined upon by Mr. Lincoln, but not perfected at his death,
+and admitted his appointee, Mr. Harlan, in the place of Mr. Usher, who
+was in office at the time.
+
+The great duty of the time was to reestablish government, law, and order
+in the insurrectionary States. Congress was then in recess, and the
+sudden overthrow of the rebellion required speedy action. This grave
+subject had engaged the attention of Mr. Lincoln in the last days of his
+life, and the plan according to which it was to be managed had been
+prepared and was ready for adoption. A leading feature of that plan was
+that it should be carried out by the Executive authority, for, so far as
+I have been informed, neither Mr. Lincoln nor any member of his Cabinet
+doubted his authority to act or proposed to call an extra session of
+Congress to do the work. The first business transacted in Cabinet after
+I became President was this unfinished business of my predecessor.
+A plan or scheme of reconstruction was produced which had been prepared
+for Mr. Lincoln by Mr. Stanton, his Secretary of War. It was approved,
+and at the earliest moment practicable was applied in the form of a
+proclamation to the State of North Carolina, and afterwards became the
+basis of action in turn for the other States.
+
+Upon the examination of Mr. Stanton before the Impeachment Committee he
+was asked the following question:
+
+  Did any one of the Cabinet express a doubt of the power of the executive
+  branch of the Government to reorganize State governments which had been
+  in rebellion without the aid of Congress?
+
+
+He answered:
+
+  None whatever. I had myself entertained no doubt of the authority of the
+  President to take measures for the organization of the rebel States on
+  the plan proposed during the vacation of Congress and agreed in the plan
+  specified in the proclamation in the case of North Carolina.
+
+
+There is perhaps no act of my Administration for which I have been more
+denounced than this. It was not originated by me, but I shrink from no
+responsibility on that account, for the plan approved itself to my own
+judgment, and I did not hesitate to carry it into execution.
+
+Thus far and upon this vital policy there was perfect accord between the
+Cabinet and myself, and I saw no necessity for a change. As time passed
+on there was developed an unfortunate difference of opinion and of
+policy between Congress and the President upon this same subject and
+upon the ultimate basis upon which the reconstruction of these States
+should proceed, especially upon the question of negro suffrage. Upon
+this point three members of the Cabinet found themselves to be in
+sympathy with Congress. They remained only long enough to see that the
+difference of policy could not be reconciled. They felt that they should
+remain no longer, and a high sense of duty and propriety constrained
+them to resign their positions. We parted with mutual respect for the
+sincerity of each other in opposite opinions, and mutual regret that the
+difference was on points so vital as to require a severance of official
+relations. This was in the summer of 1866. The subsequent sessions of
+Congress developed new complications, when the suffrage bill for the
+District of Columbia and the reconstruction acts of March 2 and March
+23, 1867, all passed over the veto. It was in Cabinet consultations upon
+these bills that a difference of opinion upon the most vital points was
+developed. Upon these questions there was perfect accord between all the
+members of the Cabinet and myself, except Mr. Stanton. He stood alone,
+and the difference of opinion could not be reconciled. That unity of
+opinion which, upon great questions of public policy or administration,
+is so essential to the Executive was gone.
+
+I do not claim that a head of Department should have no other opinions
+than those of the President. He has the same right, in the conscientious
+discharge of duty, to entertain and express his own opinions as has the
+President. What I do claim is that the President is the responsible head
+of the Administration, and when the opinions of a head of Department are
+irreconcilably opposed to those of the President in grave matters of
+policy and administration there is but one result which can solve the
+difficulty, and that is a severance of the official relation. This in
+the past history of the Government has always been the rule, and it is a
+wise one, for such differences of opinion among its members must impair
+the efficiency of any Administration.
+
+I have now referred to the general grounds upon which the withdrawal
+or Mr. Stanton from my Administration seemed to me to be proper and
+necessary, but I can not omit to state a special ground, which, if it
+stood alone, would vindicate my action.
+
+The sanguinary riot which occurred in the city of New Orleans on the
+30th of August, 1866, justly aroused public indignation and public
+inquiry, not only as to those who were engaged in it, but as to those
+who, more or less remotely, might be held to responsibility for its
+occurrence. I need not remind the Senate of the effort made to fix that
+responsibility on the President. The charge was openly made, and again
+and again reiterated all through the land, that the President was warned
+in time, but refused to interfere.
+
+By telegrams from the lieutenant-governor and attorney-general of
+Louisiana, dated the 27th and 28th of August, I was advised that a body
+of delegates claiming to be a constitutional convention were about to
+assemble in New Orleans; that the matter was before the grand jury, but
+that it would be impossible to execute civil process without a riot; and
+this question was asked:
+
+  Is the military to interfere to prevent process of court?
+
+
+This question was asked at a time when the civil courts were in the full
+exercise of their authority, and the answer sent by telegraph on the
+same 28th of August was this:
+
+  The military will be expected to sustain, and not to interfere with,
+  the proceedings of the courts.
+
+
+On the same 28th of August the following telegram was sent to Mr.
+Stanton by Major-General Baird, then (owing to the absence of General
+Sheridan) in command of the military at New Orleans:
+
+
+  Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+    _Secretary of War_:
+
+  A convention has been called, with the sanction of Governor Wells, to
+  meet here on Monday. The lieutenant-governor and city authorities think
+  it unlawful, and propose to break it up by arresting the delegates.
+  I have given no orders on the subject, but have warned the parties that
+  I could not countenance or permit such action without instructions to
+  that effect from the President. Please instruct me at once by telegraph.
+
+
+The 28th of August was on Saturday. The next morning, the 29th, this
+dispatch was received by Mr. Stanton at his residence in this city. He
+took no action upon it, and neither sent instructions to General Baird
+himself nor presented it to me for such instructions. On the next day
+(Monday) the riot occurred. I never saw this dispatch from General Baird
+until some ten days or two weeks after the riot, when, upon my call for
+all the dispatches, with a view to their publication, Mr. Stanton sent
+it to me.
+
+These facts all appear in the testimony of Mr. Stanton before the
+Judiciary Committee in the impeachment investigation.
+
+On the 30th, the day of the riot, and after it was suppressed, General
+Baird wrote to Mr. Stanton a long letter, from which I make the
+following extract:
+
+  SIR: I have the honor to inform you that a very serious riot has
+  occurred here to-day. I had not been applied to by the convention
+  for protection, but the lieutenant-governor and the mayor had freely
+  consulted with me, and I was so fully convinced that it was so strongly
+  the intent of the city authorities to preserve the peace, in order to
+  prevent military interference, that I did not regard an outbreak as a
+  thing to be apprehended. The lieutenant-governor had assured me that
+  even if a writ of arrest was issued by the court the sheriff would not
+  attempt to serve it without my permission, and for to-day they designed
+  to suspend it. I inclose herewith copies of my correspondence with the
+  mayor and of a dispatch which the lieutenant-governor claims to have
+  received from the President. I regret that no reply to my dispatch to
+  you of Saturday has yet reached me. General Sheridan is still absent
+  in Texas.
+
+
+The dispatch of General Baird of the 28th asks for immediate
+instructions, and his letter of the 30th, after detailing the terrible
+riot which had just happened, ends with the expression of regret that
+the instructions which he asked for were not sent. It is not the fault
+or the error or the omission of the President that this military
+commander was left without instructions; but for all omissions, for
+all errors, for all failures to instruct when instruction might have
+averted this calamity, the President was openly and persistently held
+responsible. Instantly, without waiting for proof, the delinquency of
+the President was heralded in every form of utterance. Mr. Stanton knew
+then that the President was not responsible for this delinquency. The
+exculpation was in his power, but it was not given by him to the public,
+and only to the President in obedience to a requisition for all the
+dispatches.
+
+No one regrets more than myself that General Baird's request was not
+brought to my notice. It is clear from his dispatch and letter that if
+the Secretary of War had given him proper instructions the riot which
+arose on the assembling of the convention would have been averted.
+
+There may be those ready to say that I would have given no instructions
+even if the dispatch had reached me in time, but all must admit that
+I ought to have had the opportunity.
+
+The following is the testimony given by Mr. Stanton before the
+impeachment investigation committee as to this dispatch:
+
+
+  Q. Referring to the dispatch of the 28th of July by General Baird, I ask
+  you whether that dispatch on its receipt was communicated?
+
+  A. I received that dispatch on Sunday forenoon. I examined it carefully,
+  and considered the question presented. I did not see that I could give
+  any instructions different from the line of action which General Baird
+  proposed, and made no answer to the dispatch.
+
+  Q. I see it stated that this was received at 10.20 p.m. Was that the
+  hour at which it was received by you?
+
+  A. That is the date of its reception in the telegraph office Saturday
+  night. I received it on Sunday forenoon at my residence. A copy of the
+  dispatch was furnished to the President several days afterwards, along
+  with all the other dispatches and communications on that subject, but it
+  was not furnished by me before that time. I suppose it may have been ten
+  or fifteen days afterwards.
+
+  Q. The President himself being in correspondence with those parties upon
+  the same subject, would it not have been proper to have advised him of
+  the reception of that dispatch?
+
+  A. I know nothing about his correspondence, and know nothing about any
+  correspondence except this one dispatch. We had intelligence of the riot
+  on Thursday morning. The riot had taken place on Monday.
+
+
+It is a difficult matter to define all the relations which exist between
+the heads of Departments and the President. The legal relations are well
+enough defined. The Constitution places these officers in the relation
+of his advisers when he calls upon them for advice. The acts of Congress
+go further. Take, for example, the act of 1789 creating the War
+Department. It provides that--
+
+  There shall be a principal officer therein to be called the Secretary
+  for the Department of War, who shall perform and execute such duties
+  as shall from time to time be enjoined on or intrusted to him by the
+  President of the United States; and, furthermore, the said principal
+  officer shall conduct the business of the said Department in such manner
+  as the President of the United States shall from time to time order and
+  instruct.
+
+
+Provision is also made for the appointment of an inferior officer by the
+head of the Department, to be called the chief clerk, "who, whenever
+said principal officer shall be removed from office by the President
+of the United States," shall have the charge and custody of the books,
+records, and papers of the Department.
+
+The legal relation is analogous to that of principal and agent. It is
+the President upon whom the Constitution devolves, as head of the
+executive department, the duty to see that the laws are faithfully
+executed; but as he can not execute them in person, he is allowed to
+select his agents, and is made responsible for their acts within just
+limits. So complete is this presumed delegation of authority in the
+relation of a head of Department to the President that the Supreme Court
+of the United States have decided that an order made by a head of
+Department is presumed to be made by the President himself.
+
+The principal, upon whom such responsibility is placed for the acts
+of a subordinate, ought to be left as free as possible in the matter
+of selection and of dismissal. To hold him to responsibility for an
+officer beyond his control; to leave the question of the fitness of
+such an agent to be decided _for_ him and not _by_ him; to allow such
+a subordinate, when the President, moved by "public considerations of
+a high character," requests his resignation, to assume for himself an
+equal right to act upon his own views of "public considerations" and to
+make his own conclusions paramount to those of the President--to allow
+all this is to reverse the just order of administration and to place
+the subordinate above the superior.
+
+There are, however, other relations between the President and
+a head of Department beyond these defined legal relations, which
+necessarily attend them, though not expressed. Chief among these is
+mutual confidence. This relation is so delicate that it is sometimes
+hard to say when or how it ceases. A single flagrant act may end
+it at once, and then there is no difficulty. But confidence may be
+just as effectually destroyed by a series of causes too subtle for
+demonstration. As it is a plant of slow growth, so, too, it may be
+slow in decay. Such has been the process here. I will not pretend to say
+what acts or omissions have broken up this relation. They are hardly
+susceptible of statement, and still less of formal proof. Nevertheless,
+no one can read the correspondence of the 5th of August without being
+convinced that this relation was effectually gone on both sides, and
+that while the President was unwilling to allow Mr. Stanton to remain
+in his Administration, Mr. Stanton was equally unwilling to allow the
+President to carry on his Administration without his presence.
+
+In the great debate which took place in the House of Representatives
+in 1789, in the first organization of the principal Departments, Mr.
+Madison spoke as follows:
+
+  It is evidently the intention of the Constitution that the first
+  magistrate should be responsible for the executive department. So far,
+  therefore, as we do not make the officers who are to aid him in the
+  duties of that department responsible to him, he is not responsible
+  to the country. Again: Is there no danger that an officer, when he is
+  appointed by the concurrence of the Senate and has friends in that body,
+  may choose rather to risk his establishment on the favor of that branch
+  than rest it upon the discharge of his duties to the satisfaction of the
+  executive branch, which is constitutionally authorized to inspect and
+  control his conduct? And if it should happen that the officers connect
+  themselves with the Senate, they may mutually support each other, and
+  for want of efficacy reduce the power of the President to a mere
+  vapor, in which case his responsibility would be annihilated, and the
+  expectation of it is unjust. The high executive officers, joined in
+  cabal with the Senate, would lay the foundation of discord, and end in
+  an assumption of the executive power only to be removed by a revolution
+  in the Government.
+
+
+Mr. Sedgwick, in the same debate, referring to the proposition that
+a head of Department should only be removed or suspended by the
+concurrence of the Senate, used this language:
+
+  But if proof be necessary, what is then the consequence? Why, in nine
+  cases out of ten, where the case is very clear to the mind of the
+  President that the man ought to be removed, the effect can not be
+  produced, because it is absolutely impossible to produce the necessary
+  evidence. Are the Senate to proceed without evidence? Some gentlemen
+  contend not. Then the object will be lost. Shall a man under these
+  circumstances be saddled upon the President who has been appointed for
+  no other purpose but to aid the President in performing certain duties?
+  Shall he be continued, I ask again, against the will of the President?
+  If he is, where is the responsibility? Are you to look for it in the
+  President, who has no control over the officer, no power to remove him
+  if he acts unfeelingly or unfaithfully? Without you make him responsible
+  you weaken and destroy the strength and beauty of your system. What is
+  to be done in cases which can only be known from a long acquaintance
+  with the conduct of an officer?
+
+
+I had indulged the hope that upon the assembling of Congress
+Mr. Stanton would have ended this unpleasant complication according
+to his intimation given in his note of August 12. The duty which I have
+felt myself called upon to perform was by no means agreeable, but I feel
+that I am not responsible for the controversy or for the consequences.
+
+Unpleasant as this necessary change in my Cabinet has been to me upon
+personal considerations, I have the consolation to be assured that so
+far as the public interests are involved there is no cause for regret.
+
+Salutary reforms have been introduced by the Secretary _ad interim_, and
+great reductions of expenses have been effected under his administration
+of the War Department, to the saving of millions to the Treasury.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 14, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+9th instant, I transmit herewith a copy of the papers relating to the
+trial by a military commission of Albert M.D.C. Lusk, of Louisiana.
+No action in the case has yet been taken by the President.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 17, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit for the information of the House of Representatives a report
+from the Secretary of State, with an accompanying paper.[32]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 32: Report of George H. Sharpe relative to the assassination
+of President Lincoln and the attempted assassination of Secretary
+Seward.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 17, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 6th instant,
+concerning the International Monetary Conference held at Paris in
+June last, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, which
+is accompanied by the papers called for by the resolution.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 17, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate, an agreement between
+the diplomatic representatives of certain foreign powers in Japan,
+including the minister of the United States, on the one part, and
+plenipotentiaries on the part of the Japanese Government, relative
+to the settlement of Yokohama.
+
+This instrument can not be legally binding upon the United States unless
+sanctioned by the Senate. There appears to be no objection to its
+approval.
+
+A copy of General Van Valkenburgh's dispatch to the Secretary of State,
+by which the agreement was accompanied, and of the map to which it
+refers, are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _December 18, 1867_.
+
+_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
+
+An official copy of the order issued by Major-General Winfield S.
+Hancock, commander of the Fifth Military District, dated headquarters in
+New Orleans, La., on the 29th day of November, has reached me through
+the regular channels of the War Department, and I herewith communicate
+it to Congress for such action as may seem to be proper in view of all
+the circumstances.
+
+It will be perceived that General Hancock announces that he will make
+the law the rule of his conduct; that he will uphold the courts and
+other civil authorities in the performance of their proper duties, and
+that he will use his military power only to preserve the peace and
+enforce the law. He declares very explicitly that the sacred right of
+the trial by jury and the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ shall
+not be crushed out or trodden under foot. He goes further, and in one
+comprehensive sentence asserts that the principles of American liberty
+are still the inheritance of this people and ever should be.
+
+When a great soldier, with unrestricted power in his hands to oppress
+his fellow-men, voluntarily foregoes the chance of gratifying his
+selfish ambition and devotes himself to the duty of building up the
+liberties and strengthening the laws of his country, he presents an
+example of the highest public virtue that human nature is capable of
+practicing. The strongest claim of Washington to be "first in war,
+first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen" is founded
+on the great fact that in all his illustrious career he scrupulously
+abstained from violating the legal and constitutional rights of his
+fellow-citizens. When he surrendered his commission to Congress, the
+President of that body spoke his highest praise in saying that he had
+"always regarded the rights of the civil authorities through all dangers
+and disasters." Whenever power above the law courted his acceptance, he
+calmly put the temptation aside. By such magnanimous acts of forbearance
+he won the universal admiration of mankind and left a name which has no
+rival in the history of the world.
+
+I am far from saying that General Hancock is the only officer of the
+American Army who is influenced by the example of Washington. Doubtless
+thousands of them are faithfully devoted to the principles for which the
+men of the Revolution laid down their lives. But the distinguished honor
+belongs to him of being the first officer in high command south of the
+Potomac, since the close of the civil war, who has given utterance to
+these noble sentiments in the form of a military order.
+
+I respectfully suggest to Congress that some public recognition of
+General Hancock's patriotic conduct is due, if not to him, to the friends
+of law and justice throughout the country. Of such an act as his at such
+a time it is but fit that the dignity should be vindicated and the virtue
+proclaimed, so that its value as an example may not be lost to the nation.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 19, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to a resolution of that body
+of the 16th instant, a report[33] from the Secretary of State, with
+accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 33: Relating to the removal of Governor Ballard, of the
+Territory of Idaho.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 20, 1867_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I herewith transmit to Congress a report, dated the 20th 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.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 31, 1867_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+18th instant, requesting information concerning alleged interference
+by Russian naval vessels with whaling vessels of the United States,
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the papers referred
+to therein.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 6, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith transmit to the Senate a report from the Secretary of the
+Treasury, containing the information requested in their resolution of
+the 16th ultimo, relative to the amount of United States bonds issued to
+the Union Pacific Railroad Company and each of its branches, including
+the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 7, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to a
+resolution of the House of Representatives of yesterday, making inquiry
+how many and what State legislatures have ratified the proposed
+amendment to the Constitution of the United States known as the
+fourteenth article.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 7, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+A Spanish steamer named _Nuestra Senora_ being in the harbor of Port
+Royal, S.C., on the 1st of December, 1861, Brigadier General T.W.
+Sherman, who was in command of the United States forces there, received
+information which he supposed justified him in seizing her, as she was
+on her way from Charleston to Havana with insurgent correspondence on
+board. The seizure was made accordingly, and during the ensuing spring
+the vessel was sent to New York, in order that the legality of the
+seizure might be tried.
+
+By a decree of June 20, 1863, Judge Betts ordered the vessel to be
+restored, and by a subsequent decree, of October 15, 1863, he referred
+the adjustment of damages to amicable negotiations between the two
+Governments.
+
+While the proceeding in admiralty was pending, the vessel was appraised
+and taken by the Navy Department at the valuation of $28,000, which sum
+that Department paid into the Treasury.
+
+As the amount of this valuation can not legally be drawn from the
+Treasury without authority from Congress, I recommend an appropriation
+for that purpose.
+
+It is proposed to appoint a commissioner on the part of this Government
+to adjust, informally in this case, with a similar commissioner on the
+part of Spain, the question of damages, the commissioners to name an
+arbiter for points upon which they may disagree. When the amount of the
+damages shall thus have been ascertained, application will be made to
+Congress for a further appropriation toward paying them.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 14, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War _ad
+interim_, with the accompanying papers, prepared in compliance with a
+resolution of the House of Representatives of March 15, 1867, requesting
+information in reference to contracts for ordnance projectiles and small
+arms.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 14, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith the report made by the commissioners appointed under
+the act of Congress approved on the 20th day of July, 1867, entitled
+"An act to establish peace with certain hostile Indian tribes," together
+with the accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 14, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of yesterday, calling for
+information relating to the appointment of the American minister at
+Pekin to a diplomatic or other mission on behalf of the Chinese
+Government by the Emperor of China, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State upon the subject, together with the accompanying
+papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON CITY, _January 14, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+the following treaties, concluded at "Medicine Lodge Creek," Kansas,
+between the Indian tribes therein named and the United States, by their
+commissioners appointed by the act of Congress approved July 20, 1867,
+entitled "An act to establish peace with certain hostile Indian tribes,"
+viz:
+
+A treaty with the Kiowa and Comanche tribes, concluded October 21, 1867.
+
+A treaty with the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes, concluded October
+28, 1867.
+
+A treaty with the Arapahoe and Cheyenne tribes, dated October 28, 1867.
+
+A letter of this date from the Secretary of the Interior, transmitting
+said treaties, is herewith inclosed.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 17, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+With reference to the convention between the United States and Denmark
+for the cession of the islands of St. Thomas and St. John, in the West
+Indies, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State on the subject
+of the vote of St. Thomas on the question of accepting the cession.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 23, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the request of the Senate of yesterday, I return
+herewith their resolution of the 21st instant, calling for information
+in reference to James A. Seddon, late Secretary of War of the so-called
+Confederate States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 23, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I have received the following preamble and resolution, adopted by the
+Senate on the 8th instant:
+
+
+  Whereas Senate bill No. 141, and entitled "An act for the further
+  security of equal rights in the District of Columbia," having at this
+  present session passed both Houses of Congress, was afterwards, on the
+  11th day of December, 1867, duly presented to the President of the
+  United States for his approval and signature; and
+
+  Whereas more than ten days, exclusive of Sundays, have since elapsed in
+  this session without said bill having been returned, either approved or
+  disapproved: Therefore,
+
+  _Resolved_, That the President of the United States be requested to
+  inform the Senate whether said bill has been delivered to and received
+  by the Secretary of State, as provided by the second section of the act
+  of the 27th day of July, 1789.
+
+
+As the act which the resolution mentions has no relevancy to the subject
+under inquiry, it is presumed that it was the intention of the Senate to
+refer to the law of the 15th September, 1789, the second section of
+which prescribes--
+
+  That whenever a bill, order, resolution, or vote of the Senate and
+  House of Representatives, having been approved and signed by the
+  President of the United States, or not having been returned by him with
+  his objections, shall become a law or take effect, it shall forthwith
+  thereafter be received by the said Secretary from the President; and
+  whenever a bill, order, resolution, or vote shall be returned by the
+  President with his objections, and shall, on being reconsidered, be
+  agreed to be passed, and be approved by two-thirds of both Houses of
+  Congress, and thereby become a law or take effect, it shall in such
+  case be received by the said Secretary from the President of the Senate
+  or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in whichsoever House it
+  shall last have been so approved.
+
+
+Inasmuch as the bill "for the further security of equal rights in the
+District of Columbia" has not become a law in either of the modes
+designated in the section above quoted, it has not been delivered to
+the Secretary of State for record and promulgation. The Constitution
+expressly declares that--
+
+  If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days
+  (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the
+  same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless
+  the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case
+  it shall not be a law.
+
+
+As stated in the preamble to the resolution, the bill to which it refers
+was presented for my approval on the 11th day of December, 1867. On the
+20th of same month, and before the expiration of the ten days after the
+presentation of the bill to the President, the two Houses, in accordance
+with a concurrent resolution adopted on the 3d [13th] of December,
+adjourned until the 6th of January, 1868. Congress by their adjournment
+thus prevented the return of the bill within the time prescribed by the
+Constitution, and it was therefore left in the precise condition in
+which that instrument positively declares a bill "shall not be a law."
+
+If the adjournment in December did not cause the failure of this bill,
+because not such an adjournment as is contemplated by the Constitution
+in the clause which I have cited, it must follow that such was the
+nature of the adjournments during the past year, on the 30th day of
+March until the first Wednesday of July and from the 20th of July until
+the 21st of November. Other bills will therefore be affected by the
+decision which may be rendered in this case, among them one having the
+same title as that named in the resolution, and containing similar
+provisions, which, passed by both Houses in the month of July last,
+failed to become a law by reason of the adjournment of Congress before
+ten days for its consideration had been allowed the Executive.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 27, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+22d instant, calling for a copy of the report of Abram S. Hewitt,
+commissioner of the United States to the Paris Universal Exhibition of
+1867, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the papers
+which accompany it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 27, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the documents to
+which it refers, in relation to the formal transfer of territory from
+Russia to the United States in accordance with the treaty of the 30th
+of March last.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 28, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to its
+ratification, an additional article to the treaty of navigation and
+commerce with Russia of the 18th of December, 1832, which additional
+article was concluded and signed between the plenipotentiaries of the
+two Governments at Washington on the 27th instant.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 3, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of State, suggesting
+the necessity for a further appropriation toward defraying the expense
+of employing copying clerks, with a view to enable his Department
+seasonably to answer certain calls for information.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 3, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 27th
+ultimo, directing the Secretary of State to furnish information in
+regard to the trial of John H. Surratt, I transmit a report from the
+Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 3, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report[34]  from the Secretary of State, in answer
+to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 28th of January.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 34: Relating to the famine in Sweden and Norway.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Navy,
+relative to depredations upon and the future care of the reservations
+of lands for the "purpose of supplying timber for the Navy of the
+United States."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 1st
+instant, I transmit herewith a report from the Postmaster-General, in
+reference to the appointment of a special agent to take charge of the
+post-office at Penn Yan, in the State of New York.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, with the accompanying
+papers, on the subject of a transfer of the Peninsula and Bay of Samana
+to the United States. The advice and consent of the Senate to the
+transfer, upon the terms proposed in the draft of a convention with the
+Dominican Republic, are requested.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I submit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, the accompanying consular convention between the
+United States and the Government of His Majesty the King of Italy.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Attorney-General, prepared
+in compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 30th ultimo,
+requesting information as to the number of justices of the peace now
+in commission in each ward, respectively, of the city of Washington.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 25th
+of November, 1867, calling for information in relation to the trial and
+conviction of American citizens in Great Britain and Ireland for the
+two years last past, I transmit a partial report from the Secretary of
+State, which is accompanied by a portion of the papers called for by
+the resolution.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 11, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution adopted yesterday by the House of
+Representatives, requesting any further correspondence the President
+"may have had with General U.S. Grant, in addition to that heretofore
+submitted, on the subject of the recent vacation by the latter of the
+War Office," I transmit herewith a copy of a communication addressed
+to General Grant on the 10th instant, together with a copy of the
+accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 10, 1868_.
+
+General U.S. GRANT,
+
+_Commanding Armies of the United States, Washington, D.C._
+
+GENERAL: The extraordinary character of your letter of the 3d instant[35]
+would seem to preclude any reply on my part; but the manner in which
+publicity has been given to the correspondence of which that letter
+forms a part and the grave questions which are involved induce me to
+take this mode of giving, as a proper sequel to the communications which
+have passed between us, the statements of the five members of the
+Cabinet who were present on the occasion of our conversation on the 14th
+ultimo. Copies of the letters which they have addressed to me upon the
+subject are accordingly herewith inclosed.
+
+You speak of my letter of the 31st ultimo[36] as a reiteration of the
+"many and gross misrepresentations" contained in certain newspaper
+articles, and reassert the correctness of the statements contained in
+your communication of the 28th ultimo,[37] adding--and here I give your
+own words--"anything in yours in reply to it to the contrary
+notwithstanding."
+
+When a controversy upon matters of fact reaches the point to which this
+has been brought, further assertion or denial between the immediate
+parties should cease, especially where upon either side it loses
+the character of the respectful discussion which is required by the
+relations in which the parties stand to each other and degenerates in
+tone and temper. In such a case, if there is nothing to rely upon but
+the opposing statements, conclusions must be drawn from those statements
+alone and from whatever intrinsic probabilities they afford in favor of
+or against either of the parties. I should not shrink from this test in
+this controversy; but, fortunately, it is not left to this test alone.
+There were five Cabinet officers present at the conversation the detail
+of which in my letter of the 28th [31st[37]] ultimo you allow yourself
+to say contains "many and gross misrepresentations." These gentlemen
+heard that conversation and have read my statement. They speak for
+themselves, and I leave the proof without a word of comment.
+
+I deem it proper before concluding this communication to notice some of
+the statements contained in your letter.
+
+You say that a performance of the promises alleged to have been made by
+you to the President "would have involved a resistance to law and an
+inconsistency with the whole history of my connection with the
+suspension of Mr. Stanton." You then state that you had fears the
+President would, on the removal of Mr. Stanton, appoint someone in his
+place who would embarrass the Army in carrying out the reconstruction
+acts, and add:
+
+"It was to prevent such an appointment that I accepted the office of
+Secretary of War _ad interim_, and not for the purpose of enabling you
+to get rid of Mr. Stanton by withholding it from him in opposition to
+law, or, not doing so myself, surrendering it to one who would, as the
+statements and assumptions in your communication plainly indicate was
+sought."
+
+First of all, you here admit that from the very beginning of what
+you term "the whole history" of your connection with Mr. Stanton's
+suspension you intended to circumvent the President. It was to carry out
+that intent that you accepted the appointment. This was in your mind at
+the time of your acceptance. It was not, then, in obedience to the order
+of your superior, as has heretofore been supposed, that you assumed the
+duties of the office. You knew it was the President's purpose to prevent
+Mr. Stanton from resuming the office of Secretary of War, and you
+intended to defeat that purpose. You accepted the office, not in the
+interest of the President but of Mr. Stanton. If this purpose, so
+entertained by you, had been confined to yourself; if when accepting
+the office you had done so with a mental reservation to frustrate the
+President, it would have been a tacit deception. In the ethics of some
+persons such a course is allowable. But you can not stand even upon
+that questionable ground. The "history" of your connection with this
+transaction, as written by yourself, places you in a different
+predicament, and shows that you not only concealed your design from
+the President, but induced him to suppose that you would carry out his
+purpose to keep Mr. Stanton out of office by retaining it yourself after
+an attempted restoration by the Senate, so as to require Mr. Stanton to
+establish his right by judicial decision.
+
+I now give that part of this "history" as written by yourself in your
+letter of the 28th ultimo:[38]
+
+"Some time after I assumed the duties of Secretary of War _ad interim_
+the President asked me my views as to the course Mr. Stanton would have
+to pursue, in case the Senate should not concur in his suspension, to
+obtain possession of his office. My reply was, in substance, that
+Mr. Stanton would have to appeal to the courts to reinstate him,
+illustrating my position by citing the ground I had taken in the case
+of the Baltimore police commissioners."
+
+Now, at that time, as you admit in your letter of the 3d instant,[39]
+you held the office for the very object of defeating an appeal to the
+courts. In that letter you say that in accepting the office one motive
+was to prevent the President from appointing some other person who would
+retain possession, and thus make judicial proceedings necessary. You
+knew the President was unwilling to trust the office with anyone who
+would not by holding it compel Mr. Stanton to resort to the courts.
+You perfectly understood that in this interview, "some time" after
+you accepted the office, the President, not content with your silence,
+desired an expression of your views, and you answered him that Mr.
+Stanton "would have to appeal to the courts." If the President reposed
+confidence _before_ he knew your views, and that confidence had been
+violated, it might have been said he made a mistake; but a violation of
+confidence reposed _after_ that conversation was no mistake of his nor
+of yours. It is the fact only that needs be stated, that at the date of
+this conversation you did not intend to hold the office with the purpose
+of forcing Mr. Stanton into court, but did hold it then and had accepted
+it to prevent that course from being carried out. In other words, you
+said to the President, "That is the proper course," and you said to
+yourself, "I have accepted this office, and now hold it to defeat that
+course." The excuse you make in a subsequent paragraph of that letter
+of the 28th ultimo,[38] that afterwards you changed your views as to
+what would be a proper course, has nothing to do with the point now
+under consideration. The point is that _before_ you changed your views
+you had secretly determined to do the very thing which at last you
+did--surrender the office to Mr. Stanton. You may have changed your
+views as to the law, but you certainly did not change your views as
+to the course you had marked out for yourself from the beginning.
+
+I will only notice one more statement in your letter of the 3d
+instant[39]--that the performance of the promises which it is alleged
+were made by you would have involved you in the resistance of law. I
+know of no statute that would have been violated had you, carrying out
+your promises in good faith, tendered your resignation when you
+concluded not to be made a party in any legal proceedings. You add:
+
+"I am in a measure confirmed in this conclusion by your recent orders
+directing me to disobey orders from the Secretary of War, _my superior_
+and your subordinate, without having countermanded his authority to
+issue the orders I am to disobey."
+
+On the 24th[39] ultimo you addressed a note to the President requesting
+in writing an order given to you verbally five days before to disregard
+orders from Mr. Stanton as Secretary of War until you "knew from the
+President himself that they were his orders."
+
+On the 29th,[40] in compliance with your request, I did give you
+instructions in writing "not to obey any order from the War Department
+assumed to be issued by the direction of the President unless such order
+is known by the General Commanding the armies of the United States to
+have been authorized by the Executive."
+
+There are some orders which a Secretary of War may issue without the
+authority of the President; there are others which he issues simply as
+the agent of the President, and which purport to be "by direction" of
+the President. For such orders the President is responsible, and he
+should therefore know and understand what they are before giving such
+"direction." Mr. Stanton states in his letter of the 4th instant,[41]
+which accompanies the published correspondence, that he "has had no
+correspondence with the President since the 12th of August last;" and
+he further says that since he resumed the duties of the office he has
+continued to discharge them "without any personal or written
+communication with the President;" and he adds, "No orders have been
+issued from this Department in the name of the President with my
+knowledge, and I have received no orders from him."
+
+It thus seems that Mr. Stanton now discharges the duties of the War
+Department without any reference to the President and without using his
+name.
+
+My order to you had only reference to orders "assumed to be issued by
+the direction of the President." It would appear from Mr. Stanton's
+letter that you have received no such orders from him. However, in your
+note to the President of the 30th ultimo,[42] in which you acknowledge
+the receipt of the written order of the 29th,[43] you say that you have
+been informed by Mr. Stanton that he has not received any order limiting
+his authority to issue orders to the Army, according to the practice
+of the Department, and state that "while this authority to the War
+Department is not countermanded it will be satisfactory evidence to
+me that any orders issued from the War Department by direction of the
+President are authorized by the Executive."
+
+The President issues an order to you to obey no order from the War
+Department purporting to be made "by the direction of the President"
+until you have referred it to him for his approval. You reply that you
+have received the President's order and will not obey it, but will obey
+an order purporting to be given by his direction _if it comes from the
+War Department_. You will not obey the direct order of the President,
+but will obey his indirect order. If, as you say, there has been a
+practice in the War Department to issue orders in the name of the
+President without his direction, does not the precise order you have
+requested and have received change the practice as to the General of
+the Army? Could not the President countermand any such order issued to
+you from the War Department? If you should receive an order from that
+Department, issued in the name of the President, to do a special act,
+and an order directly from the President himself not to do the act, is
+there a doubt which you are to obey? You answer the question when you
+say to the President, in your letter of the 3d instant,[44] the Secretary
+of War is "my superior and your subordinate," and yet you refuse
+obedience to the superior out of a deference to the subordinate.
+
+Without further comment upon the insubordinate attitude which you
+have assumed, I am at a loss to know how you can relieve yourself
+from obedience to the orders of the President, who is made by the
+Constitution the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, and is
+therefore the official superior as well of the General of the Army
+as of the Secretary of War.
+
+Respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+[Footnote 35: See pp. 618-620.]
+
+[Footnote 36: See pp. 615-618.]
+
+[Footnote 37: See pp. 613-615.]
+
+[Footnote 38: See pp. 613-615.]
+
+[Footnote 39: See pp. 618-620.]
+
+[Footnote 40: See p. 613.]
+
+[Footnote 41: See p. 615.]
+
+[Footnote 42: See pp. 612-613.]
+
+[Footnote 43: See p. 615.]
+
+[Footnote 44: See pp. 618-620.]
+
+
+
+[Letter addressed to each of the members of the Cabinet present at the
+conversation between the President and General Grant on the 14th of
+January, 1868, and answers thereto.]
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, D.C., February 5, 1868_.
+
+SIR: The Chronicle of this morning contains a correspondence between the
+President and General Grant reported from the War Department in answer
+to a resolution of the House of Representatives.
+
+I beg to call your attention to that correspondence, and especially to
+that part of it which refers to the conversation between the President
+and General Grant at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the 14th of
+January, and to request you to state what was said in that conversation.
+
+Very respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 5, 1868_.
+
+The PRESIDENT.
+
+SIR: Your note of this date was handed to me this evening. My
+recollection of the conversation at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the
+14th of January, corresponds with your statement of it in the letter of
+the 31st ultimo[45] in the published correspondence.
+
+The three points specified in that letter, giving your recollection of
+the conversation, are correctly stated.
+
+Very respectfully,
+
+GIDEON WELLES.
+
+[Footnote 45: See pp. 615-618.]
+
+
+
+TREASURY DEPARTMENT, _February 6, 1868_.
+
+The PRESIDENT.
+
+SIR: I have received your note of the 5th instant, calling my attention
+to the correspondence between yourself and General Grant as published in
+the Chronicle of yesterday, especially to that part of it which relates
+to what occurred at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the 14th ultimo, and
+requesting me to state what was said in the conversation referred to.
+
+I can not undertake to state the precise language used, but I have no
+hesitation in saying that your account of that conversation as given in
+your letter to General Grant under date of the 31st ultimo[45]
+substantially and in all important particulars accords with my
+recollection of it.
+
+With great respect, your obedient servant,
+
+HUGH McCULLOCH.
+
+[Footnote 45: See pp. 615-618.]
+
+
+
+POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT,
+
+_Washington, February 6, 1868_.
+
+The PRESIDENT.
+
+SIR: I am in receipt of your letter of the 5th of February, calling my
+attention to the correspondence published in the Chronicle between the
+President and General Grant, and especially to that part of it which
+refers to the conversation between the President and General Grant at
+the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the 14th of January, with a request that
+I state what was said in that conversation.
+
+In reply I have the honor to state that I have read carefully the
+correspondence in question, and particularly the letter of the President
+to General Grant dated January 31, 1868.[45] The following extract from
+your letter of the 31st January to General Grant is, according to my
+recollection, a correct statement of the conversation that took place
+between the President and General Grant at the Cabinet meeting on the
+14th of January last. In the presence of the Cabinet the President
+asked General Grant whether, "in conversation which took place after his
+appointment as Secretary of War _ad interim_, he did not agree either
+to remain at the head of the War Department and abide any judicial
+proceedings that might follow the nonconcurrence by the Senate in Mr.
+Stanton's suspension, or, should he wish not to become involved in such
+a controversy, to put the President in the same position with respect to
+the office as he occupied previous to General Grant's appointment, by
+returning it to the President in time to anticipate such action by the
+Senate." This General Grant admitted.
+
+The President then asked General Grant if at the conference on the
+preceding Saturday he had not, to avoid misunderstanding, requested
+General Grant to state what he intended to do, and, further, if in reply
+to that inquiry he (General Grant) had not referred to their former
+conversations, saying that from them the President understood his
+position, and that his (General Grant's) action would be consistent with
+the understanding which had been reached.
+
+To these questions General Grant replied in the affirmative.
+
+The President asked General Grant if at the conclusion of their
+interview on Saturday it was not understood that they were to have
+another conference on Monday before final action by the Senate in the
+case of Mr. Stanton.
+
+General Grant replied that such was the understanding, but that he did
+not suppose the Senate would act so soon; that on Monday he had been
+engaged in a conference with General Sherman, and was occupied with
+"many little matters," and asked if General Sherman had not called on
+that day.
+
+I take this mode of complying with the request contained in the
+President's letter to me, because my attention had been called to the
+subject before, when the conversation between the President and General
+Grant was under consideration.
+
+Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+
+ALEX W. RANDALL,
+
+_Postmaster-General_.
+
+[Footnote 45: See pp. 615-618.]
+
+
+
+DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
+
+_Washington, D.C., February 6, 1868_.
+
+The PRESIDENT.
+
+SIR: I am in receipt of yours of yesterday, calling my attention to
+a correspondance between yourself and General Grant published in the
+Chronicle newspaper, and especially to that part of said correspondence
+"which refers to the conversation between the President and General
+Grant at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the 14th of January," and
+requesting me "to state what was said in that conversation."
+
+In reply I submit the following statement: At the Cabinet meeting on
+Tuesday, the 14th of January, 1868, General Grant appeared and took his
+accustomed seat at the board. When he had been reached in the order of
+business, the President asked him, as usual, if he had anything to
+present.
+
+In reply the General, after referring to a note which he had that
+morning addressed to the President, inclosing a copy of the resolution
+of the Senate refusing to concur in the reasons for the suspension of
+Mr. Stanton, proceeded to say that he regarded his duties as Secretary
+of War _ad interim_ terminated by that resolution, and that he could not
+lawfully exercise such duties for a moment after the adoption of the
+resolution by the Senate; that the resolution reached him last night,
+and that this morning he had gone to the War Department, entered the
+Secretary's room, bolted one door on the inside, locked the other on the
+outside, delivered the key to the Adjutant-General, and proceeded to the
+Headquarters of the Army and addressed the note above mentioned to the
+President, informing him that he (General Grant) was no longer Secretary
+of War _ad interim_.
+
+The President expressed great surprise at the course which General
+Grant had thought proper to pursue, and, addressing himself to the
+General, proceeded to say, in substance, that he had anticipated such
+action on the part of the Senate, and, being very desirous to have the
+constitutionality of the tenure-of-office bill tested and his right
+to suspend or remove a member of the Cabinet decided by the judicial
+tribunals of the country, he had some time ago, and shortly after
+General Grant's appointment as Secretary of War _ad interim_, asked the
+General what his action would be in the event that the Senate should
+refuse to concur in the suspension of Mr. Stanton, and that the General
+had then agreed either to remain at the head of the War Department till
+a decision could be obtained from the court or resign the office into
+the hands of the President before the case was acted upon by the Senate,
+so as to place the President in the same situation he occupied at the
+time of his (Grant's) appointment.
+
+The President further said that the conversation was renewed on the
+preceding Saturday, at which time he asked the General what he intended
+to do if the Senate should undertake to reinstate Mr. Stanton, in reply
+to which the General referred to their former conversation upon the same
+subject and said: "You understand my position, and my conduct will be
+conformable to that understanding;" that he (the General) then expressed
+a repugnance to being made a party to a judicial proceeding, saying that
+he would expose himself to fine and imprisonment by doing so, as his
+continuing to discharge the duties of Secretary of War _ad interim_
+after the Senate should have refused to concur in the suspension of Mr.
+Stanton would be a violation of the tenure-of-office bill; that in reply
+to this he (the President) informed General Grant he had not suspended
+Mr. Stanton under the tenure-of-office bill, but by virtue of the powers
+conferred on him by the Constitution; and that, as to the fine and
+imprisonment, he (the President) would pay whatever fine was imposed
+and submit to whatever imprisonment might be adjudged against him (the
+General); that they continued the conversation for some time, discussing
+the law at length, and that they finally separated without having
+reached a definite conclusion, and with the understanding that the
+General would see the President again on Monday.
+
+In reply General Grant admitted that the conversations had occurred, and
+said that at the first conversation he had given it as his opinion to
+the President that in the event of nonconcurrence by the Senate in the
+action of the President in respect to the Secretary of War the question
+would have to be decided by the court--that Mr. Stanton would have to
+appeal to the court to reinstate him in office; that the _ins_ would
+remain in till they could be displaced and the _outs_ put in by legal
+proceedings; and that he _then_ thought so, and had agreed that if he
+should change his mind he would notify the President in time to enable
+him to make another appointment, but that at the time of the first
+conversation he had not looked very closely into the law; that it had
+recently been discussed by the newspapers, and that this had induced him
+to examine it more carefully, and that he had come to the conclusion
+that if the Senate should refuse to concur in the suspension Mr. Stanton
+would thereby be reinstated, and that he (Grant) could not continue
+thereafter to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_ without subjecting
+himself to fine and imprisonment, and that he came over on Saturday to
+inform the President of this change in his views, and did so inform him;
+that the President replied that he had not suspended Mr. Stanton under
+the tenure-of-office bill, but under the Constitution, and had appointed
+him (Grant) by virtue of the authority derived from the Constitution,
+etc.; that they continued to discuss the matter some time, and finally
+he left, without any conclusion having been reached, expecting to see
+the President again on Monday.
+
+He then proceeded to explain why he had not called on the President on
+Monday, saying that he had had a long interview with General Sherman,
+that various little matters had occupied his time till it was late, and
+that he did not think the Senate would act so soon, and asked: "Did not
+General Sherman call on you on Monday?"
+
+I do not know what passed between the President and General Grant on
+Saturday, except as I learned it from the conversation between them at
+the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, and the foregoing is substantially what
+then occurred. The precise words used on the occasion are not, of
+course, given exactly in the order in which they were spoken, but the
+ideas expressed and the facts stated are faithfully preserved and
+presented.
+
+I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant,
+
+O.H. BROWNING.
+
+
+
+DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
+
+_Washington, February 6, 1868_.
+
+The PRESIDENT.
+
+SIR: The meeting to which you refer in your letter was a regular Cabinet
+meeting. While the members were assembling, and before the President had
+entered the council chamber, General Grant on coming in said to me that
+he was in attendance there, not as a member of the Cabinet, but upon
+invitation, and I replied by the inquiry whether there was a change in
+the War Department. After the President had taken his seat, business
+went on in the usual way of hearing matters submitted by the several
+Secretaries. When the time came for the Secretary of War, General Grant
+said that he was now there, not as Secretary of War, but upon the
+President's invitation; that he had retired from the War Department. A
+slight difference then appeared about the supposed invitation, General
+Grant saying that the officer who had borne his letter to the President
+that morning announcing his retirement from the War Department had told
+him that the President desired to see him at the Cabinet, to which the
+President answered that when General Grant's communication was delivered
+to him the President simply replied that he supposed General Grant would
+be very soon at the Cabinet meeting. I regarded the conversation thus
+begun as an incidental one. It went on quite informally, and consisted
+of a statement on your part of your views in regard to the understanding
+of the tenure upon which General Grant had assented to hold the War
+Department _ad interim_ and of his replies by way of answer and
+explanation. It was respectful and courteous on both sides. Being in
+this conversational form, its details could only have been preserved by
+verbatim report. So far as I know, no such report was made at the time.
+I can give only the general effect of the conversation. Certainly you
+stated that, although you had reported the reasons for Mr. Stanton's
+suspension to the Senate, you nevertheless held that he would not be
+entitled to resume the office of Secretary of War even if the Senate
+should disapprove of his suspension, and that you had proposed to have
+the question tested by judicial process, to be applied to the person who
+should be the incumbent of the Department under your designation of
+Secretary of War _ad interim_ in the place of Mr. Stanton. You contended
+that this was well understood between yourself and General Grant;
+that when he entered the War Department as Secretary _ad interim_ he
+expressed his concurrence in a belief that the question of Mr. Stanton's
+restoration would be a question for the courts; that in a subsequent
+conversation with General Grant you had adverted to the understanding
+thus had, and that General Grant expressed his concurrence in it; that
+at some conversation which had been previously held General Grant said
+he still adhered to the same construction of the law, but said if he
+should change his opinion he would give you seasonable notice of it,
+so that you should in any case be placed in the same position in
+regard to the War Department that you were while General Grant held
+it _ad interim_. I did not understand General Grant as denying nor as
+explicitly admitting these statements in the form and full extent to
+which you made them. His admission of them was rather indirect and
+circumstantial, though I did not understand it to be an evasive one.
+He said that, reasoning from what occurred in the case of the police in
+Maryland, which he regarded as a parallel one, he was of opinion, and so
+assured you, that it would be his right and duty under your instructions
+to hold the War Office after the Senate should disapprove of Mr.
+Stanton's suspension until the question should be decided upon by the
+courts; that he remained until very recently of that opinion, and that
+on the Saturday before the Cabinet meeting a conversation was held
+between yourself and him in which the subject was generally discussed.
+
+General Grant's statement was that in that conversation he had stated
+to you the legal difficulties which might arise, involving fine and
+imprisonment, under the civil-tenure bill, and that he did not care to
+subject himself to those penalties; that you replied to this remark that
+you regarded the civil-tenure bill as unconstitutional and did not think
+its penalties were to be feared, or that you would voluntarily assume
+them; and you insisted that General Grant should either retain the
+office until relieved by yourself, according to what you claimed was
+the original understanding between yourself and him, or, by seasonable
+notice of change of purpose on his part, put you in the same situation
+which you would be if he adhered. You claimed that General Grant finally
+said in that Saturday's conversation that you understood his views, and
+his proceedings thereafter would be consistent with what had been so
+understood. General Grant did not controvert, nor can I say that he
+admitted, this last statement. Certainly General Grant did not at
+any time in the Cabinet meeting insist that he had in the Saturday's
+conversation, either distinctly or finally, advised you of his
+determination to retire from the charge of the War Department otherwise
+than under your own subsequent direction. He acquiesced in your
+statement that the Saturday's conversation ended with an expectation
+that there would be a subsequent conference on the subject, which he,
+as well as yourself, supposed could seasonably take place on Monday.
+You then alluded to the fact that General Grant did not call upon you
+on Monday, as you had expected from that conversation. General Grant
+admitted that it was his expectation or purpose to call upon you on
+Monday. General Grant assigned reasons for the omission. He said he was
+in conference with General Sherman; that there were many little matters
+to be attended to; he had conversed upon the matter of the incumbency of
+the War Department with General Sherman, and he expected that General
+Sherman would call upon you on Monday. My own mind suggested a further
+explanation, but I do not remember whether it was mentioned or not,
+namely, that it was not supposed by General Grant on Monday that the
+Senate would decide the question so promptly as to anticipate further
+explanation between yourself and him if delayed beyond that day. General
+Grant made another explanation--that he was engaged on Sunday with
+General Sherman, and I think, also, on Monday, in regard to the War
+Department matter, with a hope, though he did not say in an effort,
+to procure an amicable settlement of the affair of Mr. Stanton, and
+he still hoped that it would be brought about.
+
+I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant,
+
+WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 11, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+The accompanying letter from General Grant, received since the
+transmission to the House of Representatives of my communication of this
+date, is submitted to the House as a part of the correspondence referred
+to in the resolution of the 10th instant.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+_Washington, D.C., February 11, 1868_.
+
+His Excellency A. JOHNSON,
+
+_President of the United States_.
+
+SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication
+of the 10th instant,[46] accompanied by statements of five Cabinet
+ministers of their recollection of what occurred in Cabinet meeting on
+the 14th of January. Without admitting anything in these statements
+where they differ from anything heretofore stated by me, I propose to
+notice only that portion of your communication wherein I am charged with
+insubordination. I think it will be plain to the reader of my letter of
+the 30th of January[47] that I did not propose to disobey any legal
+order of the President distinctly given, but only gave an interpretation
+of what would be regarded as satisfactory evidence of the President's
+sanction to orders communicated by the Secretary of War. I will say here
+that your letter of the 10th instant[48] contains the first intimation
+I have had that you did not accept that interpretation.
+
+Now for reasons for giving that interpretation. It was clear to me
+before my letter of January 30[47] was written that I, the person having
+more public business to transact with the Secretary of War than any
+other of the President's subordinates, was the only one who had been
+instructed to disregard the authority of Mr. Stanton where his authority
+was derived as agent of the President.
+
+On the 27th of January I received a letter from the Secretary of War
+(copy herewith) directing me to furnish escort to public treasure from
+the Rio Grande to New Orleans, etc., at the request of the Secretary
+of the Treasury to him. I also send two other inclosures, showing
+recognition of Mr. Stanton as Secretary of War by both the Secretary
+of the Treasury and the Postmaster-General, in all of which cases the
+Secretary of War had to call upon me to make the orders requested or
+give the information desired, and where his authority to do so is
+derived, in my view, as agent of the President.
+
+With an order so clearly ambiguous as that of the President here
+referred to, it was my duty to inform the President of my interpretation
+of it and to abide by that interpretation until I received other orders.
+
+Disclaiming any intention, now or heretofore, of disobeying any legal
+order of the President distinctly communicated,
+
+I remain, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+
+U.S. GRANT, _General_.
+
+[Footnote 46: See pp. 603-610.]
+
+[Footnote 47: See p. 615.]
+
+[Footnote 48: See pp. 603-605.]
+
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+
+_Washington City, January 27, 1868_.
+
+General U.S. GRANT,
+
+_Commanding Army United States_.
+
+GENERAL: The Secretary of the Treasury has requested this Department
+to afford A.F. Randall, special agent of the Treasury Department, such
+military aid as may be necessary to secure and forward for deposit
+from Brownsville, Tex., to New Orleans public moneys in possession of
+custom-house officers at Brownsville, and which are deemed insecure
+at that place.
+
+You will please give such directions as you may deem proper to the
+officer commanding at Brownsville to carry into effect the request of
+the Treasury Department, the instructions to be sent by telegraph to
+Galveston, to the care of A.F. Randall, special agent, who is at
+Galveston waiting telegraphic orders, there being no telegraphic
+communication with Brownsville, and the necessity for military
+protection to the public moneys represented as urgent.
+
+Please favor me with a copy of such instructions as you may give, in
+order that they may be communicated to the Secretary of the Treasury.
+
+Yours, truly,
+
+EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+
+
+POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT, CONTRACT OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, February 3, 1868_.
+
+The Honorable the SECRETARY OF WAR.
+
+SIR: It has been represented to this Department that in October last a
+military commission was appointed to settle upon some general plan of
+defense for the Texas frontiers, and that the said commission has made
+a report recommending a line of posts from the Rio Grande to the Red
+River.
+
+An application is now pending in this Department for a change in the
+course of the San Antonio and El Paso mail, so as to send it by way
+of Forts Mason, Griffin, and Stockton instead of Camps Hudson and
+Lancaster. This application requires immediate decision, but before
+final action can be had thereon it is desired to have some official
+information as to the report of the commission above referred to.
+
+Accordingly, I have the honor to request that you will cause this
+Department to be furnished as early as possible with the information
+desired in the premises, and also with a copy of the report, if any has
+been made by the commission.
+
+Very respectfully, etc.,
+
+GEO. W. McCLELLAN,
+
+_Second Assistant Postmaster-General_.
+
+FEBRUARY 3, 1868.
+
+
+Referred to the General of the Army for report.
+
+EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+
+
+
+TREASURY DEPARTMENT, _January 29, 1868_.
+
+The Honorable SECRETARY OF WAR.
+
+SIR: It is represented to this Department that a band of robbers has
+obtained such a foothold in the section of country between Humboldt and
+Lawrence, Kans., committing depredations upon travelers, both by public
+and private conveyance, that the safety of the public money collected by
+the receiver of the land office at Humboldt requires that it should be
+guarded during its transit from Humboldt to Lawrence. I have therefore
+the honor to request that the proper commanding officer of the district
+may be instructed by the War Department, if in the opinion of the
+honorable Secretary of War it can be done without prejudice to the
+public interests, to furnish a sufficient military guard to protect such
+moneys as may be _in transitu_ from the above office for the purpose of
+being deposited to the credit of the Treasurer of the United States. As
+far as we are now advised, such service will not be necessary oftener
+than once a month. Will you please advise me of the action taken, that
+I may instruct the receiver and the Commissioner of the General Land
+Office in the matter?
+
+Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+
+H. McCULLOCH,
+
+_Secretary of the Treasury_.
+
+
+Respectfully referred to the General of the Army to give the necessary
+orders in this case and to furnish this Department a copy for the
+information of the Secretary of the Treasury.
+
+By order of the Secretary of War:
+
+ED. SCHRIVER,
+
+_Inspector-General_.
+
+
+
+[The following are inserted because they have direct bearing on the two
+messages from the President of February 11, 1868, and their inclosures.]
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+
+_Washington City, February 4, 1868_.
+
+Hon. SCHUYLER COLFAX,
+
+_Speaker of the House of Representatives_.
+
+SIR: In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+3d instant, I transmit herewith copies furnished me by General Grant of
+correspondence between him and the President relating to the Secretary
+of War, and which he reports to be all the correspondence he has had
+with the President on the subject.
+
+I have had no correspondence with the President since the 12th of August
+last. After the action of the Senate on his alleged reason for my
+suspension from the office of Secretary of War, I resumed the duties of
+that office, as required by the act of Congress, and have continued to
+discharge them without any personal or written communication with the
+President. No orders have been issued from this Department in the name
+of the President with my knowledge, and I have received no orders from
+him.
+
+The correspondence sent herewith embraces all the correspondence known
+to me on the subject referred to in the resolution of the House of
+Representatives.
+
+I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant,
+
+EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+
+
+_General Grant to the President_.
+
+HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES,
+
+_Washington, January 24, 1868_.
+
+His Excellency A. JOHNSON,
+
+_President of the United States_.
+
+SIR: I have the honor very respectfully to request to have in writing
+the order which the President gave me verbally on Sunday, the 19th
+instant, to disregard the orders of the Hon. E.M. Stanton as Secretary
+of War until I knew from the President himself that they were his
+orders.
+
+I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+
+U.S. GRANT, _General_.
+
+
+
+_General Grant to the President_.
+
+HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES,
+
+_Washington, D.C., January 28, 1868_.
+
+His Excellency A. JOHNSON,
+
+_President of the United States_.
+
+SIR: On the 24th instant I requested you to give me in writing the
+instructions which you had previously given me verbally not to obey any
+order from Hon. E.M. Stanton, Secretary of War, unless I knew that it
+came from yourself. To this written request I received a message that
+has left doubt in my mind of your intentions. To prevent any possible
+misunderstanding, therefore, I renew the request that you will give me
+written instructions, and till they are received will suspend action on
+your verbal ones.
+
+I am compelled to ask these instructions in writing in consequence
+of the many and gross misrepresentations affecting my personal honor
+circulated through the press for the last fortnight, purporting to come
+from the President, of conversations which occurred either with the
+President privately in his office or in Cabinet meeting. What is written
+admits of no misunderstanding.
+
+In view of the misrepresentations referred to, it will be well to state
+the facts in the case.
+
+Some time after I assumed the duties of Secretary of War _ad interim_
+the President asked me my views as to the course Mr. Stanton would have
+to pursue, in case the Senate should not concur in his suspension,
+to obtain possession of his office. My reply was, in substance, that
+Mr. Stanton would have to appeal to the courts to reinstate him,
+illustrating my position by citing the ground I had taken in the case
+of the Baltimore police commissioners.
+
+In that case I did not doubt the technical right of Governor Swann to
+remove the old commissioners and to appoint their successors. As the old
+commissioners refused to give up, however, I contended that no resource
+was left but to appeal to the courts.
+
+Finding that the President was desirous of keeping Mr. Stanton out of
+office, whether sustained in the suspension or not, I stated that I had
+not looked particularly into the tenure-of-office bill, but that what
+I had stated was a general principle, and if I should change my mind in
+this particular case I would inform him of the fact.
+
+Subsequently, on reading the tenure-of-office bill closely, I found that
+I could not, without violation of the law, refuse to vacate the office
+of Secretary of War the moment Mr. Stanton was reinstated by the Senate,
+even though the President should order me to retain it, which he never
+did.
+
+Taking this view of the subject, and learning on Saturday, the 11th
+instant, that the Senate had taken up the subject of Mr. Stanton's
+suspension, after some conversation with Lieutenant General Sherman and
+some members of my staff, in which I stated that the law left me no
+discretion as to my action should Mr. Stanton be reinstated, and that I
+intended to inform the President, I went to the President for the sole
+purpose of making this decision known, and did so make it known.
+
+In doing this I fulfilled the promise made in our last preceding
+conversation on the subject.
+
+The President, however, instead of accepting my view of the requirements
+of the tenure-of-office bill, contended that he had suspended Mr.
+Stanton under the authority given by the Constitution, and that the same
+authority did not preclude him from reporting, as an act of courtesy,
+his reasons for the suspension to the Senate; that, having appointed me
+under the authority given by the Constitution, and not under any act of
+Congress, I could not be governed by the act. I stated that the law was
+binding on me, constitutional or not, until set aside by the proper
+tribunal. An hour or more was consumed, each reiterating his views on
+this subject, until, getting late, the President said he would see me
+again.
+
+I did not agree to call again on Monday, nor at any other definite time,
+nor was I sent for by the President until the following Tuesday.
+
+From the 11th to the Cabinet meeting on the 14th instant a doubt never
+entered my mind about the President's fully understanding my position,
+namely, that if the Senate refused to concur in the suspension of Mr.
+Stanton my powers as Secretary of War _ad interim_ would cease and Mr.
+Stanton's right to resume at once the functions of his office would
+under the law be indisputable, and I acted accordingly. With Mr. Stanton
+I had no communication, direct nor indirect, on the subject of his
+reinstatement during his suspension.
+
+I knew it had been recommended to the President to send in the
+name of Governor Cox, of Ohio, for Secretary of War, and thus save all
+embarrassment--a proposition that I sincerely hoped he would entertain
+favorably; General Sherman seeing the President at my particular request
+to urge this on the 13th instant.
+
+On Tuesday (the day Mr. Stanton reentered the office of the Secretary of
+War) General Comstock, who had carried my official letter announcing
+that with Mr. Stanton's reinstatement by the Senate I had ceased to be
+Secretary of War _ad interim_, and who saw the President open and read
+the communication, brought back to me from the President a message that
+he wanted to see me that day at the Cabinet meeting, after I had made
+known the fact that I was no longer Secretary of War _ad interim_.
+
+At this meeting, after opening it as though I were a member of the
+Cabinet, when reminded of the notification already given him that I was
+no longer Secretary of War _ad interim_, the President gave a version of
+the conversations alluded to already. In this statement it was asserted
+that in both conversations I had agreed to hold on to the office of
+Secretary of War until displaced by the courts, or resign, so as to
+place the President where he would have been had I never accepted the
+office. After hearing the President through, I stated our conversations
+substantially as given in this letter. I will add that my conversation
+before the Cabinet embraced other matter not pertinent here, and is
+therefore left out.
+
+I in no wise admitted the correctness of the President's statement of
+our conversations, though, to soften the evident contradiction my
+statement gave, I said (alluding to our first conversation on the
+subject) the President might have understood me the way he said, namely,
+that I had promised to resign if I did not resist the reinstatement.
+I made no such promise.
+
+I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+
+U.S. GRANT, _General_.
+
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES,
+
+_January 30, 1868_.
+
+Respectfully forwarded to the Secretary of War for his information.
+
+U.S. GRANT, _General_.
+
+[Indorsement of the President on General Grant's note of January 24,
+1868.[49]]
+
+JANUARY 29, 1868.
+
+As requested in this communication, General Grant is instructed in
+writing not to obey any order from the War Department assumed to be
+issued by the direction of the President unless such order is known by
+the General Commanding the armies of the United States to have been
+authorized by the Executive.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 49: See p. 613.]
+
+
+
+_General Grant to the President_.
+
+HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES,
+
+_Washington, January 30, 1868_.
+
+His Excellency A. JOHNSON,
+
+_President of the United States_.
+
+SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the return of my note of the 24th
+instant,[49] with your indorsement thereon, that I am not to obey any
+order from the War Department assumed to be issued by the direction of
+the President unless such order is known by me to have been authorized
+by the Executive, and in reply thereto to say that I am informed by the
+Secretary of War that he has not received from the Executive any order
+or instructions limiting or impairing his authority to issue orders to
+the Army, as has heretofore been his practice under the law and the
+customs of the Department. While this authority to the War Department is
+not countermanded it will be satisfactory evidence to me that any orders
+issued from the War Department by direction of the President are
+authorized by the Executive.
+
+I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+
+U.S. GRANT, _General_.
+
+[Footnote 49: See p. 613.]
+
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS ARMY UNITED STATES,
+
+_January 30, 1868_.
+
+Respectfully forwarded to the Secretary of War for his information.
+
+U.S. GRANT, _General_.
+
+
+_The President to General Grant_.
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 31, 1868_.
+
+General U.S. GRANT,
+
+_Commanding United States Armies_.
+
+GENERAL: I have received your communication of the 28th instant,[50]
+renewing your request of the 24th,[49] that I should repeat in a written
+form my verbal instructions of the 19th instant, viz, that you obey no
+order from the Hon. Edwin M. Stanton as Secretary of War unless you have
+information that it was issued by the President's directions.
+
+In submitting this request (with which I complied on the 29th
+instant[51]) you take occasion to allude to recent publications in
+reference to the circumstances connected with the vacation by yourself
+of the office of Secretary of War _ad interim_, and with the view of
+correcting statements which you term "gross misrepresentations" give
+at length your own recollection of the facts under which, without the
+sanction of the President, from whom you had received and accepted the
+appointment, you yielded the Department of War to the present incumbent.
+
+As stated in your communication, some time after you had assumed the
+duties of Secretary of War _ad interim_ we interchanged views respecting
+the course that should be pursued in the event of nonconcurrence by the
+Senate in the suspension from office of Mr. Stanton. I sought that
+interview, calling myself at the War Department. My sole object in then
+bringing the subject to your attention was to ascertain definitely
+what would be your own action should such an attempt be made for his
+restoration to the War Department. That object was accomplished, for
+the interview terminated with the distinct understanding that if upon
+reflection you should prefer not to become a party to the controversy or
+should conclude that it would be your duty to surrender the Department
+to Mr. Stanton upon action in his favor by the Senate you were to return
+the office to me prior to a decision by the Senate, in order that if I
+desired to do so I might designate someone to succeed you. It must have
+been apparent to you that had not this understanding been reached it was
+my purpose to relieve you from the further discharge of the duties of
+Secretary of War _ad interim_ and to appoint some other person in that
+capacity.
+
+Other conversations upon this subject ensued, all of them having on my
+part the same object and leading to the same conclusion as the first.
+It is not necessary, however, to refer to any of them excepting that of
+Saturday, the 11th instant, mentioned in your communication. As it was
+then known that the Senate had proceeded to consider the case of Mr.
+Stanton, I was anxious to learn your determination. After a protracted
+interview, during which the provisions of the tenure-of-office bill were
+freely discussed, you said that, as had been agreed upon in our first
+conference, you would either return the office to my possession in time
+to enable me to appoint a successor before final action by the Senate
+upon Mr. Stanton's suspension, or would remain as its head, awaiting a
+decision of the question by judicial proceedings. It was then understood
+that there would be a further conference on Monday, by which time I
+supposed you would be prepared to inform me of your final decision. You
+failed, however, to fulfill the engagement, and on Tuesday notified me
+in writing of the receipt by you of official notification of the action
+of the Senate in the case of Mr. Stanton, and at the same time informed
+me that according to the act regulating the tenure of certain civil
+offices your functions as Secretary of War _ad interim_ ceased from
+the moment of the receipt of the notice. You thus, in disregard of the
+understanding between us, vacated the office without having given me
+notice of your intention to do so. It is but just, however, to say that
+in your communication you claim that you did inform me of your purpose,
+and thus "fulfilled the promise made in our last preceding conversation
+on this subject." The fact that such a promise existed is evidence of
+an arrangement of the kind I have mentioned. You had found in our first
+conference "that the President was desirous of keeping Mr. Stanton out
+of office whether sustained in the suspension or not." You knew what
+reasons had induced the President to ask from you a promise; you
+also knew that in case your views of duty did not accord with his
+own convictions it was his purpose to fill your place by another
+appointment. Even ignoring the existence of a positive understanding
+between us, these conclusions were plainly deducible from our various
+conversations. It is certain, however, that even under these
+circumstances you did not offer to return the place to my possession,
+but, according to your own statement, placed yourself in a position
+where, could I have anticipated your action, I would have been compelled
+to ask of you, as I was compelled to ask of your predecessor in the War
+Department, a letter of resignation, or else to resort to the more
+disagreeable expedient of suspending you by a successor.
+
+As stated in your letter, the nomination of Governor Cox, of Ohio, for
+the office of Secretary of War was suggested to me. His appointment as
+Mr. Stanton's successor was urged in your name, and it was said that
+his selection would save further embarrassment. I did not think that
+in the selection of a Cabinet officer I should be trammeled by such
+considerations. I was prepared to take the responsibility of deciding
+the question in accordance with my ideas of constitutional duty, and,
+having determined upon a course which I deemed right and proper, was
+anxious to learn the steps you would take should the possession of the
+War Department be demanded by Mr. Stanton. Had your action been in
+conformity to the understanding between us, I do not believe that the
+embarrassment would have attained its present proportions or that the
+probability of its repetition would have been so great.
+
+I know that, with a view to an early termination of a state of affairs
+so detrimental to the public interests, you voluntarily offered, both on
+Wednesday, the 15th instant, and on the succeeding Sunday, to call upon
+Mr. Stanton and urge upon him that the good of the service required his
+resignation. I confess that I considered your proposal as a sort of
+reparation for the failure on your part to act in accordance with an
+understanding more than once repeated, which I thought had received your
+full assent, and under which you could have returned to me the office
+which I had conferred upon you, thus saving yourself from embarrassment
+and leaving the responsibility where it properly belonged--with the
+President, who is accountable for the faithful execution of the laws.
+
+I have not yet been informed by you whether, as twice proposed by
+yourself, you have called upon Mr. Stanton and made an effort to induce
+him voluntarily to retire from the War Department.
+
+You conclude your communication with a reference to our conversation at
+the meeting of the Cabinet held on Tuesday, the 14th instant. In your
+account of what then occurred you say that after the President had given
+his version of our previous conversations you stated them substantially
+as given in your letter; that you in no wise admitted the correctness of
+his statement of them, "though, to soften the evident contradiction my
+statement gave, I said (alluding to our first conversation on the
+subject) the President might have understood me the way he said, namely,
+that I had promised to resign if I did not resist the reinstatement.
+I made no such promise."
+
+My recollection of what then transpired is diametrically the reverse of
+your narration. In the presence of the Cabinet I asked you--
+
+First. If, in a conversation which took place shortly after your
+appointment as Secretary of War _ad interim_, you did not agree either
+to remain at the head of the War Department and abide any judicial
+proceedings that might follow nonconcurrence by the Senate in Mr.
+Stanton's suspension, or, should you wish not to become involved in such
+a controversy, to put me in the same position with respect to the office
+as I occupied previous to your appointment, by returning it to me in
+time to anticipate such action by the Senate. This you admitted.
+
+Second. I then asked you if, at our conference on the preceding
+Saturday, I had not, to avoid misunderstanding, requested you to state
+what you intended to do, and, further, if in reply to that inquiry you
+had not referred to our former conversations, saying that from them I
+understood your position, and that your action would be consistent with
+the understanding which had been reached. To these questions you also
+replied in the affirmative.
+
+Third. I next asked if at the conclusion of our interview on Saturday
+it was not understood that we were to have another conference on Monday
+before final action by the Senate in the case of Mr. Stanton. You
+replied that such was the understanding, but that you did not suppose
+the Senate would act so soon; that on Monday you had been engaged in a
+conference with General Sherman and were occupied with "many little
+matters," and asked if General Sherman had not called on that day. What
+relevancy General Sherman's visit to me on Monday had with the purpose
+for which you were then to have called I am at a loss to perceive,
+as he certainly did not inform me whether you had determined to retain
+possession of the office or to afford me an opportunity to appoint a
+successor in advance of any attempted reinstatement of Mr. Stanton.
+
+This account of what passed between us at the Cabinet meeting on the
+14th instant widely differs from that contained in your communication,
+for it shows that instead of having "stated our conversations as given
+in the letter" which has made this reply necessary you admitted that my
+recital of them was entirely accurate. Sincerely anxious, however, to
+be correct in my statements, I have to-day read this narration of what
+occurred on the 14th instant to the members of the Cabinet who were then
+present. They, without exception, agree in its accuracy.
+
+It is only necessary to add that on Wednesday morning, the 15th instant,
+you called on me, in company with Lieutenant-General Sherman. After some
+preliminary conversation, you remarked that an article in the National
+Intelligencer of that date did you much injustice. I replied that I had
+not read the Intelligencer of that morning. You then first told me that
+it was your intention to urge Mr. Stanton to resign his office.
+
+After you had withdrawn I carefully read the article of which you had
+spoken, and found that its statements of the understanding between us
+were substantially correct. On the 17th I caused it to be read to four
+of the five members of the Cabinet who were present at our conference on
+the 14th, and they concurred in the general accuracy of its statements
+respecting our conversation upon that occasion.
+
+In reply to your communication, I have deemed it proper, in order to
+prevent further misunderstanding, to make this simple recital of facts.
+
+Very respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 49: See p. 613.]
+
+[Footnote 50: See pp. 613-615.]
+
+[Footnote 51: See p. 615.]
+
+
+
+_General Grant to the President_.
+
+HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES,
+
+_Washington, D.C., February 3, 1868_.
+
+His Excellency A. JOHNSON,
+
+_President of the United States_.
+
+
+SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication
+of the 31st ultimo,[52] in answer to mine of the 28th ultimo[53]. After
+a careful reading and comparison of it with the article in the National
+Intelligencer of the 15th ultimo and the article over the initials
+J.B.S. in the New York World of the 27th ultimo, purporting to be based
+upon your statement and that of the members of your Cabinet therein
+named, I find it to be but a reiteration, only somewhat more in detail,
+of the "many and gross misrepresentations" contained in these articles,
+and which my statement of the facts set forth in my letter of the 28th
+ultimo[53] was intended to correct; and I here reassert the correctness
+of my statements in that letter, anything in yours in reply to it to the
+contrary notwithstanding.
+
+I confess my surprise that the Cabinet officers referred to should so
+greatly misapprehend the facts in the matter of admissions alleged to
+have been made by me at the Cabinet meeting of the 14th ultimo as to
+suffer their names to be made the basis of the charges in the newspaper
+article referred to, or agree in the accuracy, as you affirm they do,
+of your account of what occurred at that meeting.
+
+You know that we parted on Saturday, the 11th ultimo, without any
+promise on my part, either express or implied, to the effect that I
+would hold on to the office of Secretary of War _ad interim_ against the
+action of the Senate, or, declining to do so myself, would surrender it
+to you before such action was had, or that I would see you again at any
+fixed time on the subject.
+
+The performance of the promises alleged by you to have been made by me
+would have involved a resistance to law and an inconsistency with the
+whole history of my connection with the suspension of Mr. Stanton.
+
+From our conversations and my written protest of August 1, 1867,
+against the removal of Mr. Stanton, you must have known that my greatest
+objection to his removal or suspension was the fear that someone would
+be appointed in his stead who would, by opposition to the laws relating
+to the restoration of the Southern States to their proper relations
+to the Government, embarrass the Army in the performance of duties
+especially imposed upon it by these laws; and it was to prevent such an
+appointment that I accepted the office of Secretary of War _ad interim_,
+and not for the purpose of enabling you to get rid of Mr. Stanton by my
+withholding it from him in opposition to law, or, not doing so myself,
+surrendering it to one who would, as the statement and assumptions in
+your communication plainly indicate was sought. And it was to avoid this
+same danger, as well as to relieve you from the personal embarrassment
+in which Mr. Stanton's reinstatement would place you, that I urged the
+appointment of Governor Cox, believing that it would be agreeable to you
+and also to Mr. Stanton, satisfied as I was that it was the good of the
+country, and not the office, the latter desired.
+
+On the 15th ultimo, in presence of General Sherman, I stated to you that
+I thought Mr. Stanton would resign, but did not say that I would advise
+him to do so. On the 18th I did agree with General Sherman to go and
+advise him to that course, and on the 19th I had an interview alone with
+Mr. Stanton, which led me to the conclusion that any advice to him of
+the kind would be useless, and I so informed General Sherman.
+
+Before I consented to advise Mr. Stanton to resign, I understood
+from him, in a conversation on the subject immediately after his
+reinstatement, that it was his opinion that the act of Congress entitled
+"An act temporarily to supply vacancies in the Executive Departments in
+certain cases," approved February 20, 1863, was repealed by subsequent
+legislation, which materially influenced my action. Previous to this
+time I had had no doubt that the law of 1863 was still in force, and,
+notwithstanding my action, a fuller examination of the law leaves a
+question in my mind whether it is or is not repealed. This being the
+case, I could not now advise his resignation, lest the same danger
+I apprehended on his first removal might follow.
+
+The course you would have it understood I agreed to pursue was in
+violation of law and without orders from you, while the course I did
+pursue, and which I never doubted you fully understood, was in
+accordance with law and not in disobedience of any orders of my
+superior.
+
+And now, Mr. President, when my honor as a soldier and integrity as a
+man have been so violently assailed, pardon me for saying that I can but
+regard this whole matter, from the beginning to the end, as an attempt
+to involve me in the resistance of law, for which you hesitated to
+assume the responsibility in orders, and thus to destroy my character
+before the country. I am in a measure confirmed in this conclusion by
+your recent orders directing me to disobey orders from the Secretary of
+War, my superior and your subordinate, without having countermanded his
+authority to issue the orders I am to disobey.
+
+With the assurance, Mr. President, that nothing less than a vindication
+of my personal honor and character could have induced this
+correspondence on my part,
+
+I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+
+U.S. GRANT, _General_.
+
+
+Respectfully forwarded to the Secretary of War for his information, and
+to be made a part of correspondence previously furnished on same subject.
+
+U.S. GRANT, _General_.
+
+[Footnote 52: See pp. 615-618.]
+
+[Footnote 53: See pp. 613-615.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 17, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+In reply to the resolution adopted by the House of Representatives on
+the 19th of December last, calling for correspondence and information
+in relation to Russian America, I transmit reports and accompanying
+documents from the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury,
+respectively.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 18, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 17th of
+January last, calling for information in regard to the execution of the
+treaty of 1858 with China, for the settlement of claims, I transmit a
+report of the Secretary of State and the papers which accompany it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 19, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Attorney-General, prepared in
+compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+26th November, 1867, requesting a list of all pardons "granted since
+the 14th day of April, 1865, to any person or persons charged with or
+convicted of making or passing counterfeit money, or having counterfeit
+money or tools or instruments for making the same in his or their
+possession, or charged with or convicted of the crime of forgery or
+criminal alteration of papers, accounts, or other documents, or of the
+crime of perjury, and that such list be accompanied by a particular
+statement in each case of the reasons or grounds of the pardon, with a
+disclosure of the names of persons, if any, who recommended or advised
+the same."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 19, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Attorney-General, prepared in
+compliance with a resolution adopted by the Senate on the 2d day of
+December last, requesting "a full list of the names of all persons
+pardoned by the President since May 1, 1865, who have been convicted of
+counterfeiting United States bonds, greenbacks, national-bank currency,
+fractional currency, or the coin of the United States, with the date of
+issuing each pardon, reasons for issuing it, and by whom recommended."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 20, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the Senate of the 18th of December last,
+requesting information in regard to the island of San Juan, on Puget
+Sound, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the papers
+which accompanied it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 20, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+With reference to the convention between Denmark and the United States
+concluded on the 24th of October last, I transmit to the Senate a copy
+in translation of a note of the 19th instant addressed to the Secretary
+of State by His Danish Majesty's charge d'affaires, announcing the
+ratification of the convention by the Government of Denmark and stating
+his readiness to proceed with the customary exchange of ratifications.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 21, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a communication from the Chief of the Engineer Corps
+of the Army, accompanied by a report, in reference to ship canals around
+the Falls of the Ohio River, called for by the resolution of the House
+of Representatives of the 18th instant.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 21, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+On the 12th day of August, 1867, by virtue of the power and authority
+vested in the President by the Constitution and laws of the United
+States, I suspended Edwin M. Stanton from the office of Secretary of
+War.
+
+In further exercise of the power and authority so vested in the
+President, I have this day removed Mr. Stanton from office and
+designated the Adjutant-General of the Army to act as Secretary
+of War _ad interim_.
+
+Copies of the communications upon this subject addressed to Mr. Stanton
+and the Adjutant-General are herewith transmitted for the information of
+the Senate.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 22, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I have received a copy of the resolution adopted by the Senate on the
+21st instant, as follows:
+
+  Whereas the Senate have received and considered the communication of
+  the President stating that he had removed Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary
+  of War, and had designated the Adjutant-General of the Army to act as
+  Secretary of War _ad interim_: Therefore,
+
+  _Resolved by the Senate of the United States_, That under the
+  Constitution and laws of the United States the President has no power
+  to remove the Secretary of War and designate any other officer to
+  perform the duties of that office _ad interim_.
+
+
+This resolution is confined to the power of the President to remove the
+Secretary of War and to designate another officer to perform the duties
+of the office _ad interim_, and by its preamble is made expressly
+applicable to the removal of Mr. Stanton and the designation to act
+_ad interim_ of the Adjutant-General of the Army. Without, therefore,
+attempting to discuss the general power of removal as to all officers,
+upon which subject no expression of opinion is contained in the
+resolution, I shall confine myself to the question as thus limited--the
+power to remove the Secretary of War.
+
+It is declared in the resolution--
+
+  That under the Constitution and laws of the United States the President
+  has no power to remove the Secretary of War and designate any other
+  officer to perform the duties of that office _ad interim_.
+
+
+As to the question of power under the Constitution, I do not propose at
+present to enter upon its discussion.
+
+The uniform practice from the beginning of the Government, as
+established by every President who has exercised the office, and the
+decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States have settled the
+question in favor of the power of the President to remove all officers
+excepting a class holding appointments of a judicial character. No
+practice nor any decision has ever excepted a Secretary of War from this
+general power of the President to make removals from office.
+
+It is only necessary, then, that I should refer to the power of the
+Executive, under the laws of the United States, to remove from office a
+Secretary of War. The resolution denies that under these laws this power
+has any existence. In other words, it affirms that no such authority is
+recognized or given by the statutes of the country.
+
+What, then, are the laws of the United States which deny the President
+the power to remove that officer? I know but two laws which bear upon
+this question. The first in order of time is the act of August 7, 1789,
+creating the Department of War, which, after providing for a Secretary
+as its principal officer, proceeds as follows:
+
+  SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That there shall be in the said
+  Department an inferior officer, to be appointed by the said principal
+  officer, to be employed therein as he shall deem proper, and to be
+  called the chief clerk in the Department of War, and who, whenever the
+  said principal officer shall be removed from office by the President of
+  the United States, or in any other case of vacancy, shall during such
+  vacancy have the charge and custody of all records, books, and papers
+  appertaining to the said Department.
+
+
+It is clear that this act, passed by a Congress many of whose members
+participated in the formation of the Constitution, so far from denying
+the power of the President to remove the Secretary of War, recognizes
+it as existing in the Executive alone, without the concurrence of the
+Senate or of any other department of the Government. Furthermore, this
+act does not purport to confer the power by legislative authority, nor
+in fact was there any other existing legislation through which it was
+bestowed upon the Executive. The recognition of the power by this act is
+therefore complete as a recognition under the Constitution itself, for
+there was no other source or authority from which it could be derived.
+
+The other act which refers to this question is that regulating the
+tenure of certain civil offices, passed by Congress on the 2d day of
+March, 1867. The first section of that act is in the following words:
+
+  That every person holding any civil office to which he has been
+  appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and every
+  person who shall hereafter be appointed to any such office, and shall
+  become duly qualified to act therein, is and shall be entitled to hold
+  such office until a successor shall have been in like manner appointed
+  and duly qualified, except as herein otherwise provided: _Provided_,
+  That the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, of the Navy,
+  and of the Interior, the Postmaster-General, and the Attorney-General
+  shall hold their offices, respectively, for and during the term of
+  the President by whom they may have been appointed and for one month
+  thereafter, subject to removal by and with the advice and consent of
+  the Senate.
+
+
+The fourth section of the same act restricts the term of offices to the
+limit prescribed by the law creating them.
+
+That part of the first section which precedes the proviso declares that
+every person holding a civil office to which he has been or may be
+appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate shall hold
+such office until a successor shall have been in like manner appointed.
+It purports to take from the Executive, during the fixed time
+established for the tenure of the office, the independent power of
+removal, and to require for such removal the concurrent action of the
+President and the Senate.
+
+The proviso that follows proceeds to fix the term of office of the seven
+heads of Departments, whose tenure never had been defined before, by
+prescribing that they "shall hold their offices, respectively, for and
+during the term of the President by whom they may have been appointed
+and for one month thereafter, subject to removal by and with the advice
+and consent of the Senate."
+
+Thus, as to these enumerated officers, the proviso takes from the
+President the power of removal except with the advice and consent of the
+Senate. By its terms, however, before he can be deprived of the power to
+displace them it must appear that he himself has appointed them. It is
+only in that case that they have any tenure of office or any independent
+right to hold during the term of the President and for one month after
+the cessation of his official functions. The proviso, therefore, gives
+no tenure of office to any one of these officers who has been appointed
+by a former President beyond one month after the accession of his
+successor.
+
+In the case of Mr. Stanton, the only appointment under which he
+held the office of Secretary of War was that conferred upon him by my
+immediate predecessor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. He has
+never held from me any appointment as the head of the War Department.
+Whatever right he had to hold the office was derived from that original
+appointment and my own sufferance. The law was not intended to protect
+such an incumbent of the War Department by taking from the President the
+power to remove him. This, in my judgment, is perfectly clear, and the
+law itself admits of no other just construction. We find in all that
+portion of the first section which precedes the proviso that as to civil
+officers generally the President is deprived of the power of removal,
+and it is plain that if there had been no proviso that power would just
+as clearly have been taken from him so far as it applies to the seven
+heads of Departments. But for reasons which were no doubt satisfactory
+to Congress these principal officers were specially provided for, and as
+to them the express and only requirement is that the President who has
+appointed them shall not without the advice and consent of the Senate
+remove them from office. The consequence is that as to my Cabinet,
+embracing the seven officers designated in the first section, the act
+takes from me the power, without the concurrence of the Senate, to
+remove any one of them that I have appointed, but it does not protect
+such of them as I did not appoint, nor give to them any tenure of office
+beyond my pleasure.
+
+An examination of this act, then, shows that while in one part of the
+section provision is made for officers generally, in another clause
+there is a class of officers, designated by their official titles, who
+are excepted from the general terms of the law, and in reference to whom
+a clear distinction is made as to the general power of removal limited
+in the first clause of the section.
+
+This distinction is that as to such of these enumerated officers as hold
+under the appointment of the President the power of removal can only be
+exercised by him with the consent of the Senate, while as to those who
+have not been appointed by him there is no like denial of his power to
+displace them. It would be a violation of the plain meaning of this
+enactment to place Mr. Stanton upon the same footing as those heads of
+Departments who have been appointed by myself. As to him, this law gives
+him no tenure of office. The members of my Cabinet who have been
+appointed by me are by this act entitled to hold for one month after the
+term of my office shall cease; but Mr. Stanton could not, against the
+wishes of my successor, hold a moment thereafter. If he were permitted
+by that successor to hold for the first two weeks, would that successor
+have no power to remove him? But the power of my successor over him
+could be no greater than my own. If my successor would have the power to
+remove Mr. Stanton after permitting him to remain a period of two weeks,
+because he was not appointed by him, but by his predecessor, I, who have
+tolerated Mr. Stanton for more than two years, certainly have the same
+right to remove him, and upon the same ground, namely, that he was not
+appointed by me, but by my predecessor.
+
+Under this construction of the tenure-of-office act, I have never
+doubted my power to remove Mr. Stanton.
+
+Whether the act were constitutional or not, it was always my opinion
+that it did not secure him from removal. I was, however, aware that
+there were doubts as to the construction of the law, and from the first
+I deemed it desirable that at the earliest possible moment those doubts
+should be settled and the true construction of the act fixed by decision
+of the Supreme Court of the United States. My order of suspension in
+August last was intended to place the case in such a position as would
+make a resort to a judicial decision both necessary and proper. My
+understanding and wishes, however, under that order of suspension were
+frustrated, and the late order for Mr. Stanton's removal was a further
+step toward the accomplishment of that purpose.
+
+I repeat that my own convictions as to the true construction of the law
+and as to its constitutionality were well settled and were sustained
+by every member of my Cabinet, including Mr. Stanton himself. Upon the
+question of constitutionality, each one in turn deliberately advised me
+that the tenure-of-office act was unconstitutional. Upon the question
+whether, as to those members who were appointed by my predecessor,
+that act took from me the power to remove them, one of those members
+emphatically stated in the presence of the others sitting in Cabinet
+that they did not come within the provisions of the act, and it was
+no protection to them. No one dissented from this construction, and
+I understood them all to acquiesce in its correctness. In a matter of
+such grave consequence I was not disposed to rest upon my own opinions,
+though fortified by my constitutional advisers. I have therefore sought
+to bring the question at as early a day as possible before the Supreme
+Court of the United States for final and authoritative decision.
+
+In respect to so much of the resolution as relates to the designation
+of an officer to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, I have only to
+say that I have exercised this power under the provisions of the first
+section of the act of February 13, 1795, which, so far as they are
+applicable to vacancies caused by removals, I understand to be still
+in force.
+
+The legislation upon the subject of _ad interim_ appointments in the
+Executive Departments stands, as to the War Office, as follows:
+
+The second section of the act of the 7th of August, 1789, makes
+provision for a vacancy in the very case of a removal of the head of the
+War Department, and upon such a vacancy gives the charge and custody
+of the records, books, and papers to the chief clerk. Next, by the act
+of the 8th of May, 1792, section 8, it is provided that in case of a
+vacancy occasioned by death, absence from the seat of Government, or
+sickness of the head of the War Department the President may authorize
+a person to perform the duties of the office until a successor is
+appointed or the disability removed. The act, it will be observed, does
+not provide for the case of a vacancy caused by removal. Then, by the
+first section of the act of February 13, 1795, it is provided that in
+case of any vacancy the President may appoint a person to perform the
+duties while the vacancy exists.
+
+These acts are followed by that of the 20th of February, 1863, by the
+first section of which provision is again made for a vacancy caused by
+death, resignation, absence from the seat of Government, or sickness of
+the head of any Executive Department of the Government, and upon the
+occurrence of such a vacancy power is given to the President--
+
+  to authorize the head of any other Executive Department, or other
+  officer in either of said Departments whose appointment is vested in
+  the President, at his discretion, to perform the duties of the said
+  respective offices until a successor be appointed or until such absence
+  or inability by sickness shall cease: _Provided_, That no one vacancy
+  shall be supplied in manner aforesaid for a longer term than six months.
+
+
+This law, with some modifications, reenacts the act of 1792, and
+provides, as did that act, for the sort of vacancies so to be filled;
+but, like the act of 1792, it makes no provision for a vacancy
+occasioned by removal. It has reference altogether to vacancies arising
+from other causes.
+
+According to my construction of the act of 1863, while it impliedly
+repeals the act of 1792 regulating the vacancies therein described, it
+has no bearing whatever upon so much of the act of 1795 as applies to a
+vacancy caused by removal. The act of 1795 therefore furnishes the rule
+for a vacancy occasioned by removal--one of the vacancies expressly
+referred to in the act of the 7th of August, 1789, creating the
+Department of War. Certainly there is no express repeal by the act of
+1863 of the act of 1795. The repeal, if there is any, is by implication,
+and can only be admitted so far as there is a clear inconsistency
+between the two acts. The act of 1795 is inconsistent with that of 1863
+as to a vacancy occasioned by death, resignation, absence, or sickness,
+but not at all inconsistent as to a vacancy caused by removal.
+
+It is assuredly proper that the President should have the same power to
+fill temporarily a vacancy occasioned by removal as he has to supply
+a place made vacant by death or the expiration of a term. If, for
+instance, the incumbent of an office should be found to be wholly unfit
+to exercise its functions, and the public service should require his
+immediate expulsion, a remedy should exist and be at once applied, and
+time be allowed the President to select and appoint a successor, as is
+permitted him in case of a vacancy caused by death or the termination of
+an official term.
+
+The necessity, therefore, for an _ad interim_ appointment is just as
+great, and, indeed, may be greater in cases of removal than in any
+others. Before it be held, therefore, that the power given by the act
+of 1795 in cases of removal is abrogated by succeeding legislation an
+express repeal ought to appear. So wholesome a power should certainly
+not be taken away by loose implication.
+
+It may be, however, that in this, as in other cases of implied repeal,
+doubts may arise. It is confessedly one of the most subtle and debatable
+questions which arise in the construction of statutes. If upon such a
+question I have fallen into an erroneous construction, I submit whether
+it should be characterized as a violation of official duty and of law.
+
+I have deemed it proper, in vindication of the course which I have
+considered it my duty to take, to place before the Senate the reasons
+upon which I have based my action. Although I have been advised by
+every member of my Cabinet that the entire tenure-of-office act is
+unconstitutional, and therefore void, and although I have expressly
+concurred in that opinion in the veto message which I had the honor
+to submit to Congress when I returned the bill for reconsideration,
+I have refrained from making a removal of any officer contrary to the
+provisions of the law, and have only exercised that power in the case of
+Mr. Stanton, which, in my judgment, did not come within its provisions.
+I have endeavored to proceed with the greatest circumspection, and have
+acted only in an extreme and exceptional case, carefully following the
+course which I have marked out for myself as a general rule, faithfully
+to execute all laws, though passed over my objections on the score of
+constitutionality. In the present instance I have appealed, or sought
+to appeal, to that final arbiter fixed by the Constitution for the
+determination of all such questions. To this course I have been impelled
+by the solemn obligations which rest upon me to sustain inviolate the
+powers of the high office committed to my hands.
+
+Whatever may be the consequences merely personal to myself, I could not
+allow them to prevail against a public duty so clear to my own mind, and
+so imperative. If what was possible had been certain, if I had been
+fully advised when I removed Mr. Stanton that in thus defending the
+trust committed to my hands my own removal was sure to follow, I could
+not have hesitated. Actuated by public considerations of the highest
+character, I earnestly protest against the resolution of the Senate
+which charges me in what I have done with a violation of the
+Constitution and laws of the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 25, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In further answer of the resolution of the Senate of the 13th of January
+last, relative to the appointment of the Hon. Anson Burlingame to a
+diplomatic or other mission by the Emperor of China, I transmit a report
+from the Secretary of State and the communication which accompanied it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 26, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the General Commanding the Army of the
+United States, prepared in compliance with the resolution of the Senate
+of the 4th instant, requesting copies of all instructions relating to
+the Third Military District issued to General Pope and General Meade.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 4, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 17th February ultimo,
+concerning the alleged interference of the United States consul at Rome
+in the late difficulty in Italy, I transmit a report from the Secretary
+of State, containing the information called for by the resolution.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 5, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit a report of this date from the Secretary of State, and the
+accompanying papers, in regard to the revolution in the Dominican
+Republic.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 5, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 21st of February last,
+in relation to the abduction of one Allan Macdonald from Canada, I
+transmit a communication from the Secretary of State, accompanied by the
+papers relating to that subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 5, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+7th of January last, in relation to the claim of the late Benjamin W.
+Perkins against the Russian Government, I transmit a communication from
+the Secretary of State, which is accompanied by the papers called for
+by the resolution.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 6, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate the accompanying report[54] of the Secretary of
+State, in answer to their resolution of the 13th January,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 54: Relating to a claim, under the act of Congress of August
+18, 1856, of citizens of the United States to guano on Alta Vela, an
+island in the vicinity of Santo Domingo.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to
+ratification, a treaty between the United States and His Majesty the
+King of Prussia, in the name of the North German Confederation, for the
+purpose of regulating the citizenship of those persons who emigrate from
+the Confederation to this country and from the United States to the
+North German Confederation.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 11, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In further answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of
+the 25th of November, 1867, calling for information in relation to the
+trial and conviction of American citizens in Great Britain and Ireland
+for the last two years, I transmit a continuation of the report from the
+Secretary of State upon the subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 14, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 27th of January
+last, in relation to the arrest and trial of the Rev. John McMahon,
+Robert B. Lynch, and John Warren by the Government of Great Britain, and
+requesting to be informed what action has been taken by this Government
+in maintaining the rights of American citizens abroad, I transmit a
+report of the Secretary of State, which is accompanied by a copy of
+the papers called for by that resolution.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 18, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty made on the 2d day of March, 1868, by and between Nathaniel G.
+Taylor, Commissioner of Indian Affairs; Alexander C. Hunt, governor and
+_ex officio_ superintendent of Indian affairs of Colorado Territory, and
+Kit Carson, on the part of the United States, and the representatives
+of the Tabeguache, Muache, Capote, Weeminuche, Yampa, Grand River, and
+Uintah bands of Ute Indians.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 17th instant and the
+papers therein referred to are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 24, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention, signed on the 23d instant, for the surrender
+of criminals, between the United States and the Government of Italy.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 24, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report[55] and accompanying documents, in answer
+to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 18th ultimo.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 55: Relating to unexpended appropriations for contingent
+expenses of foreign intercourse; amount remaining on deposit with
+Baring Brothers & Co. September 30, 1867, etc.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 25, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to a resolution
+of the 9th instant, the accompanying report[56] from the Secretary of
+State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 56: Declining to transmit copies of correspondence,
+negotiations, and treaties with German States since January 1, 1868,
+relative to the rights of naturalized citizens.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 25, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report and accompanying document,[57] in answer
+to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 18th ultimo.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 57: Statement of amounts paid for legal services by the
+Department of State during each year since 1860, with names of persons
+to whom paid.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 25, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 18th
+ultimo, relating to the report of Mr. Cowdin, I transmit a report of
+the Secretary of State and the document[58] to which it refers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 58: Report of Elliot C. Cowdin, United States commissioner
+to the Paris Exposition of 1867, on silk and silk manufactures.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 2, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in further answer to their
+resolution of the 9th ultimo, the accompanying report[59] from the
+Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 59: Transmitting correspondence pertaining to the convention
+of February 22, 1868, with the North German Confederation, relative to
+naturalization.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 2, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In further reply to the resolution adopted by the House of Representatives
+on the 19th of December, 1867, calling for correspondence and information
+in relation to Russian America, I transmit a report from the Secretary of
+State and the papers which accompanied it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 3, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the papers
+accompanying it, in answer to a resolution of the House of
+Representatives of the 10th of February last, requesting information
+relative to the imprisonment and destruction of the property of Antonio
+Pelletier by the people and authorities of Hayti.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 13, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 5th of February last,
+calling for the correspondence upon the subject of the murder by the
+inhabitants of the island of Formosa of the ship's company of the
+American bark _Rover_, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State
+and a report from the Secretary of the Navy, with accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 18, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 14th of April instant,
+calling for information relative to any application by any party for
+exclusive privileges in connection with hunting, trading, and the
+fisheries in Alaska, I transmit herewith the report of the Secretary
+of State on the subject, with its accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _April 22, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 28th ultimo,
+requesting information as to the number and designations of military
+departments formed since the 1st day of August, 1867, and as to the
+statute or other authority under which they have been established,
+I transmit a report from the Adjutant-General's Office showing the
+organization since that date of the Department of Alaska and the
+Military Division of the Atlantic.
+
+The orders issued by me upon this subject are in accordance with
+long-established usage and hitherto unquestioned authority. This will be
+readily seen from the accompanying report, which shows that, employing
+the authority vested by the Constitution in the President as Commander
+in Chief of the Army, it has been customary for my predecessors to
+create such military divisions and departments as from time to time
+they deemed advisable.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April 27, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I submit a report of the Secretary of State, concerning the
+naturalization treaty recently negotiated between the United States
+and North Germany.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 5, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress the accompanying documents, which I deem it
+proper to state are all the papers[60] that have been submitted to the
+President relating to the proceedings to which they refer in the States
+of South Carolina and Arkansas.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 60: Constitutions of South Carolina and Arkansas.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 6, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in further answer to their resolution of the
+14th of April last, the accompanying report[61] from the Secretary of
+State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 61: Relating to application for exclusive privileges in
+connection with hunting, trading, and the fisheries in Alaska.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 8, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith reports from the Secretary of the Treasury and the
+Secretary of the Navy, prepared in compliance with a resolution of the
+House of Representatives of the 12th of December last, requesting
+information respecting the sale of public vessels since the close of the
+rebellion. No report upon the subject has yet been received from the
+Department of War.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 9, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their resolution
+of the 14th ultimo, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+papers.[62]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 62: Report of Freeman H. Morse, United States consul at
+Condon, on "The Foreign Maritime Commerce of the United States: Its
+Past, Present, and Future," etc.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 9, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith reports from the Secretary of the Treasury and the
+Attorney-General, prepared in compliance with the resolution of the
+Senate of the 17th December last, requesting information in reference to
+the seizure and confiscation of property. No report upon this subject
+has yet been received by me from the War Department.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 11, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress the accompanying documents,[63] which embrace
+all the papers that have been submitted to me relating to the proceedings
+to which they refer in the States of North Carolina and Louisiana.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 63: Constitutions of North Carolina and Louisiana.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 15, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their
+resolution of the 8th instant, a report[64] from the Secretary of State,
+with accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 64: Relating to the detention, at the request of the House
+of Representatives, of the ironclad monitors _Oneoto_ and _Catawba_,
+purchased from the United States by Swift & Co., and supposed to be
+intended for the Government of Peru, then at war with a power friendly
+to the United States.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 18, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress the accompanying document,[65] which is the
+only paper which has been submitted to me relating to the proceedings
+to which it refers in the State of Georgia.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 65: Constitution of Georgia.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 23, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate a report from the Secretary of State, with
+accompaniments, in relation to recent events in the Empire of Japan.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 27, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress the accompanying documents,[66] which are the
+only papers which have been submitted to me relating to the proceedings
+to which they refer in the State of Florida.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 66: Letter from the president of the constitutional convention
+of Florida, transmitting a copy of the constitution of that State.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _May 29, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of the Navy, in reply
+to the resolution of the House of Representatives adopted on the 26th
+instant, making inquiries relative to a naval force at Hayti.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 2, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I communicate, for the information of the Senate, in confidence, a
+report of the Secretary of State, accompanied by a copy of a dispatch
+recently received from the acting consul of the United States at San
+Jose, Costa Rica.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 2, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I communicate, for the consideration of the Senate, a report from
+the Secretary of State, accompanied by a copy of a dispatch recently
+received from the acting United States consul in charge of the legation
+at San Jose, Costa Rica.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 5, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In further answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of
+the 25th of November, 1867, calling for information in relation to the
+trial and conviction of American citizens in Great Britain and Ireland
+for the last two years, I transmit the accompanying report from the
+Secretary of State upon the subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 8, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 28th ultimo, I
+transmit herewith a communication from the Postmaster-General, with a
+copy of the correspondence recently had with the authorities of Great
+Britain in relation to a new postal treaty.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C. _June 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
+1st instant, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the
+Interior, in reference to a treaty now being negotiated between the
+Great and Little Osage Indians and the special Indian commissioners
+acting on the part of the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C. _June 13, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith submit to the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded on the 27th ultimo between commissioners on the part
+of the United States and the Great and Little Osage tribe of Indians of
+Kansas, together with a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
+suggesting an amendment to the fourteenth article, and a copy of the
+report of the commissioners.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 15, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Interior, made in
+reply to the resolution adopted by the House of Representatives on the
+13th instant.
+
+The treaty recently concluded with the Great and Little Osage Indians,
+to which the accompanying report refers, was submitted to the Senate
+prior to the receipt of the resolution of the House upon the subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to its
+ratification, a treaty between the United States and His Majesty the
+King of Bavaria, signed at Munich on the 26th ultimo, concerning the
+citizenship of persons emigrating from Bavaria to the United States and
+from the United States to the Kingdom of Bavaria. I transmit also a copy
+of the letter of the United States minister communicating the treaty, of
+the protocol which accompanied it, and a translation of the Bavarian
+military law referred to in the latter paper.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 20, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action
+thereon, a treaty concluded at Fort Sumner, N. Mex., on the 1st instant,
+between Lieutenant-General W. T. Sherman and Colonel Samuel F. Tappan,
+on the part of the United States, and the chiefs and headmen of the
+Navajo Indians, on the part of the latter. I also transmit a communication
+upon the subject from the Secretary of the Interior, with the accompanying
+papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 22, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 28th
+ultimo, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
+papers.[67]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 67: Correspondence relative to the act of Congress of March
+27, 1867, prohibiting persons in the diplomatic service of the United
+States from wearing any uniform or official costume not previously
+authorized by Congress.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 23, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to a
+resolution of the House of Representatives of the 15th instant, upon the
+subject of Messrs. Warren and Costello, who have been convicted and
+sentenced to penal imprisonment in Great Britain.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 23, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate a copy of a dispatch addressed to the
+Department of State by the consul of the United States at Bangkok,
+Siam, dated December 31, 1867, with a view to its consideration and
+the ratification thereof, of the modification proposed by the royal
+counselors of the Kingdom of Siam in Article I of the general
+regulations which form a part of the treaty between the United States
+and that Kingdom concluded May 29, 1856, of which a printed copy is
+also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 29, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a copy of a dispatch from the United States
+consul at Elsinore, and of an instruction from the Secretary of State
+to the United States minister at Copenhagen, relative to an alleged
+practice of the Danish authorities to banish convicts to this country.
+The expediency of making it a penal offense to bring such persons to
+the United States is submitted to your consideration.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 2, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State of the 2d
+instant, together with accompanying papers.[68]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 68: Petitions of merchants and shipowners of New York and
+Boston relative to the detention, at the request of the House of
+Representatives, of the ironclad monitors _Oneoto_ and _Calawba_,
+purchased from the United States by Swift & Co., and supposed to be
+intended for the Government of Peru, then at war with a power friendly
+to the United States.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 7, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded at Fort Laramie, Dakota Territory, on the 7th of May,
+1868, between the United States and the chiefs and headmen of the Crow
+Indians of Montana, and a treaty concluded at Fort Lyaramie, Dakota
+Territory, on the 10th of May, 1868, between the United States and the
+chiefs and headmen of the Northern Cheyenne and Northern Arapahoe tribes
+of Indians.
+
+A letter from the Secretary of the Interior suggesting amendments to
+said treaties, and the papers to which he refers in his communication,
+are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 7, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty made and concluded at Ottawa, Kans., on the 1st day of June,
+1868, between the United States and the Swan Creek and Black River
+Chippewas and the Munsee or Christian Indians of the State of Kansas.
+
+Accompanying the treaty is a letter from the Secretary of the Interior,
+dated the 30th ultimo, together with the papers therein designated.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 9, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification,
+additional articles to the treaty between the United States and His
+Majesty the Emperor of China of the 18th June, 1858, signed in this city
+on the 4th instant by the plenipotentiaries of the parties.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification,
+a convention between the United States and the Mexican Republic, signed
+in this city by the plenipotentiaries of the parties on the 4th instant,
+providing for an adjustment of claims of citizens of the United States
+on the Mexican Government and of Mexican citizens on the Government of
+the United States.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 10, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+Referring to my message to the Senate of the 23d of May last, I herewith
+transmit a further report from the Secretary of State, with an
+accompanying document, relative to late occurrences in Japan.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 14, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate a report from the Secretary of State, inclosing
+a list of the States of the Union whose legislatures have ratified the
+proposed fourteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the
+United States, and also a copy of the resolutions of ratification, as
+called for in the Senate's resolution of the 9th instant, together with
+a copy of the respective resolutions of the legislatures of Ohio and New
+Jersey purporting to rescind the resolutions of ratification of said
+amendment which had previously been adopted by the legislatures of these
+two States, respectively, or to withdraw their consent to the same.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 15, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I hereby transmit to Congress a report, 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.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 15, 1868_.
+
+_To the Congress of the United States_:
+
+I submit herewith a correspondence between the Secretary of State and
+Mr. Robert B. Van Valkenburgh, minister resident of the United States
+in Japan. It seems to show the importance of an amendment of the law
+of the United States prohibiting the cooly trade.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 17, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in compliance with its resolution of the 9th
+instant, a report from the Secretary of State, communicating a copy of a
+paper received by him to-day, purporting to be a resolution ratifying on
+the part of the State of Louisiana the proposed amendment to the
+Constitution of the United States known as Article XIV.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 18, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in compliance with its resolution of the 9th
+instant, a report from the Secretary of State, communicating a copy of a
+paper received by me on the 18th instant, purporting to be a resolution
+of the senate and house of representatives of the State of South
+Carolina, ratifying the proposed amendment to the Constitution of the
+United States known as Article XIV.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 18, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+Experience has fully demonstrated the wisdom of the framers of the
+Federal Constitution. Under all circumstances the result of their
+labors was as near an approximation to perfection as was compatible
+with the fallibility of man. Such being the estimation in which the
+Constitution is and has ever been held by our countrymen, it is not
+surprising that any proposition for its alteration or amendment should
+be received with reluctance and distrust. While this sentiment deserves
+commendation and encouragement as a useful preventive of unnecessary
+attempt to change its provisions, it must be conceded that time has
+developed imperfections and omissions in the Constitution, the
+reformation of which has been demanded by the best interests of the
+country. Some of these have been remedied in the manner provided in
+the Constitution itself. There are others which, although heretofore
+brought to the attention of the people, have never been so presented
+as to enable the popular judgment to determine whether they should
+be corrected by means of additional amendments. My object in this
+communication is to suggest certain defects in the Constitution which
+seem to me to require correction, and to recommend that the judgment
+of the people be taken on the amendments proposed.
+
+The first of the defects to which I desire to direct attention is in
+that clause of the Constitution which provides for the election of
+President and Vice-President through the intervention of electors, and
+not by an immediate vote of the people. The importance of so amending
+this clause as to secure to the people the election of President and
+Vice-President by their direct votes was urged with great earnestness
+and ability by President Jackson in his first annual message, and the
+recommendation was repeated in five of his subsequent communications to
+Congress, extending through the eight years of his Administration. In
+his message of 1829 he said:
+
+  To the people belongs the right of electing their Chief Magistrate; it
+  was never designed that their choice should in any case be defeated,
+  either by the intervention of electoral colleges or by the agency
+  confided, under certain contingencies, to the House of Representatives.
+
+
+He then proceeded to state the objections to an election of President
+by the House of Representatives, the most important of which was that
+the choice of a clear majority of the people might be easily defeated.
+He then closed the argument with the following communication:
+
+  I would therefore recommend such an amendment of the Constitution as
+  may remove all intermediate agency in the election of the President and
+  Vice-President. The mode may be so regulated as to preserve to each
+  State its present relative weight in the election, and a failure in the
+  first attempt may be provided for by confining the second to a choice
+  between the two highest candidates. In connection with such an amendment
+  it would seem advisable to limit the service of the Chief Magistrate to
+  a single term of either four or six years. If, however, it should not be
+  adopted, it is worthy of consideration whether a provision disqualifying
+  for office the Representatives in Congress on whom such an election may
+  have devolved would not be proper.
+
+
+Although this recommendation was repeated with undiminished
+earnestness in several of his succeeding messages, yet the proposed
+amendment was never adopted and submitted to the people by Congress. The
+danger of a defeat of the people's choice in an election by the House of
+Representatives remains unprovided for in the Constitution, and would
+be greatly increased if the House of Representatives should assume the
+power arbitrarily to reject the votes of a State which might not be
+cast in conformity with the wishes of the majority in that body.
+
+But if President Jackson failed to secure the amendment to the
+Constitution which he urged so persistently, his arguments contributed
+largely to the formation of party organizations, which have effectually
+avoided the contingency of an election by the House of Representatives.
+These organizations, first by a resort to the caucus system of
+nominating candidates, and afterwards to State and national conventions,
+have been successful in so limiting the number of candidates as to
+escape the danger of an election by the House of Representatives.
+
+It is clear, however, that in thus limiting the number of candidates
+the true object and spirit of the Constitution have been evaded and
+defeated. It is an essential feature in our republican system of
+government that every citizen possessing the constitutional
+qualifications has a right to become a candidate for the office of
+President and Vice-President, and that every qualified elector has a
+right to cast his vote for any citizen whom he may regard as worthy of
+these offices. But under the party organizations which have prevailed
+for years these asserted rights of the people have been as effectually
+cut off and destroyed as if the Constitution itself had inhibited their
+exercise.
+
+The danger of a defeat of the popular choice in an election by the House
+of Representatives is no greater than in an election made nominally by
+the people themselves, when by the laws of party organizations and by
+the constitutional provisions requiring the people to vote for electors
+instead of for the President or Vice-President it is made impracticable
+for any citizen to be a candidate except through the process of a party
+nomination, and for any voter to cast his suffrage for any other person
+than one thus brought forward through the manipulations of a nominating
+convention. It is thus apparent that by means of party organizations
+that provision of the Constitution which requires the election of
+President and Vice-President to be made through the electoral colleges
+has been made instrumental and potential in defeating the great object
+of conferring the choice of these officers upon the people. It may be
+conceded that party organizations are inseparable from republican
+government, and that when formed and managed in subordination to the
+Constitution they may be valuable safeguards of popular liberty; but
+when they are perverted to purposes of bad ambition they are liable
+to become the dangerous instruments of overthrowing the Constitution
+itself. Strongly impressed with the truth of these views, I feel
+called upon by an imperative sense of duty to revive substantially the
+recommendation so often and so earnestly made by President Jackson,
+and to urge that the amendment to the Constitution herewith presented,
+or some similar proposition, may be submitted to the people for their
+ratification or rejection.
+
+Recent events have shown the necessity of an amendment to the
+Constitution distinctly defining the persons who shall discharge the
+duties of President of the United States in the event of a vacancy in
+that office by the death, resignation, or removal of both the President
+and Vice-President. It is clear that this should be fixed by the
+Constitution, and not be left to repealable enactments of doubtful
+constitutionality. It occurs to me that in the event of a vacancy in the
+office of President by the death, resignation, disability, or removal of
+both the President and Vice-President the duties of the office should
+devolve upon an officer of the executive department of the Government,
+rather than one connected with the legislative or judicial departments.
+The objections to designating either the President _pro tempore_ of
+the Senate or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, especially
+in the event of a vacancy produced by removal, are so obvious and so
+unanswerable that they need not be stated in detail. It is enough
+to state that they are both interested in producing a vacancy, and,
+according to the provisions of the Constitution, are members of the
+tribunal by whose decree a vacancy may be produced.
+
+Under such circumstances the impropriety of designating either
+of these officers to succeed the President so removed is palpable.
+The framers of the Constitution, when they referred to Congress the
+settlement of the succession to the office of President in the event of
+a vacancy in the offices of both President and Vice-President, did not,
+in my opinion, contemplate the designation of any other than an officer
+of the executive department, on whom, in such a contingency, the powers
+and duties of the President should devolve. Until recently the
+contingency has been remote, and serious attention has not been called
+to the manifest incongruity between the provisions of the Constitution
+on this subject and the act of Congress of 1792. Having, however, been
+brought almost face to face with this important question, it seems an
+eminently proper time for us to make the legislation conform to the
+language, intent, and theory of the Constitution, and thus place the
+executive department beyond the reach of usurpation, and remove from the
+legislative and judicial departments every temptation to combine for the
+absorption of all the powers of government.
+
+It has occurred to me that in the event of such a vacancy the duties of
+President would devolve most appropriately upon some one of the heads of
+the several Executive Departments, and under this conviction I present
+for your consideration an amendment to the Constitution on this subject,
+with the recommendation that it be submitted to the people for their
+action.
+
+Experience seems to have established the necessity of an amendment
+of that clause of the Constitution which provides for the election of
+Senators to Congress by the legislatures of the several States. It would
+be more consistent with the genius of our form of government if the
+Senators were chosen directly by the people of the several States.
+The objections to the election of Senators by the legislatures are
+so palpable that I deem it unnecessary to do more than submit the
+proposition for such an amendment, with the recommendation that it
+be opened to the people for their judgment.
+
+It is strongly impressed on my mind that the tenure of office by
+the judiciary of the United States during good behavior for life is
+incompatible with the spirit of republican government, and in this
+opinion I am fully sustained by the evidence of popular judgment upon
+this subject in the different States of the Union.
+
+I therefore deem it my duty to recommend an amendment to the
+Constitution by which the terms of the judicial officers would be
+limited to a period of years, and I herewith present it in the hope that
+Congress will submit it to the people for their decision.
+
+The foregoing views have long been entertained by me. In 1845, in the
+House of Representatives, and afterwards, in 1860, in the Senate of the
+United States, I submitted substantially the same propositions as those
+to which the attention of Congress is herein invited. Time, observation,
+and experience have confirmed these convictions; and, as a matter of
+public duty and a deep sense of my constitutional obligation "to
+recommend to the consideration of Congress such measures as I deem
+necessary and expedient," I submit the accompanying propositions, and
+urge their adoption and submission to the judgment of the people.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+  JOINT RESOLUTION proposing amendments to the Constitution of the
+  United States.
+
+  Whereas the fifth article of the Constitution of the United States
+  provides for amendments thereto in the manner following, viz:
+
+  "The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it
+  necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the
+  application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several States,
+  shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which in either case
+  shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of this Constitution
+  when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States
+  or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode
+  of ratification may be proposed by the Congress: _Provided_, That no
+  amendment which may be made prior to the year 1808 shall in any manner
+  affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first
+  article, and that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of
+  its equal suffrage in the Senate:"
+
+  Therefore,
+
+  _Be it 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 amendments to the Constitution of the
+  United States be proposed to the legislatures of the several States,
+  which, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the States,
+  shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution:
+
+  "That hereafter the President and Vice-President of the United States
+  shall be chosen for the term of six years, by the people of the
+  respective States, in the manner following: Each State shall be divided
+  by the legislature thereof in districts, equal in number to the whole
+  number of Senators and Representatives to which such State may be
+  entitled in the Congress of the United States; the said districts to
+  be composed of contiguous territory, and to contain, as nearly as may
+  be, an equal number of persons entitled to be represented under the
+  Constitution, and to be laid off for the first time immediately after
+  the ratification of this amendment; that on the first Thursday in August
+  in the year 18--, and on the same day every sixth year thereafter, the
+  citizens of each State who possess the qualifications requisite for
+  electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures shall
+  meet within their respective districts and vote for a President and
+  Vice-President of the United States; and the person receiving the
+  greatest number of votes for President and the one receiving the
+  greatest number of votes for Vice-President in each district shall
+  be holden to have received one vote, which fact shall be immediately
+  certified by the governor of the State to each of the Senators in
+  Congress from such State and to the President of the Senate and the
+  Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Congress of the United
+  States shall be in session on the second Monday in October in the year
+  18--, and on the same day in every sixth year thereafter; and the
+  President of the Senate, in the presence of the Senate and House of
+  Representatives, shall open all the certificates, and the votes shall
+  then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes for
+  President shall be President, if such number be equal to a majority of
+  the whole number of votes given; but if no person have such majority,
+  then a second election shall be held on the first Thursday in the month
+  of December then next ensuing between the persons having the two highest
+  numbers for the office of President, which second election shall be
+  conducted, the result certified, and the votes counted in the same
+  manner as in the first, and the person having the greatest number of
+  votes for President shall be President. But if two or more persons shall
+  have received the greatest and an equal number of votes at the second
+  election, then the person who shall have received the greatest number of
+  votes in the greatest number of States shall be President. The person
+  having the greatest number of votes for Vice-President at the first
+  election shall be Vice-President, if such number be equal to a majority
+  of the whole number of votes given; and if no person have such majority,
+  then a second election shall take place between the persons having the
+  two highest numbers on the same day that the second election is held for
+  President, and the person having the highest number of the votes for
+  Vice-President shall be Vice-President. But if there should happen to
+  be an equality of votes between the persons so voted for at the second
+  election, then the person having the greatest number of votes in the
+  greatest number of States shall be Vice-President. But when a second
+  election shall be necessary in the case of Vice-President and not
+  necessary in the case of President, then the Senate shall choose a
+  Vice-President from the persons having the two highest numbers in the
+  first election, as now prescribed in the Constitution: _Provided_,
+  That after the ratification of this amendment to the Constitution the
+  President and Vice-President shall hold their offices, respectively, for
+  the term of six years, and that no President or Vice-President shall be
+  eligible for reelection to a second term."
+
+  Sec. 2. _And be it further resolved_, That Article II, section I,
+  paragraph 6, of the Constitution of the United States shall be amended
+  so as to read as follows:
+
+  "In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death,
+  resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of said
+  office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President; and in the case of
+  the removal, death, resignation, or inability both of the President and
+  Vice-President, the powers and duties of said office shall devolve on
+  the Secretary of State for the time being, and after this officer, in
+  case of vacancy in that or other Department, and in the order in which
+  they are named, on the Secretary of the Treasury, on the Secretary of
+  War, on the Secretary of the Navy, on the Secretary of the Interior, on
+  the Postmaster-General, and on the Attorney-General; and such officer,
+  on whom the powers and duties of President shall devolve in accordance
+  with the foregoing provisions, shall then act as President until the
+  disability shall be removed or a President shall be elected, as is or
+  may be provided for by law."
+
+  Sec. 3. _And be it further resolved_, That Article I, section 3, be
+  amended by striking out the word "legislature," and inserting in lieu
+  thereof the following words, viz: "Persons qualified to vote for members
+  of the most numerous branch of the legislature," so as to make the third
+  section of said article, when ratified by three-fourths of the States,
+  read as follows, to wit:
+
+  "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from
+  each State, chosen by the persons qualified to vote for the members of
+  the most numerous branch of the legislature thereof, for six years, and
+  each Senator shall have one vote."
+
+  Sec. 4. _And be it further resolved_, That Article III, section I, be
+  amended by striking out the words "good behavior," and inserting the
+  following words, viz: "the term of twelve years." And further, that said
+  article and section be amended by adding the following thereto, viz:
+  "And it shall be the duty of the President of the United States, within
+  twelve months after the ratification of this amendment by three-fourths
+  of all the States, as provided by the Constitution of the United States,
+  to divide the whole number of judges, as near as may be practicable,
+  into three classes. The seats of the judges of the first class shall be
+  vacated at the expiration of the fourth year from such classification,
+  of the second class at the expiration of the eighth year, and of the
+  third class at the expiration of the twelfth year, so that one-third may
+  be chosen every fourth year thereafter."
+
+  The article as amended will read as follows:
+
+  Article III.
+
+  Sec. I. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one
+  Supreme Court and such inferior courts as the Congress from time to time
+  may ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior
+  courts, shall hold their offices during the term of twelve years, and
+  shall at stated times receive for their services a compensation which
+  shall not be diminished during their continuance in office; and it shall
+  be the duty of the President of the United States, within twelve months
+  after the ratification of this amendment by three-fourths of all the
+  States, as provided by the Constitution of the United States, to divide
+  the whole number of judges, as near as may be practicable, into three
+  classes. The seats of the judges of the first class shall be vacated at
+  the expiration of the fourth year from such classification; of the
+  second class, at the expiration of the eighth year; and of the third
+  class, at the expiration of the twelfth year, so that one-third may be
+  chosen every fourth year thereafter.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 18, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In compliance with the resolution adopted by the House of Representatives
+on the 13th instant, requesting "copies of all instructions, records,
+and correspondence connected with the commission authorized to negotiate
+the late treaty with the Great and Little Osage Indians, and copies of
+all propositions made to said commission from railroad corporations or
+by individuals," I transmit the accompanying communications from the
+Secretary of the Interior, together with the papers to which they have
+reference.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 20, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in compliance with its resolution of the 9th
+instant, a report from the Secretary of State, communicating a copy of
+a paper received by me this day, purporting to be a resolution of the
+senate and house of representatives of the State of Alabama ratifying
+the proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States known
+as Article XIV.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 24, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of the Navy, inclosing a
+report of a board of naval officers appointed in pursuance of an act of
+Congress approved May 19, 1868, to select suitable locations for powder
+magazines.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 27, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their
+resolution of the 24th instant, the accompanying report[69] from the
+Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 69: Relating to absence from his post of the consul at Panama.]
+
+
+
+
+VETO MESSAGES.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 25, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I have considered, with such care as the pressure of other duties has
+permitted, a bill entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to
+amend the judiciary act, passed the 24th of September, 1789.'" Not being
+able to approve all of its provisions, I herewith return it to the
+Senate, in which House it originated, with a brief statement of my
+objections.
+
+The first section of the bill meets my approbation, as, for the purpose
+of protecting the rights of property from the erroneous decision of
+inferior judicial tribunals, it provides means for obtaining uniformity,
+by appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, in cases which have
+now become very numerous and of much public interest, and in which such
+remedy is not now allowed. The second section, however, takes away the
+right of appeal to that court in cases which involve the life and
+liberty of the citizen, and leaves them exposed to the judgment of
+numerous inferior tribunals. It is apparent that the two sections were
+conceived in a very different spirit, and I regret that my objections
+to one impose upon me the necessity of withholding my sanction from the
+other.
+
+I can not give my assent to a measure which proposes to deprive
+any person "restrained of his or her liberty in violation of the
+Constitution or of any treaty or law of the United States" from
+the right of appeal to the highest judicial authority known to our
+Government. To "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our
+posterity" is one of the declared objects of the Federal Constitution.
+To assure these, guaranties are provided in the same instrument, as well
+against "unreasonable searches and seizures" as against the suspensions
+of "the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_, * * * unless when, in
+cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it." It
+was doubtless to afford the people the means of protecting and enforcing
+these inestimable privileges that the jurisdiction which this bill
+proposes to take away was conferred upon the Supreme Court of the
+nation. The act conferring that jurisdiction was approved on the 5th day
+of February, 1867, with a full knowledge of the motives that prompted its
+passage, and because it was believed to be necessary and right. Nothing
+has since occurred to disprove the wisdom and justness of the measures,
+and to modify it as now proposed would be to lessen the protection of
+the citizen from the exercise of arbitrary power and to weaken the
+safeguards of life and liberty, which can never be made too secure
+against illegal encroachments.
+
+The bill not only prohibits the adjudication by the Supreme Court
+of cases in which appeals may hereafter be taken, but interdicts its
+jurisdiction on appeals which have already been made to that high
+judicial body. If, therefore, it should become a law, it will by its
+retroactive operation wrest from the citizen a remedy which he enjoyed
+at the time of his appeal. It will thus operate most harshly upon those
+who believe that justice has been denied them in the inferior courts.
+
+The legislation proposed in the second section, it seems to me, is not
+in harmony with the spirit and intention of the Constitution. It can
+not fail to affect most injuriously the just equipoise of our system
+of Government, for it establishes a precedent which, if followed, may
+eventually sweep away every check on arbitrary and unconstitutional
+legislation. Thus far during the existence of the Government the Supreme
+Court of the United States has been viewed by the people as the true
+expounder of their Constitution, and in the most violent party conflicts
+its judgments and decrees have always been sought and deferred to with
+confidence and respect. In public estimation it combines judicial wisdom
+and impartiality in a greater degree than any other authority known to
+the Constitution, and any act which may be construed into or mistaken
+for an attempt to prevent or evade its decision on a question which
+affects the liberty of the citizens and agitates the country can
+not fail to be attended with unpropitious consequences. It will be
+justly held by a large portion of the people as an admission of the
+unconstitutionally of the act on which its judgment may be forbidden or
+forestalled, and may interfere with that willing acquiescence in its
+provisions which is necessary for the harmonious and efficient execution
+of any law.
+
+For these reasons, thus briefly and imperfectly stated, and for others,
+of which want of time forbids the enumeration, I deem it my duty to
+withhold my assent from this bill, and to return it for the
+reconsideration of Congress.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 20, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I return without my signature a bill entitled "An act to admit the State
+of Arkansas to representation in Congress."
+
+The approval of this bill would be an admission on the part of the
+Executive that the "Act for the more efficient government of the rebel
+States," passed March 2, 1867, and the acts supplementary thereto were
+proper and constitutional. My opinion, however, in reference to those
+measures has undergone no change, but, on the contrary, has been
+strengthened by the results which have attended their execution. Even
+were this not the case, I could not consent to a bill which is based
+upon the assumption either that by an act of rebellion of a portion
+of its people the State of Arkansas seceded from the Union, or that
+Congress may at its pleasure expel or exclude a State from the Union,
+or interrupt its relations with the Government by arbitrarily depriving
+it of representation in the Senate and House of Representatives. If
+Arkansas is a State not in the Union, this bill does not admit it as
+a State into the Union. If, on the other hand, Arkansas is a State
+in the Union, no legislation is necessary to declare it entitled
+"to representation in Congress as one of the States of the Union." The
+Constitution already declares that "each State shall have at least one
+Representative;" that the Senate "shall be composed of two Senators from
+each State," and "that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived
+of its equal suffrage in the Senate."
+
+That instrument also makes each House "the judge of the elections,
+returns, and qualifications of its own members," and therefore all that
+is now necessary to restore Arkansas in all its constitutional relations
+to the Government is a decision by each House upon the eligibility of
+those who, presenting their credentials, claim seats in the respective
+Houses of Congress. This is the plain and simple plan of the
+Constitution; and believing that had it been pursued when Congress
+assembled in the month of December, 1865, the restoration of the States
+would long since have been completed, I once again earnestly recommend
+that it be adopted by each House in preference to legislation, which I
+respectfully submit is not only of at least doubtful constitutionality,
+and therefore unwise and dangerous as a precedent, but is unnecessary,
+not so effective in its operation as the mode prescribed by the
+Constitution, involves additional delay, and from its terms may be taken
+rather as applicable to a Territory about to be admitted as one of the
+United States than to a State which has occupied a place in the Union
+for upward of a quarter of a century.
+
+The bill declares the State of Arkansas entitled and admitted to
+representation in Congress as one of the States of the Union upon the
+following fundamental condition:
+
+  That the constitution of Arkansas shall never be so amended or changed
+  as to deprive any citizen or class of citizens of the United States of
+  the right to vote who are entitled to vote by the constitution herein
+  recognized, except as a punishment for such crimes as are now felonies
+  at common law, whereof they shall have been duly convicted under laws
+  equally applicable to all the inhabitants of said State: _Provided_,
+  That any alteration of said constitution, prospective in its effect,
+  may be made in regard to the time and place of residence of voters.
+
+I have been unable to find in the Constitution of the United States any
+warrant for the exercise of the authority thus claimed by Congress.
+In assuming the power to impose a "fundamental condition" upon a State
+which has been duly "admitted into the Union upon an equal footing with
+the original States in all respects whatever," Congress asserts a right
+to enter a State as it may a Territory, and to regulate the highest
+prerogative of a free people--the elective franchise. This question is
+reserved by the Constitution to the States themselves, and to concede
+to Congress the power to regulate the subject would be to reverse the
+fundamental principle of the Republic and to place in the hands of the
+Federal Government, which is the creature of the States, the sovereignty
+which justly belongs to the States or the people--the true source of all
+political power, by whom our Federal system was created and to whose
+will it is subordinate.
+
+The bill fails to provide in what manner the State of Arkansas is to
+signify its acceptance of the "fundamental condition" which Congress
+endeavors to make unalterable and irrevocable. Nor does it prescribe the
+penalty to be imposed should the people of the State amend or change the
+particular portions of the constitution which it is one of the purposes
+of the bill to perpetuate, but as to the consequences of such action
+leaves them in uncertainty and doubt. When the circumstances under which
+this constitution has been brought to the attention of Congress are
+considered, it is not unreasonable to suppose that efforts will be made
+to modify its provisions, and especially those in respect to which this
+measure prohibits any alteration. It is seriously questioned whether the
+constitution has been ratified by a majority of the persons who, under
+the act of March 2, 1867, and the acts supplementary thereto, were
+entitled to registration and to vote upon that issue. Section 10 of
+the schedule provides that--
+
+  No person disqualified from voting or registering under this
+  constitution shall vote for candidates for any office, nor shall be
+  permitted to vote for the ratification or rejection of the constitution
+  at the polls herein authorized.
+
+
+Assumed to be in force before its adoption, in disregard of the law of
+Congress, the constitution undertakes to impose upon the elector other
+and further conditions. The fifth section of the eighth article provides
+that "all persons, before registering or voting," must take and
+subscribe an oath which, among others, contains the following clause:
+
+  That I accept the civil and political equality of all men, and agree
+  not to attempt to deprive any person or persons, on account of race,
+  color, or previous condition, of any political or civil right,
+  privilege, or immunity enjoyed by any other class of men.
+
+
+It is well known that a very large portion of the electors in all the
+States, if not a large majority of all of them, do not believe in or
+accept the political equality of Indians, Mongolians, or negroes with
+the race to which they belong. If the voters in many of the States of
+the North and West were required to take such an oath as a test of their
+qualification, there is reason to believe that a majority of them would
+remain from the polls rather than comply with its degrading conditions.
+How far and to what extent this test oath prevented the registration of
+those who were qualified under the laws of Congress it is not possible
+to know, but that such was its effect, at least sufficient to overcome
+the small and doubtful majority in favor of this constitution, there
+can be no reasonable doubt. Should the people of Arkansas, therefore,
+desiring to regulate the elective franchise so as to make it conform to
+the constitutions of a large proportion of the States of the North and
+West, modify the provisions referred to in the "fundamental condition,"
+what is to be the consequence? Is it intended that a denial of
+representation shall follow? And if so, may we not dread, at some future
+day, a recurrence of the troubles which have so long agitated the
+country? Would it not be the part of wisdom to take for our guide the
+Federal Constitution, rather than resort to measures which, looking only
+to the present, may in a few years renew, in an aggravated form, the
+strife and bitterness caused by legislation which has proved to be
+so ill timed and unfortunate?
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 25, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In returning to the House of Representatives, in which it originated,
+a bill entitled "An act to admit the States of North Carolina, South
+Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida to representation
+in Congress," I do not deem it necessary to state at length the reasons
+which constrain me to withhold my approval. I will not, therefore,
+undertake at this time to reopen the discussion upon the grave
+constitutional questions involved in the act of March 2, 1867, and
+the acts supplementary thereto, in pursuance of which it is claimed,
+in the preamble to this bill, these States have framed and adopted
+constitutions of State government. Nor will I repeat the objections
+contained in my message of the 20th instant, returning without my
+signature the bill to admit to representation the State of Arkansas,
+and which are equally applicable to the pending measure.
+
+Like the act recently passed in reference to Arkansas, this bill
+supersedes the plain and simple mode prescribed by the Constitution
+for the admission to seats in the respective Houses of Senators and
+Representatives from the several States. It assumes authority over six
+States of the Union which has never been delegated to Congress, or is
+even warranted by previous unconstitutional legislation upon the subject
+of restoration. It imposes conditions which are in derogation of the
+equal rights of the States, and is founded upon a theory which is
+subversive of the fundamental principles of the Government. In the case
+of Alabama it violates the plighted faith of Congress by forcing upon
+that State a constitution which was rejected by the people, according to
+the express terms of an act of Congress requiring that a majority of the
+registered electors should vote upon the question of its ratification.
+
+For these objections, and many others that might be presented, I can not
+approve this bill, and therefore return it for the action of Congress
+required in such cases by the Federal Constitution.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 20, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I have given to the joint resolution entitled "A resolution excluding
+from the electoral college the votes of States lately in rebellion which
+shall not have been reorganized" as careful examination as I have been
+able to bestow upon the subject during the few days that have intervened
+since the measure was submitted for my approval.
+
+Feeling constrained to withhold my consent, I herewith return the
+resolution to the Senate, in which House it originated, with a brief
+statement of the reasons which have induced my action. This joint
+resolution is based upon the assumption that some of the States whose
+inhabitants were lately in rebellion are not now entitled to
+representation in Congress and participation in the election of
+President and Vice-President of the United States.
+
+Having heretofore had occasion to give in detail my reasons for
+dissenting from this view, it is not necessary at this time to repeat
+them. It is sufficient to state that I continue strong in my conviction
+that the acts of secession, by which a number of the States sought to
+dissolve their connection with the other States and to subvert the
+Union, being unauthorized by the Constitution and in direct violation
+thereof, were from the beginning absolutely null and void. It follows
+necessarily that when the rebellion terminated the several States which
+had attempted to secede continued to be States in the Union, and all
+that was required to enable them to resume their relations to the Union
+was that they should adopt the measures necessary to their practical
+restoration as States. Such measures were adopted, and the legitimate
+result was that those States, having conformed to all the requirements
+of the Constitution, resumed their former relations, and became entitled
+to the exercise of all the rights guaranteed to them by its provisions.
+
+The joint resolution under consideration, however, seems to assume that
+by the insurrectionary acts of their respective inhabitants those States
+forfeited their rights as such, and can never again exercise them except
+upon readmission into the Union on the terms prescribed by Congress.
+If this position be correct, it follows that they were taken out of the
+Union by virtue of their acts of secession, and hence that the war waged
+upon them was illegal and unconstitutional. We would thus be placed in
+this inconsistent attitude, that while the war was commenced and carried
+on upon the distinct ground that the Southern States, being component
+parts of the Union, were in rebellion against the lawful authority of
+the United States, upon its termination we resort to a policy of
+reconstruction which assumes that it was not in fact a rebellion, but
+that the war was waged for the conquest of territories assumed to be
+outside of the constitutional Union.
+
+The mode and manner of receiving and counting the electoral votes
+for President and Vice-President of the United States are in plain
+and simple terms prescribed by the Constitution. That instrument
+imperatively requires that "the President of the Senate shall, in the
+presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the
+certificates, and the votes shall then be counted." Congress has,
+therefore, no power, under the Constitution, to receive the electoral
+votes or reject them. The whole power is exhausted when, in the presence
+of the two Houses, the votes are counted and the result declared.
+In this respect the power and duty of the President of the Senate are,
+under the Constitution, purely ministerial. When, therefore, the joint
+resolution declares that no electoral votes shall be received or counted
+from States that since the 4th of March, 1867, have not "adopted a
+constitution of State government under which a State government shall
+have organized," a power is assumed which is nowhere delegated to
+Congress, unless upon the assumption that the State governments
+organized prior to the 4th of March, 1867, were illegal and void.
+
+The joint resolution, by implication at least, concedes that these
+States were States by virtue of their organization prior to the 4th of
+March, 1867, but denies to them the right to vote in the election of
+President and Vice-President of the United States. It follows either
+that this assumption of power is wholly unauthorized by the Constitution
+or that the States so excluded from voting were out of the Union by
+reason of the rebellion, and have never been legitimately restored.
+Being fully satisfied that they were never out of the Union, and that
+their relations thereto have been legally and constitutionally restored,
+I am forced to the conclusion that the joint resolution, which deprives
+them of the right to have their votes for President and Vice-President
+received and counted, is in conflict with the Constitution, and that
+Congress has no more power to reject their votes than those of the
+States which have been uniformly loyal to the Federal Union.
+
+It is worthy of remark that if the States whose inhabitants were
+recently in rebellion were legally and constitutionally organized and
+restored to their rights prior to the 4th of March, 1867, as I am
+satisfied they were, the only legitimate authority under which the
+election for President and Vice-President can be held therein must be
+derived from the governments instituted before that period. It clearly
+follows that all the State governments organized in those States under
+act of Congress for that purpose, and under military control, are
+illegitimate and of no validity whatever; and in that view the votes
+cast in those States for President and Vice-President, in pursuance
+of acts passed since the 4th of March, 1867, and in obedience to the
+so-called reconstruction acts of Congress, can not be legally received
+and counted, while the only votes in those States that can be legally
+cast and counted will be those cast in pursuance of the laws in force in
+the several States prior to the legislation by Congress upon the subject
+of reconstruction.
+
+I can not refrain from directing your special attention to the
+declaration contained in the joint resolution, that "none of the
+States whose inhabitants were lately in rebellion shall be entitled to
+representation in the electoral college," etc. If it is meant by this
+declaration that no State is to be allowed to vote for President and
+Vice-President _all_ of whose inhabitants were engaged in the late
+rebellion, it is apparent that no one of the States will be excluded
+from voting, since it is well known that in every Southern State there
+were many inhabitants who not only did not participate in the rebellion,
+but who actually took part in the suppression, or refrained from giving
+it any aid or countenance. I therefore conclude that the true meaning of
+the joint resolution is that no State a _portion_ of whose inhabitants
+were engaged in the rebellion shall be permitted to participate in the
+Presidential election, except upon the terms and conditions therein
+prescribed.
+
+Assuming this to be the true construction of the resolution, the
+inquiry becomes pertinent, May those Northern States a portion of
+whose inhabitants were actually in the rebellion be prevented, at the
+discretion of Congress, from having their electoral votes counted? It is
+well known that a portion of the inhabitants of New York and a portion
+of the inhabitants of Virginia were alike engaged in the rebellion; yet
+it is equally well known that Virginia, as well as New York, was at all
+times during the war recognized by the Federal Government as a State
+in the Union--so clearly that upon the termination of hostilities it
+was not even deemed necessary for her restoration that a provisional
+governor should be appointed; yet, according to this joint resolution,
+the people of Virginia, unless they comply with the terms it prescribes,
+are denied the right of voting for President, while the people of
+New York, a portion of the inhabitants of which State were also in
+rebellion, are permitted to have their electoral votes counted without
+undergoing the process of reconstruction prescribed for Virginia. New
+York is no more a State than Virginia; the one is as much entitled to
+representation in the electoral college as the other. If Congress has
+the power to deprive Virginia of this right, it can exercise the same
+authority with respect to New York or any other of the States. Thus the
+result of the Presidential election may be controlled and determined
+by Congress, and the people be deprived of their right under the
+Constitution to choose a President and Vice-President of the United
+States.
+
+If Congress were to provide by law that the votes of none of the States
+should be received and counted if cast for a candidate who differed in
+political sentiment with a majority of the two Houses, such legislation
+would at once be condemned by the country as an unconstitutional and
+revolutionary usurpation of power. It would, however, be exceedingly
+difficult to find in the Constitution any more authority for the passage
+of the joint resolution under consideration than for an enactment
+looking directly to the rejection of all votes not in accordance with
+the political preferences of a majority of Congress. No power exists
+in the Constitution authorizing the joint resolution or the supposed
+law--the only difference being that one would be more palpably
+unconstitutional and revolutionary than the other. Both would rest upon
+the radical error that Congress has the power to prescribe terms and
+conditions to the right of the people of the States to cast their votes
+for President and Vice-President.
+
+For the reasons thus indicated I am constrained to return the joint
+resolution to the Senate for such further action thereon as Congress
+may deem necessary.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _July 25, 1868_
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+Believing that a bill entitled "An act relating to the Freedmen's
+Bureau, and providing for its discontinuance," interferes with the
+appointing power conferred by the Constitution upon the Executive, and
+for other reasons, which at this late period of the session time will
+not permit me to state, I herewith return it to the Senate, in which
+House it originated, without my approval.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+PROCLAMATIONS.
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas in the month of July, A.D. 1861, in accepting the condition
+of civil war which was brought about by insurrection and rebellion in
+several of the States which constitute the United States, the two Houses
+of Congress did solemnly declare that that war was not waged on the
+part of the Government in any spirit of oppression, nor for any purpose
+of conquest or subjugation, nor for any purpose of overthrowing or
+interfering with the rights or established institutions of the States,
+but only to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution of the
+United States and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality,
+and rights of the several States unimpaired, and that so soon as those
+objects should be accomplished the war on the part of the Government
+should cease; and
+
+Whereas the President of the United States has heretofore, in the spirit
+of that declaration and with the view of securing for it ultimate and
+complete effect, set forth several proclamations offering amnesty and
+pardon to persons who had been or were concerned in the aforenamed
+rebellion, which proclamations, however, were attended with prudential
+reservations and exceptions then deemed necessary and proper, and which
+proclamations were respectively issued on the 8th day of December, 1863,
+on the 26th day of March, 1864, on the 29th day of May, 1865, and on the
+7th day of September, 1867; and
+
+Whereas the said lamentable civil war has long since altogether ceased,
+with an acknowledgment by all the States of the supremacy of the Federal
+Constitution and of the Government thereunder, and there no longer
+exists any reasonable ground to apprehend a renewal of the said civil
+war, or any foreign interference, or any unlawful resistance by any
+portion of the people of any of the States to the Constitution and laws
+of the United States; and
+
+Whereas it is desirable to reduce the standing army and to bring to a
+speedy termination military occupation, martial law, military tribunals,
+abridgment of the freedom of speech and of the press, and suspension
+of the privilege of _habeas corpus_ and of the right of trial by jury,
+such encroachments upon our free institutions in time of peace being
+dangerous to public liberty, incompatible with the individual rights of
+the citizen, contrary to the genius and spirit of our republican form
+of government, and exhaustive of the national resources; and
+
+Whereas it is believed that amnesty and pardon will tend to secure a
+complete and universal establishment and prevalence of municipal law
+and order in conformity with the Constitution of the United States,
+and to remove all appearances or presumptions of a retaliatory or
+vindictive policy on the part of the Government attended by unnecessary
+disqualifications, pains, penalties, confiscations, and
+disfranchisements, and, on the contrary, to promote and procure complete
+fraternal reconciliation among the whole people, with due submission to
+the Constitution and laws:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of
+the United States, do, by virtue of the Constitution and in the
+name of the people of the United States, hereby proclaim and declare,
+unconditionally and without reservation, to all and to every person
+who, directly or indirectly, participated in the late insurrection or
+rebellion, excepting such person or persons as may be under presentment
+or indictment in any court of the United States having competent
+jurisdiction upon a charge of treason or other felony, a full pardon
+and amnesty for the offense of treason against the United States or of
+adhering to their enemies during the late civil war, with restoration of
+all rights of property, except as to slaves, and except also as to any
+property of which any person may have been legally divested under the
+laws of the United States.
+
+In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, the 4th day of July, A.D. 1868, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+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 Congress entitled "An act to admit the States of
+North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida
+to representation in Congress," passed on the 25th day of June, 1868,
+it is declared that it is made the duty of the President, within ten
+days after receiving official information of the ratification by the
+legislature of either of said States of a proposed amendment to the
+Constitution known as article fourteen, to issue a proclamation
+announcing that fact; and
+
+Whereas the said act seems to be prospective; and
+
+Whereas a paper purporting to be a resolution of the legislature of
+Florida adopting the amendment of the thirteenth and fourteenth articles
+of the Constitution of the United States was received at the Department
+of State on the 16th of June, 1868, prior to the passage of the act of
+Congress referred to, which paper is attested by the names of Horatio
+Jenkins, jr., as president _pro tempore_ of the senate, and W.W. Moore
+as speaker of the assembly, and of William L. Apthoop, as secretary of
+the senate, and William Forsyth Bynum, as clerk of the assembly, and
+which paper was transmitted to the Secretary of State in a letter dated
+Executive Office, Tallahassee, Fla., June 10, 1868, from Harrison Reed,
+who therein signs himself governor; and
+
+Whereas on the 6th day of July, 1868, a paper was received by the
+President, which paper, being addressed to the President, bears date of
+the 4th day of July, 1868, and was transmitted by and under the name of
+W.W. Holden, who therein writes himself governor of the State of North
+Carolina, which paper certifies that the said proposed amendment, known
+as article fourteen, did pass the senate and house of representatives of
+the general assembly of North Carolina on the 2d day of July instant,
+and is attested by the names of John H. Boner, or Bower, as secretary
+of the house of representatives, and T.A. Byrnes, as secretary of the
+senate; and its ratification on the 4th of July, 1868, is attested by
+Tod R. Caldwell, as lieutenant-governor, president of the senate, and
+Jo. W. Holden, as speaker house of representatives:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States of America, in compliance with and execution of the act of
+Congress aforesaid, do issue this proclamation, announcing the fact of
+the ratification of the said amendment by the legislature of the State
+of North Carolina in the manner hereinbefore set forth.
+
+In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+caused the seal of the United States to be hereto affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, this 11th day of July, A.D. 1868, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+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 Congress entitled "An act to admit the States of
+North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida
+to representation in Congress," passed the 25th day of June, 1868,
+it is declared that it is made the duty of the President, within ten
+days after receiving official information of the ratification by the
+legislature of either of said States of a proposed amendment to the
+Constitution known as article fourteen, to issue a proclamation
+announcing that fact; and
+
+Whereas on the 18th day of July, 1868, a letter was received by the
+President, which letter, being addressed to the President, bears date of
+July 15, 1868, and was transmitted by and under the name of R.K. Scott,
+who therein writes himself governor of South Carolina, in which letter
+was inclosed and received at the same time by the President a paper
+purporting to be a resolution of the senate and house of representatives
+of the general assembly of the State of South Carolina ratifying the
+said proposed amendment, and also purporting to have passed the two said
+houses, respectively, on the 7th and 9th of July, 1868, and to have been
+approved by the said R.K. Scott, as governor of said State, on the 15th
+of July, 1868, which circumstances are attested by the signatures of
+D.T. Corbin, as president _pro tempore_ of the senate, and of F.J.
+Moses, jr., as speaker of the house of representatives of said State,
+and of the said R.K. Scott, as governor:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States of America, in compliance with and execution of the act of
+Congress aforesaid, do issue this my proclamation, announcing the fact
+of the ratification of the said amendment by the legislature of the
+State of South Carolina in the manner hereinbefore set forth.
+
+In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+caused the seal of the United States to be hereto affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, this 18th day of July, A.D. 1868, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+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 Congress entitled "An act to admit the States of
+North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida
+to representation in Congress," passed on the 25th day of June, 1868,
+it is declared that it is made the duty of the President, within ten
+days after receiving official information of the ratification by the
+legislature of either of said States of a proposed amendment to the
+Constitution known as article fourteen, to issue a proclamation
+announcing that fact; and
+
+Whereas a paper was received at the Department of State on the 17th day
+of July, 1868, which paper, bearing date of the 9th day of July, 1868,
+purports to be a resolution of the senate and house of representatives
+of the State of Louisiana in general assembly convened ratifying the
+aforesaid amendment, and is attested by the signature of George E.
+Bovee, as secretary of state, under a seal purporting to be the seal
+of the State of Louisiana:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States of America, in compliance with and execution of the act of
+Congress before mentioned, do issue this my proclamation, announcing the
+fact of the ratification of the said amendment by the legislature of the
+State of Louisiana in the manner hereinbefore set forth.
+
+In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+caused the seal of the United States to be hereto affixed,
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, this 18th day of July, A.D. 1868, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+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 Congress entitled "An act to admit the States of
+North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida
+to representation in Congress," passed the 25th day of June, 1868,
+it is declared that it is made the duty of the President, within ten
+days after receiving official information of the ratification by the
+legislature of either of said States of a proposed amendment to the
+Constitution known as article fourteen, to issue a proclamation
+announcing that fact; and
+
+Whereas a letter was received this day by the President, which letter,
+being addressed to the President, bears date of July 16, 1868, and was
+transmitted by and under the name of William H. Smith, who therein
+writes himself governor of Alabama, in which letter was inclosed and
+received at the same time by the President a paper purporting to be a
+resolution of the senate and house of representatives of the general
+assembly of the State of Alabama ratifying the said proposed amendment,
+which paper is attested by the signature of Charles A. Miller, as
+secretary of state, under a seal purporting to be the seal of the State
+of Alabama, and bears the date of approval of July 13, 1868, by William
+H. Smith, as governor of said State:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States of America, in compliance with and execution of the act of
+Congress before mentioned, do issue this my proclamation, announcing the
+fact of the ratification of the said amendment by the legislature of the
+State of Alabama in the manner hereinbefore set forth.
+
+In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+caused the seal of the United States to be hereto affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, this 20th day of July, A.D. 1868, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+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 Congress entitled "An act to admit the States of
+North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida
+to representation in Congress," passed the 25th day of June, 1868,
+it is declared that it is made the duty of the President, within ten
+days after receiving official information of the ratification by the
+legislature of either of said States of a proposed amendment to the
+Constitution known as article fourteen, to issue a proclamation
+announcing that fact; and
+
+Whereas a paper was received at the Department of State this 27th day of
+July, 1868, purporting to be a joint resolution of the senate and house
+of representatives of the general assembly of the State of Georgia,
+ratifying the said proposed amendment and also purporting to have passed
+the two said houses, respectively, on the 21st of July, 1868, and to
+have been approved by Rufus B. Bullock, who therein signs himself
+governor of Georgia, which paper is also attested by the signatures of
+Benjamin Conley, as president of the senate, and R.L. McWhorters, as
+speaker of the house of representatives, and is further attested by the
+signatures of A.E. Marshall, as secretary of the senate, and M.A.
+Hardin, as clerk of the house of representatives:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States of America, in compliance with and execution of the act of
+Congress before mentioned, do issue this my proclamation, announcing the
+fact of the ratification of the said amendment by the legislature of the
+State of Georgia in the manner hereinbefore set forth.
+
+In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+caused the seal of the United States to be hereto affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, this 27th day of July, A.D. 1868, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+In the year which is now drawing to its end the art, the skill, and the
+labor of the people of the United States have been employed with greater
+diligence and vigor and on broader fields than ever before, and the
+fruits of the earth have been gathered into the granary and the
+storehouse in marvelous abundance. Our highways have been lengthened,
+and new and prolific regions have been occupied. We are permitted to
+hope that long-protracted political and sectional dissensions are at no
+distant day to give place to returning harmony and fraternal affection
+throughout the Republic. Many foreign states have entered into liberal
+agreements with us, while nations which are far off and which heretofore
+have been unsocial and exclusive have become our friends.
+
+The annual period of rest, which we have reached in health and
+tranquillity, and which is crowned with so many blessings, is by
+universal consent a convenient and suitable one for cultivating personal
+piety and practicing public devotion.
+
+I therefore recommend that Thursday, the 26th day of November next, be
+set apart and observed by all the people of the United States as a day
+for public praise, thanksgiving, and prayer to the Almighty Creator and
+Divine Ruler of the Universe, by whose ever-watchful, merciful, and
+gracious providence alone states and nations, no less than families and
+individual men, do live and move and have their being.
+
+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 October, A.D. 1868,
+and of the Independence of the United States the ninety-third.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+    _Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
+
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+EXECUTIVE ORDER.
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 17, 1867_.
+
+It is desired and advised that all communications in writing intended
+for the executive department of this Government and relating to public
+business of whatever kind, including suggestions for legislation,
+claims, contracts, employment, appointments, and removals from office,
+and pardons, be transmitted directly in the first instance to the head
+of the Department to which the care of the subject-matter of the
+communication properly belongs. This regulation has become necessary
+for the more convenient, punctual, and regular dispatch of the public
+business.
+
+By order of the President:
+
+WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
+
+_Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 104.
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, December 28, 1867_.
+
+By direction of the President of the United States, the following orders
+are made:
+
+I. Brevet Major-General E.O.C. Ord will turn over the command of the
+Fourth Military District to Brevet Major-General A.C. Gillem, and
+proceed to San Francisco, Cal., to take command of the Department of
+California.
+
+II. On being relieved by Brevet Major-General Ord, Brevet Major-General
+Irvin McDowell will proceed to Vicksburg, Miss., and relieve General
+Gillem in command of the Fourth Military District.
+
+III. Brevet Major-General John Pope is hereby relieved of the command
+of the Third Military District, and will report without delay at the
+Headquarters of the Army for further orders, turning over his command
+to the next senior officer until the arrival of his successor.
+
+IV. Major-General George G. Meade is assigned to the command of
+the Third Military District, and will assume it without delay. The
+Department of the East will be commanded by the senior officer now
+on duty in it until a commander is named by the President.
+
+V. The officers assigned in the foregoing orders to command of military
+districts will exercise therein any and all powers conferred by acts of
+Congress upon district commanders, and also any and all powers
+pertaining to military-department commanders.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 10.
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, February 12, 1868_.
+
+The following orders are published for the information and guidance of
+all concerned:
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., February 12, 1868_.
+
+General U.S. GRANT,
+
+_Commanding Armies of the United States, Washington, D.C._
+
+GENERAL: You will please issue an order creating a military division, to
+be called the Military Division of the Atlantic, to be composed of the
+Department of the Lakes, the Department of the East, and the Department
+of Washington, and to be commanded by Lieutenant-General William T.
+Sherman, with his headquarters at Washington.
+
+Until further orders from the President, you will assign no officer to
+the permanent command of the Military Division of the Missouri.
+
+Respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+Major-General P.H. Sheridan, the senior officer in the Military Division
+of the Missouri, will temporarily perform the duties of commander of the
+Military Division of the Missouri, in addition to his duties of department
+commander.
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868_.
+
+Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+_Washington, D.C._
+
+SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by
+the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby removed
+from office as Secretary for the Department of War, and your functions
+as such will terminate upon the receipt of this communication.
+
+You will transfer to Brevet Major-General Lorenzo Thomas,
+Adjutant-General of the Army, who has this day been authorized and
+empowered to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, all records, books,
+papers, and other public property now in your custody and charge.
+
+Respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868_.
+
+Brevet Major-General LORENZO THOMAS,
+
+_Adjutant-General United States Army, Washington, D.C._
+
+SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day removed from office
+as Secretary for the Department of War, you are hereby authorized and
+empowered to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, and will immediately
+enter upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office.
+
+Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all the records,
+books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and charge.
+
+Respectfully, yours,
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 17.
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, March 28, 1868_.
+
+By direction of the President of the United States, Major-General W.S.
+Hancock is relieved from command of the Fifth Military District and
+assigned to command of the Military Division of the Atlantic, created
+by General Orders, No. 10, of February 12, 1868.
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., May 28, 1868_.
+
+The chairman of the committee of arrangements having requested that
+an opportunity may be given to those employed in the several Executive
+Departments of the Government to unite with their fellow-citizens in
+paying a fitting tribute to the memory of the brave men whose remains
+repose in the national cemeteries, the President directs that as far as
+may be consistent with law and the public interests persons who desire
+to participate in the ceremonies be permitted to absent themselves from
+their duties on Saturday, the 30th instant.
+
+By order of the President:
+
+WM. G. MOORE,
+
+_Secretary_.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+_Washington, D.C., June 1, 1868_.
+
+Major-General John M. Schofield having been appointed, by and with the
+advice and consent of the Senate, Secretary for the Department of War,
+is hereby relieved from the command of the First Military District,
+created by the act of Congress passed March 2, 1867.
+
+Brevet Major-General George Stoneman is hereby assigned, according
+to his brevet rank of major-general, to the command of the said First
+District and of the Military Department of Virginia.
+
+The Secretary of War will please give the necessary instructions to
+carry this order into effect.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 25.
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, June 1, 1868_.
+
+I. The following order of the President has been received from the War
+Department:
+
+WASHINGTON, _June 2, 1868_.
+
+The President with deep regret announces to the people of the United
+States the decease, at Wheatland, Pa., on the 1st instant, of his
+honored predecessor James Buchanan.
+
+This event will occasion mourning in the nation for the loss of an
+eminent citizen and honored public servant.
+
+As a mark of respect for his memory, it is ordered that the Executive
+Departments be immediately placed in mourning and all business be
+suspended on the day of the funeral.
+
+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.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+II. In compliance with the instructions of the President and of the
+Secretary of War, on the day after the receipt of this order at each
+military post the troops will be paraded at 10 o'clock a.m. and the
+order read to them, after which all labors, for the day will cease.
+
+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-seven 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 command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+
+SPECIAL ORDER.
+
+
+NAVY DEPARTMENT,
+
+_Washington, June 3, 1868_.
+
+The death of ex-President James Buchanan 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 be fired at each of the navy-yards and naval stations on
+Thursday, the 4th instant, the day designated for the funeral of the
+late ex-President Buchanan, commencing at noon, and on board the
+flagships in each squadron upon the day after the receipt of this order.
+The flags at the several navy-yards, naval stations, and marine barracks
+will be placed at half-mast until after the funeral, and on board all
+naval vessels in commission upon the day after this order is received.
+
+GIDEON WELLES,
+
+_Secretary of the Navy_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 33.
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, June 30, 1868_.
+
+By direction of the President of the United States, the following orders
+are made:
+
+I. Brevet Major-General Irvin McDowell is relieved from the command of
+the Fourth Military District, and will report in person, without delay,
+at the War Department.
+
+II. Brevet Major-General Alvan C. Gillem is assigned to the command of
+the Fourth Military District, and will assume it without delay.
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No 44.
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, July 13, 1868_.
+
+By direction of the President, Brigadier and Brevet Major-General Irvin
+McDowell is assigned to the command of the Department of the East.
+
+The headquarters of the department will be transferred from Philadelphia
+to New York City.
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 55.
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, July 28, 1868_.
+
+The following orders from the War Department, which have been approved
+by the President, are published for the information and government of
+the Army and of all concerned:
+
+The commanding generals of the Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Military
+Districts having officially reported that the States of Arkansas, North
+Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida have
+fully complied with the acts of Congress known as the reconstruction
+acts, including the act passed June 22, 1868, entitled "An act to admit
+the State of Arkansas to representation in Congress," and the act passed
+June 25, 1868, entitled "An act to admit the States of North Carolina,
+South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida to
+representation in Congress," and that, consequently, so much of the act
+of March 2, 1867, and the acts supplementary thereto as provides for the
+organization of military districts, subject to the military authority of
+the United States, as therein provided, has become inoperative in said
+States, and that the commanding generals have ceased to exercise in said
+States the military powers conferred by said acts of Congress: Therefore
+the following changes will be made in the organization and command of
+military districts and geographical departments:
+
+I. The Second and Third Military Districts having ceased to exist, the
+States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida
+will constitute the Department of the South, Major-General George G.
+Meade to command. Headquarters at Atlanta, Ga.
+
+II. The Fourth Military District will now consist only of the State of
+Mississippi, and will continue to be commanded by Brevet Major-General
+A.C. Gillem.
+
+III. The Fifth Military District will now consist of the State of Texas,
+and will be commanded by Brevet Major-General J.J. Reynolds.
+Headquarters at Austin, Tex.
+
+IV. The States of Louisiana and Arkansas will constitute the Department
+of Louisiana, Brevet Major-General L.H. Rousseau is assigned to the
+command. Headquarters at New Orleans, La. Until the arrival of General
+Rousseau at New Orleans, Brevet Major-General Buchanan will command the
+Department.
+
+V. Brevet Major-General George Crook is assigned, according to his
+brevet of major-general, to command the Department of the Columbia,
+in place of Rousseau, relieved.
+
+VI. Brevet Major-General E.R.S. Canby is reassigned to command the
+Department of Washington.
+
+       *        *        *        *        *
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+Under and in pursuance of the authority vested in the President of the
+United States by the provisions of the second section of the act of
+Congress approved on the 27th day of July, 1868, entitled "An act to
+extend the laws of the United States relating to customs, commerce, and
+navigation over the territory ceded to the United States by Russia, to
+establish a collection district therein, and for other purposes," the
+port of Sitka, in said Territory, is hereby constituted and established
+as the port of entry for the collection district of Alaska provided for
+by said act; and under and in pursuance of the authority vested in him
+by the fourth section of said act the importation and use of firearms,
+ammunition, and distilled spirits into and within the said Territory,
+or any portion thereof, except as hereinafter provided, is entirely
+prohibited, under the pains and penalties specified in said last-named
+section; _Provided, however_, That under such regulations as the
+Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe, in accordance with law, such
+articles may, in limited quantities, be shipped coastwise from United
+States ports on the Pacific coast to said port of Sitka, and to that
+port only in said Territory, on the shipper giving bonds to the
+collector of customs at the port of shipment, conditioned that such
+articles will on their arrival at Sitka be delivered to the collector of
+customs, or the person there acting as such, to remain in his possession
+and under his control until sold or disposed of to such persons as
+the military or other chief authority in said Territory may specially
+designate in permits for that purpose signed by himself or a subordinate
+duly authorized by him.
+
+Done at the city of Washington, this 22d day of August, A.D. 1868,
+and of the Independence of the United States the ninety-third.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON,
+
+_President_.
+
+
+
+SPECIAL ORDERS, ORDERS, No. 219.
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, September 12, 1868_.
+
+       *        *        *        *        *
+
+18. By direction of the President, Brevet Major-General L.H. Rousseau,
+brigadier-general, commanding Department of Louisiana, is hereby
+assigned to duty according to his brevet rank of major-general. This
+order to take effect when General Rousseau assumes command.
+
+19. By direction of the President, paragraph 12 of Special Orders, No.
+70, May 23, 1868, from this office, assigning Brevet Major-General R.C.
+Buchanan, colonel First United States Infantry, to duty according to
+his brevet rank of major-general, is hereby revoked, and he is hereby
+assigned to duty according to his brevet rank of brigadier-general,
+in order that he may command the District of Louisiana. This order to
+take effect when General Rousseau assumes command of the Department of
+Louisiana.
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+J.C. KELTON,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+GENERAL ORDERS, No. 82.
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
+
+ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+
+_Washington, October 10, 1868_.
+
+The following order has been received from the President, and by his
+direction is published to the Army:
+
+The following provisions from the Constitution and laws of the United
+States in relation to the election of a President and Vice-President
+of the United States, together with an act of Congress prohibiting all
+persons engaged in the military and naval service from interfering in
+any general or special election in any State, are published for the
+information and government of all concerned:
+
+[Extract from Article II, section 1, Constitution of the United States.]
+
+  The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States
+  of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years,
+  and, together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be
+  elected as follows:
+
+  Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may
+  direct, a number of electors equal to the whole number of Senators and
+  Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress; but
+  no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or
+  profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector.
+
+
+[Extract from Article XII, amendment to the Constitution of the United
+States.]
+
+  The electors shall meet in their respective States and vote by ballot
+  for President and Vice-President, one of whom at least shall not be an
+  inhabitant of the same State with themselves. They shall name in their
+  ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the
+  person voted for as Vice-President; and they shall make distinct lists
+  of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as
+  Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they
+  shall sign and certify and transmit sealed to the seat of the Government
+  of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The
+  President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House
+  of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then
+  be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes for President
+  shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number
+  of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from
+  the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three, on the list
+  of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall
+  choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the
+  President the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from
+  each State having one vote. A quorum for this purpose shall consist of
+  a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of
+  all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of
+  Representatives shall not choose a President, whenever the right of
+  choice shall devolve upon them, before the 4th day of March next
+  following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the
+  case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.
+
+[Extract from "An act relative to the election of a President and
+Vice-President of the United States, and declaring the officer who shall
+act as President in case of vacancies in the offices both of President
+and Vice-President," approved March 1, 1792.]
+
+  Sec. 1. _Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
+  of the United States of America in Congress assembled_, That * * *
+  electors shall be appointed in each State for the election of a
+  President and Vice-President of the United States * * * in every
+  fourth year succeeding the last election, which electors shall be
+  equal to the number of Senators and Representatives to which the
+  several States may by law be entitled at the time when the President
+  and Vice-President thus to be chosen should come into office:
+  _Provided always_, That where no apportionment of Representatives
+  shall have been made after any enumeration at the time of choosing
+  electors, then the number of electors shall be according to the
+  existing apportionment of Senators and Representatives.
+
+["An act to establish a uniform time for holding elections for electors
+of President and Vice-President in all the States of the Union,"
+approved January 23, 1845.]
+
+  _Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
+  States of America in Congress assembled_, That the electors of President
+  and Vice-President shall be appointed in each State on the Tuesday next
+  after the first Monday in the month of November of the year in which
+  they are to be appointed: _Provided_, That each State may by law provide
+  for the filling of any vacancy or vacancies which may occur in its
+  college of electors when such college meets to give its electoral vote:
+  _And provided also_, When any State shall have held an election for the
+  purpose of choosing electors, and shall fail to make a choice on the day
+  aforesaid, then the electors may be appointed on a subsequent day in
+  such manner as the State shall by law provide.
+
+[Extracts from "An act relative to the election of a President and
+Vice-President of the United States, and declaring the officer who shall
+act as President in case of vacancies in the offices both of President
+and Vice-President," approved March 1, 1792.]
+
+  Sec. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That the electors shall meet and
+  give their votes on the said first Wednesday in December, at such place
+  in each State as shall be directed by the legislature thereof; and the
+  electors in each State shall make and sign three certificates of all the
+  votes by them given, and shall seal up the same, certifying on each that
+  a list of the votes of such State for President and Vice-President is
+  contained therein, and shall, by writing under their hands or under the
+  hands of a majority of them, appoint a person to take charge of and
+  deliver to the President of the Senate, at the seat of Government,
+  before the first Wednesday in January then next ensuing, one of the said
+  certificates; and the said electors shall forthwith forward by the
+  post-office to the President of the Senate, at the seat of Government,
+  one other of the said certificates, and shall forthwith cause the other
+  of the said certificates to be delivered to the judge of that district
+  in which the said electors shall assemble.
+
+  Sec. 3. _And be it further enacted_, That the executive authority of
+  each State shall cause three lists of the names of the electors of such
+  State to be made and certified, and to be delivered to the electors on
+  or before the said first Wednesday in December, and the said electors
+  shall annex one of the said lists to each of the lists of their votes.
+
+  Sec. 4. _And be it further enacted_, That if a list of votes from any
+  State shall not have been received at the seat of Government on the said
+  first Wednesday in January, that then the Secretary of State shall send
+  a special messenger to the district judge in whose custody such list
+  shall have been lodged, who shall forthwith transmit the same to the
+  seat of Government.
+
+  Sec. 5. _And be it further enacted_, That Congress shall be in session
+  on the second Wednesday in February, 1793, and on the second Wednesday
+  in February succeeding every meeting of the electors, and the said
+  certificates, or so many of them as shall have been received, shall then
+  be opened, the votes counted, and the persons who shall fill the offices
+  of President and Vice-President ascertained and declared agreeably to
+  the Constitution.
+
+  Sec. 6. _And be it further enacted_, That in case there shall be no
+  President of the Senate at the seat of Government on the arrival of the
+  persons intrusted with the list of the votes of the electors, then such
+  persons shall deliver the lists of votes in their custody into the
+  office of the Secretary of State, to be safely kept and delivered over
+  as soon as may be to the President of the Senate.
+
+       *        *        *        *        *
+
+  Sec. 8. _And be it further enacted_, That if any person appointed to
+  deliver the votes of the electors to the President of the Senate shall,
+  after accepting of his appointment, neglect to perform the services
+  required of him by this act, he shall forfeit the sum of $1,000.
+
+[Extract from "An act making compensation to the persons appointed by
+the electors to deliver the votes for President and Vice-President,"
+approved February 11, 1825.]
+
+  _Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
+  States of America in Congress assembled_, That the person appointed by
+  the electors to deliver to the President of the Senate a list of the
+  votes for President and Vice-President shall be allowed, on delivery of
+  said list, 25 cents for every mile of the estimated distance by the most
+  usual route from the place of meeting of the electors to the seat of
+  Government of the United States, going and returning.
+
+[Extract from "An act relative to the election of a President and
+Vice-President of the United States, and declaring the officer who shall
+act as President in case of vacancies in the offices both of President
+and Vice-President," approved March 1, 1792.]
+
+  Sec. 12. _And be it further enacted_, That the term of four years for
+  which a President and Vice-President shall be elected shall in all cases
+  commence on the 4th day of March next succeeding the day on which the
+  votes of the electors shall have been given.
+
+["An act to prevent officers of the Army and Navy, and other persons
+engaged in the military and naval service of the United States, from
+interfering in elections in the States," approved February 25, 1865.]
+
+  _Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
+  States of America in Congress assembled_, That it shall not be lawful
+  for any military or naval officer of the United States, or other person
+  engaged in the civil, military, or naval service of the United States,
+  to order, bring, keep, or have under his authority or control any troops
+  or armed men at the place where any general or special election is
+  held in any State of the United States of America, unless it shall be
+  necessary to repel the armed enemies of the United States or to keep the
+  peace at the polls. And that it shall not be lawful for any officer of
+  the Army or Navy of the United States to prescribe or fix, or attempt
+  to prescribe or fix, by proclamation, order, or otherwise, the
+  qualifications of voters in any State of the United States of America,
+  or in any manner to interfere with the freedom of any election in any
+  State or with the exercise of the free right of suffrage in any State of
+  the United States. Any officer of the Army or Navy of the United States,
+  or other person engaged in the civil, military, or naval service of the
+  United States, who violates this section of this act shall for every
+  such offense be liable to indictment as for a misdemeanor in any court
+  of the United States having jurisdiction to hear, try, and determine
+  cases of misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall pay a fine not
+  exceeding $5,000 and suffer imprisonment in the penitentiary not less
+  than three months nor more than five years, at the discretion of the
+  court trying the same; and any person convicted as aforesaid shall,
+  moreover, be disqualified from holding any office of honor, profit,
+  or trust under the Government of the United States: _Provided_, That
+  nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent any
+  officers, soldiers, sailors, or marines from exercising the right of
+  suffrage in any election district to which he may belong, if otherwise
+  qualified according to the laws of the State in which he shall offer
+  to vote.
+
+  Sec. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That any officer or person in
+  the military or naval service of the United States who shall order or
+  advise, or who shall, directly or indirectly, by force, threat, menace,
+  intimidation, or otherwise, prevent or attempt to prevent any qualified
+  voter of any State of the United States of America from freely
+  exercising the right of suffrage at any general or special election
+  in any State of the United States, or who shall in like manner compel
+  or attempt to compel any officer of an election in any such State to
+  receive a vote from a person not legally qualified to vote, or who shall
+  impose or attempt to impose any rules or regulations for conducting such
+  election different from those prescribed by law, or interfere in any
+  manner with any officer of said election in the discharge of his duties,
+  shall for any such offense be liable to indictment as for a misdemeanor
+  in any court of the United States having jurisdiction to hear, try, and
+  determine cases of misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall pay a
+  fine of not exceeding $5,000 and suffer imprisonment in the penitentiary
+  not exceeding five years, at the discretion of the court trying the
+  same; and any person convicted as aforesaid shall, moreover, be
+  disqualified from holding any office of honor, profit, or trust under
+  the Government of the United States.
+
+By command of General Grant:
+
+E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+
+WAR DEPARTMENT,
+_Washington City, November 4, 1868_.
+
+By direction of the President, Brevet Major-General E.R.S. Canby is
+hereby assigned to the command of the Fifth Military District, created
+by the act of Congress of March 2, 1867, and of the Military Department
+of Texas, consisting of the State of Texas. He will, without unnecessary
+delay, turn over his present command to the next officer in rank and
+proceed to the command to which he is hereby assigned, and on assuming
+the same will, when necessary to a faithful execution of the laws,
+exercise any and all powers conferred by acts of Congress upon district
+commanders and any and all authority pertaining to officers in command
+of military departments.
+
+Brevet Major-General J.J. Reynolds is hereby relieved from the command
+of the Fifth Military District.
+
+J.M. SCHOFIELD,
+
+_Secretary of War_.
+
+
+
+
+FOURTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 9, 1868_.
+
+_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+Upon the reassembling of Congress it again becomes my duty to call your
+attention to the state of the Union and to its continued disorganized
+condition under the various laws which have been passed upon the subject
+of reconstruction.
+
+It may be safely assumed as an axiom in the government of states that
+the greatest wrongs inflicted upon a people are caused by unjust and
+arbitrary legislation, or by the unrelenting decrees of despotic rulers,
+and that the timely revocation of injurious and oppressive measures is
+the greatest good that can be conferred upon a nation. The legislator or
+ruler who has the wisdom and magnanimity to retrace his steps when
+convinced of error will sooner or later be rewarded with the respect and
+gratitude of an intelligent and patriotic people.
+
+Our own history, although embracing a period less than a century,
+affords abundant proof that most, if not all, of our domestic troubles
+are directly traceable to violations of the organic law and excessive
+legislation. The most striking illustrations of this fact are furnished
+by the enactments of the past three years upon the question of
+reconstruction. After a fair trial they have substantially failed and
+proved pernicious in their results, and there seems to be no good reason
+why they should longer remain upon the statute book. States to which the
+Constitution guarantees a republican form of government have been
+reduced to military dependencies, in each of which the people have been
+made subject to the arbitrary will of the commanding general. Although
+the Constitution requires that each State shall be represented in
+Congress, Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas are yet excluded from the
+two Houses, and, contrary to the express provisions of that instrument,
+were denied participation in the recent election for a President and
+Vice-President of the United States. The attempt to place the white
+population under the domination of persons of color in the South has
+impaired, if not destroyed, the kindly relations that had previously
+existed between them; and mutual distrust has engendered a feeling of
+animosity which, leading in some instances to collision and bloodshed,
+has prevented that cooperation between the two races so essential to the
+success of industrial enterprise in the Southern States. Nor have the
+inhabitants of those States alone suffered from the disturbed condition
+of affairs growing out of these Congressional enactments. The entire
+Union has been agitated by grave apprehensions of troubles which might
+again involve the peace of the nation; its interests have been
+injuriously affected by the derangement of business and labor, and the
+consequent want of prosperity throughout that portion of the country.
+
+The Federal Constitution--the _magna charta_ of American rights, under
+whose wise and salutary provisions we have successfully conducted all
+our domestic and foreign affairs, sustained ourselves in peace and in
+war, and become a great nation among the powers of the earth--must
+assuredly be now adequate to the settlement of questions growing out of
+the civil war, waged alone for its vindication. This great fact is made
+most manifest by the condition of the country when Congress assembled in
+the month of December, 1865. Civil strife had ceased, the spirit of
+rebellion had spent its entire force, in the Southern States the people
+had warmed into national life, and throughout the whole country a
+healthy reaction in public sentiment had taken place. By the application
+of the simple yet effective provisions of the Constitution the executive
+department, with the voluntary aid of the States, had brought the work
+of restoration as near completion as was within the scope of its
+authority, and the nation was encouraged by the prospect of an early
+and satisfactory adjustment of all its difficulties. Congress, however,
+intervened, and, refusing to perfect the work so nearly consummated,
+declined to admit members from the unrepresented States, adopted
+a series of measures which arrested the progress of restoration,
+frustrated all that had been so successfully accomplished, and, after
+three years of agitation and strife, has left the country further from
+the attainment of union and fraternal feeling than at the inception of
+the Congressional plan of reconstruction. It needs no argument to show
+that legislation which has produced such baneful consequences should
+be abrogated, or else made to conform to the genuine principles of
+republican government.
+
+Under the influence of party passion and sectional prejudice, other acts
+have been passed not warranted by the Constitution. Congress has already
+been made familiar with my views respecting the "tenure-of-office bill."
+Experience has proved that its repeal is demanded by the best interests
+of the country, and that while it remains in force the President can not
+enjoin that rigid accountability of public officers so essential to an
+honest and efficient execution of the laws. Its revocation would enable
+the executive department to exercise the power of appointment and
+removal in accordance with the original design of the Federal
+Constitution.
+
+The act of March 2, 1867, making appropriations for the support of the
+Army for the year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes, contains
+provisions which interfere with the President's constitutional functions
+as Commander in Chief of the Army and deny to States of the Union
+the right to protect themselves by means of their own militia. These
+provisions should be at once annulled; for while the first might, in
+times of great emergency, seriously embarrass the Executive in efforts
+to employ and direct the common strength of the nation for its
+protection and preservation, the other is contrary to the express
+declaration of the Constitution that "a well-regulated militia being
+necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to
+keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
+
+It is believed that the repeal of all such laws would be accepted by
+the American people as at least a partial return to the fundamental
+principles of the Government, and an indication that hereafter the
+Constitution is to be made the nation's safe and unerring guide. They
+can be productive of no permanent benefit to the country, and should not
+be permitted to stand as so many monuments of the deficient wisdom which
+has characterized our recent legislation.
+
+The condition of our finances demands the early and earnest
+consideration of Congress. Compared with the growth of our population,
+the public expenditures have reached an amount unprecedented in our
+history.
+
+The population of the United States in 1790 was nearly 4,000,000 people.
+Increasing each decade about 33 per cent, it reached in 1860 31,000,000,
+an increase of 700 per cent on the population in 1790. In 1869 it is
+estimated that it will reach 38,000,000, or an increase of 868 per cent
+in seventy-nine years.
+
+The annual expenditures of the Federal Government in 1791 were
+$4,200,000; in 1820, $13,200,000; in 1850, forty-one millions; in 1860,
+sixty-three millions; in 1865, nearly thirteen hundred millions; and
+in 1869 it is estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury, in his last
+annual report, that they will be three hundred and seventy-two millions.
+
+By comparing the public disbursements of 1869, as estimated, with those
+of 1791, it will be seen that the increase of expenditure since the
+beginning of the Government has been 8,618 per cent, while the increase
+of the population for the same period was only 868 per cent. Again,
+the expenses of the Government in 1860, the year of peace immediately
+preceding the war, were only sixty-three millions, while in 1869, the
+year of peace three years after the war, it is estimated they will be
+three hundred and seventy-two millions, an increase of 489 per cent,
+while the increase of population was only 21 per cent for the same
+period.
+
+These statistics further show that in 1791 the annual national expenses,
+compared with the population, were little more than $1 per capita, and
+in 1860 but $2 per capita; while in 1869 they will reach the extravagant
+sum of $9.78 per capita.
+
+It will be observed that all these statements refer to and exhibit the
+disbursements of peace periods. It may, therefore, be of interest to
+compare the expenditures of the three war periods--the war with Great
+Britain, the Mexican War, and the War of the Rebellion.
+
+In 1814 the annual expenses incident to the War of 1812 reached their
+highest amount--about thirty-one millions--while our population slightly
+exceeded 8,000,000, showing an expenditure of only $3.80 per capita.
+In 1847 the expenditures growing out of the war with Mexico reached
+fifty-five millions, and the population about 21,000,000, giving only
+$2.60 per capita for the war expenses of that year. In 1865 the
+expenditures called for by the rebellion reached the vast amount of
+twelve hundred and ninety millions, which, compared with a population
+of 34,000,000, gives $38.20 per capita.
+
+From the 4th day of March, 1789, to the 30th of June, 1861, the entire
+expenditures of the Government were $1,700,000,000. During that period
+we were engaged in wars with Great Britain and Mexico, and were involved
+in hostilities with powerful Indian tribes; Louisiana was purchased from
+France at a cost of $15,000,000; Florida was ceded to us by Spain for
+five millions; California was acquired from Mexico for fifteen millions,
+and the territory of New Mexico was obtained from Texas for the sum of
+ten millions. Early in 1861 the War of the Rebellion commenced; and
+from the 1st of July of that year to the 30th of June, 1865, the public
+expenditures reached the enormous aggregate of thirty-three hundred
+millions. Three years of peace have intervened, and during that time the
+disbursements of the Government have successively been five hundred and
+twenty millions, three hundred and forty-six millions, and three hundred
+and ninety-three millions. Adding to these amounts three hundred and
+seventy-two millions, estimated as necessary for the fiscal year ending
+the 30th of June, 1869, we obtain a total expenditure of $1,600,000,000
+during the four years immediately succeeding the war, or nearly as much
+as was expended during the seventy-two years that preceded the rebellion
+and embraced the extraordinary expenditures already named.
+
+These startling facts clearly illustrate the necessity of
+retrenchment in all branches of the public service. Abuses which were
+tolerated during the war for the preservation of the nation will not be
+endured by the people, now that profound peace prevails. The receipts
+from internal revenues and customs have during the past three years
+gradually diminished, and the continuance of useless and extravagant
+expenditures will involve us in national bankruptcy, or else make
+inevitable an increase of taxes, already too onerous and in many
+respects obnoxious on account of their inquisitorial character. One
+hundred millions annually are expended for the military force, a large
+portion of which is employed in the execution of laws both unnecessary
+and unconstitutional; one hundred and fifty millions are required each
+year to pay the interest on the public debt; an army of taxgatherers
+impoverishes the nation, and public agents, placed by Congress beyond
+the control of the Executive, divert from their legitimate purposes
+large sums of money which they collect from the people in the name of
+the Government. Judicious legislation and prudent economy can alone
+remedy defects and avert evils which, if suffered to exist, can not fail
+to diminish confidence in the public councils and weaken the attachment
+and respect of the people toward their political institutions. Without
+proper care the small balance which it is estimated will remain in the
+Treasury at the close of the present fiscal year will not be realized,
+and additional millions be added to a debt which is now enumerated by
+billions.
+
+It is shown by the able and comprehensive report of the Secretary of
+the Treasury that the receipts for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868,
+were $405,638,083, and that the expenditures for the same period were
+$377,340,284, leaving in the Treasury a surplus of $28,297,798. It is
+estimated that the receipts during the present fiscal year, ending June
+30, 1869, will be $341,392,868 and the expenditures $336,152,470,
+showing a small balance of $5,240,398 in favor of the Government. For
+the fiscal year ending June 30, 1870, it is estimated that the receipts
+will amount to $327,000,000 and the expenditures to $303,000,000,
+leaving an estimated surplus of $24,000,000.
+
+It becomes proper in this connection to make a brief reference to our
+public indebtedness, which has accumulated with such alarming rapidity
+and assumed such colossal proportions.
+
+In 1789, when the Government commenced operations under the Federal
+Constitution, it was burdened with an indebtedness of $75,000,000,
+created during the War of the Revolution. This amount had been reduced
+to $45,000,000 when, in 1812, war was declared against Great Britain.
+The three years' struggle that followed largely increased the national
+obligations, and in 1816 they had attained the sum of $127,000,000. Wise
+and economical legislation, however, enabled the Government to pay the
+entire amount within a period of twenty years, and the extinguishment
+of the national debt filled the land with rejoicing and was one of the
+great events of President Jackson's Administration. After its redemption
+a large fund remained in the Treasury, which was deposited for
+safe-keeping with the several States, on condition that it should be
+returned when required by the public wants. In 1849--the year after the
+termination of an expensive war with Mexico--we found ourselves involved
+in a debt of $64,000,000; and this was the amount owed by the Government
+in 1860, just prior to the outbreak of the rebellion. In the spring of
+1861 our civil war commenced. Each year of its continuance made an
+enormous addition to the debt; and when, in the spring of 1865, the
+nation successfully emerged from the conflict, the obligations of the
+Government had reached the immense sum of $2,873,992,909. The Secretary
+of the Treasury shows that on the 1st day of November, 1867, this amount
+had been reduced to $2,491,504,450; but at the same time his report
+exhibits an increase during the past year of $35,625,102, for the debt
+on the 1st day of November last is stated to have been $2,527,129,552.
+It is estimated by the Secretary that the returns for the past month
+will add to our liabilities the further sum of $11,000,000, making a
+total increase during thirteen months of $46,500,000.
+
+In my message to Congress December 4, 1865, it was suggested that a
+policy should be devised which, without being oppressive to the people,
+would at once begin to effect a reduction of the debt, and, if persisted
+in, discharge it fully within a definite number of years. The Secretary
+of the Treasury forcibly recommends legislation of this character,
+and justly urges that the longer it is deferred the more difficult
+must become its accomplishment. We should follow the wise precedents
+established in 1789 and 1816, and without further delay make provision
+for the payment of our obligations at as early a period as may be
+practicable. The fruits of their labors should be enjoyed by our
+citizens rather than used to build up and sustain moneyed monopolies in
+our own and other lands. Our foreign debt is already computed by the
+Secretary of the Treasury at $850,000,000; citizens of foreign countries
+receive interest upon a large portion of our securities, and American
+taxpayers are made to contribute large sums for their support. The idea
+that such a debt is to become permanent should be at all times discarded
+as involving taxation too heavy to be borne, and payment once in every
+sixteen years, at the present rate of interest, of an amount equal to
+the original sum. This vast debt, if permitted to become permanent and
+increasing, must eventually be gathered into the hands of a few, and
+enable them to exert a dangerous and controlling power in the affairs of
+the Government. The borrowers would become servants to the lenders, the
+lenders the masters of the people. We now pride ourselves upon having
+given freedom to 4,000,000 of the colored race; it will then be our
+shame that 40,000,000 of people, by their own toleration of usurpation
+and profligacy, have suffered themselves to become enslaved, and merely
+exchanged slave owners for new taskmasters in the shape of bondholders
+and taxgatherers. Besides, permanent debts pertain to monarchical
+governments, and, tending to monopolies, perpetuities, and class
+legislation, are totally irreconcilable with free institutions.
+Introduced into our republican system, they would gradually but surely
+sap its foundations, eventually subvert our governmental fabric, and
+erect upon its ruins a moneyed aristocracy. It is our sacred duty to
+transmit unimpaired to our posterity the blessings of liberty which were
+bequeathed to us by the founders of the Republic, and by our example
+teach those who are to follow us carefully to avoid the dangers which
+threaten a free and independent people.
+
+Various plans have been proposed for the payment of the public debt.
+However they may have varied as to the time and mode in which it should
+be redeemed, there seems to be a general concurrence as to the propriety
+and justness of a reduction in the present rate of interest. The
+Secretary of the Treasury in his report recommends 5 per cent; Congress,
+in a bill passed prior to adjournment on the 27th of July last, agreed
+upon 4 and 4-1/2 per cent; while by many 3 per cent has been held to be
+an amply sufficient return for the investment. The general impression as
+to the exorbitancy of the existing rate of interest has led to an
+inquiry in the public mind respecting the consideration which the
+Government has actually received for its bonds, and the conclusion is
+becoming prevalent that the amount which it obtained was in real money
+three or four hundred per cent less than the obligations which it issued
+in return. It can not be denied that we are paying an extravagant
+percentage for the use of the money borrowed, which was paper currency,
+greatly depreciated below the value of coin. This fact is made apparent
+when we consider that bondholders receive from the Treasury upon each
+dollar they own in Government securities 6 per cent in gold, which is
+nearly or quite equal to 9 per cent in currency; that the bonds are
+then converted into capital for the national banks, upon which those
+institutions issue their circulation, bearing 6 per cent interest; and
+that they are exempt from taxation by the Government and the States, and
+thereby enhanced 2 per cent in the hands of the holders. We thus have an
+aggregate of 17 per cent which may be received upon each dollar by the
+owners of Government securities. A system that produces such results is
+justly regarded as favoring a few at the expense of the many, and has
+led to the further inquiry whether our bondholders, in view of the
+large profits which they have enjoyed, would themselves be averse to
+a settlement of our indebtedness upon a plan which would yield them a
+fair remuneration and at the same time be just to the taxpayers of the
+nation. Our national credit should be sacredly observed, but in making
+provision for our creditors we should not forget what is due to the
+masses of the people. It may be assumed that the holders of our
+securities have already received upon their bonds a larger amount than
+their original investment, measured by a gold standard. Upon this
+statement of facts it would seem but just and equitable that the 6 per
+cent interest now paid by the Government should be applied to the
+reduction of the principal in semiannual installments, which in sixteen
+years and eight months would liquidate the entire national debt. Six per
+cent in gold would at present rates be equal to 9 per cent in currency,
+and equivalent to the payment of the debt one and a half times in a
+fraction less than seventeen years. This, in connection with all the
+other advantages derived from their investment, would afford to the
+public creditors a fair and liberal compensation for the use of their
+capital, and with this they should be satisfied. The lessons of the past
+admonish the lender that it is not well to be overanxious in exacting
+from the borrower rigid compliance with the letter of the bond.
+
+If provision be made for the payment of the indebtedness of the
+Government in the manner suggested, our nation will rapidly recover its
+wonted prosperity. Its interests require that some measure should be
+taken to release the large amount of capital invested in the securities
+of the Government. It is not now merely unproductive, but in taxation
+annually consumes $150,000,000, which would otherwise be used by our
+enterprising people in adding to the wealth of the nation. Our commerce,
+which at one time successfully rivaled that of the great maritime
+powers, has, rapidly diminished, and our industrial interests are
+in a depressed and languishing condition. The development of our
+inexhaustible resources is checked, and the fertile fields of the South
+are becoming waste for want of means to till them. With the release of
+capital, new life would be infused into the paralyzed energies of our
+people and activity and vigor imparted to every branch of industry. Our
+people need encouragement in their efforts to recover from the effects
+of the rebellion and of injudicious legislation, and it should be the
+aim of the Government to stimulate them by the prospect of an early
+release from the burdens which impede their prosperity. If we can not
+take the burdens from their shoulders, we should at least manifest
+a willingness to help to bear them.
+
+In referring to the condition of the circulating medium, I shall merely
+reiterate substantially that portion of my last annual message which
+relates to that subject.
+
+The proportion which the currency of any country should bear to
+the whole value of the annual produce circulated by its means is a
+question upon which political economists have not agreed. Nor can it
+be controlled by legislation, but must be left to the irrevocable laws
+which everywhere regulate commerce and trade. The circulating medium
+will ever irresistibly flow to those points where it is in greatest
+demand. The law of demand and supply is as unerring as that which
+regulates the tides of the ocean; and, indeed, currency, like the tides,
+has its ebbs and flows throughout the commercial world.
+
+At the beginning of the rebellion the bank-note circulation of the
+country amounted to not much more than $200,000,000; now the circulation
+of national-bank notes and those known as "legal-tenders" is nearly
+seven hundred millions. While it is urged by some that this amount
+should be increased, others contend that a decided reduction is
+absolutely essential to the best interests of the country. In view of
+these diverse opinions, it may be well to ascertain the real value of
+our paper issues when compared with a metallic or convertible currency.
+For this purpose let us inquire how much gold and silver could be
+purchased by the seven hundred millions of paper money now in
+circulation. Probably not more than half the amount of the latter;
+showing that when our paper currency is compared with gold and silver
+its commercial value is compressed into three hundred and fifty
+millions. This striking fact makes it the obvious duty of the
+Government, as early as may be consistent with the principles of sound
+political economy, to take such measures as will enable the holders of
+its notes and those of the national banks to convert them, without loss,
+into specie or its equivalent. A reduction of our paper circulating
+medium need not necessarily follow. This, however, would depend upon the
+law of demand and supply, though it should be borne in mind that by
+making legal-tender and bank notes convertible into coin or its
+equivalent their present specie value in the hands of their holders
+would be enhanced 100 per cent.
+
+Legislation for the accomplishment of a result so desirable is demanded
+by the highest public considerations. The Constitution contemplates that
+the circulating medium of the country shall be uniform in quality and
+value. At the time of the formation of that instrument the country had
+just emerged from the War of the Revolution, and was suffering from the
+effects of a redundant and worthless paper currency. The sages of that
+period were anxious to protect their posterity from the evils which they
+themselves had experienced. Hence in providing a circulating medium they
+conferred upon Congress the power to coin money and regulate the value
+thereof, at the same time prohibiting the States from making anything
+but gold and silver a tender in payment of debts.
+
+The anomalous condition of our currency is in striking contrast with
+that which was originally designed. Our circulation now embraces, first,
+notes of the national banks, which are made receivable for all dues to
+the Government, excluding imposts, and by all its creditors, excepting
+in payment of interest upon its bonds and the securities themselves;
+second, legal tender, issued by the United States, and which the law
+requires shall be received as well in payment of all debts between
+citizens as of all Government dues, excepting imposts; and, third, gold
+and silver coin. By the operation of our present system of finance,
+however, the metallic currency, when collected, is reserved only for one
+class of Government creditors, who, holding its bonds, semiannually
+receive their interest in coin from the National Treasury. There is no
+reason which will be accepted as satisfactory by the people why those
+who defend us on the land and protect us on the sea; the pensioner upon
+the gratitude of the nation, bearing the scars and wounds received while
+in its service; the public servants in the various departments of the
+Government; the farmer who supplies the soldiers of the Army and the
+sailors of the Navy; the artisan who toils in the nation's workshops,
+or the mechanics and laborers who build its edifices and construct
+its forts and vessels of war, should, in payment of their just and
+hard-earned dues, receive depreciated paper, while another class of
+their countrymen, no more deserving, are paid in coin of gold and
+silver. Equal and exact justice requires that all the creditors of the
+Government should be paid in a currency possessing a uniform value.
+This can only be accomplished by the restoration of the currency to the
+standard established by the Constitution, and by this means we would
+remove a discrimination which may, if it has not already done so, create
+a prejudice that may become deep-rooted and widespread and imperil the
+national credit.
+
+The feasibility of making our currency correspond with the
+constitutional standard may be seen by reference to a few facts derived
+from our commercial statistics.
+
+The aggregate product of precious metals in the United States from 1849
+to 1867 amounted to $1,174,000,000, while for the same period the net
+exports of specie were $741,000,000. This shows an excess of product
+over net exports of $433,000,000. There are in the Treasury $103,407,985
+in coin; in circulation in the States on the Pacific Coast about
+$40,000,000, and a few millions in the national and other banks--in all
+less than $160,000,000. Taking into consideration the specie in the
+country prior to 1849 and that produced since 1867, and we have more
+than $300,000,000 not accounted for by exportation or by returns of the
+Treasury, and therefore most probably remaining in the country.
+
+These are important facts, and show how completely the inferior
+currency will supersede the better, forcing it from circulation among
+the masses and causing it to be exported as a mere article of trade, to
+add to the money capital of foreign lands. They show the necessity of
+retiring our paper money, that the return of gold and silver to the
+avenues of trade may be invited and a demand created which will cause
+the retention at home of at least so much of the productions of our
+rich and inexhaustible gold-bearing fields as may be sufficient for
+purposes of circulation. It is unreasonable to expect a return to a
+sound currency so long as the Government and banks, by continuing to
+issue irredeemable notes, fill the channels of circulation with
+depreciated paper. Notwithstanding a coinage by our mints since 1849 of
+$874,000,000, the people are now strangers to the currency which was
+designed for their use and benefit, and specimens of the precious metals
+bearing the national device are seldom seen, except when produced to
+gratify the interest excited by their novelty. If depreciated paper is
+to be continued as the permanent currency of the country, and all our
+coin is to become a mere article of traffic and speculation, to the
+enhancement in price of all that is indispensable to the comfort of the
+people, it would be wise economy to abolish our mints, thus saving the
+nation the care and expense incident to such establishments, and let our
+precious metals be exported in bullion. The time has come, however, when
+the Government and national banks should be required to take the most
+efficient steps and make all necessary arrangements for a resumption of
+specie payments. Let specie payments once be earnestly inaugurated by
+the Government and banks, and the value of the paper circulation would
+directly approximate a specie standard.
+
+Specie payments having been resumed by the Government and banks, all
+notes or bills of paper issued by either of a less denomination than $20
+should by law be excluded from circulation, so that the people may have
+the benefit and convenience of a gold and silver currency which in all
+their business transactions will be uniform in value at home and abroad.
+Every man of property or industry, every man who desires to preserve
+what he honestly possesses or to obtain what he can honestly earn, has a
+direct interest in maintaining a safe circulating medium--such a medium
+as shall be real and substantial, not liable to vibrate with opinions,
+not subject to be blown up or blown down by the breath of speculation,
+but to be made stable and secure. A disordered currency is one of the
+greatest political evils. It undermines the virtues necessary for the
+support of the social system and encourages propensities destructive of
+its happiness; it wars against industry, frugality, and economy, and it
+fosters the evil spirits of extravagance and speculation.
+
+It has been asserted by one of our profound and most gifted statesmen
+that--
+
+  Of all the contrivances for cheating the laboring classes of mankind,
+  none has been more effectual than that which deludes them with paper
+  money. This is the most effectual of inventions to fertilize the rich
+  man's fields by the sweat of the poor man's brow. Ordinary tyranny,
+  oppression, excessive taxation--these bear lightly on the happiness of
+  the mass of the community compared with a fraudulent currency and the
+  robberies committed by depreciated paper. Our own history has recorded
+  for our instruction enough, and more than enough, of the demoralizing
+  tendency, the injustice, and the intolerable oppression on the virtuous
+  and well-disposed of a degraded paper currency authorized by law or in
+  any way countenanced by government.
+
+
+It is one of the most successful devices, in times of peace or war,
+of expansions or revulsions, to accomplish the transfer of all the
+precious metals from the great mass of the people into the hands of the
+few, where they are hoarded in secret places or deposited under bolts
+and bars, while the people are left to endure all the inconvenience,
+sacrifice, and demoralization resulting from the use of depreciated and
+worthless paper.
+
+The Secretary of the Interior in his report gives valuable information
+in reference to the interests confided to the supervision of his
+Department, and reviews the operations of the Land Office, Pension
+Office, Patent Office, and Indian Bureau.
+
+During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, 6,655,700 acres of public
+land were disposed of. The entire cash receipts of the General Land
+Office for the same period were $1,632,745, being greater by $284,883
+than the amount realized from the same sources during the previous year.
+The entries under the homestead law cover 2,328,923 acres, nearly
+one-fourth of which was taken under the act of June 21, 1866, which
+applies only to the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas,
+and Florida.
+
+On the 30th of June, 1868, 169,643 names were borne on the pension
+rolls, and during the year ending on that day the total amount paid for
+pensions, including the expenses of disbursement, was $24,010,982, being
+$5,391,025 greater than that expended for like purposes during the
+preceding year.
+
+During the year ending the 30th of September last the expenses of the
+Patent Office exceeded the receipts by $171, and, including reissues
+and designs, 14,153 patents were issued.
+
+Treaties with various Indian tribes have been concluded, and will be
+submitted to the Senate for its constitutional action. I cordially
+sanction the stipulations which provide for reserving lands for the
+various tribes, where they may be encouraged to abandon their nomadic
+habits and engage in agricultural and industrial pursuits. This policy,
+inaugurated many years since, has met with signal success whenever it
+has been pursued in good faith and with becoming liberality by the
+United States. The necessity for extending it as far as practicable in
+our relations with the aboriginal population is greater now than at any
+preceding period. Whilst we furnish subsistence and instruction to the
+Indians and guarantee the undisturbed enjoyment of their treaty rights,
+we should habitually insist upon the faithful observance of their
+agreement to remain within their respective reservations. This is the
+only mode by which collisions with other tribes and with the whites can
+be avoided and the safety of our frontier settlements secured.
+
+The companies constructing the railway from Omaha to Sacramento have
+been most energetically engaged in prosecuting the work, and it is
+believed that the line will be completed before the expiration of
+the next fiscal year. The 6 per cent bonds issued to these companies
+amounted on the 5th instant to $44,337,000, and additional work had
+been performed to the extent of $3,200,000.
+
+The Secretary of the Interior in August last invited my attention
+to the report of a Government director of the Union Pacific Railroad
+Company who had been specially instructed to examine the location,
+construction, and equipment of their road. I submitted for the opinion
+of the Attorney-General certain questions in regard to the authority of
+the Executive which arose upon this report and those which had from time
+to time been presented by the commissioners appointed to inspect each
+successive section of the work. After carefully considering the law of
+the case, he affirmed the right of the Executive to order, if necessary,
+a thorough revision of the entire road. Commissioners were thereupon
+appointed to examine this and other lines, and have recently submitted a
+statement of their investigations, of which the report of the Secretary
+of the Interior furnishes specific information.
+
+The report of the Secretary of War contains information of interest and
+importance respecting the several bureaus of the War Department and the
+operations of the Army. The strength of our military force on the 30th
+of September last was 48,000 men, and it is computed that by the 1st of
+January next this number will be decreased to 43,000. It is the opinion
+of the Secretary of War that within the next year a considerable
+diminution of the infantry force may be made without detriment to the
+interests of the country; and in view of the great expense attending the
+military peace establishment and the absolute necessity of retrenchment
+wherever it can be applied, it is hoped that Congress will sanction the
+reduction which his report recommends. While in 1860 sixteen thousand
+three hundred men cost the nation $16,472,000, the sum of $65,682,000
+is estimated as necessary for the support of the Army during the fiscal
+year ending June 30, 1870. The estimates of the War Department for
+the last two fiscal years were, for 1867, $33,814,461, and for 1868
+$25,205,669. The actual expenditures during the same periods were,
+respectively, $95,224,415 and $123,246,648. The estimate submitted in
+December last for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1869, was $77,124,707;
+the expenditures for the first quarter, ending the 30th of September
+last, were $27,219,117, and the Secretary of the Treasury gives
+$66,000,000 as the amount which will probably be required during the
+remaining three quarters, if there should be no reduction of the
+Army--making its aggregate cost for the year considerably in excess
+of ninety-three millions. The difference between the estimates and
+expenditures for the three fiscal years which have been named is thus
+shown to be $175,545,343 for this single branch of the public service.
+
+The report of the Secretary of the Navy exhibits the operations of that
+Department and of the Navy during the year. A considerable reduction of
+the force has been effected. There are 42 vessels, carrying 411 guns, in
+the six squadrons which are established in different parts of the world.
+Three of these vessels are returning to the United States and 4 are used
+as storeslips, leaving the actual cruising force 35 vessels, carrying
+356 guns. The total number of vessels in the Navy is 206, mounting 1,743
+guns. Eighty-one vessels of every description are in use, armed with 696
+guns. The number of enlisted men in the service, including apprentices,
+has been reduced to 8,500. An increase of navy-yard facilities is
+recommended as a measure which will in the event of war be promotive
+of economy and security. A more thorough and systematic survey of the
+North Pacific Ocean is advised in view of our recent acquisitions, our
+expanding commerce, and the increasing intercourse between the Pacific
+States and Asia. The naval pension fund, which consists of a moiety of
+the avails of prizes captured during the war, amounts to $14,000,000.
+Exception is taken to the act of 23d July last, which reduces the
+interest on the fund loaned to the Government by the Secretary, as
+trustee, to 3 per cent instead of 6 per cent, which was originally
+stipulated when the investment was made. An amendment of the pension
+laws is suggested to remedy omissions and defects in existing
+enactments. The expenditures of the Department during the last fiscal
+year were $20,120,394, and the estimates for the coming year amount
+to $20,993,414.
+
+The Postmaster-General's report furnishes a full and clear exhibit of
+the operations and condition of the postal service. The ordinary postal
+revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, was $16,292,600,
+the total expenditures, embracing all the service for which special
+appropriations have been made by Congress, amounted to $22,730,592,
+showing an excess of expenditures of $6,437,991. Deducting from the
+expenditures the sum of $1,896,525, the amount of appropriations for
+ocean-steamship and other special service, the excess of expenditures
+was $4,541,466. By using an unexpended balance in the Treasury of
+$3,800,000 the actual sum for which a special appropriation is required
+to meet the deficiency is $741,466. The causes which produced this large
+excess of expenditure over revenue were the restoration of service in
+the late insurgent States and the putting into operation of new service
+established by acts of Congress, which amounted within the last two
+years and a half to about 48,700 miles--equal to more than one-third
+of the whole amount of the service at the close of the war. New postal
+conventions with Great Britain, North Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands,
+Switzerland, and Italy, respectively, have been carried into effect.
+Under their provisions important improvements have resulted in reduced
+rates of international postage and enlarged mail facilities with
+European countries. The cost of the United States transatlantic ocean
+mail service since January 1, 1868, has been largely lessened under the
+operation of these new conventions, a reduction of over one-half having
+been effected under the new arrangements for ocean mail steamship
+service which went into effect on that date. The attention of Congress
+is invited to the practical suggestions and recommendations made in his
+report by the Postmaster-General.
+
+No important question has occurred during the last year in our
+accustomed cordial and friendly intercourse with Costa Rica, Guatemala,
+Honduras, San Salvador, France, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal,
+the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, Rome, Greece, Turkey,
+Persia, Egypt, Liberia, Morocco, Tripoli, Tunis, Muscat, Siam, Borneo,
+and Madagascar.
+
+Cordial relations have also been maintained with the Argentine and the
+Oriental Republics. The expressed wish of Congress that our national
+good offices might be tendered to those Republics, and also to Brazil
+and Paraguay, for bringing to an end the calamitous war which has so
+long been raging in the valley of the La Plata, has been assiduously
+complied with and kindly acknowledged by all the belligerents. That
+important negotiation, however, has thus far been without result.
+
+Charles A. Washburn, late United States minister to Paraguay, having
+resigned, and being desirous to return to the United States, the
+rear-admiral commanding the South Atlantic Squadron was early directed
+to send a ship of war to Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, to receive
+Mr. Washburn and his family and remove them from a situation which was
+represented to be endangered by faction and foreign war. The Brazilian
+commander of the allied invading forces refused permission to the _Wasp_
+to pass through the blockading forces, and that vessel returned to
+its accustomed anchorage. Remonstrance having been made against this
+refusal, it was promptly overruled, and the _Wasp_ therefore resumed
+her errand, received Mr. Washburn and his family, and conveyed them to
+a safe and convenient seaport. In the meantime an excited controversy
+had arisen between the President of Paraguay and the late United States
+minister, which, it is understood, grew out of his proceedings in
+giving asylum in the United States legation to alleged enemies of
+that Republic. The question of the right to give asylum is one always
+difficult and often productive of great embarrassment. In states well
+organized and established, foreign powers refuse either to concede or
+exercise that right, except as to persons actually belonging to the
+diplomatic service. On the other hand, all such powers insist upon
+exercising the right of asylum in states where the law of nations is
+not fully acknowledged, respected, and obeyed.
+
+The President of Paraguay is understood to have opposed to Mr.
+Washburn's proceedings the injurious and very improbable charge of
+personal complicity in insurrection and treason. The correspondence,
+however, has not yet reached the United States.
+
+Mr. Washburn, in connection with this controversy, represents that two
+United States citizens attached to the legation were arbitrarily seized
+at his Side, when leaving the capital of Paraguay, committed to prison,
+and there subjected to torture for the purpose of procuring confessions
+of their own criminality and testimony to support the President's
+allegations against the United States minister. Mr. McMahon, the newly
+appointed minister to Paraguay, having reached the La Plata, has been
+instructed to proceed without delay to Asuncion, there to investigate
+the whole subject. The rear-admiral commanding the United States South
+Atlantic Squadron has been directed to attend the new minister with a
+proper naval force to sustain such just demands as the occasion may
+require, and to vindicate the rights of the United States citizens
+referred to and of any others who may be exposed to danger in the
+theater of war. With these exceptions, friendly relations have been
+maintained between the United States and Brazil and Paraguay.
+
+Our relations during the past year with Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru,
+and Chile have become especially friendly and cordial. Spain and the
+Republics of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador have expressed their willingness
+to accept the mediation of the United States for terminating the war
+upon the South Pacific coast. Chile has not finally declared upon the
+question. In the meantime the conflict has practically exhausted itself,
+since no belligerent or hostile movement has been made by either party
+during the last two years, and there are no indications of a present
+purpose to resume hostilities on either side. Great Britain and France
+have cordially seconded our proposition of mediation, and I do not
+forego the hope that it may soon be accepted by all the belligerents and
+lead to a secure establishment of peace and friendly relations between
+the Spanish American Republics of the Pacific and Spain--a result
+which would be attended with common benefits to the belligerents
+and much advantage to all commercial nations. I communicate, for
+the consideration of Congress, a correspondence which shows that the
+Bolivian Republic has established the extremely liberal principle of
+receiving into its citizenship any citizen of the United States, or
+of any other of the American Republics, upon the simple condition of
+voluntary registry.
+
+The correspondence herewith submitted wall be found painfully
+replete with accounts of the ruin and wretchedness produced by recent
+earthquakes, of unparalleled severity, in the Republics of Peru,
+Ecuador, and Bolivia. The diplomatic agents and naval officers of the
+United States who were present in those countries at the time of those
+disasters furnished all the relief in their power to the sufferers, and
+were promptly rewarded with grateful and touching acknowledgments by
+the Congress of Peru. An appeal to the charity of our fellow-citizens
+has been answered by much liberality. In this connection I submit an
+appeal which has been made by the Swiss Republic, whose Government and
+institutions are kindred to our own, in behalf of its inhabitants, who
+are suffering extreme destitution, produced by recent devastating
+inundations.
+
+Our relations with Mexico during the year have been marked by an
+increasing growth of mutual confidence. The Mexican Government has
+not yet acted upon the three treaties celebrated here last summer for
+establishing the rights of naturalized citizens upon a liberal and just
+basis, for regulating consular powers, and for the adjustment of mutual
+claims.
+
+All commercial nations, as well as all friends of republican
+institutions, have occasion to regret the frequent local disturbances
+which occur in some of the constituent States of Colombia. Nothing has
+occurred, however, to affect the harmony and cordial friendship which
+have for several years existed between that youthful and vigorous
+Republic and our own.
+
+Negotiations are pending with a view to the survey and construction
+of a ship canal across the Isthmus of Darien, under the auspices of
+the United States. I hope to be able to submit the results of that
+negotiation to the Senate during its present session.
+
+The very liberal treaty which was entered into last year by the United
+States and Nicaragua has been ratified by the latter Republic.
+
+Costa Rica, with the earnestness of a sincerely friendly neighbor,
+solicits a reciprocity of trade, which I commend to the consideration
+of Congress.
+
+The convention created by treaty between the United States and Venezuela
+in July, 1865, for the mutual adjustment of claims, has been held,
+and its decisions have been received at the Department of State. The
+heretofore-recognized Government of the United States of Venezuela has
+been subverted. A provisional government having been instituted under
+circumstances which promise durability, it has been formally recognized.
+
+I have been reluctantly obliged to ask explanation and satisfaction
+for national injuries committed by the President of Hayti. The political
+and social condition of the Republics of Hayti and St. Domingo is very
+unsatisfactory and painful. The abolition of slavery, which has been
+carried into effect throughout the island of St. Domingo and the entire
+West Indies, except the Spanish islands of Cuba and Porto Rico, has
+been followed by a profound popular conviction of the rightfulness
+of republican institutions and an intense desire to secure them.
+The attempt, however, to establish republics there encounters many
+obstacles, most of which may be supposed to result from long-indulged
+habits of colonial supineness and dependence upon European monarchical
+powers. While the United States have on all occasions professed a
+decided unwillingness that any part of this continent or of its adjacent
+islands shall be made a theater for a new establishment of monarchical
+power, too little has been done by us, on the other hand, to attach the
+communities by which we are surrounded to our own country, or to lend
+even a moral support to the efforts they are so resolutely and so
+constantly making to secure republican institutions for themselves.
+It is indeed a question of grave consideration whether our recent and
+present example is not calculated to check the growth and expansion of
+free principles, and make those communities distrust, if not dread,
+a government which at will consigns to military domination States that
+are integral parts of our Federal Union, and, while ready to resist any
+attempts by other nations to extend to this hemisphere the monarchical
+institutions of Europe, assumes to establish over a large portion of
+its people a rule more absolute, harsh, and tyrannical than any known
+to civilized powers.
+
+The acquisition of Alaska was made with the view of extending national
+jurisdiction and republican principles in the American hemisphere.
+Believing that a further step could be taken in the same direction,
+I last year entered into a treaty with the King of Denmark for the
+purchase of the islands of St. Thomas and St. John, on the best terms
+then attainable, and with the express consent of the people of those
+islands. This treaty still remains under consideration in the Senate.
+A new convention has been entered into with Denmark, enlarging the time
+fixed for final ratification of the original treaty.
+
+Comprehensive national policy would seem to sanction the acquisition and
+incorporation into our Federal Union of the several adjacent continental
+and insular communities as speedily as it can be done peacefully,
+lawfully, and without any violation of national justice, faith, or
+honor. Foreign possession or control of those communities has hitherto
+hindered the growth and impaired the influence of the United States.
+Chronic revolution and anarchy there would be equally injurious. Each
+one of them, when firmly established as an independent republic, or when
+incorporated into the United States, would be a new source of strength
+and power. Conforming my Administration to these principles, I have on
+no occasion lent support or toleration to unlawful expeditions set on
+foot upon the plea of republican propagandism or of national extension
+or aggrandizement. The necessity, however, of repressing such unlawful
+movements clearly indicates the duty which rests upon us of adapting our
+legislative action to the new circumstances of a decline of European
+monarchical power and influence and the increase of American republican
+ideas, interests, and sympathies.
+
+It can not be long before it will become necessary for this Government
+to lend some effective aid to the solution of the political and social
+problems which are continually kept before the world by the two
+Republics of the island of St. Domingo, and which are now disclosing
+themselves more distinctly than heretofore in the island of Cuba. The
+subject is commended to your consideration with all the more earnestness
+because I am satisfied that the time has arrived when even so direct a
+proceeding as a proposition for an annexation of the two Republics of
+the island of St. Domingo would not only receive the consent of the
+people interested, but would also give satisfaction to all other foreign
+nations.
+
+I am aware that upon the question of further extending our
+possessions it is apprehended by some that our political system can not
+successfully be applied to an area more extended than our continent; but
+the conviction is rapidly gaining ground in the American mind that with
+the increased facilities for intercommunication between all portions
+of the earth the principles of free government, as embraced in our
+Constitution, if faithfully maintained and carried out, would prove of
+sufficient strength and breadth to comprehend within their sphere and
+influence the civilized nations of the world.
+
+The attention of the Senate and of Congress is again respectfully
+invited to the treaty for the establishment of commercial reciprocity
+with the Hawaiian Kingdom entered into last year, and already ratified
+by that Government. The attitude of the United States toward these
+islands is not very different from that in which they stand toward the
+West Indies. It is known and felt by the Hawaiian Government and people
+that their Government and institutions are feeble and precarious; that
+the United States, being so near a neighbor, would be unwilling to see
+the islands pass under foreign control. Their prosperity is continually
+disturbed by expectations and alarms of unfriendly political
+proceedings, as well from the United States as from other foreign
+powers. A reciprocity treaty, while it could not materially diminish
+the revenues of the United States, would be a guaranty of the good will
+and forbearance of all nations until the people of the islands shall of
+themselves, at no distant day, voluntarily apply for admission into the
+Union.
+
+The Emperor of Russia has acceded to the treaty negotiated here
+in January last for the security of trade-marks in the interest
+of manufacturers and commerce. I have invited his attention to the
+importance of establishing, now while it seems easy and practicable,
+a fair and equal regulation of the vast fisheries belonging to the
+two nations in the waters of the North Pacific Ocean.
+
+The two treaties between the United States and Italy for the regulation
+of consular powers and the extradition of criminals, negotiated and
+ratified here during the last session of Congress, have been accepted
+and confirmed by the Italian Government. A liberal consular convention
+which has been negotiated with Belgium will be submitted to the Senate.
+The very important treaties which were negotiated between the United
+States and North Germany and Bavaria for the regulation of the rights of
+naturalized citizens have been duly ratified and exchanged, and similar
+treaties have been entered into with the Kingdoms of Belgium and
+Wurtemberg and with the Grand Duchies of Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt.
+I hope soon to be able to submit equally satisfactory conventions of
+the same character now in the course of negotiation with the respective
+Governments of Spain, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire.
+
+Examination of claims against the United States by the Hudsons Bay
+Company and the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, on account of certain
+possessory rights in the State of Oregon and Territory of Washington,
+alleged by those companies in virtue of provisions of the treaty
+between the United States and Great Britain of June 15, 1846, has been
+diligently prosecuted, under the direction of the joint international
+commission to which they were submitted for adjudication by treaty
+between the two Governments of July 1, 1863, and will, it is expected,
+be concluded at an early day.
+
+No practical regulation concerning colonial trade and the fisheries can
+be accomplished by treaty between the United States and Great Britain
+until Congress shall have expressed their judgment concerning the
+principles involved. Three other questions, however, between the United
+States and Great Britain remain open for adjustment. These are the
+mutual rights of naturalized citizens, the boundary question involving
+the title to the island of San Juan, on the Pacific coast, and mutual
+claims arising since the year 1853 of the citizens and subjects of the
+two countries for injuries and depredations committed under the
+authority of their respective Governments. Negotiations upon these
+subjects are pending, and I am not without hope of being able to lay
+before the Senate, for its consideration during the present session,
+protocols calculated to bring to an end these justly exciting and
+long-existing controversies.
+
+We are not advised of the action of the Chinese Government upon the
+liberal and auspicious treaty which was recently celebrated with its
+plenipotentiaries at this capital.
+
+Japan remains a theater of civil war, marked by religious incidents
+and political severities peculiar to that long-isolated Empire. The
+Executive has hitherto maintained strict neutrality among the
+belligerents, and acknowledges with pleasure that it has been frankly
+and fully sustained in that course by the enlightened concurrence and
+cooperation of the other treaty powers, namely, Great Britain, France,
+the Netherlands, North Germany, and Italy.
+
+Spain having recently undergone a revolution marked by extraordinary
+unanimity and preservation of order, the provisional government
+established at Madrid has been recognized, and the friendly intercourse
+which has so long happily existed between the two countries remains
+unchanged.
+
+I renew the recommendation contained in my communication to Congress
+dated the 18th July last--a copy of which accompanies this message--that
+the judgment of the people should be taken on the propriety of so
+amending the Federal Constitution that it shall provide--
+
+First. For an election of President and Vice-President by a direct vote
+of the people, instead of through the agency of electors, and making
+them ineligible for reelection to a second term.
+
+Second. For a distinct designation of the person who shall discharge
+the duties of President in the event of a vacancy in that office by the
+death, resignation, or removal of both the President and Vice-President.
+
+Third. For the election of Senators of the United States directly by
+the people of the several States, instead of by the legislatures; and
+
+Fourth. For the limitation to a period of years of the terms of Federal
+judges.
+
+Profoundly impressed with the propriety of making these important
+modifications in the Constitution, I respectfully submit them for
+the early and mature consideration of Congress. We should, as far
+as possible, remove all pretext for violations of the organic law,
+by remedying such imperfections as time and experience may develop,
+ever remembering that "the constitution which at any time exists until
+changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people is sacredly
+obligatory upon all."
+
+In the performance of a duty imposed upon me by the Constitution, I have
+thus communicated to Congress information of the state of the Union and
+recommended for their consideration such measures as have seemed to me
+necessary and expedient. If carried into effect, they will hasten the
+accomplishment of the great and beneficent purposes for which the
+Constitution was ordained, and which it comprehensively states were
+"to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic
+tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general
+welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our
+posterity." In Congress are vested all legislative powers, and upon them
+devolves the responsibility as well for framing unwise and excessive
+laws as for neglecting to devise and adopt measures absolutely demanded
+by the wants of the country. Let us earnestly hope that before the
+expiration of our respective terms of service, now rapidly drawing
+to a close, an all-wise Providence will so guide our counsels as to
+strengthen and preserve the Federal Union, inspire reverence for the
+Constitution, restore prosperity and happiness to our whole people,
+and promote "on earth peace, good will toward men."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+SPECIAL MESSAGES.
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 8, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit a copy of a note of the 24th of November last addressed to
+the Secretary of State by the minister of Great Britain, communicating
+a decree of the district court of the United States for the southern
+district of New York ordering the payment of certain sums to the
+defendants in a suit against the English schooner _Sibyl_, libeled as a
+prize of war. It is requisite for the fulfillment of the decree that an
+appropriation of the sums specified therein should be made by Congress.
+The appropriation is recommended accordingly.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 11, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 7th
+instant, relating to the correspondence with the American minister at
+London concerning the so-called _Alabama_ claims, I transmit a report
+on the subject from the Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 16, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 14th
+December instant, I transmit the accompanying report[70] of the Secretary
+of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 70: Relating to the sending of a commissioner from the United
+States to Spain.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 16, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 14th
+instant, requesting the correspondence which has taken place between the
+United States minister at Brazil and Rear-Admiral Davis touching the
+disposition of the American squadron at Rio Janeiro and the Paraguay
+difficulties, I transmit a report of the Secretary of State upon that
+subject.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 16, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 8th instant, concerning
+recent transactions in the region of the La Plata affecting the
+political relations of the United States with Paraguay, the Argentine
+Republic, Uruguay, and Brazil, I transmit a report of the Secretary of
+State, which is accompanied by a copy of the papers called for by the
+resolution.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _December 18, 1868_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I herewith communicate a report of the Secretary of the Interior, in
+answer to a resolution adopted by the House of Representatives on the
+16th instant, making inquiries in reference to the Union Pacific
+Railroad and requesting the transmission of the report of the special
+commissioners appointed to examine the construction and equipment of
+the road.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 4, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in compliance with the request contained
+in its resolution of the 15th ultimo, a report from the Secretary of
+State, communicating information in regard to the action of the mixed
+commission for the adjustment of claims by citizens of the United
+States against the Government of Venezuela.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 4, 1869_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives a report from the Secretary
+of State, with accompanying papers, in relation to the resolution of
+Congress approved July 20, 1867, "declaring sympathy with the suffering
+people of Crete."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[The same message was sent to the Senate.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 4, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, an additional article to the convention of the 24th of
+October, 1867, between the United States and His Majesty the King of
+Denmark.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 5, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention between the United States and His Hawaiian
+Majesty, signed in this city on the 28th day of July last, stipulating
+for an extension of the period for the exchange of the ratifications of
+the convention between the same parties on the subject of commercial
+reciprocity.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 7, 1869_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit herewith, in answer to a resolution of the House of
+Representatives of the 16th of December last, a report[71] from the
+Secretary of State of the 6th instant.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 71: Giving reasons why reductions in the number of officers
+and employees and in the salaries and expenses of the Department of
+State should not be made.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 8, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+In conformity with the requirements of the sixth section of the act of
+the 22d of June, 1860, to carry into effect provisions of the treaty
+with China and certain other Oriental nations, I transmit to Congress a
+copy of eight rules agreed upon between the Chinese Imperial Government
+and the minister of the United States and those of other foreign powers
+accredited to that Government, for conducting the proceedings of the
+joint tribunal in cases of confiscation and fines for breaches of the
+revenue laws of that Empire. These rules, which are accompanied by
+correspondence between our minister and Secretary of State on the
+subject, are commended to the consideration of Congress with a view
+to their approval.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 8, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 17th
+ultimo, a report[72] from the Secretary of State, with an accompanying
+paper.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 72: Relating to the exercise or claim by United States consuls
+in Japan of judicial powers in cases arising between American citizens
+and citizens or subjects of any foreign nation ether than Japan, etc.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 11, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention between the United States and Belgium upon
+the subject of naturalization, which was signed at Brussels on the 16th
+of November last.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 11, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, a convention between the United States and Belgium
+concerning the rights, privileges, and immunities of consuls in the
+two countries, signed at Brussels on the 5th ultimo.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 11, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, an additional article of the treaty of commerce and
+navigation between the United States and Belgium of the 17th of July,
+1858, which was signed at Brussels on the 20th ultimo.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 12, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit a copy of a convention between the United States and Peru,
+signed at Lima on the 4th of last month, stipulating for a mixed
+commission for the adjustment of claims of citizens of the two
+countries. An extract from that part of the dispatch of the minister of
+the United States at Lima which accompanied the copy referred to, and
+which relates to it, is also transmitted. It will be seen from this
+extract that it is desirable that the decision of the Senate upon
+the instrument should be given as early as may be convenient. It is
+consequently recommended for consideration with a view to ratification.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 13, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded at Washington, D.C., August 13, 1868, between the
+United States and the Nez Perce tribe of Indians, which treaty is
+supplemental to and amendatory of the treaty concluded with said tribe
+June 9, 1863. A communication from the Secretary of the Interior of the
+12th instant, inclosing a copy of a report of the Commissioner of Indian
+Affairs of the 11th instant, is also herewith transmitted.[73]
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 73: Note by the Executive Clerk of the Senate.--"The
+communication from the Secretary of the Interior and this report of the
+Commissioner of Indian Affairs did not accompany the above communication
+from the president."]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 14, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, together with
+the original papers accompanying the same, submitted in compliance
+with the resolution of the Senate of the 5th instant, requesting such
+information as is furnished by the files of the War Department in
+relation to the erection of fortifications at Lawrence, Kans., in 1864
+and 1865.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 15, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for the opinion of the Senate as to the expediency of
+concluding a convention based thereupon, a protocol, signed at London on
+the 9th of October last, for regulating the citizenship of citizens of
+the United States who have emigrated or who may emigrate from the United
+States to the British dominions, and of British subjects who have
+emigrated or who may emigrate from the British dominions to the United
+States of America.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 15, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to its
+ratification, a copy of a treaty between the United States and Great
+Britain, signed yesterday at London, providing for the reference to an
+arbiter of the question of difference between the United States and
+Great Britain concerning the northwest line of water boundary between
+the United States and the British possessions in North America. It is
+expected that the original of the convention will be forwarded by the
+steamer which leaves Liverpool to-morrow. Circumstances, however, to
+which it is unnecessary to advert, in my judgment make it advisable to
+communicate to the Senate the copy referred to in advance of the arrival
+of the original instrument.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 15, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view of its
+ratification, a copy of a convention between the United States and
+Great Britain, signed yesterday at London, providing for the adjustment
+of all outstanding claims of the citizens and subjects of the parties,
+respectively. It is expected that the original of the convention
+will be forwarded by the steamer which leaves Liverpool to-morrow.
+Circumstances, however, to which it is unnecessary to advert, in my
+judgment make it advisable to communicate to the Senate the copy
+referred to in advance of the arrival of the original instrument.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 18, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+The resolution adopted on the 5th instant, requesting the President "to
+transmit to the Senate a copy of any proclamation of amnesty made by him
+since the last adjournment of Congress, and also to communicate to the
+Senate by what authority of law the same was made," has been received.
+
+I accordingly transmit herewith a copy of a proclamation dated the 25th
+day of December last. The authority of law by which it was made is set
+forth in the proclamation itself, which expressly affirms that it was
+issued "by virtue of the power and authority in me vested by the
+Constitution, and in the name of the sovereign people of the United
+States," and proclaims and declares "unconditionally and without
+reservation, to all and to every person who, directly or indirectly,
+participated in the late insurrection or rebellion, a full pardon and
+amnesty for the offense of treason against the United States, or of
+adhering to their enemies during the late civil war, with restoration of
+all rights, privileges, and immunities under the Constitution and the
+laws which have been made in pursuance thereof."
+
+The Federal Constitution is understood to be and is regarded by the
+Executive as the supreme law of the land. The second section of article
+second of that instrument provides that the President "shall have power
+to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States,
+except in cases of impeachment." The proclamation of the 25th ultimo is
+in strict accordance with the judicial expositions of the authority thus
+conferred upon the Executive, and, as will be seen by reference to the
+accompanying papers, is in conformity with the precedent established by
+Washington in 1795, and followed by President Adams in 1800, Madison in
+1815, and Lincoln in 1863, and by the present Executive in 1865, 1867,
+and 1868.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 20, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, made in
+compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 19th ultimo,
+requesting information in reference to the payment of rent for the use
+of the building known as the Libby Prison, in the city of Richmond, Va.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 22, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, an additional article to the convention between the United
+States and His Majesty the King of Italy for regulating the jurisdiction
+of consuls.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 22, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
+ratification, an additional article to the convention between the United
+States and His Majesty the King of Italy for the mutual extradition of
+criminals fugitives from justice.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 23, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for the constitutional action of
+that body, a treaty concluded at the council house on the Cattaraugus
+Reservation, in Erie County, N.Y., on the 4th day of December, 1868,
+by Walter R. Irwin, commissioner on the part of the United States, and
+the duly authorized representatives of the several tribes and bands of
+Indians residing in the State of New York, A copy of a letter from the
+Secretary of the Interior, dated the 22d instant, and the papers therein
+referred to, in relation to the treaty, are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 26, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit for the consideration of Congress, in conformity with the
+requirements of the sixth section of the act of the 22d of June, 1860,
+a copy of certain regulations for the consular courts in China,
+prohibiting steamers sailing under the flag of the United States from
+using or passing through the Straw Shoe Channel on the river Yangtse,
+decreed by S. Wells Williams, charge d'affaires, on the 1st of June, and
+promulgated by George F. Seward, consul-general at Shanghai, on the 25th
+of July, 1868, with the assent of five of the United States consuls in
+China, G.H. Colton Salter dissenting. His objections to the regulations
+are set forth in the accompanying copy of a communication of the 10th of
+October last, inclosed in Consul-General Seward's dispatch of the 14th
+of the game month to the Secretary of State, a copy of which is also
+transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _January 26, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of State, with
+accompanying documents, in relation to the gold medal presented to Mr.
+George Peabody pursuant to the resolution of Congress of March 16, 1867.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 27, 1860_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their
+resolution of the 23d instant, the accompanying report[74] from
+the Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 74: Relating to buildings occupied in Washington by
+Departments of the Government.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 27, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War, upon the
+subject of the resolution of the Senate of the 21st instant, requesting
+a copy of the report of Brevet Major-General William S. Harney upon the
+Sioux and other Indians congregated under treaties made with them by the
+special peace commission.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 29, 1869_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to a resolution
+of the House of Representatives without date, received at the Executive
+Mansion on the 10th of December, calling for correspondence in relation
+to the cases of Messrs. Costello and Warren, naturalized citizens of the
+United States imprisoned in Great Britain, a report from the Secretary
+of State and the papers to which it refers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 29, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its consideration in connection
+with the treaty with the New York Indians concluded November 4, 1868,
+which is now before that body for its constitutional action, an
+additional article of said treaty as an amendment.
+
+A communication, dated the 28th instant, from the Secretary of the
+Interior, and a copy of a report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
+explaining the object of the amendment, are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 1, 1869_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 16th
+of December last, in relation to the arrest of American citizens in
+Paraguay, I transmit a report of the Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 1, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In further answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 8th of December
+last, concerning recent transactions in the region of the La Plata
+affecting the political relations of the United States with Paraguay,
+the Argentine Republic, Uruguay, and Brazil, I transmit a report from
+the Secretary of State.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 2, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+two treaties made by the commissioners appointed under the act of
+Congress of 20th July, 1867, to establish peace with certain hostile
+tribes, viz:
+
+A treaty concluded at Fort Laramie, Dakota Territory, on the 2Qth April,
+1868, with various bands of the Sioux or Dakota Nation of Indians.
+
+A treaty concluded at Fort Bridger, Utah Territory, on the 3d day of
+July, 1868, with the Shoshone (eastern band) and Bannock Indians.
+
+A communication from the Secretary of the Interior, dated the 2d
+instant, inclosing a copy of a letter to him from the Commissioner of
+Indian Affairs of the 28th ultimo, together with the correspondence
+therein referred to, relating to said treaties, are also herewith
+transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 3, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit, for the consideration of Congress, a report from the
+Secretary of State, and the papers which accompany it, in relation to
+the encroachments of agents of the Hudsons Bay Company upon the trade
+and territory of Alaska.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 4, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for the constitutional action of that
+body thereon, the following treaties, concluded with various bands and
+tribes of Indians by William I. Cullen, special agent for Indians in
+Montana, viz:
+
+Treaty concluded at Fort Hawley on the 13th July, 1868, with the Gros
+Ventres.
+
+Treaty concluded at Fort Hawley on the 15th July, 1868, with the River
+Crow Indians.
+
+Treaty concluded at Fort Benton September 1, 1868, with the Blackfeet
+Nation (composed of the tribe of that name and the Blood and Piegan
+tribes).
+
+Treaty with the mixed bands of Shoshones, Bannocks, and Sheepeaters,
+concluded at Virginia City September 24, 1868.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior, dated the 3d instant, and
+the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, dated the 2d instant,
+explaining the provisions of the several treaties and suggesting an
+amendment of some of them, and submitting maps and papers connected with
+said treaties, are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 4, 1869_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 23d
+January ultimo, I transmit a report[75] of the Secretary of State, which is
+accompanied by a copy of the correspondence called for by the resolution.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+[Footnote 75: Relating to the claim of William T. Harris, a United
+States citizen, to property withheld by the Brazilian Government.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 8, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+Referring to my communications of the 16th of December, 1868, and of
+the 1st of February instant, addressed to the Senate in answer to the
+resolution of that body of the 8th of December last, concerning recent
+transactions in the region of the La Plata, I transmit a report of the
+Secretary of State and the papers which accompany it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 9, 1869_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 13th
+ultimo, requesting information as to expenditures by the northwestern
+boundary commission, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State on
+the subject, and the papers which accompanied it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 9, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for the constitutional action of that
+body thereon, a treaty concluded on the 2d day of September, 1868,
+between the United States and the Creek Nation of Indians by their duly
+authorized delegates.
+
+A letter from the Secretary of the Interior, dated the 8th instant, and
+a report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, dated the 6th instant,
+in relation to said treaty, are also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 11, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 21st
+ultimo, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying papers,
+in relation to the establishment of the Robert College at
+Constantinople.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 13, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for their action thereon, a mutual
+relinquishment of the agreement between the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
+of Kansas, which agreement is appended to a treaty now before the Senate
+between the United States and the Swan Creek and Black River Chippewas
+and the Munsee or Christian Indians, concluded on the 1st of June, 1868.
+
+A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of the 11th instant, together
+with the papers therein referred to, is also herewith transmitted.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 15, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to
+ratification, a convention between the United States of America arid the
+United States of Colombia for facilitating and securing the construction
+of a ship canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the
+continental isthmus lying without the jurisdiction of the United States
+of Colombia, which instrument was signed at Bogota on the 14th instant.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 17, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
+a treaty concluded on the 11th instant, in the city of Washington,
+between the United States and the Sac and Fox Indians of the Missouri
+and the Iowa tribe of Indians. A letter of the Secretary of the Interior
+of the 16th instant, together with the letters therein referred to,
+accompany the treaty. For reasons stated in the accompanying
+communications, I request to withdraw from the Senate a treaty with the
+Sac and Fox Indians of the Missouri, concluded February 19, 1867, now
+pending before that body.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 17, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of State, with
+accompanying documents, in relation to the gold medal presented to Mr.
+Cyrus W. Field pursuant to the resolution of Congress of March 2, 1867.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 17, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I herewith present, for the consideration of the Senate in connection
+with the treaty with the Brule and other bands of Sioux Indians now
+pending before that body, a communication from the Secretary of the
+Interior, dated the 16th instant, and accompanying letters from the
+Commissioner of Indian Affairs and P. H. Conger, United States Indian
+agent for the Yankton Sioux, requesting that the benefits of said treaty
+may be extended to the Yankton Sioux and all the bands and individuals
+of the Dakota Sioux.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 17, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 19th
+ultimo, relating to fisheries, a report from the Secretary of State and
+the documents which accompanied it.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 18, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action, a treaty
+concluded on the 13th instant between the United States and the Otoe and
+Missouria tribe of Indians, together with the accompanying papers.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 19, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a copy of a correspondence which has taken place
+between the Secretary of State and the minister of the United States at
+Paris, in relation to the use of passports by citizens of the United
+States in France.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 20, 1869_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit an additional report from the Secretary of State,
+representing that Messrs. Costello and Warren, citizens of the United
+States imprisoned in Ireland, have been released.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 23, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, on
+the subject of the resolution of the Senate of the 13th January last,
+requesting "that the President direct the Secretary of the Treasury to
+detail an officer to select from the public lands such permanent points
+upon the coast of Oregon, Washington Territory, and Alaska as in his
+judgment may be necessary for light-house purposes, in view of the
+future commercial necessity of the Pacific Coast, and to reserve the
+same for exclusive use of the United States."
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 23, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+Referring to my communication to Congress of the 26th ultimo, concerning
+a decree made by the United States charge d'affaires in China, on 1st
+of June last, prohibiting steamers sailing under the flag of the United
+States from using or passing through the Straw Shoe Channel on the
+Yangtse River, I now transmit a copy of a dispatch of the 22d of August
+last, No. 25, from S. Wells Williams, esq., and of such of the papers
+accompanying it as were not contained in my former communication. I also
+transmit a copy of the reply of the 6th instant made by the Secretary of
+State to the above-named dispatch.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _February 24, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
+
+I transmit to Congress a copy of a convention between the United States
+and the Mexican Republic, providing for the adjustment of the claims of
+citizens of either country against the other, signed on the 4th day of
+July last, and the ratifications of which were exchanged on the 1st
+instant.
+
+It is recommended that such legislation as may be necessary to carry
+this convention into effect shall receive early consideration.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 1, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+In compliance with the request of the Senate of the 27th ultimo,
+I return herewith their resolution of the 26th February, calling for a
+statement of internal-revenue stamps issued by the Government since the
+passage of the act approved July 1, 1862.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+VETO MESSAGES.
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 13, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+The bill entitled "An act transferring the duties of trustees of colored
+schools of Washington and Georgetown" is herewith returned to the
+Senate, in which House it originated, without my approval.
+
+The accompanying paper exhibits the fact that the legislation which the
+bill proposes is contrary to the wishes of the colored residents of
+Washington and Georgetown, and that they prefer that the schools for
+their children should be under the management of trustees selected by
+the Secretary of the Interior, whose term of office is for four years,
+rather than subject to the control of bodies whose tenure of office,
+depending merely upon political considerations, may be annually affected
+by the elections which take place in the two cities.
+
+The colored people of Washington and Georgetown are at present not
+represented by a person of their own race in either of the boards of
+trustees of public schools appointed by the municipal authorities.
+Of the three trustees, however, who, under the act of July 11, 1862,
+compose the board of trustees of the schools for colored children, two
+are persons of color. The resolutions transmitted herewith show that
+they have performed their trust in a manner entirely satisfactory to
+the colored people of the two cities, and no good reason is known to
+the Executive why the duties which now devolve upon them should be
+transferred as proposed in the bill.
+
+With these brief suggestions the bill is respectfully returned, and the
+consideration of Congress invited to the accompanying preamble and
+resolutions.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, D.C., _February 22, 1869_.
+
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+The accompanying bill, entitled "An act regulating the duties on
+imported copper and copper ores," is, for the following reasons,
+returned, without my approval, to the House of Representatives, in which
+branch of Congress it originated.
+
+Its immediate effect will be to diminish the public receipts, for the
+object of the bill can not be accomplished without seriously affecting
+the importation of copper and copper ores, from which a considerable
+revenue is at present derived. While thus impairing the resources of the
+Government, it imposes an additional tax upon an already overburdened
+people, who should not be further impoverished that monopolies may be
+fostered and corporations enriched.
+
+It is represented--and the declaration seems to be sustained by
+evidence--that the duties for which this bill provides are nearly or
+quite sufficient to prohibit the importation of certain foreign ores of
+copper. Its enactment, therefore, will prove detrimental to the shipping
+interests of the nation, and at the same time destroy the business, for
+many years successfully established, of smelting home ores in connection
+with a smaller amount of the imported articles. This business, it is
+credibly asserted, has heretofore yielded the larger share of the copper
+production of the country, and thus the industry which this legislation
+is designed to encourage is actually less than that which will be
+destroyed by the passage of this bill.
+
+It seems also to be evident that the effect of this measure will be to
+enhance by 70 per cent the cost of blue vitriol--an article extensively
+used in dyeing and in the manufacture of printed and colored cloths. To
+produce such an augmentation in the price of this commodity will be to
+discriminate against other great branches of domestic industry, and by
+increasing their cost to expose them most unfairly to the effects of
+foreign competition. Legislation can neither be wise nor just which
+seeks the welfare of a single interest at the expense and to the injury
+of many and varied interests at least equally important and equally
+deserving the consideration of Congress. Indeed, it is difficult to find
+any reason which will justify the interference of Government with any
+legitimate industry, except so far as may be rendered necessary by the
+requirements of the revenue. As has already been stated, however, the
+legislative intervention proposed in the present instance will diminish,
+not increase, the public receipts.
+
+The enactment of such a law is urged as necessary for the relief of
+certain mining interests upon Lake Superior, which, it is alleged,
+are in a greatly depressed condition, and can only be sustained by an
+enhancement of the price of copper. If this result should follow the
+passage of the bill, a tax for the exclusive benefit of a single class
+would be imposed upon the consumers of copper throughout the entire
+country, not warranted by any need of the Government, and the avails of
+which would not in any degree find their way into the Treasury of the
+nation. If the miners of Lake Superior are in a condition of want, it
+can not be justly affirmed that the Government should extend charity to
+them in preference to those of its citizens who in other portions of the
+country suffer in like manner from destitution. Least of all should the
+endeavor to aid them be based upon a method so uncertain and indirect as
+that contemplated by the bill, and which, moreover, proposes to continue
+the exercise of its benefaction through an indefinite period of years.
+It is, besides, reasonable to hope that positive suffering from want,
+if it really exists, will prove but temporary in a region where
+agricultural labor is so much in demand and so well compensated. A
+careful examination of the subject appears to show that the present
+low price of copper, which alone has induced any depression the mining
+interests of Lake Superior may have recently experienced, is due to
+causes which it is wholly impolitic, if not impracticable, to contravene
+by legislation. These causes are, in the main, an increase in the
+general supply of copper, owing to the discovery and working of
+remarkably productive mines and to a coincident restriction in the
+consumption and use of copper by the substitution of other and cheaper
+metals for industrial purposes. It is now sought to resist by artificial
+means the action of natural laws; to place the people of the United
+States, in respect to the enjoyment and use of an essential commodity,
+upon a different basis from other nations, and especially to compensate
+certain private and sectional interests for the changes and losses which
+are always incident to industrial progress.
+
+Although providing for an increase of duties, the proposed law does not
+even come within the range of protection, in the fair acceptation of the
+term. It does not look to the fostering of a young and feeble interest
+with a view to the ultimate attainment of strength and the capacity
+of self-support. It appears to assume that the present inability for
+successful production is inherent and permanent, and is more likely
+to increase than to be gradually overcome; yet in spite of this it
+proposes, by the exercise of the lawmaking power, to sustain that
+interest and to impose it in hopeless perpetuity as a tax upon the
+competent and beneficent industries of the country.
+
+The true method for the mining interests of Lake Superior to
+obtain relief, if relief is needed, is to endeavor to make their great
+natural resources fully available by reducing the cost of production.
+Special or class legislation can not remedy the evils which this bill
+is designed to meet. They can only be overcome by laws which will effect
+a wise, honest, and economical administration of the Government, a
+reestablishment of the specie standard of value, and an early adjustment
+of our system of State, municipal, and national taxation (especially the
+latter) upon the fundamental principle that all taxes, whether collected
+under the internal revenue or under a tariff, shall interfere as little
+as possible with the productive energies of the people.
+
+The bill is therefore returned, in the belief that the true interests
+of the Government and of the people require that it should not become
+a law.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+PROCLAMATION.
+
+BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+A PROCLAMATION.
+
+Whereas the President of the United States has heretofore set forth
+several proclamations offering amnesty and pardon to persons who
+had been or were concerned in the late rebellion against the lawful
+authority of the Government of the United States, which proclamations
+were severally issued on the 8th day of December, 1863, on the 26th
+day of March, 1864, on the 29th day of May, 1865, on the 7th day of
+September, 1867, and on the 4th day of July, in the present year; and
+
+Whereas the authority of the Federal Government having been
+reestablished in all the States and Territories within the jurisdiction
+of the United States, it is believed that such prudential reservations
+and exceptions as at the dates of said several proclamations were deemed
+necessary and proper may now be wisely and justly relinquished, and that
+an universal amnesty and pardon for participation in said rebellion
+extended to all who have borne any part therein will tend to secure
+permanent peace, order, and prosperity throughout the land, and to renew
+and fully restore confidence and fraternal feeling among the whole
+people, and their respect for and attachment to the National Government,
+designed by its patriotic founders for the general good:
+
+Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, by virtue of the power and authority in me vested by the
+Constitution and in the name of the sovereign people of the United
+States, do hereby proclaim and declare, unconditionally and without
+reservation, to all and to every person who, directly or indirectly,
+participated in the late insurrection or rebellion a full pardon and
+amnesty for the offense of treason against the United States or of
+adhering to their enemies during the late civil war, with restoration
+of all rights, privileges, and immunities under the Constitution and
+the laws which have been made in pursuance thereof.
+
+In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have
+caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed.
+
+[SEAL.]
+
+Done at the city of Washington, the 25th day of December, A.D. 1868, and
+of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+By the President:
+  F.W. SEWARD,
+    _Acting Secretary of State_.
+
+
+
+
+IMPEACHMENT OF ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+
+On the 24th of February, 1868, the House of Representatives of the
+Congress of the United States resolved to impeach Andrew Johnson,
+President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors, of
+which the Senate was apprised, and arrangements were made for the trial.
+On the 2d and 3d of March articles of impeachment were agreed upon by
+the House of Representatives, and on the 4th they were presented to the
+Senate by the managers on the part of the House, Mr. John A. Bingham,
+Mr. George S. Boutwell, Mr. James F. Wilson, Mr. Benjamin F. Butler, Mr.
+Thomas Williams, Mr. John A. Logan, and Mr. Thaddeus Stevens, who were
+accompanied by the House as a Committee of the Whole. The articles are
+as follows:
+
+
+IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, UNITED STATES, _March 2, 1868_.
+
+ARTICLES EXHIBITED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES,
+IN THE NAME OF THEMSELVES AND ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES,
+AGAINST ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, IN MAINTENANCE
+AND SUPPORT OF THEIR IMPEACHMENT AGAINST HIM FOR HIGH CRIMES AND
+MISDEMEANORS IN OFFICE.
+
+
+ARTICLE I. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+on the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District
+of Columbia, unmindful of the high duties of his office, of his oath
+of office, and of the requirement of the Constitution that he should
+take care that the laws be faithfully executed, did unlawfully and in
+violation of the Constitution and laws of the United States issue an
+order in writing for the removal of Edwin M. Stanton from the office
+of Secretary for the Department of War, said Edwin M. Stanton having
+been theretofore duly appointed and commissioned, by and with the advice
+and consent of the Senate of the United States, as such Secretary;
+and said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, on the 12th
+day of August, A.D. 1867, and during the recess of said Senate, having
+suspended by his order Edwin M. Stanton from said office, and within
+twenty days after the first day of the next meeting of said Senate--that
+is to say, on the 12th day of December, in the year last aforesaid--having
+reported to said Senate such suspension, with the evidence and reasons
+for his action in the case and the name of the person designated to
+perform the duties of such office temporarily until the next meeting of
+the Senate; and said Senate thereafterwards, on the 13th day of January,
+A.D. 1868, having duly considered the evidence and reasons reported by
+said Andrew Johnson for said suspension, and having refused to concur
+in said suspension, whereby and by force of the provisions of an act
+entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed
+March 2, 1867, said Edwin M. Stanton did forthwith resume the functions
+of his office, whereof the said Andrew Johnson had then and there due
+notice; and said Edwin M. Stanton, by reason of the premises, on said
+21st day of February, being lawfully entitled to hold said office of
+Secretary for the Department of War; which said order for the removal
+of said Edwin M. Stanton is in substance as follows; that is to say:
+
+
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+  _Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868_.
+
+  Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+  _Washington, D.C._
+
+  SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by
+  the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby removed
+  from office as Secretary for the Department of War, and your functions
+  as such will terminate upon the receipt of this communication.
+
+  You will transfer to Brevet Major-General Lorenzo Thomas,
+  Adjutant-General of the Army, who has this day been authorized and
+  empowered to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, all records, books,
+  papers, and other public property now in your custody and charge.
+
+  Respectfully, yours,
+
+  ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+which order was unlawfully issued with intent then and there to violate
+the act entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil
+offices," passed March 2, 1867, and with the further intent, contrary,
+to the provisions of said act, in violation thereof, and contrary to the
+provisions of the Constitution of the United States, and without the
+advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, the said Senate
+then and there being in session, to remove said Edwin M. Stanton from
+the office of Secretary for the Department of War, the said Edwin M.
+Stanton being then and there Secretary for the Department of War, and
+being then and there in the due and lawful execution and discharge of
+the duties of said office; whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of
+the United States, did then and there commit and was guilty of a high
+misdemeanor in office.
+
+ART. II. That on said 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in
+the District of Columbia, said Andrew Johnson, President of the United
+States, unmindful of the high duties of his office, of his oath of
+office, and in violation of the Constitution of the United States, and
+contrary to the provisions of an act entitled "An act regulating the
+tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867, without the
+advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, said Senate then
+and there being in session, and without authority of law, did, with
+intent to violate the Constitution of the United States and the act
+aforesaid, issue and deliver to one Lorenzo Thomas a letter of authority
+in substance as follows; that is to say:
+
+
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+  _Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868_.
+
+  Brevet Major-General LORENZO THOMAS,
+
+  _Adjutant-General United States Army, Washington, D.C._
+
+  SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day removed from office
+  as Secretary for the Department of War, you are hereby authorized and
+  empowered to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, and will immediately
+  enter upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office.
+
+  Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all the records,
+  books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and charge.
+
+  Respectfully, yours,
+
+  ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+then and there being no vacancy in said office of Secretary for the
+Department of War; whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United
+States, did then and there commit and was guilty of a high misdemeanor
+in office.
+
+ART. III. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, on
+the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District of
+Columbia, did commit and was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office in
+this, that without authority of law, while the Senate of the United
+States was then and there in session, he did appoint one Lorenzo Thomas
+to be Secretary for the Department of War _ad interim_, without the
+advice and consent of the Senate, and with intent to violate the
+Constitution of the United States, no vacancy having happened in said
+office of Secretary for the Department of War during the recess of the
+Senate, and no vacancy existing in said office at the time, and which
+said appointment, so made by said Andrew Johnson, of said Lorenzo
+Thomas, is in substance as follows; that is to say:
+
+
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+  _Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868_.
+
+  Brevet Major-General LORENZO THOMAS,
+
+  _Adjutant-General United States Army, Washington, D.C._
+
+  SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day removed from office
+  as Secretary for the Department of War, you are hereby authorized and
+  empowered to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, and will immediately
+  enter upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office.
+
+  Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all the records,
+  books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and charge.
+
+  Respectfully, yours,
+
+  ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+ART. IV. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+unmindful of the high duties of his office and his oath of office, in
+violation of the Constitution and laws of the United States, on the 21st
+day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District of Columbia,
+did unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo Thomas, and with other persons
+to the House of Representatives unknown, with intent, by intimidation
+and threats, unlawfully to hinder and prevent Edwin M. Stanton, then and
+there the Secretary for the Department of War, duly appointed under the
+laws of the United States, from holding said office of Secretary for the
+Department of War, contrary to and in violation of the Constitution of
+the United States and of the provisions of an act entitled "An act to
+define and punish certain conspiracies," approved July 31, 1861; whereby
+said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, did then and there
+commit and was guilty of a high crime in office.
+
+ART. V. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office,
+on the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, and on divers other days and
+times in said year before the 2d day of March, A.D. 1868, at Washington,
+in the District of Columbia, did unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo
+Thomas, and with other persons to the House of Representatives unknown,
+to prevent and hinder the execution of an act entitled "An act
+regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867,
+and in pursuance of said conspiracy did unlawfully attempt to prevent
+Edwin M. Stanton, then and there being Secretary for the Department
+of War, duly appointed and commissioned under the laws of the United
+States, from holding said office; whereby the said Andrew Johnson,
+President of the United States, did then and there commit and was guilty
+of a high misdemeanor in office.
+
+ART. VI. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office,
+on the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District
+of Columbia, did unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo Thomas by force
+to seize, take, and possess the property of the United States in the
+Department of War, and then and there in the custody and charge of Edwin
+M. Stanton, Secretary for said Department, contrary to the provisions
+of an act entitled "An act to define and punish certain conspiracies,"
+approved July 31, 1861, and with intent to violate and disregard an act
+entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed
+March 2, 1867; whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United
+States, did then and there commit a high crime in office.
+
+ART. VII. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office, on
+the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District of
+Columbia, did unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo Thomas with intent
+unlawfully to seize, take, and possess the property of the United States
+in the Department of War, in the custody and charge of Edwin M. Stanton,
+Secretary for said Department, with intent to violate and disregard the
+act entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices,"
+passed March 2, 1867; whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, did then and there commit a high misdemeanor in office.
+
+ART. VIII. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office,
+with intent unlawfully to control the disbursement of the moneys
+appropriated for the military service and for the Department of War,
+on the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District
+of Columbia, did unlawfully, and contrary to the provisions of an act
+entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed
+March 2, 1867, and in violation of the Constitution of the United
+States, and without the advice and consent of the Senate of the United
+States, and while the Senate was then and there in session, there being
+no vacancy in the office of Secretary for the Department of War, and
+with intent to violate and disregard the act aforesaid, then and there
+issue and deliver to one Lorenzo Thomas a letter of authority, in
+writing, in substance as follows; that is to say:
+
+
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+  _Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868_.
+
+  Brevet Major-General LORENZO THOMAS,
+
+  _Adjutant-General United States Army, Washington, D.C._
+
+  SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day removed from office
+  as Secretary for the Department of War, you are hereby authorized and
+  empowered to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, and will immediately
+  enter upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office.
+
+  Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all the records,
+  books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and charge.
+
+  Respectfully, yours,
+
+  ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, did then
+and there commit and was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office.
+
+ART. IX. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, on
+the 22d day of February, A.D. 1868, at Washington, in the District of
+Columbia, in disregard of the Constitution and the laws of the United
+States duly enacted, as Commander in Chief of the Army of the United
+States, did bring before himself then and there William H. Emory, a
+major-general by brevet in the Army of the United States, actually in
+command of the Department of Washington and the military forces thereof,
+and did then and there, as such Commander in Chief, declare to and
+instruct said Emory that part of a law of the United States, passed
+March 2, 1867, entitled "An act making appropriations for the support
+of the Army for the year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes,"
+especially the second section thereof, which provides, among other
+things, that "all orders and instructions relating to military
+operations issued by the President or Secretary of War shall be issued
+through the General of the Army, and in case of his inability through
+the next in rank," was unconstitutional and in contravention of the
+commission of said Emory, and which said provision of law had been
+theretofore duly and legally promulgated by general order for the
+government and direction of the Army of the United States, as the said
+Andrew Johnson then and there well knew, with intent thereby to induce
+said Emory, in his official capacity as commander of the Department of
+Washington, to violate the provisions of said act and to take and
+receive, act upon, and obey such orders as he, the said Andrew Johnson,
+might make and give, and which should not be issued through the General
+of the Army of the United States, according to the provisions of said
+act, and with the further intent thereby to enable him, the said Andrew
+Johnson, to prevent the execution of the act entitled "An act regulating
+the tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867, and to
+unlawfully prevent Edwin M. Stanton, then being Secretary for the
+Department of War, from holding said office and discharging the duties
+thereof; whereby said "Andrew Johnson, President of the United States"
+did then and there commit and was guilty of a high misdemeanor in
+office.
+
+And the House of Representatives, by protestation, saving to themselves
+the liberty of exhibiting at any time hereafter any further articles
+or other accusation or impeachment against the said Andrew Johnson,
+President of the United States, and also of replying to his answers
+which he shall make unto the articles herein preferred against him, and
+of offering proof to the same, and every part thereof, and to all and
+every other article, accusation, or impeachment which shall be exhibited
+by them, as the case shall require, _do demand_ that the said Andrew
+Johnson may be put to answer the high crimes and misdemeanors in office
+herein charged against him, and that such proceedings, examinations,
+trials, and judgments may be thereupon had and given as may be agreeable
+to law and justice.
+
+SCHUYLER COLFAX,
+
+_Speaker of the House of Representatives_.
+
+Attest:
+
+EDWARD McPHERSON,
+
+_Clerk of the House of Representatives_.
+
+
+
+IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, UNITED STATES, _March 3, 1868_.
+
+The following additional articles of impeachment were agreed to, viz:
+
+ART. X. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+unmindful of the high duties of his office and the dignity and
+proprieties thereof, and of the harmony and courtesies which ought to
+exist and be maintained between the executive and legislative branches
+of the Government of the United States, designing and intending to
+set aside the rightful authority and powers of Congress, did attempt
+to bring into disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt, and reproach the
+Congress of the United States and the several branches thereof, to
+impair and destroy the regard and respect of all the good people of
+the United States for the Congress and legislative power thereof (which
+all officers of the Government ought inviolably to preserve and
+maintain), and to excite the odium and resentment of all the good
+people of the United States against Congress and the laws by it duly and
+constitutionally enacted; and, in pursuance of his design and intent,
+openly and publicly, and before divers assemblages of the citizens of
+the United States, convened in divers parts thereof to meet and receive
+said Andrew Johnson as the Chief Magistrate of the United States, did,
+on the 18th day of August, A.D. 1866, and on divers other days and
+times, as well before as afterwards, make and deliver with a loud voice
+certain intemperate, inflammatory, and scandalous harangues, and did
+therein utter loud threats and bitter menaces, as well against Congress
+as the laws of the United States, duly enacted thereby, amid the cries,
+jeers, and laughter of the multitudes then assembled and in hearing,
+which are set forth in the several specifications hereinafter written
+in substance and effect; that is to say:
+
+_Specification first_.--In this, that at Washington, in the District of
+Columbia, in the Executive Mansion, to a committee of citizens who
+called upon the President of the United States, speaking of and
+concerning the Congress of the United States, said Andrew Johnson,
+President of the United States, heretofore, to wit, on the 18th day of
+August, A.D. 1866, did in a loud voice declare in substance and effect,
+among other things; that is to say:
+
+  So far as the executive department of the Government is concerned, the
+  effort has been made to restore the Union, to heal the breach, to pour
+  oil into the wounds which were consequent upon the struggle, and (to
+  speak in common phrase) to prepare, as the learned and wise physician
+  would, a plaster healing in character and coextensive with the wound.
+  We thought and we think that we had partially succeeded; but as the work
+  progresses, as reconstruction seemed to be taking place and the country
+  was becoming reunited, we found a disturbing and marring element
+  opposing us. In alluding to that element I shall go no further than your
+  convention and the distinguished gentleman who has delivered to me the
+  report of its proceedings. I shall make no reference to it that I do not
+  believe the time and the occasion justify.
+
+  We have witnessed in one department of the Government every endeavor
+  to prevent the restoration of peace, harmony, and union. We have seen
+  hanging upon the verge of the Government, as it were, a body called, or
+  which assumes to be, the Congress of the United States, while in fact it
+  is a Congress of only a part of the States. We have seen this Congress
+  pretend to be for the Union, when its every step and act tended to
+  perpetuate disunion and make a disruption of the States inevitable.
+  * * * We have seen Congress gradually encroach, step by step, upon
+  constitutional rights, and violate, day after day and month after month,
+  fundamental principles of the Government. We have seen a Congress that
+  seemed to forget that there was a limit to the sphere and scope of
+  legislation. We have seen a Congress in a minority assume to exercise
+  power which, allowed to be consummated, would result in despotism or
+  monarchy itself.
+
+_Specification second_.--In this, that at Cleveland, in the State
+of Ohio, heretofore, to wit, on the 3d day of September, A.D. 1866,
+before a public assemblage of citizens and others, said Andrew Johnson,
+President of the United States, speaking of and concerning the Congress
+of the United States, did in a loud voice declare in substance and
+effect, among other things; that is to say:
+
+  I will tell you what I did do. I called upon your Congress that is
+  trying to break up the Government.
+
+  In conclusion, besides that, Congress had taken much pains to poison
+  their constituents against him. But what had Congress done? Have they
+  done anything to restore the Union of these States? No. On the contrary,
+  they have done everything to prevent it. And because he stood now where
+  he did when the rebellion commenced, he had been denounced as a traitor.
+  Who had run greater risks or made greater sacrifices than himself? But
+  Congress, factious and domineering, had undertaken to poison the minds
+  of the American people.
+
+_Specification third_.--In this, that at St. Louis, in the State of
+Missouri, heretofore, to wit, on the 8th day of September, A.D. 1866,
+before a public assemblage of citizens and others, said Andrew Johnson,
+President of the United States, speaking of and concerning the Congress
+of the United States, did in a loud voice declare in substance and
+effect, among other things; that is to say:
+
+  Go on. Perhaps if you had a word or two on the subject of New Orleans
+  you might understand more about it than you do. And if you will go
+  back--if you will go back and ascertain the cause of the riot at New
+  Orleans, perhaps you will not be so prompt in calling out "New Orleans."
+  If you will take up the riot at New Orleans and trace it back to its
+  source or its immediate cause, you will find out who was responsible
+  for the blood that was shed there. If you will take up the riot at New
+  Orleans and trace it back to the Radical Congress, you will find that
+  the riot at New Orleans was substantially planned. If you will take up
+  the proceedings in their caucuses, you will understand that they there
+  knew that a convention was to be called which was extinct by its power
+  having expired; that it was said that the intention was that a new
+  government was to be organized, and on the organization of that
+  government the intention was to enfranchise one portion of the
+  population, called the colored population, who had just been
+  emancipated, and at the same time disfranchise white men. When you
+  design to talk about New Orleans, you ought to understand what you are
+  talking about. When you read the speeches that were made and take up
+  the facts on the Friday and Saturday before that convention sat, you
+  will there find that speeches were made, incendiary in their character,
+  exciting that portion of the population--the black population--to arm
+  themselves and prepare for the shedding of blood. You will also find
+  that that convention did assemble, in violation of law, and the
+  intention of that convention was to supersede the reorganized
+  authorities in the State government of Louisiana, which had been
+  recognized by the Government of the United States; and every man engaged
+  in that rebellion in that convention, with the intention of superseding
+  and upturning the civil government which had been recognized by the
+  Government of the United States, I say that he was a traitor to the
+  Constitution of the United States; and hence you find that another
+  rebellion was commenced, _having its origin in the Radical Congress_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  So much for the New Orleans riot. And there was the cause and the origin
+  of the blood that was shed; and every drop of blood that was shed is
+  upon their skirts, and they are responsible for it. I could test this
+  thing a little closer, but will not do it here to-night. But when you
+  talk about the causes and consequences that resulted from proceedings
+  of that kind, perhaps, as I have been introduced here, and you have
+  provoked questions of this kind--though it does not provoke me--I will
+  tell you a few wholesome things that have been done by this Radical
+  Congress in connection with New Orleans and the extension of the
+  elective franchise.
+
+  I know that I have been traduced and abused. I know it has come in
+  advance of me, here as elsewhere, that I have attempted to exercise an
+  arbitrary power in resisting laws that were intended to be forced upon
+  the Government; that I had exercised that power; that I had abandoned
+  the party that elected me, and that I was a traitor, because I exercised
+  the veto power in attempting and did arrest for a time a bill that was
+  called a "Freedmen's Bureau" bill; yes, that I was a traitor. And I have
+  been traduced, I have been slandered, I have been maligned, I have been
+  called Judas Iscariot and all that. Now, my countrymen, here to-night,
+  it is very easy to indulge in epithets; it is easy to call a man a Judas
+  and cry out "traitor;" but when he is called upon to give arguments and
+  facts he is very often found wanting. Judas Iscariot--Judas. There was
+  a Judas, and he was one of the twelve apostles. Oh, yes; the twelve
+  apostles had a Christ. The twelve apostles had a Christ, and he never
+  could have had a Judas unless he had had twelve apostles. If I have
+  played the Judas, who has been my Christ that I have played the Judas
+  with? Was it Thad. Stevens? Was it Wendell Phillips? Was it Charles
+  Sumner? These are the men that stop and compare themselves with the
+  Savior, and everybody that differs with them in opinion, and to try
+  to stay and arrest their diabolical and nefarious policy, is to be
+  denounced as a Judas.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  Well, let me say to you, if you will stand by me in this action, if you
+  will stand by me in trying to give the people a fair chance--soldiers
+  and citizens--to participate in these offices, God being willing I will
+  kick them out. I will kick them out just as fast as I can.
+
+  Let me say to you in concluding that what I have said I intended to say.
+  I was not provoked into this, and I care not for their menaces, the
+  taunts and the jeers. I care not for threats. I do not intend to be
+  bullied by my enemies nor overawed by my friends. But, God willing, with
+  your help I will veto their measures whenever any of them come to me.
+
+
+which said utterances, declarations, threats, and harangues, highly
+censurable in any, are peculiarly indecent and unbecoming in the Chief
+Magistrate of the United States, by means whereof said Andrew Johnson
+has brought the high office of the President of the United States into
+contempt, ridicule, and disgrace, to the great scandal of all good
+citizens; whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+did commit and was then and there guilty of a high misdemeanor in
+office.
+
+ART. XI. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office,
+and in disregard of the Constitution and laws of the United States, did
+heretofore, to wit, on the 18th day of August, A.D. 1866, at the city of
+Washington, in the District of Columbia, by public speech, declare and
+affirm in substance that the Thirty-ninth Congress of the United States
+was not a Congress of the United States authorized by the Constitution
+to exercise legislative power under the same, but, on the contrary, was
+a Congress of only part of the States; thereby denying and intending to
+deny that the legislation of said Congress was valid or obligatory upon
+him, the said Andrew Johnson, except in so far as he saw fit to approve
+the same, and also thereby denying and intending to deny the power of
+the said Thirty-ninth Congress to propose amendments to the Constitution
+of the United States; and in pursuance of said declaration the said
+Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, afterwards, to wit,
+on the 21st day of February, A.D. 1868, at the city of Washington,
+in the District of Columbia, did unlawfully, and in disregard of the
+requirement of the Constitution that he should take care that the laws
+be faithfully executed, attempt to prevent the execution of an act
+entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed
+March 2, 1867, by unlawfully devising and contriving, and attempting to
+devise and contrive, means by which he should prevent Edwin M. Stanton
+from forthwith resuming the functions of the office of Secretary for the
+Department of War, notwithstanding the refusal of the Senate to concur
+in the suspension theretofore made by said Andrew Johnson of said Edwin
+M. Stanton from said office of Secretary for the Department of War, and
+also by further unlawfully devising and contriving, and attempting to
+devise and contrive, means then and there to prevent the execution of
+an act entitled "An act making appropriations for the support of the
+Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868 and for other purposes,"
+approved March 2, 1867, and also to prevent the execution of an act
+entitled "An act to provide for the more efficient government of the
+rebel States," passed March 2, 1867, whereby the said Andrew Johnson,
+President of the United States, did then, to wit, on the 21st day of
+February, A.D. 1868, at the city of Washington, commit and was guilty
+of a high misdemeanor in office.
+
+SCHUYLER COLFAX,
+
+_Speaker of the House of Representatives_.
+
+Attest:
+
+EDWARD McPHERSON,
+
+_Clerk of the House of Representatives_.
+
+
+
+IN THE SENATE, _March 4, 1868_.
+
+The President _pro tempore_ laid before the Senate the following letter
+from the Hon. Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the
+United States:
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _March 4, 1868_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+Inasmuch as the sole power to try impeachments is vested by the
+Constitution in the Senate, and it is made the duty of the Chief Justice
+to preside when the President is on trial, I take the liberty of
+submitting, very respectfully, some observations in respect to the
+proper mode of proceeding upon the impeachment which has been preferred
+by the House of Representatives against the President now in office.
+
+That when the Senate sits for the trial of an impeachment it sits as a
+court seems unquestionable.
+
+That for the trial of an impeachment of the President this court must be
+constituted of the members of the Senate, with the Chief Justice
+presiding, seems equally unquestionable.
+
+The Federalist is regarded as the highest contemporary authority on the
+construction of the Constitution, and in the sixty-fourth number the
+functions of the Senate "sitting in their judicial capacity as a court
+for the trial of impeachments" are examined.
+
+In a paragraph explaining the reasons for not uniting "the Supreme Court
+with the Senate in the formation of the court of impeachments" it is
+observed that--
+
+  To a certain extent the benefits of that union will be obtained from
+  making the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court the president of the court
+  of impeachments, as is proposed by the plan of the Convention, while the
+  inconveniences of an entire incorporation of the former into the latter
+  will be substantially avoided. This was, perhaps, the prudent mean.
+
+This authority seems to leave no doubt upon either of the propositions
+just stated; and the statement of them will serve to introduce the
+question upon which I think it my duty to state the result of my
+reflections to the Senate, namely, At what period, in the case of
+an impeachment of the President, should the court of impeachment be
+organized under oath, as directed by the Constitution?
+
+It will readily suggest itself to anyone who reflects upon the abilities
+and the learning in the law which distinguish so many Senators that
+besides the reason assigned in the Federalist there must have been still
+another for the provision requiring the Chief Justice to preside in the
+court of impeachment. Under the Constitution, in case of a vacancy in
+the office of President, the Vice-President succeeds, and it was
+doubtless thought prudent and befitting that the next in succession
+should not preside in a proceeding through which a vacancy might be
+created.
+
+It is not doubted that the Senate, while sitting in its ordinary
+capacity, must necessarily receive from the House of Representatives
+some notice of its intention to impeach the President at its bar,
+but it does not seem to me an unwarranted opinion, in view of this
+constitutional provision, that the organization of the Senate as
+a court of impeachment, under the Constitution, should precede the
+actual announcement of the impeachment on the part of the House.
+
+And it may perhaps be thought a still less unwarranted opinion that
+articles of impeachment should only be presented to a court of
+impeachment; that no summons or other process should issue except
+from the organized court, and that rules for the government of the
+proceedings of such a court should be framed only by the court itself.
+
+I have found myself unable to come to any other conclusions than these.
+I can assign no reason for requiring the Senate to organize as a court
+under any other than its ordinary presiding officer for the latter
+proceedings upon an impeachment of the President which does not seem
+to me to apply equally to the earlier.
+
+I am informed that the Senate has proceeded upon other views, and it is
+not my purpose to contest what its superior wisdom may have directed.
+
+All good citizens will fervently pray that no occasion may ever arise
+when the grave proceedings now in progress will be cited as a precedent;
+but it is not impossible that such an occasion may come.
+
+Inasmuch, therefore, as the Constitution has charged the Chief Justice
+with an important function in the trial of an impeachment of the
+President, it has seemed to me fitting and obligatory, where he is
+unable to concur in the views of the Senate concerning matters essential
+to the trial, that his respectful dissent should appear.
+
+S.P. CHASE,
+
+_Chief Justice of the United States_.
+
+
+
+
+PROCEEDINGS OF THE SENATE SITTING FOR THE TRIAL OF THE IMPEACHMENT
+OF ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+
+
+THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 1868.
+
+THE UNITED STATES _vs_. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+
+The Chief Justice of the United States entered the Senate Chamber and
+was conducted to the chair by the committee appointed by the Senate for
+that purpose.
+
+The following oath was administered to the Chief Justice by Associate
+Justice Nelson, and by the Chief Justice to the members of the Senate:
+
+I do solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of
+the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, now
+pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and
+laws. So help me God.
+
+
+
+FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 1868.
+
+THE UNITED STATES _vs_. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+
+To accord with the conviction of the Chief Justice[76] that the court
+should adopt its own rules, those adopted on March 2 by the Senate
+sitting in its legislative capacity were readopted by the Senate sitting
+as a court of impeachment. The rules are as follows:
+
+[Footnote 76: See letter from the Chief Justice, pp. 718-720.]
+
+
+RULES OF PROCEDURE AND PRACTICE IN THE SENATE WHEN SITTING ON THE TRIAL
+OF IMPEACHMENTS.
+
+I. Whensoever the Senate shall receive notice from the House of
+Representatives that managers are appointed on their part to conduct an
+impeachment against any person, and are directed to carry articles of
+impeachment to the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate shall immediately
+inform the House of Representatives that the Senate is ready to receive
+the managers for the purpose of exhibiting such articles of impeachment
+agreeably to said notice.
+
+II. When the managers of an impeachment shall be introduced at the bar
+of the Senate and shall signify that they are ready to exhibit articles
+of impeachment against any person, the Presiding Officer of the Senate
+shall direct the Sergeant-at-Arms to make proclamation, who shall, after
+making proclamation, repeat the following words, viz:
+
+  All persons are commanded to keep silence, on pain of imprisonment,
+  while the House of Representatives is exhibiting to the Senate of the
+  United States articles of impeachment against -------- --------.
+
+after which the articles shall be exhibited; and then the Presiding
+Officer of the Senate shall inform the managers that the Senate will
+take proper order on the subject of the impeachment, of which due notice
+shall be given to the House of Representatives.
+
+III. Upon such articles being presented to the Senate, the Senate shall,
+at 1 o'clock afternoon of the day (Sunday excepted) following such
+presentation, or sooner if so ordered by the Senate, proceed to the
+consideration of such articles, and shall continue in session from day
+to day (Sundays excepted) after the trial shall commence (unless
+otherwise ordered by the Senate) until final judgment shall be rendered,
+and so much longer as may in its judgment be needful. Before proceeding
+to the consideration of the articles of impeachment the Presiding
+Officer shall administer the oath hereinafter provided to the members of
+the Senate then present, and to the other members of the Senate as they
+shall appear, whose duty it shall be to take the same.
+
+IV. When the President of the United States, or the Vice-President
+of the United States upon whom the powers and duties of the office of
+President shall have devolved, shall be impeached, the Chief Justice
+of the Supreme Court of the United States shall preside; and in a case
+requiring the said Chief Justice to preside notice shall be given to him
+by the Presiding Officer of the Senate of the time and place fixed for
+the consideration of the articles of impeachment as aforesaid, with a
+request to attend; and the said Chief Justice shall preside over the
+Senate during the consideration of said articles and upon the trial
+of the person impeached therein.
+
+V. The Presiding Officer shall have power to make and issue, by himself
+or by the Secretary of the Senate, all orders, mandates, writs, and
+precepts authorized by these rules or by the Senate, and to make and
+enforce such other regulations and orders in the premises as the Senate
+may authorize or provide.
+
+VI. The Senate shall have power to compel the attendance of witnesses,
+to enforce obedience to its orders, mandates, writs, precepts, and
+judgments, to preserve order, and to punish in a summary way contempts
+of and disobedience to its authority, orders, mandates, writs, precepts,
+or judgments, and to make all lawful orders, rules, and regulations
+which it may deem essential or conducive to the ends of justice; and the
+Sergeant-at-Arms, under the direction of the Senate, may employ such aid
+and assistance as may be necessary to enforce, execute, and carry into
+effect the lawful orders, mandates, writs, and precepts of the Senate.
+
+VII. The Presiding Officer of the Senate shall direct all necessary
+preparations in the Senate Chamber, and the presiding officer upon the
+trial shall direct all the forms of proceeding while the Senate are
+sitting for the purpose of trying an impeachment and all forms during
+the trial not otherwise specially provided for. The presiding officer
+may, in the first instance, submit to the Senate, without a division,
+all questions of evidence and incidental questions; but the same shall,
+on the demand of one-fifth of the members present, be decided by yeas
+and nays.
+
+VIII. Upon the presentation of articles of impeachment and the
+organization of the Senate as hereinbefore provided, a writ of summons
+shall issue to the accused, reciting said articles and notifying him to
+appear before the Senate upon a day and at a place to be fixed by the
+Senate, and named in such writ, and file his answer to said articles of
+impeachment, and to stand to and abide the orders and judgments of the
+Senate thereon, which writ shall be served by such officer or person as
+shall be named in the precept thereof such number of days prior to the
+day fixed for such appearance as shall be named in such precept, either
+by the delivery of an attested copy thereof to the person accused or,
+if that can not conveniently be done, by leaving such copy at the last
+known place of abode of such person or at his usual place of business,
+in some conspicuous place therein; or, if such service shall be, in the
+judgment of the Senate, impracticable, notice to the accused to appear
+shall be given in such other manner, by publication or otherwise, as
+shall be deemed just; and if the writ aforesaid shall fail of service
+in the manner aforesaid, the proceedings shall not thereby abate, but
+further service may be made in such manner as the Senate shall direct.
+If the accused, after service, shall fail to appear, either in person or
+by attorney, on the day so fixed therefor as aforesaid, or, appearing,
+shall fail to file his answer to such articles of impeachment, the trial
+shall proceed, nevertheless, as upon a plea of not guilty. If a plea of
+guilty shall be entered, judgment may be entered thereon without further
+proceedings.
+
+IX. At 12 o'clock and 30 minutes afternoon of the day appointed for the
+return of the summons against the person impeached the legislative and
+executive business of the Senate shall be suspended and the Secretary of
+the Senate shall administer an oath to the returning officer in the form
+following, viz:
+
+  I, -------- --------, do solemnly swear that the return made by me
+  upon the process issued on the ---- day of ---- by the Senate of the
+  United States against -------- -------- is truly made, and that I have
+  performed such service as herein described.
+
+  So help me God.
+
+which oath shall be entered at large on the records.
+
+X. The person impeached shall then be called to appear and answer the
+articles of impeachment against him. If he appear, or any person for
+him, the appearance shall be recorded, stating particularly if by
+himself or by agent or attorney, naming the person appearing and the
+capacity in which he appears, If he do not appear, either personally
+or by agent or attorney, the same shall be recorded.
+
+XI. At 12 o'clock and 30 minutes afternoon of the day appointed for the
+trial of an impeachment the legislative and executive business of the
+Senate shall be suspended and the Secretary shall give notice to the
+House of Representatives that the Senate is ready to proceed upon the
+impeachment of -------- --------, in the Senate Chamber, which chamber
+is prepared with accommodations for the reception of the House of
+Representatives.
+
+XII. The hour of the day at which the Senate shall sit upon the trial of
+an impeachment shall be (unless otherwise ordered) 12 o'clock m., and
+when the hour for such sitting shall arrive the Presiding Officer of the
+Senate shall so announce; and thereupon the presiding officer upon such
+trial shall cause proclamation to be made, and the business of the trial
+shall proceed. The adjournment of the Senate sitting in said trial shall
+not operate as an adjournment of the Senate, but on such adjournment the
+Senate shall resume the consideration of its legislative and executive
+business.
+
+XIII. The Secretary of the Senate shall record the proceedings in cases
+of impeachment as in the case of legislative proceedings, and the same
+shall be reported in the same manner as the legislative proceedings of
+the Senate.
+
+XIV. Counsel for the parties shall be admitted to appear and be heard
+upon an impeachment.
+
+XV. All motions made by the parties or their counsel shall be addressed
+to the presiding officer, and if he or any Senator shall require it they
+shall be committed to writing and read at the Secretary's table.
+
+XVI. Witnesses shall be examined by one person on behalf of the party
+producing them and then cross-examined by one person on the other side.
+
+XVII. If a Senator is called as a witness, he shall be sworn and give
+his testimony standing in his place.
+
+XVIII. If a Senator wishes a question to be put to a witness, or to
+offer a motion or order (except a motion to adjourn), it shall be
+reduced to writing and put by the presiding officer.
+
+XIX. At all times while the Senate is sitting upon the trial of an
+impeachment the doors of the Senate shall be kept open, unless the
+Senate shall direct the doors to be closed while deliberating upon
+its decisions.
+
+XX. All preliminary or interlocutory questions and all motions shall be
+argued for not exceeding one hour on each side, unless the Senate shall
+by order extend the time.
+
+XXI. The case on each side shall be opened by one person. The final
+argument on the merits may be made by two persons on each side (unless
+otherwise ordered by the Senate, upon application for that purpose),
+and the argument shall be opened and closed on the part of the House
+of Representatives.
+
+XXII. On the final question whether the impeachment is sustained the
+yeas and nays shall be taken on each article of impeachment separately,
+and if the impeachment shall not, upon any of the articles presented, be
+sustained by the votes of two-thirds of the members present a judgment
+of acquittal shall be entered; but if the person accused in such
+articles of impeachment shall be convicted upon any of said articles by
+the votes of two-thirds of the members present the Senate shall proceed
+to pronounce judgment, and a certified copy of such judgment shall be
+deposited in the office of the Secretary of State.
+
+XXIII. All the orders and decisions shall be made and had by yeas and
+nays, which shall be entered on the record, and without debate, except
+when the doors shall be closed for deliberation, and in that case no
+member shall speak more than once on one question, and for not more than
+ten minutes on an interlocutory question, and for not more than fifteen
+minutes on the final question, unless by consent of the Senate, to be
+had without debate; but a motion to adjourn may be decided without the
+yeas and nays, unless they be demanded by one-fifth of the members
+present.
+
+XXIV. Witnesses shall be sworn in the following form, viz:
+
+  You, -------- --------, do swear (or affirm, as the case maybe) that
+  the evidence you shall give in the case now depending between the
+  United States and -------- -------- shall be the truth, the whole
+  truth, and nothing but the truth. So help you God.
+
+which oath shall be administered by the Secretary or any other duly
+authorized person.
+
+
+Form of subpoena to be issued on the application of the managers of
+the impeachment, or of the party impeached, or of his counsel:
+
+  _To_ -------- --------; _greeting_:
+
+  You and each of you are hereby commanded to appear before the Senate of
+  the United States on the ---- day of ----, at the Senate Chamber, in
+  the city of Washington, then and there to testify your knowledge in the
+  cause which is before the Senate in which the House of Representatives
+  have impeached -------- --------.
+
+  Fail not.
+
+  Witness -------- --------, and Presiding Officer of the Senate, at
+  the city of Washington, this ---- day of ----, A.D. ----, and of the
+  Independence of the United States the ------.
+
+
+Form of direction for the service of said subpoena:
+
+  _The Senate of the United States to_ -------- --------, _greeting_:
+
+  You are hereby commanded to serve and return the within subpoena
+  according to law.
+
+  Dated at Washington, this ---- day of ----, A.D. ----, and of the
+  Independence of the United States the ------.
+
+  _Secretary of the Senate_.
+
+
+Form of oath to be administered to the members of the Senate sitting in
+the trial of impeachments:
+
+  I solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that in all things
+  appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of -------- --------, now
+  pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and
+  laws. So help me God.
+
+
+Form of summons to be issued and served upon the person impeached.
+
+
+  THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, _ss_:
+
+  _The Senate of the United States to_ -------- --------, _greeting_:
+
+  Whereas the House of Representatives of the United States of America did
+  on the ---- day of ---- exhibit to the Senate articles of impeachment
+  against you, the said -------- --------, in the words following:
+
+  [Here insert the articles.]
+
+  And demand that you, the said -------- --------, should be put to
+  answer the accusations as set forth in said articles, and that such
+  proceedings, examinations, trials, and judgments might be thereupon
+  had as are agreeable to law and justice:
+
+  You, the said -------- --------, are therefore hereby summoned to be
+  and appear before the Senate of the United States of America, at their
+  chamber, in the city of Washington, on the ---- day of ----, at 12
+  o'clock and 30 minutes afternoon, then and there to answer to the said
+  articles of impeachment, and then and there to abide by, obey, and
+  perform such orders, directions, and judgments as the Senate of the
+  United States shall make in the premises, according to the Constitution
+  and laws of the United States.
+
+  Hereof you are not to fail.
+
+  Witness -------- --------, and Presiding Officer of the said Senate, at
+  the city of Washington, this ---- day of ----, A.D. ----, and of the
+  Independence of the United States the ------.
+
+
+Form of precept to be indorsed on said writ of summons:
+
+
+  THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, _ss_:
+
+  _The Senate of the United States to_ -------- --------, _greeting_:
+
+  You are hereby commanded to deliver to and leave with -------- --------,
+  if conveniently to be found, or, if not, to leave at his usual place of
+  abode or at his usual place of business, in some conspicuous place, a
+  true and attested copy of the within writ of summons, together with a
+  like copy of this precept; and in whichsoever way you perform the
+  service, let it be done at least ---- days before the appearance day
+  mentioned in said writ of summons.
+
+  Fail not, and make return of this writ of summons and precept, with your
+  proceedings thereon indorsed, on or before the appearance day mentioned
+  in the said writ of summons.
+
+  Witness -------- --------, and Presiding Officer of the Senate, at
+  the city of Washington, this ---- day of ----, A.D. ----, and of the
+  Independence of the United States the ------.
+
+
+All process shall be served by the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate unless
+otherwise ordered by the court.
+
+XXV. If the Senate shall at any time fail to sit for the consideration
+of articles of impeachment on the day or hour fixed therefor, the Senate
+may by an order, to be adopted without debate, fix a day and hour for
+resuming such consideration.
+
+On March 31 Rule VII was amended to read as follows:
+
+VII. The Presiding Officer of the Senate shall direct all necessary
+preparations in the Senate Chamber, and the presiding officer on the
+trial shall direct all the forms of proceeding while the Senate are
+sitting for the purpose of trying an impeachment, and all forms during
+the trial not otherwise specially provided for, and the presiding
+officer on the trial may rule all questions of evidence and incidental
+questions, which ruling shall stand as the judgment of the Senate,
+unless some member of the Senate shall ask that a formal vote be taken
+thereon, in which case it shall be submitted to the Senate for decision;
+or he may, at his option, in the first instance submit any such question
+to a vote of the members of the Senate.
+
+On April 3 Rule VII was further amended by inserting at the end thereof
+the following:
+
+Upon all such questions the vote shall be without a division, unless the
+yeas and nays be demanded by one-fifth of the members present, when the
+same shall be taken.
+
+On March 13 Rule XXIII was amended to read as follows:
+
+XXIII. All the orders and decisions shall be made and had by yeas and
+nays, which shall be entered on the record, and without debate, subject,
+however, to the operation of Rule VII, except when the doors shall be
+closed for deliberation, and in that case no member shall speak more
+than once on one question, and for not more than ten minutes on an
+interlocutory question, and for not more than fifteen minutes on the
+final question, unless by consent of the Senate, to be had without
+debate; but a motion to adjourn may be decided without the yeas and
+nays, unless they be demanded by one-fifth of the members present.
+
+On May 7 Rule XXIII was further amended by adding thereto the following:
+
+The fifteen minutes herein allowed shall be for the whole deliberation
+on the final question, and not to the final question on each article of
+impeachment.
+
+
+
+FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 1868.
+
+THE UNITED STATES _vs_. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+
+Mr. Henry Stanbery, in behalf of Andrew Johnson, the respondent, read
+the following paper:
+
+In the matter of the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States.
+
+Mr. CHIEF JUSTICE: I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+having been served with a summons to appear before this honorable court,
+sitting as a court of impeachment, to answer certain articles of
+impeachment found and presented against me by the honorable the House
+of Representatives of the United States, do hereby enter my appearance
+by my counsel, Henry Stanbery, Benjamin R. Curtis, Jeremiah S. Black,
+William M. Evarts, and Thomas A.R. Nelson, who have my warrant and
+authority therefor, and who are instructed by me to ask of this
+honorable court a reasonable time for the preparation of my answer
+to said articles. After a careful examination of the articles of
+impeachment and consultation with my counsel, I am satisfied that at
+least forty days will be necessary for the preparation of my answer,
+and I respectfully ask that it be allowed.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+Mr. Stanbery then submitted the following motion:
+
+In the matter of the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States.
+
+Henry Stanbery, Benjamin R. Curtis, Jeremiah S. Black, William M.
+Evarts, and Thomas A.R. Nelson, of counsel for the respondent, move the
+court for the allowance of forty days for the preparation of the answer
+to the articles of impeachment, and in support of the motion make the
+following professional statement:
+
+The articles are eleven in number, involving many questions of law
+and fact. We have during the limited time and opportunity afforded us
+considered as far as possible the field of investigation which must be
+explored in the preparation of the answer, and the conclusion at which
+we have arrived is that with the utmost diligence the time we have asked
+is reasonable and necessary.
+
+The precedents as to time for answer upon impeachments before the Senate
+to which we have had opportunity to refer are those of Judge Chase and
+Judge Peck.
+
+In the case of Judge Chase time was allowed from the 3d of January until
+the 4th of February next succeeding to put in his answer--a period of
+thirty-two days; but in this case there were only eight articles, and
+Judge Chase had been for a year cognizant of most of the articles, and
+had been himself engaged in preparing to meet them.
+
+In the case of Judge Peck there was but a single article. Judge Peck
+asked for time from the 10th to the 25th of May to put in his answer,
+and it was granted. It appears that Judge Peck had been long cognizant
+of the ground laid for his impeachment, and had been present before the
+committee of the House upon the examination of the witnesses, and had
+been permitted by the House of Representatives to present to that body
+an elaborate answer to the charges.
+
+It is apparent that the President is fairly entitled to more time than
+was allowed in either of the foregoing cases. It is proper to add that
+the respondents in these cases were lawyers, fully capable of preparing
+their own answers, and that no pressing official duties interfered with
+their attention to that business; whereas the President, not being a
+lawyer, must rely on his counsel. The charges involve his acts,
+declarations, and intentions, as to all which his counsel must be fully
+advised upon consultation with him, step by step, in the preparation of
+his defense. It is seldom that a case requires such constant
+communication between client and counsel as this, and yet such
+communication can only be had at such intervals as are allowed to the
+President from the usual hours that must be devoted to his high official
+duties.
+
+We further beg leave to suggest for the consideration of this honorable
+court that, as counsel careful as well of their own reputation as of
+the interests of their client in a case of such magnitude as this, so
+out of the ordinary range of professional experience, where so much
+responsibility is felt, they submit to the candid consideration of the
+court that they have a right to ask for themselves such opportunity to
+discharge their duty as seems to them to be absolutely necessary.
+
+  HENRY STANBERY,
+  B.R. CURTIS,
+  JEREMIAH S. BLACK, \__ Per H.S.
+  WILLIAM M. EVARTS, /
+  THOMAS A.R. NELSON,
+
+_Of Counsel for the Respondent_.
+
+
+The above motion was denied, and the Senate adopted the following orders:
+
+_Ordered_, That the respondent file answer to the articles of
+impeachment on or before Monday, the 23d day of March instant.
+
+_Ordered_, That unless otherwise ordered by the Senate, for cause shown,
+the trial of the pending impeachment shall proceed immediately after
+replication shall be filed.
+
+
+
+MONDAY, MARCH 23, 1868.
+
+THE UNITED STATES _vs_. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+
+The answer of the respondent to the articles of impeachment was
+submitted by his counsel, as follows:
+
+Senate of the United States, sitting as a court of impeachment for the
+trial of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States.
+
+THE ANSWER OF THE SAID ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,
+TO THE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT EXHIBITED AGAINST HIM BY THE HOUSE OF
+REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+_Answer to Article I_.--For answer to the first article he says that
+Edwin M. Stanton was appointed Secretary for the Department of War on
+the 15th day of January, A.D. 1862, by Abraham Lincoln, then President
+of the United States, during the first term of his Presidency, and was
+commissioned, according to the Constitution and laws of the United
+States, to hold the said office during the pleasure of the President;
+that the office of Secretary for the Department of War was created by an
+act of the First Congress in its first session, passed on the 7th day of
+August, A.D. 1789, and in and by that act it was provided and enacted
+that the said Secretary for the Department of War shall perform and
+execute such duties as shall from time to time be enjoined on and
+intrusted to him by the President of the United States, agreeably to the
+Constitution, relative to the subjects within the scope of the said
+Department; and, furthermore, that the said Secretary shall conduct the
+business of the said Department in such a manner as the President of the
+United States shall from time to time order and instruct.
+
+And this respondent, further answering, says that by force of the act
+aforesaid and by reason of his appointment aforesaid the said Stanton
+became the principal officer in one of the Executive Departments of the
+Government within the true intent and meaning of the second section
+of the second article of the Constitution of the United States and
+according to the true intent and meaning of that provision of the
+Constitution of the United States; and, in accordance with the settled
+and uniform practice of each and every President of the United States,
+the said Stanton then became, and so long as he should continue to hold
+the said office of Secretary for the Department of War must continue to
+be, one of the advisers of the President of the United States, as well
+as the person intrusted to act for and represent the President in
+matters enjoined upon him or intrusted to him by the President touching
+the Department aforesaid, and for whose conduct in such capacity,
+subordinate to the President, the President is by the Constitution and
+laws of the United States made responsible.
+
+And this respondent, further answering, says he succeeded to the office
+of President of the United States upon and by reason of the death of
+Abraham Lincoln, then President of the United States, on the 15th day
+of April, 1865, and the said Stanton was then holding the said office
+of Secretary for the Department of War under and by reason of the
+appointment and commission aforesaid; and not having been removed from
+the said office by this respondent, the said Stanton continued to hold
+the same under the appointment and commission aforesaid, at the pleasure
+of the President, until the time hereinafter particularly mentioned,
+and at no time received any appointment or commission save as above
+detailed.
+
+And this respondent, further answering, says that on and prior to the
+5th day of August, A.D. 1867, this respondent, the President of the
+United States, responsible for the conduct of the Secretary for the
+Department of War, and having the constitutional right to resort to
+and rely upon the person holding that office for advice concerning
+the great and difficult public duties enjoined on the President by
+the Constitution and laws of the United States, became satisfied that
+he could not allow the said Stanton to continue to hold the office
+of Secretary for the Department of War without hazard of the public
+interest; that the relations between the said Stanton and the President
+no longer permitted the President to resort to him for advice or to be,
+in the judgment of the President, safely responsible for his conduct of
+the affairs of the Department of War, as by law required, in accordance
+with the orders and instructions of the President; and thereupon, by
+force of the Constitution and laws of the United States, which devolve
+on the President the power and the duty to control the conduct of the
+business of that Executive Department of the Government, and by reason
+of the constitutional duty of the President to take care that the laws
+be faithfully executed, this respondent did necessarily consider and did
+determine that the said Stanton ought no longer to hold the said office
+of Secretary for the Department of War. And this respondent, by virtue
+of the power and authority vested in him as President of the United
+States by the Constitution and laws of the United States, to give effect
+to such his decision and determination, did, on the 5th day of August,
+A.D. 1867, address to the said Stanton a note of which the following
+is a true copy:
+
+  SIR: Public considerations of a high character constrain me to say that
+  your resignation as Secretary of War will be accepted.
+
+
+To which note the said Stanton made the following reply:
+
+  WAR DEPARTMENT,
+
+  _Washington, August_ 5, _1867_.
+
+  SIR: Your note of this day has been received, stating that "public
+  considerations of a high character constrain" you "to say that" my
+  "resignation as Secretary of War will be accepted."
+
+  In reply I have the honor to say that public considerations of a high
+  character, which alone have induced me to continue at the head of this
+  Department, constrain me not to resign the office of Secretary of War
+  before the next meeting of Congress.
+
+  Very respectfully, yours,
+
+  EDWIN M. STANTON.
+
+
+This respondent, as President of the United States, was thereon of
+opinion that, having regard to the necessary official relations and
+duties of the Secretary for the Department of War to the President of
+the United States, according to the Constitution and laws of the United
+States, and having regard to the responsibility of the President for
+the conduct of the said Secretary, and having regard to the permanent
+executive authority of the office which the respondent holds under
+the Constitution and laws of the United States, it was impossible,
+consistently with the public interests, to allow the said Stanton to
+continue to hold the said office of Secretary for the Department of War;
+and it then became the official duty of the respondent, as President of
+the United States, to consider and decide what act or acts should and
+might lawfully be done by him, as President of the United States, to
+cause the said Stanton to surrender the said office.
+
+This respondent was informed and verily believed that it was practically
+settled by the First Congress of the United States, and had been so
+considered and uniformly and in great numbers of instances acted on by
+each Congress and President of the United States, in succession, from
+President Washington to and including President Lincoln, and from the
+First Congress to the Thirty-ninth Congress, that the Constitution of
+the United States conferred on the President, as part of the executive
+power and as one of the necessary means and instruments of performing
+the executive duty expressly imposed on him by the Constitution of
+taking care that the laws be faithfully executed, the power at any and
+all times of removing from office all executive officers for cause to be
+judged of by the President alone. This respondent had, in pursuance of
+the Constitution, required the opinion of each principal officer of the
+Executive Departments upon this question of constitutional executive
+power and duty, and had been advised by each of them, including
+the said Stanton, Secretary for the Department of War, that under
+the Constitution of the United States this power was lodged by
+the Constitution in the President of the United States, and that,
+consequently, it could be lawfully exercised by him, and the Congress
+could not deprive him thereof; and this respondent, in his capacity of
+President of the United States, and because in that capacity he was both
+enabled and bound to use his best judgment upon this question, did, in
+good faith and with an earnest desire to arrive at the truth, come to
+the conclusion and opinion, and did make the same known to the honorable
+the Senate of the United States by a message dated on the 2d day of
+March, 1867 (a true copy whereof is hereunto annexed and marked A), that
+the power last mentioned was conferred and the duty of exercising it in
+fit cases was imposed on the President by the Constitution of the United
+States, and that the President could not be deprived of this power
+or relieved of this duty, nor could the same be vested by law in the
+President and the Senate jointly, either in part or whole; and this has
+ever since remained and was the opinion of this respondent at the time
+when he was forced as aforesaid to consider and decide what act or acts
+should and might lawfully be done by this respondent, as President of
+the United States, to cause the said Stanton to surrender the said
+office.
+
+This respondent was also then aware that by the first section of "An act
+regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867,
+by a constitutional majority of both Houses of Congress, it was enacted
+as follows:
+
+  That every person holding any civil office to which he has been
+  appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and every
+  person who shall hereafter be appointed to any such office and shall
+  become duly qualified to act therein, is and shall be entitled to hold
+  such office until a successor shall have been in like manner appointed
+  and duly qualified, except as herein otherwise provided: _Provided_,
+  That the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, of the Navy,
+  and of the Interior, the Postmaster-General, and the Attorney-General
+  shall hold their offices, respectively, for and during the term of the
+  President by whom they may have been appointed and one month thereafter,
+  subject to removal by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
+
+This respondent was also aware that this act was understood and intended
+to be an expression of the opinion of the Congress by which that act
+was passed that the power to remove executive officers for cause might
+by law be taken from the President and vested in him and the Senate
+jointly; and although this respondent had arrived at and still retained
+the opinion above expressed, and verily believed, as he still believes,
+that the said first section of the last-mentioned act was and is wholly
+inoperative and void by reason of its conflict with the Constitution of
+the United States, yet, inasmuch as the same had been enacted by the
+constitutional majority in each of the two Houses of that Congress, this
+respondent considered it to be proper to examine and decide whether the
+particular case of the said Stanton, on which it was this respondent's
+duty to act, was within or without the terms of that first section of
+the act, or, if within it, whether the President had not the power,
+according to the terms of the act, to remove the said Stanton from the
+office of Secretary for the Department of War; and having, in his
+capacity of President of the United States, so examined and considered,
+did form the opinion that the case of the said Stanton and his tenure of
+office were not affected by the first section of the last-named act.
+
+And this respondent, further answering, says that although a case thus
+existed which, in his judgment, as President of the United States,
+called for the exercise of the executive power to remove the said
+Stanton from the office of Secretary for the Department of War; and
+although this respondent was of opinion, as is above shown, that under
+the Constitution of the United States the power to remove the said
+Stanton from the said office was vested in the President of the United
+States; and although this respondent was also of the opinion, as is
+above shown, that the case of the said Stanton was not affected by
+the first section of the last-named act; and although each of the
+said opinions had been formed by this respondent upon an actual case,
+requiring him, in his capacity of President of the United States, to
+come to some judgment and determination thereon, yet this respondent,
+as President of the United States, desired and determined to avoid, if
+possible, any question of the construction and effect of the said first
+section of the last-named act, and also the broader question of the
+executive power conferred upon the President of the United States by
+the Constitution of the United States to remove one of the principal
+officers of one of the Executive Departments for cause seeming to him
+sufficient; and this respondent also desired and determined that if,
+from causes over which he could exert no control, it should become
+absolutely necessary to raise and have in some way determined either
+or both of the said last-named questions, it was in accordance with the
+Constitution of the United States, and was required of the President
+thereby, that questions of so much gravity and importance, upon which
+the legislative and executive departments of the Government had
+disagreed, which involved powers considered by all branches of the
+Government, during its entire history down to the year 1867, to have
+been confided by the Constitution of the United States to the President,
+and to be necessary for the complete and proper execution of his
+constitutional duties, should be in some proper way submitted to that
+judicial department of the Government intrusted by the Constitution
+with the power, and subjected by it to the duty, not only of
+determining finally the construction and effect of all acts of Congress,
+but of comparing them with the Constitution of the United States
+and pronouncing them inoperative when found in conflict with that
+fundamental law which the people have enacted for the government of
+all their servants. And to these ends, first, that through the action
+of the Senate of the United States the absolute duty of the President
+to substitute some fit person in place of Mr. Stanton as one of his
+advisers, and as a principal subordinate officer whose official conduct
+he was responsible for and had lawful right to control, might, if
+possible, be accomplished without the necessity of raising any one
+of the questions aforesaid; and, second, if this duty could not
+be so performed, then that these questions, or such of them as might
+necessarily arise, should be judicially determined in manner aforesaid,
+and for no other end or purpose, this respondent, as President of the
+United States, on the 12th day of August, 1867, seven days after the
+reception of the letter of the said Stanton of the 5th of August,
+hereinbefore stated, did issue to the said Stanton the order
+following, namely:
+
+
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+  _Washington, August 12, 1867_.
+
+  Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
+
+  _Secretary of War_.
+
+  SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by
+  the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby suspended
+  from office as Secretary of War, and will cease to exercise any and all
+  functions pertaining to the same.
+
+  You will at once transfer to General Ulysses S. Grant, who has this day
+  been authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_,
+  all records, books, papers, and other public property now in your
+  custody and charge.
+
+
+To which said order the said Stanton made the following reply:
+
+
+  WAR DEPARTMENT,
+
+  _Washington City, August 12, 1867_.
+
+  The PRESIDENT.
+
+  SIR: Your note of this date has been received, informing me that by
+  virtue of the powers vested in you as President by the Constitution
+  and laws of the United States I am suspended from office as Secretary
+  of War, and will cease to exercise any and all functions pertaining to
+  the same; and also directing me at once to transfer to General Ulysses
+  S. Grant, who has this day been authorized and empowered to act as
+  Secretary of War _ad interim_, all records, books, papers, and other
+  public property now in my custody and charge.
+
+  Under a sense of public duty, I am compelled to deny your right under
+  the Constitution and laws of the United States, without the advice and
+  consent of the Senate and without legal cause, to suspend me from office
+  as Secretary of War, or the exercise of any or all functions pertaining
+  to the same, or without such advice and consent to compel me to transfer
+  to any person the records, books, papers, and public property in my
+  custody as Secretary.
+
+  But inasmuch as the General Commanding the armies of the United States
+  has been appointed _ad interim_, and has notified me that he has
+  accepted the appointment, I have no alternative but to submit, under
+  protest, to superior force.
+
+
+And this respondent, further answering, says that it is provided in and
+by the second section of "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil
+offices" that the President may suspend an officer from the performance
+of the duties of the office held by him, for certain causes therein
+designated, until the next meeting of the Senate and until the case
+shall be acted on by the Senate; that this respondent, as President
+of the United States, was advised, and he verily believed, and still
+believes, that the executive power of removal from office confided to
+him by the Constitution as aforesaid includes the power of suspension
+from office at the pleasure of the President; and this respondent, by
+the order aforesaid, did suspend the said Stanton from office, not until
+the next meeting of the Senate or until the Senate should have acted
+upon the case, but, by force of the power and authority vested in him by
+the Constitution and laws of the United States, indefinitely and at the
+pleasure of the President; and the order, in form aforesaid, was made
+known to the Senate of the United States on the 12th day of December,
+A.D. 1867, as will be more fully hereinafter stated.
+
+And this respondent, further answering, says that in and by the act of
+February 13, 1795, it was, among other things, provided and enacted that
+in case of vacancy in the office of Secretary for the Department of
+War it shall be lawful for the President, in case he shall think it
+necessary, to authorize any person to perform the duties of that office
+until a successor be appointed or such vacancy filled, but not exceeding
+the term of six months; and this respondent, being advised and believing
+that such law was in full force and not repealed, by an order dated
+August 12, 1867, did authorize and empower Ulysses S. Grant, General of
+the armies of the United States, to act as Secretary for the Department
+of War _ad interim_, in the form in which similar authority had
+theretofore been given, not until the next meeting of the Senate and
+until the Senate should act on the case, but at the pleasure of the
+President, subject only to the limitation of six months in the said
+last-mentioned act contained; and a copy of the last-named order was
+made known to the Senate of the United States on the 12th day of
+December, A.D. 1867, as will be hereinafter more fully stated; and in
+pursuance of the design and intention aforesaid, if it should become
+necessary, to submit the said questions to a judicial determination,
+this respondent, at or near the date of the last-mentioned order, did
+make known such his purpose to obtain a judicial decision of the said
+questions, or such of them as might be necessary.
+
+And this respondent, further answering, says that in further pursuance
+of his intention and design, if possible, to perform what he judged to
+be his imperative duty, to prevent the said Stanton from longer holding
+the office of Secretary for the Department of War, and at the same time
+avoiding, if possible, any question respecting the extent of the power
+of removal from executive office confided to the President by the
+Constitution of the United States, and any question respecting the
+construction and effect of the first section of the said "Act regulating
+the tenure of certain civil offices," while he should not by any act of
+his abandon and relinquish either a power which he believed the
+Constitution had conferred on the President of the United States to
+enable him to perform the duties of his office or a power designedly
+left to him by the first section of the act of Congress last aforesaid,
+this respondent did, on the 12th day of December, 1867, transmit to the
+Senate of the United States a message, a copy whereof is hereunto
+annexed and marked B, wherein he made known the orders aforesaid and
+the reasons which had induced the same, so far as this respondent then
+considered it material and necessary that the same should be set forth,
+and reiterated his views concerning the constitutional power of removal
+vested in the President, and also expressed his views concerning the
+construction of the said first section of the last-mentioned act, as
+respected the power of the President to remove the said Stanton from
+the said office of Secretary for the Department of War, well hoping that
+this respondent could thus perform what he then believed, and still
+believes, to be his imperative duty in reference to the said Stanton
+without derogating from the powers which this respondent believed were
+confided to the President by the Constitution and laws, and without
+the necessity of raising judicially any questions respecting the same.
+
+And this respondent, further answering, says that this hope not having
+been realized, the President was compelled either to allow the said
+Stanton to resume the said office and remain therein contrary to the
+settled convictions of the President, formed as aforesaid, respecting
+the powers confided to him and the duties required of him by the
+Constitution of the United States, and contrary to the opinion formed
+as aforesaid that the first section of the last-mentioned act did not
+affect the case of the said Stanton, and contrary to the fixed belief
+of the President that he could no longer advise with or trust or be
+responsible for the said Stanton in the said office of Secretary for the
+Department of War, or else he was compelled to take such steps as might
+in the judgment of the President be lawful and necessary to raise for a
+judicial decision the questions affecting the lawful right of the said
+Stanton to resume the said office or the power of the said Stanton to
+persist in refusing to quit the said office if he should persist in
+actually refusing to quit the same; and to this end, and to this end
+only, this respondent did, on the 21st day of February, 1868, issue the
+order for the removal of the said Stanton, in the said first article
+mentioned and set forth, and the order authorizing the said Lorenzo
+Thomas to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, in the said second
+article set forth.
+
+And this respondent, proceeding to answer specifically each substantial
+allegation in the said first article, says: He denies that the said
+Stanton, on the 21st day of February, 1868, was lawfully in possession
+of the said office of Secretary for the Department of War. He denies
+that the said Stanton, on the day last mentioned, was lawfully entitled
+to hold the said office against the will of the President of the United
+States. He denies that the said order for the removal of the said
+Stanton was unlawfully issued. He denies that the said order was issued
+with intent to violate the act entitled "An act regulating the tenure of
+certain civil offices." He denies that the said order was a violation of
+the last-mentioned act. He denies that the said order was a violation of
+the Constitution of the United States, or of any law thereof, or of his
+oath of office. He denies that the said order was issued with an intent
+to violate the Constitution of the United States, or any law thereof, or
+this respondent's oath of office; and he respectfully but earnestly
+insists that not only was it issued by him in the performance of what he
+believed to be an imperative official duty, but in the performance of
+what this honorable court will consider was, in point of fact, an
+imperative official duty. And he denies that any and all substantive
+matters in the said first article contained, in manner and form as the
+same are therein stated and set forth, do by law constitute a high
+misdemeanor in office within the true intent and meaning of the
+Constitution of the United States.
+
+_Answer to Article II_.--And for answer to the second article this
+respondent says that he admits he did issue and deliver to said Lorenzo
+Thomas the said writing set forth in said second article, bearing
+date at Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868, addressed to Brevet
+Major-General Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant-General United States Army,
+Washington, D.C., and he further admits that the same was so issued
+without the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, then
+in session; but he denies that he thereby violated the Constitution of
+the United States or any law thereof, or that he did thereby intend to
+violate the Constitution of the United States or the provisions of any
+act of Congress; and this respondent refers to his answer to said first
+article for a full statement of the purposes and intentions with which
+said order was issued, and adopts the same as part of his answer to this
+article; and he further denies that there was then and there no vacancy
+in the said office of Secretary for the Department of War, or that he
+did then and there commit or was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office;
+and this respondent maintains and will insist--
+
+1. That at the date and delivery of said writing there was a vacancy
+existing in the office of Secretary for the Department of War.
+
+2. That notwithstanding the Senate of the United States was then in
+session, it was lawful and according to long and well-established usage
+to empower and authorize the said Thomas to act as Secretary of War
+_ad interim_.
+
+3. That if the said act regulating the tenure of civil offices be held
+to be a valid law, no provision of the same was violated by the issuing
+of said order or by the designation of said Thomas to act as Secretary
+of War _ad interim_.
+
+_Answer to Article III_.--And for answer to said third article this
+respondent says that he abides by his answer to said first and second
+articles in so far as the same are responsive to the allegations
+contained in the said third article, and, without here again repeating
+the same answer, prays the same be taken as an answer to this third
+article as fully as if here again set out at length; and as to the new
+allegation contained in said third article, that this respondent did
+appoint the said Thomas to be Secretary for the Department of War _ad
+interim_, this respondent denies that he gave any other authority to
+said Thomas than such as appears in said written authority, set out in
+said article, by which he authorized and empowered said Thomas to act
+as Secretary for the Department of War _ad interim_; and he denies
+that the same amounts to an appointment, and insists that it is only
+a designation of an officer of that Department to act temporarily as
+Secretary for the Department of War _ad interim_--until an appointment
+should be made. But whether the said written authority amounts to an
+appointment or to a temporary authority or designation, this respondent
+denies that in any sense he did thereby intend to violate the
+Constitution of the United States, or that he thereby intended to
+give the said order the character or effect of an appointment in the
+constitutional or legal sense of that term. He further denies that there
+was no vacancy in said office of Secretary for the Department of War
+existing at the date of said written authority.
+
+_Answer to Article IV_.--And for answer to said fourth article this
+respondent denies that on the said 21st day of February, 1868, at
+Washington aforesaid, or at any other time or place, he did unlawfully
+conspire with the said Lorenzo Thomas, or with the said Thomas and any
+other person or persons, with intent, by intimidations and threats,
+unlawfully to hinder and prevent the said Stanton from holding said
+office of Secretary for the Department of War, in violation of the
+Constitution of the United States or of the provisions of the said act
+of Congress in said article mentioned, or that he did then and there
+commit or was guilty of a high crime in office. On the contrary thereof,
+protesting that the said Stanton was not then and there lawfully the
+Secretary for the Department of War, this respondent states that his
+sole purpose in authorizing the said Thomas to act as Secretary for the
+Department of War _ad interim_ was, as is fully stated in his answer to
+the said first article, to bring the question of the right of the said
+Stanton to hold said office, notwithstanding his said suspension, and
+notwithstanding the said order of removal, and notwithstanding the said
+authority of the said Thomas to act as Secretary of War _ad interim_, to
+the test of a final decision by the Supreme Court of the United States
+in the earliest practicable mode by which the question could be brought
+before that tribunal.
+
+This respondent did not conspire or agree with the said Thomas, or any
+other person or persons, to use intimidation or threats to hinder or
+prevent the said Stanton from holding the said office of Secretary for
+the Department of War, nor did this respondent at any time command
+or advise the said Thomas, or any other person or persons, to resort
+to or use either threats or intimidation for that purpose. The only
+means in the contemplation or purpose of respondent to be used are set
+forth fully in the said orders of February 21, the first addressed to
+Mr. Stanton and the second to the said Thomas. By the first order the
+respondent notified Mr. Stanton that he was removed from the said office
+and that his functions as Secretary for the Department of War were to
+terminate upon the receipt of that order; and he also thereby notified
+the said Stanton that the said Thomas had been authorized to act as
+Secretary for the Department of War _ad interim_, and ordered the said
+Stanton to transfer to him all the records, books, papers, and other
+public property in his custody and charge; and by the second order this
+respondent notified the said Thomas of the removal from office of the
+said Stanton, and authorized him to act as Secretary for the Department
+of War _ad interim_, and directed him to immediately enter upon the
+discharge of the duties pertaining to that office and to receive the
+transfer of all the records, books, papers, and other public property
+from Mr. Stanton then in his custody and charge.
+
+Respondent gave no instructions to the said Thomas to use intimidation
+or threats to enforce obedience to these orders. He gave him no
+authority to call in the aid of the military or any other force to
+enable him to obtain possession of the office or of the books, papers,
+records, or property thereof. The only agency resorted to, or intended
+to be resorted to, was by means of the said Executive orders requiring
+obedience. But the Secretary for the Department of War refused to obey
+these orders, and still holds undisturbed possession and custody of that
+Department and of the records, books, papers, and other public property
+therein. Respondent further states that in execution of the orders so by
+this respondent given to the said Thomas he, the said Thomas, proceeded
+in a peaceful manner to demand of the said Stanton a surrender to him of
+the public property in the said Department, and to vacate the possession
+of the same, and to allow him, the said Thomas, peaceably to exercise
+the duties devolved upon him by authority of the President. That, as
+this respondent has been informed and believes, the said Stanton
+peremptorily refused obedience to the orders so issued. Upon such
+refusal no force or threat of force was used by the said Thomas, by
+authority of the President or otherwise, to enforce obedience, either
+then or at any subsequent time.
+
+This respondent doth here except to the sufficiency of the allegations
+contained in said fourth article, and states for ground of exception
+that it is not stated that there was any agreement between this
+respondent and the said Thomas, or any other person or persons, to use
+intimidation and threats, nor is there any allegation as to the nature
+of said intimidation and threats, or that there was any agreement to
+carry them into execution, or that any step was taken or agreed to be
+taken to carry them into execution; and that the allegation in said
+article that the intent of said conspiracy was to use intimidation and
+threats is wholly insufficient, inasmuch as it is not alleged that the
+said intent formed the basis or became part of any agreement between the
+said alleged conspirators; and, furthermore, that there is no allegation
+of any conspiracy or agreement to use intimidation or threats.
+
+_Answer to Article V_.--And for answer to the said fifth article this
+respondent denies that on the said 21st day of February, 1868, or at
+any other time or times in the same year before the said 2d day of
+March, 1868, or at any prior or subsequent time, at Washington
+aforesaid, or at any other place, this respondent did unlawfully
+conspire with the said Thomas, or with any other person or persons,
+to prevent or hinder the execution of the said act entitled "An act
+regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," or that, in pursuance
+of said alleged conspiracy, he did unlawfully attempt to prevent the
+said Edwin M. Stanton from holding the said office of Secretary for the
+Department of War, or that he did thereby commit, or that he was thereby
+guilty of, a high misdemeanor in office. Respondent, protesting that
+said Stanton was not then and there Secretary for the Department of War,
+begs leave to refer to his answer given to the fourth article and to his
+answer to the first article as to his intent and purpose in issuing the
+orders for the removal of Mr. Stanton and the authority given to the
+said Thomas, and prays equal benefit therefrom as if the same were here
+again repeated and fully set forth.
+
+And this respondent excepts to the sufficiency of the said fifth
+article, and states his ground for such exception that it is not alleged
+by what means or by what agreement the said alleged conspiracy was
+formed or agreed to be carried out, or in what way the same was
+attempted to be carried out, or what were the acts done in pursuance
+thereof.
+
+_Answer to Article VI_.--And for answer to the said sixth article this
+respondent denies that on the said 21st day of February, 1868, at
+Washington aforesaid, or at any other time or place, he did unlawfully
+conspire with the said Thomas by force to seize, take, or possess the
+property of the United States in the Department of War, contrary to
+the provisions of the said acts referred to in the said article, or
+either of them, or with intent to violate either of them. Respondent,
+protesting that said Stanton was not then and there Secretary for the
+Department of War, not only denies the said conspiracy as charged, but
+also denies any unlawful intent in reference to the custody and charge
+of the property of the United States in the said Department of War, and
+again refers to his former answers for a full statement of his intent
+and purpose in the premises.
+
+_Answer to Article VII_.--And for answer to the said seventh article
+respondent denies that on the said 21st day of February, 1868, at
+Washington aforesaid, or at any other time and place, he did unlawfully
+conspire with the said Thomas with intent unlawfully to seize, take, or
+possess the property of the United States in the Department of War, with
+intent to violate or disregard the said act in the said seventh article
+referred to, or that he did then and there commit a high misdemeanor in
+office. Respondent, protesting that the said Stanton was not then and
+there Secretary for the Department of War, again refers to his former
+answers, in so far as they are applicable, to show the intent with which
+he proceeded in the premises, and prays equal benefit therefrom as
+if the same were here again fully repeated. Respondent further takes
+exception to the sufficiency of the allegations of this article as to
+the conspiracy alleged upon the same grounds as stated in the exception
+set forth in his answer to said article fourth.
+
+_Answer to Article VIII_.--And for answer to the said eighth article
+this respondent denies that, on the 21st day of February, 1868, at
+Washington aforesaid, or at any other time and place, he did issue
+and deliver to the said Thomas the said letter of authority set forth
+in the said eighth article with the intent unlawfully to control the
+disbursements of the money appropriated for the military service and
+for the Department of War. This respondent, protesting that there was
+a vacancy in the office of Secretary of War, admits that he did issue
+the said letter of authority, and he denies that the same was with any
+unlawful intent whatever, either to violate the Constitution of the
+United States or any act of Congress. On the contrary, this respondent
+again affirms that his sole intent was to vindicate his authority as
+President of the United States, and by peaceful means to bring the
+question of the right of the said Stanton to continue to hold the said
+office of Secretary of War to a final decision before the Supreme Court
+of the United States, as has been hereinbefore set forth; and he prays
+the same benefit from his answer in the premises as if the same were
+here again repeated at length.
+
+_Answer to Article IX_.--And for answer to the said ninth article
+the respondent states that on the said 22d day of February, 1868, the
+following note was addressed to the said Emory by the private secretary
+of the respondent:
+
+
+  EXECUTIVE MANSION,
+
+  WASHINGTON, D.C.,
+
+  _February 22, 1868_.
+
+  GENERAL: The President directs me to say that he will be pleased to have
+  you call upon him as early as practicable.
+
+  Respectfully and truly yours,
+
+  WILLIAM G. MOORE,
+
+  _United States Army_.
+
+
+General Emory called at the Executive Mansion according to this request.
+The object of respondent was to be advised by General Emory, as
+commander of the Department of Washington, what changes had been made in
+the military affairs of the department. Respondent had been informed
+that various changes had been made which in no wise had been brought to
+his notice or reported to him from the Department of War or from any
+other quarter, and desired to ascertain the facts. After the said Emory
+had explained in detail the changes which had taken place, said Emory
+called the attention of respondent to a general order which he referred
+to, and which this respondent then sent for, when it was produced. It is
+as follows:
+
+
+  GENERAL ORDERS, No, 17.
+
+  WAR DEPARTMENT,
+
+  ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE,
+
+  _Washington, March 14, 1867_.
+
+  The following acts of Congress are published for the information and
+  government of all concerned:
+
+  *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  "II.--PUBLIC--No. 85.
+
+  "An act making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year
+  ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes.
+
+  *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  "SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That the headquarters of the
+  General of the Army of the United States shall be at the city of
+  Washington, and all orders and instructions relating to military
+  operations issued by the President or Secretary of War shall be issued
+  through the General of the Army, and in case of his inability through
+  the next in rank. The General of the Army shall not be removed,
+  suspended, or relieved from command, or assigned to duty elsewhere than
+  at said headquarters, except at his own request, without the previous
+  approval of the Senate; and any orders or instructions relating to
+  military operations issued contrary to the requirements of this section
+  shall be null and void; and any officer who shall issue orders or
+  instructions contrary to the provisions of this section shall be deemed
+  guilty of a misdemeanor in office; and any officer of the Army who shall
+  transmit, convey, or obey any orders or instructions so issued contrary
+  to the provisions of this section, knowing that such orders were so
+  issued, shall be liable to imprisonment for not less than two nor more
+  than twenty years upon conviction thereof in any court of competent
+  jurisdiction.
+
+  *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  "Approved, March 2, 1867."
+
+  *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  By order of the Secretary of War:
+
+  E.D. TOWNSEND,
+
+  _Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+  Official:
+
+  -------- --------,
+
+  _Assistant Adjutant-General_.
+
+
+General Emory not only called the attention of respondent to this order,
+but to the fact that it was in conformity with a section contained in an
+appropriation act passed by Congress. Respondent, after reading the
+order, observed:
+
+This is not in accordance with the Constitution of the United States,
+which makes me Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, or of the
+language of the commission which you hold.
+
+General Emory then stated that this order had met the respondent's
+approval. Respondent then said in reply, in substance:
+
+
+  Am I to understand that the President of the United States can not give
+  an order but through the General in Chief, or General Grant?
+
+
+General Emory again reiterated the statement that it had met
+respondent's approval, and that it was the opinion of some of the
+leading lawyers of the country that this order was constitutional. With
+some further conversation, respondent then inquired the names of the
+lawyers who had given the opinion, and he mentioned the names of two.
+Respondent then said that the object of the law was very evident,
+referring to the clause in the appropriation act upon which the order
+purported to be based. This, according to respondent's recollection,
+was the substance of the conversation had with General Emory.
+
+Respondent denies that any allegations in the said article of any
+instructions or declarations given to the said Emory then or at any
+other time contrary to or in addition to what is hereinbefore set forth
+are true. Respondent denies that in said conversation with said Emory he
+had any other intent than to express the opinion then given to the said
+Emory, nor did he then or at any time request or order the said Emory
+to disobey any law or any order issued in conformity with any law,
+or intend to offer any inducement to the said Emory to violate any
+law. What this respondent then said to General Emory was simply the
+expression of an opinion which he then fully believed to be sound,
+and which he yet believes to be so, and that is that by the express
+provisions of the Constitution this respondent, as President, is made
+the Commander in Chief of the armies of the United States, and as such
+he is to be respected, and that his orders, whether issued through the
+War Department, or through the General in Chief, or by any other channel
+of communication, are entitled to respect and obedience, and that such
+constitutional power can not be taken from him by virtue of any act of
+Congress. Respondent doth therefore deny that by the expression of such
+opinion he did commit or was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office;
+and the respondent doth further say that the said Article IX lays no
+foundation whatever for the conclusion stated in the said article, that
+the respondent, by reason of the allegations therein contained, was
+guilty of a high misdemeanor in office.
+
+In reference to the statement made by General Emory that this respondent
+had approved of said act of Congress containing the section referred to,
+the respondent admits that his formal approval was given to said act,
+but accompanied the same by the following message, addressed and sent
+with the act to the House of Representatives, in which House the said
+act originated, and from which it came to respondent:
+
+
+  WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 2, 1867_.
+
+  _To the House of Representatives_:
+
+  The act entitled "An act making appropriations for the support of
+  the Army for the year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes,"
+  contains provisions to which I must call attention. These provisions
+  are contained in the second section, which in certain cases virtually
+  deprives the President of his constitutional functions as Commander in
+  Chief of the Army, and in the sixth section, which denies to ten States
+  of the Union their constitutional right to protect themselves in any
+  emergency by means of their own militia. These provisions are out of
+  place in an appropriation act, but I am compelled to defeat these
+  necessary appropriations if I withhold my signature from the act.
+  Pressed by these considerations, I feel constrained to return the bill
+  with my signature, but to accompany it with my earnest protest against
+  the sections which I have indicated.
+
+
+Respondent, therefore, did no more than to express to said Emory the
+same opinion which he had so expressed to the House of Representatives.
+
+_Answer to Article X_.--And in answer to the tenth article and
+specifications thereof the respondent says that on the 14th and 15th
+days of August, in the year 1866, a political convention of delegates
+from all or most of the States and Territories of the Union was held
+in the city of Philadelphia, under the name and style of the National
+Union Convention, for the purpose of maintaining and advancing certain
+political views and opinions before the people of the United States, and
+for their support and adoption in the exercise of the constitutional
+suffrage in the elections of Representatives and Delegates in Congress
+which were soon to occur in many of the States and Territories of the
+Union; which said convention, in the course of its proceedings, and
+in furtherance of the objects of the same, adopted a "Declaration of
+principles" and "An address to the people of the United States," and
+appointed a committee of two of its members from each State and of one
+from each Territory and one from the District of Columbia to wait upon
+the President of the United States and present to him a copy of the
+proceedings of the convention; that on the 18th day of said month of
+August this committee waited upon the President of the United States
+at the Executive Mansion, and was received by him in one of the rooms
+thereof, and by their chairman, Hon. Reverdy Johnson, then and now
+a Senator of the United States, acting and speaking in their behalf,
+presented a copy of the proceedings of the convention and addressed the
+President of the United States in a speech of which a copy (according
+to a published report of the same, and, as the respondent believes,
+substantially a correct report) is hereto annexed as a part of this
+answer, and marked Exhibit C.
+
+That thereupon, and in reply to the address of said committee by their
+chairman, this respondent addressed the said committee so waiting upon
+him in one of the rooms of the Executive Mansion; and this respondent
+believes that this his address to said committee is the occasion
+referred to in the first specification of the tenth article; but this
+respondent does not admit that the passages therein set forth, as if
+extracts from a speech or address of this respondent upon said occasion,
+correctly or justly present his speech or address upon said occasion,
+but, on the contrary, this respondent demands and insists that if
+this honorable court shall deem the said article and the said first
+specification thereof to contain allegation of matter cognizable by
+this honorable court as a high misdemeanor in office within the intent
+and meaning of the Constitution of the United States, and shall receive
+or allow proof in support of the same, that proof shall be required
+to be made of the actual speech and address of this respondent on
+said occasion, which this respondent denies that said article and
+specification contain or correctly or justly represent.
+
+And this respondent, further answering the tenth article and the
+specifications thereof, says that at Cleveland, in the State of Ohio,
+and on the 3d day of September, in the year 1866, he was attended by a
+large assemblage of his fellow-citizens, and in deference and obedience
+to their call and demand he addressed them upon matters of public and
+political consideration; and this respondent believes that said occasion
+and address are referred to in the second specification of the tenth
+article; but this respondent does not admit that the passages therein
+set forth, as if extracts from a speech of this respondent on said
+occasion, correctly or justly present his speech or address upon said
+occasion, but, on the contrary, this respondent demands and insists that
+if this honorable court shall deem the said article and the said second
+specification thereof to contain allegation of matter cognizable by this
+honorable court as a high misdemeanor in office within the intent and
+meaning of the Constitution of the United States, and shall receive or
+allow proof in support of the same, that proof shall be required to be
+made of the actual speech and address of this respondent on said
+occasion, which this respondent denies that said article and
+specification contain or correctly or justly represent.
+
+And this respondent, further answering the tenth article and the
+specifications thereof, says that at St. Louis, in the State of
+Missouri, and on the 8th day of September, in the year 1866, he was
+attended by a numerous assemblage of his fellow-citizens, and in
+deference and obedience to their call and demand he addressed them upon
+matters of public and political consideration; and this respondent
+believes that said occasion and address are referred to in the third
+specification of the tenth article; but this respondent does not admit
+that the passages therein set forth, as if extracts from a speech of
+this respondent on said occasion, correctly or justly present his speech
+or address upon said occasion, but, on the contrary, this respondent
+demands and insists that if this honorable court shall deem the said
+article and the said third specification thereof to contain allegation
+of matter cognizable by this honorable court as a high misdemeanor in
+office within the intent and meaning of the Constitution of the United
+States, and shall receive or allow proof in support of the same, that
+proof shall be required to be made of the actual speech and address of
+this respondent on said occasion, which this respondent denies that the
+said article and specification contain or correctly or justly represent.
+
+And this respondent, further answering the tenth article, protesting
+that he has not been unmindful of the high duties of his office or of
+the harmony or courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained between
+the executive and legislative branches of the Government of the United
+States, denies that he has ever intended or designed to set aside the
+rightful authority or powers of Congress, or attempted to bring into
+disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt, or reproach the Congress of the
+United States, or either branch thereof, or to impair or destroy the
+regard or respect of all or any of the good people of the United States
+for the Congress or the rightful legislative power thereof, or to excite
+the odium or resentment of all or any of the good people of the United
+States against Congress and the laws by it duly and constitutionally
+enacted. This respondent further says that at all times he has, in his
+official acts as President, recognized the authority of the several
+Congresses of the United States as constituted and organized during his
+administration of the office of President of the United States.
+
+And this respondent, further answering, says that he has from time
+to time, under his constitutional right and duty as President of the
+United States, communicated to Congress his views and opinions in
+regard to such acts or resolutions thereof as, being submitted to him
+as President of the United States in pursuance of the Constitution,
+seemed to this respondent to require such communications; and he has
+from time to time, in the exercise of that freedom of speech which
+belongs to him as a citizen of the United States, and, in his political
+relations as President of the United States to the people of the United
+States, is upon fit occasions a duty of the highest obligation, expressed
+to his fellow-citizens his views and opinions respecting the measures
+and proceedings of Congress; and that in such addresses to his
+fellow-citizens and in such his communications to Congress he has
+expressed his views, opinions, and judgment of and concerning the actual
+constitution of the two Houses of Congress, without representation
+therein of certain States of the Union, and of the effect that in wisdom
+and justice, in the opinion and judgment of this respondent, Congress
+in its legislation and proceedings should give to this political
+circumstance; and whatsoever he has thus communicated to Congress
+or addressed to his fellow-citizens or any assemblage thereof this
+respondent says was and is within and according to his right and
+privilege as an American citizen and his right and duty as President
+of the United States.
+
+And this respondent, not waiving or at all disparaging his right
+of freedom of opinion and of freedom of speech, as hereinbefore or
+hereinafter more particularly set forth, but claiming and insisting upon
+the same, further answering the said tenth article, says that the views
+and opinions expressed by this respondent in his said addresses to
+the assemblages of his fellow-citizens, as in said articles or in this
+answer thereto mentioned, are not and were not intended to be other
+or different from those expressed by him in his communications to
+Congress--that the eleven States lately in insurrection never had
+ceased to be States of the Union, and that they were then entitled
+to representation in Congress by loyal Representatives and Senators
+as fully as the other States of the Union, and that consequently the
+Congress as then constituted was not in fact a Congress of all the
+States, but a Congress of only a part of the States. This respondent,
+always protesting against the unauthorized exclusion therefrom of the
+said eleven States, nevertheless gave his assent to all laws passed by
+said Congress which did not, in his opinion and judgment, violate the
+Constitution, exercising his constitutional authority of returning bills
+to said Congress with his objections when they appeared to him to be
+unconstitutional or inexpedient.
+
+And further, this respondent has also expressed the opinion, both in
+his communications to Congress and in his addresses to the people, that
+the policy adopted by Congress in reference to the States lately in
+insurrection did not tend to peace, harmony, and union, but, on the
+contrary, did tend to disunion and the permanent disruption of the
+States, and that in following its said policy laws had been passed by
+Congress in violation of the fundamental principles of the Government,
+and which tended to consolidation and despotism; and such being his
+deliberate opinions, he would have felt himself unmindful of the
+high duties of his office if he had failed to express them in his
+communications to Congress or in his addresses to the people when called
+upon by them to express his opinions on matters of public and political
+consideration.
+
+And this respondent, further answering the tenth article, says that he
+has always claimed and insisted, and now claims and insists, that both
+in the personal and private capacity of a citizen of the United States
+and in the political relations of the President of the United States to
+the people of the United States, whose servant, under the duties and
+responsibilities of the Constitution of the United States, the President
+of the United States is and should always remain, this respondent had
+and has the full right, and in his office of President of the United
+States is held to the high duty, of forming, and on fit occasions
+expressing, opinions of and concerning the legislation of Congress,
+proposed or completed, in respect of its wisdom, expediency, justice,
+worthiness, objects, purposes, and public and political motives and
+tendencies, and within and as a part of such right and duty to form,
+and on fit occasions to express, opinions of and concerning the public
+character and conduct, views, purposes, objects, motives, and tendencies
+of all men engaged in the public service, as well in Congress as
+otherwise, and under no other rules or limits upon this right of
+freedom of opinion and of freedom of speech, or of responsibility and
+amenability for the actual exercise of such freedom of opinion and
+freedom of speech, than attend upon such rights and their exercise on
+the part of all other citizens of the United States and on the part of
+all their public servants.
+
+And this respondent, further answering said tenth article, says
+that the several occasions on which, as is alleged in the several
+specifications of said article, this respondent addressed his
+fellow-citizens on subjects of public and political considerations were
+not, nor was any one of them, sought or planned by this respondent, but,
+on the contrary, each of said occasions arose upon the exercise of a
+lawful and accustomed right of the people of the United States to call
+upon their public servants and express to them their opinions, wishes,
+and feelings upon matters of public and political consideration, and to
+invite from such their public servants an expression of their opinions,
+views, and feelings on matters of public and political consideration;
+and this respondent claims and insists before this honorable court, and
+before all the people of the United States, that of or concerning this
+his right of freedom of opinion and of freedom of speech, and this
+his exercise of such rights on all matters of public and political
+consideration, and in respect of all public servants or persons
+whatsoever engaged in or connected therewith, this respondent, as
+a citizen or as President of the United States, is not subject to
+question, inquisition, impeachment, or inculpation in any form or
+manner whatsoever.
+
+And this respondent says that neither the said tenth article nor any
+specification thereof nor any allegation therein contained touches or
+relates to any official act or doing of this respondent in the office
+of President of the United States or in the discharge of any of its
+constitutional or legal duties or responsibilities; but said article and
+the specifications and allegations thereof, wholly and in every part
+thereof, question only the discretion or propriety of freedom of opinion
+or freedom, of speech as exercised by this respondent as a citizen of
+the United States in his personal right and capacity, and without
+allegation or imputation against this respondent of the violation of any
+law of the United States touching or relating to freedom of speech or
+its exercise by the citizens of the United States or by this respondent
+as one of the said citizens or otherwise; and he denies that by reason
+of any matter in said article or its specifications alleged he has said
+or done anything indecent or unbecoming in the Chief Magistrate of the
+United States, or that he has brought the high office of President of
+the United States into contempt, ridicule, or disgrace, or that he has
+committed or has been guilty of a high misdemeanor in office.
+
+_Answer to Article XI_.--And in answer to the eleventh article this
+respondent denies that on the 18th day of August, in the year 1866, at
+the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, he did, by public
+speech or otherwise, declare or affirm, in substance or at all, that the
+Thirty-ninth Congress of the United States was not a Congress of the
+United States authorized by the Constitution to exercise legislative
+power under the same, or that he did then and there declare or affirm
+that the said Thirty-ninth Congress was a Congress of only part of the
+States in any sense or meaning other than that ten States of the Union
+were denied representation therein, or that he made any or either of
+the declarations or affirmations in this behalf in the said article
+alleged as denying or intending to deny that the legislation of said
+Thirty-ninth Congress was valid or obligatory upon this respondent
+except so far as this respondent saw fit to approve the same; and as to
+the allegation in said article that he did thereby intend or mean to be
+understood that the said Congress had not power to propose amendments
+to the Constitution, this respondent says that in said address he said
+nothing in reference to the subject of amendments of the Constitution,
+nor was the question of the competency of the said Congress to propose
+such amendments, without the participation of said excluded States,
+at the time of said address in any way mentioned or considered or
+referred to by this respondent, nor in what he did say had he any
+intent regarding the same; and he denies the allegations so made
+to the contrary thereof. But this respondent, in further answer to
+and in respect of the said allegations of the said eleventh article
+hereinbefore traversed and denied, claims and insists upon his personal
+and official right of freedom of opinion and freedom of speech, and his
+duty in his political relations as President of the United States to the
+people of the United States in the exercise of such freedom of opinion
+and freedom of speech, in the same manner, form, and effect as he has
+in this behalf stated the same in his answer to the said tenth article,
+and with the same effect as if he here repeated the same; and he further
+claims and insists, as in said answer to said tenth article he has
+claimed and insisted, that he is not subject to question, inquisition,
+impeachment or inculpation, in any form or manner, of or concerning such
+rights of freedom of opinion or freedom of speech, or his said alleged
+exercise thereof.
+
+And this respondent further denies that on the 21st day of February,
+in the year 1868, or at any other time, at the city of Washington, in
+the District of Columbia, in pursuance of any such declaration as in
+that behalf in said eleventh article alleged, or otherwise, he did
+unlawfully, and in disregard of the requirement of the Constitution that
+he should take care that the laws should be faithfully executed, attempt
+to prevent the execution of an act entitled "An act regulating the
+tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867, by unlawfully
+devising or contriving, or attempting to devise or contrive, means by
+which he should prevent Edwin M. Stanton from forthwith resuming the
+functions of Secretary for the Department of War, or by unlawfully
+devising or contriving, or attempting to devise or contrive, means to
+prevent the execution of an act entitled "An act making appropriations
+for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868,
+and for other purposes," approved March 2, 1867, or to prevent the
+execution of an act entitled "An act to provide for the more efficient
+government of the rebel States," passed March 2, 1867.
+
+And this respondent, further answering the said eleventh article, says
+that he has in his answer to the first article set forth in detail the
+acts, steps, and proceedings done and taken by this respondent to and
+toward or in the matter of the suspension or removal of the said Edwin
+M. Stanton in or from the office of Secretary for the Department of War,
+with the times, modes, circumstances, intents, views, purposes, and
+opinions of official obligations and duty under and with which such
+acts, steps, and proceedings were done and taken; and he makes answer to
+this eleventh article of the matters in his answer to the first article
+pertaining to the suspension or removal of said Edwin M. Stanton, to the
+same intent and effect as if they were here repeated and set forth.
+
+And this respondent, further answering the said eleventh article,
+denies that by means or reason of anything in said article alleged this
+respondent, as President of the United States, did, on the 21st day of
+February, 1868, or at any other day or time, commit or that he was
+guilty of a high misdemeanor in office.
+
+And this respondent, further answering the said eleventh article, says
+that the same and the matters therein contained do not charge or allege
+the commission of any act whatever by this respondent in his office of
+President of the United States, nor the omission by this respondent of
+any act of official obligation or duty in his office of President of
+the United States; nor does the said article nor the matters therein
+contained name, designate, describe, or define any act or mode or form
+of attempt, device, contrivance, or means, or of attempt at device,
+contrivance, or means, whereby this respondent can know or understand
+what act or mode or form of attempt, device, contrivance, or means, or
+of attempt at device, contrivance, or means, are imputed to or charged
+against this respondent in his office of President of the United States,
+or intended so to be, or whereby this respondent can more fully or
+definitely make answer unto the said article than he hereby does.
+
+And this respondent, in submitting to this honorable court this
+his answer to the articles of impeachment exhibited against him,
+respectfully reserves leave to amend and add to the same from time to
+time, as may become necessary or proper, and when and as such necessity
+and propriety shall appear.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+  HENRY STANBERY,
+  B.R. CURTIS,
+  THOMAS A.R. NELSON,
+  WILLIAM M. EVARTS,
+  W.S. GROESBECK,
+
+_Of Counsel_.
+
+
+
+[For Exhibits A and B see veto message of March 2, 1867, pp. 492-498,
+and special message of December 12, 1867, pp. 583-594.]
+
+
+
+EXHIBIT C.
+
+ADDRESS TO THE PRESIDENT BY HON. REVERDY JOHNSON, AUGUST, 18, 1866.
+
+Mr. PRESIDENT: We are before you as a committee of the National Union
+Convention, which met in Philadelphia on Tuesday, the 14th instant,
+charged with the duty of presenting you with an authentic copy of its
+proceedings.
+
+Before placing it in your hands you will permit us to congratulate
+you that in the object for which the convention was called, in the
+enthusiasm with which in every State and Territory the call was
+responded to, in the unbroken harmony of its deliberations, in the
+unanimity with which the principles it has declared were adopted, and
+more especially in the patriotic and constitutional character of the
+principles themselves, we are confident that you and the country will
+find gratifying and cheering evidence that there exists among the people
+a public sentiment which renders an early and complete restoration of
+the Union as established by the Constitution certain and inevitable.
+Party faction, seeking the continuance of its misrule, may momentarily
+delay it, but the principles of political liberty for which our
+fathers successfully contended, and to secure which they adopted the
+Constitution, are so glaringly inconsistent with the condition in
+which the country has been placed by such misrule that it will not
+be permitted a much longer duration.
+
+We wish, Mr. President, you could have witnessed the spirit of concord
+and brotherly affection which animated every member of the convention.
+Great as your confidence has ever been in the intelligence and
+patriotism of your fellow-citizens, in their deep devotion to the Union
+and their present determination to reinstate and maintain it, that
+confidence would have become a positive conviction could you have seen
+and heard all that was done and said upon the occasion. Every heart
+was evidently full of joy; every eye beamed with patriotic animation;
+despondency gave place to the assurance that, our late dreadful civil
+strife ended, the blissful reign of peace, under the protection, not of
+arms, but of the Constitution and laws, would have sway, and be in every
+part of our land cheerfully acknowledged and in perfect good faith
+obeyed. You would not have doubted that the recurrence of dangerous
+domestic insurrections in the future is not to be apprehended.
+
+If you could have seen the men of Massachusetts and South Carolina
+coming into the convention on the first day of its meeting hand in hand,
+amid the rapturous applause of the whole body, awakened by heartfelt
+gratification at the event, filling the eyes of thousands with tears of
+joy, which they neither could nor desired to repress, you would have
+felt, as every person present felt, that the time had arrived when all
+sectional or other perilous dissensions had ceased, and that nothing
+should be heard in the future but the voice of harmony proclaiming
+devotion to a common country, of pride in being bound together by a
+common Union, existing and protected by forms of government proved by
+experience to be eminently fitted for the exigencies of either war or
+peace.
+
+In the principles announced by the convention and in the feeling there
+manifested we have every assurance that harmony throughout our entire
+land will soon prevail. We know that as in former days, as was
+eloquently declared by Webster, the nation's most gifted statesman,
+Massachusetts and South Carolina went "shoulder to shoulder through the
+Revolution" and stood hand in hand "around the Administration of
+Washington and felt his own great arm lean on them for support," so will
+they again, with like magnanimity, devotion, and power, stand round your
+Administration and cause you to feel that you may also lean on them for
+support.
+
+In the proceedings, Mr. President, which we are to place in your hands
+you will find that the convention performed the grateful duty imposed
+upon them by their knowledge of your "devotion to the Constitution and
+laws and interests of your country," as illustrated by your entire
+Presidential career, of declaring that in you they "recognize a Chief
+Magistrate worthy of the nation and equal to the great crisis upon
+which your lot is cast;" and in this declaration it gives us marked
+pleasure to add we are confident that the convention has but spoken the
+intelligent and patriotic sentiment of the country. Ever inaccessible to
+the low influences which often control the mere partisan, governed alone
+by an honest opinion of constitutional obligations and rights and of the
+duty of looking solely to the true interests, safety, and honor of the
+nation, such a class is incapable of resorting to any bait for
+popularity at the expense of the public good.
+
+In the measures which you have adopted for the restoration of the Union
+the convention saw only a continuance of the policy which for the same
+purpose was inaugurated by your immediate predecessor. In his reelection
+by the people, after that policy had been fully indicated and had been
+made one of the issues of the contest, those of his political friends
+who are now assailing you for sternly pursuing it are forgetful or
+regardless of the opinions which their support of his reelection
+necessarily involved. Being upon the same ticket with that much-lamented
+public servant, whose foul assassination touched the heart of the
+civilized world with grief and horror, you would have been false to
+obvious duty if you had not endeavored to carry out the same policy;
+and, judging now by the opposite one which Congress has pursued, its
+wisdom and patriotism are indicated by the fact that that of Congress
+has but continued a broken Union by keeping ten of the States in which
+at one time the insurrection existed (as far as they could accomplish
+it) in the condition of subjugated provinces, denying to them the right
+to be represented, while subjecting their people to every species of
+legislation, including that of taxation. That such a state of things is
+at war with the very genius of our Government, inconsistent with every
+idea of political freedom, and most perilous to the peace and safety of
+the country no reflecting man can fail to believe.
+
+We hope, sir, that the proceedings of the convention will cause you to
+adhere, if possible, with even greater firmness to the course which you
+are pursuing, by satisfying you that the people are with you, and that
+the wish which lies nearest to their heart is that a perfect restoration
+of our Union at the earliest moment be attained, and a conviction that
+the result can only be accomplished by the measures which you are
+pursuing. And in the discharge of the duties which these impose upon
+you we, as did every member of the convention, again for ourselves
+individually tender to you our profound respect and assurance of our
+cordial and sincere support.
+
+With a reunited Union, with no foot but that of a freeman treading or
+permitted to tread our soil, with a nation's faith pledged forever to a
+strict observance of all its obligations, with kindness and fraternal
+love everywhere prevailing, the desolations of war will soon be removed;
+its sacrifices of life, sad as they have been, will, with Christian
+resignation, be referred to a providential purpose of fixing our beloved
+country on a firm and enduring basis, which will forever place our
+liberty and happiness beyond the reach of human peril.
+
+Then, too, and forever, will our Government challenge the admiration and
+receive the respect of the nations of the world, and be in no danger of
+any efforts to impeach our honor.
+
+And permit me, sir, in conclusion, to add that, great as is your
+solicitude for the restoration of our domestic peace and your labors
+to that end, you have also a watchful eye to the rights of the nation,
+and that any attempt by an assumed or actual foreign power to enforce
+an illegal blockade against the Government or citizens of the United
+States, to use your own mild but expressive words, "will be disallowed."
+In this determination I am sure you will receive the unanimous approval
+of your fellow-citizens.
+
+Now, sir, as the chairman of this committee, and in behalf of the
+convention, I have the honor to present you with an authentic copy
+of its proceedings.
+
+
+  Counsel for the respondent submitted the following motion:
+
+  _To the Senate of the United States sitting as a court of impeachment_:
+
+  And now, on this 23d day of March, in the year 1868, the counsel for
+  the President of the United States, upon reading and filing his answer
+  to the articles of impeachment exhibited against him, respectfully
+  represent to the honorable court that after the replication shall have
+  been filed to the said answer the due and proper preparation of and for
+  the trial of the cause will require, in the opinion and judgment of such
+  counsel, that a period of not less than thirty days should be allowed to
+  the President of the United States and his counsel for such preparation,
+  and before the said trial should proceed.
+
+  HENRY STANBERY,
+  B.R. CURTIS,
+  THOMAS A.R. NELSON,
+  WM. M. EVARTS,
+  W.S. GROESBECK,
+
+  _Of Counsel_.
+
+
+
+TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 1868.
+
+UNITED STATES _vs_. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+
+REPLICATION BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES TO
+THE ANSWER OF ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, TO THE
+ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT EXHIBITED AGAINST HIM BY THE HOUSE OF
+REPRESENTATIVES.
+
+The House of Representatives of the United States have considered the
+several answers of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, to
+the several articles of impeachment against him, by them exhibited in
+the name of themselves and of all the people of the United States, and
+reserving to themselves all advantage of exception to the insufficiency
+of his answer to each and all of the several articles of impeachment
+exhibited against said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+do deny each and every averment in said several answers, or either
+of them, which denies or traverses the acts, intents, crimes, or
+misdemeanors charged against said Andrew Johnson in the said articles of
+impeachment, or either of them, and for replication to the said answer
+do say that said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, is
+guilty of the high crimes and misdemeanors mentioned in said articles,
+and that the House of Representatives are ready to prove the same.
+
+SCHUYLER COLFAX,
+
+_Speaker of the House of Representatives_.
+
+EDW'D McPHERSON,
+
+_Clerk of the House of Representatives_.
+
+
+The motion of the counsel for the respondent, submitted on March 23,
+"that a period of not less than thirty days should be allowed to the
+President of the United States and his counsel for such preparation and
+before the said trial should proceed," was denied, and it was
+
+  _Ordered_. That the Senate will commence the trial of the President
+  upon the articles of impeachment exhibited against him on Monday, the
+  30th of March instant, and proceed therein with all convenient dispatch
+  under the rules of the Senate sitting upon the trial of an impeachment.
+
+
+
+MONDAY, MAY 11, 1868.
+
+THE UNITED STATES _vs_. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+
+The Chief Justice stated that in compliance with the desire of the
+Senate he had prepared the question to be addressed to Senators upon
+each article of impeachment, and that he had reduced his views thereon
+to writing, which he read, as follows:
+
+SENATORS: In conformity with what seemed to be the general wish of the
+Senate when it adjourned last Thursday, the Chief Justice, in taking the
+vote on the articles of impeachment, will adopt the mode sanctioned by
+the practice in the cases of Chase, Peck, and Humphreys.
+
+He will direct the Secretary to read the several articles successively,
+and after the reading of each article will put the question of guilty or
+not guilty to each Senator, rising in his place, in the form used in the
+case of Judge Chase:
+
+  Mr. Senator ----, how say you? Is the respondent, Andrew Johnson,
+  President of the United States, guilty or not guilty of a high
+  misdemeanor, as charged in this article?
+
+
+In putting the question on Articles IV and VI, each of which charges a
+crime, the word "crime" will be substituted for the word "misdemeanor."
+
+The Chief Justice has carefully considered the suggestion of the Senator
+from Indiana (Mr. Hendricks), which appeared to meet the approval of the
+Senate, that in taking the vote on the eleventh article the question
+should be put on each clause, and has found himself unable to divide the
+article as suggested. The article charges several facts, but they are so
+connected that they make but one allegation and they are charged as
+constituting one misdemeanor.
+
+The first fact charged is, in substance, that the President publicly
+declared in August, 1866, that the Thirty-ninth Congress was a Congress
+of only part of the States and not a constitutional Congress, intending
+thereby to deny its constitutional competency to enact laws or propose
+amendments of the Constitution; and this charge seems to have been made
+as introductory, and as qualifying that which follows, namely, that the
+President, in pursuance of this declaration, attempted to prevent the
+execution of the tenure-of-office act by contriving and attempting to
+contrive means to prevent Mr. Stanton from resuming the functions of
+Secretary of War after the refusal of the Senate to concur in his
+suspension, and also by contriving and attempting to contrive means to
+prevent the execution of the appropriation act of March 2, 1867, and
+also to prevent the execution of the rebel States governments act of
+the same date.
+
+The gravamen of the article seems to be that the President attempted
+to defeat the execution of the tenure-of-office act, and that he
+did this in pursuance of a declaration which was intended to deny
+the constitutional competency of Congress to enact laws or propose
+constitutional amendments, and by contriving means to prevent Mr.
+Stanton from resuming his office of Secretary, and also to prevent the
+execution of the appropriation act and the rebel States governments act.
+
+The single substantive matter charged is the attempt to prevent the
+execution of the tenure-of-office act, and the other facts are alleged
+either as introductory and exhibiting this general purpose or as showing
+the means contrived in furtherance of that attempt.
+
+This single matter, connected with the other matters previously and
+subsequently alleged, is charged as the high misdemeanor of which the
+President is alleged to have been guilty.
+
+The general question, guilty or not guilty of a high misdemeanor as
+charged, seems fully to cover the whole charge, and will be put as to
+this article as well as to the others, unless the Senate direct some
+mode of division.
+
+In the tenth article the division suggested by the Senator from New York
+(Mr. Conkling) may be more easily made. It contains a general allegation
+to the effect that on the 18th of August and on other days the
+President, with intent to set aside the rightful authority of Congress
+and bring it into contempt, delivered certain scandalous harangues, and
+therein uttered loud threats and bitter menaces against Congress and the
+laws of the United States enacted by Congress, thereby bringing the
+office of President into disgrace, to the great scandal of all good
+citizens, and sets forth in three distinct specifications the harangues,
+threats, and menaces complained of.
+
+In respect to this article, if the Senate sees fit so to direct, the
+question of guilty or not guilty of the facts charged may be taken in
+respect to the several specifications, and then the question of guilty
+or not guilty of a high misdemeanor, as charged in the article, can also
+be taken.
+
+The Chief Justice, however, sees no objection to putting the general
+question on this article in the same manner as on the others; for,
+whether particular questions be put on the specifications or not, the
+answer to the final question must be determined by the judgment of the
+Senate whether or not the facts alleged in the specifications have been
+sufficiently proved, and whether, if sufficiently proved, they amount
+to a high misdemeanor within the meaning of the Constitution.
+
+On the whole, therefore, the Chief Justice thinks that the better
+practice will be to put the general question on each article without
+attempting to make any subdivision, and will pursue this course if no
+objection is made. He will, however, be pleased to conform to such
+directions as the Senate may see fit to give in this respect.
+
+Whereupon it was
+
+  _Ordered_, That the question be put as proposed by the Presiding
+  Officer of the Senate, and each Senator shall rise in his place and
+  answer "guilty" or "not guilty" only.
+
+
+
+SATURDAY, MAY 16, 1868.
+
+THE UNITED STATES _vs_. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+
+The Chief Justice stated that, in pursuance of the order of the Senate,
+he would first proceed to take the judgment of the Senate on the
+eleventh article. The roll of the Senate was called, with the following
+result:
+
+The Senators who voted "guilty" are Messrs. Anthony, Cameron, Cattell,
+Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Conness, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds,
+Ferry, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Howard, Howe, Morgan, Morrill of Maine,
+Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy,
+Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Wade,
+Williams, Willey, Wilson, and Yates--35.
+
+The Senators who voted "not guilty" are Messrs. Bayard, Buckalew, Davis,
+Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Fowler, Grimes, Henderson, Hendricks,
+Johnson, McCreery, Norton, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, Saulsbury,
+Trumbull, Van Winkle, and Vickers--19.
+
+The Chief Justice announced that upon this article thirty-five Senators
+had voted "guilty" and nineteen Senators "not guilty," and declared that
+two-thirds of the Senators present not having pronounced him guilty,
+Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, stood acquitted of the
+charges contained in the eleventh article of impeachment.
+
+
+
+TUESDAY, MAY 26, 1868.
+
+THE UNITED STATES _vs_. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT.
+
+The Senate ordered that the vote be taken upon the second article of
+impeachment. The roll of the Senate was called, with the following
+result:
+
+The Senators who voted "guilty" are Messrs. Anthony, Cameron, Cattell,
+Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Conness, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds,
+Ferry, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Howard, Howe, Morgan, Morrill of Maine,
+Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy,
+Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Wade, Willey,
+Williams, Wilson, and Yates--35.
+
+The Senators who voted "not guilty" are Messrs. Bayard, Buckalew, Davis,
+Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Fowler, Grimes, Henderson, Hendricks,
+Johnson, McCreery, Norton, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, Saulsbury,
+Trumbull, Van Winkle, and Vickers--19.
+
+The Chief Justice announced that upon this article thirty-five Senators
+had voted "guilty" and nineteen Senators had voted "not guilty," and
+declared that two-thirds of the Senators present not having pronounced
+him guilty, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, stood
+acquitted of the charges contained in the second article of impeachment.
+
+The Senate ordered that the vote be taken upon the third article of
+impeachment. The roll of the Senate was called, with the following
+result:
+
+The Senators who voted "guilty" are Messrs. Anthony, Cameron, Cattell,
+Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Conness, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds,
+Ferry, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Howard, Howe, Morgan, Morrill of Maine,
+Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy,
+Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Wade, Willey,
+Williams, Wilson, and Yates--35.
+
+The Senators who voted "not guilty" are Messrs. Bayard, Buckalew, Davis,
+Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Fowler, Grimes, Henderson, Hendricks,
+Johnson, McCreery, Norton, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, Saulsbury,
+Trumbull, Van Winkle, and Vickers--19.
+
+The Chief Justice announced that upon this article thirty-five Senators
+had voted "guilty" and nineteen Senators had voted "not guilty," and
+declared that two-thirds of the Senators present not having pronounced
+him guilty, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, stood
+acquitted of the charges contained in the third article.
+
+No objection being made, the secretary, by direction of the Chief
+Justice, entered the judgment of the Senate upon the second, third,
+and eleventh articles, as follows:
+
+The Senate having tried Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
+upon articles of impeachment exhibited against him by the House of
+Representatives, and two-thirds of the Senators present not having found
+him guilty of the charges contained in the second, third, and eleventh
+articles of impeachment, it is therefore
+
+_Ordered and adjudged_, That the said Andrew Johnson, President of the
+United States, be, and he is, acquitted of the charges in said articles
+made and set forth.
+
+A motion "that the Senate sitting for the trial of the President upon
+articles of impeachment do now adjourn without day" was adopted by a
+vote of 34 yeas to 16 nays.
+
+Those who voted in the affirmative are Messrs. Anthony, Cameron,
+Cattell, Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds,
+Ferry, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Howard, Morgan, Morrill of Maine, Morrill
+of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy, Ramsey,
+Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Van Winkle, Wade,
+Willey, Williams, Wilson, and Yates.
+
+Those who voted in the negative are Messrs. Bayard, Buckalew, Davis,
+Dixon, Doolittle, Fowler, Henderson, Hendricks, Johnson, McCreery,
+Norton, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, Saulsbury, Trumbull, and Vickers.
+
+The Chief Justice declared the Senate sitting as a court of impeachment
+for the trial of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, upon
+articles of impeachment exhibited against him by the House of
+Representatives, adjourned without day.
+
+
+
+
+ADDENDA.
+
+
+[An injunction of secrecy having been placed upon the following messages
+by the Senate, they were not printed in the Executive Journal covering
+their period, but were found in the imprinted Executive Journal of the
+Forty-first Congress while searching for copy for Volume VII, and
+consequently too late for insertion in their proper places in this
+volume.]
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 29, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate_:
+
+Referring to the three Executive communications of the 15th instant,
+with which were transmitted to the Senate, respectively, a copy of a
+convention between the United States and Great Britain upon the subject
+of claims, a copy of a convention between the same parties in relation
+to the question of boundary, and a protocol of a treaty between the same
+parties concerning the rights of naturalized citizens and subjects of
+the respective parties, I now transmit a copy of such correspondence
+upon those subjects as has not been heretofore communicated to the
+Senate.
+
+In the progress of the negotiation the three subjects became to such a
+degree associated with each other that it would be difficult to present
+separately the correspondence upon each. The papers are therefore
+transmitted in the order in which they are mentioned in the accompanying
+list.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 30, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+Referring to the Executive communication of the 15th instant, which
+was accompanied by a copy of a convention between the United States
+and Great Britain for the settlement of all outstanding claims, I now
+transmit to the Senate the original of that instrument, and a report of
+the Secretary of State pointing out the differences between the copy as
+submitted to the Senate and the original as signed by the
+plenipotentiaries.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _January 30, 1869_.
+
+_To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+Referring to the Executive communication of the 15th instant, which was
+accompanied by a copy of a convention between the United States and
+Great Britain providing for the reference to an arbiter of the question
+of difference between the United States and Great Britain concerning the
+northwest line of water boundary between the United States and the
+British possessions in North America, I now transmit to the Senate the
+original of that instrument, and a report of the Secretary of State
+pointing out the differences between the copy as submitted to the Senate
+and the original as signed by the plenipotentiaries.
+
+ANDREW JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Compilation of the Messages and
+Papers of the Presidents, by James D. Richardson
+
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