Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

CHROM 3L|l AND SENTINEL. A »■ GISTA. TUESDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 15. FOR CONGRESS, HINES HOLT, Jr. MCSCOGEE. Election on . 'irst Monday in January. Correspondence f the Chronicle and Sentinel. Milledgeville, Dec. 11. In the Senate to day, the bill introduced by Mr. Echols, of Coweta to amend the Constitution so as to require the Juds :s of the Superior Court to meet at Milledgeville tv|ice a year, for the purpose of deciding questions?>f law arising in their respec tive Circuits, or,irpther words, to constitute the n, when in Convents a, a Supreme Court, was taken up and lost—then not being two thirds in its fa vor. Yeas 45—Na *s 30. It was supported briefly by Messrs. Echols of Coweta, Miller and Chasta;.n, and in a speech of considerable length by Mr. Floyd. The latte: gentleman always speaks to the pur, ose and reasc is closely. Illr. Cone was the only gentleman w io spoke against it. Both branches a the Legislature then went into the elections set apart for the day. On lhe€th ballot, Wm. Tayi >r. Esq. of Early county was elected Judge of t e S. VV. Cirauit. Ist. 2d. 3d. 4th. sth. 6:h. William Taylor, ,18 122 124 123 127 123 T. C. Sullivan, 31 29 16 10 108 dr. Howell Cobb, 36 34 28 25 16 dr. Jas. Thomas, 63 72 84 88 4 96 Barna Hill, 14 8 10 11 7 dr. Gainer, 3 1 dr. 09 00 00 Blank, 1 3 4 3 2 3 271 269 266 260 261 222 After the resu; was declared, a hat, near the President of the Senate, was discovered to have bnllots in it, pet .here by mistake. They were counted and sou; d to be 10 for Taylor and 8 for Thomas. On the fifth ba! ot, Adam Robertson, Esq was elected Solicitor General for the same Circuit. 1 have not been ab eto get the ballottings. His op ponents were Me srs. Campbell, Patterson, Smith, and a Mr. Blank,; who, it seems, is as notorious for being a Candida ; as Mr. Scatieiing, James R. t\vi.y was eiec ?d Brigadier General of the Ist Brigade, 7th Div don, on the first ballot: Wyly, 126— Wilson 82, The Senate was engaged all the afternoon in rea ing bills from the House a first ano second time. Q. Milledgeville, Ga. Satu day evening, Dec. 12, 1840. The House wi engaged nearly all the morning, or until the hour arrived whi *h was set apart for the elections of ie day, in discussing a motior to r*-consider a voi of yesterday on the second sec tion of the Centi 1 Bank bill, which was to strike out the word “h ndied,” in its connection in ihe j sentence, no as t| leave the minimum amount of j the State bond to e five do lais,instead of“five bun- I dred dollars,” as eported by the committee. The j motion to strike ut prevailed yesterday, and, as- i ter a protracted iscussioa this morning, the mo- j lion to re-consid( was lost. So that oy the oil as ! amended, the bods may be issued in any amount, varying from ti e dollars upwards, to suit pur chasers, &c. At the hour o 11 o’clock, both bouses proceed ed to the electic s of the day, to wit: a Judge and Solicitor Gener: lor the South-western Circuit, 1 and a Brigadier eneralfor the Ist Brigade and 7ih , Division Georgi Militia; which resulted in the 1 election of Wu iam Tayi or Judge, Adam Ro binson Solicitor, ind J. U. Wiley, of Habersham, General. After the ele<| ions the Senate retired, and the i House adjournei until 3 o’clock, P. M. The whole ev, ning was consumed in discussing | additional amen] meim to the Central Bank bi.l — the most import it of which, was one offered by ' Mr. Bethea, of Washington, to borrow three mil lions of dollars y the sale of the Mate bonds in stead of one, as reposed by the committee, to be j used as far as r ctssary in the redemption of the ; Central Bank bi ;, and the balance to be loaned to J the people by th Bank at S pet cent. His amend- ! ment also prov ,ed that the interest on the bonds should not exce 17 per cent, per annum. It was, I however, lost if a large majority. And the ui.l then, with somt*;light modifications, came upon il* passage, and, as I expected would be the result, was carried by considerable majority. The vote was lU4 to 68. Whether it will pass the Senate ’ in its present iape is somewhat doubtful. But the probability ;, that no very important or mate rial amendment such as striking out th: first tec- I Hon, or any ti ing of that kind,) will be made j , there. No doul t the friends, in that body, of the i project of last session and the reckless pol.cy of j 1 the present Di oction, would willingly do so but I ' lor fear, on :he part, that such course would ci - 1 danger tne succ ss of the entire measure, by a re fusal of the Ho se to concur, AnJ so dear to them I 1 and necessary s this act of the State to relieve | the mai-aamini tration of the Bank from its pre sent embarrass! ients, that they will not permit so j j important a coi iideration to be lost by too grea: a tenacity for a ystem of pol.cy which is a,ready , ripe for public condemnation. For nothing but this aid of the fate, afforded by involving herself, « can save the au hors and projectors of that scheme I Horn the just , Runa of au indignant people, who, 1 otherwise, woi Id inevitably be compelled to incur ' heavy losses bj the depreciation of their irredeem able paper. 1 send you ; copy of the bill a» it passed the House, that yt i may present it to your readers if you think prop r. The Senate id nothing of importance to-day.—- Most of tht i ic was taken up in reading bills the first and secon time. Yours, ate. H. A Hill, To be entr lan act to repeal an act entitled “An act to a • and amend an act to establish a bank at Mi. edgeviile, to be called and known by the name < the Central bank of Georgia,” passed on the 12d day of December, 1828, pass ed on the 21s day of December, 1839, und to provide for tl 3 protection of the cnfiliation of said bank an otner purposes. Section 1 Be it tnueltd by the Senate and Htuse of Hes 'esentaiives •f the Siaie of Geor gia in Gener, L Assembly nut: and it la hereby enacted by I e authority of the same r Thai ( fiom and afr r the passage ol- this act, tha t an act entitled *• An act to ailer and amend an act < •o establish a; ianK at Milledgeville, 10 be called and known b the name and style oi the Central Ba .k ol Gem ;ia,"’ &c., passed on the 22d day of December, 1828, passed on me 21st day ui December, Ife 19, be and the same is hereby re peated. Section 2 Be it further enacted by ihe au - , thonty afore,aid: That ihe Governor of this 1 State bo and eis hereby authorized to execute ] the bonds of this State, not exceeding one million of dollars, in sums not less than five dollars each, redeemable at the end of five years or sooner, at the option of the State, bearing an interest of S per cent per annum, payable annually in the cities of Savannah, Augusta and Milledgeville, which bonds shall be used exclusively for the redemption of the bills of the Central bank now in cilculation, and those which this Legislature direct the issue of, to uefray the expenses of and the appropriations made by ibis General Assem bly, and for no other purpose whatsoever, and only for that purpose to the extent necessary, after the application of the funds of the Central Bank available for that purpose: provided, nev ertheless, that if it le practicable to obtain specie for the purpose aforesaid, by making any of the aforesaid bonds payable elsewhere than in the State, the same may be maue payable at any place in tne United Stales. Section 3. And be it further enacted by the aulhor.ty aforesaid: That the faith and credit of the State of Georgia be and the same are nereby pledged for the payment of f-aid bonds at the niaiu»ity thereof, and also that they be con sidered a debt due by the Central bank, the as sets of which are hereoy required to be appropii* ated to the purpose of the payment of the inter est of the alnresaid bonds, and their,redempiion as soon as they become due. Section 4. And be it further enacted by the authority ofjiesaid: That the Governor sTiall cause saia bonds or a sufficiency thereof for the purposes specified in the act. to be sold at such times and places as he may deem most be neficial to the State, for specie or its equivalent, at not less than par, or the bills ot the Cen ti al bank, und any person or persons holumg Cen.ral bank bills to the amount of five dollars or more, shall be entitled to receive said bonds in payment thereof, unless the Central bank shall on demand provide oilier sat.sfuclory means of payment, and unless said person or persons shall be indebted to the State or said Central bank upon debts due at the time of the demand: p<o vided, that no bond shall issue for less than the whole amount presented in any one week by any one person or company in his her or their own right, unless the amount so presented exceeds five hundred dollars, in which latter event a bond or bonds shall issue in sums ot five hundred dol lars and suen fractious thereof us will meet the amount presented. Section 5. And be it farther enacted by the autnority aforesaid: That the Directors of the Central BaiiK be and they are hereby authorized to sell the stocks owned by the Stale in the bank of the State of Georgia, and m the Bunk of Au gusta for specie or its equivalent, at not less than ten per cent below par, to a sufficient amount to pay the balance which may be necessary to dis charge the debt due the Pnoe.iix bank after the application of the funds provided by the Bank first to that purpose, and the interest of the pub lic debt due in the year 1840. Section 6. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid: Tnat all laws and pans ot laws militating against this act, be and the same are hereby repealed. Correspondence of the t hronicle and Sentinel. Washington, December 10, I;>40. We hive the President’s Message at last. Yes terday there was a quorum of Senators present; and that body was organized by the President pio tem , who look the Chair. After the interchange of the u-ual messages between the two houses, a Joint Committee was aj p anted to visit the Pie i dent, aim inform him ihat a quoiuraof each bouse had been formed, and that they wcie ready to re ceive any cum nunication he might have to raa*e. The Committee having discharged this duly, tne Private Secretary ol the President soon afterwards appeared at the oar and delivered the la>t annual Message ofMartiu Van Buren. It excited no com ments ; and I send it to you without any for the present. Twenty thousand copies of it were or dered to Le printed by the House, and seven thou sand five bundled by the Senate. The House u ferred it to the Committee of the whole on (he state of the Union. Resolutions were then adopted, di recting the proper officers to furnish the Senators and Representatives with the usual number of newspapers. A resolution was aim passed for the appointment of tw© Chaplains, to interchange be tween the two houses during the session. Mr. Merrick announced the death of bis col league, Mr. Spence, late Senator Lorn Maryland, who Aed during the recess. After paying a mer ited and feeling tribute to his purity of life and conduct, and his pub.ic services, he offered the cus tomary resolutions for going into mourning, which were agreed to ; and then, as an additional m irk of respect to the memory of Mie deceased, the Senate adjourned. , I regret to be compelled to notice the course which ex-President Adams has thought fit to pur sue, at the ’’cry opening of the session. He ollei ed a resolution for rescinding the following stand ing rule of the House, which, you will remember, was ad iptcd at the last session, on motion of Mr. Wm. Cost Johnson. “ No petition, memorial, resolution or other pa per, praying the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, or any .Slate or Territory, or the slave trade between the States or Territories of the Uni ted 'tales, in which it now exists, shall b - received by this House, or entertained in any way what ever.” Mr. Adams denounced this rule as in direct vio lation of the Constitution of the United Slates, Mr. Williams, of N. C., suggested that the gen tleman who intioduced the rue was not in his sea . Mr. Adams said he would be glal to hear the gentlem in who had tne honor of being the author of it; provided tne House would also let him speak. Mr. Banks, of Va., moved to Jay ihe resolution for rescinding on the table. Mr. Adams said he hoped the,House would de cide the question at ome, and not lay iron the ta ble, as, in that case, it could be called up at ar y time. He dio not wish to discuss it. All lie want ed was the sense of the House. The question was then put on Mr. Banks’ mo tion, and carried in the affirmative. Ayes S2,naj s 58. So toe motion to rescind the rule abovtraen tioned was laid on the table. The House then adjourned. Mr. Secretary Woodbury has provided for him self another berth, after the 4lh of M rch next. He will go straight up from the Treasury to the Senate chamber. He ha- been elected a Senator for six years from the 4th of March next, from the state of New Hampshire. Mr. Hubbard, the pre sent Senator, tried ha>d to obtain a re-elec don But the Secretary beat him by four votes in the Locofoco caucus which nominated IhecandidaUd of “the party” d, lliimplou Cotiise. TUESDA Y —F IKST DAY. Purse $lO6 —Two mile heat;. entries. Col. John Crowell’s h. i. Nancy Clark,by P.ejtn; d out of Moiocco Slipper—3 years old. G. Edmonson, James Lamkiirs ch. f. Maiy Elizr betn, by Andrew, dam by Gallatin—4 years old. F. Tompkins, Charles Lewis’ s. f. Nancy lici.se, by imp. Leviathan, dam by Stockholder—3 y’rs old. The Geneva Democrat tells a good one : “It declares that there is a bachelor in that city who fancies himself a siiuipiasie. ; and will not oilier himself to any lady tor tear ol being reluved.” MESSAGE | From the President of the United Slates , to the two houses of Congress, at the commencement j of the second session of the twenty-sixth , Congress. FiH.OW-CITIZESS OF THE SeKATE and House of Repueskstatives; I Our devout gratitude is due to the Supreme Being lor bating graciously c« ntinued to our be loved conn ry, through the vicissitudes of anoth er year, the invaluable blessings of heahh. pien ly, and peace. Seldom has this favored land been so generally exempt* d from the ravages of disease, or the labor of the husbandman more am ply rewarded; and never bekne have our rela tions with other countries been placed on a more favorable basis than that which they so happily occupy at this critical conjuncture in the affairs of the woild. A rigid and persevering abstinence Irem all intei ference with the domestic and poli tical relations of other States, alike due to the genius and distinctive character of our Govern ment and to the principles by which it is direc ted ; a faithful observance, in the management ol oui foreign relations, of the practice ot speaking plainly, dealing justly, and requiring truth and jus ice in return, as Uie best conservatives ot the peace of nations; a strict impartiality in our manifestations of friendship, in the commercial privileges we concede, and those we require from others: these, accompanied by a oisposition as prompt to maintain, in every emergency,our own rights, as we are from principle averse to the in vasion of those of others,have givenjo our coun try and Government a standing in the great fam ily of nations, o! which we have just cause to be proud, and the advantages of which are experi enced by our citizens throughout every portion of the earth to which their enterprising and adven turous spirit may cany them- Few, if any, re main insensible to the value of our friendship, or ignorant of the terms on which it can be acqui red, and by which it can alone be preserved. A series ot questions of longstanding, difficult in their adjustment, and important in their con sequences, in whicn the rigtus of our citizens and the honor es the country were deeply involved, have, in the course of a few years, (the most 01 them during the successful administration of my immediate predecessor,) been brought to a sa is factory conclusion ; and the most important ol those remaining are, I am nappy to believe, in a fairway of be.ng speedily and 4 satislactorily adjus led. With all the powers of the world our rela tions are those ol honorable peace. sfince your adjournment, nothing serious has occurred to in terrupt or threaten I his desirable harmony. Il clouds have low red above the other hemisphere, they have not cast their portentous shadows upon our happy shores. Bound hy no entangling alli ances, yet linked by a common nature and inte rest wiih the other nations of mankind, our aspi rations are for the preservation of peace, in whose solid a,nl civilizing triumphs all may participate with a generous emulation. Vet it behooves us t> be prepared for any event, and to be always ready to maintain ihose just and enlightened prin ciples of national intercourse, lor which tins Government has ever contended. In tne shock of contending empties, it is only by assuming a resolute bearing, and clothing themselves with de- 1 ensive aunor. that neutral nations can maintain their independent rights. Tie excitement wmch grew out of the terri torial coiitrovetsy between the Grilled Shales and Great Britain havinp in a great measure subsided it is hoped that a lavorable period is approaching tor us linal settlement. |Uoth Governments mu>t now be convinced of the dangers witti which the question is fraught ; and it must be their dcsiie, as it is their interest, that this perpetual cause ot irritation should be removed as speedily as possible. In my last annual message you were informed that the proposition for a com mission of exploration and survey promised by Grr.il B.iluin had been leceived, and that a conn- I- rproject, including also a provision tor the cer tain ami final adjustment ot ihe limits in dispute, was then before ihe Bnlisn Government tor its consideration. Tne answer of dial Government, accompanied by additional propositions of its own was received, through its minister here, since your separation. These were promptly consider ed ; such as were deemed cm reel in principle, ami consistent with a due regard to the just right of the United S ales and of me estate ol Maine, concurred in; and the reasons for dissenting trom the residue, with an additional suggestion on our part, communicated hy the Secretary of 6,ale to Mr. Fox. Tnal minister, not feeling himself suffi ciently instructed upon some of ihe points ra sed in the discussion, fell it to be hisduiy to refer tbe matter to his own Government for its further decision. Having now been for some tune under its advisement, a spe* ily answer may be confident ly expected. From the character of tne points still in ditl'eience, and the undoubted disj *.sition of both parlies to bring the matter to an early conclusion, I took with entire confidence to a nrompt and taljstactory termination ot tne nego tiation. Three commissioners were appointed shor'ly after the adjournment of Congress, un er the act of the last session providing for the explo ration and suivey of the I ne which separates the Slates of Mime an I New Hampshire from the Brins i P'ovinces; they hive been actively employ rd uni.l their pr igress was interrupted by the in clemency of the season, and will resume im ir la bors as soon as praclicao e in tne ensuing year. It is understood thaitueir re.pective examina tions will throw new tight upon the subject in controversy, and serve to remove any erroneous impressions which may have been made else where prejudicial to the rights ot the Uni ted States, it was among oilier reasons, with a view ot preventing the embarrisnients which, 1 in our peculiar system of government impede and complicate negotiations involving the terri torial rights ot a State, that I thought it n y duty, 1 as you nave been informed on a previous occa sion, to propose to the British Gove*nrnent, thro’ its minister at Washington, that early steps should be taken to adjust the puin's ot difference I on the line of boundaiy from the entrance ol Lake Superior to the most northwestern point ol the Lake of the Woods, by the arbitration of a friendly power, in conformity with the 7th arti- i cle of tne treaty of Ghent. No answer has yet I been returned hy the British Government to this proposition. With Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, and , the remaining powers ot Europe, I am happy to inform you our relations continue to be ut the most friendly character. With Belgium, a trea ty of commerce and navigation, based upon lib eral principles of reciprocity and equality, was concluded in March last, and, having been lati fied bv the Belgian Government, will be duly laid before the Senate. It is a subject of con gratulation that it provides for the satisfactory adjustment of a long-standing question of con troversy ; thus removing the only ouslaele which could obstruct the friendly and mutually advan tageous tnteicourse between the two nations. A messenger has been despatched with the Hano verian treaty of Berlin, where, according to stip ulation, .the ratifications are to be exchanged. I am happy to announce to you that, alter many delays and difficulties, a treaty pf commerce and navigation, between the United Stat s and Pot cuga*. was concluded and signed at Lisbon, on the J 6th of August last, by the plenipotentiaries of the two Governments Its stipulations arc founded upon those principles of imitua liberality and advantage which the United Stales have al ways sought to make the basis of the.r inter course with Foreign Powers, and it is hoped they will tend to foster and strengthen the commercial i intercourse of the two countries. 1 Under the appropriation of ihe last setsipn of < Congress, an agent dias been sent to Germany, I for the purpose of promoting the interests of our tobacco trade. The commissioners appointed under the con vention For the adjustment ot claims of the cit izens of the United States upon Mexico having met and organized at Washington, in August last, the papers in the possession of the Govern- I rnent, to those claims, were communi cated to the board. Ihe claims not embraced by that convention are-now the sulject of negotia tion between the two Governments, through the medium of oar minister at Mexico. Nothing has occurred to disturb the harmony of our relations with the diffeient Governments of South America. I regret, however, to be ob liged to inform you that the claims of our citi zens upon the late Republic *>f Columbia have n«*t yet been sath-fied by the separate Govern ments into which it has been resolved. The Charge d’Alfiairs of Brazil having ex pressed the intention of hi- G .ve mnent not to prolong the treaty of 1828. it will cease to be obligatory upon either party on the 12th day of December 1841, when the extensive commercial intercourse between the United States and that vast empire will no longer be regulated by express stipulations. It affirds me pleasure to communicate to you that the Government of Chili has entered into an agreement, to indemnify the claimants in the case of the Macedonian, for American property seized in 1819, and to add, that information lias also been received which justifies the hope of an early adjustment of the remaining claims upon that Government. The commissioners appointed in pursuance of the convention between the United States and Texas, for /nuking the boundary between them, have according to the last report received from our commissioner, surveyed and established the whole extent of the boundary north along the western bank of the Sabine River, from its en trance into the Gul. of Mexico to the thirty-se cond degree of north latitude. 'The commission adjourned on the 16ih o June last, to re-assern bleou the Ist of November, for the purpose of establishing accurately the intersection of the th;rly-second degree of latitude with the western bank of the Sabine, and the meridian line thence to Red River. It is presumed tnal the woik will be concluded in the present season. The present sound condition of their finances, and the success with which embarrassments in regard to them, at times apparently insurmoun table, have been overcome, aie matters upon which the people and Government ofthe United Stales may w* II congratulate themselves. An ovciflowing treasury, however, it may be regard ed as an evidence of public prosperity, is seldom conducive to the permanent weltaieofany peo ple; ana experience has demonstiated its in compatibility with the salutary action of political institutions like those* f the Unled States. 1 ur safest reliance for financial etlic.cncv anu indepen dence has, on the contraiy. been found to consist in ample res* urces uneucumoercd with debt; and in this re-pect, the Federal Government occupies a singularly fortunate and truly enviatue position. When I entered upon the discharge ot my official duties in March, 1837. tne act for the i distribution ofthe surplus revenue was in a course of rapid execution. Nearly twenty eight mill- ! i ions of dollars of the public moneys were in pursuance of its provisions, deposited with the .Slates in the month of January. April, ami July, I of that year. In May there occurred a general j ruspension of specie payments bv the banks, in- ! eluding wiih very lew * xceptions those in which the public moneys were deposited,and upon whose fidelity the Government had unfortunately made itsell dependent for the revenues wmch had been collected from the people, and were indispensable to the public servue. This suspension, and the excess in [tankingand coinmeiceuut ol which il arose, and which weie greatly aggravated by its occurrence, made, to a great extent unavailable tite principal part ol the public money then on hand ; suspended the collection of many millions accruing on merchants’ bonds; and greatly re duced the revenue arising from customs and the public lands. These effects have continued to operate in various deg ecs to the present period ; anil in addition to the decrease in the revenue thus produced, two and a half millions ot duties have been relmq fished hy two biennial reductions under the aetoi 1833, and probably as much more upon the importations of iron lor rail roads, by special legislation. Whilst such has been our condition for the last four years in relation to revenue, we have, dur- 1 mg the same period, been subjected to an unavoidable continuance of large extraordi nary expenses nece.sanly growing out of past transactions, and which could not be iinme mediately arrested without great prejudice to the public interest. Ot these, the charge upon the Treasury, the consequence of the Gherokee trea ty alone, without adverting to others arising out of Indian treaties, has already exceeded five mil lions of dollars; that tor the prosecution of mea sures for the removal of the Seminole Indians, which were found in progress, lias been neatly fourteen millions; and the public building- have ‘ required the usual sum of nearly three millions; it affords me, howtver, gieat pleasure to bu j able to say. that, from the cum.i.encement of i ilns period to tne present day, every demand up- j on the Government, at home or abroad, has been I promptly met. This has been done, not only j without creating a permanent debt, or a resort to ■ additional taxation in any lurm, but in the midst j of a steadily progressive reduction of existing > burdens upon the people, leaving still a consid erable balance of available funds which will re main in tne Treasuiy ot the end of tho year.— Tne small amount of Treasury notes, not ex ceeding four and a half millions of dollars, still outstanding, and less hy twenty-three millions than the United Slates have in depostte with the States, is composed of such only as ore not yel due, or have not been presented fur payment. — They may be redeemed out of the accruing reve nue, if the expenditures do not exceed the a mount within vvuich they may, il is t ou hi, he kept without prejudice to the public interest, and the revenue shall prove to be as large as may justly be anticipated. Among the reflections arising from the con templation of these circumstances, one, nut the least gratifying, is the consciousness that the Go vernment had the resolution and the ability to ad here, in every emergency, to the sacrea obligations of law ; to execute all Us contracts according to the requirements of the Co slilution ; and thus to present, when most needed, a rallying po.m by which the business of the whole country might be brought back to a tafe and unvarying s-andarci —a result vitally important as well to the interests as to the morals of the peopie.— There can surely now' be no difference of opin ion in regard to the incalculable evils that would have arisen if the Government, at that critical moment, had suffered itself to be deter.ed from upholding the only true standard of value, either by tne pressure cf adverse circumstances or the violence of unmerited denunciation. The man ner in which ihe uecpie sustained the perform ance of this duty was highly Imnorable to their fortitude and patriotism. It cannot tail to stimu late ihtir agents to adhere, under ah circum stances, to me line of duty ; and to satisfy them of the safely with which a course really right, and demanded hy a financial crisis, may, in a community like ours, be pursued, however, ap parently severe its immediate operation. The policy of the Federal Government in ex tinguishing as readily as possible the national debt, and, subsequent.}', in resisting every temp tation to create a new one deserves to be regard ed in the same favorable light. Among the many objections to a national debt, the certain tendency of public securities to concentrate ultimately in the (offers of foreign stockholders, is one which r is every day gathering strength. Already have the resources ot many of the States, and the ft • ture industry of their citizens, been indefinite!} - mortgaged to the subjects of European Guvern t ' merits, to the amount of twelve millions annual t j ly, to pay the constantly accruing interest 01 • | burrowed money—a sum exceeding half the or - dinary revenue of the whole United States. Th« ' ■ pretext which this relation affords to foreigners to • : scrutinize me management of our d. mestic at ‘ i fairs, if not actually t • intermeddle with them. I presents a suiject for earn* si attention, not to ' I say o serious al rm. Fortunately, the Federal i Government, with the exception ot an obligation • 'entered in'o in behalf of the District of Golurn ■ I bia, which must soon be discharged, is wholh ‘ ’ exempt from any such emoarrassment. It is ■ also, as is belie* cd. the only government which having fully and faithfully paid all its creditors ■ ha> also relieved itself entirely from debt. To • maintain a distinction so desiiable. and so hon ‘ orable to our national character, should be an I object of earnest solicitude. ever should a free I people, if it be possible to avoid it, expose them - | selves to the necessity of having to treat of (be ’> i peace, the honor, or the sateiy of the Republic. i with the Governments of foreign ciedilors, who, 1 ! however well disposed they may be to cultivate ’ with us in general friendly relations, are never ! tireless, by the law of their own condition, made hostile to the success and permanency of poiiti -1 c;d institutions like ours. Most humiliating may bo, tiie embarrassments consequent upon such a condition. Another objection, scarcely less for midable, to the commencement of a new debt, is its inevitable tendency to increase in magni tude, and to foster national extravagance. He has been an unprofitable observer of events, who needs at this day to be admonished of the diffi culties which a Government, Habitually depend ent on loans to sustain its ordinary expenditures, has to encounter in resisting the influences con stantly exerted in ravor of additional loans, by capitalists, who enrich themselves by government securities for amounts much exceeding the mo ney they actually advance—a prolific source of individual aggrandizement in ail borrowing coun tries ; by stockholders, who seek their gams, in I the rise and fall of public stocks; and Lv the selfish importunities <•} applicants for appropria j tiona for works avowedly lot the accommodation of the publ’c, but the real objects of which are, ; too frequently, the advancement of private in i tercsts. The known necessity which so manv j of the States will be under to impose taxes for the payment of the interest on their debts, fur nishes an additional and very cogent reason whv the Federal Government should retrain from cre ating a national debt, by which the people would be exposed to double taxat on for a similar olject. We possess within ourselves ample resources for every emergency; and we may be quite sure that our citizens, in no future exigency, will be \ unwilling to supply the Government with all the means asked for the defencemf the country. In time of peace there can, at all events, be no jus tification for the creation of a permanent debt bv the Federal Government. Its I miled range of constitutional duties may certainly, under such circumstances, be perfoiined without such a re ; sort. It has, it is seen, been avoided during four ; years of greater fiscal difficulties than have ex ! isted in a similar period since the adoption of the , Constitution, and one also remaikable fur the oc currence at extraordinary causes of expenditures. Rut to accomplish so desirable an object, two , things are indispensable : first, that the action ot | the Federal Government be kept within the boundaries prescribed by its founders; and.se- 1 cormlv, that all appropriations for objects adrnit ti d to be constitutional, anu the expenditures of them also, be sul jeclcd to a standard ol rigid hut well considered and practical economy. 'I he first depends chiefly on the people themselves, the opinions they tonn of the true construction of the Constitution, and the confidence they repose in the political sentiments ol those they select as their representatives in the Federal Legislature; the second rests upon the fidelity with which their more immediate representatives, and other public i functionaries, discharge the trusts committed to them. The duly of economizing the expenses I of tne public service is a, milted on all bands;' yet there are few subjects on which there exists a wider diffetcnce ol opinion than is constantly manifested in regard to the fidelity with which that duty is d scharged. Neither diversity ol ! sentiment,nor even mutual recriminations, upon a point in respect to which the public m:nd is so jiiftly sensitive, can well l»e entirely avoided; and j least so at periods of great political excitement. ! An intelligent people however, seldom fail to arrive, in the end. at correct conclusions in such a matter Practical economy in the manage ment of public affairs can nave no adverse in fluence to contend with mure poweiful than u large surplus revenue; and ihe unusually large appropi iatiuns for 1837 may, without doubt, in clepend. ntly of the extraordinary requisitions for the rublic service growing out of the stare ot our Indian relation be, in no inconsiderable de gree, hared o this source The sudden and ra i pid distribution ot the l»*rge surplus then in the I i Treasury, and the equally sudden and unprece- I i dentedly severe revulsion in the comme-ce and | business of the country, pointing wi h unerring j i certainty to a great and protracted reduction ol I the revenue, strengthened the propriety of the | j earliest practicable reduction of the public expert i dilures. ) But, to change a sj'stem operating upon so | large a surface, and app icable to such numerous and diversified interests and objects, was more than the work of a day. The attention of every department of the Government was immediately, and in good faith, directed to that end ; and has i been so continued to the present moment. The estimates and appropriations for the year 1838 (the over which I bad any control) were somewhat diminished. Theexpenditures of 1839 ! were reduced six millions of dollars. Those ol ! 1840, exclusive of disbursements for public debt and bust claims, will probably not exceed twen- | ty-two and a half millions; being between two j and three millions, less than those of the preced- | year, and nine or ten millions less than (hose ol 1837. IVor has it been found necessary, in or der to produce ibis result, to resort to the power conferred by Congress, of postponing certain classes ot the public works, except by deferring expenditures for a short period upon a limited portion of them ; and which postponement ter minated some time since, at the moment the Treasury Department, by further receipts from the indebted banks, became fully assured of its ability to meet them without pnjudice to the public service in other respects. Causes are in ; operatation which will, il is believed, justify a ! still further reduction, without iniury to any im portant national interest. The expenses of sus taining the troops employed in Florida have been gradually and greatly reduced, through tne per severing effort of the War Department; and a rcasonab e hope may he entertained that the ne cessity for military operations in that quarter wil soon cease. The removal of the Indians from within our settled borders is nearly complc ed. The pension list, one ol the heaviest charges up ; the Treasury, is rapidly diminishing by deatn. The most costly ot our putilic buildings arc either finished, or nearly so; and we may, I think ■ safely promise ourselves a continued exemption from border difficulties. The availaole balance in the Treasury on the Ist of January next is estimated at one million ano a halt of dollars. This sum, with the ex pected receipts from ail sources during the next year, will, it is believed, be sufficient to enable I the Government to meet every engagement, and leave a suitable balance in ths Treasury at the end of the year.ifthe remedial measures connected ■ with the customs and the public lands, heretofore i recommended, shall be adopted, and the new ap- j r P ro P riafl °ns by Congress shall rot carry ‘ P e ?°' ture: the official estimated *** ‘ *he now system estaolished by (J oni?rp , 'be safekeeping of the public money D -f ? for jhe kind ot currency to be received’for tS** 0 * he revenue, and providing additional a ? Ub * gainst losses, has now been several oLT* 8 ‘ 1 'Tilton. Although it might be !l S ‘“ ■ ( up ° n an , * x P erien <* such limited Cr ,e ’ - form a definite opinion in regard to t he e Tt - “f its influences i„ correcting many evil. ? 1 which the Federal Government and lb e i Have Hitherto suffered-especially thoseth al r grown out of banking expan-ions, a dep e ■ currency, ana official defalcations; V etj ■ * ed right to say that nothing has occurred £ * * P ract, cal operation of the system to Wea t“ ■ the slightest degree, but much to strengthen confident anticipations of its friends Vi ’ S" ,un ds of these have been heretofore*, f.,, ■ explained as to require no recapitulation 7 i respect to the facility and convenience it a fT i in conducting the public service, and the |U f * -j ut the Government to discharge through i ls „ a y • | cy every duty attendant on the collection, . j ler, and disbursement of the public money will , | promptitude and success, I can say, with c 5 ! dencc that the apprehensions of those wholly' ■ it to be their duty to oppose its auoptiun h a V ’ I P rove< * bo unfounded. On the contrary T ■ branch of the fiscal affairs ot the Govern mem has been, and n is believed may always be. th, . L j carried on with every desirable facility and'g^J* ■ j nty. A few changes an i improvements i n ,k' , details of the system, vvithout affecting any pri ciples involved in it. will be submitted to y C u I, ■ | the Secretary of the Treasury, and will lan i sure, receive at your hands, that attention ut which they may, on examination, be found to ■ j entitled. ue I have deemed this brief summary of our si s . cal aflairs necessary to the due performance of a duty gpeciaily enjoined on me by the consiit u . tion. It will serve also to illustrate more fully J the principles by which I have been guided in ‘ reference to two contested points in onr public policy, which were earliest in L.eir development and have been more important in their consei quences, than any that have arisen under our complicated and difficult, yet admirable, system of government; I allude to a national debt, and a national bank. It was in these that the political contests by which the country has been agitated i ever since tne adoption of the constitution, in a great measure, oitginaled ; and there is 100 much reason to apprehend that the conflicting interests and opposing principles thus marshalled, will continue, as heretofore, to produce similar, if not aggravated consequences. fuming into ofiie tne declared enemy of both, I have earnestly endeavored to j revent a resort to either. The consideration that a large public debt af fords an apology, and produces in some degree, a necessity also, for resorting to a system and extent ot taxation which is not only opposite throughout, but likewise so apt to lead, in [he end, to the commission of that most odious of al! oliences against the principles of republican government—the prostitution of political power conferred for tire general benefit, to tne aggran dizement ot particular classes, and the gratifica tion ot individual cupidity—is alone sufficient, independently of the weighty ol jectiuns which have already been urged, to render its creation and existence the sources of bitter and unappeas able discord. If we add to inis, ils inevitable tendency to produce and foster extravagant ex penditures ot the public money, by which a ne cessity is created lor new loans and new burdens on the people; and, finally, if we refer to the examples ot every Government which has exist ed. for proof how seldom it is that the system, when once adopted and implanted in the policy ot a country, has failed to expand itself, until public credit was exhausted, and the people were no longer able to endure its increasing weignt, it seems impossible to resist the conclusion, that no benefits resulting from its career, no extent of conquest, no accession of wealth to particular classes, nor a> y, nor all i s combined advantages, can counterbalance its ultimate but certain re st! t>—a splendid Government, and an impover ished people. It a national bank was, as is undeniable, re pudiated by the framers ot the cons.itution as incompatible with the rights of the Stales and liberties oflhe people; if, from the beg. lining, it l as been regauied by large portions ol our citi zens as com ng in direct cull sion with that grea ! and vital amendment of the constitution, which declares that all powers not conferred by that instrument on the General Government are re served to the States and to ihe people; if si ban I been viewed by them as the first great step in the march of latiludinous construction, which, unchecked, would render that sacred instrument of as little value as an unwritten constitution, dependent as it would alone be, for ils meaning, on the interesied interpreiation of a dominant par ty, and affording no se, unly to the rights of the minority ; —if such is undeniably the case, what rational grounds could have been conceived lor anticipating aught but determined opposition to such an institution at the present day I Gould a different re&ult have been expected, when the consequences which have flowid from its creation, and particularly from its struggles to perpetuate its existence, had conthmcd, in »o striking a manner, the apprehensions of its ear liest opponents ; when it had been so clearly de monstrated that a concentrated money-power, wielding so vast a capital, and conioining such incalculable means of influence, may, in those peculiar conjunctures to whifeh this Government is unavoidably exposed, prove an overmatch for tire po.ideal power of the people themselves; when the true character of its capacity to regu late, according to us will and its interests, and the interests sff its favorites, the value and p'o -of the labor and pr iperty of every mar* in this extended country, had been so fully and feat fully developed; when it was notations that all classes of this great community had, by means of the power and influence it thus possesses, been infected to madness with a spirit of heedltS' 1 specula'ion ; when it had been seen that, secure in the support of the combi nation of influences by which it was surrounded, it could violate its charter, and set the laws at defiance with impu nity; and when, too, it had become roost appa* | rent that to believe that such an accumulation ol powers can ever be granted w ithout the certainty of being abused, wus to indulge in a fatal dclu‘ sion 1 To avoid the necessity of a permanent df™ and its inevitable consequences, I have advoO* led and endeavored to carry into effect, the po ;I * cy of confining the appropriations tor the pubh c service to such objects only as are clearly with’ in the constitutional authority of the Federal Government ; of excluding from its expend those improvident and unauthorized grants cl public money for works of in.ernal improvement which were so wisely arrested by the consiitu tional interposition of rny predecessor, and whiet 1 ) if they had not been so checked, would lung hf fore tiiis lime have involved the finances ot General Government in embairassments ,3 ‘ greater than those wnich are now experienced'’, any of the States; ot limning all our exjeiH 11 tures to that simple, unostentatious, and econo* mical administration of public affairs, which alone consistent with the character of our m- s 1 tutions; of colliding annually from the custon’ 5 atvd the sales of pubhc lands, a revenue luily 3lL i quate to defray nil the expenses thus nut, under no pretence whatsoever, to in P o ' taxes upon the people to a greater amount tn a was actually necessary to the public service, cun ducted upon the principles I have stated. In lieu of a national bank, or a dependence up on banks of any description, for lha managed