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the military ( fTu'cr, 3 warrant to open any (freeman's) hoofr, upon pretence of fearching for delerfers, I muft not omit fo mention one more bad tendency : 'tis » force leads to a total mgled of militias, or tends > greatly to dTcourage fherr. It is laid that difunited from Britain * wc fhouhJ b'eed at every vein." I cannot lee the confcquence, 7' he fia-e 5 of Hol land do not fuller thus. Hut grant it true. Sercca would pre fer Launcets of France , Spain , or| any other power, to the how\ firing, though applied by the fair h .nd of Britannia ” A Friend to the Prefident PHILADELPHIA, December 3. This day, at 12 o'clock, his Excellency the Prefident of the United States met both houfes of Congrc r s in the reprelentative chamber, where he addrelled them as follow : Gentlemen of the Scna f e % and Cen il men 0/ the Houft cj Repre- Jentatms , I P is with peculiar fatlsf *dion that I meet the lixth Congrels of the United Stales of America. Coming from all parts of the union, at this critical and filter ed ing pciiod. the members inufl be fully pofTeffed of the lenti ments and wifhes of our conlli tuents-f The flattering piofpeds of abundance from the labors of the people, by land and hv Tea; the profperity of onr extended commerce, notwithstanding in terruptions occahoned by the bdhgercnt (late of a great part of the world, the return of health, induflry, and trade, to thole j cities which have lately been: aftlidcd with difcale, and the various and ineftimahle advan tages, civil and religious, which, fecured under our happy frame of government, arc continued to us unimpaiicd ; demand of the whole American people fin cere thanks to a benevolent Deity for the merciful difpenfa tions of his providence. But while thefe numerous bleffings arc Kcollcded, it is a painful duty to advert to the ungrateful return which has been made for them by lorne of the people in certain counties of Pennfylvapia, where, fcduc d by the arts and mifreprefentations of d; figning men, they have openly refilled the law direding the valuation ol houfes and lands. Such defiance was given to the civil authority as rendered hopelefs all turihcr attempts by judicial p roc els. to enforce the execution of the law, and it became nc ccflary to dried a military force to be employed, confiding' of forne companies of regular troops volunteers and militia, by whofc zeal and adivity, in co-opcra t’on with the judicial power, order and lubmilfion were re flored, and tra.y { hc offrnd ers a ire fled. ( f thefc fomehave been ronvided of mildemeanors, and others charged with vafious crimes, remain to be tried To give due effed to the civil 1 adminifirafion of government. 1 and to enfure a juft execution of the laws, a revifion and amend ment of the judiciary fyftem is indifpenfablv ncccflary. In this | extenfive country it cannot but! happen that numerous queftions refpeding the interpretation of; the laws and the rights and duties , of officers and citizens inufl arife the one hand, the laws (houM be executed ; on the other, individuals fhould be guarded from opprrffion. Nei ther ofthcfcobjeds is fufficiently affured under the prefent orga nization of the judicial d pay ment ; I therefore earneflly re commend the fubjed to your ferious confideration. Perfevering in the pacific and humane policy which had been invariably profefted, and finceie ly purified, by the executive authority of the United States, when indications wete made on the part of the French republic of a difeofition to accommodate the exifting differences between the two countries, I felt it to be my duty to prepare for meeting; rheir advances, by a nomination of minifters, upon certain con ditions, which the honor of cur country didated, and which its; moderation had given it a right! to preferibe. The alfurances which were required of the Ficnch government, previous to the departure of our envoys, have been given, through their! miniftcr of foreign relations, and I have direded them to proceed j on their miftion to Paris, They have full power to conclude a 1 treaty fubjeft to the conlfitu tional advice and confent of the fentfe. The charade’s of thefe gentlemen are fure pledges to their country that nothing in compatible with Us honor or intereft, nothing inronfiftent with our obligations of good faith or friendfhip to any other \ nation, will be fiipulated. It appearing probable, from the information I received, that our common ial intcrcourfe with Tome ports in the ifland of St. | Domingo might fafely be renew- j ed, I took fuch Heps as (eemed ! to me expedient to afeertain that point. The refult being fatis fadory, I then in conformity with the ad of Congrcfs on the fuhjed, direded the reflrainrs * and prohibitions of that inter-' courfe to be difeontinued on terms which were made known by the proclamation. Since the renewal of this intcrcourfe our citizens trading to thole ports, with their propeity, have been duly relpedled, and privateering i from thole ports has ceafed. In examining the claims of* Bruifti fubjeds by the commif. | boners at Philadelphia, under 1 the 6th article of the treaty of amity, commerce, and navlga tion with Great-Bitain, a dif. ference of opinion, on points deemed cftencial in the interpre tation of that article, has an fen between the commillionets ap pointed by the United States and the otj?er members of that board, from which the former have thought it their duty to withdraw. It is fincerely to be regretted that the execution of an article produced by a mutual fpiiit of amity and juftire (hould have been thus unavoidably in terrupted : it is however confi dently expefted that the fame fpirit of amity, and the fame fenfe of juft ce, in which it oiiginated, will lead to fatisfac tory explanations. In confe quencc of the obftacles to the progrefs of the commiftion in Philadelphia, his Britannic ma jefty has directed the commrfli oners appointed by him. under the 7th article of the treaty re-! lating to Britifticaptures of Ame rican vefftds, to withdraw from the board fitting in London, but with the exprefs declaration of his determination to fulfil, with punctuality and good faith, the engagement which his ma jefty has contracted by his treaty with the United vStatcs, and that they will be inftru&ed to relume | their fun&ions wnenever the obftacles which impede the pro j grefs commiftion at Phi- I ladelplS fhall be removed, it ! being, in like manner,my fincere determination, fo far as the fame depends on me, that with equal j punctuality and good faith, the I engagements contracted by the ' United States, in their treaties with his Britannic majeflj, (hall ; be fulfilled, I (hall immediately inftiuCl our miniftcr at London to endeavor to obtain the expla nations neccflary to a juft per formance of thofe engagements j on the part of the United States. | With fuch dilpofitions on both Tides I cannot entertain a doubt that all difficulties will, foon be removed, and that the two boards | will then proceed and biing the : bufinefs committed to them ref peClively to a fatisfa&ory con clufron. The a& of Congrefi* relative to the feat of the government of j the United States requiring that I on the frrft Monday of Decern | her next, it fhould be transferred from Philadelphia to the diftriCb jehofen for its permanent feat, it jis proper for me to inform you that the commiffioners appoint ed to provide fuitable buildings 1 for the accommodation of Con grefs and the Prefident, and for the public offices of the govern ment, have made a report of the buildings defigned for thefe pur polcs in the city of Wafhington, from which they conclude that the removal of the feat of govern jmenttothat place, at the time | required, will be praCHcable, 'and the accommodations fatis ‘ faCfory. Their report will be laid before you. I Genii:men c/ the IRufe 0/ R (m frejenfative$ t I fhall diredl the eflimate* 0 p the appropriations nccrflary f or the fnvice of the enfuing ycr . r together with an account of the revenue and expenditure, to b e laid before you. During a p,, riod in which a great portion 0 f the civilized woild has been in. volved in a war, unufually ca ! lamitous and deflruChve, it was not to be expeCled that the Uni, ted Stales could be from extraordinary burthens. Although the period is not anil ved when the meafures adopted to fecute our country againfi foreign attack can be renounced, yet it is alike ncceflary to the honor of the government and the fatisfa&ion of the comma, nity that an exa& economy Qiould be-maintainedi linvi e you, gentlemen, to invefligate the different branches of the public expenditure; the exam ination will lead to beneficial retrenchments, or produce a conviction pf the wifdom of the meafure to which the expendi ture relates. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gen ilernen of the lloufe 0} Repre - Jentatives , At a period like the prefent, I when momentous changes are occurring, and every hour is preparing new and great everts in the political world ; when a fpirit of war is prevalent in al rnoft every nation with whole affairs the interefts of the United ; States have any connexion ; un : fafe and precarious would be our fituation, were we to negleCi the means of maintaining our juft rights. The rcfult of the million ro Fiance isuncertain, but, how ever it may terminate, a fteady pcifevcrance in a fyftem of na tional defence, commenfura:c with our refources and the fitu ation of our country, is an ob vious diftate of wi(dom;for, remotely as we are placed from the belligerent nations, and de ! (irous as we are, by doing juflice to all, to avoid offence to any, nothing fhort of the power of repelling aggreflions will fccure to our country a rational prof peel of elcaping the calamities of war, or na ionM degradation, As to rnyfelf, it is my anxious defire fo to execute the trull rc pofed in me as to render the people of the United States prol perous and happy. 1 rely with entire confidence on yo u co operation in objeCls equally your care, and that our mutual labors will ferve to increafe an confirm union among our fellow’ citizens and an unfhaken & tachment to our government. JOHN ADAMS. United States, Dec, 3, i/99 # BLANK. DEEDS Of CONVEY AS ror Salt al die Office cj L-v Title Gazrt.e. 1 Nwvembcr 5.