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UPPLEME.NT
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, MONDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 11, 1865-
%
Jas,
From Our Extra of Yesterday.
’RESIDENT
TO TO
119 IIS OF MR
*t the commencement of the
First Session of the Thirty-
Ninth Congress.
»»
, m predecessors,
I f -Huk- Citizens of tlte Senate and .
House of Representatines:
] jo express gratitude to God, in the
lame of the People, for the preservation
if the United States, is my first duty in
{.pressing you. Our thoughts next re-
f, r t to the heath of the late President by
L a ct of parracidal treason. The grief
the nation is still fresh; it finds some
Solace in the consideration that he lived
fb enjoy the highest proof of its confi-
■dcnce by entering on the renewed term
I 0 [ the Chief Magistracy, to which he had
Jlieon elected; that he brought the civil
I var substantially to a close; that his loss
was deplored in all parts of the Union;
am l that foreign nations have rendered
justice to his memory. His removal
least upon me a heavier weight of cares
than ever devolved upon any one of his
To fulfill my trust.I need
I the support and confidence of all who
tire associated with me in the various do-
p irtments of Government, and the sup
port and confidence of the people* There
is hut 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, ^rell aware that
the efficiency of my labors will, in a great
measure, depend on your and their un
divided approbation.
The Union of the United States of
™ America was intended by its authors to
hist as long as the States themselves shall
last. ‘ The Union shall be perpetual”
arc the words of the Confederation. “To
form a more perfect Union,” by an or
dinance of the people of the United
htates. is the declared purpose of the
Constitution. The hand of Divine Pro
vidence was never more plainly visible
in the affairs of men than in the framing
and adopting of that instrument. It is,
be'end comparison, the greatest event
in American history; and indeed is it not,
H of all events in modem times, the most
I pregnant with consequences for every
I people of the earth ? The members of
| the Convention which J prepared it
1 brought to their work the experience of
1 the Confederation, of theirseveral States,
and of otlier Republican Governments,
old and new; but they needed and they
obtained a wisdom superior to experience.
And when for it validity it required the
approval of a people that occupied a
largo part of a continent and acted se
parately in many distinct conventions,
' what is” more wonderful than that, after
earnest contention and long discussion,
all feelings and all opinions were ultima
tely 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 ensure domestic tranquili
ty. In case of the usurpation of the
Government of a State by one man, or
ii an oligarchy, it becomes a duty of the
( United States to make good the guarantee
to that State of a republican form of gov
ernment, and so to maintain the homo-
i geneousness of all. Does the lapse of
time reveal defects ? A simple mode of
t amendment is provided in the Constitu
tion itself, so that its conditions can al
ways be made to conform to the require
ments 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 arrested in their com
plete integrity by every patriotic Chief
Magistrate—by Jefferson and Jackson,
not less than by Washington and Madi
son. 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 sacred
ly maintained;” and the inaugural words
of President Jefferson held up “the pre
servation of the General Government, in
its constitutional vigor, as the sheet an
chor or 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 comprehend
ed the excellence of their work. Fresh
from a struggle against arbitrary power,
many patriots suffered from harrassing
fears of an absortion of the State Govern
ment by the General Government, and
many from a dread that the States would
break away from their orbits* Bat the
very greatness of our country should al
lay the apprehension of enoroachments by
the General Government. The subjects
that come unquestionably within its ju
risdiction are so numerous, that it must
naturally refuse to be embarrassed by
questions that lie beyond it Were it
otherwise, the Exeoofcfcpe w onld sink he
neath 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
funetiens of the General GoviShunent
through the States than to trespass off
their rightful sphere. “The absolute ac-
quiesence in the decisions of the majori
ty” was, at the beginning of the century,
enforced by Jefferson, “as the vital prin
ciple 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 Govern
ments 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 Gov
ernment; 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 Legis
lative and of the Executive Departments,
no tenure but a limited one, and in that
manner always retain the powers of re
dress.
“The sovereignty of the States” is the
language of the Confederacy, and not the
language of the Constitution. The latter
contains the emphatic words : “The Con
stitution 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 Uni
ted States is a limited government; and so
is every State government a limited gov
ernment. With us, the idea of limitation
spreads through every form of adminis
tration general, State and municipal, and
rests on the great distinguishing princi
ple of the recognition of the rights of
man. The ancient republics absorbed
the individual in the State, prescribed bis
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 conse
quence, the State Government is limited,
as to the General Government in the in
terest of Union, as to the individual citi
zen in the interests of freedom.
States, with proper limitations of pow
er, are essential to the existence of the
Constitution of the United States. At
the very commencement, when we as
sumed a place among the Powers'of the
earth, the Declaration of Independence
was adopted by States; so were the Arti
cles 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 pro
position of Congress needs the confirma
tion of States, Without States, one great
branch of the legislative government
would be wanting. And, if we look be-\
yond the letter of the constitution to the
character of onr country, its capacity for
comprehending within its jurisdiction a
vast continental empire is due to the sys
tem 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 per
petuity of the States; their mutual rela
tion makes us what we are, and in our
political system our connexion is indisso
luble. The whole cannot 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 one is
the destruction of the other; the preser
vation 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 prin
ciples on which I have sovfeht to solve
the momentous questions and overcome
the appalling difficulties that met me at
the very commencement of my adminis
tration. 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 ex
hausted itself. The United States had
recovered possession of their forts and ar
senals; and their armies ware in the occu
pation of every State which had attempt
ed to secede. Whether the territory
within the limits of those States should
be held as conquered territory, under mi
litary authority emanating from the Pre
sident as the head of the army, was the
first question that presented itself for de
cision.
Now, military governments, establish
ed for an indefinite period, would have
offered no security for the early suppres
sion of discontent; would have divided
the people into vanquishers and the van
quished; and would have envenomed
hatred rather than have restored affec
tion. Once established, no precise limit
to their continuance wa3 conceivable.
They would have occasioned &n incalcul
able 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 un
der military rule? The ohief persons
who would have followed in the train of
the army would have been dependents on
the general government, or men who ex
pected profit from the miseries of their
erring fellow citizens. The powejs of
patronage and role which wonld 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 will
ing to entrust to any one man; they are
snch as, for myself, I could never, nnl«aa
on occasions of great emergency, consent
to exercise. The wilful use of such
era. if continued through a peril
yearih would hare endangered the j
of the general administration aud the
liberties of the States which remained
loyal,
Besides; the policy of military rule oyer
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
cannot commit treason, nor screen the
individual citizens who may have commit
ted treason, any more than they can
make valid treaties or engage in lawful
commerce with any foreign Power. The
States attempting to secede placed them
selves in a condition where their vitality
was impaired, but not extinguished—
their functions suspended, but not de
stroyed.
But if any State neglects or refuses to
perform its offices, there is the more need
that the general government should main •
tain all its authority, and, as soon as
practicable, resume the exercise of all its
functions. On this principle I have act
ed, 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 ap
pointed for the States, Conventions call
ed, Governors elected, Legislatures as
sembled, and Senators and Representa
tives 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 en
forced through their agency. The block
ade has been removed and the custom
houses re-established in ports of entry,
so that the revenue of the United States
may be collected. The Post Office De
partment 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 restora
tion of industry and commerce; the post
office renews the facilities of social inter
course and of business. And **s it not
happy for us all, that the restoration of
each one of these functions of the gene
ral government brings with it a blessing
to the States over which they are extend
ed? Is it not a sure promise of harmony
and renewed attachment to the Union
that, after all that has happened, the re
turn of the general government is known
only as a beneficence?
I know very well that this policy is at
tended with some risk; that for its suc
cess 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 oth
er power of the general government—the
power of pardon. As no State can throw
a defence 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 constitutiqnal 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 concur
rence 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 ob
livion; and that, on the other, the evi
dence of sincerity in the future mainten
ance of the Union shall be put beyond
any doubt by the ratification of the pro
posed amendment to the Constitution,
which provides for the abolition of sla
very forever within the limits of our coun
try. So long »s 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 aik 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 ia done, the past, however much we may de
sire it, will not be forgotten. The adoption of
the amendment re-unites us beyond all power
of disruption. It heals the wound that is still
imperfectly closed; it removes slavery, the ele
ment 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 Sthtes, whose
powers hare been so long in abeyance, to re
sume 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 Housee of Representatives, to
judge, each of you for yourselves, of the elec
tions, returns, and qualifications of your own
members.
The full assertion of the powers of the Gene
ral Government requires the holding of Circuit
Courts of the United States within the districts
where their authority has been interrupted. Id
the preaeat posture of our public affairs,
strong objections have been urged to holding
those courts in any of the States were rebellion
has existed; and it was ascertained, by inquiry,
that the Circuit Court of the United States
would not be held within tbe District of the
Virginia during the autum or early winter, nGr
until Congress should have “an opportunity
to consider an acton the whole subject.” To
your deliberations the restoration of this
branch of the civil authority of the United
States is therefore necessarily referred, with
tbe hope that early provision will be made for
the reeumption of all its functions. It ie mani
fest that treason, moat flagrant in character,
has been committed. Persons who are charged
it> commission ihoold hero fair and im
purity-1 with
partial 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 crimej that traitors should be punished and
the offence 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 to
wards the four millions of inhabitants whom
the war has called into freedom, have engaged
my most serious consideration. On the pro
priety of attempting to make tbe freedmen
electors by the proclamation of the Executive,
I took for my counsel the Constitution itself,
tfye interpretations of that instrument by its
authors and their contemporaries, and recent
legislation by Congresa. When, at the first
movement towards independence, the Congress
of the United States instructed the several
States to institute governments of their own,
they lefteach State to decide for itself the con
ditions for the enjoyment of the elective fran
chise. During the period of the Confederacy,
there continued to exist a very peat diversity
in the qualifications of electors in the several
States; and even within a State a distinction
ofqualiflcations prevailed with regasd to the
officers who were to be chosen. The Consti
tution of the United States recognizes these di
versities 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 Legis
lature.” After the forfhation of the Constitu
tion, it remained, as before, tbe uniform usage
for each State to enlarge the body of its elec
tors, 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 inter
pretation of the Constitution, that daring the
civil war the late President never harbored the
purpose—certainly never avowed the purpose
—of disregarding it; and in the acts of Con
gress, during that period, nothing can be found
which, during the continuance of hostilities,
much less after their close, would have sanc
tioned any departure by the Executive from
a policy which has so uniformly obtained.
Moreover, a concession of the elective fran
chise to the freedmen, by act of tee 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 asnmption
of power by the President which nothing in the
Constitution or laws of the United Stages would
ha ve warranted.
On the other hand, every danger of con diet
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 abso
lutely, or introduced gradually and with con
ditions. In my judgment, the freedmen, if
they show patience and manly virtues, will
sooner obtain a participation in the elective
franchise throogh the States than through tbe
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 kindliest usage from some
of those on whom they have heretofore most
closely depended.
But while 1 have no doubt that now, after
the close of the war, it is not competent for tbe
General Government to extend the elective
franchise in the several States, it is equally
clear that good faith requires the security of
tbe freedmen in their liberty, and their pro
perty, their right to labor, and their right to
claim the just return of their labor. I cannot
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 impos
sibility 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
g ood faith, and not be too easily disheartened.
The country is in need of labor, and the freed
men are in need of employment, culture and
protection, While their right of voluntary
migration and expatriation is not to be ques
tioned, I wonld 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 tbe coun
try ; aod, 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 cannot fairly be accused of unwilling
ness 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 ia
his workmen spirit and alacrity, and these can
be permanently secured iu no other way. And
if tbe one ought-to be able to enforce the con
tract, 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 ac
complished, there is no chance for the advan
tageous use of their labor; and the blame of
ill-success will not rest on them.
I know that sincere philanthropy ia earnest
for the immediate realization of its remotest
aims ; but time is always an element iu reform.
It is one of the greatest acts on record to have
brought four millions of people into freedom.
The career of free industry must be fairly opened
to them; aud then their future prosperity aud
condition mast, after all, rest mainly on them
selves. If they fail, and so perish away, let us
be careful that tbe failure shall not be attributa
ble to any denial of justice. In all that relates
to tha destiny of the freedmeD, we need not to
be too anxious to read tbe future; many inci
dents which, from a speculative point of
vie*, might raise alarm, will quietly settle them
selves.
Now that slavery is at an end, or near its end,
tbe greatness of its evil, in tbe point of view ot
public economy, becomes more and more appa
rent. Slavery was essentially a monopoly of
labor, and aa such locked the States where it
prevailed against the incoming ot free industry
Where labor was the property of tbe capitalist,
the white mas was excluded from employment,
or had but tbe second best chaooe of boding it;
and the foreign emigrant turned away from the
region where his condition would be so precari
ous. With the destruction of tbe monopoly, tree
labor will hasten irom all parts of the civilized
world to assist in developing varions and im
measurable resources wbioh 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, aod can sustain a
denser population than ia found as yet in any
part ot our country. And the future influx ot
population to them will be mainly from the
North, or from the moat cultivated nations in
Europe. From the suffering! that have attended
them daring oar lute straggle, let us look sway
to the future, which ia sun to bo laden for them
with greater prosperity than has evar before
been known. Tbe removal of the monopoly of
slave labor is a pledge that those regions will be
peopled by a numerous and enterprising popula
tion, whioh will via with any m tha Union
in compactness, inventive genius, wealth, and
industry,
Our Government
i from, and was made
springs
for the people—not the people for the Govern
ment. To them it owes allegiance; irom them
it must derive its courage, strength, andjwisdom.
But, while the Government is thus bound to de
fer to tbe people, from whom it derives its exist
ence, 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 act to
be allowed. Here, there ia no room for favored
classea or monopolies; the principle of oar Gov
ernment is that of equal laws and freedom of in
dustry. Wherever monopoly attains a foothold,
it is sure to be a source of danger, discord, and
trouble. We shall but fulfil our duties aa legis
lators by according “equal and exaot justice to all
men,” special privileges to dodo. The Govern
ment ia subordinate to tbe people; but, as tha
agent and representative of tbe people, it must
be held superior to monopolies, which, in them
selves, ought never to be granted, and which
where they exist, must bo subordinate and yield
to tbe Government.
Tbe 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. Tbe poaition ot many States ia
such that, it they were allowed to take advantage
of it for purposes of local revenue, tbe commerce
between States might be injuriously burdened, or
evsn virtually prohibited. It is beat, while the
country is still young, aud while the tendency to
dangerous monopolies of this kind is still feeble,
to use tbe power of Coogress so as to prevent
any selfish impediment to the free circulation ot
men and merchandise. A tax on travel and mer
chandise, in their 'transit, constitutes one of the
worst forms of monopoly, aod tbe evil ia increas
ed if cnupied with a denial of tbe choice of route.
When the vast extent of our country is consider
ed, it is plain that every obstacle to the free cir
culation of commerce between tbe States ought
to be sternly guarded against by appropriate
legislation, within tbe limits of the Constitution.
Tha report ot the Secretary of tbe Iaterior ex
plains the condition of the public lanJl, the
transactions of the Patent Office and the Pension
Bureau, the management of our Indian affairs,
the progress made in the construction of the Pa
cific Railroad, and furoishos informs ion in refer
ence to matters of local interest in the District of
Columbia. It also presents evidence of the suc
cessful operation of tha Homestead Act, under
tbe provisionfbf which 1,180,532 acres of the
public lands were entered during the fiscal year
—more than one fourth of tha whole number of
acres sold or otherwise disposed of during that
period. It is estimated that the receipts derived
from this sou ce are sufficient to cover the ex
penses incident to the survey and disposal of ti)e
lands entered under this Act, and that payments
in eash to the exteDt of fr- m forty to fifty per
oent. will be made by settlers, who may thus at
any lime acquire tit e before tbe expiration of tbe
period at which it would otherwise vest. The
homestead policy was established only after long
and earnest resistance; experience proves its wis
dom. The lands, iu the hands of industrious
tattlers, whose labor creates wealth and contri
butes to the publio resources are worth more
to the United States than if they had been reserv
ed as a solitude for future purchasers.
The lamentable events ot the last four years,
and the sacrifices made by the gallant men of oor
Army and Navy, have swelled the reoords of the
Pension Bureau to an nnprecedented extent. On
tbe 30th day of Jane last, the total number of
pensioners was 85,986, requiring for their annual
pay, exolusive of expenses, the snm of $8,023,-
445. The lumber of applications that have been
allowed since that day will require a large in
crease 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
sai!ors,and to the families of such as have perished
in the serviee of the country, will no doubt be
cheerfully aDd promptly granted. A gratefu
people will not hesitate to sanotion any measures
having for their ohject the relief of soldiers mu
tilated and families made fatherless in the efforts
to preserve our national existence.
The report of the Postmaster General prerents
an enoouraging exhibit of the iostoffiee
Department during tbe year. The revenues of
the past year from the loyal States alone exceed
ed the maximum annual receipts from all the
States previous to tbe rebellion, in tbe sum of
$6,038,091; and the annnal increase of revenue
daring tbe last four years, compared with the
four years immediately precediog the rebellion,
was $3,533,845. The reveon< s of the last fiscal
year amounted to $14,556,158, and tbe expendi
tures to $13,694,728, leaving a surplus of receipts
over expenditures of $861,430. Progress has
been made in restoring the postal serviee in the
Southern States, The views presented by the
Postmaster General against the polioy of grant
ing subsidies to ocean mail steamship lines upon
established routes, and in favor of continuing the
present system, whioh limits tha compensation for
ooean service to the postage earnings, are recom
mended to tbe careful consideration of Congress.
It appears, from the report of tbe 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 num
ber of vessels at; present in commission is 117,
with 830 gnns and 12,128 men. By this prompt
roduotion of the naval forces tbe expenses of the
Government have been largely diminished, aod a
number of vessels, purohased for naval purposes
from the merchant marine, have been return*d to
the peaceful pursuits of commerce. Sfnce the
suppression of active hostilities cur foreign squad
rons have been re-established, and oonsist of ves
sels much mere efficient than those employed on
similar service previous to the rebellion. The
suggestion for tbe enlargment of the navy yards,
and especially for tbe eBtablishmen^^Lone in
fresh water for iron-o!ad vessels, is^^Bkiog of
consideration, as is also the recommedflmon for
a different location and more ample grounds for
the Naval Academy.
In the report or 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 opera
tions of the general administrative Bureaus of
the War Department during the past year are
detailed, and an estimate made of the appro
priations that will be required for military
purposes in the fiscal year commencing the 30th
day of June, 1866. The national military
force on the let of May, 1865, numbered 1,-
000,516 men. It is proposed to reduce the
military establishment to a peace footing, aom-
prehending fifty thousand troops of all arm*,
organized so as to admit of au enlargement by
filling up tbe ranks to eighty-two thousand six
hundred, if the circumstances of the country
should require an augmentation of tha army.
The volunteer force has already been reduced
by the discharge from service of over eight
huffdred thousand troops, and the Department
is proceeding rapidly in the work of further
reduction. The war estimates are reduced
from $515,240,131 to $33,814,461, which
amount, in the opinion of the Department, is
adequate for a peace establishment. The mea
sures of retrenchment in each Bureau and
branch of tbe service exhibit a diligent econo
my worthy of commendation. Reference is
also made in the report to the necessity of pro
viding for a uniform militia system, and to the
propriety of making suitable provision for
wounded and disabled officers and soldiers.
Tbe revenue system of the country ie a sub
ject of vital interest to its honor and prospunty,
aDd should command the earnest consideration
of Congress. The Secretary of the Treasury will
Isy before you a full and detailed report of tbe
receipts and' disbursements of Ike last fiscal
year, ot the first quarter ot the present fiscal
rear of the probable receipts and expenditures
for tke other three quartan, and the estimates
for the year following the 30th of June, 18*6 I
might oontent myself with a reference to that
report in which you will find 41 the infoimation
required for your deliberations and decision.
But tbe paremount imporueoe of tbe suMeot *o
presses ltaelt on my mind, that I ee*not bQt lay
uy viettaoFt
before you or views ns the measures which are
required for tbe good character, and I might
also say, for tbe existence ot this people. #he
lift of a republee lies certainly • - V
virtue, end ' •-
e ot a repuoiwi ms certainly j D anerrv
rtue. end Intelligence of ita aiHteu- but iTIs
faulty tree that a good twCS^L ik
life of au organized government. I _ on M
a time when tbe nation baa voluntarily bnntenad
tself with a debt unprecedented in our annala
vast at is its amount, it fades away into nothing
when compared with the counties* blessings that
will be conferred upon our country and upon
man by the preservation of the nation’a life.
Now. ou the first oocasiou of the meeting or Cou-
C !ss since tbe return of peace, it ia of tne utmost
portanee to inaugurate a just polioy, whioh
shall at once be put in motion, and which shall
commend itself to those who come after us for
its ooutiuuence. We must aim at nothing less
than the complete effscement of the financial
evila that necessarily followed a state of civil
war. We meet endeavor to apply the earliest
remedy to the deranged state of toe ourrency,
end not shrink from devising a policy which,
wbithont being oppressive to tbe people, shall
immediately begin to effect a reduction ot the
debt, and, if persisted in, discharge it fully with
in a definitely fixed number of years.
It is our first duty to prepare in earnest for our
recovery for the ever-increasing evils of an irre
deemable currency, withont a sadden revulsion,
and yst without untimely procrastination. For
that end, we most, etch in our respective posi
tions, prepare the way. I hold it the duty of the
Executive to insist upon frugality in tbe expen
ditures; and a sparing economy is itself a great
national resource. Ot tbe banks to which au
thority has been given to issne notes secured by
bonds of tbe United States, we may require the
greatest moderation aod prudence, and the law
mast be rigidly enforced when its limits are ex
ceeded. We may, each one of ns, counsel our
active and enterprising countrymen to be con
aiantly on their guard, to liquidate debts con
traded in a paper currency, and, by eoofiactios
business as nearly os possible on a system of cast
pavments or short credits, to hold them-elvea
prepared to return to the etaudard of gold and
silver To aid our fellow-citizens in the prudent
management of their monetary affairs, the doty
devolves on us to diminish by law the amount of
paper money now in circulation. Five years ago
the bank note circulation of tbe conntrv amount
ed to not much more than two hundred millions;
now tbe circulation, bank and national, exceeds
seven hundred millions. Tbe simple statement of
the tads recommends more strongly than any
words of mine coaid do, tbe necessity of onr re
straining this expansion. The gradual redaction
of tbe currency is the only measure that can save
the business of the country from disastrous ca
lamities; and this can be almost imperceptibly
accomplished by gradually funding the national
circulation in securities that may be made re
deemable in the pleasure of tbe Government.
Our debt ie doubly eecore—first in the actu
al wealth and still greater undeveloped re
sources of tbe country; and next in the charac
ter of oor institutions. The most intelligent
observers among political efienomists have not
failed to ^pmark, that the public debt of a
country irarie in proportion as its people are
free; that the debt of the republic is tbe safest
of all. Our history confirms and establishes
tbe theory, and is, I firmly believe, destined to
give it a still more signal illustration. The se
cret of this superiority springs not merely from
the fact that in a republic tbe national obliga
tions are distributed more widely through
countless numbers in aU classes of society; it
has its root in tbe character of our laws. Here
all men contribute to the public welfare, and
bear their fair share of the public burdens.
During the war, nnder the impulses of patriot
ism, tbe men of the great body of the people,
withoat regard to their own comparative want
of wealth, thronged to onr 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 tbe
country should bear their just proportion of
the burden of taxation, while in oor impost
system, through means of which increased vi
tality is incidentally imparted to all the indus
trial interests of the nation, the duties should
be so adjusted as to tall most heavily on arti
cles of luxury, leaviog the necessaries of life
as free from taxation as tbe 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 tbe
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,
bus as a heavy burden on the industry of the
country, to be discharged withoat unnecessary
delay.
It is estimated by the Secretary of the Trea
sury that tbe expenditures for the fiscal year
coding the 30th of Jone, 1866, will exceed tbe
receipts $112,194,947. It is gratifying, how
ever, tq state that it is also eatimated that tbe
revenue for the year ending the 30tb 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 redaction will
diminjph the total amount of interest to be
paid, and so enlarge the means of still farther
reductions, until the whole shell be liquidated ;
aod this, as will be seen from the estimates of
the Secretary of the Treasury, may be accom
plished by annual payments even within a
period not exceeding thirty years. I have
faith that we shall do all this within a reasona
ble time; that, as we have amazed the world
by tbe suppression of a civil war which was
thought to be beyond thiv-control of any Gov
ernment, so we shall equally show the superi
ority of our institutions by tbe prompt and
faithful discharge of our national obligations.
The Department of Agriculture, nnder its
present direction, is accomplishing much in de
veloping and utilizing the vast agricultural
capabilities of the country, and for information
respecting tbe details of its management re
ference is made to the annual report of the
Commissioner.
I have dwelt thus fully on oar domestic affairs
because ot their transcendent importance. Under
any circumstances, onr great extent of territory
and variety of climate, producing almost every
thing tbet is necessary for tbe wants, end even
tbe comforts of man, make ns aingnlarly inde
pendent of the varying policy ot foreign Powers
and protect us against every temptation to “en
tangling alliances,” while a', the present moment
tbe re-establishment of hsrmony, aod the
strength that comes from harmony, will be oar
best security against “nations who feel power
and forget right.” For myself, it has been and
will be my constant aim to promote peace and
amity with all foreign nations and Powers; and
I have every reason to believe tbet they all. with
out exception, ere animated by tbe same disposi
tion. Our relations with the Emperor of China,
so recent in their origin* are most friendly. Our
commerce with his dominions is receiving new
developments; end it is very pleasing to find that
tbs Government of that great Empire mamfesta
satisfaction with onr polioy, and reposes just
confidence in the fairness which marks our inter
course. The unbroken hsrmonr between the
United States end the Emperor of Rossis is re
ceiving e new sapport from an enterprise design
ed to carry telegraphic lines across the continent
of Asia, through bis dominions, and so to con
nect ns with alt Europe by a new ebannei of tn- —
tercourse. Our commerce with South America if
about to receive encouragement by a direct line
of mail steamships to the rising Empire of Bra
zil. The distinguished party of men of seiono o
who have recently left our country to make a
scientific exploration of the natural his
tory hud rivers and mountain ranges of
tbet region, have received from the Emperor tbet
generous weloome which was to have been ex
pected from bis oongtant friendship for the united
States, and Eis well known seel in promoting the
advancement of knowledge. A hope is enter
tained that our commerce with the nob end pop
ulous countries that border the Mediterranean
sea may ba target { ***
initial ot the part af tbte 1
were tor-
m ksbope
»one*by
receiving
tor’s ot
tend the protection of onr Bag over the enter
prise of our fellow-citiz-ns. We receive irom
the Powers in that region aaau'ance* ot goo i wol;
end it is worthv of note that a special envy has
brought us messages of condolence on the 'death
ot onr late Chief vegistrmte from tbe B-y of
Tunis whose rule includes the old dom'oiont of
Carthago on the AfnoeD coast.
Our domestio oontest, now happily ended, has
left some traces in our relations with one at
least ot the greatest maritime Powers. Tbe for
mal accordance of belligerent nghts totbe in ur
gent States was unprecedented and has not been
justified by the issue But in tbesvs'emsO' neutral
tty pursued by tbe Powers which made tbet con-
session, there was a marked difference. Tbe ma
terials of war for the insurgent States were tar
nished, iu eg-eat measure, Irom ibe woiksb
n <lr “ t Britain; end British ships, mane
Bub j*«ta. and pret> red tor r
British armaments, sallied from the ions <
ureat Britain to make war on American cotn-
merce, under tbe shelter of a commission from
i“*' n * ar K enl Slates. These ships bs-.ngooce
Brl ’ l,h ports, ever afterwards wn-
10 e ’* r 7 P»rt "f the world, to refit,
d JiUSLra??" lh8,r depredations. Tbe coose-
•CftK** °° ndac t ware most disastrous to
the States then i n rebel'io- increasing tbeir
desolation and misery by ib. prolongs!,onV oor
civil contest. It had, moreover, ihe eff-ct, toe
great extent, to drive th. American fi.g trom .be
see. and to transfer much of our shipping end
our commerce to the very P 0 v., r „h ie -ubjerta
bad created the necessity for , 0 cb e change.
These events took place before I waa called to
tbe Administration of the Government i'he
sincere desire for pe> o« by which I am animated
led me to approve the proposal, already made, to
submit tbe questions which had thus anaen 'be
tween the countries to arbitratirn. Tbe-e ques
tions ere of such moment that they ma> nave
commanded tbe attoi non of the great Powtra,
and are so interwoven with tbe peace and
interests of every one ot tb-m as to have en
sured an impartial decision. I regret to inform
yon that Great britain declined the arbitramc t;
but, on tbe other band, inviteu us to tbe forms
tion of e joint commission to settle mutual
claims between tbe two countries, trom which
those for tbe depredat oos bet re men
tioned should be excluded Tbe proposition,
in that -very unsatisfactory form baa been d-
clined.
The United States did not present ibe sub
ject as an impeachment of the go al ftith of a
Power which was professing the roust friendly
dispositions, but as involving questions of pub
lic law, of which the settlement i es* nti ■! to
the peace of naiione ; and, though pecuniary
reparation to their injured citizens would have
followed incidentally on a decision against
Great Britain, such compensation wie not
their primary object. They had a higher mo
tive, and it was in the io'er- sis of p -ace and
justice to establish important principle* of in
ternational lew. The correspondence will hr
placed before yon. Tbe ground on which the
British Minister rests hi- justification i-, sub
stantially, that the municipal law of a nation,
and the domestic interpretations of that 1 ,w,
are tbe measure of its duty aa a neutral; and
I feel bound to declare my opinion, b fo e you
and before tbe world, that the ju-'ifieaiion can
not be sustained before the tribunal of osuione.
At the same time I do not advise to any pres
ent attempt at redress by ecu id legislation.-—
For the future, friendship between the two
countries must rest on the batis of mutual jus
tice.
From the moment of the establishment of o ir
free Constitution, tbe civilized world baa been
convulsed bjrrevolution- in the interest* of de
mocracy or of monarchy; but through all
those revolutions the United State* have wi-,ly
and firmly refused to become prop-igandi-’s ot
republicanism. It is tbe only government
suited to our condition; but we have never
sought to impose it ou other*; and we have
consistently followed the advice of Washington
to recommend it only by the carelul p> enerva
tion and prudent use of the blessing. Du ing
ail the intervening period the policy of Eu
ropean Power* and of the Uni.t-d S ate* has,
on the whole, been harmonious. Twice, in
deed, rumors of the invasion of some p-rtsof
America, in the interest of monarchy, have
prevailed ; twice my predecessor* have had oc
casion to announce the views of this nation io
respect to such interference. On boih occa
sions tbe remonstrance of the United S atce
was respected, from a deep conviction, on tu,
part of European Governments, 'hat the sys
tem of non-interference aDd mntael abitioence
from propagandism was the true rule for the
two hemispheres.
Since tools timet we have advanced io wealth and
power; bat we retain lbs aeaie parlor# to eaee tne
nations ot Europe tc choose their own dyne* lea
and form tbeir own syst mi of giveromect. Tom
consistent moderation may justly dornand e cor
responding moderation. Wash oil regard it as
a groat calamity to oarselves to tne o-iaseof < j
government, and to the peace f ibe world, sh ield
any European Power challenge me American
people, aa it were, to the defeoo- of rspabiioasi a
against foreign imerleret.ee We caono fore-re
aod are unwilling to oonsider vast opportunities
might present themselves, what e m ins i ,a«
might offer to protect ou-eelve- egaiost d" igi*
inimicable to our form ol guveromant IBs UebeM
States esire to act iu the fetors ae (hoy gave
ever noted nareto ore; they wi I never be
from that coarse but by the aggro-eft , ot fiW
pean Power*; and we rely oo the wisdom
justice of iboee Pow rs to respect ibe eyr’em of
uoo interference wnieh baa eo long been ssio
tioned by lime, aod whieb. by iu good recalls, bee
approved iiself to both oootioeuta.
The eorrespendenoe be ween the U iied S ate*
and France, in reference >o qoeeiioos waicb bare
become subjects of diacoiei u betwren tbe twi
Governments, will, at a proper time, oe l.i t be.
lore Congress.
Whet), on tbe organization of our Govern
ment, under the Constitution, tbe Pre-idem of
tbe United States delivered bis inaugural ad
dress to the two Houses of Coogress. he -aid to
them, and through them to tbe coumry and to
mankind, that “the preservation of tbe stored
fire of liberty aod tbe destiny of tbe ivpoblicao
model of government are ju-tly considered as
deeply, perbape a* finally staked on tbe • apart
ment intrusted to the American people.” And
the House of Representatives answered Wash
ington by the voice of Madison : “ We ad ,rn
the invisable hand which has led the Americ >n
people, through scnBaov 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; tbe United States have passed through
severer trials than were foreseen; and bow, at
this new epoch in our existence as ooe nation,
with par Union purified by sorrow, and
strengthened by conflict, and established by tbe
virtue of the people, tbe greatness of tbe occa
sion invites os once more to repeat, with sol
emnity tbe pledge of our fathers to hold oar
selves antweiable before oor fellow-men for the
success of tbe republican form of g ,vero-
ment. Experience has proved its sufflcieacy
in peace and in war; it has vindicated its au
thority through dangers, sad sffircuooa, and
sudden aod terrible emergencies, which wonld
have crushed any system that had bnea ieee
firmly fixed in the heart of the people. At tire
inauguration of Washington the foreign re
lations of tbe country were few, and iu mate
was repressed by bo-tile regulations ;
all the civilized natieoe of Ihe gtobd
come our commerce, and their Governs
ofees towards os amity. Then
t its way hesitatingly along as i
with State* eo little bound together by rapid
ie of communication aa to be baldly
known to one another, and with historic tradi
tion* extending over very few year*; now in
tercourse between tbe Slates ie swift end Igite
mate: the experience of ,
crowded into a f
l
wt